Comments for Bin Gregory Productions

Comment on Dreams of Home by bingregory

bingregory — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:41:37 +0000

I teach at a local university. So does the wife. Like you, I moved here first and started looking for a job second. Little did I know once you’re in country they won’t offer you all those expat packages, which yeah, are pretty cushy. If you can find a way to make a USD-equivalent salary over here, you’ve definitely got it made. Most of those deals are for mid-career type people though, that’s the other thing. Coming over fresh out of school is tougher. Have you come back to visit since then? Ever think you might try again? As our children multiply (we’re at 7), the thought of picking up and moving back to the states again dims. 10, mashallah… Did you get twins somewhere along the way?

Comment on Dreams of Home by Aishah

Aishah — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:09:57 +0000

I never visited before that, we were just poor struggling students when we got married. If I had gone beforehand I guess I would have never moved there. Did you ever see how the expats live there? The white guys who went there with a western company and they are living high on the hog? Maids, chauffeurs, pools. Meanwhile everyone thinks you’re rich if you’re white and the kids got that in school too. The other students were shocked to find out we were living with the in-laws and penniless!
Detroit really has fallen apart. You can get a house there for a steal! Big houses that would fit our families for a few thousand! But there are no jobs. Windsor has suffered too but not nearly as bad as across the bridge.What do you do for a living there? Dh got a job there in engineering.

Comment on Dreams of Home by bingregory

bingregory — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:35:15 +0000

Sorry it didn’t work out for you. There is a lot to adjust to, and it’s true that a western lifestyle is very hard to maintain on a Malaysian salary. Sometimes people write to me asking about moving to Malaysia – after I tell them what I earn in US dollars they don’t write back, lol. It’s funny you mention breakfast cereal because that was something I had to simply eliminate from our diet for years. It’s only within the last year that I’ve felt comfortable enough financially to buy the kids cornflakes. Isn’t that funny? The flip side is that now Detroit is an economic ruin – on the whole I think I’m living better here than I would be back in the D. Seriously. But it’s not easy. I brought my baby sister here for a little foreign exchange and she had to evacuate after 3 months too. Had you visited prior to moving here?

Yeah, I’m in Sarawak, in the capital, Kuching. I’ve been here over 7 years now.

Comment on Dreams of Home by Aishah

Aishah — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:30:55 +0000

I was in Kota Bharu. I loved the weather; it was like a postcard day everyday! Palm trees, beaches. Although people could care less about beaches,picnics and swimming. Its all shopping and visiting. I did like that though but nobody did much else. I went to Malaysia for hijra and found it wasn’t very islamic at all. I was there for 4 months and no one brought me to the mosque even once! No one bothered to teach me quran and find a teacher for me or even ask if I needed to learn about Islam. They were only concerned with whether or not I cook speak malay and cook malay food..sigh. I also couldn’t stand the houses indoors; no screens on the windows = lizards,cockroaches,mosquitoes, rats, mice, snakes, bats and bugs inside. I’m not making this up! KB is very rural. I lived with my in-laws the whole time. I hated the litter too and the filthy public washrooms. I hated the way people pushed me when I went shopping. I hated the way people didn’t care about seatbelts and hid their seatbelts or cut them out and then my kids were left unsafe. I hated to see little kids, whole families even on motorcycles with no helmets. I felt stressed out the whole time I was there. Sorry but I could write a book about this. Oh and I couldn’t get a job either because I had no status. My husband finally got a job after 3 months but it paid so low we could have never lived on it. Everything there is so expensive unless you live like a malay (rice no cereal, no milk, no cheese, no diapers for the baby).

Dh never taught the kids malay. Even when we stayed there for 4 months they didn’t seem to pick up anything.

I’m not sure about the American if he’s still there. He was 3 yrs ago I think. His wife is named Norliza. I can’t remember his name anymore. He used to live in Saudi and he teaches arabic. There was a Canadian guy in Terranganu before too named Cik Anwar. He could be gone now though.

Where are you in Malaysia? is it sarawak?

Comment on Dreams of Home by bingregory

bingregory — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:51:33 +0000

wa alaykum salam!

Mashallah, 10. You’ve got me beat sister. Where were you in Kelantan? And what didn’t you like about it? I like it here. The weather might be the hardest part to get used to, but after about 6 months, you sweat less. Really. I showered 5 times a day when I first arrived and sweated all night long. Now I sleep under a blanket. It is harder making a living here, especially for foreign men who have more visa problems, but I’ve found it to be worth it. Maybe the social life is more difficult for a foreign woman to adjust to? So do your children speak bahasa malaysia with their father? Oh and who is this American in Kelantan? There aren’t many of us – do you know if he’s still there?