My recent 4-month trip to the United States and Canada has opened up my eyes to a lot of things. Things that I have never previously seen. And things that I have never thought of seeing. But one of the most important lessons that I have learned from my trip — which was earned from being awarded THE scholarship — was that generosity knows no boundary.

When I was in the US and Canada, I was hosted by 5 individual hosts who gave me a roof over my head and lots of space for my almost-oversize baggage. Not only did my hosts provide me with the basic necessities, they even went all out to make sure that I felt welcomed and comfortable!

Dr. Tom Wilson from Chattanooga, Tennessee arranged for his grad students to set out 15 large basking traps in the Tennessee River just to show me how those traps worked.

The basking traps were heavy and the 22-foot long boat was a hassle to launch into the river. It took us an hour from the boat ramp site to the sites where we deployed the basking traps, and we made several trips back to the river to check those traps, to weigh and measure the turtles that were trapped in the traps. Dr. Wilson and his grad students didn’t have to do that. They could have just showed me pictures of the traps, and perhaps just given me a presentation about the project and how it was carried out. But they didn’t.

And when I was in California, my host, Stephanie Pappas, not only brought me to her pond turtles study sites, she also took me to the Strawberry Festival @ Oxnard, and she took me to the Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara Museum, Mojave Desert, and she even took me to a movie! We watched Indiana Jones the day it was released in the US, wasn’t that cool?

Similarly, when I was in Florida, Dr. Peter Pritchard, THE turtle person all aspiring-turtle-persons should know, took me (and other interns) to the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge a few hours from Oviedo, where he lives. Apart from the “official turtle work”, he also took us to the Wekiwa Spring State Park for canoeing! We could walk in to and out of Dr. Pritchard’s house anytime of the day and for any reason. We were welcomed to either just sit in his living room, or read his is library-cum-office across the street.

I spent 8 days with Dr. Tom Herman, the Acting President and Vice President of Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was a busy person, with many meetings to attend but he still had time for me. He drove me to the Kejimkujik National Park, TWICE in a week, some 2 hours from his place to see his Blanding’s Turtle project, and to meet his students. He also took a day off to take me to the nearest city, Halifax and to some other tourist destinations — Annapolis, Peggy’s Cove.

For such a busy man, he could have arranged for somebody to drive me to the Kejimkujik National Park and leave me there for a few days. Or he could take me to Acadia University, and ask me to sit in the library or walk around campus. But he didn’t.

And when I got back to Chicago, Jen Knoedl @ JenChicago so generously allowed me to stay at her place for 2 nights. She even gave me a duplicate key to her house so that I could go in and out whenever I liked. She shared with me the things she did, and more.

Having the opportunity to meet these really nice and generous people have really changed the way I look at things. Their warmth, hospitality and generosity have made me feel very welcomed and loved. And I am determined to treat my visitors/guests the same way I was treated while I was visiting other people.

This post is written for the What I learned from the generosity of others group-writing project hosted by Robert Hruzek @ Middle Zone Musings. One new writing project will be launched on the first Monday of each month, and submission is open through the following Sunday. Read all other entries here.

I called one of the Perodua Service Centers in Kuala Terengganu two days ago because I wanted to install my rear seat belts before January 1st. So I called them with the knowledge that it is mandatory for vehicles manufactured/registered after January 1st, 1995 to have their rear seat belts installed.

But the clerk at the Perodua Service Center said that the seat belts will only arrive next year. I thought she had misunderstood me, so I repeated my concern — that the rear seat belt ruling will be effective beginning January 1st. But the clerk said otherwise. She said that there isn’t such a ruling, and that once the rear seat belts have arrived, they will make an announcement in the newspapers.

But guess what I read in the papers yesterday?

The wearing of rear seat belts becomes mandatory on Jan 1.

– No summons for fourth passenger in backseat, The Star, December 5th, 2008

On another note, what is more disturbing isn’t when the wearing of rear seat belts becomes mandatory. It the the fact that “the law allowed for the authorities to take action if a vehicle was overloaded with passengers, [but] it had not been enforced.”

The Road Safety Department Director-General Suret Singh said although the law allowed for the authorities to take action if a vehicle was overloaded with passengers, it had not been enforced.

“It was not enforced in the past and will not be enforced now or in the future. This policy will remain,” he said, adding that the department was aware of the social implications.

– No summons for fourth passenger in backseat, The Star, December 5th, 2008

Why is there a law if it isn’t enforced? So when do we take action? Do we start pointing fingers after innocent lives have been lost? Or after some big-shot-politicians put in some pressure?

And this makes me wonder, how many other laws that are left “unenforced” in Malaysia.

So, I have just decided this morning — out of boredom — to create a photobook with pictures from my recent trip to the United States. The more I think about it, the more I realize I should have done this earlier. I mean, in 4 months, I visited:

• 2 countries — the United States and Canada;
• 6 states in the United States — Tennessee, California, New Jersey, New York, Florida and Illinois; and
• 1 state province in Canada — Nova Scotia.

I also had the opportunity to visit 5 turtle conservation projects, attended a Society for Conservation Biology conference, and made a bunch of new friends. Plus, I took more than 20 international and domestic flights and transited in 3 countries.

Surely there is something worth sharing in those 4 months, no? — Pictures, stories, anecdotes, memories, experiences, etc.

I did a quick search and found that for a similar price, Photobook offers a minimum of 40 front-and-back pages, compared to other companies that offer a minimum of 20 pages. Additionally, Photobook is offering FREE shipping to selected countries (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, to name a few) so if you’re also thinking of a photobook, this is probably the best time :)

By the way, I was told that FREE shipping is only valid until the end of 2008.

Now, the hardest part is to go through the thousands of photos that I took and pick some 150 of them to be used in the photobook :grr:

P/S: No, this is not a sponsored post.