The Getaway

My fifth year started for almost a month already and I am still no where near my books. Lol. Well, technically it's time for my research to finalise. Having an entire 7 weeks solely for that sort of made people taking it really easy. Honestly, I wanted to focus on my research especially after the time when I knew I was not able to go to the States for Ling's graduation.

Then, came the late notice for Royals. It sounds crazy to suddenly go all the way to Sabah for a debate competition but I went for it. A lot of people didn't understand why I did it. they kept asking me questions like, "Do you really like debate that much?" and "How about your SSM (research)?" Although we didn't make it far for Royals, I was proud of my juniors for their effort. By the way, I was the most senior person among the English debaters and was told to take care of my adik-adik sekalian. I realised time had passed so much that I am now a senior to these little kids. To be a senior wasn't easy as I have my self-management issues. I doubted whether I could manage things myself because my parents were not around at the same time when I was going to Sabah. I thought about expenses, groceries and laundry. It is not like I didn't do these things but it somehow felt different. I managed to spend time with my dear juniors and of course, knew them better. We went out to explore places in Sabah. Oops.. I don't think other seniors would have allowed them to skip those rounds but hey, we were in Sabah. We couldn't visit many places since time was very limited. We managed to go to the Philippines Market and karaoke at a mall nearby.

A day after I came back from Royals, my parents came back from the States. A few hours later, I left for Tioman. My mum was sad to see her daughter leaving again when she just got back. This time I went with the senior debaters. I was the only one still studying in UKM while most of them are working already. This was the time when I felt like I was actually in a vacation because we didn't really rush for things except for the ferry on the last day. We played a lot of mind games and of course, our traditional game, Murderer! It was my first time snorkelling. I still don't think swimming is my kind of thing but I promise that I will give it a try.

I did regret leaving the research to my group mates but I would not have changed my decision. Probably this was the time for me to just run away from the troubles in reality. When I got back, I have been really busy with research that I almost forgot one of my closest friends' birthday. I am starting to think that I will be a workaholic when I start working. When that happens, I will be the terrible person who is so oblivious towards people around me. No… :/

I am trying not to be that person. I hope not. I still believe that every single day should be appreciated especially those times spent with loved ones. I wouldn't trade that for anything. :)

Wo Hau Taiwan

Still can't believe I went to Taiwan with these people. After staying in Taiwan for almost 2 weeks, I think it's a nice place but deep down I know I can't survive here. I miss Malaysia when I was there.

I had quite a hard time remembering names in Mandarin and communicating with the locals. Thankfully for the friends who translated very well for me to make sure that I understood what was written and spoken.

We lit up a lantern at Shifen! Got that right! But, I can't remember which day was it already.

I remember spending 4 days in Taipei before we head to Damsui, Beitou, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, Chiayi, Taichung, Hualien and New Taipei, all in that order. I had to refer to our self-made itinerary to recall these places. Lol.

In Taipei alone, there were so many places. We spent our last day back in Taipei because the airport is there. Believe it or not, I remembered the places better after surveying the magnets Ling wanted. I bought u magnets based on the more popular places I remember. :P

The weather is ever-changing. We were freezing cold when we arrived at Taipei and when we went all the way up to Alishan. It was hot like in Malaysia when we were at Sun Moon Lake. And it finally rained when we were at New Taipei. It was raining when we lit up the lantern. (Shifen is part of New Taipei)

The food was fine. We tasted bad ones and some really good ones. Couldn't really help much in other aspects so I was the one who researched on food in the night markets we planned to go. Not a foodie but yea it was helpful sometimes. I think the milk tea is nice. Other than that, the best foods for me are those I bought from their 7-elevens especially those lunch boxes. They even have pei tan porridge and shu shi in their 7-elevens! The fruit jelly sold in 7-eleven is nice too. They also have herbal eggs boiling in pots in their 7-elevens. I wished those were in Malaysia. I like the ha gau in Hualien too. The siew loong pau there had a thicker skin and I could hardly taste the soup.

Apart from that, I was really taken away by their punctuality and the organised public transport. Although, I had a communication breakdown with the workers there when my Easy Card (it's like Touch N' Go in Malaysia) failed me at one of the MRT stations, I think it's so convenient for their people to travel. They hardly have traffic jams or at least I didn't see any. It's difficult for people like me who can't read. Lol.

It was worth visiting other places I guess. Travelling does open up my mind in certain things. I realised the importance of embracing my mother tongue. I am still learning but at a slow pace. Not many people understand why a Chinese can't speak and read Chinese. When I was there, they spoke to me in Mandarin but sadly, I could only engage in simple conversations. There was this one occasion where an uncle spoke Hokkien to me. I could reply but when he started telling me stories, I couldn't understand anymore. They have this unspoken rule about keeping the left side a fast lane in escalators. They will scold you for blocking their way if you stood there or walk real slow there. Almost everyone there has an Easy Card which saves a lot of time. They will tell you not to drink or eat in the MRT and when I say they, it maybe just a random auntie or a random kid telling you this. I don't know if it happens in other places too but I do see many locals taking out their pet dogs for walks and some are really groomed well.

Are their things cheap? Some of the foods are because they come in small portions. Some clothes are really cheap too but like in Times Square, you can't try them. I think it varies in different places too. You will have to do the bargaining like in Malaysia to get a cheaper price.

Apart from that, if you're planning to go there, don't be surprised to see many Malaysians there. Singaporeans, Japanese and Koreans like to visit Taiwan too. I had Taiwanese thinking that I was from Hong Kong because Adeline was translating the menu to me in Cantonese. I met a Singaporean girl who thought I was a Singaporean too. My Manglish accent sounded like her Singlish I guess. We, Malaysians are so difficult for others to guess where we are from. Lol.

The Talentless Girl

It is said that everyone is special in their own ways and we all have that one thing we are good that. You're either the guy who can run really fast or the girl who plays a musical instrument. But the thing is  not everyone is someone who can sing beautifully or someone who can solve a rubic cube in a minute. What if we are just plain and ordinary? Or what if we can do a lot of things but just not so good at it? It takes interest, hard work and training to do these things I guess.

This is one tough question for me 'cause really, I'm just not good at one thing. But Ling and I are pretty good at games like boggle and crash bandicoot, a playstation racing game. Talented much? I guess Ling could use her art skills and drawings. Her handwriting is also neat and nice, better than mine. And hula-hooping! This girl used to hula hoop forever before I get my chance to hold that hula hoop for as long as 10 seconds. 

I don't have much talent to brag about. I can play chess and badminton but it's not like I am good at it or anything. Futsal was just a one moment thing in KMK. Congkak was okay but because I take a long time to count and yes, I count, it's frustrating to play against me. I can play card games like Cho Tai Tee and Ngau but that's it. Batu Seremban, wow such memories! Those days after exams in primary and secondary school. Not forgetting that I played in KMK and also once in UKM. Surprisingly, I was playing with the psychiatric patients and their family members. In UKM, I started debating but I wasn't like super good or the best kind of speaker. And that's about it I guess. 

Still the untalented person. I know a couple of things but there's no one thing that I am really good at. People in my school days would have thought of me as the brainiac or the smart one so it's completely understood that my talent was being in that position. I think life has more things to offer than just these. 

Maybe and just maybe I haven't found mine yet. 

For your information, I have been trying out swimming lately and hopefully cycling but it's gonna take time. I don't know whether I have said this before in any blog posts but I am gonna say it again. You know people say that you can't forget a skill like cycling. When you've learned it, you will know it for the rest of your life. That is untrue or it's just me losing coordination and balance after a long period of time. I used to cycle independently without those baby wheels but I fell when I tried cycling in KMK. :/