Ten Sen in My Pocket

When I went to primary school, I received ten sen as pocket money a day. But ma knew it was not quite enough. So, she cooked rice early in the morning and packed it for us as lunch in school. We brought along a bottle of water so there was really no need to spend.

I used to be the earliest to arrive at school. The reason was that my neighbour was a school bus driver and we took his bus to school--his first trip started at 5:30 A.M. We addressed the bus driver as Kim Seng Shu (shu = uncle). In fact, all the Convent girls residing in Jln Siputeh took Kim Seng's mini van to school.

It would be about around 6:15a.m. or so when we reach school. And having nothing much to do--none of my classmates would get to school that early--I'd start eating my 'lunch' and finished it. It was warm and delicious, but when recess time came, I'd have nothing to eat. So, I joined a group of other less-priviledged children and played 'catching' ( 'Ah Chi Chook'). It was fun!

When I went to the Secondary school, the morning 'lunch' habit was dropped. I took the public bus to school and reached school at about 7:00 a.m. But I still get 10 sen as pocket money. To supplement my pocket money, I served food at the school canteen for the first 10 minutes of recess time; and got to eat for free, gobbling down my food the last 5 minutes just before recess ended. It worked fine. I got a bowl of hot curry mee (worth 15 sen) and a drink (worth 5 sen).

With 10 sen saved in a day, I could accumulate up to 2 Ringgit in 2 weeks. I would then give my savings back to ma to help her in her home expenses. She was impressed. My reward--her broad smile of approval. In spite of a relatively deprived childhood, I grew up a happy person.

In the evenings, I used to cycle around the neighbourhood with my sisters and neighbours; while Tzong Ying and Tzong Meng (my brothers) climbed 'hills' -- pa san zhai. There were lots of dis-used mining ponds around. Jln Siputeh is near to Bemban New Village ('pu-tao yen' or 'grape garden'-- the village we came from), an old tin-mining area. We used to stop by the pond; threw stones in it and feeling thrilled just to see the ripples formed in the waters. We would compete to see whose ripple lasted the longest and giggled at our victory.

At times, I would go to the pond by myself and ponder over my future, life and everything that mattered to me at the time... The air was fresh and everything was so quiet, I could hear the birds chirped.

Today, I have more than 10 sen in my pocket. But I have lost the carefree innocence and bliss. I have no time to stand and stare--no place so quiet to ponder. I have responsibilities to shoulder; problems to think about--my children, their future, their safety, their health...

And if you ask me, I would gladly exchange today with just one day when I had 10 sen in my pocket!