Goodbye & Forever

Sunset behind my house in Malaysia..

I m sitting on my bed, the rains splatters at the window and the weather seems incredible grey and cold. Compared to Malaysia this would be the coldest temperature ever measured but here in Switzerland we just call it Summer. 

I m looking through all my 4000 pictures of my exchange year and get in a melancholic and happy mood if I rethink at all those wonderful moments.

I am back in Switzerland for almost two months now and well adjusting here seemed harder that I thought, it is/was a bit like getting used to something you actually should know.

Actually I wanted to write a Goodbye Post long ago like in…Mai/June or something but I was so busy during my last weeks in Malaysia  and anyway not able to get some good words or conclusion on paper(well it is Microsoft word). So now finally  I m giving it a try.

Almost exactly one year ago I took a flight into a country where I knew barely anything about it. Malaysia was a book with empty pages for me and now I cant believe how filled up with emotions, memories (good and sad ones) and experiences that book became.

Really I remember my first week where I got sick and thought:”Oh god, 320 days seems like an infinity, this will never end!”  ..and then time flew past faster and faster till in the end I couldn’t believe that one year had passed and I had to take the plane to fly back home? It was really the first time where I was leaving and returning home at the same time!

Thank you to all of you, first of all my wonderful family here, all my lovely school friends and AFS friends from all over the world, but also to all the people  I met on the way, had good conversations with, my host family in Cameron Highland, and many many more...

I have felt so much appreciation, love, and friendship that I feel so so blessed, words cant express that feeling and still  cant decide if I should smile,laugh or just cry bitterly about it.

So many reasons to miss Malaysia. Simple things that just belong to my home there…

I miss sitting around the table, laughing with my host family about a stupid joke or funny incident and knowing that we are a family too..

I  miss dressing up with my sisters in Baju Kurung for weddings, listening music and fighting for the best place in front of the mirror.

I miss talking to my Host mom about Religion and Cultures or joking with my Abang about typical Malaysian or Foreigner habits.

I miss just sitting outside in the evening, seeing the sunset and palm trees and listening to the evening prayer which is as familiar as the sound of church bells.

I miss living in a wonderful pretty big house with a pool to swim and having a double bed .

I miss eating all the delicious Malay/ Indian/Chinese/Indonesian/Japanese Food…I really do I haven't eaten any roti canai, nasi lemak, laksa, rendang or kuih since forever..!!

I miss joking and laughing with my school friends ( most awesome Malaysian students ever) , attending school choir and  just being a Malaysian student in school uniform and eating 1 RM school food.

I miss using the KTM to go to KL Sentral, sitting in the Women only Coaches and observing the diversity of people in the train.

I  miss using my Malay or my Malay English Mix... memang suka cakap melayu tau.. and all the terms like alamak, -lah, amboi, or elee …

I miss going out with other exchange students and pretending to be just tourists.

I miss the whole AFS activities and awesome camps and just being an exchange student!

I miss traveling around with my hostfamily and experiencing new things together. 

I  miss even the heat and the sunshine all year through mixed with heavy thunderstorm and rain.

...or celebrating Hari Raya! Everybody keeps sending me pictures of their Raya activities and I feel a bit envy haha

I could just go on and on and on but I guess that s enough so I ll just emphasize with pictures… ...  I start at the end of March... haha so long ago it seems..

with my hostmom and sister in Cameron Highland

2 weeks in the Village in March.

     

with Chiara from Italy and our host"cousins" :)

Selfie .#hijab :)

One day with the Interact Club in a Chinese School

Choir competition!

with my babysister <3

Langkawi..a dream!

Short visit over the border to Thailand

Last meal all together+rice on banana leaf

Ready for the last AFS evening

AFS Malaysia Students 2013/2014

my Farewell ..

at the airport, before the tears stared flowing

<3

This is my last blog post here and well thank you so much for reading.

If you get the opportunity to do an exchange, do it.! It doesn't really matter where to or how long but in any case it will be an enriching experience where you can only learn and grow from.



http://www.afsmas.org/
http://afs.ch/
http://workaway.com/

Take a look, save your money, pack your bag and go..(:

Love, sincerely
Hannah