The Life of an Expat in KL…week 1

Well, we’ve officially made it through our first full week as expats in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- wooohooo!!! 🙂 I know I am a bit late in writing but its literally been a whirlwind since we landed. We spent our first weekend at the Hilton KL (which is fabulous by the way!) while we searched for our new (temporary) home. After 4 arduous days of searching, we found it! Above is a picture of the pool area from our living room. Its a great condo in the Bansgar neighborhood and will get us by until the ship gets here with the rest of our furnishings….and then we will move again into our permanent home (well, at least for the next 3 years or so). Our condo has all the things needed to get us by- plenty of  space, a bed, a semi-stocked kitchen, a washer/dryer, and of course- a pool:)!!

We absolutely LOVE the area that we are living in right now. Bangsar is chock full of restaurants, shopping, bars, and people watching- so fun! Within a mile of where we are living we can get our groceries, try different cuisnes, get our hair cut, and enjoy happy hour. Perfect. In fact, we have already met some great new friends and look forward to getting more connected in the weeks and months to come.

Last Friday we were able to make it to the “newbie” lunch with the American Association of Malaysia. What a great group! I am looking forward to getting to know these women more and of course to the opportunities to get involved in the community as well as the social events:)!

We were also fortunate enough to have a car loaned to us over the weekend. One of David’s clients was out of town and offered to let us use his car for a few days- honestly, how nice is that?!?! We BOTH got out and about learning our way around Bangsar as well as venturing out on the highways to find a church on Sunday and to do some shopping for electronics….what an experience. Did you know that in Malaysia they drive on the left side of the road and that the steering wheel is on the right side of the cars??? Takes some getting used to, thats for sure…but all in all, it wasn’t too scary and I think once we find a car to buy, I will feel comfortable finding my way around:).

It also is mentally exhausting going to the grocery store & pharmacy. Trying to buy food takes a lot of effort!! First of all, you normally cannot find everything in one store so you go to multiple, then its trying to decipher the labels, and of course doing the mental conversion rates of money in our heads- LOL- but its a fun experience nonetheless.

Another wild and wacky experience are the storms- which happen literally every day. Some days its just a little rain while other days is a madhouse of sideways rain, wind, thunder, and lightening. One of these days I will record it so you can see for yourself….they usually happen in the afternoon and are done within the hour, then the sun comes out again- so crazy but so fun! Everything dries out really quick due to all the humidity too….and I am sure that is why all the foliage is so lush and green:).

Anyway, beyond that, we have just been enjoying settling into our new life out here together. David is working up a storm, and I am trying to figure out how to be an effective housewife…..should be interesting- haha. In the past 2 days I have finally enjoyed some pool time for about an hour each time- its too much for my pale skin to handle- haha. And now at least we get the opportunity to cook at home when we want to relax but then venture down the street to check out all the great cuisines from around the world once in a while too- which is doing wonders for our wastelines:).

I will write more in the coming weeks with restaurant, shopping, & cultural experiences & reviews.

Kimbra

PS- while doing the dishes this morning I ran across a LIVE gecko in my sink…and promptly screamed bloody murder!! Boy did it freak me out- and I hadn’t even had my first cup of coffee yet- geez. This is going to take some getting used to….. 🙂