Calling Home, Part 4: Snapshots

Calling Home is a series of articles dedicated to cherishing the memories made when away from home, and the people who make them. In Part 4/6, Grace Goh opens a window to life in a land far, far away.

<scene1>

“Jack Foster.”

“Here.”

“Ashleigh Fusillo.”

“Here.”

“Elena Giulini.”

–indistinct murmur–

“Elena Giulini?”

“Right here, sir.”

–pause–

“Err…help me out here, I don’t want to butcher this name so I won’t even attempt it. S-H-U-…”

“Shuang, sir. But please call me Grace. Easier for both of us.”

“Yup, gotcha Grace. Thanks.”

</scene1>

And that’s pretty much every first day of class for all 18 courses I’ve taken thus far. And I don’t see this trend ending anytime soon. Goh is a pretty common last name– excuse me, surname, I mean– here in Malaysia/Asia, but cross the Pacific Ocean and it’s one of the hardest 3-letter-word to pronounce correctly. Every time a professor insists that he/she can master the right way of pronouncing my name, I cringe and am reminded that this isn’t home.

<scene2>

“So, why did you choose Grace? Did you get fed up of people mispronouncing your name?”

“Yes and no. First of all, I did not choose Grace. My parents did. It’s my baptismal name. So it is my ‘real’ name, it just isn’t my ‘legal’ name on the official papers. I’ve been called Grace my whole life, even back home. –shrug–”

“Oh wow! How interesting! –saucer eyes–“

</scene2>

Again, this would never happen at home.

<scene3>

–eats rice with a fork–

</scene3>

Self-explanatory.

<scene4A>

–sneezes–

“Bless you!”

“Gesundheit!”

“Salud!”

“Thank you!”

</scene4A>

<scene4B>

–sneezes–

“Eh! Say excuse me lah! No manners!”

“Aiyo, sick liao. Drink more water lah!”

“Useless. Little bit of dust also sneeze till wanna die like that. Cheh!”

“Uhh…sorry? :/ ”

<scene4B>

Heh. Couldn’t resist.

<scene5>

–wipes dishes after washing and puts them away in cabinet–

</scene5>

I think you get the gist of things by now…

<scene6>

“So, you’re from Malaysia, but you’re not Malay. You’re Chinese, but you’re not from China. Huh. How weird is that?”

“Yup. No it’s not weir–”

“Where’s Malaysia again?”

“Umm, it’s–”

“Wait, wait, don’t tell me, it’s somewhere near Japan and China right?”

“…”

</scene6>

Yeah, nowadays I just avoid conversations about this topic. If they insist, I say Penang– the tropical Food Heaven of South East Asia and change the topic to food.

Words by Grace Goh
Picture by LH Isurgranddad