From Anthropology Studies class: "Childhood to me is..."
Complete the sentence and include a personal experience.
Childhood to me is... memorable. It wasn't always fun, but there are things that just makes me contemplate about them. I'll tell you of several occasions, things and incidents that I remember.
- I remember sitting with my parents in the evenings in the kitchen at the medium size dining table having dinner. And though it was hot, but I really enjoyed the company and how even though Father and Mother were all tired from work (Father) and kitchen cooking other various housework (Mother), they were still smiling. And there was one time when Father brought home Taiwanese fried smelly tofu home, and I hated the smell so much I quickly finished my dinner and went out of the kitchen. Mother even tried to persuade me that the tofu smells bad but is fragrant when eaten; but I just wouldn't even budge.
- Then about the mid-autumn festival when I was playing catching with the other kids and I fell and broke my right arm. I cried so loud that my Mother and the other neighbours who were chatting with her were suddenly so shocked and looking out for the 'crying one'. That was also the first time I visited those uncles who would ''crack'' your bones to heal your injury (I think the term is Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners?). Then what happened was very funny yet very painful cos' I didn't think the cracking would hurt that bad, so when the uncle really just used sheer force to twist my arm, I just shouted and cried. I even told the uncle, "I'm gonna get the police to catch you!" in Mandarin. And since it was still mid-autumn festival period, Mother had to buy me one of those ''piggy biscuits'' just to soothe me. Yup, memorable.
- I got lost in Centre Point once when I was 9. It my probably one of my first few times visiting Centre Point. And so, Mother and I went to Robinsons in the evening to buy some clothes. And since we went in the evening, Robinsons would almost be closing (at 8pm I think). So when I heard the announcer said that the store was closing, I panicked and thought we had to get out fast, so I ran ahead of Mother and out the exit at 3rd floor. But the thing is, Mother had to pay for the clothes before she got out, so she exited Robinsons on the first floor. I remember it was a weekend, so it was very crowded. And in the crowds of people on 3rd floor, I couldn't see Mother! So I cried. Then I remembered I had a handphone with me, but my Mother didn't have a handphone! So I panicked even more and I called Father to come fetch me at Centre Point. A while later, Mother called my handphone and asked me where I was. Could hear that she was very anxious. So she told me to go down to first floor Centre Point exit. Then when I went down, she was so relieved and yet so anxious that she cried. Turns out, she called me via another stranger's phone. So from that incident, I learnt to always look behind my back to make sure Mother is with me.
- Then one of the more ''not fun'' incidents was when I made a bet with Mother at Primary 2, saying that if I tell another lie, I would have to eat a whole chilli. And yup, I was caught lying, and I was forced to put the chili (with the ends cut off) on my lips. That was just pure ''sensation'' cos' I can still remember my lips burning from the chilli and how I was running away from Mother (who was executing the penalty for my bet) and how I was jumping on my parents' bed unwilling to let Mother catch hold of me to put the chilli in my mouth.
- I remembered when I was in Kindergarten, there was this afternoon when the rain poured very heavily. And our school being on low lying ground, therefore the water quickly filled up the school courtyard. Then my class was very funny. Just because the water was rising quickly and the drains just couldn't contain the sudden rush of water, the bunch of us thought we were going to drown and die! So we all squeezed to one corner of the classroom, and were so scared that the water was going to just rush in and drown us. Just like what we see on the TV. So that was something memorable AND funny.
Other things I remember from childhood:
- I remember my Father always carrying me on his shoulders when I was still really small size cos' I remember smelling his oily head. And he would always swing me around. But somehow, we are not so close anymore...
- I remember my Mother always holding my hand tight whenever we cross the roads, big or small. Cos' she was scared I was going to get knocked down any time. And then one time I run across this empty street near my house. Then when Mother crossed the road, she caned me.
- I remember having tenants in my house. The 4 ''huge, tall, with hairy legs'' gor gors always carried me on their laps and always make me laugh. But they were nice to my parents too. Spoke cantonese and were chefs who could cook really delicious fried chicken wings.
Childhood to me is... memorable. It wasn't always fun, but there are things that just makes me contemplate about them. I'll tell you of several occasions, things and incidents that I remember.
- I remember sitting with my parents in the evenings in the kitchen at the medium size dining table having dinner. And though it was hot, but I really enjoyed the company and how even though Father and Mother were all tired from work (Father) and kitchen cooking other various housework (Mother), they were still smiling. And there was one time when Father brought home Taiwanese fried smelly tofu home, and I hated the smell so much I quickly finished my dinner and went out of the kitchen. Mother even tried to persuade me that the tofu smells bad but is fragrant when eaten; but I just wouldn't even budge.
- Then about the mid-autumn festival when I was playing catching with the other kids and I fell and broke my right arm. I cried so loud that my Mother and the other neighbours who were chatting with her were suddenly so shocked and looking out for the 'crying one'. That was also the first time I visited those uncles who would ''crack'' your bones to heal your injury (I think the term is Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners?). Then what happened was very funny yet very painful cos' I didn't think the cracking would hurt that bad, so when the uncle really just used sheer force to twist my arm, I just shouted and cried. I even told the uncle, "I'm gonna get the police to catch you!" in Mandarin. And since it was still mid-autumn festival period, Mother had to buy me one of those ''piggy biscuits'' just to soothe me. Yup, memorable.
- I got lost in Centre Point once when I was 9. It my probably one of my first few times visiting Centre Point. And so, Mother and I went to Robinsons in the evening to buy some clothes. And since we went in the evening, Robinsons would almost be closing (at 8pm I think). So when I heard the announcer said that the store was closing, I panicked and thought we had to get out fast, so I ran ahead of Mother and out the exit at 3rd floor. But the thing is, Mother had to pay for the clothes before she got out, so she exited Robinsons on the first floor. I remember it was a weekend, so it was very crowded. And in the crowds of people on 3rd floor, I couldn't see Mother! So I cried. Then I remembered I had a handphone with me, but my Mother didn't have a handphone! So I panicked even more and I called Father to come fetch me at Centre Point. A while later, Mother called my handphone and asked me where I was. Could hear that she was very anxious. So she told me to go down to first floor Centre Point exit. Then when I went down, she was so relieved and yet so anxious that she cried. Turns out, she called me via another stranger's phone. So from that incident, I learnt to always look behind my back to make sure Mother is with me.
- Then one of the more ''not fun'' incidents was when I made a bet with Mother at Primary 2, saying that if I tell another lie, I would have to eat a whole chilli. And yup, I was caught lying, and I was forced to put the chili (with the ends cut off) on my lips. That was just pure ''sensation'' cos' I can still remember my lips burning from the chilli and how I was running away from Mother (who was executing the penalty for my bet) and how I was jumping on my parents' bed unwilling to let Mother catch hold of me to put the chilli in my mouth.
- I remembered when I was in Kindergarten, there was this afternoon when the rain poured very heavily. And our school being on low lying ground, therefore the water quickly filled up the school courtyard. Then my class was very funny. Just because the water was rising quickly and the drains just couldn't contain the sudden rush of water, the bunch of us thought we were going to drown and die! So we all squeezed to one corner of the classroom, and were so scared that the water was going to just rush in and drown us. Just like what we see on the TV. So that was something memorable AND funny.
Other things I remember from childhood:
- I remember my Father always carrying me on his shoulders when I was still really small size cos' I remember smelling his oily head. And he would always swing me around. But somehow, we are not so close anymore...
- I remember my Mother always holding my hand tight whenever we cross the roads, big or small. Cos' she was scared I was going to get knocked down any time. And then one time I run across this empty street near my house. Then when Mother crossed the road, she caned me.
- I remember having tenants in my house. The 4 ''huge, tall, with hairy legs'' gor gors always carried me on their laps and always make me laugh. But they were nice to my parents too. Spoke cantonese and were chefs who could cook really delicious fried chicken wings.