the stranger on the train

A Thousand Words from Ted Chung on Vimeo

Make your own conclusions.

~shalom~

the shy and the happy

I've been here for a while and have experienced some of what Malaysian life is like and as much as i think i know about the culture here, there are parts of it i may never know because i'm not a native. However there are some parts that foreigners tend to experience more than the native if not exclusive. And just to be clear by native i mean people born in this country.

For example, i was walking to school today and this kancil {another word for a really small car} went pass and someone in the car holla 'yeah akon' and i just looked and thought, i wonder if akon will ever be seen lugging a laptop on one hand, backpack at his back while looking for a way to carry his jacket. I just smiled in my heart.

I've been in a similar situation back in kuching, was walking back home from a friend

s house and this guy on the back of a bike was probably drunk and he just held out 'f*ck you' and i was angry for a while and thought to myself  he's just stupid.

The other day i went to the bank and this lady in the bank was really irritated by me. I think its because my particular transaction is not what she does on a normal banking day so its kind of well i won't say stressful, but out of her routine and causes her some inconvenience. Plus i think she's pregnant so its probably the baby's fault she's not in a good mood. I totally preferred the other man. Right after getting from the bank i realised i don't have any RM 1 note and i need the note to take the bus back to campus. 

After thinking for a while i thought instead of buying something i don't need just because I want a RM 1 note i would just ask the cashier there at boulevard. Should be easy right? Well not really, i approached the lady there and asked if she could split this ten that i have and she looked at me, not understanding a word i said and went away shyly smiling all the way to find her language expert to attend to me. For a moment i thought i was an Ang mo. What was it about what i said that she didnt get? Anyways this other lady came who looked more experienced with this kind of situation and asked what i wanted and i said i want to change this ten ringgit... and before i finished the lady_1 was pointing to a currency change kiosk right across the building, at that moment i knew i had to simplify to the bearest vowels what i mean and say it extra slowly so she can get it.

Finally i just told her, i want 5 RM 1 notes and 1 RM 5 note and she was like ooow. Then i thought to myself, i really need to learn this language. 

~shalom~