How I wish.......................

At this very moment, staying in the room of my niece's father-in-law' flat, feeling very hungry and do not feel like going out to the kitchen to find a bite, (got up at 8am and it is already 11.10am) how I wish that I have enough money to sponsor my niece to get an apartment of her own. Yes, my niece bought me a lot of biscuits and other stuff, but if u have to eat that daily, it sucks. Oh that makes me miss all those, chee cheong fun, mee yoke, char kuey teow, curry mee, nasi lemak or even a simple char kuey wit coffee back home.

Staying in a stranger's house is really torturous. Not that he is not nice, but each time we do something, you know that there is a watchful eye which makes me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE so I opt to wait for my niece to have breakfast/brunch together.

If I have plenty of ££££ then I can pay for her operation to remove her gallstones and then I can go HOME and maybe come again to see the little sweetheart. She is so cute really. At 6 weeks she already knows how to 'ang ku ku'. I love it when she laughs heartily in her sleep and when she does that, she is such a beauty. But she has been spoilt in a way by many people around. She is used to being carried so now we have a little problem with that. She wants to be cuddled all the time.

Anyway, since I have travelled to many hundreds thousands of miles, I might as well move around a bit to other places cos i don't know when I am coming this way again. So nice to have some relatives/friends around. Planning to go to Leicestershire, Holland, Germany and New York.

So how I wish..................................... (I KNOW EVERYBODY DOES TOO) have plenty of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Mis-communications

I bought some fruits (apples, bananas and oranges) from Sainsbury cos I need fruits after taking so many types of medications. When I saw the fruits I wanted to buy many many more types cos it is so cheap......... I mean dollar to dollar. £1++ for a bag of 8 nice sweet crunchy green apples and 5 big navel oranges. 5 Bananas is less than $1/- .

In all the supermarts, I noticed that they only sell one type of bananas that is Montel. I was explaining to Jon's family (sister/bro-in-law and dad) that in our country, there are so many kinds. We have pisang:- emas, raja, susu and berangan and those big big ones where they make kuih kodoh (sp) and the green ones used for making goreng pisang besides raja. They were surprised there were actually so many kinds.

Then after taking the bananas for a couple of days, I noticed I had alot of wind and keeps on farting which is so embarrassing. So I stopped eating. Jon's dad saw the balance and asked why I did not finished it. I told him that after taking the 'kong chiew' (banana in cantonese) I felt my tummy bloated with wind. Then he said, it happens becos u eat 'kong chiew' (male banana) - u should eat 'na chiew' (female banana). To my surprise, I exclaimed - eh! u have a different kind here too. He also claim that it is very good for diabetics. Then I said - ok , the next time u see those, u buy some for me to try. So, the very next day, he went out early and bought 4 huge pcs back which only cost $1/- He told me that these are specials ones and sold by the africans. When I saw it I thought eh! it looks like the ones they make kuih kodoh. Anyway I have to try it to show my appreciation since he is so nice to go all the way to the wet market to buy for me and keep repeating that it is good for diabetics.

I took one and cut it into half to share with him cos I said it was too big for me. He refuse to eat saying that he is not a diabetic and I end up eating the whole thing. Altho it has turned yellow, it still has the raw kind of taste. but I ate it all anyway. Does not nice lor. Then I said - oh! so the 'na chiew' is like that one arrrrrh! He just smile saying that maybe it is till not ripe enough. Ok, I shall wait till it is a bit soft.

Then on Beatrix's full moon, Jon's eldest brother and family came. The SIL prepared dinner while I just stayed in the room to tend to BB. During dinner, I noticed that 2 of the 'na chiew' was missing. So I asked - oh! someone has eaten it. Then the SIL said, no, I fried it. And showed me the balance. I took one and I said it definitely taste better after being fried. Then she started laughing and said that of course - this type of bananas have to be fried. NOBODY eats it raw.........then, the father laughed till he almost got chocked when I told them that the father purposely went to buy this 'na chiew' for me.

So naive of me, taken for a ride.

I can communicate with Jon's dad but then his hakka slang is terrible. One morning he was making ' kau yuk' (steam pork with some veg and herbs) . I heard 'kow yuk' (dog meat). Then I asked, huh! u eat 'kow yuk' one arrrrh! First time he said --- ya. Then I asked again, really arrrrh! u eat 'kow yuk' ?????? He roared into laughter and said NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT IS 'KAU YUK' ................................... There is plenty more of these mis-communications. I must say, it irritates him at times but it makes his day most times.

In London

I arrived in London on 27.5.08 at about 4.08 as scheduled but by the time I check out, it was almost 5.15pm. Jon came to fetch me. Took about an hour to reach his home. Traffic was ok compared to our traffic back home at that particular hour. Altho the roads were narrow the traffic flows very smoothly cos all the cars follow their lanes unlike M'sia where some suka suka cut lanes.

Finally able to see the little sweetheart with big big eyes. So adorable. She is one person who lives up to the name:- a hungry girl is an angry girl. Nothing and no one can stop her cries except the bottle or her mummy's tits. She sure knows her rights. hehehehehehe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am totally lost in other people's house. Don't know where their things are kept. Can't find sesame oil, cornflour, tomatoe sauce and used the salt they use to wash veg for soup. Cooking for Wendy is no problem cos she eats anything whether nice or not. But I also have to cook for her father-in-law. Considered him very nice to accomodate me and Jan n baby who was here a month earlier. BUT when it comes to food he is sooooooooooo fussy. He does not eat chicken any other style except fried or roast. Does not take eggs, ginger, prawns, shrimps and even pork. Nor does he takes spicy food. I feel very bad if and when he takes only a bowl of rice cos his nornal intake is two bowls. He practically eats only the vegetables and he ALWAYS buy two types only. So the lunch or dinner is always the same. Anyway, I have tried my best to cook to suit him cos we are staying in his home. His freezer is always full with chicken drumsticks and wings, pork and ribs. But there are not much spices around. Well I can understand cos he is a Vietnanmese. His food is totally different from ours (m'sians). He does not cook while I am around (so far) except did roast chicken drumsticks 2xs but he did most of the marketing. {Oops!! just found out that he is NOT a Vietnamese. He moved from China to Vietnam but he is 100% chinese}

One thing I must salute to him is that he is very tidy and clean. Water for drinking and boiling soup must be double filtered and preboiled and all plates and chopsticks/spoons must be rinsed in boiling water before use.

As I get up quite early, normally I wud prepare the ingredients for lunch and dinner and place them back in the fridge and then I have time to laze around for a bit while waiting for the princess and her parents to get up. When she does, I will help get the bottles sterilized while her mom attend to her needs.

This weekend will be the full moon. Both Wendy and I are just waiting to go shopping a bit and of course not forgetting my visit to the orchard. I pray I am able to harvest cherries (my dream). Initially when I shop for some groceries at Sainsbury's, things were so cheap. Most items that I bought were less than £3.00. The total came to about £14.00 - three bags full BUT when converted to RM it is RM90.00. Went to china town with Jon and bought a durian. It cost £16.00 and that is almost RM100.00 . They say that durian is good for confinement woman so I bought for Wendy but that after eating, she had a bad attack of gallstones. Poor child. Was sent to hospital by ambulance. NO DURIANS FROM NOW TILL SHE HAVE IT REMOVED.

Counting the days for my visit to the orchard.