5pm St.Louis,Missouri We just got back from an amazing ASIAN luncheon with our fellow asian counterparts ,(Singaporeans and Malaysians unite!)many of us meeting up for the very first time too at Hiro Asian Restaurant in downtown St.Louis.We had oodles of fun! Many of us left home for the sake of new opportunities abroad – education, love,work, money and the sense of adventure and travel.Being an expat or an immigrant,is no easy thing, but it’s not just expats who spend time away from home and family. Even college students leaving to study or going abroad go through the difficulties of being away. (I’m sure a lot of moms suffer on their behalf, too!) It’s been a few years since many of us last went home or saw all our family, so I’m feeling nostalgic .What do I miss most from being away from home? FOOD! Glorious Singapore Food! Ta-daa! Chef Bernie at Hiro who hails from Kedah,Malaysia to the rescue! Asian recipes to tantalise our tastebuds! Everything was scrumptious! It was nice for many of us to go back for a few hours of feeling the gift of speaking naturally (the presence of other languages, especially the varieties of Malay and the Chinese dialects) instead of having to constantly search our brain for the right words and conjugations altho English is widely spoken in Topical Singapore & Malaysia. Many of us here grew up Bilingual or Trilingual . A badge of identity for many Singaporeans & Malaysians, it represents a hybrid form of the language that includes words from Malay, as well as Chinese and Indian languages. Almost everyone of us in Singapore & Malaysia speaks more than one language, with some of us speaking as many as three or four. I think multilingualism helps world peace as it broadens understanding and compassion. Living abroad, our late dad and mom liked the stories, the letters sis & myself sent and the gossip we shared. If wed never moved, those stories would have changed. We wouldn’t have learned to find our way around foreign cities, fallen in love over an In-N-Out Burger in California or met some marvellous friends on our 7 country European vacation travelling across Europe on a Greyhound bus.I’d have been a different person. Its such a blessing to have had parents who encourage you to follow your dreams, no matter what. My parents were eager for us sisters to get out and see the world. Traveling is one thing, but living and immersing yourself in a culture can be just as rewarding as it is challenging. I’m also gaining a far greater appreciation for all I’ve left behind while also wondering what else is out there for me to see. Travelling, and leaving familiarity behind, can be really difficult – not the ‘holiday’ people often envisage. It’s wonderful to have a good support network .It’s always a struggle as a traveller between following our dreams and the commitments that we have (or perceive we have) to our family back home. Im sure this resonates with a lot of you. It looks like sis and I have found the right balance for us---Maryland Heights ,Missouri where we now call............... HOME. Following dreams isn’t a selfish act, it’s a brave one... Pics are a tad blurry...rats! Denises website: leoanddenise.webs
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:08:34 +0000
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