Immersion into KL…

The first week in Malaysia was like a holiday - sunshine, the condo swimming pool and eating out in restaurants every day. But I also had to pull the house together and make a home. Jacques had arranged for a temp girl from the office to spend two weeks with us, helping me to find my way around. Monica was a chatty Chinese heritage Malaysian student studying law at night school, and she was great at showing us the ropes; how to get a taxi (to add one ringgit extra when you put the pushchair in the taxi boot…), where to shop for basics and how to run fast and get under cover when a storm came. We had an Indian lady who came in to clean and iron, although she spent most of the time chatting on her phone and moaning about her legs…

The apartment was hugely empty, and much bigger than the London one, but lacking all the furniture we had before. The apartment was furnished with the basics; a table and chairs, sofa, beds and one bedside table each. Due to the SARS crisis the shipping company said our cargo would be late….probably not until June. We had nothing for Gabriel and had to rush out and buy a cot, pushchair and some summer clothes. In the nearest department store the baby clothes were made of synthetic fabrics, which seemed cruel since Gabriel was already sweating profusely. The only cotton ones I found I grabbed, in size 3-6 months, only to find out later that our plump Gabriel was not an Asian size baby and these items were like doll’s clothes. Our summer clothes were in the shipment so we had to buy clothes for school for the Marc and Nina. I had a mild panic wondering what chic French mamans would dress their kids in, would our kids look out of place?

The children had a few days to relax before they started school. They were deeply jet-lagged. When I went to Japan I had spent a whole week wide-awake at 3am, reading a book till I fell asleep at 5am. But this time I had three lively children full of energy at 1am and I had to amuse them! They wanted to play. My saviour was the 24-hr cable TV and they watched Cartoon Network till they dropped off eventually. The next day we were unable to wake up, not having to go to work or school, so would sleep till midday, which made the jet-lag last even longer…

School eventually started and we made our way to the maternelle or pre-school part of the school. Marc would only be here for a few months; because the year when children are six they start formal schooling. So Marc had a few months to chill before serious work. Maternelle was in a separate house with three classrooms about five minutes drive from the main school building. It was painted egg-yolk yellow with a lizard mural, and surrounded by tropical forest, monkeys were playing near the playground and the canteen was outside in the garden under a tent. Children had to take off their shoes on arrival, as did parents. I made a note to buy slip-on shoes. Marc had a male teacher downstairs who did not seem very interested but found a place for him. Nina was upstairs with a female teacher. She ushered Nina in and we were sent off.

For an international school the staff were remarkably insensitive to the new expat children. Nina was culture-shocked and very disorientated. She wet her underwear, cried, demanded to be with Marc (she was put in his classroom in the end) and barely talked a word. The teacher reported all of this in front of the other mothers, which had to be the height of rudeness. Marc’s teacher wondered aloud why he didn’t know his address for a letter project (he just moved here!!!). Luckily we only had a few weeks till summer holidays, which started the end of June and the school was busy preparing a summer show. Nina was chosen to dance, while Marc was in a circus show. This at least made them feel part of the community. They were also cared for by the Malaysian English teacher, Yew-Lin, who helped them communicate and held Nina’s hand in the playground to comfort her.

The weekly school newsletter advertised maids and when I spotted a Philipino maid looking for work we jumped at the chance. Lili came for an interview, and we agreed she would work five afternoons and two mornings. She could start immediately. I fired the Indian cleaner, who didn’t seem at all bothered, and Monica left to go back to her temp work.

By the end of the month we had a regular rhythm to our life, school started at 8am, followed by me shopping at the local mall and having a late breakfast at Deli France, where the staff loved Gabriel and played with him while I drank my latte. In the afternoon I would leave Gabriel sleeping with the maid to pick up Marc and Nina by taxi at 2.30pm. We would end the day with a dip in the pool or play in the condo play-area, or play in the house if there was an afternoon storm. We would eat out with Jacques later or sometimes join him in the town. And so life began in KL…..