Getting About

This weekend Penang celebrated being added to the list of World Heritage sites. Of course, I was in KL when most of the action took place. On Sunday I headed back to Georgetown to the Little Penang Street Market, which is held the last Sunday of the month. It has performances and vendors from various NGOs and representing the arts and crafts community. I bought snacks from an organization for "persons with intellectual disabilities." Over the past week I have noticed that Malaysia is more inclusive than I would have imagined. There are ramps on campus (I have seen a very few wheelchairs and no crutches). One attendee at the conference was from the Society for the Blind - he spoke of the need to have the rights of disabled persons recognized. And then on Sunday I photographed this his energized group from Mutiara Voice Club fulfilling their mission as self-advocacy by promoting and selling various products.


On Sunday night I joined friends of a co-worker of Clarence, a friend in Kuching, for dinner. I had Shanghai dumplings, which surely were far healthier than the selection at Shanghai Joe's in NYC, and several other dishes (that I hope I can remember for when Doug arrives). One of the group just graduated from Pharmacy School, which now requires her to work for the government. She could work anywhere in the country, which seems daunting to me.


Here is a picture from the conference - and now those who last saw me a month ago can decide if I have changed.