It's the little things ...

It's the little things that make a difference. There are the big changes you expect, you are warned about, and you can plan for, but then there are the myriad little things you can't plan for. In the scheme of things they don't mean much, but they can make a big difference, major changes, to your life. It's these that make life interesting.

Like not being able to buy insect spray, other than surface-spray varieties. I'm certain the big, fat cockroach that we keep spying in our bedroom has been the same resident in our private sanctuary for the past seven weeks, even though I recall now disposing of at least one little black carcass from this part of the house. In any case, the squatter has now been summarily evicted, for as it rested near the ceiling behind the TV last night, I climbed onto the TV cabinet armed with the faulty can of surface spray and delivered an impotent-looking burst of the poison skywards. It must have reached its target, for the tiny invertebrate scurried off in indignation to a dark corner from whence it has not yet emerged.

Our friends Desmond and Swee Yee related to us their horror when seeing the dishes being washed up in their host families' homes in Australia for the first time. Washing up Malaysian style would be equally difficult for me to manage. Although I did employ a similar method when we first moved in, hand-washing individual dishes and rinsing en-mass, it is unimaginable that I might continue in this camping-style fashion for the duration of our stay here. There is a certain comfort and assumed cleanliness with doing things as you are accustomed to. While I'm sure the Asian way is perfectly hygienic, I see no point in abandoning a technique that has served me well for nearly half a century, even if it does mean I have to boil the kettle of water every time I fill the sink.

Our bedsheets are twill weave. They are also only 350 thread count, but quite thick and soft (and expensive) actually. It's quite odd, but a lot of the sheets appear to be twill, and most are printed. The strangest thing, though, is that a standard sheet set comes with only a fitted bottom sheet, two pillow cases and a bolster case. I do wonder what people use for a top sheet? And why are bolsters so popular? Our set became ours by virtue of the fact that it has a quilt cover with it, which has proved a great weight for a top sheet in the airconditioning. The inventor will never quite get used to the fact that all beds here are only 6 foot long, a bit of an inconvenience for the size-gifted amongst us who are more than 6 foot long themselves. At least our bed is also 6 foot wide!

We're happy despite, and sometimes because of, the little things!

We had been pre-warned that there would likely be no fixtures in the kitchen, so when we entered it and saw the fridge standing grandly in solitude on the tiled floor, we were neither surprised nor disappointed. We were, however, surprised that stove and oven are purchased as portable stand-alone units, especially as each room has only a single powerpoint. Fortunately, the two-burner cooktop is gas. Unfortunately, the lead on the oven is very short and the only way it can reach the single powerpoint is if it is balanced on top of the burners with the door opening facing the wall. Happily, both cook quite well. I am trying not to use the cheap 10-amp extension lead to run the oven, though, as the outer insulation of the lead becomes alarmingly soft and painfully hot. 

Another surprise is the absence of an ordinary extension lead. What one can buy is a longish lead with a multi-board on the end, or a wind-up roll of extension lead with the plug, or more often, plugs, in the centre of the reel. All the lamps for sale have a European plug end, but adaptors are so commonplace, they are cheap (between three and six ringgats, $1- $2). Unfortunately, some of the cheaper ones I bought have the nasty habit of coming apart when one tries to unplug the appliance, leaving the live contact points inside the plug exposed.

Along wi

th stars and blue skies, I need some green.

Doorbells do not seem a popular thing in Malaysia. Even now we have finally found a battery-operated, wireless doorbell, people prefer to call out. This is despite the fact that I put the button in the most obvious, visible place, actually on the screen door, as I often do not hear people calling out if I am ensconced in the bedroom with airconditioner and music rumbling and doors tightly shut. Our neighbourhood is especially untidy and poorly maintained, I guess because there are so few owner-occupiers and so many

student tenants. It can get a bit glum and depressing, especially

when the sky is grey for weeks on end. A nice, blue, sunny day like today does wonders for the soul- I think humans need the sunny outlook. We also need to see stars, which I am sure are there to remind us of the vastness and majesty of the universe and all that was created in it. Hopefully, one day, we will get to see the stars again, too.

We have spent many long hours trudging the aisles of supermarkets and shops- Tesco, Aeon, Carrefour, Minat, Cold Storage, etc, etc, etc- just looking for a few of the ingredients that I need to make favourite recipes from home. Now we have been here nearly two months, knowing that one can make “home-foods” here in our new home, means a lot to us. Small ingredients can make a big difference to the recipe, and nearly every recipe I pick up has something that is expensive or difficult to find- cream, glucose syrup, copha, cloves- things we take for granted in Australia. Then there is the long-winded and fruitless search for Vegemite. The Vegemite quest is no longer driven by wanting, or even needing, and has now become an obsession that surpasses any desire to actually consume the stuff. The necessity is now to locate the product, and whether the outcome is a purchase or not, the quest with its many challenging, time-consuming and often expensive journeys, will have been completed courageously.

There are the unexpected little positives, too. The availability of old rubber trees makes timber furniture very affordable, as is all furniture. I finally bought two pieces I have been wanting for our lounge room, a display shelf and a small sideboard/ cupboard for near the door. Together the cost was RM540, about $170. The very reasonable cost and the fact that all furniture stores are negotiable on price, has made furnishing and decorating the house so much more affordable and enjoyable.

The inventor takes great pleasure in filling the car with fuel, which we do every week or two. At RM1.80 per litre, it always takes less than 100 ringgats to fill the diesel tank, and the bargain-thrill has not yet waned. We had anticipated lower prices and cost of living, but what I had not anticipated was the thrill, that excited buzz, of paying for something that seems very reasonably priced. I had expected life in Kampar to be more stressful, being removed from our friends, family and support mechanisms, but I had not bargained for the freedom and release from stress that we would experience when our day-to-day living bills were cut by two-thirds. Once our legal-eagle has completed the eviction process for the tenant from hell and we have found an agent and a new tenant, financial worries might well be a thing of the past.

Today's Dim Sum (Yum Cha) bill.

The Inventor took our electricity bill to the plant to ask for help in translating it. If it is possible to see the blood draining from a Malay face, I'm sure he has witnessed it. She wasn't quite sure how he'd take the news that the bill was enormous, 180 ringgats (nearly $60) for the month, but he reassured her that the airconditioner has hardly been turned off since we moved in, and that we more than happy with this amount. Even without the aircon, our bill in Cairns was generally three times this amount.

A smile from a stranger is indeed a very small thing, but we know the power of a smile can never be underestimated. I am the lucky recipient of genuine, open smiles on a daily basis, and I continue to be grateful for the many lovely people who smile or greet me wherever I go, the helpful bystanders who jump in to translate, the shop assistants who willingly help us to learn a few words of Malay, and the interested folk who quiz us about Australia. It really is the small things that make a difference.