In my past travels to new countries, I usually send postcards to myself as souvenir - Thailand, Taiwan, New Zealand, Budapest, Switzerland (1st trip with brother and 2nd trip for one-week mission in June 2023). I think one or two of them got stuck somewhere and never got to me. π I didn't manage to send a postcard from Afghanistan although I have gone for 3 times.
For my 3rd time to GVA (7-months mission from Sept 2023 to March 2024), I wrote journals in a small Budapest-landmarks noteboook gifted by a colleague in Budapest (I think from Iris), mainly about the fun weekend adventures that I had.
For this 4th time in GVA, I was thinking that creating a video or blog post will be boring, then suddenly an idea of a poem came to me. Though, it came out more as a collection of memories than a poem.
Each paragraph is from a random day throughout the 3 months in Geneva, with inspiration coming naturally while in GVA, and final edit back in KL.
-----------(poem)--------------------------------------
Content(e),
A word in French that represents happy, satisfied, glad, pleased, thankful, or just - content.
Content(e),
Is when a dog skippily follows its owner on a leash,
With a thick, decayed branch between its fangs,
Its new, prized toy.
Content(e),
Is when the hedge shoots above the imaginary line trimmed by the gardener,
As if saying, "Serves you right! You can't stop me, I'm gonna do what I want!"
Content(e),
Is seeing young leaves and flower buds opening up to welcome spring,
And wild flowers shooting above the grass.
Content(e),
Is feeling the cold wind blowing,
Under the protection of a warm jacket of course.
Content(e),
Is seeing many people walking with their doggo friends in the morning of a Sunday.
Content(e),
Is bidding 'Hello' to the well-fed birds being close to me with heads held high,
And praising "You're beautiful" to the flowers.
Content(e),
Is walking in the rain,
Under an umbrella,
The trees and grasses seem greener than usual.
Content(e),
Is walking in Geneva's continuous and endless (to me, because I haven't finished exploring) green corridors.
If I am to challenge Guinness World Record to travel to all countries in the world,
I may as well finish with the longest time,
As I walk slow and like to soak in the atmosphere around me.
Content(e),
Is walking along the 'tree tunnel' that Tram no. 14 passes through at Meyrin-Vaudagne,
A nostalgic neighbourhood where I had stayed for 5 months plus.
I wonder if the leaves will grow lushier in summer to form a complete 'tree tunnel'?
But I will not be there to see it.
Content(e),
Can only be seen and felt if I bring my gaze up from the phone,
And all senses are present.
Seeing all the vibrant colours, from blues to greens to browns,
Listening to the concert held by the birds and insects,
Breathing in the fresh air,
Feeling the earth crunching under my feet,
Feeling the different textures of leaves and flowers,
Mind not wandering elsewhere.
Content(e),
I wonder...
Is it okay for us to remember the small happiness and hide the clumsy sutures in the heart? (Because we're no professional surgeon)
Hoping that they will be forgotten by time.
Hoping that they will stay intact and never reopen.
But they still become fresh wounds during the silent nights.
Well wishes from strangers to strangers in YouTube comments reach out to the heart.
Warm hug from a cherished friend is always appreciated.
Pollen 'migrating' following the wind along the river at Vessy,
Like snow in spring,
I get to see the last snow in Geneva after all (for this trip).
Perhaps the wind will bring seeds of sorrows and miseries far away,
When the time is right.
-----------(end of poem)----------------------
Things that I want to remember from these 3 months, that don't fit in the poem. Maybe doing a video is good after all, to preserve the nice photos and videos. π
- Taking the Lavaux Vineyard trail. After taking the wrong route for a while, first time realising the meaning of the yellow "tourisme pedestre" sign at the exit of the train station, and had to retrace my steps and start all over again. Walked from Saint-Saphorin till Lausanne. This should be the longest distance in a day that I've walked during these 3 months, including the wrong route taken and me being over-ambitious of trying to walk further to Morges, but luckily decided to listen to my body and recognise my sore legs, then turned back to Lausanne. Especially love the part from Lutry to Lausanne, dragging my sore legs and taking small steps, along the small elevated pathway right by the lakeside, watching people going about with their lives on a weekend.
- Watching "A Sun" with David, with tears in his living room. The trees by Versoix and Geneva's lakeside might remember my tears also. π
- Watching "Abang Adik" in Cameron Highland's hotel's Netflix after coming back from mission, also in tears. Suddenly a scene of a young man bearing jail sentence on behalf of his mother for accidentally hitting and killing a girl by car appeared in my mind. I tried recalling what movie it is, but then remembered that it's from a book that I borrowed from Geneva ("Falling for you: it's a disastrous thing to do... " by Jill Mansell). It's amazing how vividly I can imagine the scenes from a book till my mind thought that it's from a movie, or how easily the mind/memory can be deceived...
- The days of working through the Financial Statements, with the mind too busy with novel things each day that days flew past so fast. Fortunately there were still weekly dinners to look forward to, which helped to mark each passing week.
- Hiking with Gabrielle on the Toblerone trail. Completed 16/18 km in just 6 hours, the fastest I've walked ever before. Chatting with her about what animal/plant that we would like to become if we can choose; learned some new knowledge about how the beef industry in Switzerland works.
- Hiking from Saint-Cergue to La Dole to La Givrine. The sound of wind echoing in the valley and rustling of tree leaves; brushing shoulders with various people and dogs along the way (some came to me to request for a pat, some barked at me); saw a chamois with big antlers but it disappeared within just a few seconds when I was tying my shoelaces; eating lunch at the white dome at the peak and met a French guy with Chinese woman as his wife (literally as described by him π) with a baby; small hail at the peak; hiking down with the French & Chinese family and our short conversation; eating dinner and ice-cream at a restaurant beside La Givrine's train station while waiting for my scheduled train; watching a costume party in the restaurant; a boy with Spiderman costume said hello to me; a train station which you have to press the "stop at request" button for the right direction and not more than 15 minutes before the train arrives.
- Hiking along river at Versoix. People with fishing rods; long row of plane trees at the right; shallow stream for fish farming at the left but couldn't see any fishes; my palpitation for almost a week stopped after this hike.
I miss the nature in Switzerland. π©·
