Umi Freeman is a woman who has seemed to live happily in two worlds her whole life. And , whichever world she happens to be in, she is equally at home, and sees everything as ‘just lovely’.
At the moment her two worlds are the Cove where she and husband Peter have lived part-time for nearly 9 years, and their home in inner-city Sydney where their apartment near the corner of Hyde Park gives them wonderful access to coffee shops and restaurants in Surry Hills and the city. In the one breath Umi says that life in the Cove is ‘just lovely’ because the water is beautiful, and the surroundings are peaceful, and the people are welcoming. And in the next breath, Umi says that life in the inner city is ‘just lovely’ because she so enjoys dining out. In the Cove, Umi reads (and reads and reads), quilts, paints and goes to exercise classes. In Sydney, she, yes, you guessed it, reads, but this time combines it with going for long walks and ferry rides, plus many visits to book shops and cafes.
Umi’s pre-school years show us another set of two worlds. She was born in a little village at the foot of Misty Mountain in Malaya (now known as West Malaysia). Her parents were respected, relatively privileged middle class teachers, although her mother gave up work when she started a family. But Umi lived with her Grannie, in a tiny village surrounded by rice paddies. Grannie would work in the paddy fields in the morning, while Umi would play under a tree at the edge of the field. A goat was tethered there too. Every now and again, Grannie would call out ‘are you alright Umi?’. At lunch time they would go home to a lovely two-storied house near a clear mountain stream, and Grannie would cook rice and they would share a salted egg. Umi remembers a gramophone with the His Master’s Voice trademark and baths in the mountain stream – it was very, very cold.
When it was time for Umi to start school, she entered her other world and lived with her parents, the second of ten children. Meanwhile, Grannie trained as a midwife, then returned to work in the village as a much loved and respected midwife. Umi speaks of the wonderful British teachers she had in Primary school and of the affection that she felt for the United Kingdom. Umi laughed as she described ‘all these little brown children who called England home’ because it was home to their British teachers. Three of her brothers were educated in the UK. For her high school years though, Umi slipped back into the world of her Grannie when her parents went to work in the UK. Clearly Grannie was one of the most significant people in her life. School days were happy days for her – the younger students called her Sis Umi, a title of affection and respect. School was ‘just lovely’.
Another set of two worlds came when, aged 19, Umi won a Columbo Plan student scholarship to attend University in Australia. She completed an Arts degree at New England Uni and then went to Sydney Uni for her Dip Ed year because she wanted to train as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. She would have instant rapport with other students who also lived in two worlds.
It was at Sydney University that Umi met Peter, and they were married in 1970 in North Borneo in a ceremony that blended Umi’s then two worlds – the Malay culture of her parents and the Australian culture of her new husband. It was, Umi remembers, ‘just lovely’.
Umi and Peter, both trained teachers, went to Port Moresby Technical College and taught for two years. Students came from all over Papua New Guinea. Umi remembers the students, all boys, wearing sarongs, and coming to class with hibiscus flowers in their hair. They would suck beetle nuts, and become very vague and very happy! Umi loved they way they shared everything with their wantok, their clan. It was ‘just lovely’
By 1975, Umi and Peter were ready for change – they travelled Europe, Peter became a journalist, they had a daughter, Saadiah, and they moved to Borneo to work for three years. Umi’s beloved Grannie came to look after Saadiah. It was so easy to teach, remembers Umi, the pupils were respectful, and diligent, and there were no discipline problems at all. Of course it was ‘just lovely’.
Why has Umi’s life been such a happy one – even when such significant political events as the aftermath of the Japanese invasion during WW2, the rise of communism , and the Emergency, caused dislocation and uncertainty? Why has she been able to so effortlessly straddle such different worlds?
Umi, without hesitation, attributes it to Grannie’s unconditional love and care, and the open generosity of her parents. Umi had plenty of advantages growing up as a Malay and as a member of the relatively privileged middle class. Her family remains close to this day. But her greatest advantage was the knowledge that she was loved by her family – particularly by Grannie.
