Malaysia, the Adventures of

i figured it was about time to post about the rest of the Malaysia Mattson family adventures! and seriously, they are some adventures. we don't go halfway with vacations. even when dad was real sick he was still going..not very well, but still going. we have to get everything in! humanly possible. well not even that, because i'm sure some of it was wayy too much for the average person. i even had to take a break. a beautiful one, in the morning on the sunny island of mabul. :) so i regret a few things about this trip: that i didnt take good pictures, and that we didnt have our good camera so i was using my crappy 7.1 megapixel camera for all these pictures. well some of them are better and from eric's nicer camera. but here's what i got, people!




the very beginning!! the view of singapore from our hotel room. we arrived at the airport and my mom started asking if we wanted gum; until eric reminded her its against the law. then we get to the hotel room and see its MUCH nicer than what we had in mind...rather amazing. (we dont spend money on the unnecessary things like good hotel rooms.)



first day in singapore, getting on the singaporean subway thingy. (MRT)

these next three are the most ridiculous things i've ever seen. in singapore, they have these signs on the MRT that say to let people off first. this lady looks crazy!

and this guy? HAS AN AFRO. and what is play, play? anyone heard of the game? at least i think its a game. our resident expert couldnt even tell us what play, play was.

He has a mole. and is wearing rainboots. and an afro.

This is singapores .. mascot? a merlion. a mermaid and a lion. i read something about why, but honestly can't remember.

This is arab street. in singapore there are different places where you can find different kinds of communities, and here we find most muslims in singapore. amazing, yes?

also a muslim thing. this is a hair salon, for muslim women who need their hair cut. men can't come in because muslim ladies can' t be seen by a man without a headscarf on.




these are a bunch of hawker stalls we ate at in singapore. pretty cool. there was a stall for just about everything. the food was good, except i accidently got liver because it looked like beef or something..and i gagged on it for a good long time. no liver for me. eric made me eat it. he took my drink away until i swallowed too. what a jerk!

we finally made it to malaysia! after going through customs and getting on an off a bunch of buses, we made it through. we were in johor bahru, and met a bunch of people from eric's mission and went to church...but that was covered in the last post about the people. then we rented a car...and daddy drove. however, there are a few things that malaysia has picked up from the UK...namely driving on the wrong side of the road.

needless to say, i was scared for my life.

we went to KL next..kuala lampur, the capital of malaysia. its a lot like a normal city there. there was a mall right across the street from our hotel, and thats where mom and i bought our muslim dresses we have. but then we went to a canopy walk, which is where we found this lovely huge leaf..i love rainforests.

the canopy walk was a bunch of boards held together by rope. i was a little nervous, but i love heights, and there was something to hang onto, so i was good.

view of KL from the canopy walk

sooo sweaty. the rainforest doubles the humidity, and we had just hiked UP to the canopy.









that same day we went to Batu caves. these statues are Hindu gods. there are a lot of them, and they're crazy. i did the batu caves pictures backwards..sorry. this is at the top of the stairs, the stairs are further down.

batu caves is a lot like the Hindu people making a theme park out of their religion..they have lines and everything so you can go see the shrines. and music playing in the background.

this was on the stairs going up to batu caves. those monkeys werent even scared of us! that was eric acting like a monkey.

the steps were numbered. it was great. 272 steps to get to the caves.

i got some daaaang good pictures of those monkeys, and i'm sooo happy with them..if only i had the good camera. hahah.

that night, we also went to see the twin towers of KL. they're pretty cool. dad thought this up the nose shot would be cool...but i think its just an up the nose shot. it looks like were giants too.

they were impressive.

next day we went to a butterfly museum! i took a lot of fantastic pictures here too..and figured out how to use the macro on my camera pretty nicely.

we also went to an orchid place..but there was a lily and i had to take a picture, becuause its going up in my niece's room now :)

we finally made it to Kuching. (Kuching was my favorite place, ever!!) we went to semengoh and we saw the orangutangs feeding there!

this is the best picture i could get of them. this is when i missed my camera the most.

another place in Kuching was the Sarawak cultural village we went to. i played mancala with an old malay woman. i beat two muslim girls in a game of stick dancing, and i shot a balloon in front of an audience with a blowpipe. great experience.

delicious place. we stopped there during our visit to the cultural village. their lemon chicken? to die for. this is also the starting place for many hikers going on a trek into the rainforest.

traditional iban style clothing. i wore one of these that one of eric's friends from the mission made.

next day in Kuching, we went across the water on a boat to Baku National Park. its a jungle! soo cool. there was a sign on the dock where we got on the boat though, that said "Awas: Life Jackets Must be Worn Beyond this Point." there were none to be seen on the boat. the next thing it said on the sign was "Awas: Danger of Crocodiles." While on the dock, i picked up a little kitten and was petting it, and a lady waves at me and says "You come to Kuching, you take kuching home." kuching means cat. that explained the big golden statues of cats everywhere too.

this sign was fun. naughty monkeys! which they were. we were in Baku national park, and they would come right up to you and steal your food. fast as lightning too! the people who worked at the cafe place had slingshots, but could never hit them.






one of the culprits.







this is about the only picture we have of our time on the lovely island of Mabul. this is where our dive resort was, and probably the loveliest week of the trip. everyone carried our gear for us, and we got to see the wonders of the underwater world while doing non of the work! we saw cuttlefish, (AMAZING) and a pygmy seahorse, and a regular seahorse..at which our dive master was screaming underwater about, becuase he hadnt seen one in three years. there were TONS of seaturtles, tons of sharks. wall dives are my favorite ever, too. there is unlimited amount of water below you and its so trippy! i love it so much. we saw a tornado, a HUGE tornado of barracuda too..man that was amazing. this was at sipidan. one of the wonders of the world. or something like that. haha. this picture is the boys going on a night dive..i should have gone, but i was having a mental overload. or family overload. take your pic. mom and i had a nice night though. i also skipped one of the morning dives, to relax by myself..it was a welcome interruption. it was here that i got so tan, too. (here in utah, i've lost all pigment i gained there. why??) but we did three dives a day, for a week. or five days, actually. but it was lovely. pure loveliness.

we dont have any pictures of Tawau, but we werent there very long. We do have pictures of the rest of the time we spent in Singapore, though. This is at the Japanese bonsai gardens. my dad loves bonsai. almost as much as i love this japanese statue man.

i figured i'd get some family shots in here. eric was having ear problems by this time. his ears just hurt him so bad.







these are all in singapore, the gardens. bryce was sick too by the end. not nearly as bad as dad, but he was.

daddy was the worst of us all, but he smiled for the pictue! he really does love bonsai. he had to go to urgent care when we got back. travelers sickness isnt pretty, people. dont get it. i was actually the only one unscathed from the whole trip.

some pretty bonsai.

happy mom :)

in the gardens we saw a gila monster! he was cool.

a japanese something or other.

another something or other. he was my friend.

our layover was in tokyo, so we went and had a peek at the fish market. the people in there try to run you over with their weird cart things, i swear! probably becuase were white. and that fish head is HUGE, right? crazy.

anyway, thats our trip in a nutshell. or at least the sightseeing portions of it. i love malaysia soo much! i'd rather be there than here. so much. i even like the humidity and weather better than provo. its ridiculous here! i have a special place in my heart for malaysia now. <3 sorry for all the pictures! but it took me forever, you ya'll better appreciate it.

Life is hard?

thats news to me.

i swear no one told me it was going to be this hard. (but my parents say they did.)

i suppose half of it was my fault.

maybe i shouldnt have tried to do everything at once. maybe i should have slowed down, listened to the spirit, and done the major thing right-the first time. maybe i should have gotten on top of things right from the start, and i wouldnt be in the position i am now. maybe i should be looking at things ahead of the due date, not after it passes by. maybe i should have read my chemistry exam closer, and not made 4 stupid mistakes. maybe i should have not looked at the screen to see my biology test score. maybe i shouldnt have taken a job at the insect lab.

but would it be half as fun?

actually, probably more fun. and not so stressful. but whats a few extra pounds? everyone loves that. maybe i'll just stick to the phrase "learning experience." no one likes that. but it suits.

and now, i'm out to get a 3.8 GPA (at least) and get accepted into the nursing program. who would have thought? the animal girl, being a people person? it is strange. but right. it might just kill me though. if not literally, it will almost certainly take its toll on my figure. good thing nurses wear scrubs.

chris.

needless to say, i'm struggling a bit. but with some good music, and some actual sleep, i should get back on my feet here soon.

on the brighter side. my hair's short. i love it. i think i'll cut it even shorter soon. don't cry karina. but if i travel to any foreign country (which is a certainty) it will inexorably be cut off. mercilessly and without regrets.

i'm thinking of spending the summer either in africa (http://www.help-international.com/) with orphans or HIV positive people, or in renton, WA. i'll be the best aunt EVER.

and my baby is adorable. little lily!!

Auntie Becca

At this point i'm dying to get to WA. can you blame me? look at her! my plan is all summer. all summer with my baby niece. Auntie Becca. is that too long a name? but i dont know what else to make it. i refuse becky, so dont even mention it. but i'll be open to others, possibly. any good ones?

ps. i love her face in this picture.

Baby Lily!!!

MY BABY NIECE IS HERE!!! She was born on September 18, 2009 around 7pm WA time. 8lbs 15 oz, 20 inches, perfectly healthy. Minus the fact that she was sunny side up and stuck, and they had to do a C-section. She's beautiful, and mom and her are doing great. Lily Camille Fletcher. All that hair already! She's GORGEOUS!! (she looks like me already!)

Daddy ^

and Mommy ^

Malaysia-People

Malaysia #1-The People. I've decided to split it up in parts since theres absolutely no way i can explain Malaysia in one post..and all the pictures to go with the explanations. I love the people, though. They are so humble, so happy despite having basically nothing. I felt like a rich snob there. I want to do so much to help them now. What I really want is to live like them for a year or so, see how it goes for me. but i suppose that wont happen. these are the people that eric taught and served with while he was on his mission, and he took us to see some of them. but, one thing before you see these pictures : it was hot. soo hot. so were all sweaty and gross. its nasty, but get over it. thats how it goes. oh and these pictures are actually backwards. these are the last people we saw, and the picture at the bottom are the first people we saw. i'll name them as i go. (the name is under the picture)
a note about the people in general: they are small, and dark. my family is big and white. that was almost always a topic of conversation, how big we were. they always wanted to take pictures with us..at least the people at church were always asking if they could have a picture of us. i have no idea what they wanted with it, and it started to irk me, but whatever. i felt a little bit like an elephant at the circus. but i love them still. the people who would pass us in a car-the five of us jammed into a five person car with my father driving on the wrong side of the road- would often point and nudge their neighbors to see too. its just how they are.

Lihot (the woman on the far right holding the baby) and her daughters family.

Migan and us. Migan was adorable..spoke no english, but could understand us pretty well. She just laughed at everything. eric says she's super funny. i laughed even when i didnt know the joke.

Robin and Rhodea's family. They're adorable..the little boy making the peace signs understood some english, and he would try to talk to us so hard..and the mom, Rhodea, right in front of my dad..she was adorable. her english was really good. but mostly they just talk to eric in malay.

Sister Nora (right behind me) and her daughter and husband? i think it was her husband. But sister Nora was the most adorable..although she fed us some green pea soup that was really sweet and rather gross..really gross. but i ate it, all of it. she made a necklace and gave it to me actually. its actually the one my mom is wearing in the picture below us.

This is Iban traditional clothing. or the decorations really, no one just wears that. but the pom poms and everything. the necklaces too. its all intricately beaded-sister Nora's daughter made them i think. i now have the blue and yellow necklace from her-she is so sweet. ps. it was really hot that day.

Missy and Jelawai's family--the girl with her arms around me is Crystilla. She was 18 and had a three year old son, and a baby. she and i got a long well, even though we didnt speak the same language. she would just look up at me and smile when everyone else was talking. i think it was the age thing that made that happen. this was the hottest place yet, though, so its the most unflattering picture of the sweaty white people ever.

Juen and Rosalind's house. they live in flats, i think they're called. like apartment housing. they gave us sprite in wine glass looking things..i think thats like a real treat. it was sweet. Juen told us of his conversion story, and then we talked about the politics of malaysia and US..it was informative.

John and Allan's family. John is the only person in malaysia that i saw smiled in a picture. but he's just like that..always smiling and laughing. he speaks good english, because he works in singapore. Allan (pronounced Ellen) is so sweet. her kids were amazing too. this was the first family we met. and we learned how to eat like malaysians, with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the right. its actually very effective. the picture right above my head on the wall is a picture of their whole family in white with eric getting baptized.

And thats that. We missed a couple of families when we were taking pictures..we missed Brother Chen's family, and i think one other but i dont want to open my journal to remember again. These people are fantastic! I love malaysia!

gone going, gone.

so i know i've been a blogging retard again. but summer has been so busy and full of fun and work..that i just didnt find time for blogging. i'm sure i'll find ample time when i'm at BYU and i should be doing something else like homework, but for now, i'm obviously way too busy to keep you people posted.
heh. should i be apologizing right here? nahhhh.
so, here's the sitch:
since nauvoo, lifes been great. a lot of working, which is good for my bank account. but not so great for my social life. however, i just quit my job. my last day was July 30th. and there was a pig out in my honor on the 31st. i'm kinda sad. i've had that job since i was 15, almost sixteen. lets see..it was September 26th that i first started volunteering at Sea Gate Veterinary Hospital. and that saturday i turned 16 and went to volunteer there..and apparently they were impressed that i went on my birthday. really its not that big of deal to me..but they were impressed. and so they bought me a cake and tried to surprise me, but just kind of scared the crap out of me. i went out the back to take the trash out, and i walked back inside and all the lights were off. so i just kinda stood there. thinking they all must have left or something. but then they came out of the surgery room with a feeble surprise! and that was it. just a surprise. alice had already given me a cake. so it was rather a pointless surprise. but that is how i got the name sixteen. it has been my nickname ever since, even though i turned seventeen and am now almost eighteen. made no difference to them. i will always and forever be sixteen. dr chang calls me his sweet sixteen. or lucky number 7 cuz 1+6=7. or 16+1, cuz thats really my age now. oh how i will miss them!
in other news. i've been doing a lot of hanging out with brandon hansen and scott skousen and erika juliano :) they've been my besties this summer. so what if they're old? lauren came home a week or two ago, and we've been hanging out. jordan too, i suppose, if you want to count him. but he divorced me ages ago so i can hardly think of him with kindness. david watts gave me a massage that hurt like the dickens. erika and i took a nap on a pool table in the institute, and then i dropped my phone on my face because i couldnt manage to use it above my head. jessica and alex and me and karina went to the circus, and i almost cried for the tigers. nothing should be treated like that, you mongrels. the rest of the stuff was pretty cool. i love elephants. i went paragliding with my aunt cami. she's the best! in total, we went segway-ing, paragliding, to the aquarium, then kayaking, to the zoo, and to a movie. it was a full weekend. and in between i went home because i had only packed for one day and i was supposed to have gone scuba diving on saturday with my family but i didnt because the surf was too big so it got cancelled..but anyway. i came home and met jeff's friends from school and went jacuzzi-ing with them and we went to the beach and we watched a movie..and i really liked one of the girls, terra, so at least i'll have a couple of friends up in utah when i go :) which brings me to my next point..
i'm gone. gone going gone. tomorrow i start my very long 21 hour flight to malaysia-where i think i'll have the experience of a lifetime. were going to see the real culture, not just the resort like culture, and were going to meet the people that eric taught on his mission. were gonna go into the rainforest and see orangutans in a natural preserve. were going to go to sipidan and be in a dive resort for about five days, doing three dives a day at least. its INCREDIBLE. sooo freaking INCREDIBLE. i can't wait. malaysia is one of the top dive spots in the world. needless to say, i'm stoked. then i get back from malaysia on the 24th..and start driving up to utah on the 25th for freshman orientation. so i'm assuming my next post will be sometime in september. a bientot, people. i'll be cut off from the internet and phones in malaysia. this is it. i would say love you all, but its probably a lie. :) have fun without me!