Once upon a time, I was a clueless KL city girl. If you want to know how clueless some Malaysian city girl can be, I can give you an example. A friend brought me home to her place (Happy Garden) to celebrate Deepavali in 1998. She says she is happy to have me staying over and I say I am too. When I met her mother, auntie was dressed in saree and smelt heavily of spices. Then voila! My friend came out from her room dressed the same. Her dad suggested that we helped him out and with that I had a chance to make a flower kolam with the rest of the family.
Later in the evening, as people filed into the house, I guess I earned a whole lot of stares, everyone knows I'm different, too. Friend spoke in Tamil to these relatives because it is her mother tongue. But in the end, she always find the time to translate questions into English, and that simple gesture is very important to me. When everyone sat on the floor with a piece of banana leaf in their hands, I was confused. I asked, "Are we eating this for dinner?" Sensing my bewilderment, my friend reassured me that dinner will be served soon.
That experience when I was nine left me appreciating cultures and honestly, I am grateful that my parents cultivated my curiosity and love for the unknown.
So when ClarisseF saw me purchasing these at pasar malam today, imagine the puzzling look on her face. "What's that?"
Sensing her bewilderment, I said, "Why, it's just my Friday tea time snack!"
Am chao chee,
Vonnie S.
Later in the evening, as people filed into the house, I guess I earned a whole lot of stares, everyone knows I'm different, too. Friend spoke in Tamil to these relatives because it is her mother tongue. But in the end, she always find the time to translate questions into English, and that simple gesture is very important to me. When everyone sat on the floor with a piece of banana leaf in their hands, I was confused. I asked, "Are we eating this for dinner?" Sensing my bewilderment, my friend reassured me that dinner will be served soon.
That experience when I was nine left me appreciating cultures and honestly, I am grateful that my parents cultivated my curiosity and love for the unknown.
So when ClarisseF saw me purchasing these at pasar malam today, imagine the puzzling look on her face. "What's that?"
Sensing her bewilderment, I said, "Why, it's just my Friday tea time snack!"
Am chao chee,
Vonnie S.
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