Aftermath of CNY

            Hi, everyone out there! How's your Chinese New Year celebrations? Mine was a great one. I received stacks of ang pows, ate a lot of great foods and played hard. 

            It is the 10th day into the Lunar calendar. I officially start working today, feeling a bit reluctant though. I guess, I'm still in the holiday mood. Good food and celebrations sure have a great power over me. I miss my niece and nephews (Jasper, Malcolm, Jezebel and Morgan - I love you all). I miss chatting with my friends. I miss spending quality time with my family. Why must this only happen once in a year?! 

             Let's face it. Everyone has their own life to live on. We can't just stick together at all time and having fun. But of course, I only realize this fact as I grow older. I remembered when I was a child, I will cry and beg my mum not to send me to school. My only reason, none other than not finishing my homework and was scared to death that my teacher will punish me badly. For a child, someone weighing more than 60kg is just like a giant. In the end, my mum called my Cousin Danny to come to my rescue. I was still sobbing when he helped me to draw the pictures. Thinking of it, I am really embarrassed. But that's what a child can do, simply cry or laugh whenever you feel like it. 

             Now, as an adult, I have to act and be matured. Furthermore, as a teacher, setting a good example is very important. It is like there are CCTVs everywhere and making one mistake will hurt my reputation badly. However, teacher is a human being as well. There is still a child in me. Let me be one for a little longer (it is only once in a year, please) and I will be back into adult mode. I promise.   

The 'kampung' style

         A week before 2011 ended, I went on a trip with my love one. Although the stay is short, it is a valuable experience for me. Differed from the last time I was there, I stayed at a homestay, Mesilou Artamis Homestay. For 3 days 2 nights, we stayed with our foster family who is a part of Kampung Mesilou. We ate with them and we experienced the same culture as they are. One thing that caught my eyes is that the food which they eat can be very simple but their activities are actually quite challenging (or at least for us, urban folks). The folks staying behind here are either farmers or mountain climbers or guides. Early morning, they will be in their farms, clearing, planting or plucking vegetables. Others will be climbing up and down the mountain, guiding climbers to their safety. I am really amazed looking at their pace. 

          As I am not too much of a challenging type, I just settled with lighter activities. But still, I have to travel up the mountain and down the river. The agenda was something like this :

Day 1 : A visit to a strawberry farm and a vegetable farm and hike up the hill along the main road for great scenery.

Day 2 : Go fishing the 'mamaralau' way (a river near the village), hike up the mountain trail for a look at nepenthes plant and visit the cows at DESA.

Day 3 : Having fun at the river.

          Oh, it is so fun that I can't just express my feeling in a few simple words. You have to experience it yourself to know it all. Mesilou, I will be there again!