Kampung No More!

When I came here in October 2008, I remember shedding a tear or two when I saw the dirty roads, the collapsed remnants of bridges and the odd pointy nosed people that reminded me...

You're no longer in Kuala Lumpur, let alone Malaysia.

But for the sake of my education, my independence, and my laziness to continue A-Levels in Sunway *GAH, I hate A-Level Chemistry. Die vile thing... DIE!!!*, I decided to suck it up and stay in Mansoura, the town where their favourite words include "Honga bonga", "What is your name?" and "Apa khabar? (Get a thesaurus you douchebags)

But for most, including me, it was the adapting that was pretty difficult. Being in Malaysia for so long, it was the first time I lived in a place without a McDonald's, a CD store, hawker stalls, 24-Hour Mamak restaurants and of course.... Starbucks *Oh, how we love the Bucks of Star*

However, today, after almost of a year of planting my feet onto the soil of Mansoura, I have seen that miracles do come true. Globalization is as it's name suggest, misses no country, no city and no town. This includes the "Kuala Lumpur 70-years-ago and if everyone spoke Arabic and had no fashion sense" Mansoura.

According to a Semester 5 senior, this miracle building was ready about a month ago, a couple of weeks before I arrived. It was like they knew! They knew that I was going to blow my brains out from the lack of technological progress that this country oh-so-needs and they saved me from my impending suicide *this is a joke, just kidding, I'm not at all depressed*

Anyway, wondering what is this sensational miracle I'm talking about?

I give you...

Behold!

Yes, bow to the Awadalla, you mere mortals.

Haha, it's the first large supermarket (or hypermarket) in Mansoura.

I've found my new hangout place :)

*Yes, we are that pathetic*

When Dora and I got there, we were ECSTATIC.

Like how I felt when I saw the snow capped mountains of Kyoto.

Except this was like a liberation from this archaic town that has probably seen it's fair share of history in the making.

So we all entered *after taking pictures like idiots* into the hypermarket, and I literally gasped.

I GASPED.

Ah, so many things.

So properly arranged, so mannered, so bloody unbelievable.

I could feel myself literally swelling up with pride thinking;

"Hey, this dead town still has some life to it"

I bought a piping kit *to make cupcakes* and some other rubbish that swindled more money from me.

We *Dora, Farah, Baby, Fira and me* hung out at the bakery, where the annoying waiter kept trying to convince us that he loves us Malaysians.

Ooh, and we had cheesecakes.*Yes, I know I'm suppose to be on a diet, but you shall not deny yourself fruits of God's miracles! :P*

The place reminds me of Carrefour, the one I use to go to in Wangsa Maju when I was younger. The place where I would scramble to find a baju kurung for Eid cause my mum forgot to send the cloth to the tailor. Good times :)

But seriously...

This is a good step for you Mansoura.

More progress leads to a better global recognition of this small but educationally potent town.

Hopefully one day, we'll come back, old and cracked, to the land of Mansoura...

To see a small, glimmering neon light in green that says.

Pelita Nasi Kandar.