Dreams

Childhood Recollections

Stella recalled all those familiar banter at the faculty room. Her mom was most of the time quietly working in a corner barely joining in conversations. Her hands were full with preparing lessons, checking test papers, recording them and computing grades. I will never be a teacher, she thought. I'll be a Hotel Manager. Growing up, she would wonder when her mom would ever stop working.

Summer vacations were her favorite. She enjoyed visiting new places and staying in big hotels, eating in cozy restaurants, accompanying her mom whose undying passion was to learn and keep on learning. Even in summer stacations when there were no lessons to prepare and no test papers to check and record, her mother used to read and read and read, a voracious reader indeed; wholly, totally bookworm! When vacations were financially possible for the family, then they would travel and visit places they have not been to. Her mother used to tell her, "reading a book is good, but travelling is better." Family trips were the most unforgettable moments of Stella's childhood.

She remembered one trip vividly. It was their Kuala Lumpur Tour. They visited the Resorts World at Genting Highlands. It was teeming with tourists. So many flocked to those tourist attractions, each one eager to get a glimpse and buy some souvinir items. No matter how far it was, people still went to see it.

Next, she recalled how people of different color and languages stayed in their queue as they patiently waited for their turn to get a 15-minute view on top of the Petronas Twin Towers.

Oh, and there was that trip to Universal Studios in Singapore and another one to Hong Kong Disneyland. She would never forget her close encounters with those cartoon characters she used to watch on tv and dvd come alive in front of her.

Local tours were great! She learned much about the different regions all over the country, their local customs and traditions. Museums were great places, too. They kept so much treasures of the past all in one place.

How many selfies and selfwe photos were shared on Facebook,  Instagram and Google+ each time they made those trips. On the whole, they were great learning adventures she would always cherish and return to while she was growing up.