Life is like a box of muah chee

16/03/13:

This is a packet of muah chee I bought from the pasar malam on my way home. There was a time when they costed only $1 per packet... Now it costs double. Today's visit kind of made me crave for some muah chee. Not much photos to upload in this post, so I uploaded this hahaha.

My group consisting of Yi'an, Yu Lin, Jennifer and I visited Mdm Tan. When we arrived at her apartment, her granddaughter was around too. She was thoughtful as she bought Mdm Tan some food stuff so that she can eat them when she's hungry. She left shortly after that, then we proceeded with doing basic maintenance of the apartment.

When we were done, we sat around Mdm Tan like kids surrounding their Ah Ma, listening to her stories. In between each topic, she would keep offering us drinks and snacks so that us ginnahs won't feel hungry. My Hokkien after all this while did not improve, I could only pick up some of the things that Mdm Tan was talking about, so I am thankful for my groupmates who helped translate here and there.

On certain topics, Mdm Tan would end up lamenting about her old age and failing eyesight, and we would try to be more tactful as we converse with her. But when we talked about things like listening to music and food, her eyes would light up.

Mdm Tan likes listening to the radio once in a while. In the past, she used to listen to operas in Hokkien. She mentioned some famous singers' names, but we don't know who they are hahaha, our parents would probably know. 

She also narrated the plots of some operas for us. One involving a young emperor who went incognito and met the love of his life. He wanted to marry her and bring her back to the palace to live with him. However, due to complications, the lady passed away along the way back. 

"帘外芭蕉惹骤雨 门环惹铜绿 

而我路过那江南小镇惹了你"

Mdm Tan doesn't have any preferences for the food she likes to eat. She did mention that she really likes muah chee, but cannot eat it too often because it is bad for digestion. Which led me to remember that the last time I visited her was the 冬至汤圆 mission day, she also said something about muah chee that time. When we offered to make her some in future visits, she refused profusely. Not sure what's the reason, maybe she doesn't really wanna trouble us?

When we were about to leave, we suggested taking a group photo with Mdm Tan, but she refused. We respected her decision. 

When we stepped out of her apartment, she was all smiles. Each of us held her hand as we said goodbye to her.

What a morning it had been for Mdm  Tan. Her granddaughter visited, and volunteers kept her company. She was all smiles.

From: 冬至汤圆 Mission Day

When I was young, muah chee costed $1, but it was always my family buying it for me. Now it costs $2, and I am now old enough and have the means to get it on my own. It also means that I now have the ability of giving, to the people around me. Giving, not just in terms of giving muah chee, but also to help people and create smiles.

My current recipe of muah chee is to make the same dough for 汤圆, boil it, and then dip it into ground peanuts. If you have a better recipe please share! 

Who's in for a muah chee mission day? :)

Year 2 的大爷

Jeremy