The Treasure Shop

Sabah Cheshire Home, Sandakan - 'A Second-Hand Shop' will be announced to the public on April 15th, 2012 as "The Treasure Shop".  This project was started back in 2008 and within in the last five months things are finally starting to come together.  I call this my baby project, as it was the first project I was asked to help with when I arrived. 

We have suffered a couple of floods, we have moved heavy furniture more than once and have sorted and washed through several pieces of clothing.  Within in the last month we have finished painting, created a new interior look, had a small photo shoot for the clothing and obtained sponsorships from the community.  It has been very exciting to see this project in the works and to have the ‘behind the scenes’ experience. 

Throughout this experience I have learned a lot about non-profit, fundraising, and what it takes to develop a business.  We still have more work to do, but each week we have been able to check off something new from our ‘to-do list’.   All development and resources of ‘The Treasure Shop’ has been voluntary work from the Sandakan community.  It is amazing to see the community come together, not just to help, but to see everyone having fun while they do it.

During the next few weeks I will be helping out on the establishment of the new website, below is a website photo teaser that we sent out to our community.  

Today I Became A Teacher

This month, I started teaching English abroad.  As a one off project, I am teaching 10 to 12 year old students.  I am volunteering for the "Education Care Program" that is organized by the Rotary Club of Sandakan.  This program is for low-income families who struggle to give their children a proper education.  The Rotary Club helps provide school funding and other accessories for these families.  As an additional education benefit, I will be teaching English every Saturday for two hours free of charge for any student that is a part of the program.
 
A few reasons why I chose to do this was because I wanted to be able to work with children, I wanted the experience of teaching abroad and I wanted to be able to give these students the opportunity to advance their written and verbal English skills.

As expected on the first day the students were a bit shy and nervous, but they all seemed eager to learn.  For the first class I had them fill out some general information about themselves and then asked each of them to read it aloud.  This helped me determine their English level.  They also learned about local 'American food', some 'American history', and some geography. 

In just one day, I could already see why 'teachers' love their job because even the little things can excite you.  So here is my little bit of excitement from my first class. 

Since English is a second language to them, there were many times I was given the blank stare and I wondered if they even knew what I was talking about.  After discussing 'American' geography and learning about the 50 states; we then talked about similarities to the Malaysian flag and the American flag.  I asked them to count the number of stars on the American flag they said, "50".  Then I asked, "does anyone know why there would be 50 stars?"  They all said, "Because there are 50 states".  It was at that moment where I felt the excitement.  It gave me encouragement to see that not only were they listening and learning, but that they understood the lesson I gave in full English.  This is just another adventure that I am so truly thankful to have been able to experience.  

Just Another Adventure in Sandakan...

So funny story...I have a friend of a friend who does freelance photography.  He was looking to add underwater photography to his portfolio.   Many people in Malaysia do not know how to swim. The challenge that he has came across is trying to find volunteers that do not have a 'fear of water'.   So I guess you can say, I was in the right place at the right time.  At first I was apprehensive of the idea as I am not a model but...I love the water and thought...'why not' it's just helping a friend.  There was a total of six of us that were up for the challenge, some who were not that comfortable in the water, but I was very proud to see them try because of their genuine spirit.  This was all strictly volunteer for all of us and we ended up spending about five hours at the pool.  I will say, you might be an excellent swimmer, but trying to pose in the water with fabric entangled around you, is not an easy task!  I managed to get a copy of one of the photos before it goes into the editing process.  Despite the water headache, from swallowing too much water, all in all, we enjoyed trying something new and it was a great experience!

A Project In The Works...

One of the projects that was presented to me when I first arrived, was to help with the development of a “Thrift Store or Second-Hand Store”.   One of Cheshire Home’s missions is to help those with disabilities establish independent living and employment.  Through the Malaysian Government, if one whom has a disability and can provide documentation that they are employed they will receive an additional 300rm (which is about $100) government grant a month.  So the main objective for the development of this store is to employ someone who has a disability so that can gain income, live independently and achieve government grants.

At first glance the store looked like a storage closest and I had no idea where to start, nor was I familiar on how to begin the development up a business.  The original floor plan was to have two rooms of clothing, a room of toys, a book room, a show room/ checkout area, a couple of storage rooms and a workshop.  Back in October, I decided to pick a room and start organizing one thing at a time.  I helped create flyers for donations, put together a press release for the paper and posted messages on our FB page. Another step was to find employees for the store, our first set of interviews were held in November, and unfortunately we were unable to find someone eligible for the position.  After that, things slowed down, the holidays hit and the development of the store got put to the side.  Then in January we had a big rainstorm and the store flooded, some furniture had to be thrown out, clothes had to be rewashed and any kind of organization that was started had to be moved out. 

It was a challenge to get everyone motivated again (even myself), as we were afraid another storm would hit and another flood would happen.  But after the New Year and the Chinese New Year died down, I reached out to a Cheshire Home committee member and a personal friend.  She had already known about the “Thrift Store” as it has been a working progress for the past four years, but she listened to my challenges and my ideas.  So we decided to work together and brainstorm on a new plan.  

First impressions are always big, so we started there – ‘what was our first impression’ and ‘what should be the first impression’.  After discussion we knew we needed to upgrade. We decided to start by creating a more welcoming and appealing look to the store.  We explored ideas for a showroom, themed rooms, and soon we became interior designers through Google images.  The idea was fun, fancy and something new, but the thought dawned on us…would it get approved by the staff and committee.  Our first step was to put together a proposal for a remodeling project of the ‘store’.   We included, of course, the “five ‘Ws and the ‘how are you going to get the money for this’ and the look and feel of the new layout.  I presented the proposal to my supervisor in early February and received an approval.  

During these last couple of weeks we have found sponsorships, painted the rooms and added new flooring.  This past week many of us have been working hard on cleaning and organizing.  On Saturday there will be a committee meeting held at the office and the plan is to showcase the new design and the progress of the store.  The project has been hard work and there are still many things that need be done, but to finally see progress has become a true reward.  We are hoping to have our grand opening in the beginning of April 2012.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

(Photo by Ashley Haseley)

In Malaysia as well as many other parts of Asia, Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday.  The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.  It is the longest festival in the Chinese calendar, lasting 15 days.  Chinese New Year can also be known as “Lunar New Year” or “Spring Festival”. 

It is tradition for families to clean the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to bring forth good luck for the New Year.  Families will gather starting on the Eve of Chinese New Year, with a dinner that could include pig, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies.   On the day of the ‘New Year’, children and single adults will receive money in red paper envelopes, known as “ang pow”.  Some common traditions during the Chinese New Year are; decorated houses in red paper-cuts and lanterns, red clothing, fireworks, lion and dragon dances, and themes of “good fortune” and “longevity”.  

"According to some tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian.  The Nian would come on the first day of the New Year and was known to eat livestock, crops and villagers; some legends even say he ate children.  For protection, the villagers would put food in front of their doors the night before so the Nian would feast from the food and not the villagers. It is believed that one day people saw the Nian scared of the children that were dressed in “red”, so it became tradition to hang red lanterns outside the homes.  Stories were also told that the Nian was scared of loud noises, so fireworks became a common tradition.  After these traditions, people calmed to never have seen the Nian again."

Here in Sandakan, I was able to experience a true traditional “Chinese New Year”.  This year is the “year of the Dragon”.  Dragons are known to bring good fortune, and strong believers feel that this year will bring success, excitement and innovative ideas. 

The holiday started out at my friend’s family’s house, with a nice Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner.  Fish, lamb, duck, crab…you name it, they had it. 

After the evening came to an end (or so I thought) I got into my PJs and went off to bed.  At exactly midnight, I woke up to roaring thunder-like sounds of fireworks.  As a natural reaction, I jumped out of bed and went to my window.  The noises surrounded me and I could not decide which directions of the sky to focus on and then… it was like the 'Fourth of July'!  The sky was filled with bright colors of red, blue, green, etc…  I could not help but do the typical American “ohhhh….owwww”. 

The next couple of days I went to a few different house visits.   I got to try new dishes and see all different kinds of traditional performances - lion dance, dragon dance, unicorn dance, traditional Chinese drums and others.  The most common performance is the “Lion Dance”. Most lion dance performances are done during the daytime, but there are some that perform at night, with ultra-violet lights.  The Lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune.  

 

I met new people and made new friends and developed new connections.   I could not of asked for a better way to celebrate my first Chinese New Year…maybe I’ll come back next year…

Durian - "The King of Fruit"

We, Yana, Cindy and I (my good friends here in Sandakan) stopped just outside of Ranau, Malaysia during our road trip to Kota Kinabalu. There the durian was being sold for miles along the road. 

Durian is a seasonal fruit and here it is known as the “king of fruits” – AND now is the time to get it.  It has a round shape with crown points and the average can range in size from 1kilo – 2kilo.   Durian has a very distinctive smell – when I first arrived it’s all anyone would talk about and one of the sayings I heard was, “It smells like hell, but tastes like heaven”. 

         To the locals, who favorite durian it has a sweet, yet bitter smell.  Their faces usually glow; their eyes get bigger and mouth starts to water for the taste!

         To the outsider, it has a foul smell.  The first time I smelled it, I thought of propane gas - - some think rotten egg???  Let’s just say it’s not what a fruit should smell like – though the taste is much different as well, but we will get to that later.

So we got out of the car, picked out our durians and I watch as the local sales-person cut it open for us. 

Yana takes the first bite and shows me the proper way to eat durian, which is just dig-in with your hands.

So I took a medium size piece, to my surprise the texture was similar to a very moist cake…very mushy and can be messy.

So I took a bite…the taste was bitter, yet had a little bit of sweetness to it.  It was thick, but moist.  I was expecting it to quench my thirst, like most fruits, but it was not like that at all.  The best way for me to describe it; is to think texture wise like mash potatoes, but the taste is like moist bitter, sweet cake. 

Now for what everyone is wondering…”did I like it?”

         In Bahasa Malayu, things are simple and straight to the point so I would say “sedap”!

         In English, well we can’t just be simple with our answers…so I would say, “Not only did I almost eat a whole durian to myself, but we stopped to eat more on the way home”!

One Step At A Time..."The Climb of Mt. Kinabalu"

(photo by Ashley) 

On December 22nd, I traveled to Kundasang to climb Mt. Kinabalu with one of my families here in Sandakan.  The family I climbed with is related to Gunting Bin Ladagan, one of the first local village-men to climb the mountain – so I’m not going to lie, I kind felt like royalty :).  There were 30 of us during this two-day climbing adventure.  The first day you climb 6,2k to Laban Rata.  The climb was mostly rocky with some angles that seemed like you were climbing at 90 degrees and it felt more comfortable to bear crawl.  It took me about 4 hours to reach Laban Rata, which better than average.  Somehow out of the 30 of us I ended up being the first to reach the 6.2k marker.

After dinner a climber’s bedtime is 7pm, as you get up the next morning at 2am, eat breakfast and start your climb to the summit.  If you stay on track, you will reach the summit to see the sunrise.  This climb was nothing that I had mentally prepared myself for nor expected.  All I could see is the stars above and maybe a step or two ahead of me with my flashlight.  If you didn’t know the trail, which I didn't being a first-timer, it felt at times like I was going to fall of the edge if I didn't follow the rope that was right in front of me.  The rope wasn't just there for a trail to follow, but for climbing support as well.  There were parts during our climb that we had to go in single file and use the rope to help pull ourselves up.

After about an hour of climbing it longer starts to feel like a race on who can get to the top first, as everyone finds a pace that is comfortable for them. There were times it was just me and maybe one or two other people that were close by.  A little past the halfway mark, my flashlight went out and that was the first time I wanted to give up.  I started taking longer breaks, looking at all the stars above and the torchlight of others behind me.  The air was getting colder and soon the feeling in my hands and feet felt like it was going numb. I kept looking at the top of the mountain, thinking I’m almost there, but the more I climbed, it just felt like there was no ending – and that was second time I wanted to give up.  At this time, I was climbing with a friend from our group, as I had to rely on him for light.  I kept asking God to get me strength and kept apologizing to my friend for having to wait on me.  The last 1.0k seemed like the longest route – it was still dark, the top seemed like hours away, I was much colder than I expected and my confidence level was way down – that was the third time I wanted to give up.  I turned to my friend and said, “I can’t do”.  He stopped, walked to where we were side by side and said “Ashley, just relax and take it one step at a time”.  At that point I told myself I can't give up!

By the time I reached the summit it was still dark. I was tried, cold and exhausted and the sunrise was only minutes away.  We all gather together to try and stay warm and had our cameras ready.

(photo by Ashley)

The sunrise was beautiful and as the sun continued to raise the view of mountain, the villages below and the clouds within became clearer and breathe taking.  Even though I was exhausted and wondering if this was really worth it, there was those few seconds where I thought I could do anything now!  Some might say, 4,095m isn’t that high, but it wasn’t about the height, it was about conquering the challenge.