Shanti Thokchom's Life Experiences
- Part 30 -
Living 'clean' at Miami Beach, Florida

By Shanti Thokchom *

We were in a totally different countryside as we passed through the borders of Georgia and entered the sunshine state!! As I was enjoying listening to the good old country music on the radio, my friend Chingboi from Tulsa just called me on the phone wanting to know where in the world I was at that moment....when I told her that I was driving through Florida now, she just laughed out loud and said "mihemnu, kidang sah ah!! (in kuki- my goodness, strange and cool!!).

I am sure her jaws must have dropped or something cos there was silence at her end for some moments!! I told her that I'd call her up and keep her posted about the trip and introduce her to my friends later !! My son was playing with his game boy and no disturbance from him so far!! Looked like our pact is still in place and working!!!

The fun part began when I saw the coconut and palm trees on the side of the roads. It meant we were getting closer to our destination but yet still another good 6 hours' drive !! We took souvenir pictures and got some more road maps and info booklets !!

My friend called to inquire if and when we were to reach her place and accordingly, she'd like to get her sleep as she worked the night before!! I was admiring at all the lovely sights and smells of the place!! There were some quite cool places on the way for souvenirs ,food, gas and restrooms -all in one spot!! But the sandwiches were so expensive....we had to stick with our plan and budget!!

My son really wanted one of the sandwich so bad that I had to give in to his pleadings for once!! I think it was just the mere excitement of being in a new place and seeing the food in attractive and cool packages..that made him want it!! I was not happy when he did not even take 2 bites out of the sandwich !! It was a waste of my moolah!! But Chalo,its done now!!

Random shot of Miami Beach, Florida

The radio weather forecast said that there might be some stormy rain on the way, and rightly so we were caught in some minutes of torrential rains !! I just stopped by the roadside until the it ended! It seemed like unending ...luckily enough, the storm moved on towards the east and we were in the clear!! I resumed my driving! I kept my constant watch on the road signs and at the same time referring my good old Google road maps + the one prepared by the AAA for this trip.

We finally reached Miami Beach around 6pm eastern time safe and sound without any mishaps. When I drove through the connecting bridge, my first reaction was "wow! cool! " to see blue sea all around.......beautiful and serene and so many tall buildings and the marina and its restaurants...!!!

I got a little lost before I got to the right place where my friend lived next to the Mt. Sinai Hospital where she worked. I called her and she excitedly came out to meet us. It was really a wonderful feeling to see a fellow Manipuri sister in a new place!!

I admire all you fellow brothers and sisters all over here and there who have made it to where you are with your sheer hard work and determination!! That brings honor and glory for our motherland Sanaleibak Manipur !! I am real proud of you all !! Way to go, ya'll!! Keep it up always !!!

Coming back to my story, this Wabagai (a town in Manipur) couple had made so much good food for us !! Gosh!! I cant believe the husband could be such a damn good cook!! The wife is real lucky...I am telling you this cos there are many ,whose husbands dont cook, let alone fix some ready made ones !!

I was very impressed and its indescribable!! They were downright so down to earth and that is one real comforting feeling you get when you meet people like them!! I am glad I did !! Let me also tell you this...they are both real nuts about cleanliness....total clean freaks in the real sense!!

The wife would literally pull out her hubby's shoes to clean them as soon as he got back from work or anywhere ! I found that too funny !! There was not even a speck of dust in their apartment !!But I can understand it cos right now, they only have each other and no tiny tots yet to make clutter around the house !! ha...ha..ha..

Wait till their bundle of joy arrives and lets see if they can keep up what they were doing!! I could not believe they had so much "Achapot" (snacks) in their closet and everywhere instead of clothes!! My friend told me that back home , her mom had a Dukan (convenience store) and she got so used to eating snacks from that store, that she had kept up that habit till to date.

Her hubby makes sure that she has a steady supply of those "Achapot" (snacks)!! No offence to you both, if you are reading this !! Its just my simple observation !! I am very fond of you both and very refreshing to see such a loving couple who are very with "it" in everything they do together ....

It was pretty relaxing and cool at their place ..no pretenses or no nothing of any kind... just a simple desire to meet another fellow Manipuri and be connected !! We ate and ate so much..!

Still my friend's hubby thought it wasn't enough so he spread out more of his goodies and sorry to say,I could not eat any more!! I just have a small stomach...stretchable to some extent ! ha..ha...ha....!! He had cooked pork, chicken biryani and what not!!

I dont remember them all cos I was so busy eating and talking with them!! Of all the stuffs he cooked,the pork special dish was the best!! I could go on and on eating them....!! For my son, it was another chance to have another Kaka and aunty in another state and he was very happy to be with them and I must say ,he kept them both busy !! We talked and talked no end till the wee hours of morning but so much fun and joy!! We slept like logs!!

The next day they took us to the Miami Seaquarium as an advance treat for my son's birthday. Believe you me, it made his day when I told him that!! At the seaquarium , they have so many stuffs to do and see there. We especially enjoyed the Dolphin's antics at their pool.

It was so amazing to see these mammals perform what they are told to do so by their trainers going by the sound of only a whistle I could see they were so in sync with each other that they automatically knew what their next one performance was!! So intelligent mammals!!

One of them even came flashing its fins in the water and all the kids at that pool was very excited to get wet when she did it!! I was very awestruck by one of the big dolphin who jumped out of the water and had his trainer standing on her nose!! That was a real unforgettable sight !!

We also saw the sea lions performing tricks and was very entertaining !! The alligators were so huge and their pond was crystal clear !! This seaquarium had been affected by the Hurricane Wilma - a few years ago and you could see its before and after pictures posted on the board !! It was an interesting, fruitful and a very good learning experience and visit me and my son!!

The next day was a trip to the beach which was only few minutes away from their place.!! We packed a picnic and spent the whole day there....!!

Random shot of Miami Beach, Florida

My son had the maximum fun cos he loves playing in the water and sand!! We just relaxed at at the sunny beach, playing in the sand or just swimming!! I can't swim for the life of it !!We had a good picnic under the coconut trees eating our traditional dishes and of course, the special meat Kaka Bikram cooked..!! By now,I was too full and heavy and ready to take a nap ! even though I am no noon napper..Kaka's good food made me feel so!!

We enjoyed the beach so much so that my just did not want to go back home! We were all so sandy and dirty.I was by very worried as I knew this couple was very conscious of any kind of dirt at their house!! I cleaned as much sand I could from our clothes and other stuffs so as not to mess up their place!! They did not mind.

It was just their habit to keep clean. I dont fault them for being so!! We had so many interesting stories to share and laugh so much!! The wife was telling me about how much her in-laws were into the Gauriya Dharma (traditions) and that she was kind of getting stifled by it all...It was fun cos I could relate to it due to my own paternal granny's being one !!

We cant do much about it as they were born and brought up in that period of time !! The husband said all he had to do was to be diplomatic and just keep your folks happy and to let them feel that they are in no danger of being wiped out or out numbered by un- Gauriya Dharma followers!! ha..ha..ha...!!

I can make out that this couple are very,very understanding and has a one on one kind of good marriage- the kind which are rare in this age and times!! They are the best of friends and can rib and attack in good spirits about each other or about anything. They are very comfortable with each other and have no fear of what others would say!!

The wife does not address him as "Tamo"(brother) which is impressive !! For me, I find it very hard to understand this custom/tradition of "Tamo" but do their better halves call them vice versa? But I guess , its just ingrained in them by our parents as a way of respect.

What I can't fathom is the idea behind that calling "Tamo" to your husband....I find that very incestuous, period!!! A husband is a husband and not a brother..!!! You do sleep with him at night !!

Where can we find the rules of it to call "Tamo" to your husband or is it written anywhere in any Holy books ? If someone can point it out, I would be very glad to know. I dont mean to offend anyone but I am just curious about this whole "Tamo" business....!!

That has been bugging me for years and years!! I like it when the moms call their hubbies "Mai Pabung" or their hubbies calling them " Keino Gi Mama". My own folks called each other "Apna" (my own)or sometimes my dad called her "Mema" after my paternal granny started that trend . This extended to my dad's own circle of good friends. So I grew up hearing them calling out "apna" whenever they met.

Again, I veered off course! Now back to my story, after 2 days of great fun and sight seeing, we had to bid them goodbye. They made so much food for us to take with us to eat on the way. My car was now full with "Bhojan" and other snacks and water !!

I was going to drive by to visit the NASA center and the Orlando Disney World on a shoe string budget on our way back from Miami Beach....!!!

Check out a picture gallery on this here.





More stories later ...... to be continued ...!!

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* Shanti Thokchom, a resident of Tulsa, Oklohoma, contributes regularly to e-pao.net . She can be reached at sthok65(at)hotmail(dot)com . This article was webcasted on December 27, 2008.

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