Yesterday Cin and I said goodbye to our new daughter at the Putrajaya ERL train station as she proceeded to catch a plane to the next city (Kota Kinabalu) of her Malaysia trip before returning to Japan tomorrow. Despite the short time she was physically with the family, the goodbye felt very special and I’m sure I saw a tear in her eye.

Her “homestay” program started with Becks and I fetching her on Friday afternoon, whisking her to the hospital to visit Aunty Hawa and meet Mama, fetching Nugget at the nearby LRT train station and staying two hours at the hospital before we grabbed late dinner at Sate Kajang Hj. Samurni at Damansara Utama. Not the most cheerful of a welcome into the family, but Akina did not complain. Not only did she manage to visit Aunty Hawa, she also was able to meet Nenek (Grandma), uncles, other aunts, relatives and other visitors. And at the hospital, Nenek gave her the first taste of soon-to-become one of her favourite local cakes, kueh bakar!

There is a saying, “100% is possible 100% of the time.” So while Cin I focused on Hawa at the hospital over the weekend, we found a way of fulfilling our commitment to hosting Akina at the same time.

Akina in Kebaya.

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