I'm now in Kuala Lumpur (KL). I visited a former Malaysian student, Azmah Zakaria, who spent seven years at Humboldt State University obtaining an undergraduate and masters degree in mathematics in the 1970’s. Azmah had taken some computer science courses from me and her graduate thesis advisor was Professor Charlie Biles who is a good friend of mine. She came into KL to meet me at my hotel and we went out to the suburb Petaling Jaya (PJ) where she lives. I met her family, two daughters Amirah 20 and Ashikin 16 and a son Azam 10. They live in a coop in an apartment complex and are very happy with their living situation. PJ is a very nice suburb of KL. We went out to a local restaurant for supper. We had a very pleasant evening together, with much conversation and updating news of our lives. Unfortunately, they recently experienced the tragic loss of the children’s father, Azmah’s husband, who died of genetic heart problems. Clearly they are a smart and talented family, facing this tragic loss with strength and determination.
As we compared notes about our lives and families, I was struck by how much we have in common, though our cultures and religions may differ. It is remarkable the parallels between her family and mine and how their values and ways of coping with
the challenges are similar to my family's in so many ways. I left feeling inspired by what Azmah and her family are doing with their lives.
As with Penang, KL has changed so much, with freeways and high rises,
so there really isn't too much to see here of interest to me as a tourist. I've hired a
taxi to take me around the city, to see the sights, and did a lot of walking, constantly getting lost in the maze of freeways intersecting and dividing the neighborhoods of downtown KL. The city is currently not designed for the casual walker.
I begin to look forward to getting to Singapore and on to the bicycling with the Brits in Sri Lanka.
Azmah Zakaria Family
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