Here and LOVING it!

Hello everyone! As we speak, I am uploading the pictures I have taken thus far. Many of you have asked how my trip from Iowa to Malaysia went. I am here to tell you, it went a little something like this...

As I went up the escalators at the Des Moines airport, I waved goodbye to my entourage who came to see me off. I sat at my gate, teary eyed as I texted my dad. Soon, I was off. My first flight was from Des Moines to Chicago. The plane was tiny! It had one seat on the left side and then two seats on the right side. I ended up next to a man who was very tall and big! Let's just say I had 3/4ths of my seat for that flight. Good thing it was only 50 minutes. :) Once in Chicago, I quickly found my gate. That was when my headache started to really set in, which was due to the crying. I found some Advil PM, but would have to wait to take it until my 13 hour flight. I sat there, patiently waiting for my next flight to San Francisco when they announced that it was going to be delayed. Delayed?! I only had a 2 1/2 layover in San Francisco. That sounds like a lot of time to most people; however, it is not when traveling internationally. We finally took off and were on our way to California. On the flight there, I unfortunately had to use the "motion sickness" bag. The most disgusting part was the flight attendant said that they wouldn't take it. I had to keep it by my feel for the remainder of the flight... Gross! Anyway, I watched the in-flight movie "Just Go With It." Once we touched down in California, the race began! I walked very quickly to the international terminal. Thankfully, God provided a group of foreign exchange students on my flights. I tagged along with them to find where to check in and get my new boarding passes. Once I got my new boarding pass, the man from the airline told me, "You need to run." So I ran to security, quickly zipped through there, and literally ran to my gate. I made it on the flight with only minutes to spare. Thankfully I was able to make that connection.

Now started my 13 hour flight. My headache was getting pretty bad at this point. I gave in, took the Advil PM, and next thing I knew the flight was already 7 hours in! I then dozed off and on for the remainder of the flight. Once we landed in Hong Kong, I had a 9 hour layover. It was such a blessing that they had free wifi in their airport. I was able to Skype with Grandma Jeri, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Janice. Then, I was able to Skype with my dad!! :) It was great to talk to them and also helped to pass the time. After hanging up with them, I went to find food. I ended up buying 2 waters, 1 Coke Light (which is the name for Diet Coke here), a fruit cup, and a egg mcmuffin-like sandwich. The sandwich was gross. The eggs were not fully cooked and very gooey. The fruit was delicious though! I then went to find a plug-in again so I could Skype with Brenna! After we finished Skyping, I found out where my gate was located. I made my way across the very long and BIG airport. Once at my gate, I did Sudoku puzzles and word finds. Finally, my last flight of the day arrived! As I landed in Penang, I thought, "I am home." God granted me an amazing peace about being here and feeling like I am returning home. It was amazing.

Now is where things start to get crazy... I get off the plane and head to customs. I made it through with no problems. Then I go find a cart so I can pile my luggage on top... Haha! I had 2 big suitcases and 2 very heavy duffle bags. I kept trying to put my first suitcase on the cart and it kept rolling away from me. Thankfully, a nearby lady helped me to get it on the cart. :) And.... PRAISE THE LORD THAT ALL MY LUGGAGE CAME THROUGH! Nothing was broken or torn. :) That has been a huge blessing! I then took the cart and had to send it through a scanner... Just when I had gotten it all stacked nicely. Again, thankfully a nearby man helped me send them through and re-stack them on the other side. I made my way to where I saw Karen and 2 of her kids were waiting for me. It was such a blessing to be greeted by friends! From the airport we went to McDonalds of course! :) I had a spicy chicken sandwich that tasted pretty good. After we ate, Karen took me to my apartment. Since I am on the top floor, I struggled (along with the Sasse's) to get my heavy luggage up all the flights of stairs.

I walked into my apartment and completely fell in love with it. :) It is gorgeous! Beautiful wood floors, windows overlooking the ocean, great wicker furniture... YAY! The only thing I couldn't do when I arrived was check my e-mail. So Karen allowed me to go over to her house and Skype my Grandma and family, as well as e-mail my dad. Then I came back to my apartment and started unpacking. I only did about half of it before I headed to bed.

Now starts Day 1. Karen and I decided to meet at Dalat at 11am. Karen needed to take her van in to get the air-conditioning fixed. So she asked if I would drive my car, follow her, and we can go in my car from there. I said, Okay! My car is super cute! It is dark blue and so much fun to drive. I love it!! God has blessed me so much already. I cannot say that enough! Anyway, I had to tell myself to fight every natural instinct while driving. The blinker/turn signal is on the right now. I drive on the right side of the car and on the left side of the road. Amazingly, it really isn't THAT strange. I chauffeured Karen around Penang. We ate at some local stalls. I had very tasty black and peppered chicken with rice and fried eggs with fresh apple juice! It's 100% better than juice in the states. Then Karen and I decided I needed to get a hand phone (cell phone) first so I can get in contact with others easily. After purchasing my hand phone, I then went into TESCO. There I bought things like garbage cans, shampoo, body wash, tupperware, food, etc. Then I dropped Karen at home and came back to my apartment. I decided to unpack a little more. Well, me being the genius that I am, forgot that my brand new dvd player I brought with from the states does NOT convert wattage by itself (like my laptop battery does). So I plug it in without a converter... and POOF! Smoke starts pouring out of it! I quickly unplug it and I stood there saddened by my stupidity. I tried dvd after dvd to see if it still worked. Nothing.... I let it cool off a bit more and finally.......... IT WORKED! Thankfully I did not break it.

After unpacking a bit more, I was invited over to the Thomas' house with a few other new staff. We ate breakfast about 4:30pm -- pancakes, eggs, potatoes (that were AMAZING!), and juice. After eating we played Apples to Apples. We had many laughs and good conversation. I left and went out to my car to find I had no idea how to turn on my headlights... Whoops! My friends showed me how to turn it on and I followed them to Karen's house. I was then able to check my e-mail and facebook. Then I came home to watch a little tv on dvd :)

Now it is morning number two here in Penang. On the agenda for today? Perhaps swimming... Perhaps a bit more shopping? Who knows?! :)  Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I truly am blessed by all of you. Please message me individually on e-mail or on Facebook if you want a personal response. I will try to do my best to write back to all who write to me!