Magic

Ever since we arrived in Penang we have been staying up late and getting up late, very different than our routine previously where we were usually out of the hotel room by 9:00 or 9:30. In Penang we are lucky to get into town before 12:00. Saturday was no different. Up late and into town late we had a quick breakfast and then each went off for a separate afternoon of exploring. I had a few errands to run – I went to see a local artisan about getting a traditional Chinese seal made and another to see about business cards – and Elizabeth wanted to find a nice place to read in the sun. We split up just before 12 with a plan to meet back up at 2.

My errands were accomplished quickly. I picked out the stone piece for my Chinese seal and decided I would give myself an evening to think about what to put on it. Typically you have your name engraved in Chinese characters but I just didn’t like this idea. Since my name is in English and names don’t really translate I didn’t like the idea of putting my name in Chinese characters on the stone. Instead I decided I would put something more meaningful – and a proper Chinese character – I just had to decided what. The cost: RM$180 (approximately US$50). It could have been cheaper but I really liked a more expensive stone and I figured I’m probably only going to get one in my life so I might as well get one I like, right? And in reality it’s only US$50 – not all that expensive. For the double sided business cards I want it will be RM$60 for 200 cards (US$17). I am going to stamp my business cards with my seal so I didn’t commit to the business cards either as I needed to measure the stone, etc… The business cards will be ordered on Monday.

Since these tasks didn’t take long and I had lots of time left before meeting with Elizabeth I thought this would be a good time to walk around and try to improve my poor photography skills. I wanted to make some sort of goal for 2015 around photography but haven’t committed to anything yet and don’t think I will. Instead I will just practice taking more photos – more artistic photos, not just photos of me doing things – and see how it goes. If I think my skills start to develop maybe I’ll buy myself a fancy camera for Christmas next year.  (On this, I think my blog will be changing a bit this year. Not on purpose, per say, but because I just feel like I’m developing and changing so my blog should as well. I will likely be including less photos and videos – not that I won’t be making them, but it is very time consuming to upload them all – and doing longer written posts. This is basically what I’ve been doing the last few weeks anyways and I like it. I am really starting to enjoy the writing part of this, I feel like I’m starting to see some real improvements from my abilities when I started, and want to keep going with that. Also, when I do post photos they will likely be more “artistic” and less just photos of me standing next to things. A way to try to develop a new skill.)

While I was walking around Georgetown and Little India taking pictures I stumbled upon a bookstore so I decided to go in. Since leaving Asia I have purchased 5 books total. Without a job now I have so much more time to read. This particular bookstore was full of books about Malaysia and South East Asia. Although I had three unread books back in the hotel I decided to buy another. There’s no better time than now to read about Malaysia. Plus one goal I have for 2015 is to read at least one book from an author from each continent. Great time to buy a book that will feed into this goal! I looked through the Malaysia section, spoke with the shopkeeper, and finally decided on a book, Politics of the Temporary, written by a doctoral student in Chicago. The author, Parthiban Mundiandy, was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur by immigrant parents from India. The book recounts his experiences interviewing temporary migrant workers in both Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown, Penang (where we are currently staying) for his doctoral thesis. I will get more into the book in later posts, but in the first 24 hours of owning the book I read over 60 pages. The stories are fascinating and it is so nice to read a book about places I have been – Bukit Bintang in KL, Chinatown in KL, Jalan Pudu in KL. It gives so much more meaning to the stories.

This brings me to another topic very briefly, the stronger connection I now feel with world issues. I first noticed this a few weeks ago with the hostage situation in Sydney. Elizabeth and I were watching the news and heard about the hostage crisis at Martin Place in Sydney.  Normally when something like this popped up on the news – about a crisis in another country – I would have thought “that’s really too bad” or maybe “how scary,” but when this happened I had those same thoughts but on a stronger level because I walked by that very shop when I was in Sydney last year. That incident which I honestly would have cared very little about two years ago interested me much more since I could have been in that shop when it happened. I never actually went into the Lindt shop when I was there but who’s to say I wouldn’t have. I like how traveling makes things that happen in other parts of the world so much more relevant to my life now. The hostage crisis in Sydney, temporary migrant workers in Malaysia, these are all things that I now care about more than I ever would have before.

Okay, back to the story of the day’s events. After purchasing my new book it was time to meet back up with Elizabeth. I arrived at the café a bit early and decided to get myself an apple juice. Another goal that I have for 2015 is to have 5 fruits and vegetables every day. (I know it’s not 2015 yet but I ma piloting all my goals now to make sure they are actually reasonable. I’m not only picking easy goals, but I also don’t want to set myself up for failure which is why the photography goals have been scrapped – it just wouldn’t happen.) When Elizabeth arrived she also ordered a juice and we sat there reading or chatting or something.

While we were sitting there I noticed a man sitting alone at the counter and invited him over to join us. He accepted and thus began our afternoon chatting with Roland. I have no hesitation saying that Roland is the most interesting person we have met since we left New Zealand – maybe the most interesting person I have met since I left America.

For a bit about Roland, he is 36 years old, from France, and has been living in Asia for over ten years now. When he first came to Asia he lived in Japan, but has since moved from there to Phuket, Thailand and then down here to Penang. When Roland was in his early 20s he was heavily involved with MMA fighting. He lived for 4 years in NYC and then moved to Japan at the age of 25. During his time in the states he even did a fight in Fridley, MN – pretty cool, isn’t it? At some point during his 20s Roland was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He eventually had to stop fighting and went back to France for treatment.

Despite the efforts of the doctors and the best conventional medicines available his condition continued to worsen. After years of decline, both physically from the MS and mentally from the strong medications, two years ago Roland was confined to his wheelchair 90% of the time. 

During the time that his condition was worsening, Roland kept hearing about a plant called Ayahuasca. He heard about in things he was reading, on the TV, from people he came in contact with. Eventually he decided to do some more research for himself.

Ayahuasca is a plant from the Amazon rainforest with healing properties. Although the history is not known since there are no written records from the Amazon before the Spanish Conquest, it is believed Ayahuasca has been in use by Amazonian tribes for over 2,500 years.  There are many places in the Amazon where you can go on retreats and use the drug for it’s healing properties – both physical and mental.

Roland, at this point interested in alternative medicines for help with his MS, decided after much research to go to an Ayahuasca retreat center in the jungle in Peru for 6 weeks. During this time he did a 10-day fast, 7 Ayahuasca ceremonies, and daily purges. He recounted learning much about himself – both the good and the bad – and well as about those around him. The retreat was not easy, and he would not recommend it for other people – unless they feel a calling to do it, but he could not be happier that he went.

Since leaving Peru Roland’s MS has not only stopped progressing, but many of the effects have actually been reversed. He no longer uses a wheelchair and says his condition is continuing to get better. His outlook on life has also completely changed. He avoids stress in his life and just tries “to go with the flow” as best he can. Roland has emphasized that the largest positive effects he has seen from the Ayahuasca retreat is the healing of the mind. No matter how much his condition improves he will never go back to the stress and negative mental energy of MMA fighting.

Now to the Magic part of the day, after Roland we no longer about to do MMA he switched to Magic. He meets regularly with a teacher here in Penang and practices his tricks at Mugshot with random customers. Since we fell into this “random customer” category we got to see a few card tricks. Not only does he do magic tricks but he also reads body language – he did a lying exercise with us. I didn’t pass at all but Elizabeth did. He wasn’t far off though on her. It was very impressive. I told him to look up Lie To Me online and watch it.

Anyways, Elizabeth and I were both absolutely fascinated by his story. I have never heard anything like it before. MMA fighter to magician. Sick with MS in a wheelchair to walking assisted with only one crutch. It was truly fascinating to hear the journey his life has taken. It was a self-admitted “roller coaster” as everyone’s life is, but he’s got to have one of the most interesting roller coasters out there.

After this amazing encounter there really isn’t anything that could top that for the day. After parting ways with Roland we headed back home on the bus. Elizabeth had her first minor bout with food poisoning in the afternoon and so I went to dinner by myself. I had Japanese Fish Katsu at the hawker center just down the road and it was one of the best meals I’ve had since leaving NZ. When I got back Elizabeth was feeling much better. I continued reading my new book before bed. And Elizabeth made one comment that more of less sums up our experience so far. I was telling her that I was chatting with a mutual friend of ours, Ana (who I went to Samoa with), on Facebook about her University classes. Elizabeth’s response was “Is Ana still studying in NZ?” I reminded Elizabeth that we only left NZ two and half weeks ago so, yes, Ana was still studying in NZ. But her comment couldn’t have better reflected that fact that it feels as if we have been gone forever. I can honestly say I feel like I never even lived there. Time has been going so slow – with all the new experiences we are having every day – that it almost feels like I’ve been here in Penang forever. I can barely even remember Singapore – except how much I loved it and that I want to go back. It is just amazing that we have only been gone 16 days and yet feel like we never even lived back in NZ.