.: Spiral of recollection :.

Scene 1.

OMG! What do I do? What do I say? Do you think she’ll understand us?

It sounds way hilarious in Malay, so here’s the version for the Malaysian readers.

Ei! Nak buat ape eh? Ape nak cakap? Agak-agak dia faham tak? Cam mane ni!

Occasionally when I’m dressed up like any other average kid on the block, I’ll get mistaken as a foreigner. It may have to do with me blabbing in English *I’ve been told I have the American accent, I do have an accent though it’s unlikely to be American*, taking shots like an eccentric Japanese tourist or that I take so much interest in the surroundings as if it’s a totally alien environment.

Because of that, I have encountered several side-splitting treatments, divided into several categories. These presumptions are based on the times I had with Malaysians that have difficulties in expressing in English.

1. The helpful ones :- They’re willing to go all the way to help you by getting someone proficient in English, sign-language, win-lose-or-draw, charades etc. I’m dead serious on this.
2. The freaked out ones :- "Me speak no English. Bye." Else a wave, smiles, walks off. They’re not being rude. They don’t know how to react. At least they have the courtesy to acknowledge your existence.
3. The no-clue-what-to-do-but-wanna help ones :- Please refer to the panic attacks in scene 1. They’ll speak frantically to one another deciding on how, what to do often ending up stuttering, blushing and that’s pretty much it. These are generally the animated bunch.
4. The rude ones :- They’ll ignore you. Either they freaked out or are just rude. I retract my words. They’re just plain rude.
5. The blur ones :- They’re not sure whether you’re talking to them. Subsequently, they may fall anywhere in category 1-4.
   
   

Most of the time, I’ll encounter the ones in the 3^rd category. I never mean to mislead them, but I find it hard to burst their bubble. *with the eagerness splashed on their faces, "this foreigner spoke to me! Gya~!"* By now, I’ve acquired a knack to contain the chuckles. However, every so often I’ll submit to it, so seeing me laugh made them laugh as well. The laughs are purely because I find it really sweet that they’re trying their best to help out, sandwiched with the witty antics. I'll bail them out when things go out of control.

And after a long day in KLCC with my sis *we spent half a day at Kinokuniya bookstore*, the ticket man at the LRT gate greeted us with …"Thank you for shopping with us. Do come again!"

Me:: Cool~ Now they’ve started such a practice.
Sis:: I think he only said that to us. Do you think people think we are Indonesian?
Me:: That’s a loaded one.
Sis:: Oh yeah. You get this all the time.

Not so Malaysian after all.

9.59 Malaysian Time