snowflakes

I know I'm not alone

I was walking past a transparent donation box and something caught my eyes, something familiar. Out of the many different currency notes, I spotted the familiar RM 1!!! It’s just nice to find out that somewhere out there in Vienna, there are other Malaysians.

Last academic year, I was in Bolzano…and I was the only Malaysian in that town. My nearest kinsmen was in Trento, almost 2 hours away. In the capital city Vienna, so far I have not met any Malaysians…but I know they are out there. There are many Indonesians, Chinese (from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau), and even Singaporeans. Where are the Malaysians I wonder?

I guess most of them are in English speaking countries like England, America, or Australia. Do I feel lonely? Well…sometimes I do. I had to train myself to speak proper English….without the “lah-s” and all the “ones”. Speaking Manglish(Malaysian English) will only render more confusion to the listener.

Once I accidentally use the word “chun”.....it’s a slang that means cool, beautiful or good (depending on the context), and I had to rephrase and make myself more understandable.

I remember right after the political tsunami in the election, I wanted to share my joy and excitement so badly with someone….unfortunately there was no Malaysians around. In times like this, I realized that though at times, I may think that Europe is a far better place (in many aspects), but nothing beats the familiar faces, the good old teh tarik talk with friends,
the spicy food, shopping centers that open until 11pm (even on weekends), and …..and the list goes on and on.

***There’s no place like home!! ***