21.45 (Continuation of Mr Idham's story)

It was 21.45...9.45pm. My handphone rang. The reception was not clear..or was it my fast beating heart was making itself heard? I dunno.. a little bit of both i suppose.... Yes! the awaited person was trying to find his way. I gave the person the instruction. Saw that yellow coloured vehicle..n shouted from our apt window for the person to come to the fourth floor since i couldnt come down as my kids were sleeping...

No.. it was not Mr. Idham...it was a taxi driver...he drove all the way from ortaköy to our place....to hand over this package...

The package with *saray muhallebicisi* ( a prominent dessert selling shop brand)
with these inside...hmmm.. what can they be?
2 packages...hmmm...yup..inside they r..

These giant sized various types of baklava..

My most favourite dessert!! (kazandibi)

The most Prized souvenir of all..Something wrapped in a plastic bag

The Zam Zam water... flown all the way from the holy land...brought here by our Mr. Idham..

First of all....THANK YOU KAK LİL!! (and of course our Mr. Idham heheh)....for the superb packing...the zam zam water did reach us safe n sound...

When our Mr. Idham asked me whether i wanted anything from Saudi Arabia.. i said no... I do not like to ask for things from someone i barely know...tak suka nak menyusahkan orang.. Then, i remembered something... he would be coming from the holy land...there is something special from there that i want my kids to taste...the Zam Zam Water..i hinted to our Mr. Idham...and he complied...Kak Lil bottled up the zam zam water carefully so that it wouldnt spill or the bottle broken...( as u can see above).. n that bottle flew all the way to istanbul...

when we were meeting him on wednesday night... he gave us the hurma.. not the zam zam.. he totally forgot about it.. n i thought the zam zam water was probably broken or spilled or something.. i didnt feel that it was polite to ask...the next day though(thursday) he texted me asking for my addy...he wanted to send the zam zam water... i said no need coz he is at the other side of the bridge n the traffic is...soooo istanbul traffic!!... mungkin bukan rezeki....but then i think Kak Lil sort of said something like *do send* (hantarla)..n there it was.. at 21.45 at night... a taxi driver reached our front door...to hand me over that package!

Alhamdulillah..Teşekkur Ederim...Thank You very Much!! I was feeling quite down yesterday n that sweet action of his had/has really made my day..!! But i really really feel guilty coz.. i dont like to trouble people but by asking him to bring the Zam Zam water from the holy land.. did cause some trouble... i cant imagine how much he had paid for the taxi driver...n asking to pay him the taxi fee may not be the polite thing to do.. Allah Razı Olsun Dear Mr. Id! Halil n İ r eternally grateful for such sweet thoughts..

This meeting with another malaysian thing also made me think..…When people from Malaysia see my kids, they see them as 2 kids with mixed blood….People try to decide who the kids resemble who.. to analyse or search which langage they speak.. why they speak this language n why not the other….bla bla bla..many many thoughts roam around the people’s head….it is only natural..i do that too when i see mixed blood people…

….what about my kids? What do they see when they meet someone in turkey who they can recognise as coming from their mother’s root? What r they thinking? What r their visions of these people.. ?

It is a luxury for my kids to see another Malaysian’s face here.. (The main reason i want my kids to meet as many malaysians here as possible) So far, all these years, we had only my sister yana who stayed with us for 2 months while Halil was doing his military service.. then we had my high school teacher’s family for a week…then we spent a day with another malay singaporean who resides in İstanbul…..after that, we had my friends (dydy n gang)..later we spent a day with DiTH’s 2 daughters.. n last Wednesday night.. we met Mr. Idham(see my previous entry)…..

Their general reactions were usually.. At the beginning, they would look at the visitors with curious eyes….warming towards them slowly…trying to get their attention by making naughty actions n playfully fight with each other….Only then they would slowly physically approach the guests….i sense especially in Hatice this sense of *nak bermesra* .. this sense of wanting to get closer.. be nearer to each of our malaysian guests…..n missing their presence when they were gone..thinking whether once gone..will they forget about her n her brother…and she remembers them very clearly..For example, sofi..Dith’s daughter.. i was reading her blog when Hatice saw her Picture n immediately recognised her as one pf the two *sisters* (abla)…baddin is not so expressive.. but i think like her… he remembers too…

I think the Malaysian blood in her draws her to want to know the people like me…she is curious….

Today, i asked her about this matter…her answer was (translated from turkish)..

*When i see them, i feel happy. Even though i am a turkish citizen, seeing the people from your country reminded me that i am a mixed blood. I start to miss Malaysia especially the cats at atuk dede’s house n along teyze’s house.. I try to remember atok dede, tok wan anna anne, along teyze, pak ngah jo, n others..*

I dont think she remembers Malaysia much or the people in it (except for yana teyze coz she came to stay with us for 2 months)… but i think in her mind… she feels that she wants to belong both to her father’s side of the family n her mother’s side of the family… She does wonder about the life there….the Malaysians whom she has met become a link to her other root she knows very little about..….

My family may be an example of the fact that love has no boundries…regardless the passport one holds.. but Mr. Idham has also taught Halil one thing about us Malaysians….Malaysian hospitality! That is a valuable lesson i think Halil will not forget for a long long time…

As for me.. i miss malaysia all the time… i dream of going back to Malaysia..evkn for a short visit..but when i see another malaysian’s face…the weight of missing my homeland somehow is lessened….rasa terubat kejap rindukan tanahair…

P.s.. Hatice n baddin shrieked when i showed them these 3 kilo of prawns!! Mixed blood they may be.. but these will always be the *deniz böcek*..sea insects to them...hahahahaahahahahaha

I just came back from Mr. Idham's blog

He wrote about our meeting.. but most importantly, i discovered that had to go to a credit card fraud experience here in istanbul.. i was about to cry reading that entry..sad for what had happened..but then as i was typing this.. Mr. Idham called...he explained what happened... i am still sad but now am happier coz everything was settled...

Take care Mr. Id! Have a safe flight..i am sure there is a happy daughter waiting for ur arrival there in dublin right now.. Having u here... exchanging sms.. chatting on the phone with u has been an experience i wont easily forget... Cant wait to meet Kak Lil n Kids...hopefully one day soon... :0)

Have a nice Weekend Everyone! See U all Next week!

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..