I report from the land of pokerfaced aloofness (for the most part), of everything pricey, of insipid cuisine, of freakish charm in a way I cannot aptly articulate. The dilly-dallying was due to the incurable holiday disease of dormancy. I have been busy! Eheh. And to be fair, our internet has just been plugged back in two days ago and my internet account has only been up and running (read: topped up) for two hours. Anyhow, my apologies.
A lot has happened lately, the most recent being the Crocodile Hunter guy’s death. I told my friends, and the unfailing response from each one of them would be, I’ve heard of his death like, 2 years ago. To which I would say, OK, this time he died for real. The guy’s massive popularity was discernible from the plentiful messages of condolences from many important people all over but his most striking legion of fans would always be the little ones who faithfully watch his show. It’s a bit gleeful really, to read this comment from a small kid- “why does it have to be Steve Irwin? Why can’t it be someone old, like Sean Connery?” Kids just have the uncanny knack of being transparent, don’t they.
Off to a different topic- unpacking stuff requires a strong dose of will, for which I had demonstrated from the day of arrival until… four days later. Especially if you have one big luggage, one proper hand-carry, one improper hand-carry (in the form of a paper bag wrapped up by the protective plastic service at KLIA), two HUGE container bags (left in hostel), and several paper bags with a couple still floating around one of the floors reserved for storage (unknown exact coordinates). I’m currently missing three of my favourite mugs- a Harry Potter, a Little Mermaid, and a Bayern Munich (Sorry, Azleen :(). Do remind me to do a checklist next year.
Amongst the smallest details to share is the encounter I had with this old Tatar lady down at Nevskaya yesterday morning. She personifies the characteristic friendly Russian mak ciks who counterbalance the preconceived notion of Russians being generally cold and standoffish. Beginning with the routine “where are you from?” question, she went on to asking our place of study, complimenting our ‘prowess’ in Russian language (haha. We’re terrible, really, I’m sure she was simply being nice) and wishing us luck in our studies. I found out that we share the same name, and that she’s a doctor. All in all, the conversation might not hold any indicative value for many, but it was enough to make my day.
The elder generation often exudes a soothing image of kindness to my eyes. I still remember an old lady who spoke to us on a tram handing us a banana as a small token- she didn’t have anything to give and insisted we have it. A simple, yet moving gesture. These people remind me of the small acts of kindness we owe others- from holding doors for the person behind you to following queues to throwing rubbish in the bin to a simple smile towards a stranger (where it’s appropriate, of course ;)). We never know when these little favours would circle back to aid us in future lives.
5 comments:
Dear Sofi,
Why am I not surprised that you havent unpacked till now? In fact I am having an active vision of you sleeping on a bed full of strewn stuffs! haha...Sofi will remain Sofi, who will sharply retort if I began to straighten the bed-sheets she just ruffled!
Re Steve Irwin. I can't say much when it comes to deaths. Only Allah swt knows why he died that way ie a tragic and agonizing death.
Alhamdulillah. It's so comfortable to hear despite everything else, there are nice and caring ladies around at your place. Yes, these small gestures are indeed valuable. You never know, these small deeds you do, could be the ones that 'save' you in the Hereafter.
Take care. Just get over with the unpacking fast and start FOCUSSING!
Mak- I've done unpacking la... what I meant was it took me 4 days to unpack whereas many of my friends finished theirs on the day of arrival itself. heh.
u left ur jeruk P___i dalam peti sejuk. i have to finish those before puasa. ;)
ok take care.... salam to kak sarah.
Small acts of kindness are actually pretty big. We remember them forever, don't we? And especially in a world marked with so much violence and greed. It's good to be reminded that despite the headlines, most people you meet are good.
Small things are usually the ones that make a big difference :)
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