Not my normal Diana, another Diana. One who is actually a student of
mine and a really great woman! She's the one on the left in the photo :)
Tuesday was a day of public holiday in Malaysia due to the Deepawali celebration. Although a huge Indian holiday, it is also mainly a family holiday. As a consequence there's not much to do or see on the streets, apart from getting your ears ripped off by the overwhelming sound of fire crackers everywhere.
Hence, I decided to stay in my community for a change and texted my adult class students to see if anyone wants to join me for a movie. Diana replied and at 11a.m. I met her and her sister to go to the mall in town to see The Walk. We came back at 7p.m.
Now, there were many reason why that day was a success. The movie was really nice (for people with fear of heights beware...that is one terrifying movie!), the lunch was tasty (but that if often the case in Malaysia), I managed to find bras (I know...you would think, why is that a problem? But trust me...finding decent bras in this country...a problem!). But the thing that made it really great was just the conversation!
You see, I live in a Malay community (meaning all Muslim) and I teach English. No wonder than that most of my students' level of English does not really allow for very deep conversations. Diana is different in that sense - her English is already very good. She's also my age, still single and with a bit of a ban on men (which in this country is really weird), working for 7 years already and currently also studying for a second degree. You get my drift: she's a strong, independent woman, who travels quite a lot (people here unfortunately don't travel much, not even in neighboring countries that are quite easy to reach), who has her own opinions and in small groups, she is not afraid to tell them!
So we had the longest lunch ever talking about everything: women and men in various countries; religion and how it influences self confidence and behavior; interpretation of religion; her own personal story (happy but also sad at times, as all our stories are); her own beliefs and behaviors and plans for the future (she actually did not wear a scarf until a few years back and she decided on her own that she wants to wear it and why she does so). It was lovely and refreshing because it was the first time here that I actually had a proper in depth conversation with a Malay local (as most of my local friends are Indian or Chinese).
I am really grateful for that day and I do hope many many more such encounters will come my way!