Saturday, March 01, 2008
Back Into The Rat Race
So I was out in Indonesia for 5 days. I'm back now.
First thing, I guess I still haven't learnt my lesson from before. Look at my previous post. Look at that picture of the cute chocobo strap. And the Moogle Strap. It's currently OUT OF STOCK on the website!!!! I did NOT order it!!!!
I hope it gets back in stock.
Anyways, had a pretty nice 5 days in Karimun. Every chinese I met there could speak Teochew. Apparently one of the people that went with me keeps hearing people speak Hokkien but I did not hear a single person speak Hokkien. Probably a case of mistaken identity of the language. Alot of people apparently cannot tell Teochew from Hokkien. Noobs.
I probably spoke more Teochew to strangers there than I have all my life in Singapore. It was also a surprise when I called back on the first day there, and when my mum realised I was in Tanjung Balai, she said :"Oh! That's where my maternal grandmother came from! We have relative there!"
Great and just after I told people I only have relatives in China. Not in Malaysia like others. Hahah.
The kicker comes when I get home. I was talking about this restaurant in Moro, where they keep a pair of otters.... when my dad goes... "Mo Hor??"
I say :"Moro lah, 45 mins by ferry from Balai"
He says :" Yeah yeah correct! We call it Mo Hor or Sua Buey. I stayed there for some time when I was young."
Mum says :" Oh your mum was there performing huh? Maybe my relatives saw her!"
Dad says :" We have relatives there too!"
GREAT.
So it was a trip to my roots. Huh?? Tell me first next time leh!! Then again I didn't really know the exact locations till like a few days before leaving and so only told my mum I was going to Karimun.
Loved the trip cos of all the Teochew though.
Bought yummy home made Kueh Lapis from Balai. Oh and the Mi Jiang Kuey there is so lovely. It's called Apong Balik and when I told my mum that she says that she heard about from her grandma!! It has fillings that you can choose from, peanut, chocolate, corn with coconut, Bulur Hitam and cheese. It's gonna be like the thing I miss in Balai, just like the Donuts in Tioman and the glutinous rice rolls in Hong Kong.
Yummy.
Guess I survived pretty ok with my horrible Malay because I could use Teochew or Mandarin most of the time. I used to be able to speak Malay because I used to have Malay neighbours. I can't anymore because I have not used it for 20 years. Now I only know a few words here and there... apart from the starting sentences in the Malay readers I used to like so much.
Saya bangun pagi-pagi
Saya cuci muka dan gosok gigi
Saya makan roti dan minum kopi
And my all time favourite
Jangan bising-bising, saya nak tidor
:D
0 Adorations
So I was out in Indonesia for 5 days. I'm back now.
First thing, I guess I still haven't learnt my lesson from before. Look at my previous post. Look at that picture of the cute chocobo strap. And the Moogle Strap. It's currently OUT OF STOCK on the website!!!! I did NOT order it!!!!
I hope it gets back in stock.
Anyways, had a pretty nice 5 days in Karimun. Every chinese I met there could speak Teochew. Apparently one of the people that went with me keeps hearing people speak Hokkien but I did not hear a single person speak Hokkien. Probably a case of mistaken identity of the language. Alot of people apparently cannot tell Teochew from Hokkien. Noobs.
I probably spoke more Teochew to strangers there than I have all my life in Singapore. It was also a surprise when I called back on the first day there, and when my mum realised I was in Tanjung Balai, she said :"Oh! That's where my maternal grandmother came from! We have relative there!"
Great and just after I told people I only have relatives in China. Not in Malaysia like others. Hahah.
The kicker comes when I get home. I was talking about this restaurant in Moro, where they keep a pair of otters.... when my dad goes... "Mo Hor??"
I say :"Moro lah, 45 mins by ferry from Balai"
He says :" Yeah yeah correct! We call it Mo Hor or Sua Buey. I stayed there for some time when I was young."
Mum says :" Oh your mum was there performing huh? Maybe my relatives saw her!"
Dad says :" We have relatives there too!"
GREAT.
So it was a trip to my roots. Huh?? Tell me first next time leh!! Then again I didn't really know the exact locations till like a few days before leaving and so only told my mum I was going to Karimun.
Loved the trip cos of all the Teochew though.
Bought yummy home made Kueh Lapis from Balai. Oh and the Mi Jiang Kuey there is so lovely. It's called Apong Balik and when I told my mum that she says that she heard about from her grandma!! It has fillings that you can choose from, peanut, chocolate, corn with coconut, Bulur Hitam and cheese. It's gonna be like the thing I miss in Balai, just like the Donuts in Tioman and the glutinous rice rolls in Hong Kong.
Yummy.
Guess I survived pretty ok with my horrible Malay because I could use Teochew or Mandarin most of the time. I used to be able to speak Malay because I used to have Malay neighbours. I can't anymore because I have not used it for 20 years. Now I only know a few words here and there... apart from the starting sentences in the Malay readers I used to like so much.
Saya bangun pagi-pagi
Saya cuci muka dan gosok gigi
Saya makan roti dan minum kopi
And my all time favourite
Jangan bising-bising, saya nak tidor
:D
Comments:
Post a Comment
