\u201991 the year it was, first plane trip to a foreign land,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fresh start and new adventures in the land down under,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thrilled at new beginnings, shame about the language barrier,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a six year old kid from South East Asia, unfamiliar \u2018bout everything going on in Australia,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Took a first trip to the local shopping centre, not so different from the motherland,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flashier and rowdier, maybe a little bigger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Found the toy store, Dreamland activated,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The perfect setting, too, for a first chance encounter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was sitting at the back, checking out action figures,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, back then many a boy\u2019s idols,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He appeared from out of nowhere, fresh-faced and blonde haired,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked if I was a fan, his words alien to the dark-haired foreigner,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nodded my head, unsure of any other answer, so he sat down, took it as permission,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barely kept up with his chatter, hardly even mattered, thankfully he asked no questions, that surely would\u2019ve been awkward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moment of fun spoiled when he was called by his parents,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Off he went, put an end to our bonding in an instant,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No clue where life took him, I doubt he even remembers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a footnote in his story, long-buried and forgotten,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this brown boy from the South East can still recall,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That first Aussie interaction, however brief, in that humble toy store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201991 the year it was, first plane trip to a foreign land, A fresh start and new adventures in the land down under, Thrilled at new beginnings, shame about the language barrier, Just a six year old kid from South East Asia, unfamiliar \u2018bout everything going on in Australia, Took a first trip to the … <\/p>\n