40 years later...

In the Good Book, we were told that God took 40 years to discipline, retrain and to prepare His people for the promised land. That they will know gratitude and walk worthy steps. It seemed a long time. Otherwise, how can values be learnt and practised?

Yesterday, was a classic day. Friends of 40 years met again. 

What transpired after all those years?

The Geography Department of the then University of Malaya 1978. We have changed in size, height, hair volume and all things physical. We did not dwell on health; but it was unanimously agreed that at this point of life, health is the key priority.

Among us are once financial controllers, educationists and business personnel ; but now all have retired with some being reemployed.

We looked into a little booklet which recorded some personal details of all of us and were happy to discover that all of us except for one or two have left for greater calling. So, while it took me some time to consider about meeting up, I decided that it is a must to see them. Some came from Johor Bahru, Kelantan, Kedah, Bentong, Perak and in the name of camaraderie met. 

Exchanges were made; how many grand children? I came in very low since I have only one. It is difficult to remind my girls of their duties. They must know that when we meet friends we want to relate about a rich heritage.

One character, Mr Wahab is already a grandfather of 16. I suspect he is senior to us a little ; otherwise this seems an impossible feat. In our meet besides children we do not talk about wives and husbands; we were too engrossed at chatting about our moments together.

Nanda, in particular has a good memory. He remembers vividly how when he and I were 5th RC, we struggled for the dreaded meteorology paper; how we comforted each other the day before the exam and miraculously made it. At our age, even memories like these can evoke some nostalgia and deepen a friendship. An ex principal, his jovial disposition added so much joy to the reunion.

Datin Jessie, third from the left, was host for the day. Her residence at Taman Seputeh tells it all. She is a humble host and made the afternoon comfortable and warm. She is blessed with 6 grand children and all her 4 sons reside in a house next to her. Oh, how life has determined our walk on earth.

Foo, Bala, Wahab, Repin, Nanda, Lee and Yap; the clowns of those years.

Today, it reminded me of this poem .

The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)

Two Roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent int he undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both the morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the fruit for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood and I -
I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference.

Indeed we have all taken different roads.
We wondered if it had been the right road.

May we meet many times again in the future.

Hi Lucy

 Lucy

The girl I heard of from her mum but have never met. Mum Sandra has been a friend of mine since childhood days. Life can be strange. Sandra resides in the UK but we meet almost every year for the last 10 years. She makes it a point to be in Malaysia at least once a year. The 12 hour flight is nothing when she reminisces on the good food; ice kacang, cendol, hokkien mee, rojak and all ! 

Shopping is thrilling as the pound can buy almost anything under the sun. 

So, this annual affair can never be a miss. 

The Easter break gave Lucy a chance to be in Malaysia with mum.
I was not sure how she would respond to me, the Asian aunt. But all doubts melted away after an exchange and soon we seem to have known each other for all the years we had never met. Lucy has an English dad and a Chinese mum. But she has nothing Asian in her looks. She is absolutely dad's daughter. At some moments I would ask her how it felt to have mama in a Chinese lady and she shrugged her shoulders indifferently. Mother and daughter has a close relationship I can see. They shared tender moments when Lucy would occasionally squeezed mama's cheeks while mama gave the karate hit. A mother loves unconditionally and the daughter must feel it.
"Aunty Poh, I want to eat ice kacang."
When did she learn about this dessert? Later, I was told that she first had the taste of it a decade ago while visiting Penang.
In her short visit here, she was introduced to more local desserts and she developed an instant love for them. However, the mention of the king of fruit sent her off her mind. "No"; the adamant distaste.
Oh she sure has missed the best of desserts; her animosity was the exact reaction I had towards the 'stinking tofu' of China.

Ice kacang served in a typically local metal bowl found at Central Market. It was ecstasy. But how does one manage all that sweet all by yourself? She indeed has a sweet tooth. Roti tisu on the right is a first try. She will remember this , I am sure. A plain piece of Indian bread served with with dhal curry. Unlike mama, she cannot handle any form of spiciness. 

The coconut shake is another hit for her. Oh , how does one handle all that sweet? The hot afternoon heat caused the drink to be even more appealing. At one of the local malls, we found an"egglet " pancake dipped in peanut butter. She sure had a treat on local sweets.

This Hanna dye was perhaps one of the highlights of her trip here. Thrilled to the core, she was informed that the dye would only stand good for a week or so. The special needs teacher said that her children will not be too surprised at the new feature on her hand; I wondered why she felt that way.

The last supper at Ravi's. We thought the meal will do them good. But Lucy only indulged in roti canai as the spicy banana rice was not her cup of tea. I suspect it is because she could not handle the spicy dish. After hokkien mee and prawn noodles, what else can one crave for? Her short stay here was running between malls and tasting local sweets including kueh lapis, ondeh ondeh, and other nyonya delicacies. Yes, she had a whale of a time consuming sweets. That I can vouch.

Actually Lucy is a good girl. She has taken the initiative to help children going through challenging times. She told me that the publicly run school has a small population with about 9 children in a class. She confessed that even with a small number, she finds it hard to give a one to one attention to her wards. In a one hour period, at the most she can spare is 10 minutes on a single child. 

So, it is truly challenging if she needs to give individual attention. 

How many her age would want to deal with difficult teaching moments? At a local store when she saw play dough products she quickly bent down to touch and feel its texture and could tell whether it was good dough. She must have played with it long enough to make a conclusion. Mama Sandra said Lucy's hands are deft and good at using play dough for children's learning.

At one point she shared that she had to see to many needs of her children including toilet and meal duties. We pondered and later agreed that she sometimes functioned as a 'maid' all in the name of compassion and empathy for the less fortunate. That makes her a good girl at heart.

This picture is epic. The characters of Sesame Street have been in town ever since memory stretches. It brought good memories to my girls in their growing years and it is still fondly enjoyed by my grand daughter today. Some things just don't change; like the values you embraced from your parents. You can be rebellious at one point but the true self will eventually emerge and you will discern right from wrong. Of course rights and wrongs can be subjective but as mothers we can only utter silent prayers that our daughters will be protected against wrong decisions and circumstances and that life will be under the favour and mercy of God.

Lucy is no exception. May she taste of the good things of life and continue to contribute to the needy and reap the fruits of her hard work among them.

Come and visit me again Lucy.

Sending her off at the airport she hugged and said "I love meeting you Aunty Poh " .

I love meeting you too, Lucy.