Today the papers reported an incident where Putra LRT’s services were halted because someone jumped on the tracks. She apparently was accidentally left behind by her employer and leaped on the tracks to chase after the train her employer was in. Right…. She is safe so therefore it is okay for me to laugh. HA HA HA.
This episode however reminded me of our own experience involving fast train and train tracks. My mom, my sister and myself were in London. We were waiting for the tube at Leicester Square after visiting my Opah who lives off Carnaby Street. As were waiting on the crowded platform, the unthinkable happened. An elderly lady fell on the tracks. I saw her when she was falling. She just toppled over. Like she was dizzy or something and fell with a sickening thud.
Immediately there was uproar. I saw people urging her to get up. In my head I could still see this blonde lady with dark brown coat screaming for her to get up. The look of desperation and concern was deeply shown on her face. Then we heard the train. Things went noisier with the sound of the train and people screaming for help.
We were actually at the very end of the platform and had our backs to the wall. My mom… well here is the funny part. She started to say, “ Close your eyes ! Close your eyes ! “ before adding “ I don’t want to look… “ and pressed her eyes tightly shut. In my head I was thinking “ That is sooo weird, “. I know that we are in London but it is strange for my mom to speak in English. Don’t get me wrong, my mother’s English is very good, but I was expecting her to speak in our mother tongue. I was expecting her to speak in her local Perak dialect actually, “ Tutup mate kamu. Tak usah kamu nengoknye “ and then ended it with “ Teman idak le ndak menengok… “ In a panic state, surely you would speak in the language that you are most comfortable with. Surely…
Anyway, the train halted to a stop about 2 feet away from her. Then it went very quiet and very still. I could still the train driver’s shocked face and our disbelief that it actually managed to stop. Then, from the left, I noticed some movement. A very tall guy suddenly walked and jumped on the tracks to retrieve to old lady. My sister and I at that time agreed with plenty of sighs ( me while rocking my baby Umar )… what a hero.
We walked on jelly legs for the rest of the trip and avoided the tube like a plague. Luckily London is such a pedestrian friendly city that we were not much inconvenienced.
Going back to my mom’s language mystery, Ben a good friend of mine during university years once asked me in which language do I think with ? Do I think in Malay or English ? Hmmm….. good question Ben…
This episode however reminded me of our own experience involving fast train and train tracks. My mom, my sister and myself were in London. We were waiting for the tube at Leicester Square after visiting my Opah who lives off Carnaby Street. As were waiting on the crowded platform, the unthinkable happened. An elderly lady fell on the tracks. I saw her when she was falling. She just toppled over. Like she was dizzy or something and fell with a sickening thud.
Immediately there was uproar. I saw people urging her to get up. In my head I could still see this blonde lady with dark brown coat screaming for her to get up. The look of desperation and concern was deeply shown on her face. Then we heard the train. Things went noisier with the sound of the train and people screaming for help.
We were actually at the very end of the platform and had our backs to the wall. My mom… well here is the funny part. She started to say, “ Close your eyes ! Close your eyes ! “ before adding “ I don’t want to look… “ and pressed her eyes tightly shut. In my head I was thinking “ That is sooo weird, “. I know that we are in London but it is strange for my mom to speak in English. Don’t get me wrong, my mother’s English is very good, but I was expecting her to speak in our mother tongue. I was expecting her to speak in her local Perak dialect actually, “ Tutup mate kamu. Tak usah kamu nengoknye “ and then ended it with “ Teman idak le ndak menengok… “ In a panic state, surely you would speak in the language that you are most comfortable with. Surely…
Anyway, the train halted to a stop about 2 feet away from her. Then it went very quiet and very still. I could still the train driver’s shocked face and our disbelief that it actually managed to stop. Then, from the left, I noticed some movement. A very tall guy suddenly walked and jumped on the tracks to retrieve to old lady. My sister and I at that time agreed with plenty of sighs ( me while rocking my baby Umar )… what a hero.
We walked on jelly legs for the rest of the trip and avoided the tube like a plague. Luckily London is such a pedestrian friendly city that we were not much inconvenienced.
Going back to my mom’s language mystery, Ben a good friend of mine during university years once asked me in which language do I think with ? Do I think in Malay or English ? Hmmm….. good question Ben…
1 comment:
Ala,
it is NOT true that we will always speak in our mother tongue when we panicked. Take my case for example, when I was drowning in UUM's swimming pool, I screamed "Help! Help!" instead of tolong! tolong! cos the latter took more sukukata...haha...pastu bila dah selamat kena gelak ngan my friends...diorang kata, nak mati pun boleh cakap omputeh lagi...siot! But it is so spontaneous.
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