Nostalgia

Almost 20 years ago since I set foot in New Zealand. Going through some old photos (as you would on a Saturday morning), I found a picture of the first friend I've met, Kosuke, in front our school, Glendowie College.

Kosuke is Japanese. When I started out at school in 1990, Glendowie College had 3 Asians in the entire school - 2 Malaysian sisters and Kosuke. Not knowing any English at the time, Kosuke and I communicated by creative sign language and me writing down words in Chinese and him trying to interpret it using Japanese Kanji. We didn't always get it right, but most of the times, it was close enough.

Kosuke left New Zealand after 4th Form. We did lose touch for a number of years, but through the magic of facebook, we found each other again last year - in the U.S., happily married and expecting a baby girl.

People often asked me, "How did you get through the first few years not knowing English?", "Were you depressed?". I don't know, actually. But I have no recollection of being miserable through the early years. Must be because of my family and friends, like Kosuke, that made the tough times appear easy.