My Fllights!!!

So. My bags are packed! I have bought everything I think I am going to be able to buy and fit into my luggage. I have organized my purse, my bag, and my bookbag. Annnnnnndddddd FINALLY!!!!

Here is my flight plan :

EY11 (Etihad) to Londone Heathrow - 0240 to 0645

AA 87 (American Airlines) to ORD (Chicago) - 1015 to 1255

AA 437 (Chicago) to Manhattan!!!! - 1445 to 1630

Ta da!

I can't wait to see everyone. I love you all :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Becca

Final Projects, Airports, and ALMOST DONE!!!

Briefly, I would like to state how EXCITED!!!! I am to be coming home in 2 and a half days!! I cannot wait for cold, snow, family, edible food, WALMART!, boyfriend, good food, clothing stores that sell things in American sizes., pork products, and pasteurized milk. If I was going to be there long enough, I would also say that I am looking forward to Netflix. :)

There are a couple things in my way, however. First off, I have a final presentation over my class and the major job we just did after lunch tomorrow. My group's plan is to stay up all night (and part of the morning) finishing it, then rocking out the presentation and going to sleep :)

After that all we have is a group dinner, round table about how school went, and packing.

I plan to be packed by Wednesday night before I go to bed. "Why?" you ask, as you know I don't flight out until early Friday  morning (well, if you didn't know before, you do now). This is because of the flight situation in Europe.

Did you know that most of the major European airports have been closed this week for a couple days? Yes. This is true. Which means that if the airports don't get on the ball, my flight could either be cancelled, or I could be delayed by a day which is something I do NOT want to happen. Pretty much at the bottom of my list of "fun" things to do with my Christmas Eve/Christmas. Though it does seem like the weather is getting better and the flights are kind of opening up now, I am still extremely nervous about my flight hitting Chicago on time, if at all.

So now I am obsessively checking the weather and potential flights I could tranfer to in case this situation occurs.

Oh! Yeah. I'll post all my flights on here as of Thursday, when I know for sure I am going. I will try to be patient until then.

Fun fact : A Mexican engineer's flight has been delayed for 3 days at this point, and he has spent all 3 days in the airport in Abu Dhabi because he "refuses to go back to that hell-hole of a prison and eat that food again." I thought this was kinda funny, but at the same time, I feel I would make the same choice if it came down to it.

Anyway, time to go back to class and prepare more stuff for the final presentation. I love you all!!

Stay warm,

Becca

Home stretch

Briefly before I pass out. A random listing of words to describe my life because having good sentence structure is almost impossible for me right now (two sentences took 5 minutes to type).

Tired

Head hurts

8 hour rig assessment tomorrow

two tests tuesday

praying thursday comes quickly

dream about edible food

overwhelmed

miss you

bringing presents

SNOW!

tired

sleep

'night.

Love you

Becca

ALMOST DONE!!

Hey People! Sorry I haven't written anything in  awhile. School has been incredibly busy for the past week. I actually haven't had a day off in almost two weeks. It's not bad, but it does make the class feel like it is going a bit longer.

In other news : I passed my MaxWell!!!! It was a rough 7 hours and a scary 4 day wait for the results, but I am so so so happy I am done with it. It was my second to last really difficult test, as well as my longest one. As I can only really fail one test without negative consequences (though I haven't yet), every subsequent test I pass is a bit of a relief. Today I had another test, ADN (Azimuthal Density Neutron...one of our tools) and though it wasn't easy I feel like I did pretty well! Now I only have two tests, one practical assessment, and two final presentations left!

So that is my life right now; studying, tests, sleeping, then waking up and then doing it all over again the next day. :) Such is life.

Then there is....PLANE FLIGHT HOME!  I plan to sleep the whole way in an attempt to jump onto Kansas time so I have as little jetlag as possible.

Can't wait to see everyone and everything! I am definitely going to layer up when I step off that plane in Manhattan.

Love you guys!!

Becca

In Which I Convince Zhuzhu to Try a Pringle

This may not seem like an epic feat of awesomeness to those of you who understand the deliciousness of a pringle. However, it took me at least ten minutes of badgering her at the dinner table today in order for her to cave in and try one. I may've had to bring up that I tried jellyfish because I was her friend, and couldn't she just try this one little thing for me? Yes. I emotionally terrorize my coworkers. However, I feel like this is acceptable because if I have to expand my horizons, I definitely don't want to do it by myself. Last time I tried that I got some weird version of food poisoning for a month and a half.

Anyway, distance from the rig practical of yesterday has made my view on my abilities as both a leader and engineer slightly less harsh than they were. Now I am only partially dreading the final in two weeks, as opposed to having daymares about it (as I did last night while trying to stay awake when talking to Adam). The other group has theirs tomorrow and I am hoping it goes better than ours. Kind of. I don't want them to completely fail, but prefer if they didn't blow us out of the water with their skills.

This week marches on. My virus-y computer is not fixed yet, as there was ANOTHER holiday, but my computer seems to be doing ok. I am just crossing my fingers that it doesn't fail during my 8 hour MaxWell exam, which takes place entirely on computers.

I've decided I want to own a baby camel. "Why?" you are asking yourself. I say, "WHY NOT?!?!?!" They are so adorable and slightly small. I could give it nicknames and give Raegan camel rides as she is the only person small enough to ride it right now. It would also be a good provider of mulch for mum's garden. I see no negatives here. :)

Besides that I am just excited for my day off tomorrow that I will spend studying and sleeping (and running!!). It will be my last day off for the next eight days, so I will definitely be savoring it a little bit.

I hope you are all having a wonderful two weeks and four days before Christmas! Eat a pringle!

Love,

Becca

In Which I Realize I Know Less than I Previously thought.

So today was my first, and only, rig practical before my final rig assessment in two weeks. This practical incorporates almost every single thing I have learned in the past 7 weeks about tool maintenance, programming, communication, running in hole, and various wellsite tests. And it has to be complete in 8 or 9 hours. This would be awesome if everything was in the place it was suppose to be. HOWEVER, other groups use the rig and move around our cables to different computers, and on the day of the final assessment, the job of the instructor and roughnecks is to make it as challenging for us as possible. This means they challenge us when we give them instructions, walk off with our hand tools if we leave them in the open somewhere, and move our sensors and cables around while we are working with them. Then we end up having to troubleshoot a problem they created. So yeah, it'll be a stretch.

Today was pretty rough though. Everything that could go wrong during the first part of the day, did go wrong, which led to way more troubleshooting than I've ever done before. It was more stressful than on a real rig, because we have the instructor there demanding answers the second I am a little bit unsure, and sometimes I feel that if I don't know something, no one else in my group will know how to do it. Thus I feel like I have to know absolutely everything and it is frustrating when I can't remember tiny details. And my external hard drive got a virus that turns everything into .exe files and it got to my computer. So tomorrow i get to hand over my computer to IT and let them not only clean up the external hard drive, but also reformat the C drive on my computer to fix it. I feel kinda violated...like my external hard drive is a carrier of stds or something.

The second half of the day was better as it mainly involved running in the hole with our bha (bottom hole assembly..our tools) and some pipe. There were still problems, but none of them were unfixable to too frustrating. Or I might've been too tired at that point to really care. It's so possible.

Anyway, the end of the day has arrived! I am almost ecstatic about this. I am ready to not be dealing with today and everything it has involved. All I have left is to create a job report with my group tonight (only 3 or 4 hours more, I think), then I am home free for tomorrow and I can SLEEP!!!

Hope your Mondays are full of less headaches than mine was!!

Love,

Becca

It's like a replay

Another of my friends quit today. My oldest Schlumberger friend actually, who was based in Africa. She had been having a rough time in school and decided that she was done. Finished. She and I used to joke that if we ever quit, we would quit together in a blaze of glory. Or next spring we would take a vacation in Italy together, dragging our respective boyfriends with us to Italian food cooking classes. Oh well. She is fun, nice, exciting, and one of the few females that I love to talk to because we both talk really fast and have so many things in common that a conversation never gets old. And those things haven't changed, nor will they change just because she has decided that schlumberger is not for her either. I am a little sad though, because that is one more name that will disappear from my MOC. :( And I'll miss that, and her, just a little bit now.

Love you guys.

Becca

Cars, Fireworks, Walking, and naps!

This week has been a little bit hectic. Still playing catch-up due to our large amount of holidays, our class spent most of the week learning, studying, and preparing for our two practical examinations that took place on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Each exam took 40 minutes, and I think (crossing fingers and turning around 3 times) that I passed them both. I know for sure I rocked the first one, and the 2nd one was a bit dodgy. Well, I guess as long as I don't get a warning letter (which we get after failing our first exam) I will be doing ok.

This week has also been significant because it is the first time I have truly felt the pressure of trying to learn so many things at once weigh down on me, as well the first time I have had friends (2..one here and one at another school) be sent home because of not passing 2 exams. It felt like a bit of a reality check; as if for the first time I realize I am not invincible and that it is actually quite easy to fail school here. All you need are 2 off days.

So, needless to say,  my entire class was a little bit stressed as Wednesday approached. Since we had Thursday off (UAE national birthday celebration..39 yrs old today!), we decided to go out and enjoy ourselves on Wednesday evening. A couple of friends went to the gold centre and a couple more went to the pool in the city all day. The rest of us just relaxed after our last exam, then went into Abu Dhabi to a Chinese restaurant, where our Chinese friends ordered the food for us and we got to try 6 or 7 different dishes. My favorite? The wontons. My least favorite? Well, that would be a tie between the jellyfish bits and the deviled duck eggs. I tried way more food than I would ever had the guts to try if I walked into the restaurant alone, and for that I am greatful for Zhuzhu and Ni Jie. After that I went to see Harry Potter again with a couple of friends, then we headed back to MLC.

This morning was the last morning for people I am good friends with from the other ENG-1 class to be here before they flew back to their respective countries so we decided we would go out and make a day of it relaxing in Abu Dhabi. We got manicures and pedicures (I have purple nails now..KSU!!), we found a hotel with a nice beach and took naps on it for several hours while some of our friends jet ski-ed, and then we headed to a mall to watch another movie (Tangled!!). The entire day was awesome and fun and completely laid back. Probably the craziest part was trying to get transportation through the city. Due to the holiday, the people of this country like to drive around in their huge (and decorated) cars honking, and spraying silly string, and letting their children stand up through the sun roof while they are driving. Also, most taxis are very busy, so in order for us to get a taxi home tonight we had to hike about 4-5 miles across town to even find taxi drivers. Tanya's and my taxi driver was an incredibly nice guy from Ethiopia and he played us traditional music in the car on the way back!

I could definitely handle a couple more days like that. Instead, I am starting on MaxWell tomorrow and working on it for the next 2 days straight. Oh yes, the joys...:) Anyway, I love you all but I am tired and full  of the need for sleep. I hope youa re having a wonderful Thursday!

Love

Becca

Part 3 : The boyfriend (for real!)

Hello all!

I just had a wonderful week. Definitely my favorite in Abu Dhabi thus far. Not sure it can be topped actually. After my very excellent scuba diving adventures last week, I rushed back MLC, tried to get as un-salted as possible after spending 6 hours in the water, checked out the hotel Adam would be staying in (it was SWEET!) and then went to wait for him at the airport. I actually only waited for about 25 minutes and I kept on getting dirty looks from all the other limousine drivers because they thought the papers I was studying from might be a name sign (very few women drive taxis here) or something. Then he came through the entrance gates and it was incredible and surreal and even slightly odd to see him. Even though the plane tickets were bought and everything was arranged, some part of me didn't really believe I would get to see him here, of all places. And it was also odd because since it's the UAE, there is no show of physical affection in public, so no hand holding, kissing, hugging...yeah. Definitely had to keep reminding myself of that.

One thing I couldn't get over this week was how tall he is. After having seen him only on skype for 4 months, he looked really tall in person! But of course (and in an attempt to keep the mush to a minimum) he is the same sweet, wonderful, funny guy that I left in Kansas just a little while ago. And we had so much fun this week!!

People in Abu Dhabi like good food, so we ate so much all week! As Middle Eastern meals are a bit rough to stomach we tried to keep those sorts of meals to a minimum but we definitely had a little bit of them. When I was at work during the day, Adam relaxed, studied, and played around the pool. Apparently since it is winter here, the water is a little bit chilly (something I didn't think about before he came). I got to watch my first movie in theaters in 4 months (HARRY POTTER!!) with him, we went out with my coworkers, and had a crazy desert safari adventure.

For the record, I can now say that I've been in a car going over 100 miles and hour while the driver is talking on the phone. Also, I've ridden a camel. :)

I will try to post pictures of all of the above on my facebook because I am sure you would like to see them (plus, it is easier to explain things in pictures rather than words).

But yes, it was an incredible week but now I am tired and can only wait eagerly until I get to see you all (and him!) in a little over 3 weeks.

I love you guys.

Becca

Part Three : A visit by my boyfriend!

Ok ladies and gents! today was exciting but I am so tired and all I want right now is a bit of sleep. I promise last post will be put up Friday evening your time. Have a great day-after-Thanksgiving.

Miss you guys

 Becca

Part Two : Scuba Scuba Scuba!!!

I am so sorry this is so late!!! This week has been crazy and I have not made enough time for doing everthing I need to do. But it has been a great week overall, so the craziness has definitely been worth it.

Onward with stories!!

Probably my favorite part about last week was that I had the time and the perfect opportunity for the first time in my life to learn how to scuba dive! This has always been difficult for 2 reasons; I live in Kansas and 2) it does take 4 or 5 days of diving and lessons to get it done (thus difficult with my job).

This adventure I got to begin with 3 friends; Marie (Norway), Sandy (NYC), and Poonam (our teacher from India) and they were the perfect combination of people to do this with! Marie and Sandy are both excellent swimmers (Marie is a surfer and Sandy swam in college) and Poonam and I are not so great (to say the least) so we ended up being paired up a lot. It was nice to work with someone who went the same speed as me :)

Our teachers were Don, from England who is a paramedic in real life, and Medz, from Australia-also a paramedic. Their accents were incredibly fun to listen to, and it was nice to know that if I swallowed too much sea water and passed out, they would probably be able to keep me from dying. We started out by meeting them for the first 2 days at a swimming pool at a hotel in downtown Abu Dhabi. We definitely got some weird looks from the people spending their holidays lounging beside the pool. We learned everything from basic diving rules (always have a buddy, no matter what we cannot hold our breath while diving so our lungs don't explode) to what all the equipment does, how it works, and what we have to do in case it malfunctions while we are underwater.

In the pool we practiced all basic skills along with troubleshooting diving problems and how to communicate and interact with whoever our diving buddy happens to be. It was so much fun!! Probably my favorite thing I learned was how to clear my mask of water while underwater. Getting water in my eyes has always been one of the most painful things about being underwater, for me, and it is so cool to be able to control that and not have to freak out even if my entire mask fills up with salt or chlorine!! Also, for the record, fins and a mask are not to be confused with "flippers" and "goggles". Medz kept on telling us that we were going to have to buy him a beer for every time we messed up with our diving terminology. I believe I owed him eight, when the course was finished. :)

Have 2 days and 5 pool dives, I got to go to the open ocean for the first time! We met at the dock early last friday morning, had a donut or two, then put together our gear, loaded up the boat and drove out about 45 minutes into the Gulf. It was so beautiful! The water is a comfortable temperature and it is lovely and blue. I did get pretty sea sick the first day we went out, but as long as the boat was moving or I was bobbing about in the incredibly salty water, I did ok. My favorite part was just getting to go 18 or 20 feet down to the coral and swim around with the cute fishes and large amounts of coral for 30 - 45 minutes at a time without having to come up! I've heard there are other places where the coral is more beautiful and there is more wildlife, but I definitely enjoyed my first dives. We were able to do 2 dives on Friday, then 2 more dives on Saturday morning, without incident, in order to actually complete the training. Both days we took turns buying some snacks, and our teachers brought fresh pineapple, watermelon, and drinks for all of us. By the end of the 2nd day I was so exhausted that I am surprised I didn't pass out in the cab on my way to pick up Adam at the airport!

So yes, now I am certified to scuba dive anywhere in the world!!! I definitely plan to do more of it in Malaysia. I've heard there is some nice coral and really cool shipwrecks around our area. I think the only downside I can see to actually becoming more involved with this activity is that if I ever decided to start getting my own equipment (which I don't see as being likely), it becomes kind of bulky and inconvenient because it involves so much stuff! Wetsuits, scuba tanks, regulators, dive computers, fins, masks...so much stuff.

It was definitely an excellent way to spend my week off (because we I wasn't scuba-ing, I was sleeping because I was tired from scuba-ing), and it helped make the time pass really quickly until I got to see, Adam! Which I will talk about in the next post (which should be up really soon as my mother pointed out to me that I have been lax in my posting this week).

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed a piece of pie for me!!

Love you

Becca

Part One of Three : Holiday!!!

Ok, because this might be a bit long. Instead of giving you one massive post, I will make it three parts focussing on my holiday, scuba diving, and adam coming to visit! I'll probably post them all in the next 24 hours or maybe in the next six, depending on how much I am enjoying my studying this evening. But here it goes..the holiday!

First off, why would I be given a holiday in the middle of school? Well, because Muslims seem to have quite a few religious holidays and in the UAE, it is actually law that people have to be let off work for them. Not only that, even though our holidays are usually 1 to 2 days, theirs tend to last for 2-5 days each. Convenient for them, however not quite convenient sometimes for the western businesses working in the country. For example, as I awesomely found out when I tried to mail a package, both DHL and UPS CLOSE here for the entire week during which Eid (spelling..not sure, it is not my religious holiday) is being celebrated. The only businesses that generally stay open are (a) restaurants, (b) malls, and (c) hotels. A lot of money is spent during this time because people in the UAE tend to have no other activities, it seems, but to do that.

So as it seems we have no choice, a forced vacation is necessary, and...ta-da! Adventures are born. Yes, I did study. Quite a bit, and I will actually be doing more of it this evening, so I don't have to do as much when Adam is here. However, I have done many other things with my spare time as well. I have had some excellent meals in more westerny restaurants in the city, I have slept crazy large amounts of my time away, and I decided to become a certified scuba diver!

And overall, the holiday has been quite lovely. I'm still lacking enough sleep, but I feel like I can attack this next week (and maybe the rest of the course as well!) with renewed energy!

Really wish I could take a 2 year vacation from everything and just lay by a beach, though. I think that sounds wonderful!

Love

Becca

The Statement I Wasn't Expecting

"Hey, just so you know, I turned in my letter of resignation this morning."

And no, before any panicking occurs, I did not say this. One of my very good friends, who I knew even before coming to this part of the world told me this after lunch today. We were walking back to our rooms when she let me know and frankly, right now I am kind of in shock. She is brilliant, fun, interesting, and amazing support when I'm at my most miserable. We've talked over the internet for so long and she's sent me helpful Bible verses when I wasn't sure I could find encouragement. And now she is leaving on Sunday to go back home for good. She's just decided that the lifestyle isn't for her  and it kind of breaks my heart a little. Not because she has made a choice that she feels at peace with, but because, in all my selfishness, I will miss waving at her in the hall in the morning, making fun of the food over lunch, and knowing that even after this school, she would only be an MOC (kinda like yahoo messenger) away if I needed to vent, celebrate, or just chat.  We were interns together, started in OFS-1 together, and were able to meet back up in school together, even though we are in different segments. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I had convinced myself that if she could do it, then so could I. And her leaving leaves me somewhat insecure...I know I can do this and I am not going to quit..yet. However when will I draw that line in the sand? When will I say that no..I a better work/life balance, or I want to see my nieces and nephews grow up, or I want RedBox (hehehe)? Not soon. But if/when that day comes, I hope I am as poised in my decision making as she was.

I love you all and I promise I will write happier things with regards to my mini-vacation, scuba diving lessons, and Adam almost being here(!) soon.

Becca

Ok, so this might be brief

I was planning on writing a lot more today (and/or yesterday) but I have been quite tired, and my stomach is doing some funny business, so I am just not sure what is going on.

The end of my week/weekend has been fast and full of doing things. Thursday night I went out with my classmates and teacher to a hotel called Emirates Palace. It was an absolutely incredible building; gold walls and ceilings, massive pillars, middle eastern architecture, marble, winding staircases, and even a gold vending machine (seriously, you put in your credit card and choose which brick of gold you want to come out...). We had to go through security in order to go in and they put all your belongings through an x-ray machine. The food was also good, but we were definitely paying for the atmosphere.

Later on they decided that between a free Sean Paul concert on the beach and a club, they wanted to go to a club, so I tentatively walked into my first middle east club experience. It was actually really fun because all of the girls I went with (after we realized we all dance funny) just had fun and danced for 3 hours to random music from all over the world. I knew some (Sweet Child of Mine!!), they knew some, and in the end we had a really excellent time out together. Before we knew it, the time hit three o'clock in the morning and I was definitely ready for sleep.

Friday and Saturdy were filled alternatively with studying and sleeping as well. Due to our vacation next week, some school related events have been moved up, so I had to prepare for them, as well as start taking the online lessons for my scuba diving license I am going to get next week (if I start feeling better). I am going to take the course with Marie (Norway), Sandy (nickname..guy from NYC), and Poonam (class instructor, India). and it should be a lot of fun! I also accompanied another American girl, Karen to Abu Dhabi yesterday so she could go shopping for outfits for her trip to Dubai next week. It was actually really fun and the mall was more crowded than usual because they were having discount sales before the start of whatever Muslim holiday is starting on Monday. It's not just America that takes advantage of holidays like that! :)

So yes, definitely tired and ready for bed now. Crossing my fingers my stomach settles down before tomorrow, because doing practicals all day (aka...moving around, lifting, carrying, measuring) is not quite so fun when you aren't feeling so hot.

Love you guys!

Becca

I love lunchtime!

Though I rarely truly enjoy lunch here, I always like the hour and a half break we get for lunch. It has so many possibilities! I could work out, sleep, read a book, study, play on facebook, or just listen to music for an hour and completely relax. I also like lunch because at that point of the day, the maid has been through my room and straightened it, making my bed in the process. I love messing up and burrowing into a freshly made bed!! I think it is one of the awesome joys in life. Other joys include:

1) Crunching golden red leaves.
2) Finding an awesome song that you can listen to 20 times in a row and you are still smiling after you hear it for the last time.
3) Taking out contacts after a long day of focussing.
4) Laying down in bed after a busy day and feeling every single bone in your body sink into the mattress until you feel like it would be impossible to move even if you really felt like trying.
5) Cutting into a beautiful cake.
6) Feeling the warm sun eveloping me and creeping through my layers of clothing after I spend the morning in air conditioning.
7) Singing praise songs quietly to myself as I walk at night from the studying building and the accomodation.
8) The excitement of walking through the gates after picking up your luggage in the airport (so many adventures await!)
9) The potential of a clean room.
10) Hearing the smile in another persons voice when you talk to them over the phone.
11) Pushing past all the physical limits I think I have during an intense workout, and realizing I have so much more potential than I give myself credit for.
12) Pass a test, whether it is written, verbal, physical, emotional, or mental. 

Anyway, I could go on and on, but there are just too many things that make me happy. But yes, back on topic...So I am typing to you during lunch. I have about 20 minutes left, which is about how long it will take for the video I am trying to download on youtube to download. I am crossing my fingers for the video because it looks like it will be a photo finish! We finished SlimPulse (one of our tools) test this morning, which I do believe I passed, and have immediately moved on to PowerPulse and Telescope (similar to SlimPulse but different specifications and larger). I actually really enjoyed the SlimPulse section because it was very hands on and we actually got to put together one of our tools from start to finish which is not normal. Most of our tools and their components weigh in the upper hundreds of pounds when put together, so we mostly do proramming for them. SlimPulse is relatively light though, so we get to do maintenance, collar loading, programming, and troubleshooting, and this is kinda nice. Now all I have is two days of weekend, then one day of school on Sunday, then....6 DAYS OFF!

Basically there is a muslim holiday we get 4 days off for, and then of course we have the weekend again. I am actually not sure how I really feel about this, because Abu Dhabi is not like any big city in America. It is not conviently located and for such a large city there is relatively little to do. So I think I will mostly sleep and work out, maybe get a scuba diving license (that is, if the licensing place is open). Maybe eat some meals that don't taste like MLC food. I would leave the country and visit a surrounding country briefly, but I have a single entry student visa, so if I leave they won't let me back in. Sad day...

And of course, my countdown officially begins : less than 9 days until I get to see Adam!!!!

Hope you all have an amazing Thursday. Happy Veteran's Day!!

Love,

Becca

In which I steal a book from the library

Well, technically it isn't stealing, as I am going to put the book back.  However, on the 3rd floor of our little beehive/accomodation there is a library for studying and such. It is about 60 feet long with just one row of bookshelves running down it. In the book shelves there are light reading materials, as well as magazines and on one side of them there are tables for studying and on the other there are lots of comfortable green (why green???) chairs for sitting/studying/reading. The library also happens to sit directly above the gym, so at most hours of the day you can feel the beat of the thumping music through the floor, as well as the sound of treadmills running and barbells being dropped. Not the best atmosphere for a relaxing read, I believe. So instead of reading there, I just go up about once a week, take a book, and then return it when I am finished. The sign at the door requests that no books be taken out, but they don't have to worry about me. I will not forget to bring it back! Currently I am reading John Grisham's "The Broker", which is really good so far. He is one of the few other that truly grabs me in the first paragraph of a book every single time. I believe this is the only book of his I haven't read (at least I am not recognizing it so far), so I am pretty excited about reading it. It also makes me a little sad, because he recently died, which means the world lost an amazing author. I will just savor this read then, I guess.

My weekend has been pretty nice thus far. I wasn't feeling so hot by the end of the week due to tiredness and a bit of an upset stomach, so after my friend from Tunisia gave me Panadrol (sp?) and I slept in, I definitely felt better. On Friday I was invited to head out at 6 am to Dubai with some friends from class, but declined in favor of sleeping in and talking with both my parents and boyfriend (not at the same time, though that is totally possible with skype!). I love the internet on the "weekends" (Friday and Saturday) because so few people are up when I am that I usually have a really nice connection, which is not the case during the work week. There are days when it is a constant fight to get to talk for 5 minutes without the connection failing. Woot, adventures! Anyway, I then headed to Abu Dhabi on the 10 am bus and proceeded to have an amazing midday adventure spent totally by myself, which sounds lonely, yes, but is really  nice.

You see, I spend 8 hours a day (at least) with the same people. Then, when we get done with work we go back to the accomodation and I spend even more time with them eating, studying, explaining, working out, translating through accents, and accomodating cultural differences. Sometimes it is just incredibly nice to be completely alone to let my brain recharge. And after that 5 or 6 hours, I feel ready to jump into everything again. Just need a bit of a break once in a awhile.

But yes, I wandered around the Abu Dhabi mall for 5 hours trying on clothes, buying necessities (fingernail clippers!!!), looking for canned pumpkin (no luck yet, but I'm not giving up), and just observing the interesting-ness that is Abu Dhabi.  There are women completely veiled so even their eyes cannot be seen, walking with their husbands (of course....) past families in traditional Indian dress. There are people walking around in shorts and tanktops, and others who look like they are heading to important functions (or they could just be rich as this is an oil city/country). None of the checkers in the stores here are Emirati. They are all immigrants from other countries around the Gulf Coast or western Asia just trying to make some kind of life (the laws here make sure they don't get to keep a lot of what they make, sadly) for them selves. You can tell which westerners work here, and which are here vacationing. The vacationers are usually wearing shorts and are sunburnt. :)

I did have one incredible meal at the mall. I ordered a beef fajita sandwhich and a glass of strawberry pineapple juice. The sandwhich tasted nothing like the sandwhich in the US, but whatever sauces the meat was cooked in were AMAZING and it was tangy and tender and...mmmm.  After eating in MLC for the week I feel like I forget what real food tastes like. And the juice? It was freshly squeezed/blended at the counter in front of me. Absolutely delicious. That alone is probably my favorite part about both Malaysia and the UAE. When I order juice in a restaurant it definitely doesn't come out of a box! Sidenote: when I have a house of my own someday, there WILL be a juicer in it.

Well, this has been quite long, and I'm sure there are many important things going on in your day, so I will let you go. However I hope that whoever is reading this has an amazing weekend! I can't wait to see you at Christmas!

OH!!! And I have less than 2 WEEKS until I get to see Adam in Abu Dhabi :) :) :) :)

Love you guys.

Becca

Weird goals...

Have you ever wanted something so bad you would try any avenue in order to have obtain it?  Well, that is how I feel about pumpkin pie. they had "pumpkin pie" here as a dessert the other day. It was a shame that that might be the only taste my international friends have of pumpkin pie in their lives, because it was like a crumbly crust with pumpkin jelly on top *shudder*. Anyway, so, even though it is still between 85 and 90 degrees every day and sunny, I am craving pumpkin pie. There is just something about 23 years of tradition that cannot be drowned out, even by large amounts of Lamb-In-Sauce main courses. However, my problem is (was, really) that I don't have an oven or measuring ingredients. So I decided to look up microwaveable pumpkin pie and I hit the jackpot!!! So I've found 2 recipes that I think might do the trick, my only worry is that I won't be able to find canned pumpkin here, but we will see :) Wish me luck. And yes, I am also buying whipped cream. And I got Cathy (from Indonesia) to promise to at least try it! So, actually, I should probably buy 2 cans of pumpkin because I have a feeling my first attempt might not go smoothly.

The rest of my life has been going ok. We have hit the "winter" season here. I have taken this to mean only that the temperature doesn't get above 100 degrees on any given day. It is usually about 75 to 80 when I get up and then it fluctuates between 85 and 90 for the rest of the day, depending on if it is cloudy or not. The UAE is rarely cloudly in my (rather limited) experience. And there usually aren't breezes of any sort, but overall it is not as miserable here as it was in the end of July. Note to those of you wishing to visit the "exciting" city of Abu Dhabi : do not go in the middle of the year. End of the year is definitely best.

School is still not super difficult yet, but I think it will start to increase in difficulty next week. We jump right in with practicals (hands on exercises) for the SlimPulse, which is one of the more basic tools my company uses. I have 6 power point presentations I need to go through, understand, and remember in the next 2 days so it will involve a lot of memorizing on my part!  Learning is not difficult to do here, it is just the regurgitating the information later when it is needed that tends to be the difficult part.

The food is still...the food. I found some feta (sp?) cheese in the cafeteria, but that is it. Maybe I'll try and find a block of it in Abu Dhabi tomorrow when I am at the mall. Then eat it in wonderful little pieces. Realllllyy miss cheese. And cake that tastes good. These people have no clue how to make a good cake. However, they are quite good at stew-types of dishes.

I am running with an actual schedule now and it is so nice (and painful!). I found out that I have a class on the day I wanted to run the 1/2 marathon, but there is also a race in Dubai the week before so I think I'll try to run that one instead! It's only 10 miles, but hey, 10...13...it's just for fun in the end anyway.

And, finally, I cannot wait for sleep! I have been so tired all day today (didn't get enough sleep last night either) and I am excited for maybe some real sleep this evening. So with that, I am going to head to bed only an hour later than I originally planned!

Have a good day.

Becca

I am tired :)

So I am going to make this one really short, with a promise of a longer more in-depth one tomorrow! My second week here is almost over, which means I only have 7 more weeks left here. Less than 2 months!!!! Absolutely amazing. AND this means almost exactly 2 weeks until I get to see my awesome (and adventurous) boyfriend again. I am hoping to get to take him on a desert safari on one of the weekends, but we shall see!

I have my second test of the school tomorrow morning at 8:30. I am a little nervous, but I think I will do fine. I really do dislike tests. At least these ones are achievable. Sometimes I felt that in college the professors often made mosts tests very difficult to do well on.

I am training for a 10 mile run at the near the end of November and am a little bit excited as it could/will be my first international run/race! Yes, it will be brown and deserty and boring, but I will at least do it for the bragging rights :)

It averages 85-90 degrees a day.
I have new running shoes!
The stores here actually have things like cheese, shampoo variety, and clothes that look like they will fit more than a woman who is 4'8'' tall and a size 2 or 0.
I would work here, but I don't really agree with their attitude towards women.
I am sad to be missing fall in the US. I love the crunchy leaves.
I got to see my niece on skype the other day. She is so adorable!!! I can't wait to hold her.

Love you all but it is time for sleep.

Becca

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

G'ma : I apologize for this being a day late, however I had a test to study for this morning, so no blogging last night! However, I wanted to make sure to tell you Happy Birthday and that I hope it was wonderful for you! I heard you had a birthday party and I cannot wait to hear about it. Maybe I will be able to find a sim card tomorrow in the main mall in Abu Dhabi so I can call you. I will definitely try!

On the realm of other things in life that are extraordinarily less exciting. Classes go on! It is not difficult yet, but I am waiting for them to potentially become so. Right now we are doing all the things that I actually remember learning about for the past two months. I'm a little bit scared about loading sources and all the stuff we have to learn for MaxWell (a computer program we use on the rigs). However, both of those things are definitely in the future, so I think I can patiently wait for their arrival.

I have discovered how much I really love the desserts in MLC, this means I really need to stick to my plan for running/ellipticalling/etc every evening. The nice thing is that everyone works out right after class (and before dinner) so the gym is relatively empty by the time I get there so there is no waiting for machines! I promise I will be taking pictures of all this so I can upload a couple and show the rest to y'all over CHRISTMAS! If you can't tell, I am really excited for being cold and potentially really jetlagged in less than 2 months :)

This weekend looks like it will be pretty interesting. My weekends here now are Fridays (Muslim holy day) and Saturday, so I will be going into Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening, as well as Friday during the day. The rest of my time will be spent sleeping, studying for my test, and, of course, having my weekly date with Adam. My first test is actually Sunday morning at 8:30 am, so I hope I do well on it. Everyone says it is easy, so I feel a little more relaxed, but I'm not going to just ignore studying altogether. Also, I might get Zhuzhu to teach me how to play ping pong better. She is apparently a pro. :)

I have discovered what is truly one of the most challenging (yet enjoyable) parts of my job: highly intelligent people asking questions and arguing over technical concepts when none of them speak the same base language. Today I worked with my group made up of the girls from Indonesia, China, and Brazil. There were several times we were all stating the same concepts, but none of us could understand them because each of us slightly different terminology (exactness is kind of important to engineers!). It was both hilarious and kinda fun, yet tiring and frustrating at times. I am quite glad all the women in my group are both patient (more patient than me!) and nice.

Well, I think it is time for some gym stuff, but I hope you are having wonderful Wednesdays. It is almost the weekend!

Love you.

Becca

In which the sun professes its utter dislike for me

Hello peoples.

I apologize for how long it has been since my last post. Somehow between finishing up last minute things in Labuan, desperately hoping I was still going to Houston instead of Abu Dhabi, flying, arriving in Abu Dhabi because my plane did not take the detour I was hoping for, being jet lagged and adjusting to a structured life of school (and all it entails) again, time has just flown away from me! I am a little sad that now that I am nine hours ahead it is a bit more difficult for me to communicate with everyone I would like to. Also, typing away maniacally in class on facebook while my teacher is talking, might not put me in her good graces. There are only 8 of us (7 of us are female!!) in our class, so it is difficult to get away with things. Though, to be honest, as long as we seem to be communicating with her, our teacher, Poonam Sharma (from India) doesn't seem to care all that much.

There is not a whole lot to say about my flight out of Malaysia. It was just another flight :) The flight from Labuan to Kuala Lumpur was pretty reasonable and I definitely napped for a bit of it, but the flight from KL to Abu Dhabi had WAY too many children under the age of 4 on it.  Let it be put on record that I support the drugging of children (now lets all hope I never decide to run for public office). And for the last hour of our flight into Abu Dhabi there was just one 2 year old misbehaving for whatever (unacceptable) reason. The noises coming from his lungs were the equivalent of what I'd imagine the death screams/howls of a combo of dog/monkey/cat/horse would sound like. And all the father did was say "please stop. please do not cry." Awesome parenting. This may just be the view of a non-parent, but I really hate having to pay the price for parents who cannot control their children in public. Also, I hope the father felt my wrath and hatred from 4 seats away. HOWEVER the plane flight wasn't bad overall. I got to watch some awesome movies, eat ITALIAN FOOD!!! for the first time in 3 months and have some awesome naps.  Oh! And there was a delicious brownie thing in a cup with a white sauce that rocked my world for the 5 minutes I slowly ate it in.

So, now I am back at the Middle East and Asia Learning Center or, MLC for short. Yeah, I know the acronym doesn't completely match, but Schlumberger really prefers to stop at 3 letters per acronym, it seems. MEA, NGC, ROP, SLC, MLC, etc. School this time is much more interesting than OFS-1 was. I actually am doing hands on things and it feels like I am finally getting to do the stuff that they gave me this job for. It's nice to feel productive again. As I said earlier, there are 8 students in my class (which is quite small, we've been told) and 7 of them are female (which has never happened for D&M before).  The only guy, Sandford, and I are from America, Marie is Norwegian, Cathy is Indonesian, Zhuzhu and Jie Ni (pronounced "Genie) are Chinese, and Rihab (pronouced "Rehab) is Tunisian.  All of them are very nice, actually. And all the other guys in ENG-1 classes here keep saying that Sanford is very lucky.

A lot of things we do in class here consist of 45 min to an hour of talking and then 3 to 5 hours of hands on stuff. So today I got to experience my first Abu Dhabi sun experience, as we had to do stuff (in order to not make this longer and confusing) on the rig. Sadly, it won this round, but with the help of my friend's sunscreen I will win the next.

Also..FOOD UPDATE: The food here, though still...not the best, has so much variety!! There are so many vegetables. And yesterday I discovered lettuce. :)  So I may just stick with the oatmeal in the morning and veggies and fruit for the rest of the day because I love them!! Also, I haven't eating a rice or noodle based dish in 3 days and it is amazing! Don't get me wrong, Malay food is actually pretty good tasting, but I do like to think outside of the rice/noodle box.

Well, this is long enough, but I will keep you posted on things!!

Love you all.

Becca

Tonight

I am tired this evening, lovely people. Partially because I had a wonderful and fun Sunday which involved bbq-ing on a beach over coals and getting to talk to my awesome boyfriend twice, partially because it was really super warm today and I spent all morning outside in the shop, and partially because I had a bad reaction to some sort of malay food, thus leaving me dehydrated and...tired. :) All in all it has been a really awesome couple of days!

Note to remember: I love talking to everyone who is on my skype list, however, if you think you will be on at a time I might be on (or even if you don't and you want to chat) then send me an email or fb message or something and I will try to arrange a time to talk to you! This is not because my life is incredibly hectic and busy, but just that my days and nights are the reverse of yours, so I am busy when you normally aren't, and when you are busy,  I am free.

As of this point in my week I have my plane tickets for both Abu Dhabi, and Kansas!! I am more excited for the second than the first, but we will see how that goes. Maybe the sandy pit of nothingness (really, Americans, it is not a very exciting place) will turn out to surprise me! And if it doesn't, then I will just get A LOT of exercise in. So, basically, I leave Friday evening at 5 pm with Zhuzhu and fly to KL and then to Abu Dhabi. I am looking forward to the inflight movies. And napping. Love the napping!! I will get into Abu Dhabi at 12:30 am-ish and then spend the day relaxing, sleeping, and getting ready for school on Sunday. In Abu Dhabi the weekends are Fridays (muslim holy day) and Saturday so my weekends are a bit off from yours now. However, I will only be 9 hours ahead of you instead of 13 :) There are always plusses in life.

I am really just ready for school right now. I know I have so much more to learn, but I feel restless and ready to get out of the office and do something productive that I can actually be measured for. And if I fail out of school? Well then I just get Christmas a little bit early :)

I am so tired or else I would type more right now! I hope you are all having a wonderful Mondays, and I will talk to you soon.

Love,

Becca

A Wednesday Night

Hello all :)

This week has been bopping along with its normal time moving business. It started out with a really fun Sunday. Zyra (front receptionist), Zarina(surface technician), one of Zyra's friends, Cathy, Kara, and I went to a Malay wedding early in the morning. It was so cool! They kind of mix the ceremony and reception together and there is a ton of food! We didn't see the ceremony but we did get to see where it took place, which is an elaborate throne area set up inside the house. Outside the house is where the band (with electric guitars and drums) was set up, along with the buffet line full of food and the chairs, all under one big tent. The close everyone was wearing were beautiful and the food was good. Also, Kara and I had our pictures taken. A lot. I felt very celebrity-esque and it was kinda fun. :) I will list (in short paragraph form) all the places we went on sunday.

The Bird Park. Lots of birds all over the place!! They were all birds from Asia and Australia, so I saw quite a few birds I don't normally see in some zoos in America. They were all colorful and so much fun to wander around looking at. Scariest bird award goes to the ostriches. They were definitely not behind enough wire to make me feel remotely safe near the cage. and they were so huge with ginormously long necks!

The Chimney. It has a museum dedicated for it, but no one knows what it was used for in the past. It just looks like a really really tall chimney. Some people think it was a point where the mining cars went through and others believe it was kind of like a lighthouse, since it is on one of the tallest points on the island.

Lunch. At this point Zhuzhu joined us as well, so we headed to the Chicken and Rice Shop in the mall. It was more noodles in my already noodle and rice filled life, but it was quite good.

Bowling! My first international bowling experience was so much fun! I didn't do very well but I really enjoyed myself. Zyra won and Zhuzhu got second. I ended up somewhere in the middle. I have some great action shots of all the women bowling. We were loud, cheer-y, and it was one of the most enjoyable bowling experiences I have had.

The Sea Sports museum. They had lots of live fishes swimming around! I wanted to touch the stingray but I was scared. There were crabs, starfish, blue fish, red fish, nemo fish, and eels.

WWII memorial. It was raining so we didn't get out of the car, but it was still beautiful, even in the rain.

Malaysian/Labuan History Museum. Labuan was actually really important during WWII. It was taken by the Japanese before they took out the rest of SE Asia (from what I understand) and it was one of the first islands that the allied troops fought to get back when they were launching their offensive in this part of the world. I also got to see traditional instruments and important-occasion-dress for men and women of the different cultures that make up Malaysia. Indian, Malay, Chinese, and one group that started with a K whose  name I don't remember. All very pretty and shiny.

Finally, the Peace Park and Surrender Point. The Peace Park is another WWII memorial. It is funny because there is a rock with the odd phrasing of "Peace is Best" in it. Such a weird way to state it, but such a true statement at the same time. Surrender Point is the area where the Japanese officially surrendered to the allied troops (I believe the commanding general was Australian). A lot of men died fighting over this little tiny island. 

And the last part of the day involved stopping at another outdoor eating area for bbq chicken wings, Sate (chicken on a stick), and coconut juice. Promise I will put up pictures on facebook of all this very soon!

This week has been very busy. There are a couple more engineers in the office right now so I can ask them my questions and it is nice. However, both of them are soon going back out to rigs so we will be mentor-less again. :) I am leaving in a week, though, so I am not too worried about this. Soon my school will start and then time really will fly!

I will write more later but I am tired now.

Love you guys!

Becca

Would you like to hear the good news or the bad news first?

This is what I said as I walked into the travel agent's office yesterday morning after I found  out that, out of the blue, my Engineer 1 school had been moved from Houston, TX to Abu Dhabi, UAE. In reality, there was no good news, and thankfully he just asked for the bad news so I could deliver it and be on my way. So yeah, no boyfriend, cheese, family, friends, or american accents for me until December 23rd now. I am still trying to find positive things to say about this, really. I guess my only good news today is that I am still coming back to America afterwards to see y'all for about 15 days.

On a brighter note, as I begin to accept my disappointment, I also begin to feel a little better. I knew going into this job that I would have to be more flexible than I've ever been in my life. I know they will push me mentally, physically and emotionally. Will I be able to handle this in the end? We will see. I've given myself a trial year. I have a year to really figure out if I can/want to take what this job can dish out (doing and internship and the real thing...definitely different). Maybe mum is right and I will find out I am more flexible and adaptable than I previously thought I could be. And if I am not? Well, I do know there is still life beyond this point and this job. There are other jobs out there and career paths to take. Not everyone gets it right the first time. Some people don't get it right the 4th, 5th, or 6th time either. Hopefully I don't have to go all the way up to 6.

In the meantime, it is still an adventure. I can derail party conversations from years to come with "oh, this one time in Malaysia..." Bwahahaha. To mom and dad : it will be my new version of the Adam story whenever you decide to argue in my presence. :)

I love you all. I'll just see you a bit later than I thought :)

Becca

Some days have passed

And life is moving on!

One of the things I truly do enjoy about Malaysia is how fast time seems to fly here. Maybe that is what happens everywhere when you have a routine and your life is not a series of random, "oh no! I forgot to do that!" moments. Regardless, I have no complaints about time flying. I get up, interact with an incredibly diverse group of people, learn things, ask too many questions, come home, talk on skype, then go to sleep. Probably the slowest part of my day is between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. Besides that I don't generally even realize what time it is. I am constantly learning, but I feel like there is never enough time to truly absorb everything that I need to know. Maybe time slows down when we are no longer learning things. Hopefully I will never figure out if this is true because I plan on learning for a long, long time. Then maybe one day I will be able to face my fears and become an alligator wrestler!! I dislike both alligators and wrestling. Also am not a fan of water up my nose, which probably comes with the job. Thus I feel like it will be the perfect "get over your phobias and dislikes" sort of job. If I end up becoming one, mom, I promise I will just tell you I have become a hair stylist. Or a librarian (this one actually sounds sort of fun!). Just ignores the scars on my arms, along with the missing body parts.

Moving on : the week ended well! Saturday I got to do some hands on learning with regards to the surface sensors, and I felt like I actually was learning things!! Until the computer we were testing sensors with stopped working and I ended up going back upstairs to the office to study some more.

Two Fun Facts about Labuan, Malaysia
1) The immigration office is right above the bowling alley in the mall.
2) A nice looking spa is inside the tiny ferry terminal (along with a HERSHEY'S SHOP!).
3) When men are trying to get your attention they loudly make a "PST" noise. Multiple times. As if they cannot believe you are actually ignoring them. Well yes, gentlemen, we were. Also, the general consensus was that none of you were good looking. And smoking kills. Remember these facts. :)

On Saturday night I went out with Kara (the new American), Catherine and Zhuzhu. We headed out to a pretty good restaurant called The Blue Wave which is quite near the mall (this fact probably matters to very few of you if you haven't been to Labuan). The whole experience was incredibly fun! We sat in the outdoor area and a storm was rolling in, which brought a beautiful breeze with it. Also, getting to dress up a little and go out like normal people, instead of in my coveralls was really nice. We decided that westerners are so rare (usually European, no Americans) that when westerners see other westerners, we stare awkwardly at each other in an attempt to figure out the other person's purpose in Labuan. For some reason we rarely strike up conversations with each other. But dinner was delicious. I always eat chicken, so I got beef kabobs that had been cooked with onions, mushroom, and greenpeppers. Mmm....and the best part was there was NO rice or noodles with my meal!! I like both rice and noodles, however, I have eaten them quite a lot since being in Malaysia. I enjoy the change-up. We spent a couple hours eating and talking, walked Zhuzhu to where she was going to be getting her massage, then headed back to a duty free shop for some wine! Also, I had my first Tiger beer here. I am not a huge fan of beer, but it was pretty good. After picking out bottles under the overly-helpful nose of the salesman, we headed back to my house with our purchases and proceeded to try and open them. Problem: the corkscrew we bought didn't really work. So in order to open Catherine's bottle of wine, she had to hold it and brace herself against the stove and I was pulling with all of my weight in order to try and get the cork out.  After 15 minutes...success!! We ended up with one open bottle of wine and a winesplattered fridge, counter, floor, and Becca. Good thing my shirt is black, because it was definitely a red wine. But we hung out, watched most of Spiderman 2, and then headed to our rooms (they were spending the night so they didn't have to fight with the cab driver about late night fares) at about 10:30 pm. My bed time gets earlier and earlier...I thought it was suppose to go the opposite way when we got older!

But yeah, all in all a great Saturday, had an absolutely excellent and relaxing Sunday today. Ready to continue my journey toward becoming smarter!

 11 more days until I am back on US soil!!

Love you all.

Becca

Having very few things to be upset about it an odd and wonderful feeling...

In general, I try not to complain very much (no sarcastic snorting mother), but I have felt that since I have arrived in Malaysia all I do is some form of complaining. And though you are all very patient with me, I do feel bad when I read over a former blog and it is just thinly veiled complaining or frustration. However, this blog will contain none of the above, as things seem to be going...well. :) Somehow I woke up for the past 3 or 4 days and life (though busy and full of stuff) has been very enjoyable.

Sunday I woke up, made french toast with Adam over skype and then watched The Island with him. It was so nice! Last week we had attempted to watch it but I didn't have internet, so I to sit outside and try to hear the movie from our porch.  Then, of course, our dvd player caused the movie to freeze, so moving watching last week did not work out well. However it was an absolutely wonderful Sunday morning.  I will not get all gushy, but I will say that I am incredibly happy to be in a relationship with this guy.

Sunday afternoon I came downstairs and was immediately invited to "follow after" (they way they say "come along with) my friends Syafyka and Hanif as they were going to a Hari Raya open house! An open house is actually a party of sorts where there is lots of food and people are dressed up in their clothes for Hari Raya and you go to the house and eat and drink. It is not called a party because the actual word seems kind of disrespectful and wild. This makes older generation of families not enthusiastic about it (or so I understand) so it is called an open house instead. It was so much fun!! It was really nice inside, and both the doors to the house were open so it was kind of cool to sit inside and be close to the outside. There was a gold embossed plaque (sp?) of some verses of the quran, which kind of reminded me of how we put Bible verses up on our walls at home. There were also some really cool ceramic things inside this huge cabinet behind their tv. The most notable of which were a pair of roosters, which made me think of my friend Sara Pugh, as she loves them.  The lady who had invited (originally) Hanif was an old admin from slb who has a 7 month old son and he is so adorable!! She was very nice and all the food was quite excellent. Best of all, I didn't feel sick after eating anything! And I got to pet a baby kitten as we were leaving and it was adorable. I got a little bit excited about that.

Next we stopped by and visited my friends Catherine (from Indonesia) and Zhu Zhu (from China) in their new house which was kind of hear the open house. It is a sweet house! The couches, kitchen, rooms...everything is brand new and shiny. I do have pictures and I might try to put some in here, but if that doesn't work I am definitely posting them on facebook. They still do not have internet or Astro (cable)  but I offered them all my house if they have skyping or just connecting-to-the-world that they would like to do. Anyway, as we were driving away, Hanif (who is driving) asks me if I've seen all of Labuan yet. Of course I reply with a negative, so off we went! We drove down to the beach and we had drinks from a shop next to the beach. Syafyka got an ABC which is a crushed ice drink with rose syrup in it and different fruits. It is quite sweet. Hanif and I both got coconut, which is literally a coconut with the top cut off and the coconut juice inside. For the record, coconut juice is nothing like coconut milk (which I dislike). It is definitely a juice, but tastes kind of like a sweet water. It's really really good. Also, when the coconut is the right level of "youngness" there is a milky film on the inside of the shell that is also really good to scrape off and eat.

Next we were off again and drove around the island some more. I saw some really nice scenery and awesomely colored houses. Pink, blue, green, purple, orange, yellow...they were all over the place. We stopped at another couple beaches a little further on the island (where, of course, my camera died) so I started using my blackberry and it takes some sweet pictures. The other beaches were so nice. They are not like South Padre Island beaches with the white, soft sand, but they are beautiful nonetheless and getting to see the that huge expanse of ocean and possibility...is marvelous.

Finally, before we headed back to my house, we stopped at a war memorial which incredibly beautiful.
And quite sad. It is actually a WWII memorial. Inside the gates are raised up stones placed in honor of the men who died fighting the Japanese in and around Labuan. Seeing the diversity and sheer number of men in both age and nationality that never got to go home from Labuan was sobering and impressive. I found one gunner that was 23. Another footsoldier was 47. And then there were all the graves for the soldiers "known only to God." So many.  They came from India, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand (and those are just the countries I saw) and fought, in what was truly a world war, for concepts, beliefs, and freedoms in a place that none of them were actually from.  Oddly enough, I've never really thought about the extensive impact of the the fighting up until now. We always focus on the part of the war that happened in Europe, but there soooo much fighting everywhere else. I want to learn about that now, too.  :) For the record, dad, I am so happy you were able to come back from Iraq.

Then, of course, we came home and did my nightly ritual of studying, watching tv, and then talking to Adam before bed. Possibly my favorite part of the weekends, I get to talk to him more than once a day :) And then the week starts!

Kara came in on Monday morning! It really is nice to be able to talk to another American female. I really like all my friends I've made here, however, I enjoy having a somewhat shared past (as in we've been to the same cities and such) with another person. It kind of helps me to relax a little. Also, I am now the most senior d&m FET (field engineer trainee) in the office now that Syafyka is back on the rig in Brunei (I never realize how much I miss a friend til they aren't here anymore). It means I answer a lot of questions. This helps me a little, but at the same time it also frustrates me when I don't know the answer, or my explanation takes 30 or 45 minutes, because that is 30 or 45 minutes I could be studying or in the shop! I made spagetti for some D&Mers on Tuesday night which was pretty fun. It wasn't the most excellent spaghetti, but it was quite good. I am going to try a white sauce this weekend as I have a lot of spaghetti noodles left.

All I am doing now at work is finishing up studying things for my preschool, as well as trying to get shop training in. I am attempting to find that balance between annoying the maintenance technicians and pushing just enough so they will know I really do want to be there and watch things. I'll get there eventually!

I went out and jogged for about 40 minutes tonight which was really nice. Definitely not easy. But I love running so I don't care about the bugbites, car exhaust, my general exhaustion, or people honking their horns and waving at me while I am out there. I am truly happy when I get back because I was able to accomplish the run. I try not to remember when I could super easily run 7 milles...that would be depressing. Plus, I will get there eventually again some day!

I think I might post again tomorrow about some interesting people I have met here so you can "meet" them too, in a general sense of the word. They're all very, very interesting.

15 days!!

Becca

In which there is talk of a new computer and sugary donuts

Another week down in paradise, ladies and gents! Fun fact for the day: In New Zealand all the bathrooms say "Ladies" and "Gents." I do quite like that.

I also like the weather today (well.. it is the same every day, but still..); 85-90 degrees, sunny blue skies and an excellent breeze blowing through Labuan. It makes me think of when we first stopped getting recess in 7th grade. I always wanted to go outside and play so badly!! That is how I feel today. I want to go outside and catch a cab to my house. Then take another cab to the beach where I would run, play in the ocean, and lay in the marvelous (and intense) sun for the rest of the afternoon. Bring along some juices and a peanut butter sandwich or two...it sounds like a perfect afternoon :) However this is not to be. I work for 2.5 more hours, then I am outta here! I will ride the bus home and go for a longer run than normal. I might stop along the way to take some pictures of the scenery, cars, and flora.

I might head to a historical museum with my housemate, Syafyka, tomorrow. It is apparently about the history of Malaysia. Should be fun if we end up going. Quite a bit of the time we run out of motivation at the last minute and take naps or watch tv instead. It is always pretty warm outside.

My computer came in this week. It works very nicely and I love it! I do miss my toshiba quite a bit, but I will just have to come to terms with its loss at some point. If only I droppped things less. Thank goodness my ipod is made of tougher stuff than the laptop! Also I really enjoy having interne in my apt!! It make it easier to do things like cook and talk to people or study and talk to people at the same time! Also, I have never had so few bug bites since I've been in Labuan. So wonderful.

I found a bakery shop I like that doesn't make me sick! It is in the mall and they sell cute little cakes and pastries. They also sell these delicious (and extremely unhealthy) donut holes dipped in sugar. I want to learn how to make my own donut holes as I am told it is easy, however, I am afraid if I ever learned I would become an extremely large person in the span of two months. Bread and sugar are my second and 3rd favorite foods after ketchup.

I feel like I am searching for motivation to study right now. My mind is so relieved that I have passed my entrance exam and I am in school, that all it wants to do is blank out and relax. Hopefully after tomorrow I will be able to jump back into work with energy and enthusiasm. I am learning a lot right now anyway. I am working on self training modules, and have started spending time with the techs in the shop downstairs. I love doing hands on things and getting covered in dirt and grease! So much fun :)

Kara (the other American girl) comes tomorrow! I am so excited!! It will be nice to see her.

I miss you all.

Becca

I passed the test!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile! I have been not feeling well, and trying to study for my entrance exam which was today at 2 pm.

Basically I had about a months time in which to take the test, between September 12 and October 10. I decided to take my time and pick a day in the middle that decreased the amount of pressure I felt while taking it. In reality, it is just a test, 108 questions, over things I've been studying since I got to Malaysia. However, the kicker with this test is that (a) there are no legal previous tests to study from and (b) you have 2 chances to pass it. If you get less than a 70 percent the first time, you have one more chance to pass and you must get either an 80 or 85 the second time to pass. If you don't pass the second time, then you are fired. So yeah, I was a little nervous going into it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I would've loved to get an A, but I passed with a respectable 81 percent instead. So I am officially going to school!!

All I have to do now is study more theory (of course) but in a more relaxed manner, and spend time in the shop working with the technicians and trying to understand the more practical side of what the tools do. There is still so much to learn I don't even know where to start! However, my goal is to be absolutely preprared when I hit the US so I can get off to a running start and really just conquer this school business instead of struggle during it. I already know it will be a lot of powerpoints and a lot of studying. I can do that :)

I did end up going to the doctor again last friday because I am still not feeling well. I actually went to our personnel manager first because I know I don't feel well and am tired of medical personnel telling me that it's just because I eat too many spicy foods, don't eat regular meals, or that I have heartburn. She listened to me completely breakdown in her office (yes, I did cry like a small child while talking to her) and decided that I needed a second opinion so we were going to a different doctors office. Later that day we headed over to a place called Klinik Permai where the doctor was amazing! He listened to me, gave my gallbladder an ultrasound, and prescribed me medicines that actually seem to be working. My headaches are a little better, stomach feels great and I actually feel like I have energy to do things again!

Speaking of energy...Running!! Syafyka and I got to run again Sunday and it was so much fun! We ran for almost 30 minutes and I wasn't sore at all later. It is so awesome to get to run with her! She doesn't stop, which motivates me to continue running even though I would prefer to lay down on the side of the road and sweat to death. It is neat to see that wherever I go I somehow find great people to run with, even though I never expect to. Sadly, she goes back to college in January, so I will just enjoy having a running partner while it lasts!

Also, today we finally have internet! Walking into our house today after work and seeing the router here was like a great christmas present. I am actually typing this from the comfort of our couch in the ac! This definitely beats sitting outside in the wonderful warmth and humidity that is my island home (hey...I am totally not taking the awesome weather here for granted because I do remember what kansas in January feels like!!) getting mosquito bites. I do miss seeing the lizards running on the rails of our fence, though. They are so cute. :)

It is funny that we got internet the day after I had once of my most frustrating internet experiences here. Instead of practicing patience I just gave up yesterday after Adam and I struggled to get any sort of consistent signal during a skype date and then it completely went out last when I was trying to get on again. I definitely didn't handle it well. So I felt a little ridiculous this afternoon when our internet wonderfully appeared in the house. But I do think Syafyka is right; (and I am paraphrasing) but maybe God allows things to become not so great so we can appreciate the awesomness that much more. And (this is my add-on) maybe this is a slight lesson in trusting Him and that He will take care of me at the end of the day, even if I can't quite see how.

So today feels pretty good. I am ready to tackle the rest of this preschool business.  And next week more new people come. A guy from Iraq and a girl from America are coming for D&M. It will be nice to meet another American girl. I hope I can help her transition into Malaysia be a little bit easier than mine has been.

Anyway, I love you all. I hope that your Mondays all start out as well as mine has. Talk to you soon!

Becca

Letters and Packages...

They got here!! I know we were kind of concerned as to whether they would get lost on the way, but at least 2 of the things mailed to me have arrived! Mom's letter arrived on Monday (Promise I'll send stuff back mom!), and Amanda/Adam's package arrived today! The front desk lady keeps commented twice that it is the happiest she has ever seen me.  This is probably a true statement. KETCHUP! A large bottle of ketchup. Next time I go to KFC I am totally carrying in my bottle of ketchup too. They already stare at me. This would change nothing about my life :). Also, I made one of my friends at the office try a nutter butter. Bwahahaha. I'm not sure if she liked it, but she ate it politely. I am eating the rest!!!!!!!!!! Also...the t-shirt is awesome! I am currently wearing it. Siti (our admin) laughed  at me when I disappeared into the bathroom and came back out. It fits wonderfully, is legitimate KSU purple, and is funny. GO WILDCATS!!

I am so excited about all of it!! I am saving both mom's letter and Manda's note. For the record, Manda, your note made me teary. I knew I should've waited until I got home this evening...

My life feels very complete today. It is so nice to have just a little piece of Home here. Whether it is oreos in a little package, unpirated DVDs, real ketchup, or a book that someone else loved...the feeling is hard to describe, but it is awesome.

So yes, I am listening to some amazing music right now (Adam...just saying..most motivating music ever. Also distracting as I am now dancing in my seat at work), studying for my entrance exam and am so excited to get home and make some ramen for dinner tonight (no, i never thought I'd type that).

Anyway, other news: I have less than 5 weeks until I will be on US soil again. I will not kiss the ground, however, I want Mexican food!!! Bring on extra-cheesy enchiladas.

I think I am taking my entrance exam next Monday.

I am going running alongside a road this evening. Bring it on crazy Malaysian drivers!

Tomorrow is my friend Megan Bounds' birthday. She will be 24 (from Alaska!) and she is currently working for slb in Equatorial Guinea. She appreciated getting to live vicariously through my package recieving today. I promised her a drink when we get to Houston next month. :)

I almost got a BlackBerry today. As they barely have a 3G network here, and wifi is...not as existent as it is in 1st world countries, we are not sure if I will be able to skype call from it, but I will try. Plus, I've always wanted a blackberry. Hooray for spending money! I am now going to get it Friday instead I think. I have to pay in cash, as that is the trend on this island. It's probably safer with regards to credit card fraud, I guess. Thank you Labuan.

We had a massive rainstorm this morning. It was marvelous.

I love and miss all of you.

Becca

I'M AN AUNT!!!

I find this to be a significant achievement in my life. A fulfillment of an accumulation of years of dropped hints and hours of gossiping with Amanda and James (not sure how this one fits in there, but I needed 2 things here). I feel the need to use my malaysian to-go phone as a mic and begin a long speech thanking many people...I mean, actually...

Congratulations Helen and Ross!!!!! I am so excited for you guys and for Raegan Hannah (did you realize her name could be shortened to Rae?) !!!!!!!!! Yes. I am over using exclamation marks, but I it is kind of exciting. She is a Hari Raya baby! And since Hari Raya is like the muslim version of Christmas, then she is pretty much a Christmas present! I think you should put a bow on her. And it should be orange. Just thoughts. Also, if you ever want me to babysit her for extended periods of time, I will come pick her up and bring her back to Malaysia with me!! Also..might need about 24 hours notice as those plane flights are a bit long for "short notice" sitting.

So that is pretty much the most exciting thing that has happened in my life recently. However I will try to make the rest of this slightly interesting so you do not fall asleep.

First off, I just bought a new computer. As many of you know I get distracted easily and accidentally run into things, drop things, fall down, etc. Well, my computer was already having some problems, but in the past two weeks I have now officially knocked my computer off a height of about 2-3 feet two different times. The computer screen is fine, but the computer itself is constantly freezing, not loading at all, and continually running scripts to try and recover...something. Yes, if this was America I would just take it to Best Buy or another IT place for some diagnostics. However, this is Labuan. The way things work here is if I took it in for a check up to the one computer place in town it would probably take them 3 to 4 weeks to diagnose and fix it, which is fine...IF they could fix it. Then, from my previous experience with commerce and how Malaysians charge westerners, they would probably crazy overcharge me for the service. So best solution for the moment? Buy a new one!! Where at? Well, Best Buy doesn't export. And I am afraid of internationally shipping something as fragile as a laptop to someplaces as kind-of-primitive as Labuan, so I found out there Dell Malaysia! I was able to build my laptop and order it here. It should be here in 7 to 10 days!! I am kind of excited. I hope it turns out to be a good computer.

Lets see, what else?
I have started cooking. I successfully made  chocolate crinkles!! At first it took awhile to find the ingredients, but the Chinese shop keeper and his wife at the little shop across the road are super nice and very helpful. Then when I went to make them I realized I had no...measuring cups! Seriously. So crazy. Or measuring spoons. Good thing I remember what approximately 1/4 of a tsp looks like. Then I got my friend Susannah (who is awesome!) to measure out 1 cup of flour in a coffee cup in America and give me the approximate cup amount over the internet. And with that, and the guessing, they turned out ok! I think I will try cinnamon rolls when I get more brave.

I also discovered that rice here has small bugs in it that you have to rinse out before you cook it. When I asked if this was normal, I was told, "Yeah..they're all like that. This isn't normal in the US?" I may've laughed a little hysterically while i controlled my gag reflex when rinsing the rice out later.

I'm still having that pain-through-mid-section-and-back issue. Actually had 2 "episodes" this week, 2 days in a row. I will talk to the medic here about it tomorrow, and we will see what he says. I am not going back to Klinik Wilayah unless they say they are going to x-ray my gallbladder or something cause there is no way this can be heartburn. But for now I am ok, just feeling a little nauseous. :)

My friend Catherine constantly makes my life better in small ways and I am thankful for her. Example: the other day I was talking about how much I miss oreos. Today she comes in from a lunch at the mall, and she found me a small package of oreos!! I am eating them slowly and they are delicious. I am getting used to ZhuZhu. She is also nice, just has small communication issues. I am trying to help her feel a little more welcome than I did at first.

I finished my control cards and OIL cd (requirements for going to Engg 1 next month)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy about this! It is a huge weight off of my chest. Now I can go back and really studying the little details of what I need to know. I can also spend more time in the shop with the techs, and I've heard that having hands on experience is very important for school. I am going to be so prepared it will be scary!

I also just heard that my friend Marie from Norway and Megan from Alaska (working in China and Equatorial Guinea, respectively) are potentially going to be there with me. Trying to reign in my excitement about that as well (sometimes SLB likes to change things up).

So yeah, today feels pretty good. Also, there are marvelous clouds outside right now which are distracting me because they remind me of Adam so instead of being at all productive I am thinking about how absolutely excited I am to get to see him again! I mean...over the internet is great and all, but wow...it will be incredible to see him in face-to-face!!

Days like today remind me of why I volunteered for this job.

I love and miss you all. I cannot wait to say hello to my new niece in person. Happy Birthday Raegan :)

Becca

Selemat Merdecka!

Or rather, Happy Indpendence Day from Malaysia. The 31st of August is a public holiday all across this country. Well, it is for the Malay, those of us that are IM-ers are still required to attend work. However, I did not mind as I have many things to do! Last night at midnight they shot off fireworks, which I was told is pretty cool to see. I almost went but then I considered the glorious and marvelous sleep that I could be taking advantage of (since I don’t get the day off). It was an obvious win.


I considered asking if my boss cared if I came in today, but as he wasn’t at work yesterday for some reason (also, no phone answering or text response which is doubly odd for him), I just asked Ruby (an admin) and she explained that, nope, the bus would still come to pick me up in the morning. This is actually probably a good thing. If I stayed at home today I would probably end up eating all of those chocolate pastry things (like..the stick things you dip in coffee or cocoa) and go into a small diabetic coma while watching E! Hollywood Stories, or something like that.

For the record E! True Hollywood stories are strangely addictive. If y’all ever have any questions about Princess Di, Oprah, or Tyra Banks, please feel free to pick at my incredible amount of knowledge.

Today I brought with me the new hire that arrived yesterday. Catherine Chang, is from Indonesia, and just graduated from college as well. She is extremely nice and friendly. Also nervous; however I remember how nervous I was (and am) about many things so I try to be helpful. I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy being the next-to-least knowledgeable person in D&M right now, instead of the bottom of the knowledge pool in our location.

Also, at about noon today we also got ANOTHER new hire. Her name is (and I will mess up the spelling this first time) Wang Gu Gu. I think she said her “English name” is Cherry, so I will call her that instead. Or Sheri…Like I said, accent is a bit rough. She is nice too. A little more nervous than Catherine, but everyone handles stress differently. We will see what she is like as time goes on!

It is interesting to me what we initially are worried about when we get to a country. I was desperate for internet, and they are obsessed with sim cards. A sim card, for all of you in America, is something we do not have. Here, all of the cell phones in Asia and the Middle East can work in each other’s countries. No need to switch providers or anything like that. Instead, they just buy a sim card in the country they go to and use that country’s network. It is very confusing to me. However, as I did just get paid, I guess I will be joining the realm of sim card users soon enough!

We do have a housing problem, however. Catherine stayed at Lazenda 3 with Syafyka and I last night and tonight. However, we did not really have room for another person when the other new girl got here. There is a new staff house that will be available for moving into on Sept. 1st, however, that still leaves this evening (August 31st) to take care of. I am all for just letting her have my bed, I will take the uber comfy couch, and that is the end of it. Sadly, all of our admins keep on saying, “are you sure that would be ok??? Are you sure you could handle that.” I wanna be like, “Ladies, just because I require internet at whatever house I happen to be occupying, does not mean I cannot handle couch sleeping.” Americans are tough…we run long distance races, go camping while 8 months pregnant, and walk multiple miles a day in 50 C temperatures. I think I can handle one night on a couch. However, they decided to put her in a Completions (another slb segment) house until tomorrow. Then, both Catherine and Sheri will be put in the new D&M house somewhere else on Labuan.

Life in Labuan is better. I feel a little more comfortable here. Come on tomorrow!

Love you all,

Becca

Five Words

First PAYCHECK!! That is all. :)

Bored in an Airport so...blog!!

Woot! Time to blog, so I am going to make another post. I am currently sitting in the Miri airport. Of course, there is not internet so instead I am watching Glee!! Yes, it seems like my glee obsession is a bit pathetic, but you have to realize it is one of the few movies/shows I have on my computer. My extensive list of media is rounded out with 2 seasons of Big Bang Theory, When in Rome, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I don’t love When in Rome all that much (too…gushy), really super like the Sorcerer’s Apprentice and thus don’t want to over-watch it, and can only handle so much of the laugh track on Big Bang Theory, so Glee is it!!


Anyway, good show. Good show.

So let’s people watch! Across from me is an old Malay woman with a long black dress/robe on, with a white headdress/scarf (I need to learn the names of these things!). She is reading a book in a way that looks backwards and upside down, but I believe she is actually reading in Arabic. Oh…now she’s gone. Maybe my shorts wearing bothered her. Or, actually, I think her plane is loading peoples at the moment. So now my 5 person row and the 5 person row facing me are both gone. Woot!! I like it when I am the autonomous owner of many rows. It was the same way when I was eating my McDonalds earlier. In my defense, I got it “take-away” at a mall in town as my driver was taking me to the airport this afternoon. I asked if there was a place to eat it and the lady checking me in at the airport looked at me weird and said, “anywhere…” so that is what I did! The only reason I even asked is that since it is Ramadan right now and it’s kind of a big deal here, it is considered impolite to eat in front of Muslims because they are fasting. However, as it is difficult to tell who is Muslim unless they are wearing the religious/traditional dress, I just ate my delicious fries and hoped no one would get upset with me.

Speaking of Miri…there is civilization and stuff in this country!!! I consider this incredibly exciting because the choices for things in Labuan are very…limited. So based on Labuan, I assumed that most of Malaysia was like this. Lies, friends! Miri is not western-y by any means, however it does have variety. And clothing stores that include clothing I could/would want to wear. Also, The Body Shop is here!!!!!!! For those of you who do not know what the body shop is; it is like Bath and Body Works with more perfume and 10x the delicious smells! I have been ordering their stuff off of the internet for like 2 years (not very often as it is not cheap) and I am so excited that this one is only a 40 minute flight from me. Next time I come to Miri you can bet where I am going to visit. Also there is a much wider food variety. Italian, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, legit Thai; all the food is here! Sadly, there is no D&M segment in Miri, so there is no way I will ever be transferred here to take advantage of it. I can only hope they lose my paperwork for sea survival so I can come again.

Important news: There is a crocodile farm about 30 minutes outside of Miri. Next time I come through here I can promise you that I will be visiting this farm. As a result you will either here reports that I had to change pants, or that I have semi-conquered my ridiculous fear o’ the croc. I will never completely conquer my fear because to do that I will have to successfully wrestle and kill one. I will never get close enough to wrestle one, so there is a bit of an impasse there.

Ha! One more guy has sat down a couple seats from me. He is older. Oh..wait…he is leaving too. Bwahaha! My human deterrent perfume (aka not showering) is working! Just joking, mum. Promise I shower on a regular basis here.

Well, there is a Coffee Bean in this airport, and as I am kind of bored (and I’ve just finished my 4th episode of Glee today) I feel like I should get up and let feeling come to my bum again. It will be painful.

Hmm…someone sensed I am about to get up. Now a younger guy who is furiously texting on his phone has sat down a couple seats from me. I am considering staying in order to try and propel him away, but I feel as if it wouldn’t be fair. AH! Another older darker guy has sat across from me! Darnit. My repellant is failing. Also the airport has become quite crowded in the last 10 minutes.

Anyway, love you all. I am almost “home.”

Becca

They're more like guidelines than actual rules...

Berhenti. This is a Malaysian word meaning, "stop." It is most often found at intersections on a red octagonal shape that looks exactly like the American version of the same sign. However, as the title of this particular post states, I believe this attitude to be the general one of the Malaysian person. Kind of awesome and kind of scary. Usually (unless there are guards in place at locations like checkpoints) the most response I see to the berhenti signs here is a slow roll through the intersection, stopping really only if a car is closs enough to hit us. Here in Miri, my teksi (taxi) driver disregards these signs entirely. Its kind of exciting and slightly scary, but it makes every car ride an adventure!

My sea survival course has been very interesting thus far. I am in a class with an Australian, a northern European (Norway?), a halliburton engg from Singapore, and 9 guys from Malaysia who all hold various positions on rigs like welder or rigger. A rigger, btw, is someone who works around the rig with the mechanical equipment as well as doing whatever jobs need to be done.

The first day of class my our teacher, whose name is David, introduced himself as David Beckham. I could only laugh...apparently that man is popular in this part of the world.

Though all the people in class are nice, it has been a different sort of experience because at least 2 of them speak/understand very little english, and 2 or 3 more have a slightly better grasp, but still not so hot. So the first day class was pretty much taught in both english and Malay, with David switching back and forth in both languages. Kind of fun, but it trying to catch him as he switched back and forth got slightly head-achy after awhile. The first morning was all power point so I utilized the awesomeness that is the little candies at my table. I avoided the coconut ones and went straight for those with coffee flavor. :) Most of the first day was about why safety is important, as well as how to handle emergencies on rigs, and what to do in an emergencie. Also, firefighting!

My firefighting practical rocked! We put on PPE (coveralls, helmets, boots, gloves, gas masks) and using proper guiding techniques make it through a 60-80 foot corrugated metal building through doors and around obstacles. The first time we went through it we had light filtering in the building. Second time was in the dark with smoke surrounding us, which is slightly scary because you can see nothing! Even though I went through it in the light it still felt completely different going back when I could not see. It definitely felt more real. The final time we went though the building the opposite way, in the dark with smoke, in groups. I was last in my 4 person group and it was definitely more difficult because not only did I have to keep in contact, but it felt like we were going the wrong way because the instructors closed all the doors on us and we had to figure out how to open and go through them in the dark. Next we headed over to a concrete area with metal containers and such on it, and got to practice putting out chemical, gas, liquid, and solid fires. Very cool. Basically they just lit stuff up for us and we took turns with different types of fire extinguishers to put them out. My inner pyro was fulfilled.

Today was the sea survival part of the course. We had the lecture in the morning again, including first aid, different types of life boats, how to survive in the water for multiple days, and what to do if you are floating by yourself, with another person, or in a group.  The guy that lectured today told me I was going to be the OIM for the day, which stands for Offshore Installation Manager. This person is basically the person in charge of deciding if they abandon the platform, making sure roll is called, and they are supposed to be the last one into any lifeboat and the last one out of any lifeboat. It was kind of fun, even if I didn't volunteer. One of my Malaysian friends told me they jokingly call the OIM, "orang itu malas" (hopefully spelled that right), which basically stands for "The Lazy Person." Apparently the OIM doesn't generally have a good rep on the rig :) All my co-survivalists were very nice to me though and we had a good day practicing getting in and out of different life rafts, floating around in the pool trying to stay together as they were throwing waves at us, and counting off (always an important part of any safety exercise, apparently). The waves were pretty cool. I hope I am never in the ocean in a lifejacket having to deal with them in real life, though. We also practiced boarding and getting off of vessels in rough seas using ropes to swing on. Slightly scary for me as I was afraid my clumsiness would come into play (it didn't!).  Finally, we had to board an inflatable raft (that looks kind of like a teepee), paddle it over to the other side of the pool, and then, one-by-one, be lifted out of the pool in a helicopter harness. Pretty fun stuff!! Helicopter harnesses are also not as comfortable as those people being rescued from floods make them look. False advertising, I say...

Also today I had some amazing chinese food!! It is nice to get to say that about a meal. I had Pineapple Fried Rice "Thai Style" (don't really know what that means) and sweet and sour chicken. We do it so wrong in Kansas. Chinese food here tastes so much better! However, I think the proximity to China helps with this.

So that has been my last two days I think. I have my first sunburn on my face and so if nothing else tans, at least that will!! It is difficult to tan when you work outside and everything from your neck to your toes is covered in protective gear. At least none of you have to wonder if I will contract skin cancer (contract? eh..whatever).

But now I am tired. I took a two hour nap today but feel as if I have been hit by a large bus. Probably one that didn't stop at the Berhenti sign...tsk. :) Love you guys, have a great day!

Becca