If there’s a past life, I believe I was a nomad traveling between the East and the West on the Silk Road. I owned a camel, a tent, a trunk of goodies and spent my whole life fighting the sand storms, searching my next camping ground and slept beneath the stars for many cloudless nights in the desert. I chose not to stay put at one place for too long because I am born to explore and travel and make a living out of it. I was not responsible to anyone but myself and my camel; I earned a living and lived with absolute pride and freedom. I was an adventurer, a wanderer, an unsettled soul forever searching for the next oasis…..
I spent the past 24 years living in several small and big towns/cities. Most due to parents relocating for work, later for my own education. Originating from a small town in the south of Malaysia, I must say that I've got all the wonderful virtues of kampung (village) folks running in my genes. We’re friendly, we’re generous, we’re forgiving, we’re grateful, we’re people-oriented. Until today, I still enjoy saying ' I'm from Segamat', which is usually followed by 'Oh... but sorry where is it?'... which I then happily elaborate 'It's a small town in the north of Johor, a southern state of Malaysia, neighbouring Malacca, half way between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, we produced lots of durians and rubber, an important town for the primary industry of Malaysia'
Yes, Segamat is my hometown, which in reality I didn't live there for too long. It's where my grandparents and relatives live. I was brought up in the Klang Valley, lived in Shah Alam and Subang Jaya from the age of 1 until 15. Dad's work brought us back to his hometown when I was 15. A drastic change indeed, a city kid moving to a once 'holiday destination' to visit grandma and to play with the cousins. It was initially an interesting change, but the thrill only lasted for a while before I started to miss the city and all my friends there... What's more, I'm the 'new kid from KL' who joined the class in the middle of the year... Thanks to my reasonably good inter-personal skill, I fitted in OK eventually, phew...
15 years old i.e 3rd year in the secondary education was an important year in my country, there's PMR examination which determines our destiny, to either arts or science stream. In a First-World-Wannabe like Malaysia, the latter is more prestigious and more promising than the former. Anyway, a big change at this significant age could be a big threat to my academic future. Reflecting back, if only I haven't got enough self-discipline and a strong mind, I could've flopped... where would I be and what would I be doing now if that was the case? A crossroad I proudly walked past with no fear!
Well, once adjusted, life is good in a small town. No more loitering in big malls after class but wandering in grandma's or uncles' gigantic house with enormous backyards, no more people speaking posh English in Malay classes but Malay in English classes, no more traffic jams on the highway but bumpy country road to school, no more scouts expedition in concrete jungles but in proper tropical forest behind the school. A small change? A big change? Well, I'd say a good change, because I was lucky to have the experience from both sides of the world, at the tender age of 15! Besides, now I have 2 circles of friends in the country, both quite different but similarly wicked! Interestingly these 2 overlap eventually :)
After secondary school, I went off to Singapore for college for 6 months. Massive change again. Singapore is a much bigger metropolis than KL. Small town kid breaking out into the city, hooray! It took no time for the hibernating city kid in me to take control again. I truly enjoyed all the fun and thrill in Singapore, and the intellectually stimulating circle of ASEAN scholars around me :) It's hard to say goodbye to Singapore when I am offered a better deal back home, an all-paid for education package for 7 years in KL and UK.
2 years of A-levels in KL. I was glad to be back in KL again. 2 years in a familiar yet unfamiliar city. 2 years mingling around with the smartest scholars in the country. 2 years of ups-and-down away from my family in a city which I used to call home. 2 years being an out-of-towner when most of my childhood friends are just around the corner. 2 years of learning to be independent. 2 years of total freedom! I did enjoy these 2 years... thanks to all my close buddies, you know who you are :)
After A-levels and securing a place in University, Leicester is where I call home for in the past 5 years. A small town in the midlands of England with a total population of 250, 000, which is roughly the size of Segamat! It’s a humble small town 1.5 hours to the north of London on a train. We Leicesterians walk everywhere, to town, to the university, to the hospital (LRI), to the cinema, to the malls. Bus is optional, only reserved for the lazy ones or when we need to travel further away to the outskirts. It was love at first sight, I fell in love with this decent small town. However 2 years was all it took for me to get bored of it, I started to complain that it is too small a town to enjoy my student life. Hence, weekend trips to London/Birmingham were common. Perhaps medical school has sped up my ageing process, I started to appreciate the slower pace of life in this small town, with everything I need within walking distance. Friends are around the corner, so a spontaneous coffee meet is always possible. Rents are cheaper compare to bigger cities too. Londoners screamed when they find out I pay less than half of their rent for twice the size of their flat, and cried when they visit our market with dirt cheap fruits and vegetables.
University life is coming to an end soon and I am about to start my first job. Where will be my next destination? Haven’t got a clue but it doesn’t really matter. So if I were an unstoppable nomad in my past life, what is going to stop me in my present life?
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