“You Speak Excellent English!”

Somebody said this to me the other day.  “You speak excellent English!”.  The comment took me by surprise.  It took me a a few moments to let those words sink in.  My silence must have made Tracy feel a little awkward, so she went on to ask me “How long have you been in Australia?”. 

At the time, Tracy and I were sitting on the side bench, watching our children have their swimming class.  We have only known each other for maybe about 6-7 weeks now.  As the weeks passed, our conversations had gotten friendlier (of course), and I guess, it had reached a point where she was comfortable to comment on what must have been on her mind for some time now.

I told her that I had been in living in Australia for the past 10 years. I also added that the first time I stepped foot into this country was even further back in time - as a 19 year old starting university in the beautiful city of Perth, Western Australia (for three glorious years!)  Tracy seemed happy with the answer.  But I was not.  My mind was reeling - Silly girl! Your response made it sound like you only started speaking English when you landed in Australia!,  I scolded myself silently.  So, I had to add a bit more.  I went on to tell Tracy that I had been speaking English ALL MY LIFE.  In fact, I had to shamefully admit to her (as I am now confessing to all of you reading this), that I only spoke English at home when I was growing up.  I could not and still cannot speak Tamil which is my mother tongue. (Shame!).  This response did surprise her a bit!  She then asked in what language I spoke in to my boys at home.  English, of course, I replied.   Tracy looked fascinated.

This whole week, I had been replaying this event again and again in my mind.  Questions after questions keep popping up - Do the general population expect immigrants not to speak good English?  What else is the ‘general’ assumption?  Would Tracy be suprised to know that my family eats more pasta and oven baked food than curry and rice at home?   Will she be shocked if she knew that we had a 5 burner BBQ on the backyard deck?  And that any chance we get, we go on farm holidays? 

I thought, the only way I was going to understand this is if I reversed the situation.  So, I imagined myself to be still living in Malaysia (and speaking fluent Tamil!)  I imagined meeting Tracy in Malaysia, and having a conversation with her in Tamil.  I tried to imagine Tracy telling me that she has spoken Tamil all her life, even as she was growing up in Australia.  But it was hard!!  Somehow, I could not convince myself that, this could ever happen!!

I guess I know now that we all probably judge and make presumptions about each other too quickly.  Generalising and sterotyping should not be the ‘way to go’.  I have learnt my lesson and I am glad that I have made a small change in one other person’s mind about “people from other countries”.  In fact, I am hoping that I can go on making this (little) change in more people  :)  .

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[For the record, I can understand Tamil when my parents speak it to each other (most of the time), but I cannot understand the language when I hear it in a movie or when it is spoken by anyone else].  (I know - NOT ACCEPTABLE!)

Book Review: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Title:  Eat Pray Love
Author:  Elizabeth Gilbert
Published:  2006
Author’s Website:  Elizabeth Gilbert’s Official Website

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Summary:

Eat Pray Love is a memoir.  In it, the author (Elizabeth) narrates about her consuming thoughts and life, as she visits Italy, India and Bali to seek the meaning of passion, spirituality and balance.

My View:

When I first started reading this book, the introduction sounded very familiar.  It reminded me very much of a movie that I had watched:  Under the Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane and Sandra Oh.  (Incidently, the movie is also based on a  written memoir of the same name).  As in this book, the movie was also about a gloomy American writer, who was also going through the emotions of a turbulent divorce, and who had also decided to ‘take a break from it all’ by going to a foreign country, in which case was Tuscany-Italy.  Interesting, I thought.

As with most books, the initial chapters were very exciting.  After all, I was ‘getting to know’ the main character, in this case which was Elizabeth.  It was comforting to learn that she was as ordinary as anybody.  Just another woman going through life, I thought.  And this excited me.  I love reading about other people’s life and what they learn from going through it, and with the charming way that Elizabeth was writing, I thought I was going to fall in love with the book in no time.

But,…. I was wrong.  I wasn’t falling in love at all.  In fact, I actually started getting a little bored by the time we reached India.  Somehow, I felt as if the initial spark that lit up the book in the front-end, was beginning to diminish.  Where are you taking me, I kept asking Elizabeth silently in my mind.  Of course, there were moments of awe here and there.  But they seemed to be getting less frequent as I progressed.

By the time we were in Bali, it just felt as if I was being led by a leash.  It felt as if Elizabeth was writing the “who, what and where” in precise detail (of course from notes and journals that she must have kept through out her trip) and then editing in the emotional side of the events as an ‘after thought’.  Somewhere in the book, I had lost the Elizabeth that had initially grasped my interest and excitement. 

Recommendation:

In Australia, this book in on a Top 10 list.  So, I’m sure that it must be catering for some people’s taste.  But my personal thoughts are, if you are after a memoir that will inspire you to appreciate the little things in life and to learn from the world around us - this is not the one!

Detoxing the Home…

OK.  So I’ve had a go at being a Vegetarian last week and had such a blast doing it too!!  And thanks to a very interesting read on Julia’s blog site (Ayurwhat?), I am now officially referring to myself as a Part-Time Vegetarian!     Yahooo!!

So, keeping up with the general theme, I have decided that this week I am going to detox my home!!  I am going to attempt to do a “deep clean” of every room and every corner.  Clearing clutter and cobwebs.  Tossing out broken pieces of toys.  Organising the fridge.  And doing something about the laundry room! 

Also, it being winter now, I think I have to come up with an ideal (energy and cost efficient) routine in relation to “cleaning the inside air” of the home.  It is common to always have the doors and windows shut during winter - trapping the warm air (and everything else in the air) indoors.  But I really don’t like waking up every morning, smelling last night’s dinner on the curtains and couch!  This used to be a major issue with me when I was working, as I used to feel so self-conscious about going to work smelling like chicken curry, but now that I am a stay-at-home-mum, that has become the least of my ‘personal’ worries (However, maybe I should start sniffing at hubby and children’s clothes,… just in case!)  Anyway, I’m sure you get my point!

I’m not going to refer this as a challenge.  I would really like this to be a “permanent feature” of sorts.  Let’s see.

If anybody has some tips for me - I welcome you to share!!!  Please .

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Here’s wishing all you mums out there a Happy Mother’s Day!!

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food : DAY 5 (of 5)

I DID IT!!! 

I’ve crossed the FINISH LINE,… and what a wonderful feeling it is!  Don’t get me wrong - I’m not excited because I cannot wait to take a big bite on a chunk of meat. In fact, I’m not even craving for meat.  I feel so proud of myself because I have accomplished something that has been very difficult for me since ever.  I was a vegetarian without dread and tears.  (So what if it was only for 5 days..)

Day 5 was yesterday…. and what a hectic day it was.  After dropping the boys off at school school, I received a call from one of the girlfriends inviting me for a spontaneous shopping excursion.  How could I refuse?  I dropped my washing gloves into the sink and dashed to get ready - after all, she did say she would be at my door in 5 minutes! 

After a little (homeware) shopping and coffee with the girls (3 of us and a toddler), I got home to get my grocery shopping list ready.  (The dishes were still waiting in the sink,..and I continued to ignore them).  Then off I went to the supermarket to get the weekend’s food load.  I was back in time to unload the grocery, have a quick bite of lunch and then I was off again to my doctor’s appointment.  (I was actually a little thankful for the waiting I had to do in the waiting room - “Finally, a little breather “, I thought to myself). 

After seeing the doctor, I only had enough time to pick up my prescription from the pharmacy and get to school just in time to pick the boys up.  After a quick bite (of snacks), I loaded the boys into the car, and off we went to swimming class! 

Phew! After all that I wasn’t going to cook something extravagant!  How could I?  So, I just heated some pies for the boys and hubby, deep fried some chips and prepared some coleslaw.  For me, I fried some vegetarian nuggets and heated a can of vegetable soup. Ohh Yes - I also heated a couple of rolls of garlic bread!  In case you are wondering where the photo of my meal is - that was the last thing on my mind at the time!  Would you blame me?

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food: DAY 4 (of 5)

Seeing that I have been a very good girl these past 4 days, I decided to treat myself today!  Don’t worry - I did not break my challenge.  After all, I only have 1 day left to go . Today, I treated myself with my most favourite of all Indian snacks - SPICY MASALA VADA !!

Now back to my challenge.  Well, it is coming to an end, and personally, I have been so delighted with myself for getting through this so far.  Although I can see the finish line, I am not going to congratulate myself just yet.  We’ll leave that for tomorrow.  However, what I would like to reiterate is WHY I have taken up this challenge (and why I will continue taking up more little challenges like this).  

This ongoing ‘Challenge Project’ as I  fondly call it, is meant to be part of a personal quest.  A quest for self discovery.  Often, we all get so caught up with the day-to-day activities that we almost always end up flying on “auto-pilot”.  I don’t want to live my life on Auto-Pilot . I believe that life is too precious to be lived that way.  That is why, I want to continue to challenge myself - to continue learning and discovering.  That is why I am doing this Challenge Project. 

I have a few ideas as to what I could challenge myself with for next week, and am still toying around with them in my mind.  It will not start till next Monday.  

Ooppps!  Almost forgot to mention what I’d prepared for dinner!  Tonight’s main couse is a Chinese dish eaten with white rice.  Stir fried broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and baby corn with a little corn flour and soy sauce.  I have also added a little Oyster Sauce and Chicken Stock (Cheating?  I thought that since I was not being a Vegetarian for religious reasons and as long as I am not eating any meat, using such meat related products was alright in this challenge.)  Do tell me if I have broken a fundamental rule of Vegetarianism and that I should be disqualified from referring to myself as a Vegetarian.  Seriously!

 

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food: DAY 3 (of 5)

It is mid-week and thus also mid-point of my self imposed Vegetarian Week challenge.  DAY 1 and DAY 2 was survived (astonishingly) without any major dramas.  I am also very thankful for the support and encouragement that I have been receiving from my blog friends and readers.  A big ‘Thank You’ to all! 

Before I go on about the details of the vegetarian dishes I prepared today, I would like to share with you a couple of websites that I came across on my mini research on….. you guessed it….. being a vegetarian.  They are both Australian content, but nevertheless (maybe) still useful for all you Non-Australian readers out there.  They are >>

National Vegetarian Week - I never knew that we celebrated a Vegetarian Week here in Australia, which is  held on 1-7 October!  This is great news for me and I am on board for this year’s celebrations. :)  The website has some good educational information and tips .

Australian Vegetarian Society - I couldn’t believe it when I came across this one!   A quick glance of this site - I found it to be a little confronting for us meat eaters.  “Please,… we are not the enemy…” , I found myself pleading as I quickly read through some of the content.  Although I am not planning to become a vegetarian on a full time basis, I am all for being educated on the subject.  Therefore, later, I will put on my brave-face and charge through the site yet again.

OK. Now as to what I prepared for dinner…..

Thanks to recipes found at Sailus Food, our vegetarian dinner tonight consisted of  Rava Dosa and Besan Chutney.  Both of these items were very easy to make.   Although I have eaten rava dosa before, it was however the first time i tried  besan chutney,.. and I loved it.  A big thank you to Sailus Food!

 

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food: DAY 2 (of 5)

OK.  My self-imposed challenge to be a vegetarian for 5 days in a row is coming along great.  DAY 1 was a big success, and so far DAY 2 is following the same trend.  I am starting to even feel a little guilty by referring to this whole task as a challenge.  If it really is a challenge then shouldn’t there be pain?  Even just a little? 

No seriously!  Why aren’t I stressed as I normally am?  Where are all the cravings?  Why aren’t I dying to have meat?  I was expecting myself to be crying by DAY 2,.. but here I am…relaxed and happy.  How can I learn anything new about myself if I am STILL IN MY COMFORT ZONE?  Hmm…. Anyway, let’s leave the evaluation for the last day. 

So what did I cook today?  As the children were home today, I had to make sure that I cooked a proper meal for both lunch and dinner for them.  (They would get really annoyed if I was to suggest sandwiches for lunch, only because they have sandwiches for lunch every day at school!  Understandable.) Seeing that I had to also cook a vegetarian meal for myself, I decided (yesterday, while menu-planning) that I would prepare easy meals today.  What can be easier than spaghetti bolognese?

So that’s what I cooked.  Two versions of pasta sauce: the lamb-mince version and the soy-mince version.  The key ingredients used for the soy pasta sauce were soy mince and of course, a trusted commercial pasta sauce (today, I used Leggo).  The result?  See for yourself >>>

I have to say, the soy-mince version looks EXACTLY like the lamb-mince version.  In case you are wondering as to why the colour looks dark,… well it is only because I always add a little chilly powder and curry powder to spice my pasta sauces up.  And yes - there’s diced potatoes, diced carrots, peas and sweet corn in there too .  And the taste…..beautiful.  Buon appetito!!

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food : DAY 1 (of 5)

I woke up really excited this morning!  It was DAY 1 of my self-imposed challenge and I was raring to go.  After sending the boys to school, I sat down at the kitchen table and started my usual Monday morning task of drawing up the week’s menu.  Today, however, I had to approach this differently . So, after printing a blank Visio weekly calender, I got down to work. 

Now,… what usually takes about 15 minutes, stretched out to aboout 30 minutes.  The worst part was, in the end, I only got to menu-planning up to Wednesday!  This is more difficult than expected, I thought sighing.  And to think that I got this far only after getting some help from my favourite food blogs! 

So, what did I end up preparing for tonight’s dinner? 

Thanks to  Eggless Cooking, my main dish for tonight is Beet Greens Daal!  I had to improvise a little as the correct greens (from the recipe) could not be found at the supermarket this morning, so I used Silverbeet  greens (Chard) instead.  I was a bit worried about replacing the main ingredient, but my worry was for nought.  The dish came out beautifully and I was so pleased with myself!  A big thank you to Madhuram  for this wonderful recipe!  This is what my version looked like >>>

 

For the accompanying dish, I cooked one of my mother’s recipe… spicy fried potatoes.  The spiciness of the potatoes eaten with the beautiful flavoured green beet and white rice was simply heaven! 

DAY 1 of my challenge was a success!  And,..I didn’t even ‘accidently’ taste the spicy fried tuna that I cooked for the boys! 

Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food Only!

So, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about life’s heavy questions.  You know, the usual ones such as why are we born and what our purpose in life is (and all that).  For those who really know me, this is nothing new.  I have gone through many such phases before and this is just another one,…yet again.  I like to think of it as my “on-off spiritual affair”. 

Anyway, to satisfy my current need for reflection and learning, I have come up with a new project for myself.  I call it the Challenge Project, whereby I will be setting myself up for challenges and (hopefully) learning from them.  The intention is to put myself in unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable situations and benefit from them.  The main objective is to learn something new about myself, and not necessarily to gain a new skill/experience.  That would be a bonus :) . Sounds simple enough? We’ll see.

So, to kick start my Challenge Project, for 5 days (starting Monday 0505) I will be a vegetarian.  What’s the big deal?  It is a big deal for me!  Sadly, I’m one of those people who cannot go without meat for more than one day!  Growing up,..I used to dread Fridays for this very reason (Friday was vegetarian day at home).   I remember getting really anxious on Thursday nights itself, thinking about how I was going to survive the next day! Shameful isn’t it!

Hubby is not going to have a choice - he too is going to be vegetarian for the next 5 days.  I actually haven’t told him about this yet.  Anyway,.. he’ll find out tomorrow at dinner.  The kids are going to be exempted - only because I did ask them, and they point-blankly said “Not Interested”.  My 6 year old added that he is a “Meatarian” and that meat was necessary - end of story.  (Anyone with children will know that there is no point arguing with kids about food - it happens too much already.  So, I am happy to leave it at that).

Even with the extra work that will be involved - with making both meat and vegetarian dishes, I am still very excited about the next 5 days.  I hope to blog my little journey everyday, and share my excitement and frustrations.  Let’s see what happens…. Wish me luck .