Saturday, 24th February.
I promised my dad to write about my trip- sorry Abah, for the past 3 days I had been busy practicing my ribbon dance for our Chinese New Year celebration this afternoon. Or at least that was what I told everyone who asked about my whereabouts. Hehe. Actually I have become one of Wong Fei Hung’s disciples and traded medical books (pah! My laptop, more like) for some kicks and punches. *cue to roll your eyes*
When I was invited to join the group of nine people with utterly no knowledge of wushu (apart from the awesome Chai, who was our sifu) for a performance on that day, I didn’t skip a beat to say yes. That was before the fact that everybody who was anybody in town would watch us sank in, which by then was already a little too late. But I had a lot of fun, albeit having mere 3 days for training. It’s been a long time since I did this kind of thing, and I realised how much I’ve missed learning martial arts. Now all we need to do is goad Chai into opening a wushu club. Hehe.
Today also marked the first time I went to a party in a pair of track pants and not having a camera in my hand. Kinda cool actually, butting in every picture for once rather than clicking the shutter. I have to do this more often. Hehe. The food and beverage were top-notch, especially the pau. Yummy pau! There was also a little exhibition in the hall, featuring amongst others Chinese calligraphy, where you can get personalised inscription of your names, and the art of drinking Chinese tea which I somehow missed, being busy with our final rehearsal. Such a bummer for tea-lover me.
All in all- a festive occasion to be remembered. Once again, Xin Nian Kuai Le!
And Happy Men's Day (23 Feb) to every man in Russia ;)
One of our movements
posing for pictures after the show ended
From left: Sin Ye, Sin Wan, Kah Wei, Kak Haneem, Fatin, me.
Volgan bloggers edisi Chinese New Year: Zyryx gets greedy
This one had me in stitches- these guys were trying to burn firecrackers made of paper. Haha.
ps: pictures courtesy of Kak Haneem. Xie xie ni!
pps: Turkey trip coming soon...
Happy birthday to my mother- may Allah grant you strength and courage and may you always be under His blessings and protection.
And Happy New Year to my Chinese friends- had a great 'Reunion' Dinner last night ;)
As for Russians, today is the 'Forgiveness Sunday', the last day of Pancake Week to celebrate the end of winter.
Me, I didn't sleep at all last night. It's been a long time since I did that...
... Ok, that is not something to be celebrated. I'm going to sleep now. Good day.
Life has been so peculiar these days. Like, five days ago I was knitting (many people thought the world was coming to an end... yeah, I thought so too. haha). Then I had a dream wherein my whole family went on a vacation in Brazil, and our hotel room overlooked a green, green paddy field. Weirder still, everybody there spoke Russian (actually we spoke Malay but somehow the language was called Russian. Ape2 lah.). The next day I got hugged by our hostel 'technician' whom we called Papa- it was his birthday, apparently- he even brushed his cheek against mine! I "euuuuwww"-ed the whole way back to my room. Thought he was drunk but he was actually drinking tea with a Mama (hostel cleaner) at the moment. Can drinking tea induce such unfathomable behaviour?? Meanwhile yesterday I bought a pair of pants specifically made for a 3.9-month pregnant woman, or so the label said. But who cares? They were pretty. Heh.
And today... today, the wonder out of wonders being the fact that I finally managed to remember to bring my room key along, so that I didn't have to ask to borrow from Mama like every other time, and receive a dreadful hug from a quinquagenarian (or is it sexagenarian?) of a birthday boy in the process. The creeps.
Sometimes when a calamity befalls you or your loved ones (they’re interchangeable, really), you wish to be at the centre of it all. The sharing of pain and sorrow, by some intricate means, seems more bearable that way. Being so far away leaves you feeling so alone and bothered you even feel guilty. For there are moments when you, being at the periphery of all that, unconsciously step outside and join in the whole shebang of another thing of the moment, laughing and forgetting. And as you rightfully step back in, it shakes you up harder than it feels it should you almost suffocate from your own crying.
Never did I imagine being home would mean so much to me like it does now.
"So have patience! Allah's promise is the very truth, and let not those who have no certainty make thee impatient." - Ar-Rum: 60
To my sister Aliah- Happy 16th birthday! Dah besa ye awok... ish2 tak sangke..
Today’s a lovely Wednesday- a touch of snow for the wintry feel, and, as per every semester in the past, killer subjects to round the day with. Lovely. And so, the so-called honeymoon semester of our medical years has begun. My inner mind’s still somewhere far away though, far enough not to be plagued by unnecessary inconveniences termed as homework and lullabies of a lecture, and, well, people staring at you as if you have just grown two heads. I enjoyed my holiday very much, and have related my story in its entirety to quite a number of people, aided by maps and guide booklets no less (which we stole from tourist info offices). Hehe. I wish I could do the same to my far-away family and friends, but hopefully my writing will do for the moment. Turkey is a beautiful country, be it in its exquisite sea views, the untold stories of the past immortalised in fine architectures of its buildings, the warm Turkish hospitality, or the glorious cuisine.
In the eve of the trip, I vowed to keep a detailed day-by-day, minute-by-minute journal documenting my first solo vacation to this country separated by two continents, housing one of the cities included in the list of places to visit in my lifetime. What I had in mind as a product would resemble something out of An Unexpected Light, crossed with The Motorcycle Diaries and Around The World In 80 Days with a dash of Ibn Battuta’s and Marco Polo’s travels, a romantic depiction of a bona fide traveler.
Ok, end of angan-angan. For the record, I did not keep a journal (hands too busy clicking on the camera' shutter) and granted, I might have forgotten some of the smaller details that I didn't intend to forget. Well. Anyway, I know I’m not writing for an award-winning book, and I’m not having a bout of writer’s block at the moment, but a bad news from home had me at a lost and halted my progress. Thus my account of the trip might be delayed for some yet-undefined while, until things get brighter. My best wishes to everyone out there.
