Good Old Days?

Recently I saw some of my batch-mates wrote that they miss their life in Russia, the time when we need to pack our luggage and take the flight to Russia, the days when they can cook whatever they want to eat, the nice restaurants in town, the nice food and beverage that they can enjoy in Russia, the days when they study in oversea, the nice weathers and season.They wish to go back to the "good old days".

 

But, wait a minute, I think they forget something. They forgot the bad things and the suffering, which constitute the major part of our life and study in Russia. I deny not the things that I do miss. I miss Koinonia, Frank and Lora, the time of fellowship in hostel. But let us not forget the bad things can try to go back to the "good old days".

 

Let us not forget the difficulties that we need to go through during our flight, e.g. luggage limits, long hours of flight, long hours of transit in airport, visa, custom, passport missing, flight delayed, flight cancelled, etc.

 

Let us not forget the terrible food that we eat and the high living cost in Russia, the delicious Malaysian food and beverage that we craved day-and-night while we were in Russia, until we need to carry them all they way to Russia and cook them ourselves. Let us not forget how many years we waited for Subway and KFC to be opened in Volgograd.

 

Let us not forget the studies that we went through, outdated book written in alien language, taught by half-hearted lecturers, accessed by a corrupted subjective unfair scoring system, the hours that we sit in the alien language class.

 

Let us not forget the pride, hostility, and rudeness of the locals, the horrible crimes that they done to us, the discrimination towards the foreigners.

 

Let us not forget the terrible extreme weathers that we went through, the heavy snows and blizzard, the hard and slippery ice-skating courts, the numbers of time that we fell on our butt or back until some admitted into hospital, the numbers of layers of coats and jackets that we need to put on; the hot burning oven-like atmosphere during the summer, and attack of the locust and mosquitoes and gnats.

 

Let us not forget the expensive low class hostel that we stayed, the sudden disappearance of electrical and water supply, the theft done by the locals and the papa, the rudeness and inconsideration from the mamas and administrators, the numbers of time we need to be shifted around like a chess-piece on a chess-board.

 

Let us not forget the fear of seeing a doctor in the clinic, the fear of being admitted into the hospitals and stuck in there, the inhumane food that they serve for the patient.

  

Last but not least, let us not forget the live-action love-and-hate dramas among ourselves.

  

Something that I learned in my Ecclesiastes bible study with Frank in 26th January 2012.

  

Good Old Days = Bad Memory + Good Imagination

  

This formula might be a bit too simplified and may cause misunderstanding. It is undeniable that the past consists of good and bad things. But we tend to remember only the good things and forgot the bad things (hence the 'bad memory' part). We also tend to distort our memory and create something that we think is good (hence the 'good imagination' part). 

 

For example, after the Exodus from Egypt and while still in the wilderness, the Israelites keep complaining to Moses (and indirectly, to God). They forgot about their slavery in Egypt (bad memory); and they crave for meat, fish and other vegetables in Egypt, but it was not such way when they were in Egypt (good imagination). They want to go back to Egypt, the place where they have their "good old days".

  

So seriously, do you people still want to go back to those "good old days" in Russia?

  

____________________    

Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?"

For it is not wise to ask such questions.

Ecclesiastes 7:10