December is always a busy month for us the DS in the Sultanate. With its cool weather in the early morning and just before and after the sun goes down, most missions take the opportunity to organize functions and events during this month before the year ends. Similarly this afternoon, we were invited for lunch @Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa Hotel overlooking the beautiful marina. I was enjoying my buffet lunch with my colleagues. The appetizer and main meal were awesome and delicious. Then, I went for my dessert.
To my pleasant surprise there was a physalis among the fruits. While gazing at the tiny yellow fruit covered with papery husk, suddenly my mind soared to my hometown thousands of miles away in the Far East. The fruit reminds me of my childhood friends Lil'Salome, MiniMini, Keneete and her late sibling Sweetie Sia. We were once the free spirited girls in Happy Village who would run the green fields after our evening lessons for some physalis fruits which we fondly called 'Buah Letop!' that grew wild in the fields to the chagrin of our Moms who were then busy with their farming activities :D
My still young Mom at that time preferred to plant sweet potatoes in her plot whereas Lil'Salome Mother Ma'Nab had a plot of tapioca trees. Keneete's Mom CekSom planted lots of spring onions and red chillies. MiniMini's Mom whom we called Ma'Ara had a farm full of banana trees that we, the mischievous kiddos liked to play hide and seek near them. When we felt tired of playing the games, we 'disturbed' our mothers who shooed us not to fiddle with their plants!
That's triggered us to 'runaway' freely to the wild openings and looked for the physalis. Then, we seldom ate them. Instead, we used them as wager. Whoever collected the most physalis was the winner! Also, we used to play with the physalis by popping all of them because we loved the 'pop' sound of the lil'bomb :)) Other times, we challenged each other who could open the physalis fruit without tearing its delicate thin husk skin! Those were the days which to this day still linger in a corner of my mind. Indeed, I truly did not want to forget that magical moments with my lil' friends. Once in a while, when I thought about our innocence carefree days with them, I sang Mary Hopkin's song Those Were The Days, My Friends
The sweet and sourish physalis fruits that brought nostalgic memories to my childhood days and to my Lil'Salome and others :D
To my childhood friends Lil'Salome, MiniMini, Kennete and late Sia, you're always on my mind and my song to you:
Those were the days, my friends
We thought they'd never end
We sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
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