In a place called Malaysia, there’s a city in the jungle. In that city, there’s an apartment complex with two swimming pools, a water slide, a playground, a fish pond, and lots of geckos that crawl up and down the walls. In that apartment complex lives a family with a mom, dad, and four children. Every day, in between classes, meals, and chores, the children run out their front door, take the elevator downstairs and play in the courtyard with their friends. They ride bikes and scooters, look at the fish, search for great big snails, and play tag. They have play dates and visit each other’s houses and their parents all text each other, saying things like: “Can my son come over to play?” Or “Your kids are over here playing happily.”
Sometimes the family goes out to explore the city in the jungle. There’s wet markets, fruit stands, temples, and malls. There's parks, botanical gardens, bugs, trees, walkways, and beautiful views of sky scrapers. There’s street rats, spicy food, fresh watermelon juice, and monkey gangs.
Other times the family goes out of the city to discover what’s inside the jungle.
The jungle in Malaysia is filled with interesting plants, beautiful birds, and many different creatures that make many noises. Cicadas sound like mechanical whistles that chirp loudly, butterflies float through colorful tree flowers, and lizards creep close to the trails. Vines twist in pretty designs, leaves grow as big as people, and bamboo, banana trees, and spike-covered tree bark decorate the paths.
In the Malaysian jungle, if you stop for a moment, you may hear rustling all around you, but you won’t see a thing. The rustling sound will get closer and closer, which feels scary because you still won’t see any movement, but eventually, a troop of monkeys will appear and you’ll finally see that they’ve surrounded you.
The family went to the beach once, and the first thing they saw was a monitor lizard and lots of monkeys. At Malaysian beaches, the water is as hot as a bathtub and when you sit down in it, you want to take a nap. Hermit crabs scurry, and sand bubbler crabs cover the beaches in teeny tiny sand balls that are fun to smooth out with your hands or feet. Mangrove trees line the shores where mud guppies skip over the roots and water snakes slither together in a tangle.
Life is pretty busy for the family because the two oldest kids have online school, but the third child just got to go to in-person school, and that was pretty darn exciting. Mornings are filled with zoom meetings, activities with the youngest child, and taking breaks outside in between classes. Afternoons are filled with bike rides around the courtyard, swimming in the pool, and play dates. Evenings are filled with storms, nighttime walks, and bat watching.
In Malaysia, there are monsoon seasons where the rain pours down in giant streams, lightening and thunder crack close, and wind shakes the coconut trees.
In Malaysia, fruit bats, as big as pigeons, swoop up and down in the dark, making squeaky sounds and they’re fun to watch.
In a place called Malaysia, there’s a city in the jungle. In that city, there’s an apartment complex where a family lives. The family is really happy and they love Malaysia very much. They hope people can come visit them soon so they can share the adventures they are having with those they love. They are really excited to keep exploring, and can’t wait to discover more.
