My First Week - Sharp Learning Curves on Both Professional and Culinary Fronts!

Within 24 hrs of my arrival, WABA's executive director, Sarah Amin, picked me up and took me to lunch, showing me some options for dining out in the immediate neighborhood of my apartment, and beginning my Malaysian culinary education.  We ended up eating at one of the ubiquitous food stalls located near the WABA office -  Due to its multiethnic composition,  Penang boasts some of the best 'local hawker fare' (street food) of southeast Asia, and I've already sampled at least 4 different ethnic dishes, each with its special Malaysian seasoning twist .  Monday,  it was Indian-Muslim cuisine - Nasi Kandar is a meal of steamed rice accompanied by assorted dishes rich in spices.
 


Inside the WABA office

Sarah then took me to WABA headquarters - a former 2-story physicians' office and private home in a suburban neighborhood about a 15 minute drive from the historic downtown Georgetown area.  I met the remaining 6 staff members (Sarah, and Jennifer, who picked me up at the airport the day before make a total of 8 staff - 7 females and 1 lone male, Sam, who is the organization's 'webmaster') and had a brief orientation to the physical layout of the secretariat.

The rest of this week I've been going into the office every morning at 9 am.  I've met with several of the staff members one-on-one so I can learn in detail their specific responsibilities - responsibilities which I am tasked to support.  For example, I am to help Peiching, who, as a nutritionist, is the 'healthcare' staffer in charge of overseeing health-related info on WABA's website, so one of my tasks is to review and update the health information included on the 'Gateway'.
This first week I met some of WABA's key advocates, including Anwar Fazal, who for years worked with the UNDP on urban governance issues in Asia and the Pacific. Anwar was one of the founders of WABA and is chairperson Emeritus.  A native Malaysian, Anwar teaches here at a local university and continues to guide and support WABA.  I also met with another of WABA's local supporters:  Dr. Khoo Siew Farn, 'Jamie' teaches medical students in Penang Medical College's Department of Public Health Medicine.  Jamie has asked me to prepare a presentation for her medical students on recent research highlights related to the health benefits of breastfeeding, specifically, how breastfeeding helps in prevention of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and the development of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.  I am also to present a more practical lecture to community health nurses and nursing students to better equip them in providing lactation support to new mothers in their care.


My taxi driver, Mr. Suresh

Lastly, on Saturday afternoon, WABA's office manager, Devi, picked me up and took me to the monthly meeting of a local mother-to-mother breastfeeding support group.  There I met yet another important breastfeeding advocate for Penang - Dr. Balkees Abdul Majeed, a young female pediatrician  who provides professional guidance to the peer support mother volunteers.

On the 'lighter side' - Tuesday the staff took me to lunch at a Chinese food stall, Wednesday to an Indian food stall, Thursday to a vegetarian food stall, and Friday, to a Malaysian food stall where I ate


Asam Laksa

Asam Laksa, "thick, flat rice noodles in a thick spicy fish-based gravy topped with several Malaysian herbs".  DELICIOUS!