Visiting the Nan Hua Temple （南華寺）on the 1st Day of Chinese New Year (CNY) 。

Another place not to be missed during CNY is the Nan Hua Temple.  The Nan Hua Temple is the largest Buddhist sanctuary in South Africa.  It is situated in the Culture Park suburb of Bronkhorstspruit.

On the Sunday morning, the 1^st day of CNY （大年初一）, we have earlier on planned to drive down to Swaziland Hlane National Park for a two-day getaway.  As Bronkhorstspruit is right on our way to Swaziland, we decided to make a quick stop at the Nan Hua Temple.  Most of our Singaporean friends would also be there.

It was around an hour drive away from Johannesburg.  We arrived there at slightly passed 10 am.  The performance began exactly at 10 am.  By the time when we arrived, the temple was already packed with people.  Once again, we were astounded and overwhelmed by the huge crowds rejoiced in this event and the local Whites that outnumbered the Chinese.  We noticed the same phenomenon at the CNY celebration at the Commissioner Street (the Old Chinatown).  I sensed that the Whites enjoyed themselves as much as we do.  They appreciated the long established Chinese festivals cultures that we inherited.

People were wandering around in the temple, taking pictures, chit-chatting, and enjoying the atmosphere of CNY while waiting for the performance to start.

The performance that they put up was equivalent amazing compare to the CNY celebration held at the Tian Hou Gong （天后宮）back at Kuala Lumpur.  Visitors streamed in to pray, to donate, to witness the lion dance and dragon dance performance.  First, we went in to the hall to pay our tribute to the goddess and made some donation as usual.  We met up with our friends.  Then without further delay, Chen and I quickly made our way to the food stalls.  Almost 80% of the stalls were selling the typical Taiwanese Night Market foods.  While some others were selling the Chinese souvenirs such as paper umbrellas, tea pots, drawings, potteries, clothes, jewelleries and so on.

Buddha statues inside the hall.  We paid our tribute here.

The dragon dance performance after the firecrackers.

The lion dance performance.

As we don’t generally get to savour the Taiwanese food even at Johannesburg, we were drooling over the foods.  We regretted that we came so late and had to squeeze ourselves amid the large crowd to purchase our foods.  I was such a happy girl with food on one hand, drink on another hand and a few more packets of food dangling down from my wrist :-).  Though we promised it was only going to be a quick stop, in the end, we spent around 2 hours there.  The Nan Hua Temple is a worthwhile and heavenly visit during the CNY.

We bought the Salty Rise Pudding from this stall.  I once ate this from a roadside stall at Taiwan and just fell in love with it.

We had the bubble milk teas, the sour jelly drink, spring rolls, deep fried chicken chop and the stir fried oysters on the spot.  In addition, we bought the dumplings, mua ci and wua kuai for our dinner tonight at the Hlane National Park.

The Vibe of Chinese New Year Eve (CNY Eve) at Commissioner Street, Johannesburg。

Perhaps not many people know that there are two Chinatowns at Johannesburg, namely the Old Chinatown and the New Chinatown.  If you were to ask any Jo’burgian, they will probably direct you to the new Chinatown located at Cyrildene.  The new Chinatown is the place where many Chinese people nowadays, whether they are from the mainland China, the Taiwanese, the Hong Kong people or other places, operate their businesses and purchase their daily goods.   It is a street comprise of many Chinese restaurants, grocery shops, cake shops, butchery shops, vegetable and seafood stalls, just to name a few.

However, it is not my intention to go into details of the new Chinatown today.  The prime focus is the almost-long-forgotten old Chinatown located at the Commissioner Street, Johannesburg.  We had once visited the Commissioner Street on an ordinary day.  It was nothing more common than any other streets at Johannesburg CBD, except with an extra signboard stating that it is the first Chinatown in Johannesburg.  It is only once in a year time, during the CNY eve, that this little quiet street turned lively.  And it is only on this very auspicious occasion, the street is closed down from traffic, with people gathering on the street, merrily indulging in the celebration of CNY.

People gathered around the stage and waited patiently for the performance to begin.

People strolling along the street.

We were glad that our Singaporean friends have organised a table and invited us to join them for the CNY eve dinner at the Commissioner Street.  The table had to be booked at least 2 weeks in advance in order to secure a spot.  On that day, the restaurant owners would fill the street in front of their shops with tables for the diners.  It allowed the diners to enjoy their food at the same times witnessed the various spectacular performances of the dragon dance, the fireworks, and the stream of people.  Along the street, there were also some stalls selling food and drink to cater for those who didn’t book a table.  Furthermore, there were also heaps of people who merely appeared with beers and stools of their own, purely to dip themselves in the air of CNY mood.

This is our Singaporean cum Malaysian table.  We were happily feasting ourselves.

Did you get it right?  This is not a roast pig.  It is the roast lamb.

Large crowd filling up the street.

Fireworks were lighted all night long till almost 10 pm.

Formerly, we have been warned not to expect too much from a local CNY celebration at Johannesburg.  Setting the low bar of expectation had got us very excited and gave us a total different experience.  The large crowd of local Jo’burgians appeared at the scene, enjoyed this festival as much as we do, had really amazed us.  That night, we had our typical Chinese full course dinner, witnessed the dragon dance, the lion dance, the firecrackers and the fireworks.

The lions went from shops to shops for greetings and lighting up the firecrackers.

Celebrating the 2013 Chinese New Year (CNY) at Johannesburg, South Africa 。

As it is only less than 2 months apart between my estimated delivery date and the Chinese New Year, Chen and I decided not to travel back (by flight) to Malaysia for CNY this year.  No doubt, I am missing out the CNY celebration with all the good foods and family get together.  However, a quiet CNY in Johannesburg has also given us a peaceful mind – try imagining all those hassles of hectic travels and busy schedules.

Though we are not at our homeland, we still strived to create a CNY ambience at our house.  On the Friday afternoon before CNY, we drove down to Cyrildene (the New Chinatown at Johannesburg) to purchase some CNY goods (辦年貨 as the Chinese says it).  We bought some CNY decorative, candies and cookies.  To our surprise, CNY mood is not really that strong at Cyrildene as what we would expect to see in a Chinese community.  We were told that most of shop owners will continue to work through CNY as many other normal days.  This is a little different compare to Malaysia or Singapore CNY celebration.  We regard CNY as the biggest Chinese event of the year.  It is the long awaited breaks in a year for many youngsters who live away from home.  It is the joyful time of returning to the home, gathering with family members and friends and indulging in the long missed home cooked food.

 

Saturday the 9^th February is the CNY eve while Sunday the 10^th February is the 1^st day of CNY.  As earlier on we have already planned for a trip to Swaziland on Sunday; hence we celebrated the CNY one day earlier.  On the Saturday early morning, Chen and I greeted each other happy CNY and kick start our day.  We were expecting a family to join us for lunch that day.  Thus, I woke up early and began to prepare Mee Suah for our lunch.  Mee Suah is a type of noodle which traditionally consumed by the Hokkien people on the 1^st day of CNY, full moon of giving birth or during birthday.  As long as I can remember, we always have Mee Suah on the 1^st day of CNY at grandma’s house for breakfast.  It took me around 2 hours of slow boiling of the chicken, mushroom, ginger and wine to have that immense aroma and taste that form the soup base of Mee Suah.  At the same time of cooking, I was also busy cleaning, tidying the house and laying out the cookies and candies.  Meanwhile, Chen was happily downloading the CNY songs.

 Mee Suah will never be perfect without the fried garlic oil, the hard-boiled eggs and the soy sauce with cut chilies.

Some roast porks （燒肉、叉燒）to go with the Mee Suah.

Eventually, our visitors arrived at 12 noon.  We had wonderful time eating and chit chatting.  It was not until 3pm that we dismissed.  Then, we cleaned up and rest a bit before heading to the Commissioner Street (Old Chinatown) for the CNY eve dinner.

Fried Hokkien Udon Noodles

We probably don’t realise how lucky we are with food until we leave the country.  We, the Malaysian, are blessed with a great variety of delicious and cheap food.  The many races in Malaysia, the Malays, the Chinese, the Indian and the Locals, all have their own culinary specialties.  Food is always one of the highlights in our daily life.  Probably only the Malaysians are the people willing to drive long distance and long hour for food.  So, that is how crazy we are in search for the best food.

When living back in Malaysian, never had I thought that cooking is an essential skills or necessities.  It is only a pastime when I am in a good mood for cooking.  Chicken rice costs only RM4.50 each.  Noodles normally range from as low as RM2.50 (Kolok Mee) to some fancier noodles at RM10.00 (at hawker stalls or coffee shops price).  Food is available 24-7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week, whole year round).  In short, you just can’t possibly starve to death even if you don’t know how to cook.

Since moving to South Africa, my cooking skills have undoubtedly improved tremendously.  I could still recall frying my 1^st sunny side egg during my university time.  Even that turned out to be a not so successful one.  Now, there is no way not to improve or I will be dead from cravings.  Of course, not every time the food will turn out to be perfect as I wish.  I am happy if the food tastes 80% to my expectations.  There are still so much rooms for improvement.

Chen has been complaining that I am very picky on food, which I agree.   Chen is a non-fussy eater.  He likes good food but is not attached to them.  He can easily settle with anything as long as they are healthy and proper.  On the contrary, I would refuse to put anything I feel unpleasant into my mouth.  I would rather snack on bread or biscuits to last me the whole day – such a bad habit!

While Chen is still away for his business trip in Gabon, I cook this simple “Fried Hokkien Udon Noodle”.  They are simple because as long as you have the noodles (either Udon or yellow noodle), the rest of the ingredients are generally what you can pull off from the fridge.

 

低成本女人。 Low Cost Woman 。

Low cost woman is also a way of fashion.

While I was browsing through the South Africa Chinese newspaper last Friday, this article immediately caught my attention.  In the world today, many people have been blindly going after endless material fulfillment.  We are never satisfied because our wish lists will only ever expanding.  In the end, we suffer when our wish list is not attained.  It is sad to see that how many people have given up their health, their quality time with family in order to pursue after money, flame and power.

I thought that this article is a great one.  It brought up the message that one happiness has nothing to do with how many things you owned, but rather relate to how you live your life.  Another article that delivered a similar message is the “Top Five Regrets of Dying“.  It is a record of an Australian nurse serving the patients in their last 12 weeks of their lives.

When asked, many regretted the following –

(Quote extracted from http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying.)

1.  I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

“When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.”

2.  I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.”

3.  I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

“Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.”

4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

“Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.”

5.  I wish that I had let myself be happier.

“Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.”

They will serve as a reminder to me how I would want to live my life.

低成本是一種理智成熟的生活方式。對一個女人而言，不見得揮霍了最大限額的金錢，就一定能換來最高額度的生活質量，錢和生活質量之間，往往是畫不上等號的。

許多人錯把高欲望和高消費當成高品質生活。“如果所有的東西都得用錢去換，那當你都用錢去換的時候，你用什麽去換錢？”（朱德庸語）若用理想、原則、閒暇、自我、愛好、自由、家庭去換，你換回來的錢也買不到生活品質和幸福。

低成本生活不等于生活在低處。

Selecting a Name for the Little One 。

I have been a rather “kan cheong” (anxious) person.  When we were informed the gender of the baby around 5 months into pregnancy, I have been busy figuring out names and asked Chen for his opinions.  He basically ignored me and thought it was too early to get a name.  Furthermore, I don’t think he is pleased with any of those suggested names.

Somehow, Chen and I have very different characters and personalities.  I still yet to understand how we manage to get together.

Then one day, at 7½ months into pregnancy, I came across the Chinese character of寧 (Nìng) while reading.  I told Chen that I thought this is a nice word.  So, we decided that it can fit into her name.  Since I have already decided on one character for the baby, it is Chen’s responsibility to figure out another one.  Just after another 2 weeks, he came out with熙 (xī).

That is how we arrived at her name – 熙寧 (Xi Ning).

The word 熙 means –

It translates as bright, splendid, and glorious.

The word 寧 means –

It translates as calm, peaceful, serene, and healthy.

( Note:  We didn’t have an English name for her as we would like her to appreciate her Chinese name.  She may pick on her English name, if she wanted, when she grown up.  Our blessings for her contain in the meaning of her name. )

2013 New Year Resolutions

Love the lyrics of this song –

Is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance;

Is the dream that afraid of making that never takes a chance;

And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.

 

In the past, I have hardly written down my resolutions for each year, enforcing them and constantly reflecting on them.  They are either very abstract or work-related.  Entering into my 30’s, I am hoping for a more balanced life.  So, here is my list of 2013 new year resolutions.

The quantitative targets –

1. I want to read at least 10 books in a year.  They should be real solid books, they do not include magazines.  I deeply believe that reading books can stimulate thinking and self-reflection.

2. I want to complete at least 6 out of the 8 subjects of my Masters study.  This is a little bit challenging given the baby is on the way.  Yet, isn’t that targets should be set a little higher than realistic capability?

3. Weight management is a woman’s life-long marathon.  After delivery in March, I wish to quickly reduce my weight back to pre-delivery weight of less than 50kg.

–

The qualitative aspirations –

1. Better time management.  I want to reduce spending time on wasteful stuffs in order to have more quality time for family, friends and myself.

2. I want to stay positive, feel grateful, maintain inner peace and build sustainable happiness.

3. I want to explore my potential and expand my horizon of interests.  For example, writing a blog is a new arena for me. 🙂

–

They will be my motto for this year.

Life is never perfect.  I don’t expect mine to be one perfect and easy life.  I only wish to have the wisdom to see it through.

Journey of Pregnancy – Part I。

Pregnancy only came struck me when I noticed my period is late by 2 weeks.  In the past, my periods have been consistent within the +/- 3 days envelope.  However given that I have just moved from Malaysia to Johannesburg with a total change of environment, I thought that it could be a delay.  I was constantly reminding Chen that it could be I am too stressed.  Anxiously, I waited for another 2 weeks before doing the in-house pregnancy test.  The moment of waiting for the pregnancy test result was an adrenaline rush experience.  It was the indescribably joy when the pregnancy kit showed a positive result.  When Chen asked me “So, how was it?“, I could see that he was trying to stay calm yet anxious to know the outcome.  I was grinning to myself and showed him the kit.  He had to read the instructions to understand what does the two-lines mean.  So, he asked “It means a YES?”  “I think so. 😛 “

So officially in the month of July 2012, that is the month when I conceived with my first baby at the age of 30.  It came quite unexpected.  But considering our age and readiness, we welcome it with open arm and excitement.  Of course, sometimes I will ponder a bit as it will change our life especially if I am attempting to get back to work.  However, it is a blessing to have children.  They change our mentality and perspectives.  “She” constantly reminds me to enjoy life, have inner peace and be blissful.

I considered myself lucky enough for not suffering from too severe morning sickness.  The only uneasiness that I can barely handle is the smell of food and cooking.  The sense of smells became extremely sensitive to the level of molecules in the air, if you know what I meant.  Hence, during the first trimester, I refrained from cooking and entering the kitchen as much as possible.  We ended up eating out so often.  Being far away from home country, among the many cuisine selection, I would only opt for Asian Food to ease my cravings.  Besides, lethargy hit me hard and strong.  For some days, I am probably awake for a few hours only in a day.  It was also the freezing cold winter in Johannesburg which doesn’t helped at all.  Most of my times were spent cuddle in the bed during the first trimester.

Another unbearable symptoms arose was the horrible acne breakout which lasted till 2^nd trimester.  My appearance and outlook were compromised.  During that period of time, I hardly dare to look myself into the mirrors.  Not to mention the plump face and the flabby waist line.  Fortunately, the conditions got better after 5 months into pregnancy.  As a result of the constant exercise level, my stamina still enabled me to complete a 10 km run till 6 months into pregnancy!  At a later stage, sleep has been depriving.  But then again, I believe the worst is yet to come when the breastfeeding journey starts.  After all, the pregnancy journey was not that bad. I remained to be active by running and traveling quite a bit with Chen.

Every monthly visit to the gynaecologist and midwife is something I looked forward to very much.  I loved to see the 3D Scan, with her little hand and leg movement and heart beats.  It affirmed me that she is in good state; progressively developing well, growing and gaining weight.  Most importantly, she is healthy.  I have also enjoyed all the kicking and tickling down the tummy.  It is another indication that she is active and alive.  Every time upon returning from the monthly check up, I would quickly flipped through the maternity guide book and checked if her weight is well within the safe range.

Throughout the pregnancy journey, Chen has been very supportive emotionally.  Why do I say emotionally will be explained in further details in a while 😛 .  He is a happy-go-lucky, cheerful, kind-hearted and loving man.  He has never failed to impress me with his great characters, thoughtful and considerate manners, and rationale thinkings. In many occasions, the little things he does for others have always move me.  We share a lot of laughters, thoughts and conversations.  For me, nothing beat spending a life with a man who I can share endless topics everyday.  He loves kids a lot and I am sure he will be a good dad.  On the not so rosy side, his level of tolerance to dirt and messiness is way far beyond mine.  Thus, I have endless house chores which seem to be unnecessary to him.  I appreciate his effort of asking me to rest but there are piles of laundry, dishes, shoes, food crumbles, and many more waiting for me to clean.  I have to look at the bright sides – it prepares me for the upcoming challenges to deal with kids.

Well, time has been passing by quite unnoticeable.  Now I am less than 2 months away from the estimated due date – 24 March 2013.  Most of the basic necessities are in place.  We have also received quite a lot of gifts from families and friends.  The times for her to meet the world and share the life with us is soon approaching.  I am excited and look forward to cuddle her in my arms. Bracing up for the moments.

2013 Chinese New Year Potluck Gathering with Johannesburg Malaysian Group 。

[February 2, 2013] Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

獨在異鄉為異客，每逢佳節倍思親。遙知兄弟登高處，遍插茱萸少一人。

I am a rather traditional person who thought that Chinese New Year, being one of the most important events in the Chinese calendar, should not be missed spending time with Family.  That is probably the only time when we got to see all the family members and relatives gathering together.  People are busy updating each other with their lives, checking on how everyone is doing and of course not to forget all the great food served during Chinese New Year.  Hence, I have never missed a year going back for Chinese New Year celebration with my family.

However, being closed to a year in South Africa now, I realized that in many festive seasons, expatriates do not have a choice but have to miss out on a lot of family gathering events.  They could be because of work, children or even travel expenses.  Except for Christmas which is celebrated worldwide, other festivals are not so common and may not be a public holiday in many countries.

Along the way, we have learned that during winter solstice; even there are only two of us, we still can have glutinous rice balls （湯圓）。 We have learned that during Chinese New Year, all the expatriate still can get together and have a taste of our long missed local food.  We have also learned that we can drive down to the Chinatown and indulge in the local atmosphere of Chinese New Year gala of a foreign land.

Nevertheless, this year will be the first time I miss out celebrating the Chinese New Year with my family members.  So, we just have to make the best out of the festive season and entertain ourselves a little bit.  When Chinese New Year is not celebrated with Family, then it will have to be with Friends.

This round, Vince and Frances are the hosts and have kindly invited us for a pre-CNY potluck dinner gathering at their house.  A total of five Malaysian families get together with their Malaysian dishes.  Devika and Su Lee prepared the Satay sticks of pork, chicken, taofu and tao pok.  Devika has also prepared additional Gado-gado to cater for the Vegans.  Samantha prepared the curry chicken to go along with my fried Bihun (vermicelli).  And the host provided all the drinks.

It was a busy Saturday.  Chen returned from London around noon time.  We then headed to Bidvest Wanderers Stadium for the South Africa vs. Pakistan Cricket Test Match before the dinner.  Luckily, I have prepared all the ingredients for the fried vermicelli the day before.  I woke up early to cook and sent the dish to Frances before heading for the match.  Everything went well as planned and there are no rushing-dashing around.

Vince has just shipped over his intact professional braai (barbeque) kit all the way from Australia.  And Su is the braai chef on that day.

Vince introduced the guests to the “Fat Bastard” Red wine and some Australia beers.  Of course, Chen will never miss the chance to help himself to all the wines and beers.  As you would imagine, in the end, I have to drive the “drunken fat bastard” home.

Lastly, the doggies have been one of highlights on the dinner.  For someone like me who am quite intimidated by dog, I still have a great time playing around with the doggies.  They are well trained and adorable.  Just to mention that a lot of local white families here and Malaysian expatriates are dog lovers.  Shall Chen & I also get one then?  We actually quite like them but due to our mobility, it is difficult for us to commit to a dog.

It was a great get together and we finally called it off a day at 11.30 pm.

A turning point in life。生活的轉折點。

Sometimes we just need the gut to "Just Dot IT."

March 2012, stepping into my 30’s, I took rather drastic steps to change my life, of which to many seems not so much of sense.  I left my rather high paid job and settle as a homemaker.  I choose to tune down my life so much.  To be honest, I didn’t get into this path easily; I basically forced myself into this way.  If you were to ask me, I still have career withdrawal fear syndrome and a sense of self-worthlessness.  In the past 30 years, I spent my life living after which many define as successful elements of life.  Undoubtedly they are great stuffs.  But they are not the only thing in life.

I realized that I need a change when I was constantly complaining about things.  I didn’t appreciate many good things happen to me.  I got frustrated easily.  I took things for granted and being arrogant thinking that they should be the way I wanted.  It was once a period full of negativity.

I am glad that I took a break from this.  Chen has played a big role in sharing all my thoughts and educating me.  His righteous value system has been so strong and showed me all the different facets of life.  I started to appreciate many things and learned not to take anything for granted.  I get contented easily with everything good happen to me.  I embrace anything unpleasant with the greatest grace I can.  I try to live on the least (material) I can.  Anything additional is a bonus to me.

“Sometimes chasing after too much material blind folds us; make us lose sight of the fundamental of life.  Studies have also showed that money- and material- oriented will lead one to be more selfish. ”

不懂是不是有點上了年紀，開始會想做很多事，因爲害怕將來為沒能做到的事而後悔。                    開始不喜歡心情大起大落，更嚮往平靜喜悅的生活。因爲 覺得狂歡很累。                                        開始學習万事隨遇而安，了解凡事都是心態上的反映。                                                                    然後只想走到最後，我可以無悔地說我是活過了。

P/s：有點後悔太遲開始寫部落格。一直以來想做的事，可是一直都以忙為藉口。現在，慢慢填補以前的空白。