Expat wives get connected through Mahjong

By PRIYA MENON, The Star Online

KUALA LUMPUR - Living in a foreign country can be a little boring but a group of women from Britain, the United States, Australia and Europe have found a way to keep boredom at bay — they get together regularly for a game of mahjong.
They insist that they have a lot of fun playing the game although to onlookers it may look a little strange to see a group of Caucasian women playing the Chinese game.
The group initially began a year ago with eight women, mainly foreigners who live around the KLCC area who wanted to make some new friends.

The idea came from Genevieve West, 40, who had lived in Taiwan and learned the game there.
“When the group was small, we started out at our homes. Most of us learned the game when we were staying in Asian countries while the rest of the group members learned it from us,” she said.
Most of their husbands are in Malaysia working in the oil and gas industry. To these women, their husbands have the boring job while they are having fun getting to know Malaysia.
Today the mahjong group’s members has increased to 25 and they meet every Tuesday at Delicious@Dua Residency from 2pm to 5pm.
Genevieve sends e-mails to all the members whenever they have their meetings.
The group plays the Hong Kong mahjong which lacks the Joker cubes and they play at a slower rate compared with the Chinese.
“I managed to get a guidebook from my friend who played in Shanghai and Malaysia and I distribute it to the players,” she said.
Her friends look at the guide which has English translations for the Chinese characters on the cubes.
The trend has caught like wildfire among the young ones who often watch their mothers play the game.
One of them was 18-year-old Rebecca Hubbard who was in Malaysia to visit her parents during her university vacation.
Hubbard said she had picked up mahjong quite easily and had even taught her friends at her university in Scotland to play the game.
“My mum bought me a mahjong set and I bought a book to learn to play the game better,” she said.
Her mum Eunice Hubbard said it was a way for them to embrace a Malaysian culture as well as a unique way to meet friends.

Copyright © 2009 The Star Online