Strange but true

[Realist]

I have been reading with interest the posts that have been appearing on this message board over the past couple of months. I have listed below a number of things, one of which I have actually seen happen. I will leave you, the readers of these posts, to determine which one it is. The rest should be viewed as things that contribute to the challenge of living in Asia in general and Singapore in particular.

Hopefully the board manager won't feel the need to edit this (or delete it this time).

A conversation being conducted in Cantonese at less than 160 decibels
An expat who admitted to being here for the money rather then babbling on about ¡¥the cultural experience¡¦
A taxi driver who didn¡¦t have his vehicle straddling the lane dividers painted on the road
A bus that stopped at a bus-stop during peak period that still had room for more passengers to board
A pick-up truck without a dozen construction workers in the back
A Singaporean child travelling in a car who was properly restrained in a child seat
A taxi that didn¡¦t have his ¡¥on call¡¦ sign displayed in his windscreen at 7pm in the city
A fast food restaurant that didn¡¦t have a crippled 110 year-old employee clearing tables
Someone holding a door open for the person following behind them
An orderly queue at a bus stop
Professional newsreaders on TCS5
People being allowed off of an elevator before other people try and get on
Someone giving way to another car pulling into traffic
A Singaporean chewing their food with their mouth closed
Someone using a public convenience and not feeling the need the deposit the mucus snorted from the back of their throats into one of the sinks
A local who realised that the reason the multi-national company they work for brings expats to Singapore is because the expat brings lateral thought to the decision making process, lateral thought not being a government policy and so not taught in the learning-by-rote school system, therefore not present in the local skill-set
A Singaporean who could parallel park their large German sedan
A clothing store that lets you try on sale items before you buy them
Someone riding a motorcycle that was properly attired and not wearing a wind-cheater back to front
A Singaporean family that could go shopping without taking every member of their five generation family with them
A TV channel that thought showing graphically violent movies at 7.30pm was a bad thing
An local who realised that the reason they work long hours is because they are inefficient
A Singaporean family who give their maid the day off on a Sunday
A handy-man who arrives at the appointed time
A Singaporean acknowledging that Singapore¡¦s public transportation, whilst cheap, is not particularly good
A shop in a shopping mall that opened before lunchtime
An Asian office worker who arrived at work before 9am
A Singaporean who could walk along without having a mobile phone pressed against their ear
Good lane discipline on the road
A car indicating that it is going to turn left and actually turning left

[Ralph Donnelly]

Wow, you are going to get some hate mail!!!

How about

A maid being told not to wash the car one morning cuz it is, has, or is going to rain

A local who didnt stop at the bottom/top of the escalator to decide where they were going.

An expat who loves local food at their club.

[bad taste]

Realist,
This is pub bragging, does not belong here, and I might even think, it does not belong in a decent pub. If you are an expat, go home and get a life.
(expat)

[Laugh a day keeps...]

Come on people!

Same kind of lists can be written about any country. If someone being expatriate (or even anyone local) in my own home country wrote such a funny list of things "typical" to us "natives", I would just enjoy reading it and have a good laugh. Probably I could even find some things which I could relate to...

[bad taste]

Laugh a day keeps....

I cannot agree more with your handle. I am Dutch and as we speak, I am reading the book The UnDutchables by Colin White and Laurie Boucke. It is very funny, written by Americans and is an observation of The Netherlands, its culture and its inhabitants. Very funny indeed and gives me good laughs.

The problem I have with this particular post, is that is is provocative and will unleash a perpetual and un-ending discussion on this message board.
You must also realise that we as expats are guest in an Asian country and that we already have a challenge working on our poor image of being arrogant and provocative.

I don't think we need a fellow expat bragging on a board like this to further demolish our already poor image.
Before coming to Singapore, I lived 5 years in Malaysia and I am absolutely delighted to be living in a country now, where foreigners are not bashed daily in the media.

Let's not unneccesarely provoke because we think it is funny.
That's all I want to say.
Rgds

[Sue C]

I thought they were pretty funny.....and agree that most people would find a similar list about their home country funny.  I know I would.

I enjoy the perpetual discussions on the message board, gives me a laugh....it is possible that I have a very poor sense of humour though.

See you all tonight!....if anyone is still talking to me.

[This message has been edited by BoardManager (edited 24-11-2000).]

[Funny]

I think it's hilarious - come on everyone lighten up!!

[evehow]

As a Singaporean (the target of many of the jibes in the first post), I do not find the list amusing at all.  Sorry, if humour is intended I do not see it.  What I see is an attempt to picture Singaporeans as a bunch of uneducated and uncivilised boors who can't park their cars.

Those who think Singaporeans are like that need to get out and mix with the locals more.

[interloper]

I can see both points of view - the good the bad and the ugly (that's 3!).

Everyone is entitled to an opinion - and this is Realist's one. Respect must go to U Mr BM for keeping this post up........I know that u were tempted to glean this off the board.

As for the "observations" - to my viewpoint; some r very "on the Mark". Some bring a smile to my face and others just stand out from the crowd.

Now - if we can repeat the dose perhaps to another culture/country like my home - Oz, we can find some bewildering things there that are "homely" 4 me but perplex others.

I could ramble on for ages - but won't! Have a fabulous wkend folks.

Perhaps Realist you could write an ex-pat book re: S'pore. Need an editor?

[Spot On!]

These observations are very amusing!!! Maybe the Singaporeans who are offended should make a list about how we expat's appear - I think it would be hilarious to see it from the other side!  If not then maybe this is not the forum for them to use - after all it is called *expatsingapore*

[Pomp]

Most of it can be funny I suppose but I take particular exception to one.

If you say that we work long hours because we're inefficient, is that the same as saying you are efficient because you hardly work ?  So the efficient people in your country all collect unemployment benefits ?

[SueW]

What about the benefits of being an expat in this country?

If we could earn this sort of money at home we would be there
The streets are clean, the buses and MRT are clean, at home the bus stations stink of urine
There is low crime.  I feel very safe walking the streets by myself at night
Public transport is cheap and (I beg to disagree with previous posts) efficient
Taxis are cheap and I have never had any trouble communicating where I want to go, or getting there
The weather is summer all year round.  If we all had pools at home, I bet most of us couldn't use them every day of the year

Need I go on?  There is good and bad about every country in the world.  I reiterate with the others, if you don't like it, go home!

[This message has been edited by SueW (edited 24-11-2000).]

[This message has been edited by SueW (edited 24-11-2000).]

[Paul N]

Do you think any Singaporeans would be defending America were a list like this posted for the USA.  I have my doubts.

The first part of self-confidence is the ability to laugh at yourself.  If you can't admit you are human and full of weird idiosyncracies, you can never truly be confident in your ability to accel in spite of your shortcomings.  As a whole, there are a lot of people on this tiny speck in the universe that need to quit taking themselves seriously.  No one cares if you think you are infallable, as we all know better.

Laugh at yourself and the world will laugh with you...take yourself seriously and the world will laugh at you.  I have spoken!  

[Judy]

Realist....I think I agree with almost everything you have said, and in fact laugh at my self for agreeing. There are at times when I have to just get out of here to remain "sane".
I return to Oz and think, wow aren't we so good...polite, courteous, helpful, etc.....then I come back here and then I begin to realize, wow....low taxes, everything works, no homeless people, warm every day of the year...the list goes on....

Having said that, Realist, if you and I ever caught up, I reckon we would be have lots in common to talk about.......

Just to finish off, a lady fainted at Parkway  Parade on Tuesday, and not one local stopped to offer help....just kept walking by......yours truly did the right thing....at  home in Oz, for all our faults, the situation would be different.....

Long hours working? Pomp? Spend some more time working in the real world.....and before you respond, ask yourself about decision making???

I asked a girl to spend 3 weeks on getting quotes for modems for our office.....at the end of that 3 weeks I asked her for her personal opinion.....what do you think my answer was?

Judy  

[Smarty]

I spent several years working in Australia. If you think the locals don't work hard or that they are not creative and are not able to handle your sort of decisions on quotes on modems, then let me ask you what the Australian standards are. Care to answer me?
a) No worries, mate. We will do it tomorrow.
b) Tomorrow : there will be another tomorrow!
c) Monday is spent recovering from the weekend.
d) Thursday is to get ready for Friday.
e) Friday - there is no work on any Friday!

So, look at your own tribe before jumping on others. The point is, there will always be the black sheep, the clowns, and the ordinary. But this is surely not all there is or that all you have seen.