I always thought that I was not naive when I took the
decision to give up my former life and move to Malaysia. I knew that it would
be tough (the going, as well as the not knowing to what you come back to). I
knew that I would miss my friends and family terribly, and that coping with the
heat would bring its challenges. I even expected to miss the small things, my
tiny habits that had become quite a big part of who I am. However, in the past
period I realised I am missing a lot of “superficial” things also...more than I
had anticipated...
I miss my clothes and shoes! I know it sounds ridiculous but
living in a Malay community does not really offer too many clothing options.
Not to mention that traveling a lot and knowing that you live a sort of
temporary life is not really prone to making you bring a lot of stuff with you
(or buy lots of stuff for that matter). But I really miss them! I miss the
variety that would allow me to dress as my mood dictates, or to even influence
my mood by wearing a certain piece of clothing.
I miss boots and autumn clothes! Which basically boils down
to the fact that I miss seasons! :) I even miss feeling cold...it's so weird
never to have that feeling! It's rainy season now and I must say, I love it!
There's actually a breeze from time to time. But I find it terribly amusing
that my students come to class dressed with jackets and sweaters...it does not
really get that cold people!!
I miss pubs. Because alcohol is so expensive here, there's
not really a pub culture. People don't go for a drink and talk and drink, and
talk and drink, in a nice cosy atmosphere. There's talking and drinking alright
but it's either in the parks or somewhere outdoors (where you generally need to
be on the lookout- I doubt it's very legal:)), or at someone's home, or in
whatever common space people can find. And although that's nice and fun, I do
miss the nice pub atmosphere.
I miss my red couch! Or better said, the cosiness of my old
apartment. Don't get me wrong, the flat where I know live is actually quite
nice and quite big. But it just is not very comfortable. It kind of lacks that
something extra that makes it a place where you feel like snuggling. And again,
the fact that I know all is temporary does not make me want to spend too much
time or money on making it cosy-er.
I do ever so often miss corporate money. Just that freedom of
not having to think about money that much. Not that I'm lying awake at night
because of it, but it does pop up from time to time.
Now, I decided to share all this, because I am very curious
how I will feel about all this at the end of the year. See, it is my personal
belief that man is a creature of habit. You get used to what you have, and
everything is relative to that. I never before felt spoiled, but living here
after having had the lifestyle I had in the Netherlands, does make me feel
spoiled. And I do sort of expect that in time, all these cravings will
diminish, decrease and feel unimportant. Or maybe not...maybe they will become
even stronger and will be my major sign that I should go back to corporate
world after. Who knows? But either way, I hope that by jotting them down, it
will help me remember :)