Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Downstairs and Diamond Water


"denude" - make naked or bare, strip the cover from; take all of something away from (a person)
(I found this word in a Winston Churchill speech recently)




This is a continuation of "A difficult start" in which I explained our first few months in Kuantan and the problems we were engulfed with. If you haven't read about our tough early times, you should go and read that post first.


Downstairs

Downstairs below my apartment lies a line of shops and restaurants, the most notable being the Kuantan Curry House. The Kuantan Curry House is owned and run by a lovely Indian family who helped me out a great deal in the tough early days in Kuantan. The robbery had made us feel extremely denuded. Whilst I enjoyed taking the 'roti canai' (fried bread dipped in curry) back upstairs to eat, it was the wife of the owner who began having tuition classes with me. Her name is Puraini. Even though Puraini didn't learn from me for long due to her work commitments with the Curry House, she was my very first student, which besides giving me my first small flow of income, gave me hope of finding more students in the future. Their four children have at various times, also attended my tuition classes. We remain good friends with the Kuantan Curry House to this day.



Diamond Water

Secondly, whilst looking for a job, I came across two men selling Diamond water products. They were quite helpful but couldn't get me an official visa. So I didn't really work for them for too long at all - I didn't sell a single product in the mere two weeks I went around knocking on doors advertising Diamond water filters.

In addition to promoting Diamond, I also passed on my business card and introduced myself as an English tutor searching for students.

It was for this reason that I nevertheless knocked on a door whose owner clearly had a Diamond filter in their front yard. I told her that I was an English teacher looking for students and that very same night she sent her two children, Alston and Regine, for tuition class with me. 

It was a moment of great joy as my difficult times were beginning to dissolve. From Carmen, the mother of these two children, came a flurry of referrals. Many hopeful, desperate prayers of faith were answered as I gradually built up a number of students to teach each week, in addition to a growing reputation in Kuantan.







Which people have had a big influence in your life?






9 comments:

  1. very informative, great post also new layout?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Duncan. Lovely to meet you. Even though Malaysia is only a few hours flight from Oz I've never stopped over. I love learning about new places so I'm going to come back. I've followed you.

    Denise<3

    Thanks for travelling to Darfur with me.

    Hello Duncan. Lovely to meet you. Even though Malaysia is only a few hours flight from Oz I've never stopped over. I love learning about new places so I'm going to come back. I've followed you.

    Denise<3

    Thanks for travelling to Darfur with me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also had a sales job for two weeks. It was costing me more money than I was making just to go to work. I'm glad you found some students while pounding the pavement.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your story, you really had a tough beginning, in totally different country, and belive me, I know how you felt :) I'm glad it turned out OK, but there is still so many posts to read. Thank you for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a fascinating journey. We learn so much about ourselves in the tough times.

    I am glad you found kind people to help you.

    Many people have influenced my life. Recently from the blogging world. So much talent and passion .... how could one not be influenced?

    Nice to meet you Duncan.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I havde two sons, one son will be 30 next month and the other turned 24 this past January. They, without a doubt, have been the biggest influences in my life. I would not be the person I am today, had it not been for the two of them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful story.
    I think my hubby has the most influence on my life. He is my biggest fan and supporter :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. interesting D words..

    First time hearing about Diamond water...

    ReplyDelete
  9. mac-and-me, I altered a couple of little things in the layout.

    Thanks all for sharing your thoughts and a warm welcome to those who came here for the first time. I appreciate your contributions to my blog!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your thoughts, comments and opinions. I'll be responding soon! I will not be publishing anonymous comments so make sure you leave your name with your comment!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...