My grandmother Doris likes to say "alamak!" (silent "k"), which is about equivalent to "oh dear!" or the less formal "WTF" in English. I learned the alamak exclamation from my parents when I was young. Mom and Dad would often pepper their speech with Malay phrases, especially when they didn't want my brother and me to understand what they were saying. It was very annoying. But we were quick learners.
The other night our group of seven took two teksis (taxis) from our hotel in KL to nearby Subang Jaya, where my aunt and her family live. My grandmother (I call her Granny) lives with them. We visited, exchanged gifts, took photos, and caught up on things. When my uncle returned home from a badminton match around 9pm we all piled into two cars and went to a restaurant for a late dinner. There was a lot of seafood: crab, prawns, oysters, squid... I'm not a big shellfish fan, but I made a point to try a bit of everything. Aren't you proud of me?
After dinner we returned to my relatives' home and had a couple drinks. We chatted and laughed and laughed. They're all so funny my side still hurts. Most of all, it was a treat to see and get to know each other again. The last time I saw Granny was about 15 years ago, so this visit is long overdue. Of course, it's not easy considering we live on the opposite side of the globe from each other. Now I'm here doing my best to appreciate every single moment in this country. It's a blessing to have this luxury of time, for once. When I finally have to go back to work, the first word out of my mouth will certainly be "alamak!".
