Last Monday evening in Sydney was a balmy one with clear blue skies and a light breeze. I left the office at 5:45pm and decided to go for a walk around Barangaroo before taking the train home. I was walking up to Observatory Hill when I saw a Chinese lady in her 50s looking lost. And so I went up to her to ask if she needed help. At first I spoke in English but then she asked, “Chinese?”, and I started speaking to her in Chinese instead.

Turns out she really was lost and needed help getting back to her hotel which was in the Chinatown area. She didn’t really know how to read her map and she couldn’t speak or read any English. Since I didn’t have anything to rush to and was just having a stroll anyway, I offered to walk her there. She seemed incredulous and asked me a few times, “你沒事吧 ?” (Are you alright??). She probably thought it wasn’t possible that someone would offer to walk her there.

Anyway, we chatted along the way and I told I was from Singapore and had worked in Hong Kong before coming to Sydney. I found out her name was Zhao Lin, from Qingdao, and she has a daughter who’s 30 and single. Her daughter keeps saying she wants to leave China to see the world. But Zhao Lin said she keeps telling her daughter “No” and that she needs to find someone to marry and settle down with. But Zhao Lin then looked at me and said, “但你這樣也不錯, 到處去玩.” (But it’s pretty good being like you too; you have been to many places.) She asked if I was here with family and I said “No, I’m single.”

Then she asked, “你有後悔過嗎?” [Have you ever regretted (leaving Singapore)?] Guess she must have felt sorry for me that I was still single.

“沒有, 我沒後悔過”. I told her that I have never regretted leaving Singapore. And it’s true. Even though I haven’t always been happy while on my own – and it’s difficult dealing with loneliness, adjusting to a new place and making new friends – I’ve never regretted venturing out of Singapore. Living in a different country is not the same as going for a holiday, and I’ve learnt many life skills from living abroad. Anyway, I know I would never have been happy being in Singapore all my life; I’ve always wanted to see the world and experience more than what Singapore could offer. Yes, I may have missed out on getting married and having children like many of my friends have done, but who’s to say I would have all of that had I stayed? I’ll never know anyway, so no use pondering over it.

At the end of our walk, we took a picture together and she was very thankful for my help. It felt good to help someone and it was nice making a connection with someone if only for awhile. The random things that come up when one goes ambling around!