Almost exactly two months ago, at my first CDO meet up (where all the teachers in Malaysia get together in KL for a weekend of city life... Er, I mean training), I got to talking with a teacher from Chile, named Angello, who is one of our most seasoned teachers, and was nearing the end of his one year contract. I had heard rumors about him and his center - that it was, firstly, in a village of Orang Asli, the indigenous people of Malaysia; that it was one of the most rural centers; and that his community was one of the neediest that we reach out to. I had always thought it sounded amazing, but talking to Angello only made me think that is where I want to teach. His love for the community was so clear, and his experience sounded so amazing, his only regret was that he was leaving at the end of June, before all of his students could graduate from our program, and he had been told that there was some difficulty finding a replacement for him. Failure to do so would mean closing the center. I said "I'll replace you" and tentative plans were made. About a month later, I sent a message to the person in charge of Angello's region, asking whether we were still on. He told me that they had actually found someone to replace Angello, who could head there earlier than me. I was a little crushed, but I understood. I had said I didn't want to leave Chaah before the end of August, when I estimated my students would graduate, which would leave a two month gap between Angello's departure and my arrival. Besides, I was told that there would be a lot of centers opening up in Asli communities in the next few months, and I was at the top of the teacher waiting list. I even started preparing to go to a village close to Chaah, and was getting ready to head there after the Chaah graduation.
This past weekend, we had another CDO meetup (we have them every two months). Almost the second I arrived, three people told me I was going to Angello's center on the 25th. I was like "of what month?" and they said "June". Once I got over the initial shock, and gotten over the disappointment that someone else was going to get to graduate my classes (a really lovely friend from Chaah who has been in training to take my place, but who was planning to do so only in August), I got really really excited. This is, after all, exactly what I wanted when I first came to Malaysia. Working with this organization to target undereducated communities in the most rural parts of the country, especially the Orang Asli groups, is why I took this job. I was practically jumping for joy in the headquarters, probably annoying everyone else except Angello, who was as excited as I was.
But, twist. About 11:00 that first evening, a friend of mine, who is in charge of the centers on the east coast, told me that I was not going to Angello's center, but rather to a new school in the northeast, by the sea. It's a fishing village, she assured me, and they really need help. Partially because it was late, and partially because I had spent the whole day getting beyond excited about the Orang Asli village, I was stubborn and upset. It took a good night's sleep to realize I could get excited about a fishing village on the beach in Malaysia too. Once I did realize that, I decided to just get excited about going somewhere I was needed, anywhere the people at HQ decided I could be most valuable as a teacher.
Still, something about the way Angello talked about the center where he had been working for the last year made me feel drawn to the place. So in a meeting with a handful of involved people, which felt more like a formal interview than my actual interview, I made it clear that while I would go happily to a place in need of a CDO, my opinion was that I would make a good replacement for Angello. After a lot of looking at each other and noddingn and shrugging from my interviewers, and a lot of nerve wracking from me, it was agreed that I should go to the village on Wednesday, a few days before Angello's departure on Sunday, to get to know the place and the people. I didn't stop beaming the whole night - I just felt like something perfect had fallen into place.
Of course, the situation isn't complication-free. Moving literally across the country on less than a week's notice is not simple, even in Malaysia, where time sometimes happens like that. I arrived back in Chaah on Monday evening, spent Tuesday training my replacement on everything she needs to know to run the Chaah center, from submitting reports to uploading photos to actually teaching the classes, and then I left my house and drove through the palm plantations for the last time on Wednesday, to take the 9 am bus to Kuala Lumpur, where I had to take the train across the city to the other bus station (one is for southbound buses, one one for northbound), and catch another bus. It was sad to say goodbye, with no warning. I didn't even get to see Anita and Dominig, as they were both out of town for courses this week. I spoke with Anita on the phone, and I hope that they both know how much I appreciate all they have done for me in the past three months. I did say goodbye to their kids, which was sad; I will miss them a lot. No one was as sad as my students, most of whom cried when I said I was leaving, and all of whom wrote me letters. I will really miss them, and plan to return to Chaah to celebrate their graduation once they finish the course.
I was going to Tapah, which Angello has described as "the city" near the village, where one can count on cell service and KFC. I wouldn't call in a city, but ask me after 8 months living in the jungle and maybe I'll have changed my mind. The bus didn't even drop me at a station: after asking whether I was sure I wasn't supposed to be going to Cameron Highlands, the popular tourist destination not too far from here, and scratching his head when I assured him I wanted to go to Tapah, the driver left me on the side of the road, and drove off probably to tell his friends that some white girl with a bunch of bags asked him to take her to Tapah. I looked around at the food stands and mini markets, and, yes, the KFC, and thought "this can't be what he meant by 'I'll meet you in the city". It was. I met him just outside KFC, which happens to be at the intersection of the two streets in Tapah (from what I can tell, there are only two), and we took the bus from Tapah to Batu Tujuh, the smaller town just down the mountain from the village. Then we bought some groceries for the family, and headed, via Angello's motorbike, which I will (hopefully) learn to drive, and climbed up into the mountain, to my new home. Goodbye, Chaah. I will miss you and your endless palm fields, but for now I am happy to say I am at home here. Hello, Ampangan Woh.
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