"Ready to go?" Adam poked his head into the guest room I was now staying in temporarily. It had been a month since I moved into Adam's family home to experience daily life with his family and exchange ideas about our respective cultures and lifestyles. Apparently, Londoners liked to exchange experiences and learn about other peoples' cultures and traditions. I was amazed by their profound interest in other communities all across the world.

I learnt much, even in the first few days. I found out that dinner time was sometimes called "tea" because it was eaten between five and seven o'clock. As most of them only had a short period of time for lunch or did not eat lunch at all, they would have dinner early – so the evening meal was sometimes known as "tea" and not "dinner". Unless the meal was a special affair that they experienced over the course of several hours, then it would definitely be called "dinner".

Looking back, it was quite hilarious at the beginning. Adam's mother would cook food such as fried chicken, cheese pasta, roast lamb, and pizza for "tea". I was puzzled why they enjoyed such a heavy meal for their tea-break, often followed by "pudding" such as custard tarts or ice cream. Adam noticed my confused look and asked without hesitation, "What is it?"

After explaining, the whole family at the dinner table had laughed.

"You're taking a long time, madam! Betsy might miss her breakfast," Adam remarked as he showed me the brown paper bag in his hand. Inside, without a doubt, would be pieces of white bread and grains for his special swan.

"If she misses her breakfast, she can have lunch." I winked mischievously. He grinned as he looked at me. I put on a new red jacket that Adam's mother had given me. She had been worried that I would feel cold. Actually, I was enjoying the temperate weather here. It was neither too cold nor too hot when the sun was out. I grabbed my shoulder bag as I followed Adam out.

We walked to Kensington Gardens, heading for the Round Pond. It was not far, only taking about 10 minutes. The weather was not so cold this morning, but instead quite calm, perhaps because the wind was not blowing. In fact, it felt cold only when a chilly wind brushed against my cheeks.

I sat down on the same long bench as Adam approached the edge of the pond to feed Betsy and her friends. The birds here were fearless, so much so that they would peck food from the palm of your hand. The bread that Adam brought was shared amongst them, but the grains were just for Betsy. According to him, this girl needed multivitamins! I shook my head as I heard him say that. He seemed to be deeply attached to that swan of his.

I took out the iPad from the bag as I leaned back against the bench. The night before, I had drawn a scene where Adam fed and caressed swans. What should I draw today? I observed the surroundings, searching for a new subject. A dog chasing a Frisbee that its owner had thrown. White collar professionals cycling across the park to work. A burly man was jogging wearing only a T-shirt and shorts in rather chilly weather. I had already drawn all these before. What should I do? I needed one more drawing to complete the Kensington Gardens edition of the collection.

Suddenly, I saw a man and a woman walking towards the lake, on the opposite side. They looked like Malays. Could they be Malaysians or Indonesians? Or locals? I was so curious.

The young man was smart but casually dressed in black jeans with a dark-brown leather jacket. The woman, who appeared to be particular about neatness, was in black trousers and a pink blouse with a matching jacket, looking every inch a career woman. They sat there quietly for a long time, enjoying their sandwiches.

"If you keep staring at them like that, it'll serve you right if they tell you off!" Adam took a seat beside me. The bread and grains that he brought had all been given to Betsy and her friends.

"They're hardly aware of my presence here," I retorted, without diverting my gaze from the pair. There was something amusing about the way the man was staring at his companion. Maybe my guess was incorrect. They were not siblings. Could they be lovers? Or merely close friends?

"Do you think they are a couple or simply friends?" I asked Adam. My fingers had already brought up a new canvas on the iPad screen.

"The man likes the woman, but the woman is still clueless," Adam responded confidently. He flashed his signature wide smile.

"You seem so sure. Do you know them?" I probed further.

"No. But look at the man's body language. His body faces the woman at all times, never turning away even though she does not look at him. It means that he has a thing for her," Adam volunteered a lengthy analysis.

"Oh my, since when did you become an expert on love?" I teased him. He grinned at me.

I was really grateful for Adam's help. Without him, I would never have been able to produce drawings full of meaning and the values of London. It was not that my previous drawings lacked meaning, but Adam taught me something very important. As an artist, I should not appraise something solely through my own perspective and understanding of the world. I should try to understand a scenario in-depth in line with the subject's background.

Through this experience, I learnt something. Although I had realised my dream to be an artist, it should not stop just there. I should continue to develop my dream by improving myself. We should constantly improve on everything that we do in our lives because our dreams have no limits. Once we have achieved a certain level of proficiency, a new dimension will open up; life again would be a challenge for us to continue expanding our potential.

I gained a new determination to travel around the world after the completion of this project. I would like to expand my insights and gain knowledge from other lands. I would like to explore in-depth the traditions and cultures of other people so that I could better understand my favourite drawing subject − people.

"All right, all right, I'll leave you alone. They must be the subject for today. I'll go and see Betsy; it's much better than staring at those two." Adam got up and went back towards the pond's edge. He whistled to attract the attention of Betsy, which rushed towards him.

I focused my attention on the couple still seated across the pond from me. My fingers danced quickly across the screen of the iPad held in my hands. There was something fascinating about that couple. I had already thought of a caption for this drawing, "Love in London". Most fitting and appropriate.