I slowly glance out of the 15th-storey window of my hotel and take in the aura of the Petronas Towers. The sky is slightly overcast, and the weather is perfect here in Kuala Lumpur, but the perfection doesn’t end there.

Before leaving Korea, I probably shortened my life with stress. My flight left at 11:35 a.m., so I planned to catch the 8:30 a.m. bus to the airport. The ride takes about 45 minutes, which would leave me plenty of time to find my gate. One of my close friends passed away a few months ago, and I have brought some of his ashes with me. As a promise to his mother, I am leaving a pinch in the ground at each place I visit. After leaving the hotel, I had to buy batteries and find a suitable place. Then, unfortunately, I got lost while looking for the bus. Finally, at about 9:25 a.m., after stumbling all over downtown Seoul, I found a bus with “Airport” written on it and jumped aboard. My knees were shaking like I was about to get married. Luckily, I arrived at about 10:30 a.m., and there were no lines!

The flight was similarly nerve-racking; I didn’t know where I was going to stay or even whether somebody was going to pick me up. A friend recently told me that my life was planned out. Reflecting on that, I realise there are things I know I want and things I know I don’t want, but I have no idea how to get from here to there. Take KL, for example, or the fact that I have no idea where I’m going to live in New Zealand. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Upon arriving in KL, I was picked up at the airport by a gentleman named Cheng. From my first impression, I knew I would enjoy myself here. Cheng, who speaks five dialects of Chinese, English, Malay, and most likely at least a few other languages, is quite remarkable. Since it was becoming quite late, I was dropped off at my hotel, where I quickly fell asleep.

The next three days have been a blend of good food and hard work.

The days have mostly blended together. I have usually been arriving at the office at 8:30 and working until 6:00 or so. Food has become a large part of my life — in fact, I feel that my health and general well-being have improved dramatically since Seoul. Some of you won’t care, although I know my mom will: I’ve started working my abs every morning, taking multivitamins, and eating three substantial meals a day. I should mention again how good the food is here. While I enjoyed Korean food, and have had it a few times here, I didn’t always know what I was eating. My body enjoyed Korean food, but it was all I ate in Korea. Here, I have had a different cuisine at every meal: Indian, Malay, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, including several variations within each. I’ve even had curry for breakfast.

Kuala Lumpur is becoming a city of dreams. Wawasan 2020, the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020, is visible throughout the city. Indeed, the city and country have a long way to go, but I believe Kuala Lumpur could eventually become the canvas on which a cultural mosaic is painted.

Tolerance seems to be the norm here, whether on the road or in interactions between people from different cultures. Kuala Lumpur brings together Malay, Chinese, Indian, and many other communities. Although those communities are distinct, I sensed a common unity among them. Because of this tolerance, I think Kuala Lumpur could become a major business hub in the future, possibly serving as a bridge between East and West.

Work has also been great. I have had a few network hiccups, usually with advance warning, while upgrading software and rolling out voice and video tools. Unfortunately, everything was going smoothly until the router I brought over failed. After I purchased a replacement, I discovered that the DSL modem could not be put into full bridging mode. For those of you who know what I am talking about, this put a wrench in my progress; for those who don’t, suffice it to say I would have been finished by now. No worries. Everybody in the office has been great to me. Unlike my experience in Korea, where I sometimes felt that people were warm or cold based on cultural preconceptions, people here have treated me equally and without assumptions. Several colleagues have contributed to my positive impression of Malaysia, and I have appreciated how helpful and respectful everyone has been.

Last night brought a new experience: I had my first surfing dream. I cannot explain why. Considering I have only been surfing a few times, if that, I don’t know how it happened. When I was younger, I used to be quite active — skiing and cycling occupied much of my time. While I still maintain my adventurous side, as you could see from the backflip off that cliff, I haven’t tested my physical endurance for a long time. There are several towns I’m considering, all sleepy and laid-back. The last four years have been stressful, to say the least. I have typically worked at least two jobs, sometimes three, and once even four. For several terms, I would arrive on campus at 7:00 a.m. and not get home until 11:00 p.m., with almost no breaks. A sleepy, laid-back town sounds great, as long as decent internet is available.

Well, it is lunchtime, and I need food soon. There is a mall right next to me; I think I will try to find some Malaysian shirts. I have to admit that, for the first time, I truly feel like an outsider. I felt culturally alone much of the time in Korea, although there were still quite a few Americans around because of the military presence. Here in KL, I have seen very few Americans, but, as I mentioned, tolerance is the way of the land. Consequently, I’m just another dot in the mosaic.