By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Nathan Ensz, who works in the kitchen at St. Luke Hospital in Marion, arrived with diplomas from Goessel High, Notre Dame College in Ohio, and Newcastle University in northeast England.

Now Ensz is about to get another kind of education, moving to Malaysia to begin a career teaching English at University College Sedaya International in Kuala Lampur.

The job will include teaching reading, writing, listening, and speaking, Ensz said.

A 6-foot-8 basketball lover, he also hopes to be involved in playing, then coaching, basketball.

Ensz already has learned a lot about Malaysia from his girlfriend, Malaysia native Shabna Selva Mohan, a university English instructor in Malaysia who met him at graduate school at Newcastle.

“I learned about the cultural diversity of the place, which has native Malays, Chinese, and Indians,” Ensz said. “Those are the three main cultural groups.”

It matters which group a person comes from, Ensz said.

“That was one thing that kind of surprised me is the importance of your race,” he said.

He looks forward to sampling food, learning to cook Malaysian and Indian dishes, diving, and playing basketball.

“I’m hoping it may open the door to coaching again,” he said.

Malaysia’s climate also will come as a welcome change.

“I’m looking forward to not having to fight winter,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the monsoon season.”

He’ll get to see more of the world as well. The college where he will be teaching has a partnership with two other institutions.

“The university will eventually send me to China,” Ensz said.

Despite the eagerly anticipated changes, he knows there are things he’ll miss.

“I’ll miss the stars,” he said. “There’s something calming about being able to look into the sky on a December or January night.”

Even the array of constellations in Malaysia will be different.

“I’ll miss thunderstorms,” Ensz said.

He admits he won’t miss the health care system in the U.S. or tornados.

Ensz will leave Friday to fly to New York. His flight to Kuala Lampur will be Monday. That portion of the trip will take 20 hours, with a 2 ½-hour layover.

Jet lag will likely be a factor. Malaysia’s time is 14 hours ahead during Daylight Savings Time.