I'm a self-made expat!

Skimming through my email inbox from my ipad, I recently came across a newsletter from an expat site I occasionally browse.

One of the articles was titled "self-made expat", a term new to me but describing me to a tee!

Expatriatism is growing all around the world with better living conditions, job offers and the thrill of travel all large factors. But I'm not any usual expat.

I didn't get sent to Malaysia by a company, neither did I relocate here with my whole family for any specific reason. I have a number of expat friends, mostly in Kuala Lumpur, who were sent here on a working assignment with their company from back home. It usually lasts for 2 or 3 years before the contract is up and they return home.

I am a self-made expat. 

I came here to Malaysia with no job, no money, all by myself. My Malaysian fiancee and later, wife, was the reason I expatriated to Malaysia.

Another factor was that I already knew Malaysia very well after living there for 2 years before I met Fidelia. I had already developed a love for the place, the people and the lifestyle.

Nobody sorted out my flight tickets. Nobody took care of a work placement and contract for me. Nobody took the time to organise insurance plans for me. Nobody transported all of my possessions half way around the world for me.

I am a self-made expat.

I took what I could in my suitcase and completely started my life over in Kuantan, just me and my wife. Now that sounds scary, and for a short while it was, but it has also provided me with an immense sense of achievement and satisfaction. I made it! I started with nothing, in a foreign town and country, and made it!

I'm also unlike other expats in that I don't really mix with fellow expats at all. I am immersed into life with the local Malaysians. My wife and I have found some magnificent Malaysian friends, both here in Kuantan and around the country. I couldn't ask for anything more in my life. Several years ago, it was an impossible dream. 

We send our daughter to the local kindergarten. When I'm sick I go to the local clinic or hospital. We go shopping down the road and buy Malaysian food. In another 4 years I'm planning to become a Permanent Resident and have my own IC card. 

Rather than living the 'expat life', I'd say I'm living the 'Malaysian life.'

2013 marks 7 years of living as a self-made expat in Kuantan, Malaysia. 7 exciting years where I've grown a lot, have my dream job, am my own boss, and best of all, there is no expiration date for my time here!

Teluk Chempedak beach - Looking out the window

Life is full of windows.

What do you see out of your window?

Do you see another long day at work? Or the flowers on the way to work?

Do you see another headache with the children? Or a beautiful learning experience with them?

Do you see the dark, grimy buildings where you are, or go and search for the nature down the road?

Living the Dream

During a recent conversation on facebook, an old school friend suggested I was "living the dream".

Living the dream in Kuantan didn't begin with a lap of luxury or a turn of luck. I can tell you it all started in a strange and unknown town, amongst complete strangers, with no job and very little money.

It took a lot of belief and very hard work to reach the stage where I'm now "living the dream". At times, Kuantan seemed a difficult and impossible place to live, let alone realise dreams. We had problems regarding finances, employment and my immigration status, continually having to leave the country and go through Singapore to get a fresh stamp in my passport. I have numerous stories on this topic, and although I have almost filled two entire passports, it was by no means easy, and quite terrifying at times.

But six years on and we have created our own dream and are really living it right now!

Let me share a few points as to how I am "living the dream".

Firstly, employment. In England, I used to have some agency work as a picker in a warehouse. It was tough work, heavy lifting and carrying 8 hours (or more) per day. I enjoyed it and gave it my all, but I knew it was temporary in nature. I don't know if I could work in that way on a long-term basis.

I always loved English and teaching English, but opportunities for that in England were limited. I didn't fancy teaching a class of 30-40 children at a secondary school, and I didn't have any experience or qualification to do that anyway.

Malaysia has been a much more fertile ground for teaching English. I'm living the dream by teaching English from home, choosing what hours I want to work and accepting as many students as I can fit in my classes. We have registered our own company, Horne Learning Services in a few simple steps. My wife wrote me an offer letter and along with an application letter from me, I received the necessary permission to work freely in Malaysia for Horne Learning Services.

I decided to walk in to the Vistana Hotel one day to advertise myself as an English teacher. Now I'm working in partnership with the hotel and teach a class of staff every Wednesday.

Being our own boss is a luxury I'm so glad we've achieved. Working from home enables me to spend all day long with my family, being with my wife and children, as well as doing my life's work, which I love! If we want a holiday, we have a holiday. We work for no-one, which means our income is as much as we want it to be.

This leads to the second point - freedom. Being entrepreneurs brings increased responsibility to make things work, but greater freedom too. Working hours are dramatically less, whilst still earning a good income. We are free to take holidays, re-arrange classes any time the need arises, and spend all our time with our children to raise them just the way I dreamed of doing.

Our recent holiday in Kuching. We stayed for a night at Damai Beach Resort for my sister-in-law's engagement ceremony, and enjoyed the lovely scenery as shown in this photo.

Not having to "go" to work means we can spend plenty of time with our children. Such a joy!

The third way I'm living the dream - every day feels like a holiday! Kuantan has turned out to be a beautiful place with gorgeous hot weather every day and lovely, attractive places to go and see. The beach is a 15-minute drive from home, a living dream I would never have imagined to have.

Being from the all-too-gloomy England with its infamous rain and wind, living in Kuantan, Malaysia, really is living the dream. Waking up to bright, warm sunshine is such a blessing and motivation. I just couldn't ask for more.

And it's not just the marvellous weather, but the Malaysian lifestyle in itself. Life is so different here compared to in England. Things are much more relaxed in Malaysia, everything is generously priced, even the TV channels and packages are far more extensive. I see more sports for a better price than I could ever have dreamed of in England.

One can cycle down to the beach or a park and saunter the time away. With the vast majority of my English classes at 8-10pm, I'm pretty much free for the entire day. What a lifestyle!

Finally, I think there's something about making it in a foreign country, including overcoming obstacles and finding success amongst a people who originally are wary of your foreign status. Being able to overcome that barrier and work together with locals is "living the dream". Perhaps my friends, Robert in Kuantan, and Linda in Italy, will agree.

Living the dream is living a lifestyle that you choose, not one that is thrust upon you. I'm extremely fortunate that I've been able to create my dream and live it.

You too can do it if you put your mind to it!

Recovering from A-Z April

A-Z April was a very busy month, and not just for the blogging challenge. Lots of things were happening in our lives as well, and perhaps it's all taken its toll on us.

Well at least on me. I've been struggling to have too many positive thoughts when logging in to blogger and having the opportunity of writing a post. Taking a rest from the blog for a while has been necessary. The A-Z blogging challenge was particularly challenging, more so than last year. Whether or not I'll be joining up next year is by no means decided.

So I've been sifting through my photos for something simple and light-hearted today, and came across the perfect image I snapped a few months ago at HTAA (Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan), the government hospital in Kuantan. I was teaching English there and made a quick trip to the bathroom where I saw this poster on the toilet door:

I find this incredibly . . . . . hilarious! I guess there are still some people here who don't know how to use a toilet properly!

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Yesterday was Monday, and I LOVE Mondays!

Monday is the traditional start of the working week. And for me, there is nothing better than work. It keeps us busy, it keeps our minds active, and brings satisfaction at accomplishing things.

Yesterday we were very busy, as we are today. We are finalising all the preparations for our English Workshop at Vistana Hotel Kuantan on Saturday. We have plenty of activities lined up for the two and a half hour Workshop.

The last activity is going to be a treasure hunt. We need to prepare the function room in advance so we can hide clues.

So, if you'll excuse me, I have a bit more work to do!

Wishing each and every one of you a successful and prosperous day!

A difficult Start

"Ataraxy" - a state of serene calmness.
(Each day I'll be presenting a word or two here, and attempting to use them in the post)

For my first post of the A-Z April blogging challenge, I didn't want to entitle it "A-Z blogging challenge" or anything else obvious. Too easy. I thought about 'April' and talking about springtime, but there are no distinct seasons in Kuantan apart from 'hot' and 'wet'.

I considered 'Autumn' since that is the season in Australia now, where my sister-in-law and former English student currently reside and study. But it still doesn't have much to do with me.

And so as I wondered how much more difficult it could get, it struck me - "A difficult start."

My wife and I endured a rather difficult start to our married life in Kuantan. We moved here in late May, 2006. My wife was mid-way through her studies and I was facing the bleak prospect of moving to a place I never knew existed, with no job, no channel of earning money. That was really scary.

I worried about a dwindling supply of money which we were living on as a wedding gift from my parents. (I'm beyond grateful for a magnificent set of parents whose monetary offering proved absolutely vital in the early months of our married life. Simply, we wouldn't have been able to survive without it.)

I also worried that I'd never find a job, or a working visa from a stubborn Malaysian immigration. I agonised over paying bills, rent, buying food, (later) a car, paying a taxi to send my wife 32km to university and back every day. I had no friends and no knowledge of the area. At times it felt daunting. Long-term survival did seem an impossibility.

Then our house got robbed. We lost a laptop, camera and cd player. They even took our pot of coins. My ataraxic hopes vanished. Now I trusted no-one. Every single person I saw was viewed as a suspect. It was a horrible state to be in.

A difficult start indeed. . . . .

. . . . . to be continued

What difficulties have you been faced with in life? How did you overcome them?

WHEN CHOOSING A CAREER PATH, WOULD ONE CONSIDER SALARY OR PASSION AS THE DECIDING FACTOR? (AN ESSAY)

Last week I presented my students with this question to answer in essay format. I always love to join in with my students in writing the monthly essay, not only as I love writing, but to show them that I, as the teacher, also care about the work I'm giving them, and to give them some support in what many students of English find very challenging.

After a considerable time discussing the question and formulating an essay plan, we got down to the writing. Here is my essay on this particular subject:

When choosing a career path, would one consider salary or passion as the deciding factor?

"I believe it is difficult to conclude that either salary or passion is more important in defining a career. I feel that both factors contribute to a happy life. I will attempt to discuss some of my feelings about each one.

Money is a basic need of human existence in the civilised world. With money, we obtain food and shelter, necessary for survival. Finding a job with a good salary is a vital task in supporting a family. I have a wife and a 3-year-old daughter to provide for, with another child on its way. It can be somewhat daunting to think of ones family responsibilities. Earning a good salary can go some way to alleviating that burden and bringing security to the family unit.

With numerous bills to pay, it becomes imperative to earn more money than you spend. Being the recipient of many household bills is not something I enjoy, but with my decent salary, I'm able to take care of this requirement and feel a sense of relief each month.

Indeed, the ability of earning a substantial income and providing for all the needs of my family brings a great sense of satisfaction as I feel I have fulfilled my duty. Bringing home money gives me a sense of empowerment, makes me feel useful, and increases my self-esteem - all contributing to my overall level of happiness.

Finally, it is possible, and necessary, to save a portion of money each month, for the future. I have my children's education uppermost in my mind, which doesn't come for free. I would also like to have our own home and a better car in the future, which requires careful planning in saving money. Being able to earn enough money to save each month is a major milestone in living a contented life - the blessings which earning a high salary brings.

The next point of discussion is in doing something you are passionate about, instead of focusing solely on salary, as a career. There are many jobs with high salaries, but ones ability to earn is obviously affected by ones qualifications. I'm fortunate enough to be doing a job I love - teaching English. I love the English language and teaching others how to use it correctly. English was always my strongest subject because I simply enjoyed it and had a passion for it. Enjoyment and happiness are the rewards of doing something you love, which may flourish to a greater degree than simply working for money.

Money doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness in life. Achieving satisfaction involves many more factors outside this topic of discussion which could include religion, spirituality, social and emotional relationships. For the sake of this question, I will give my opinion based on the comparison of only salary and passion. It is my conviction that if you can't put your whole heart into your career, you can't be truly happy with your life, regardless of the sum of ones salary.

After much thought concerning this area of discussion whilst working through this essay, I would sway contrary to my previous thinking in my introduction, and thus conclude that the deciding factor in choosing a career path would be salary. I believe doing what you love could be a limiting influence on ones earning power, but on the other hand, one is always capable of learning to love a high-salary career. When it comes to providing the bare essentials of life, earning a good salary would be the most important point in choosing a career path."

What do you think? Do you have your ideal job? Are you working out of love for your career? Or are you labouring to earn a decent income? Are you fortunate enough to be doing something you love which happens to also pay you well?

The working week

Many people long for the weekends, to escape the duties of work. The two-day break is a welcome and long anticipated arrival, normally lasting five days. Thoughts are filled with the previous weekend's enjoyment, time spent with friends, out of the office, away from tiring work. As soon as it reaches Wednesday, minds begin fast-forwarding to the upcoming weekend.

Yes, we all need a deserved rest from time to time, possibly from week to week. It's good for the human body to rest, just as important as it is to physically exert the body. Personally I have always clung to the theory that rest time is during the six or seven hours one spends sleeping through the night. The rest of the day we can work.

We were born to work. Without work there would be no society. We would have no income, no means of supporting our families, no pleasure, purpose or point of existing on earth.

So I wondered if we could just appreciate the five days beginning with Monday and ending with Friday a little more. After all, these are the days in which we earn our money, which makes it possible for us to enjoy a more laid-back weekend. We can skimp on our time during the working week by hanging out, being lazy and taking unnecessary leave. It's possible to go through the five week days so focused on the weekend that we actually miss out on the joys of work.

I love the inspiring quote offered by Theodore Roosevelt: "...the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..."

Yes I can relate to this quote quite vividly during my time working in a warehouse in England. The work was tough and arduous, not pretty, and I literally ended each day with dust, sweat and blood on my face and/or hands. I savoured going in to work to give of my best effort, and I appreciated the payslip a lot more too!

Through the establishing of priorities and the setting and writing down of goals, we can achieve our targets associated with our work, and enjoy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We need not wear long, droopy faces going back in to work on Monday mornings. We were not created to be indolent. I'm sure with a positive attitude, we could all find more meaning in our lives.

As God said to Adam, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground..."

Mondays can be just as good as Fridays; Tuesdays as equally sweet as Sunday afternoons; every day is meaningful when we work hard and enjoy it!