I'm inspired by positive posts and I would like to add my own list if I can put it in a list.
1) I would miss the people. Always smiling, always happy no matter how little they have. I deal with some of the poorest people on this planet..try living on 50 pence a week for everything...and still they smile. They welcome me into their houses and would gladly give everything to a visitor. They will ALWAYS feed you first knowing that if you eat it all there is nothing left for them. But they would be proud to have done it as it's custom.
2) I would miss the sincerity of giving. I have , in the past , been very moved by a worker or neighbour who turns up and gives a gift of some fruit picked in the jungle and carefully wrapped in newspaper. No money is involved. Just sincerity.
3)I would miss the tolerance. I have yet to embrace all of it but I am learning to relax on some of the stuff that goes on. They are often impervious to noise. Try travelling on an Indian Video bus, or having Spanish neighbours who like music, or even the Muslim call to prayer if you live too close to a Mosque. It is me who has the problem and not them. I'm working on it.
4)I would miss the equality. When I am in the village area where I live everyone is the same. There is no idea of my house is bigger than your house, I earn or have more than you do, look at how rich I am. I know as a rich foreigner it can never be equal but from the other perspective we are all the same. Mossies still bite, dengue fever is a threat, snakes don't care, dog fleas attack...so you soon realise you are no better than anybody else.
5)I would miss the children shouting 'hello' at the tops of their voices as you drive past. They are uncorrupted by foreign greed and psychological damage. They just play and then sleep and then play some more. I also love the fact that they run around naked and pee where they want without the need for 5 changes of nappy everyday but that probably makes me sound weird.
6)I would miss my dogs. They have never been walked. Never wear a collar or lead. They are out all night on guard duty. They chase about in the jungle. They bark at the slightest movement keeping me safe from anything.
7) I would miss the cows that wander about. They are released in the morning and venture off where ever they choose sometimes miles away from home. At dusk they make their way back and settle down for the night. And we thought cows were dumb!!
8)I would miss that chance of forgetting about property prices, stock markets, interest rates, oil prices, wealth , greed, bragging, . It's nothing. It just makes you miserable. I try to forget these things but it's quite hard.
9) I would miss always being warm. I am a 'cold **se' and suffer badly in anything less than about 23 degrees. We have just had the hottest August on record in Australia apparently and I was freezing the whole time.BRrrrrrrrrrr.
10) I would miss the chance to continue learning and understanding of another culture, of another country, another way of life. I personally think we got things so wrong in the west and if we can open our hearts and minds enough we could maybe change things. I was never happier than when I lived as a young man in very primitive conditions for quite some years in a little bit of paradise. Wealth seems to have pushed me further and further away from those times.(or is it an age thing?). I still have so much to learn but embrace every day as it's another chance. Don't get me wrong here , I'm not blissed out. Sometimes my friends and neighbours talk a load of old rubbish and elements of their lives are clearly wrong but we learn together.
These are some of the things that make me happy. I don't expect anyone else to appreciate the same things. I respect any path that anyone has chosen to take. I also would add on to my list all the things that FCS mentioned. I love it.
In the words of the late, great John Lennon.
Just @#$%^&* relax. (our mantra)
Loopi.
Topic: What I Would Miss Most If I left (or had to leave) Malaysia! (Read 379 times)
November 12, 2007, 11:02:47 PM