RESIDENCES |D E L I G HT S enjoy Malaysia’s national dishes, but also learn about the country, thanks to a bowl of what appear to be toasted acorns, but turn out to be seeds from rubber trees. Mixed with them are the small red seeds of saga trees native to the country. “When the kids were small, we used to go out and collect them. I like to display them,” she says, once again infusing her home and conversation with the kind of personal detail that eases connection between strangers while educating someone about her country. Karim Shaharudin is retiring in October after almost three years in her current posting. She and her husband will return to Malaysia with fond memories of Canada, and especially Ottawa, where they were also posted from 1988 to 1991. On their first posting, Ottawa was less culturally diverse. “It’s so much easier to get halal food here now,” Ghani says. The memories they take home will include weekend trips to favourite spots such as Manotick and farmers’ markets. Says the high commissioner, “I tell young diplomats: ‘When you’re in a country, [visiting such places is] the best way to get to know it.’” Patrick Langston is an Ottawa writer.
The high commissioner, a self-confessed collector, has picked up these decorative eggs on her travels and during postings, including one in Ukraine and another in Nepal.
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