Yes, I get up early and I get home before the sun sets.
Today I got up and imagined a world without strangers. Yesterday, I learned that the Petronas towers are closed on Monday. Fed up and slightly disappointed, I went for a stroll to Menara tower. On the way, I followed a blonde female who seemed to know where she was going. For about 20 solid minutes, I followed here and I could imagine that she was weirded out that there was someone who has been following her for 20 minutes.
I realised that what I had done was strange so when I caught up to her on the shuttle bus, I introduced myself and gave her a really big smile. We spoke about our universities and as it turned out she studies in Queensland back in Australia and she was only in Malaysia for 1 day before heading off to France.
I was grateful for this encounter because my camera tragically died and the day had just begun. We spoke about our studies and I told her that I was in Malaysia working on a couple of projects. She smiled and was amazed that I was so young and already making a difference. GO AIESEC!!!
We had lunch together in Little India and got our feet done at General Market. We shared drinking out of a coconut and travelled to Bukit Bintang.
The sweetest moment was that she told me that she would never forget me as I was her personal tour guide. She said after I introduced herself, she regretted only planning to stay in Malaysia for one day.
This made me think of a world without strangers. All you need to do is smile, you never know where life could take you. My friends think that it was very dangerous to approach someone just like that but I am optimistic about it.
Again, today when I ordered breakfast at Chow Kit on my way to KL Krashpad, I smiled at the man would made me Roti Talur (I think it means egg roti). He asked me where I was from and I told him I was from Sydney in Australia. He told me his story about his residency and where he was from and how he now resides in Malaysia as opposed to his home town. He told me that he misses his home but he can never go back. Although his accent was hard to understand, I gave him all the time in the world to hear him out. He smiled at me and I guess sometimes, all you need to do is listen. He really appreciated my company with him and gave me a discount on my breakfast. I couldn’t help it but I tipped him and smiled. I cannot wait to order breakfast at the same place tomorrow at Chow Kit and hear what else he has to say.
I don’t know what to really say about Chow Kit without sounding harsh but it is most definitely not as developed as the two surrounding suburbs. The streets remind me of slums and it isn’t a pleasant place for young children to roam the streets alone, especially when there are people shooting up heroin and crack in the open. Chow Kit is notoriously known to be the red light district of Kuala Lumpur.
Tomorrow will be my first day as a teacher’s assistant in YCK (Yayasan Chow Kit). After meeting Ian Werret, I really feel there is more to life than just making money and spending it on consumerable goods like clothes. We forget about the people who are disadvantaged and society has become so self centred on the individual, it leaves me to wonder who actually cares about those who live in makeshift shacks and those who live on the streets?
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