The highlight of my travels has been meeting people from different places and of different backgrounds. I knew I would see my overseas relatives and get to know them a bit better, but I wasn't expecting to form so many new friendships. The people I have met during this trip are all interesting and inspiring in some way. It has been wonderful to hear their stories and laugh with them about life and our shared and/or divergent experiences.
There are a tons of food courts in Singapore, which are places people can congregate and find all varieties of prepared cuisine at reasonable prices. Unlike most food courts in the U.S., you can actually get some quality fare at the ones in Singapore. I was eating lunch at a Thai cafe in a shopping center food court when I met a nice Japanese woman. We were sitting next to each other at the counter and had ordered the same mango salad. She said how happy she was to hear an American accent, having lived in New York and studied at Columbia. She's from Tokyo but currently resides in Singapore because her husband, who works for the UN, had been sent there temporarily. We chatted about lifestyle differences between the U.S., Singapore, Vietnam and Japan. At the end of lunch she gave me her card and said I have a place to stay next time I'm in Tokyo. Not bad.
When traveling by air I'm usually content to just put on my headphones and sleep the time away. But on one flight I sat next to a friendly Aussie photographer on his way to a three month stint in northern Thailand. We talked about the tallest mountains in the world, about being adventurous and trying out new cuisines, and about how hard it is to learn most Asian languages. He has friends in a dozen countries and one of his dreams is to sail around the world. He used to have a yacht but says it wasn't comfortable enough to live on for long periods of time. One summer he did take it from Brisbane to Cairns for scuba diving, then on to the Solomon Islands. The entire trip took him through multiple storms over a four month period. He says he was floored to find that the return flight to Brisbane was only about an hour and a half long. Our ability to travel huge distances quickly is deceiving, and it cheats our magnificent oceans, he says.
When I was around 12 years old I started writing to my Chinese third cousin in Malaysia. She's a couple years younger than me and our mothers (who are second cousins) thought we might like to be pen pals. Of course I was happy to write to someone about myself, and she was keen to polish up on her English skills. We exchanged many letters and a few photos over the years, but fell out of touch once we both moved on to university. I was able to find her on-line a few years ago and we reconnected. I told her I was coming to Malaysia this summer, so we arranged to meet up for dinner. We finally met face to face after all these years! She studied in England and now works in Malaysian public policy. It was great to see her and find out that we get along as well in person as we did on paper. I'm hoping that she'll make a trip to the west coast of the U.S. someday.
Last night I was treated to dinner by an Indian couple who are close to
welcoming their first grandchild into the family. A Hindu ceremony had
been held at their house the evening before, in order to celebrate the
mother's (their daughter-in-law's) seventh month of pregnancy.
Apparently it's a day set aside with the sole purpose of making the
soon-to-be mother as happy as possible; she can ask for and will
receive anything she desires. Platters of food are offered, and all
female friends and family members present her with a glass bangle (symbolizing good wishes), which they
each put onto her wrist. By the end of the ceremony her arms are covered in bangles! Our friends proudly shared photos of their children with us,
including pictures of their eldest son's engagement ceremony, the
wedding dinner and the elaborate wedding ceremony. For dinner last
night, we were served chicken curry and fish curry. Delicious! The
family ate with their hands--but don't forget, the custom is to use only the fingertips on your right hand when eating.
I have always understood that two of the most universal things in the world are genuine kindness and a good sense of humor, and the people I've met on this trip have proven that to be true. There are many more stories I could write about here, but I'll spare you this time!
