Through Another's Eyes
Yesterday PP and I threw open our doors to a young Swiss backpacker. We met Eva in Thailand and when she mentioned she was planning on passing through Malaysia, we thought it would be fun to play tour guide again. In fact, since last year we've been gracious hostesses to three Dutch girls, one Israeli/American girl, one English lad and now, Eva. All whom we've met on our travels.
Most people view my open house practice with alarm. "Eh, you better be careful la. You don't know where these people have been and what diseases they're carrying." or "I don't understand how you can be bothered to jaga orang lain." or "You better lock up all your valuables, man! You never know these people might rob and run."
Wehave yet to listen to any of these warnings.
What they don't understand is that we're not hosting strangers. We're hosting friends. People whom we've met in a strange land and with whom we've discovered a connection. People who are just as interested in finding out more about our lives as we are about theirs. People who have made the liberating decision to live with only their clothes on in their backpack for the next 6-12 months, and who secretly long for a private room and shower for just a couple of days. That's not too much to ask.
But we have an ulterior motive too. When we showed our first guest, the Israeli/American girl around KL, we pulled over across KLCC to scout for a good picture-taking spot of the Twin Towers. Our friend climbed out and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's beautiful!" All three of us craned our necks up at the towers, stretching magnificently skyward and glittering gloriously against the night sky. PP and I looked at each other with the same thought - "Actually it IS really bueatiful." And that marked the first of a million more times we would fall in love with our country after looking at it through a stranger's eyes. Since then we've been taking the extra step everytime a foreigner graces our soil by introducing them to nasi lemak, banana leaf rice, Ladies Night, batik, PS Boutique and Chinese restaurants with frogs on the menu.
Last night I got Eva, a fruit fanatic, acquainted with nangka, jambu air, dragonfruit and jambu. Between us, we polished off RM26 worth of fruits in half-an-hour. This morning she wandered around the Central Market and is currently enjoying a coffee in Starbucks while waiting for me to pick her up. Tonight, we're heading down to Brickfields for banana leaf and then to the Twin Towers again. This time PP is hauling along her tripod and camera as well. We can't let the foreigners have the best pictures now, can we!
Most people view my open house practice with alarm. "Eh, you better be careful la. You don't know where these people have been and what diseases they're carrying." or "I don't understand how you can be bothered to jaga orang lain." or "You better lock up all your valuables, man! You never know these people might rob and run."
Wehave yet to listen to any of these warnings.
What they don't understand is that we're not hosting strangers. We're hosting friends. People whom we've met in a strange land and with whom we've discovered a connection. People who are just as interested in finding out more about our lives as we are about theirs. People who have made the liberating decision to live with only their clothes on in their backpack for the next 6-12 months, and who secretly long for a private room and shower for just a couple of days. That's not too much to ask.
But we have an ulterior motive too. When we showed our first guest, the Israeli/American girl around KL, we pulled over across KLCC to scout for a good picture-taking spot of the Twin Towers. Our friend climbed out and exclaimed, "Oh my god! It's beautiful!" All three of us craned our necks up at the towers, stretching magnificently skyward and glittering gloriously against the night sky. PP and I looked at each other with the same thought - "Actually it IS really bueatiful." And that marked the first of a million more times we would fall in love with our country after looking at it through a stranger's eyes. Since then we've been taking the extra step everytime a foreigner graces our soil by introducing them to nasi lemak, banana leaf rice, Ladies Night, batik, PS Boutique and Chinese restaurants with frogs on the menu.
Last night I got Eva, a fruit fanatic, acquainted with nangka, jambu air, dragonfruit and jambu. Between us, we polished off RM26 worth of fruits in half-an-hour. This morning she wandered around the Central Market and is currently enjoying a coffee in Starbucks while waiting for me to pick her up. Tonight, we're heading down to Brickfields for banana leaf and then to the Twin Towers again. This time PP is hauling along her tripod and camera as well. We can't let the foreigners have the best pictures now, can we!
posted by starlight at 3:55 PM
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