Sunday, January 08, 2006
Everything changes - Take That
Something interesting happened to me on the wee hours of Christmas morning last year. I made a decision - I will not stay in the UK. I'll go home. Eventually.
This was significant because when I left Malaysia last October, there was the very big possibility that I will never go back again. Ever. Perhaps a visit now and then but never for good.
Still, things change. People change. Decisions change...
When I returned, I was glad to note that some things in London were still the same.
My name (circled in green) is still on the arch at Chinatown!!!
But slowly - and very surely - the changes became very obvious. The buskers were now "officialised" - and they now ALL use electrical amplification!!!! They just dun sound so good anymore...
If you listen carefully in Chinatown, you'll realise that a lot of people are speaking in Mandarin instead of Cantonese!
But to me, the main difference is that the people here have changed.
But then again, that's my opinion.
Actually, i had planned to give many examples to support my statement and illustrate wat i meant when i said that the people here have "changed". But now, thinking about it, there's a high possibility that i'll prolly offend some Londoners - so i wont. Suffice to say, i find the people here now different from how i found them the last time i was here. Perhaps it has to do more wif me - but the bottom line is, i dun feel at home here anymore. Yeah, i used to. That was so long ago, i guess...
So, yup. On that cold Christmas morn, as I walked back to me hostel from St Giles Cathedral along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, i told meself that i'll go home - to Malaysia - eventually.
Everything changes, I guess. Even me!
Still, having said that, i always knew that December was gonna be the toughest month - winter setting in, the thrill of the new place wearing thin, the memories of Christmases at home, missing me family and mates... Who knows? Come spring, I may change me mind. Again! :-P
This was significant because when I left Malaysia last October, there was the very big possibility that I will never go back again. Ever. Perhaps a visit now and then but never for good.
Still, things change. People change. Decisions change...
When I returned, I was glad to note that some things in London were still the same.
- When i approached Chinatown, the smell of it was the same! :-)
- At the tube stations, you can still feel the gush of air in the narrow corridors or when the train is approaching
- In the trains, you still CAN'T make out wat in the world the driver announced over the intercom!!!
- The sights are still the same - of course! (The was this comic where these tourists were asking some pretty stumped locals if there was anything NEW to see in London)
- When i took the district line tube, i would bet my mortgage that it was the very same trains which we took when we were in UEL in 1994 - save for the new cushions on the seats!
- The duck rice is just as delicious!
My name (circled in green) is still on the arch at Chinatown!!!
But slowly - and very surely - the changes became very obvious. The buskers were now "officialised" - and they now ALL use electrical amplification!!!! They just dun sound so good anymore...
If you listen carefully in Chinatown, you'll realise that a lot of people are speaking in Mandarin instead of Cantonese!
But to me, the main difference is that the people here have changed.
But then again, that's my opinion.
Actually, i had planned to give many examples to support my statement and illustrate wat i meant when i said that the people here have "changed". But now, thinking about it, there's a high possibility that i'll prolly offend some Londoners - so i wont. Suffice to say, i find the people here now different from how i found them the last time i was here. Perhaps it has to do more wif me - but the bottom line is, i dun feel at home here anymore. Yeah, i used to. That was so long ago, i guess...
So, yup. On that cold Christmas morn, as I walked back to me hostel from St Giles Cathedral along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, i told meself that i'll go home - to Malaysia - eventually.
Everything changes, I guess. Even me!
Still, having said that, i always knew that December was gonna be the toughest month - winter setting in, the thrill of the new place wearing thin, the memories of Christmases at home, missing me family and mates... Who knows? Come spring, I may change me mind. Again! :-P
# posted by imissw : 11:43:00 pm
