乔治城第一周-上 First Week in George Town – Part I

2024年2月26日到3月3日 星期一到星期日

在乔治城的第一周，我已经开始习惯了这里的工作节奏。清晨6点，当地还沉浸在漆黑的晨曦中，我的工作日就已经启程，这时是博伊西的下午三点和普莱诺的下午四点，正好能和远在大洋彼岸的同事们有几个小时的交集。到了夜晚，再从9点至工作至10点多，又和同事有了一个小时的交错时间。

February 26 to March 3, Monday to Sunday

In our first week in George Town, I’ve already started to get used to the work pace here. At 6 a.m., when it’s still dark outside, my workday begins, coinciding with 3 p.m. in Boise and 4 p.m. in Plano, Texas, allowing for a few hours of overlap with colleagues across the ocean. Then, working from 9 p.m. to after 10 p.m. again overlaps with my colleagues in their morning.

公寓的生活也颇为舒心。有时候晚上10点多楼下的餐厅还会传来的喧闹音乐，我的苹果AirPods便派上了用场。意外的插曲也不乏其趣，就在周一晚上，我尝试制作娘惹鸡肉咖喱和四季豆晚餐后，PJG刚洗完碗，厨房的水池的热水管突然爆裂，水花四溅，一地狼藉。紧急联系公寓主人后，她迅速安排了维修人员，在第二天就将水龙头和冷热水管更换完毕，一切恢复了正常。

除了那个周一自己动手做的晚餐，我们大多选择去附近的大排档中心解决晚餐。那里的美食既经济实惠又免去了烹饪的繁琐，让我们的晚餐时光变得简单又惬意。

周六是充实又完美的一天。上午去了槟城娘惹大屋，一座位于马来西亚槟城的历史建筑，现已转变为展示娘惹文化和遗产的博物馆。这座大屋的历史可以追溯到19世纪末，是由本地历史声名显赫的华人郑景贵所建。郑景贵的发财致富是典型的“白手起家”故事。他年轻时离开中国，初到马来西亚的时候几乎是身无分文的，来到这里之后开始了开采锡矿，积累了大量的财富。这个博物馆的导游讲解了一些关于这个家族的有趣故事。

Apartment living has been quite comfortable. Sometimes, after 10 p.m., the noisy music from the restaurant downstairs comes on so my Noise Cancelling Apple AirPods are very handy! There have also been some unexpected episodes, such as on Monday night when, after trying to make Nyonya chicken curry and green beans for dinner, PJG had just finished washing the dishes when the hot water pipe in the kitchen sink suddenly burst, splashing water everywhere and creating a huge mess. After urgently contacting the apartment owner, she arranged for a repair person, who had the faucet and both hot and cold water pipes replaced by the next day, restoring everything to normal.

Apart from that Monday when we cooked dinner ourselves, we mostly chose to eat at the nearby hawker centers for dinner. The food there is both economical and saves us the hassle of cooking, making our dinner time simple and enjoyable.

Saturday was a fulfilling and perfect day. In the morning, we went to the Penang Peranakan Mansion, a historic building in Penang, now transformed into a museum showcasing the Nyonyaz culture and heritage. The mansion’s history dates back to the late 19th century and was built by the locally renowned Chinese figure, Chung Keng Kwee. Chung’s story of becoming wealthy is a classic “rags-to-riches” tale. He arrived in Malaysia from China with almost nothing and began his fortune by mining tin, accumulating a vast wealth. The museum’s guide shared some interesting stories about the family.

逛完了娘惹大屋，步行十几分钟到了姓周桥。在马来西亚槟城，特别是在其首府乔治市，存在一系列独特的码头，被称为“姓氏桥”（Clan Jetties）。这些码头沿着乔治市的海滨建造，每个码头都以一个特定的华人姓氏命名，代表着不同的华人家族或宗族。这些家族最初是从中国南方移民到马来西亚的，他们建造了这些水上屋，底部用木桩打入海边滩涂，在铺设木板作为街道。 形成了独特的社区和文化景观。姓周桥是其中最著名和最受游客欢迎的一个，桥上的人家都变成了手工艺品店、纪念品商店和传统小吃摊。

After visiting the Peranakan Mansion, we walked for about ten minutes to the Chew Jetty. In Penang, Malaysia, especially in its capital, George Town, there exists a series of unique docks known as “Clan Jetties”. These jetties are built along the waterfront of George Town, with each jetty named after a specific Chinese surname, representing different Chinese families or clans. These families originally migrated from southern China to Malaysia, where they built these water houses on stilts driven into the sea floor, with wooden planks laid out as streets, forming unique communities and cultural landscapes. Chew Jetty is among the most famous and popular with tourists, with the homes on the jetty transformed into handicraft shops, souvenir stores, and traditional snack stalls.

在姓周桥的大排档中心吃了简单的午餐，步行不到10分钟到了著名的雨伞街，很多游客来这里打卡。

We had a simple lunch at the hawker center at Chew Jetty, then walked for less than 10 minutes to the famous Umbrella Street, a popular spot for tourists to visit and take photos.

面对着三十多度的高温和超过80%的湿度挑战，我俩决定给乔治城的漫游暂时按下暂停键。搭乘Grab返回我们的凉爽小窝，在短暂的休息后，续写我们这个周末探索的篇章。

Facing the challenge of temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius and humidity exceeding 80%, we decided to temporarily pause our roaming around George Town. We took a Grab back to our cool little nest, and after a brief rest, we continued our weekend exploration. More later …