For a decent celebration

While Ling is singing Mo Li Hua in a foreign land, I am here celebrating Chinese New Year and studying for finals at the same time lol (which is really torturing by the way). I guess both of us finally got to learn Mandarin in our own ways. Ling went for classes while I was stuck in a community where the majority speaks Mandarin. And most of the vocabulary I learned were mostly symptoms and medical related words like cough, vomit and blood. We shall see who speaks better Mandarin! :P

Talking about Chinese New Year reminded me of an old lady who came to the clinic for a follow-up and to get her gout medication. She seemed like any other patient except that she was insisting to get a letter written to the welfare department. Nobody knew why until we started asking. She cried. The patient cried knowing that New Year was coming and she did not have enough money to have a decent celebration. Everybody kept silent for a moment and tried to console her. Not only she did not have enough money but she will be spending this new year alone. Honestly, I did not know how to make her feel better. The only thing I could say is "Don't cry. Don't worry. You can talk to us". Then, she said, "How can I not worry?" Realising that I have probably made her felt even worse really sucks. She continued crying. :(

I sincerely hope she will enjoy this new year and have a decent celebration. Being in a position where I can still celebrate new year with my family, I am glad to be at home despite having the need to study for finals at the same time. Many of us don't realise how lucky it is to have the opportunity to study for a better future and have a family to spend with until we meet the least fortunate.

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year people! :)

新年快乐! 恭喜发财!

Just had this China Week in class which explains the song, Mo Li Hua in my previous post. However, I have to admit that I learnt a lot more about my Chinese roots. Don't get me wrong, I still see myself as a Malaysian but knowing more about my ancestors' culture have taught me something that I have not been exposed to before. The more I think of it, the more I believe that it is never too late to learn something. Just because I did not go to a Chinese school when I was younger, that does not mean that I can not learn Chinese now. Now, here is something to look at.. my hand-written calligraphy! Just so you know, it's my name written all over it and the character 'fu' for good fortune. They are poorly written but still, it is my first time. And looking at it now surely reminds me of CNY!

I wished I could be around for CNY but oh well...it's ok, I am sure my sister will collect all of my angpows for me. :P

Thanks, Ching! 

By the way, Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Holidays to everyone! :)

Mo li hua

Yesterday in my Chinese class, my classmates and I were asked to sing a song, Mo Li Hua, which means Jasmine flower. This song is a very popular song in China and it is played in the Olympics. According to my teacher, this song was played once in the Olympics because no one knew how the Chinese national anthem sound like. Sounded great huh? I am sure I have heard of it sometime before in Chinese restaurants(I would guess Concorde Hotel) but I could not remember since I do not know the lyrics. :P

Well, this song gives a very peaceful feeling inside, so I thought of sharing this with you even though you might have heard of it before.:)

Anyway, here's the video:

Moli hua

Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā

Hǎo yī duǒ měi lì de mò li huā

Fēn fāng měi lì mǎn zhī yā

Yòu bái yòu xiāng rén rén kuā

Ràng wǒ lái jiāng nǐ zhāi xià

Sòng gěi bié rén jiā

Mò li huā yā mò li huā

Company to accompany

A lot of times, we wish to have someone to accompany us to do things like going out for lunch, going to the gym, going for a shopping spree and the list goes on and on. Of course, sometimes we do like to be on our own especially when it was a long tiring day after work or school and all you wanna do is just lie on your comfy bed. It's just that when we really we wish that we are not alone and many times it's because we got into trouble, we just hope to share it with someone else. The truth is no one will walk your life or experience the burden you bear whether it's your closest siblings, your closest friends, your partner and even your parents. As much as they can console you and help you to feel better, they can't help to be there for you all the time. The painful word to be said here is to be independent and very close to being alone too. Not saying that we all should be loners but a lot of times it's about your own effort and choices. Realising that this is the only thing that makes you original and so different from other people.

Trying to put yourself in others' shoes may sound like a good saying to fit in, but really? Try thinking of one person who knows best about you and who can write your bibliography lol. You can have that one person in your mind but I doubt that he or she knows you in and out about your past or any part of your life. The fact is it takes a compilation of interviews of different people you meet in every part of your life to do that. Yea, I think about bibliographies of my own. Daydreaming too much but I really hope to do something really big and meaningful in my life. Hmm... becoming a professor? LOL. (praying for miracles to happen)

I came across thinking about it when I visited a blog by a great doctor who is passionate about medical education and also about the world. Realising that I have been so oblivious about the world especially before I was in UKM. Yea, started reading worldly stuff since I join debate. Do you know that fresh air in cans are now for sale in China? How about the Arab Spring? And what happened to Greece? Don't ask, don't tell policy? I won't say that I know a lot but I'm just reading them for my own knowledge.