Darsha

Walking up the road in Hatfield, carrying 6 litres of water in a backpack, made me feel important.

Walking 3 miles a day was routine here. Yet, I doubt we can do the same thing in Malaysia. The heat for one. The other commitments which will not allow me to do this mundane simple things.

Walking here reminded me of walking in Norfolk. The park and the swans and the ducks were a unique sight.

Walking in other parks in Germany brought smiles. Another interesting experience.

Walking into Roberts Way this morning brought to sight, people. The way was filled with international students and their families.

Roberts Way was buzzing with activities. I remember seeing lanes empty and deserted earlier.

Every time i enter the apartment, the automatic entrance light would light up. That always gave me a spark of excitement.

Opening doors with light sensor keys was fun and out of the ordinary. I recalled my university days. Messy days intertwined with tragedy and child caring. Wasn't fun at all. I kept a little note at the back of mind to come back for a course of some sort. Just to live uni life properly.

Perhaps to do Masters in literature? What would be the use for Masters for someone retired and almost 50? Maybe something else. Matter of choosing and signing up and having fun.

Walking into the hostel room is another feeling of achievement. The warning sign on the door says, ' Have you got your keys with you?' Meaning if you leave the keys in the room, you'd be locked out!

Entering the living space reminded me of the many days of hanging out here, having meals and watching marathons of Hollyoaks.

After a few days, discovering the electric water jug missing  indicated a small warning as to keeping anything offhand here. It might also go missing. It's best to be safer than sorry.

Banking gave me a big knock on the head. For every withdrawal of 100£ the bank charged me RM151. So, if i withdrew 500£ i get charged with RM755. That's a lot of money to give the bank. I have other great causes which i can divert it to!

Another cause for consternation was the cabs. Arriving from Heathrow we paid 140£. Leaving to Heathrow was 45£. So when i asked the driver why is it so, he tells me, "you've been ripped, mate. And if I'd known earlier that you paid that much, I would have charged you more too!

Money, the devil's denominator. How it rules humans. I kept a mental check that i should never let it rule me.

On the first day, after a very tiring, enigmatic day, we discovered a Nepalese restaurant, accidentally of course.

We ordered hot rice and fish curry. That's when we met Darsha.

Darsha is a Malaysian. She immediately recognized us for birds from her own flock.

I'd say from that very moment she made a difference to our lives. Every problem had a solution. Every trouble had a remedy. She opened every closed door and enlightened us.

That's when i realized that after 23 years of cocooning my caterpillar it's time to allow her to be a butterfly.

Having people like Darsha is a blessing in disguise. A gift from God. Amen.