from the heart

it was such a refreshing change to get something that reminds me of the past. it was so heart-warming. you see, a blogger friend visited me over the last weekend and before he parted, he passed me a pink plastic bag that was printed with some chinese shop name on its exterior. this was the type of plastic bag that shops in singapore used when i was a kid. it looked really retro, i thought. "this is for you", he said and he thanked me for hosting him. he added that it contained some rice from his hometown. i didn't know how to respond initially cos i didn't expect anything in the first place, much less a packet of (uncooked) rice. 

giving rice was something i see when i was a kid but not in recent years. and this practice has been lost in the younger generations these days in singapore. my first reaction was "oh, thanks! so tell me, what's so special about the rice?" haha... in my state of surprise, my mind instinctively triggered this verbal response. asking about gifts i received was something i do all the time to show my interest as a gesture of appreciation. but this time round, given that it was a packet of rice, i thought i sounded quite stupid. my question must have surprised him but he was rather nice about it. "it's locally grown and produced and it's very fragrant", he answered and shared with me how to cook the rice. as i haven't gotten over my surprise, i could only thank him again.

i felt rather stupid after dropping him off. and when i reached home, i noted there was also a packet of grounded pepper inside the plastic bag. i lifted the plastic bag up and realised how heavy the rice was. it must have been quite an effort for him to carry it all the way from his country. felt really touched by this gesture of his. 

thank you my friend.

:-)