glad to be home

things have been a little quiet here for a reason. i've been overseas in malaysia, having a wonderful 10-day holiday. well not so much a holiday as a shopping excursion. the days were pretty full on, and much as i generally loathe shopping, i tend to do a lot of it overseas. mostly it's because i can't find clothes here that are the right size and style for me, so a trip overseas is a chance to renew the wardrobe, both for myself and the girls.

it's also a chance to get a tummy-full of halal fast-food. not healthy i know, and many people here will be thinking that we don't miss out on much when we don't get halal big macs or those whopper things. nonetheless, we like to try out this stuff as well as the laksa & satay. the best meal we had this time would definitely have to be beef ribs at tony roma's in sunway plaza. yum!

and as always, it's very nice to be in an environment where being muslim is just a normal thing. no stories about women in burqa's being refused entries on buses, for example. lovely to see all the beautiful mosques, hear the adhan being called. i love the plurality of malaysia, the variety of people and experiences.

of course that ability of various groups to co-exist peacefully is something that comes at a cost. the number of ads on radio promoting patriotism was definitely something i'm glad we don't have to listen to here. compared to many other countries, we really don't do that kind of nationalism & it's a good thing. coming up on july 9 is a day of protest, and there is a lot of activity going on around that. there have been various arrests already, and i know that political dissent is a much more difficult thing to partake in there.

so despite all the positives of malaysia, i'm very glad to be home, and hoping the protest against ECE cuts will be well-attended this weekend.

and if you're wondering why i didn't mention that i was away on the blog or on facebook, it's because i don't blog anonymously and i don't feel safe giving out that information. especially given the abusive comment i got when i was away, & other comments in the past.