Last week, I got an unexpected email from an old friend. It said, "Ena. I am in KL. This is my number. Please call me. I love to see you. Simin."
The first time I met Simin was in Tehran, Iran. At the time, Simin was a journalist covering the event I was there to organise.
In the crazy bustling streets of Tehran, in between press conferences, in cafes sipping sugary sweet drinks and between the bookshelves of so many bookstores, we bonded, Simin and I.
She showed me the Tehran she loved. At first, it was terrifying to cross the seemingly lawless roads, to be driven in a taxi that swerved at un-Godly speeds, but I got used to it. So this is Tehran...like Petaling Street on speed.
When I left, I never thought I would see her again. Somehow, I always remembered Simin. She really went out of her way to make me feel welcomed in her city. And then, the email appeared and last Friday, we met after two years since our first meeting.
When I entered her hotel room and saw the amount of luggage she brought, I couldn't help but say, "Simin, you have your entire life here in those bags sitting on the floor of this hotel room." She could only smile wordlessly.
It seemed like her arrival here in Malaysia was unplanned and rushed, but I didn't want to intrude and ask too many questions. I was among the handful of people she knew in Malaysia. She came without a job, without a house, without many friends. And she still managed to smile. I really admire her courage.
She told me that she had been traveling independently for almost a year -- to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. When she came back to her job in Tehran, it was only to tell her boss that she was quitting.
I guess, I could understand her feelings there. It was like the time I went to North Africa and visited Morocco, Lebanon, Dubai and Algeria...I had met so many exciting and interesting people, nurtured many dreams and ideas, that it seemed impossible for me to go back to the boring life I had in Malaysia -- the 9-to-5, the traffic jam, the same thing day-in-day-out.
I had felt so free on that trip, so liberated, that coming home seemed like being imprisoned. I had yearned for a new life, a fresh start, and felt that I could fly!
Well, I didn't leave town...and I think I still stuck with the daily grind. Kinda accommodated to it, actually. Perhaps I could have had a different kind of life, but this one is not too bad, you know.
But to those like Simin who had the courage to pursue their innermost desires and ambitions, I salute you for your bravery in making the change, in jumping in head-first without knowing if you'll be able to come up for air, to go blindly into the dark, for being true to your feelings.
I am in awe.
The first time I met Simin was in Tehran, Iran. At the time, Simin was a journalist covering the event I was there to organise.
In the crazy bustling streets of Tehran, in between press conferences, in cafes sipping sugary sweet drinks and between the bookshelves of so many bookstores, we bonded, Simin and I.
She showed me the Tehran she loved. At first, it was terrifying to cross the seemingly lawless roads, to be driven in a taxi that swerved at un-Godly speeds, but I got used to it. So this is Tehran...like Petaling Street on speed.
When I left, I never thought I would see her again. Somehow, I always remembered Simin. She really went out of her way to make me feel welcomed in her city. And then, the email appeared and last Friday, we met after two years since our first meeting.
When I entered her hotel room and saw the amount of luggage she brought, I couldn't help but say, "Simin, you have your entire life here in those bags sitting on the floor of this hotel room." She could only smile wordlessly.
It seemed like her arrival here in Malaysia was unplanned and rushed, but I didn't want to intrude and ask too many questions. I was among the handful of people she knew in Malaysia. She came without a job, without a house, without many friends. And she still managed to smile. I really admire her courage.
She told me that she had been traveling independently for almost a year -- to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. When she came back to her job in Tehran, it was only to tell her boss that she was quitting.
I guess, I could understand her feelings there. It was like the time I went to North Africa and visited Morocco, Lebanon, Dubai and Algeria...I had met so many exciting and interesting people, nurtured many dreams and ideas, that it seemed impossible for me to go back to the boring life I had in Malaysia -- the 9-to-5, the traffic jam, the same thing day-in-day-out.
I had felt so free on that trip, so liberated, that coming home seemed like being imprisoned. I had yearned for a new life, a fresh start, and felt that I could fly!
Well, I didn't leave town...and I think I still stuck with the daily grind. Kinda accommodated to it, actually. Perhaps I could have had a different kind of life, but this one is not too bad, you know.
But to those like Simin who had the courage to pursue their innermost desires and ambitions, I salute you for your bravery in making the change, in jumping in head-first without knowing if you'll be able to come up for air, to go blindly into the dark, for being true to your feelings.
I am in awe.
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