I loved to wander about unique places. Places not many have been. And I like wandering about during nontouristy period. It felt like I’m one of the locals and as if I owned the world. Though I’ve travelled to 47 countries, I hope to visit to all 196 countries and territories. 

Me and my late mom were very close but when she left for Europe and settle there, I felt like I lost my best friend. 

And so I communicated to her thru my social media. We chat often thru Skype and all that but we seldom speak what truly matters to our hearts. 

I guess we both were brought into families that does not allow heart to heart conversations. And when we were allowed to do it, we were unsure how. 

This came by chance actually… when I found out how much she loved watching me on videos and reading my blog… And she loves to share with me her comments…i felt empowered to continue my passion. 

But what truly makes my day was when, whatever I do, triggered her to get her own adventures and find new favorite food places. 

Yes, I got her “adventurer sense and gift” but sometimes, when people got older and settle down into some form of routine, they forgot their own gifts. 

And I’m glad, I was able to rekindle that innate passion within her. 

And so though we were far and wide apart, we were sharing our lives thru the adventures we created for ourselves. 

In my teenage memories…. 

I still remember how she actually feed the “tastes of the world” to me and my brother when we were young. 

She worked in the tourism and hospitality sector and she loved cheese in myriad forms. 

Some days, she brought different types of cheese. And I remembered there was this smelly stinky cheese I think called Danish blue or something. We were like…. Put off by its stench… Eeeyew… Like Smelly feet.

But she loved it. And she continued bringing these exotic cheeses home. And eventually I was brave enough to try it out and eversince has not regretted it.

And I expanded to love other cheeses as well… 

I remembered she brought a small round cheese. It was red on the outside. I was naive and didn’t know it was made of wax. 

And so I shred it and put them in my Spaghetti. Yes, I ate wax alongside the cheese (perhaps that’s why like Homer in BART Simpson show, I was able to tolerate much spices and red hot chillies because I already have wax in my tummy :)) 

And she didn’t reprimand me but instead tell me the next day what I’ve done.

And this became one of my big why. Watching her eat and trying out flavours of the world with much joy, motivated me to live life fully.

It’s like a full circle. She motivated us just by being herself and us watching her and when I grew up, she was motivated by me going about my daily adventurers. 

Whenever I’m traveling and felt into cloudy days, I remembered her, her face, her passion and joys of living life. She was one of my big whys.

Hope you remembered your big why whenever, wherever and live your life fully with much colors.

Love,

Lina.