Hua ren, hai shi xiang jiao?

Cousin: Your mom can speak quite a lot of dialects ah... Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Hakka, Guangxi, Chaozhou...

Mom told me that when she was a kid, everyone in the kampung mixed around, and that's how she picked up so many dialects from different people.

I knew Mom could speak in many Chinese dialects but upon hearing that statement from my cousin, I thought to myself: Being her son, I can only speak Mandarin and Cantonese, don't know how to write, speak also not to say very good. Hokkien also very char. And now I've adopted a European language.

It's kinda sad knowing that very soon, the various Chinese dialects we once knew will disappear; they are an endangered species. My cousin told me that in about 20 years time, Hokkien will be gone in Penang. The Chinese will generally speak English and Mandarin. If we could risk losing Hokkien, what about the other less-spoken Chinese dialects?

As our country looks west, with more and more parents sending their kids to Sekolah Kebangsaan schools and talking to them in English, being Chinese will soon be merely just the colour of their skin. I am not against Sekolah Kebangsaan schools, I studied there. But at the same time, having your kids studying in Chinese schools and end up not being able to converse in English or Malay is not good neither.

It's not impossible to find the right balance between the two, I know just 3 of the best examples of Chinese school students who speak excellent English: Alden Ong, Stephen Ong and Sharon Fong (Hey they rhyme!). Perhaps 3 of the few people whom I don't have a bad impression of among the addmath monks, ah bengs and lala muis Chinese school students.


Just the other day Gus, Kok Leong and I met up at McDonald's. Gus described the characteristics of the right girl for him and he asked me about mine.

Me: I don't really have specific characteristics in mind but....*thinks* If I really have to choose, I would want a Chinese-educated girl.
Gus: Dei don't you go find a lala girl ah.


Even if I can't read or write or speak proper Chinese, at least I would want my kids to learn from their mother. Just like how my Dad is English-educated and Mom Chinese-educated.


Mom: Your brother and your sister both speak Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien. Hokkien is learn from friends one.
Me: Then I should better pick up Hokkien. By the way, what dialect do you speak in with Aunty-aunty they all?
Mom: Guangxi.
Me: Do my cousins know it?
Mom: Some abit-abit lah...
Me: Then I'll try to master Guangxi if it's possible. (Inner me: What about French?)


I'm really into learning Guangxi as much as possible, followed by Hokkien, Hakka and (I doubt I'm gonna reach that far...) Chaozhou. At least that would make up for my inability to read or write Chinese. As much as I'd hate to admit it, these dialects will very soon be gone one day. But I just want to at least bring them on one generation further.

Tanah tumpahnya darahku

Yesterday while I was boarding the plane from Sabah back to KL, there was this well-dressed Chinese man trying to cut the queue through me. I didn't allow him space to do that, of course.

Frankly, that actually disturbed me. It's the fact that this uncle who looked decent, well-educated, well-dressed with rich brands somemore, wanted to cut the queue. It's a different story if you're uneducated, not knowing the importance of respect and good manners but this man?? He's not the only one, I've seen plenty other Chinese who are well-dressed,rich or have big posts being arrogant and bossy. Well, come to think of it, that is very very normal. But it's still disgusting.

I was at McDonald's with my friends when I saw an ex-Georgian. I greet any familiar face I see so I said "Hi" and he just ignored me, that lansi-kia. His girlfriend however, greeted me back eventhough I didn't notice her. Learn from your girlfriend, you arrogant goat-poop.

On the way back from KL, my family stopped at Bkt. Gantang for a restroom trip. Everyone "queued up" by waiting in front of each cubicle. When the guy from my cubicle came out, I allowed the man beside me to use it first, seeing that he was already waiting before me. Another cubicle opened, but some dude who just came zoomed inside immediately. Okay maybe he "couldn't tahan already." Otherwise, he was just as rude as diarrhea. After that, I talked to dad about how the French actually respect others by queuing up properly, having proper manners etc. etc. It's not a culture shock, seeing Malaysians with bad attitude, but it's still not a pretty sight neither.

I was at the KTM Station to buy tickets to go to Kuala Lumpur this Wednesday at about 4pm today. I went inside and there were 2 counters: 1 empty and another with a Malay man. I stood in front of the Malay man, he looked at me briefly, and then continued doing what he was doing. Okay so I let him finish whatever he was doing at that moment. I stood there for about 3 minutes, there were just the 2 of us and as I saw him packing up his pencil case and his bag, I said, "Excuse me." He then pointed to a sign which says "Tutup". WOW, excellent service. Living in France made me a patient guy so I think just gave him a high-score of 3 minutes of total ignorance. So I asked him what time should I come tomorrow to buy the tickets and he told me "Kat luar ada tulis besaq-besaq." Great. The least he could do was tell me the time and he didn't do it. And it wasn't "besaq-besaq" neither, it looked like it's printed on a paper with font size 32.

As the BERSIH 2.0 rally gets hot and being discussed everywhere by everyone, people are crying for a change in our country. I'm not choosing sides in this matter but what's the point if we're still going to end up with disrespectful Malaysians with no proper manners? What matters to me most at this moment is if there has to be a change, it's got to be the rakyat themselves: them and their mentality. No, personally I don't believe all that's gonna change even if you have an Obama or an Elizabeth here, sadly. Well, nothing new; that's the world we live in.

Last year, I was holding the door open for 2 Chinese guys as we were walking out and they just stared at me. Not even a single "Thank you" or EVEN a smile. How appreciative. There can never be too much kindness here, it's an endangered species.


Yes, I have problems with almost everything. Boleh muntah darah.

Pariah

What do people really mean when they call someone or something "Pariah"?

The problem is most people who do use this word have little to no understanding of its real meaning:

According to Wikipedia, it is a word originated from Indian or Hindi. It is

"Used to describe something unsightly or disgusting. Used to describe the lowest and most unsightly caste (gravediggers and sewerage in Ancient India). In modern times, it is also used to describe something or someone of low quality."

I now vow to avoid using words which I do not know how to use or its meaning. "Literally" is also a commonly misused word.

Yeah I have problems with many things.

I am his son

I haven't been updating my blog for a long time already, was extremely busy and then there were exams and now I'm preparing to go back to Malaysia this Tuesday. But I shall take a little time out from folding clothes to write this post dedicated to my dad this Father's Day.

I was a bright student back in primary school. It was when everything was easy as ABC and A was worth 90 and above. I pretty much excelled everything, bagging in A's everytime and making my parents proud until...

...a trainee teacher for Science in Standard 4 ruined my winning streak with a cruel 63. I was shattered, my innocent self at that time regarded anything less than an A a FAILURE. I don't mean to boast, but when you've had nothing but sweetness since the beginning, your first taste of bitterness really stinks. I couldn't forgive myself, and I was expecting a good scolding from my dad but to my surprise, instead he said, "Just try again."

Maybe it was because he saw my miserable dejected face that he didn't want to break me even more, but that actually motivated me seeing how cool and forgiving he was, that he wasn't a dad who doesn't tolerate failures. And so, with my tears wiped, my SPIRIT burning, my HOPE once again rekindled, I proceed to....

...obtain more B's and C's in my secondary school years (and an unbelievable D in Sejarah). Everything at secondary school was mercilessly tough, I ended up having no more trouble accepting failures. From aiming for a Top 5 between Std. 1 to Std. 3, Top 10 from Std. 4 to Form 1, to "I don't give a damn anymore" from Form 2 till today. BUT I still know what I'm doing and I'll always end up passing and reaching my goals when the time comes. I have not let my father down (so far).

The cool thing is, my dad doesn't set expectations on me. Though he was always anxious to know how well I did everytime. (He reached my school, gave me a call telling me my SPM result while I was still on the way there.) He'll still support me no matter what I do. If there's one thing that keeps me moving on despite being in the deepest of craps it'll be his words, "Just try again." It will always be my best motivational souvenir. I'm sure he's proud of everything I've achieved now, and I'm very grateful that he believed in me.


The one thing I'm always proud of is that I resemble my father a lot. I am proud of being my father's son. Yea it sounds totally normal but sometimes you see sons who look nothing like their father. Well I'm proud that I am. And even if I have the same bad traits as my dad, I'm still proud as that makes me even more like him. Hey, like I once said, "My imperfections only prove me more of a human I am." Plus, everytime I'm learning Electricity, it'll remind me of my dad who is an electrician. As he strongly discouraged me to be an electrician like him because working with high voltage is dangerous, I took up Electronics.  If there's someone I look up to and hope to be like one day, it'll be my dad. And I hope that my children too will one day be proud of me.

I miss the times when dad will pamper us with KFC, Pizza Hut and snacks while mom will mention everytime that it's unhealthy. I miss going out with dad very early in the morning for breakfast at some coffee shop. I miss driving his car.

I just wanna say that I'm very proud to be your son, dad. Though I was quite a rascal, I'm just delighted that you're proud of everything I've achieved. I love you dad, and I'll see you soon. I'm coming home. =)