Summing up summer

Over in northern hemisphere, people go through the four seasons. In Malaysia, we too have four seasons. With the addition of the haze season and windy season...we now have four. So, it has already been a month since I left Dublin and returning to my hometown Melaka. The weather has eased a little and I have already gone through 2 seperate seasons. The dry and the hazy. I now welcome with my open arms the rainy season, my favourite of all the others. You see, unlike in temperate countries, Malaysians in general are active all the time. They stay up late to catch up with their much needed football matches, finish up last minute work and eat supper (Mamak loh) Summer is a time of holiday. Universities and schools have long summer breaks to allow their students to make use of the extra daylight. In Malaysia, daylight never changes. We have the same length of daylight all year round.

 What have I done so far since my return to Malaysia? Let me put it this way, I have travelled up to and fro between Melaka and KL for most weekends, mainly meeting up with college friends and re-exploring KL. I visited both my graparents in Seremban and Ipoh on seperate occasions. Managed to gain 5kg in my short stay in Ipoh. I never once felt hungry there as my grandmother forced fed me. My liver would now be equivalent that of foie gras(fatty duck liver). Finally got an SLR camera courtesy of my father. Haven't really had the time to read up on the manual. Made a trip up to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to enjoy the lovely beaches and coral reefs there, not forgetting the fresh seafood. No Indians in East Malaysia...none!

 So having gone half a globe away to further my studies, you may be wondering what were my first impressions when I first came back. Well, to say the least, Malaccan drivers or rather Malaysian drivers in general suck. Malaccan drivers are the worst of the lot. Stopping randomly in the middle of the road without signalling. Blocking other drivers from passing. Parking in No Parking areas. Slowing down when there is an accident at the roadside without actually getting down to help, being busy bodies. Malaysians are also a rude bunch. Not all of us, but majority. Simple example, in the UK when opening a door, you would always look behind to see if there is anyone also wanting to pass through the door. If there is, you gladly hold the door open for them and he or she would reply with a kind thank you. In Malaysia, no one holds the door for you, no one says thanks you. Maybe it is just the nature of how we are brought up. Maybe we just expression our politeness in some other forms.

 For all things negative, I am still proud to be a citizen of this beautiful and majestic country. Somehow, you only become aware of your Malaysian identity when you leave The country. We always think of overseas as being the better option for our future, one does not realise tha the grass is not always greener on the other side, sometimes...we tend to be coulour blind, we go overseas only to realise that the grass on Home turf is still the greenest. We are delusioned by the western media. This could be just me and my biased opinion(bribed by the wonders of Malaysian food). It is up to you to decide on what is and what isn't. Cheers! Another abrupt ending.