An Odd Christmas

I have never celebrated Christmas in my life, no presents, no wishes, no feast and do not even mention turkey.

I woke up late at Christmas morning and did not plan to go anywhere for the rest of the day. I later found out that my College is not providing lunch for us because of the Christmas Holidays, so I had decided to go out to grab some food. I met two of my friends from College on the way out and we ended up in Low Yat.

At first, I thought of having lunch in Time Square, but they refused. They told me it was too expensive and we ended up eating in a rundown place which reminded me of the Ocean Belakang in Ipoh. I couldn't understand what my friends were thinking, they told me they enjoy themselves in places like this. Immediately I looked around and spotted a prostitute at the corner of the shop, I started to wonder what were they implying.

To move on, we took the Putra LRT to Pasar Seni after lunch and they brought me to the best bargain shop in the city. the things in the shop were so cheap, you wouldn't believe you eyes. Nothing was above RM10. When my friends noticed that I was stunted, he turned to me and said: "This is MY TURF." [Ngo geh dei tao, in Cantonese]. In my mind, I was thinking that they are even better at skimping than one of my friend in Ipoh. *Salutations*

At night, one of my friends invited me for a Christmas dinner in one of his friend's house near the Old Klang Road. I didn't want to go at first, but I went anyways. When he first mentioned Christmas dinner, I was expecting it to be held in a giant bungalow like those seen in the movies and when we rang the bell, a freakishly overjoyed lady would usher us into her impeccable home decorated with Christmas lights and mistletoe, and an infamous Christmas Carol would be playing down the hallway as she wishes us a Merry Christmas.

Instead, we parked our car along an abandoned shop lot. There weren't any bungalows, there weren't any Christmas Carols nor there were any Christmas lights along the streets save for the flickering street lamp few blocks away. The streets were 'littered' with foreign labourers staring at us as if we were preys they can pounce on. Quickly, we walked up the dimly lit stairway and after a few sharp turns, we arrived.

A dark skinned lady opened the door and wished us Selamat Hari Natal, we shake hands the "Malay" style and sat down, it was very odd for me. It was a very small apartment and we had to sit on the floor to eat. It wasn't even decorated, but everyone seemed very happy. Not only that, everyone conversed in Bahasa Dusun, so I just sat and listened.

The dinner was great, the host served us Sabahan food and I even drank their homemade rice wine. I was a whole new experience and I did enjoy myself that night.

This weird encounter reminded me of how lucky I am. I could get almost whatever I want to. Say, I want a computer; I ask Dad. Say, I want an iPod; I ask Dad. Say, I want to drive to KL; I ask Dad. I get almost all that I want but yet I complain so much.

This family lived on underpaid salary, yet they do not complain as much as I do. Going out with this friend of mine this Christmas had been a revelation to me. We tend to see things that are only around us, and we think that everyone thinks the same way as we do, but the truth is far from what we think is true.

Seriously, we are all so blessed. (This sounds awfully like a Thanksgiving piece of Essay, but what the heck!)