Whether the weather, whatever the weather?

After 4 years of studying in Edmonton, I was finally going home! As I was anxiously waiting to arrive at the Penang International Airport after a long flight of 21 hours, I kept thinking of all the local delicacies ... Penang Char Koay Teow, Hokkien Mee, Mee Rebus, Laksa, etc. that I was going to tuck in upon landing. Gosh! I had forgotten about the humidity of the weather and I kept perspiring till my clothes were drenched! The humidity made me lose my appetite.

It has been 23 years since then, yet I have still not acclimatized to the weather here. Strangers are often amused by my constantly fanning myself while others huddle with their jackets. The weather in December/January is usually the coolest. A client told me we had 17 degrees celcius sometime last week. How nice if the temperature could drop to zero... would be nice to have snow for a change, I mused. But then, our elderly will suffer. In Canada, we had extremes of weather before. Once, while at a French immersion program in Chicoutimi, Quebec, it snowed in summer! All the roses and tomato plants in my host's garden were wiped out overnight. I remember we sang "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer", in class! In Canada, it is not surprising that we could sometimes even have four seasons in one day! The change in temperature could be drastic.

The continuous rain the past few weeks in Singapore had reminded me of England. Almost everyday, the weather is so dreary, with clouds and slight drizzling of the rain. Your clothes feel damp and everything looks so gloomy. Some people here complain about the cold and constant rain which is understandable, but let us look at the brighter side of things. The cool weather helps to save power as we can sleep without aircon and the fans can rest for a while. The cool breeze makes walking an enjoyable exercise. Thank god we only have these few weeks of rain. We are still better off than Noah with his 40 days of continuous rain!

Hence, whether the weather, whatever the weather, I will not allow my spirit to be dampened, but will continuously look for that silver lining beneath every cloud! Let us count our blessings and name them one by one....... continuous rain is better than earthquake or tsunami; the cool weather rejuvenates us instead of the heat which drains our energy, etc. It is heartening to read that the rain did not deter shoppers from going to Chinatown to get ready for the Lunar New Year. That's the spirit, folks... keep it up!