A tap on my shoulder

This morning, when I walked to our communal kitchen here in the building to cook, I met a woman who happens to be from my country. At first, I was not sure, so I talked to her in English to say "hi" and upon noticing her accent, I switched to my native tongue. Lo and behold, we are indeed countrymates. She is the new cleaner, replacing the young Chinese girl whom I often meet in the kitchen and who would always ask what I am cooking and if I have any classes that day. She also happens to come from the same province where I was born--her city next to my town.

We were able to chat for a while while she was busy mopping the floor and I was peeling potatoes. Farrah told me she arrived only last April. Her husband works as an auto cad engineer. Just like other new migrants here, she's having difficulty finding a job that is commensurate to her qualifications, so she accepted a cleaning job even if it is physically demanding. She was actually a teacher in Thailand. She plans to enroll in child education and apply as a teacher later.

I felt somewhat uncomfortable telling Farrah that I am a student. When she asked me if I am working, the more I felt uneasy to say that my tuition fees and living expenses are being paid for by my scholarship, but I added that the it is not much so I also need to work part-time to save for trips back home (which is true). After exchanging numbers, she bid me goodbye as she has finished cleaning the kitchen and needed to move to the lounge area.

People like me who are able to come here as a student--and with a scholarship to support us--are really lucky. And that's one thing that I've been telling myself whenever I miss home or whenever I am unsure if I made the right decision of leaving home to embark on a new challenge. My encounter with Farrah this morning is God's reminder to me that I should count my blessings, and I hope other scholars here would realise it, too.