Had my first go with tennis in Melbourne on Friday. No wait, actually, had my very first go with tennis in Melbourne on Wednesday, however, I didn’t really count that as a “proper” experience, as the main outcome of that day was to socialise with the people from the RMIT Tennis Club and not so much on actually playing the sport.
After meeting some mates from the RMIT Tennis Club, a couple of them recommended me to head down to the Carlton Gardens Tennis Club on Friday nights to enjoy hitting, aside from the usual RMIT Tennis Club sessions held every Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Powelett Reserve Tennis Club. Having an itch that I have not scratch for more than 3 weeks, I couldn’t say no.
Friday came and I made my way to the courts at Carlton Gardens. Could not believe what I was seeing for the first few moments. Though it is nothing fancy, just your typical public tennis courts located in the middle of the park, it just made me feel so much at home. Thinking back to the first few hits of the tennis ball, comforts me like how a you would feel when you tug under your blanket into bed after a long long day of endless work. Yes, it may sound weird, but that is just how I felt. Although it was my first time playing at the venue, it didn’t feel all too foreign to me. I was still on the same court size as I was back home in Singapore, though the surface of the court may be different, it held the same dimensions, net, maybe even the size of the ball? All these just adds up to an experience that I would not be able to achieve else where. And in some ways, it almost felt like I was “coming home”. People with common interests, but different backgrounds, speak the same language. For once, I felt not so foreign, in a foreign land.
I was mentioned by one of the players that I am one of the few, if not, the only Singaporean he knows who doesn’t speak with a “la” in my sentences. Which made me laughed at first, but I never really noticed that until he said it to me. I guess through growing up with watching many American or international TV programmes and movies, exposed me to certain kind of accents and feel towards speaking to someone who isn’t the same nationality as you. I can guarantee that if I were to speak with my Singaporean friends back home, every single “la”, “leh”, “lor”, would appear in my sentences and phrases. Not forgetting local lingos like, “Shiok!” or “Shag” or “Jialat”… would come into play. (Do ask me in person if you’re interested to find out what are the meanings of those words that I’ve mentioned).
The point I’m trying to raise here is, I guess through TV, radio, films, music and more. We are exposed to so many aspects of the world, we never knew that was possible. It becomes almost second nature when I speak to a local, to turn down all my “la”, “leh”, “lor”, so as to make myself heard properly and not let the person that I’m talking to have a hard time trying to understand what am I saying. On the other hand, I can express myself easily when I’m having a chat over the phone with my friends or family back home with the common expressions and lingo I’ve mentioned above. It’s almost like I’m speaking in 2 languages, although I’m still speaking in English, some might debate, the language that I use back home is actually “Singlish”, but I do not want to go into that.
Language unites us all, and would be the bread and butter of communication. Personally, without having any common language, there’s no way people can communicate even with the latest media producing piece of technology.
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