Dealing with loneliness in Malaysia

Well, as a world traveler, traveling across the globe non stop, from country to country, traveling one way, living as a nomad up to 3 months in the country of my choice; I think, to combat loneliness is to get involved, volunteer, find english speaking groups, meet up etc. I'm a very friendly person and make friends easily, this is a must, it's not an option. If you say you're not like that or cannot talk to anyone at any given time, then you will be lonely; being friendly is the key to avoiding loneliness. I branched out and found many who spoke english; not necessarily from Malaysia, but many, most were other travelers and visitors.

Find places to volunteer, there is a  home for homeless children next to the zoo there in malaysia ran by 4 sisters who speak very good english and make very good friends. When I met them they were so welcoming and inviting, 4 friendly sisters who were malaysians.  Join some churches, this is a start, you may frown on this, but if you do then enjoy your loneliness, Lol,

This is a start, you'll be surprised of how many people you meet in churches and how nice and welcoming they can become; get to know them and you'll find your loneliness diminishing.  Fortunately for expats, English is widely spoken in Malaysia and English is actively known as a second language. It is easy to live in urban areas of Malaysia by only speaking the English language. Business in Malaysia is conducted in English and examinations are based on British English. Spoken English in Malaysia is heavily influenced with American English because of the television influence; normally, not knowing the language can be a contributing factor to loneliness. If you get a chance, no, not if you get a chance, Lol, take a walk down a busy street, or listened attentively to the people around you in restaurants and shopping malls. Chances are you might feel a little overwhelmed by the various different languages and dialects you hear in Malaysia.

The languages in Malaysia are the result of the many races residing there. The three main races in Malaysia are the Malays, Chinese and Indians. There are also other indigenous groups residing in East Malaysia. So, perhaps you have to change your location, you don't have to be lonely, learn the language. What I find in the countries is that when the natives see that you are trying to did speak their language, there is a certain level of appreciation and sometimes they will help more.

I received lots of help when I live in Rome, because I was serious about learning Italiano, just enough to get by and I gain so many friends. I had people talking to me in their language even when I told them I didn't quite understand what they  were saying to me, but when I spoke in their language, " non so cosa stai dicendo," it didn't matter LOL. I tell  people when they travel, it's a courtesy to learn a bit of their native tongue, you don't have to be fluent.

There's a plethora of things you can do, you just have to be creative, somewhat outgoing, friendly;  things like what, okay, how about starting a book club, an exercise group, a cooking club, walking, running, biking, big sister/brother, little sister/brother, crochet, knitting, quilting, a support group, woman on the move group, coffee group; use your skills, your knowledge, share information develop these simple groups/clubs or whatever you want to called them; ask yourself, talk to your self, assess your own skill set, think about how it will work for others. Start your own language group,youtube will teach you the language for free, gather a group together to learn online, start simple, speak to each other, remember where you  left off and continue, you must be discipline, start an english teaching class for free, maybe based on donations only; start a board game night (there are so many board games), a coffee bean bingo at the local church, library or park, how about a netflix movie night or day with popcorn or something. Teach what you've learned, life it too short to be lonely as a Registered Nurse this loneliness can lead into depression.

I have been a motivational speaker/teacher/counselor and life coach for a while now and I have yet to see anyone fail at their endeavors when they put forth an effort. We fail ourselves in many cases/instances; well, allow me to help you with a passing grade.

Loneliness is in response to the need to belong. to conversate, to have laughter, Interpersonal (groups/clubs) relationships gives us emotional health: we can share our problems/issues, we can laugh and have a good time, we can learn more about ourselves, others and each other.

But, when interpersonal relationships/interactions are absent (new locations), loneliness occurs. loneliness is  a painful reminder that we are not getting the desired relationships (friends, associates) we need. Sometimes loneliness is referred to as social pain, because it is a pain that results from social isolation. And, like hunger, the only way to be truly satisfied is to find those interpersonal relationships that will satisfy our need; we need to sleep so we go to bed, we need to clean ourselves so we take showers, we need clean clothes so we do the laundry, we need to eat so we get food, we need to not be lonely so we get a life/relationships, simple.

I chose to spend my life traveling the globe, I was a emergency room nurse, I was a license and ordained pastor, a business operator and owner(left nursing to open to full line bakeries). Graduate and postgraduate, why, because I've always wanted to teach and help people in many ways. I love people, well most people, I'm a huge kid so I tend to get along with most. I've heard people say life is hard, but I say life is what you make it. I saw my life a a fish in a fish bowl, swimming back and forth but never having a destination. I also saw my life as an assembly line worker, the same old things, day after day, after day. Well it was the major auto accident that I was in that woke me up out of my robiotic zombieness, LOL.

I decided to finally live my life for me, no more nursing, no more crisis counseling, no more rape victim advocacy counseling, no more pastoral counseling, no more feeding sweets counseling, Lol, but I will never stop motivating, encouraging, sharing and showing love.

Malaysia is where I plan to retire, but I have about 100 more countries to visit; my plans are to open up a small donut shop. I loved Malaysia when I was there, but I say that about every country, I visit, LOL.
I hope I was able to share a  light on loneliness and how you can combat this enemy while living abroad. My skills are God given and my travel life is also God given/allowed/enabled etc

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