Being given the opportunity to live overseas, I have learnt that I have always been a Singaporean and I will always be. Maybe the grass is always greener on the other side; many of us fantasize about migrating abroad, enjoying a slower pace of life, having bigger living space, dreaming of spending weekends at the countryside etc. Is it all such a bed of roses? All so simple?
I, for one, enjoy holding my little red passport. It symbolises my country, a place where I am its priority, where I know I will never be treated as second class, where I will never experience discrimination, where I am known as a citizen.
My experience in Moscow makes me cherish things we have back home more. In Moscow, going onto the streets is always a struggle and the inertia for doing so is great. It is not because the streets are unsafe but more because you are likely to encounter something unpleasant which will just ruin your day. Let me give you an example. I was walking home from the supermarket one day and a middle-age man was right in front of me. It was a busy street but he did not bother to ensure if there were people near him before he decided to clear whatever was stuck in his throat onto the floor. His dirty, disgusting load of spit nearly landed on my pants and my shopping bag. Totally disgusted, all I could gave out was a loud "SH_T!" and a hard stare. I couldn't express more of my disgust due to language barrier and the fact that spitting is a way of life here. He wouldn't be bothered to apologise so don't waste your time. How uncivilised he was but you just got to look out for "spitters" when walking on the roads.
Going to restaurants is another way to make your blood boil. Poor service (sometimes you don't know why you need to tip the waiters), loud, rude voice, waitresses who look everywhere except at the customers, smoking and non-smoking areas being only 1 foot away from each other etc. Who says service at Singapore restaurants are not good enough? Try here and you will appreciate what we have back home.
But, it is not all these bad experiences that make me feel proud to be a Singaporean. Rather, I don't think anyone can truly feel like they belong to a place that is not theirs. Just like one will feel most comfortable and at ease in their own house no matter how posh or dilapidated it is. We can adapt to living in another country, we can make our lives as enjoyable and comfortable as we want but we can never blend in as naturally as the natives. Just like we can never speak English like a British and they can never speak Singlish like a Singaporean. Something will always be amiss. And if we try too hard, we forget who we really are.
Little red dot to me symbolises home, natural fit, pride (small but tough country) and ownership.
I, for one, enjoy holding my little red passport. It symbolises my country, a place where I am its priority, where I know I will never be treated as second class, where I will never experience discrimination, where I am known as a citizen.
My experience in Moscow makes me cherish things we have back home more. In Moscow, going onto the streets is always a struggle and the inertia for doing so is great. It is not because the streets are unsafe but more because you are likely to encounter something unpleasant which will just ruin your day. Let me give you an example. I was walking home from the supermarket one day and a middle-age man was right in front of me. It was a busy street but he did not bother to ensure if there were people near him before he decided to clear whatever was stuck in his throat onto the floor. His dirty, disgusting load of spit nearly landed on my pants and my shopping bag. Totally disgusted, all I could gave out was a loud "SH_T!" and a hard stare. I couldn't express more of my disgust due to language barrier and the fact that spitting is a way of life here. He wouldn't be bothered to apologise so don't waste your time. How uncivilised he was but you just got to look out for "spitters" when walking on the roads.
Going to restaurants is another way to make your blood boil. Poor service (sometimes you don't know why you need to tip the waiters), loud, rude voice, waitresses who look everywhere except at the customers, smoking and non-smoking areas being only 1 foot away from each other etc. Who says service at Singapore restaurants are not good enough? Try here and you will appreciate what we have back home.
But, it is not all these bad experiences that make me feel proud to be a Singaporean. Rather, I don't think anyone can truly feel like they belong to a place that is not theirs. Just like one will feel most comfortable and at ease in their own house no matter how posh or dilapidated it is. We can adapt to living in another country, we can make our lives as enjoyable and comfortable as we want but we can never blend in as naturally as the natives. Just like we can never speak English like a British and they can never speak Singlish like a Singaporean. Something will always be amiss. And if we try too hard, we forget who we really are.
Little red dot to me symbolises home, natural fit, pride (small but tough country) and ownership.
1 comment:
Hey, the little red dot is waiting for you to come back and contribute to its economy leh... heheh... so meh meh come back ya!
~ JY
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