Here's a picture of me and some malay students from my English class. As you can see by their faces, many are quite scared and shy to even be pictured with a white dude. Haha! I think shyness is just their general demeanor. Teaching has been wonderful and frustrating at the same time. Getting some of these girls to talk can be like pulling teeth! But it can also be fun and rewarding to see the students speak English and enjoy themselves during class. Though I think I have a natural tendency to be more charismatic and extroverted (oftentimes inciting a lot of laughter and whispers--especially when I demonstrated 'a strut' and 'a California/turtles-from-Finding Nemo accent), its the preparation part that can be killer. 18 hours of class doesn't seem like too much (a little more than a normal course load at Princeton) but making these English lessons fun can be a challenge. If you have ideas for games or activities, I'd love to hear them!