Rick chose Malaysia as his second home. Tik..tak...tik...tak it has been 2 years since he moved in to our neighborhood, direct from The States (Kentucky) and has been 2 years since his wife was hit by a car in London while visiting his son. She died in a tragic way. Sad story. 
From not knowing a single Malay word besides 'terima kasih', Rick is now able to build few sentences in Malay. He proudly communicated to me in Malay this evening. I am happy for him. Once a while we get together and share ideas.
He likes children and appreciates the friendly environment here.
The kids sometimes just entered Rick's house to get candies, which he nicely placed in his living room. Rick even bought a basket ball set for the kids to play, including Adri, my son.What a kind man. 
My first visit to Rick's was during his open house. Prior to the big day, he took initiative to learn about Malaysian customs and the Do's & Dont's related to choice of food, as he is surrounded by Muslim and Non-muslim. Ended, a neighbor helped him with the food catering.
He got many of us together. The lady next door assisted him to 'Jalan Mesjid India' to buy 'Baju Melayu', which Rick looks stunning in them. I am blessed being surrounded by such caring neighbors. Last week, was another neighbors-get-together event.
Alocation for my 'balik kampung' (Lahad Datu) was only for 2 days. On the following day, off we flew to Kota Kinabalu, put a night at Sutera Habour, overseing the beautiful sceenery of the blue ocean, islands and marina, right infront of our room.
Then back to Kota Damansara. Silent.
All of a suddent, came an idea of getting to know all the neighbors, then I decided to send sms to everyone, suggested a 'Pot Luck' Raya gathering. Worse comes to worst, the most I got would be a disagreement, I thought. No harm done. 
To my greatest surprise, almost all agreed. I was excited and still am. 
Everyone was more than willing not only to bring cakes, savory dishes and drinks for the gathering, but also to bring tables and chairs plus to sponsor tents.
We gathered at the open area by the lakeside. Plenty of food.
The kids had fun, as My daughter, Nadia and I organized games for them, while the adults where busy introducing themselves. 
The result... we are no longer strangers to each other, regardless of race, regardless of religion. I should have initiated it much earlier.
From not knowing a single Malay word besides 'terima kasih', Rick is now able to build few sentences in Malay. He proudly communicated to me in Malay this evening. I am happy for him. Once a while we get together and share ideas.
He likes children and appreciates the friendly environment here.
The kids sometimes just entered Rick's house to get candies, which he nicely placed in his living room. Rick even bought a basket ball set for the kids to play, including Adri, my son.What a kind man. 
My first visit to Rick's was during his open house. Prior to the big day, he took initiative to learn about Malaysian customs and the Do's & Dont's related to choice of food, as he is surrounded by Muslim and Non-muslim. Ended, a neighbor helped him with the food catering.
He got many of us together. The lady next door assisted him to 'Jalan Mesjid India' to buy 'Baju Melayu', which Rick looks stunning in them. I am blessed being surrounded by such caring neighbors. Last week, was another neighbors-get-together event.
Alocation for my 'balik kampung' (Lahad Datu) was only for 2 days. On the following day, off we flew to Kota Kinabalu, put a night at Sutera Habour, overseing the beautiful sceenery of the blue ocean, islands and marina, right infront of our room.
Then back to Kota Damansara. Silent.
All of a suddent, came an idea of getting to know all the neighbors, then I decided to send sms to everyone, suggested a 'Pot Luck' Raya gathering. Worse comes to worst, the most I got would be a disagreement, I thought. No harm done. 
To my greatest surprise, almost all agreed. I was excited and still am. 
Everyone was more than willing not only to bring cakes, savory dishes and drinks for the gathering, but also to bring tables and chairs plus to sponsor tents. We gathered at the open area by the lakeside. Plenty of food.
The kids had fun, as My daughter, Nadia and I organized games for them, while the adults where busy introducing themselves. 
The result... we are no longer strangers to each other, regardless of race, regardless of religion. I should have initiated it much earlier.
1 comment:
Alan, I received your comment thru sms. Thanks.
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