"Yuan2"

Now I'm in my 3rd month intermediate Mandarin class and last night my lao3 shi gave us this new vocab which I think is a very interesting word - "Yuan2". What does it mean? Well "Yuan2" is an antonym, a word which has more than one meaning. However, it cannot be explained in any other languages. However, perhaps we can describe it as destiny,fate,coincidence, but then again maybe not.

"Yuan2" can be used in instances like, why did we go to certain places to study and we meet certain group of people there? That is "Yuan2". And for example, I'm from Sarawak and has been living in Sarawak for 17 years before I further my studies in KL and I met someone from my hometown in KL instead of in Kuching, although I've stayed there for 17 years. That is "Yuan2". I met my first boyfriend sometime ago and broke up with him though we've professed our love for each other almost everyday, that is also "Yuan2". "Takde jodoh" you might say. But what about that we like certain group of people and not a group of others? And we decide to settle in one place and not the other, marry someone we might know for only a few weeks and not the one we have known for the rest of our lives. Those can be explain with that one word "Yuan2". Jus like when I chose to start my blog today and not a few weeks ago, perhaps it is also "Yuan2?"...:)

It kinda reminded me of Robert Frost's poem titled "The Road Not Taken". Although Frost might not know that word then, but the description he made about choosing what we do today and perhaps some of us are still wondering what would happen if they have chosen differently.

Well just expressing what I have been thinking all night. So today I ponder upon this " Whaen you look back on your life wondering why you chose not to cross the bridge, will you also wonder what would happen if you did?"