interjection: small things continued

So there was this mini mart, very small of a grocery store in Kuala Tehan, the entry town to Taman Negara National Rainforest. And the two times we went in there, there were grade-school aged kids manning the front counter.

The first time we went into pay for something, Will and I had just finished a pretty big hike, and we were both pretty sweaty & smelly (Will particularly). Anyway, we went to pay for the large water that we wanted to buy, and this kid, maybe a 5th grade-aged boy rang it up for us. He told us the price, then when Will handed him some Ringgit (the Malay note) the boy took the money slowly & kind of slyly,… and I watched him as he brought it slowly under his nose and sniffed it. It really was quite bizarre,…. but it made me laugh out loud. After he smelled it, he put it into the cash register and said ‘Thanks’.

The second time we went into the shop it was to buy some snacks. It was one of the only places open as many were fasting for Ramadan, which is from dawn till dusk. So we decided to grab some extra food to hold us over until dinner time. This time, we went to the front counter and a girl, probably his sister, a few years older anyways was sitting there. We also happened to notice the 36” or so flat screen that was also on the front counter. From the moment we walked in the shop, picked up the goods and stood at the counter, the girls eyes had not left the tv screen. She was completely glued to it. I’m not joking we stood right in front of her, about 2.5 feet away, even did a small wave or two and she didn’t notice we were there until a minute or so after. Once she finally did break her stare, she jumped with a startle and said “sorry! I didn’t see you” and then rang up our purchase and told us to “come again” with a smile.

That too made us walk away with a chuckle.