Yup, thats the motto for Henniker, New Hampshire. it might come off as a trifle arrogant perhaps, but in an area where the earlier settlers were englishmen valiantly trying to recreate a chunk of england into their newly adopted land - with towns like Concord, Manchester & other familiar sounding names, it is probably the only Henniker around lol.
New Hampshire is one of the 6 states making up New England. the others are : Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont. its quite a huge area covering part of the Great Lakes and rich with colonial history. while the scenery & autumn foliage is to die for, the winters were somethin' else. *double brrrrr* breathtaking white snow all around but it can get pretty damn cold, really spine curling cold, especially the strong winds.
Part of Henniker & New England College.
I was surprised that Henniker was so small.. really teeny weeny small. its a little town built upon a crossroad, a bit like Sitiawan but even that is bigger in comparison lol. the town's survival depends a lot on its college community and New England College is where Abe was taking up his degree in engineering. small town but extremely nice & friendly people. didnt take me long to settle in to the quiet, peaceful life.
It didnt start out that easily though. no siree... upon arrival at logan's airport, boston we found out that my luggage had gone missing, probably on another flight to god knows where, and while the airport staff were pretty symphathetic about my plight, there wasnt much they could do. apart from promising to look into the matter, we just had to wait until it resurfaced.
Making do with only basics.
What a 'disastrous' start!!!! all my clothes & belongings were in that one huge bag (not to mention segala macam kiriman spices & stuff from org kampung lol). Lucky thing i wasnt superstitious or anything... otherwise i would have taken it as the sign that i had made a horrible horrible mistake. i was also young, optimistic and very much in love lol so nothing, nothing was going to burst my bubble of happiness.
We were happy just to be together lol
It was sorely tested though. i went through more than a month of wearing stuff i'd managed to scrounged from Abe's, the one change of clothes that i had in my backpack and coats & jackets we had gotten from the salvation army store down the road (we didnt have all that much cash to spare remember lol). i even went through eidul fitri wearing Abe's black baju melayu with my kain songket, one we had accidentally packed into his bag thank god. really hilarious in the retelling but sedih gak at that time.
It was sorely tested though. i went through more than a month of wearing stuff i'd managed to scrounged from Abe's, the one change of clothes that i had in my backpack and coats & jackets we had gotten from the salvation army store down the road (we didnt have all that much cash to spare remember lol). i even went through eidul fitri wearing Abe's black baju melayu with my kain songket, one we had accidentally packed into his bag thank god. really hilarious in the retelling but sedih gak at that time.
1st eid in NH
Initially there were less than 10 malaysian student there - a girl, 5 men and 4 couples (i think.. lol it was a long long time ago) but the group just got bigger and bigger and in the end, we made up quite a big percentage of the foreign students. most were there on dual scholarships so the didnt have quite the same problems that we had.
Malaysian community in Henniker, NH
Abe ended up spending more time at work than studying!! aahh, such were the perils of bringing along a wife ;) but of course i did my share.. by working as an 'amah' for 2 of his professors and babysitting. we were in this together, for better for worse, through thick & thin.
Abe ended up spending more time at work than studying!! aahh, such were the perils of bringing along a wife ;) but of course i did my share.. by working as an 'amah' for 2 of his professors and babysitting. we were in this together, for better for worse, through thick & thin.
Working in the kitchens.
Doing odd jobs.
And it turned out to be one of the most treasured times of our lives.
1 comment:
hmmm.. that was real quick you spammers you!! shooo.. go play somewhere else n leave my poor blog alone.
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