Suburban encounters 2

I was circling the food centre for the second time, balancing my yam cake in hand when I gave up and decided to join 2 aunties at a round table.

I asked if I could take a seat and they both nodded at me and smile. The elderly lady and the auntie were speaking in Teochew, and the elderly lady was talking about her children and grandchildren.

Thinking I was in the dark, the auntie tried to translate what the elderly lady was saying. I attempted to make some remarks in Teochew, so as not to appear rude and to show that I could really handle some basic Teochew.

The auntie then said she had lost her keys around here and came back here to collect it. She stays at Lorong 4. Feeling that I should perhaps share some information too, I told her that I was here to see a doctor.

It's interesting to catch snippets of a stranger's life in the most unlikely setting, at a food centre. It's a little like intruding, but at the same time, it hardly appears so, since they were both so willing to share this snippet of their lives with me.

The elderly lady soon had to go, and she left. And that is when I realised that the two ladies were strangers too, that is, before they both sat down and decided to have coffee with a stranger.

In this lazy, laid-back Saturday morning, sharing a table with strangers and sharing a little about your life seems a natural thing to do.

Talking about the "chope-ing syndrome" with friends recently, I remain largely unconvinced that "reserving" a seat with a packet of tissue paper is acceptable. In fact, I would debunk it anytime by sitting at a table reserved with tissue paper, as long as I do not risk being beaten up by hungry and angry people.

Perhaps this is all, that people should simply get used to sitting and eating with strangers. I was really surprised by what a pleasant experience it is, although I am not sure if it would yield the same pleasant experience with the on-the-go Shenton way crowd.