Saturday 16 August 2014

Me, Me, Me!

Sue from Stories of an Unschooling Family has very kindly given me a blog award.  Thank you, Sue!


First, I'll get the rules out of the way:
  1. Thanks and link to the amazing person who nominated you.
  2. List the rules and display the award.
  3. Share seven facts about yourself.
  4. Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and coment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
  5. Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

Here the facts:
1.  I find it hard to talk about myself.
Have you been to parties or functions where people are all trying to impress one another?  I've been many of these in my previous life working outside of home, and have found these types of 'conversations' (more like sales pitches) ranging from uninteresting to off-putting, so I always make it a point to let the quality of my work speak on my behalf.


2. I like my own company very much.
When I was single, I used to do everything on my own -- watch movies at the cinemas, travel to different places, eat at fancy restaurants, etc.  I am not anti-social, but I'd rather be on my own and doing my own things than to have to 'entertain' someone else because I need company.


3.  I don't like to talk.
My record for not seeing or speaking to anyone  is 3 weeks.  That was many years ago, before I got married, when I had the time and space to conduct a self-imposed three-week spiritual retreat.  I found out more about my inner life in those 3 weeks than in any other time.

My motto is: talk only when I have to.  I prefer to choose my words carefully than to make senseless chatter.  I'm trying to teach this to my son, who can talk for England if you let him.  I always maintain that I've had to talk more than ever because I'm homeschooling my son since most of his learning revolves around verbal instructions and discussions.


4.  I am not from England.
It's obvious from my name that I am not English.  I came to England 12 years ago to study, met my husband (he's English), got married and now my life is established here.

Although I am not from England, my husband and his family are, and Tiger was born here.  By the fact that we live here, it makes sense that our way of life is predominantly English.


5.  I didn't really understand English until I was 10 years old.
If you've noticed any ropey English in my posts, now you know why!

I grew up in a non-English speaking household but I went to school where English was taught.  I remember struggling to understand the lessons and the teachers' instructions.  My standard of English back then was similar to Tiger's standard of Chinese right now, so I understand how difficult it is for him to learn a foreign language that is not widely used in his surrounding.  Today, I am still more fluent in Chinese than in English.

The last thing I expected to happen is to find myself married into an English household and to be living in England.  It's funny how life turns out.


6.  I married my husband wtihout ever dating him.
No, I'm not a mail-order bride.

As you can see from points (2) and (3) above, it is actually very difficult to get to know me.  My husband tried to ask me out on a date but I turned him down to go watch a 3-hour lecture by Edward Said on my own.  He decided that it was going to be too hard to ask me out so he asked me to marry him the second time we met.  I thought he must be barking mad but I agreed to marry him (because he is cute), so I must have been quite mad myself.  We certainly caused much anxiety in our parents when we got married within two weeks.  We have been married for 10 years now.


7.  I prefer one-on-one interaction.
Given the points (1) to (6), you'd think that I'm the perfect candidate to be a social recluse.  I suppose I won't mind that, if that's what's in store for me, but I do enjoy social interaction from time to time.  By that I mean one-on-one type of conversation in a small setting.  It's more intimate, and I prefer to get to know people on that basis than doing the rounds at big parties.  That's why you won't find me on social media sites with hundreds of followers or 'likes'.  I have a handful of friends -- my best friend lives 7000 miles away and we don't see each other for years.  When it comes to human relationships, I value depth and quality more than quantity.


I am supposed to nominate 15 other blogs for this award.  The bloggers who I find inspiring are all listed on "My Blog List" on the right-hand side -- there are more than 15 there.  Not everyone likes to participate in such games so but I will open it up to anyone who reads this post and who feels like sharing something about themselves. 

8 comments:

  1. 3 weeks without talking..... Wow. It really amazes me the number of bloggers who are introverts, I guess it makes sense, but still interesting.

    Oh, and one of my boys is starting to learn Chinese, like he knows how to count to 10 and say hi and thank you. But, he is loving it.

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    1. I think blogging is a very good way for introverts to interact with others without having to be out and about all the time. :-)

      I'm excited for you that your son is learning Chinese. It's so different from the English language, which will make learning it very interesting. I'm so glad to hear that he is enjoying it. :-)

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  2. Hwee,

    Thank you so much for writing a post about yourself. I really enjoyed getting to know you a little better.

    I'm not really an awards person myself but I recognise awards are a way of telling someone we enjoy their blog. And I enjoy your blog! I'm glad you joined in and wrote some personal facts. Maybe such posts help to strengthen our blogging friendships.

    So many of my blogging friends are introverts! I suppose we can always close our computers when we've had enough contact with the world. It's easy to regulate the amount of social time we have. And maybe introverts are especially suited to writing. It's a solitary activity which involves lots of quiet time.

    A wonderful post. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about myself, even though I do find it quite difficult. :-) Yes, I also see the award as one way of showing and reciprocating our appreciation for the blogs we enjoy reading, which is why I gladly accepted this award.

      Come to think of it, most of the activities that I like doing are solitary activities. I still marvel at the fact that I have a lovely family who accepts and accomodates my need to be alone from time to time. :-)

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  3. I REALLY enjoyed reading this, Hwee. Thank you so much for sharing yourself! Your husband was obviously very committed to getting to know you better. :-)

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    1. LOL. He claims he has great foresight.... I won't argue with that. :-)

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  4. I'm so pleased your summer turned out as well as you'd hoped, Hwee. It sounds like there was lots of fun and all kinds of learning - perfect! Tiger's gift to you is exquisite - what a sweetheart! I wonder if he would enjoy blacksmithing? C(10) had the chance to do it at the Weald & Downland Museum recently. We had to stay at the museum all day because her slot was just before closing, but there was plenty to occupy us while we waited, and she is very proud of the hook she made. I was especially fascinated to see how the metal is twisted using a spanner and vice. Your necklace reminded me of that. :-)

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    1. Tiger loves to make things, and have been interested in iron/metal work for a while now, but I haven't been able to find any child-friendly opportunities for him in this area. It seems like we are beginning to hit a wall with actual learning opportunities in certain areas where Tiger's interest surpasses his age, especially where there are strict regulations with regards to health and safety and insurance... I'm glad you told me about C(10)'s experience at the Weald & Downland Museum. What a great opportunity! I've not heard of the museum before so will have to check it out! :-)

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