there are many different types of music, but they are all the same. there are many different types of people- races, religions, ethnicities, more- but we are all the same.

yesterday, i was in the kitchen with mummy preparing dinner. papa just came home. he brought the empty containers to the kitchen and mummy checked them.

mummy: so much fried rice left.. why you never give to the china man eat? (this is exactly what she had said, lol!)
me: huh, what china man?
mummy: the new worker lor.

and this is how i found out that papa has managed to hire one worker, lol. im such a slow person, haha! well, this is worth celebrating, no matter how small this feat is, because this job is sooooo taxing that hardly anybody would wanna take up the job. so yeah, hurray! lol.

mummy says that he is a very hardworking worker; the moment he finishes his meals, he rushes back to work. unlike somebody else, LOL. but yes, the point is that he is very hardworking. if mummy can repeat to me countless times that he is very hardworking (with papa agreeing), then he really must be very, very hardworking.

so i was like, of course he has to work hard! i mean, it's most probably because he hopes to get a good job in singapore, to earn money for his family, right? that's when mummy told me that he has no wife, no children, no parents. the only thing that came to me then was how difficult it must be for him, doing his best to survive in a foreign country.

well, he is lucky! because it is my father who employed him! he will definitely absolutely confirm guarantee plus chop (give you extra stamp) be treated super well. and mummy cooks extra food for him, too! he should really thank his lucky stars for being able to taste mummy's cooking. it is DAEBAK, like, dae to the bak. lol. well.. hopefully, he will be able to find a family in working for with us. :)

then i went on to share with mummy something i saw a few months back. i dont think i ever shared it with anybody, but yeah.. it may be insignificant to you, but it definitely had some sort of impact on me.

the bus i was on stopped for the traffic light, beside a roadside construction site. you know, those sites where they work on the pipes or wires under the road? yeah, those kinds. it was raining really heavily and i was really amazed that the workers were still going on. okay, maybe it's because they have a deadline to meet and it is their job and all but still! it was literally pouring! i can barely keep my eyes open when im bathing! their raincoats.. psst! it barely covered their heads lor. -.-

and then i saw how this worker cut his palm. it has to be a big cut because i can see one strap of blood across his palm. it must have hurt a fricking bloody lot lor! but then he simply looked at his wound, wiped the blood away with his other hand, shook it, before picking up his tool to continue working. okay, maybe you will say that it is his job and stuff.. but still! seriously!!! with all the soil and stuff, his wound could have gotten infected! and the kinds of implications that would later arise?!

wahhh, of all times, now has to be one of those times when words are hanging at the edges of my mind but i cant seem to remember it. never mind. but im super frustrated. but aiyah, even if i were to remember the words, i will never be able to describe the scene as well as the human eye can see it.

maybe it's just me, but it was a heart-wrenching scene. i dont know whether or not he is a foreign worker, all i know is that his family would be heartbroken to know that such a thing has happened. even if his family doesnt, there is bound to be someone who will feel sad for him. i know i did. call me stupid for all you want, but at that moment i really wished that there was something i can do to help.

i was awake throughout the entire bus journey. i kept thinking, unable to shake off the feeling of sadness, pity and sympathy. and i felt terribly ashamed of myself. i remembered the times when i would poke jokes at the foreign workers.. how could i. :(

they are people with parents. they are people with spouses and children. they are people with brains. surely they know how people are looking at them. they are people with hearts and emotions. imagine how hurt they are.

it is already very hard on them, leaving their home country for another country. it is all because they hope to get a job that will allow them to earn money, in hopes of earning enough to send home and to give their families a better life. isnt this what most of us want to do? to get a good job, earn a lot of money to give our family a good life.. isnt this what most of us want to do? if not, then you must be hoping to get a job that can ensure you will live comfortably. in other words, working for survival. then, really, we are no different from them!

they come in hopes of a better life and a brighter future, and this is what they get, being ridiculed? im not sure if it is the right word but yeah.. but seriously, seriously seriously seriously! having jokes that evolve around them is definitely not what they deserve. :( im guilty, so for the times i made fun of them, i apologize. i sincerely apologize.

thinking about it again, freak.. my mother was a foreign worker. i wouldnt have liked it if she faced such troubles, but thank goodness it was ahgong she worked for. that's how she met papa and~~~ *plays wedding march* and that's how i came to be! :D

but haha, yeah.. i promise that i will not pass any more thoughtless comments. every single person has a story and they have the rights to be respected for it. im sure that all the workers, locals or foreigners, are working for a reason. be it good or bad, im sure it is for survival. lol. but yeah, everybody deserves a chance, y'know? and please lor, there are definitely some of you who are thinking about working overseas. with or without status, you will still be a foreign worker then lor!



on a side note, im loving how a conversation with mummy can help me understand why i am the person i am. i know i always praise my parents, but.. because my father is a good person, because my mother is a good person.. i hope that i will also be able to be the good person they always have been. :)