Globalisation

What is the Singaporean identity? I wonder.

I ate lunch with a couple of my colleagues today. 1 Indonesian Chinese, 1 Hongkonger and 2 Chinese. The Chinese are very passionate about their country, politics...and what have you. One of them picked up English only in University or something and although he doesn't speak English very well, his command of the language is quite commendable. The Chinese accent is there, a strange Chinese mixed Western accent. Sometimes I don't understand what he is saying but his foundation in grammar (+ sentence structure) is quite strong. Anyway I had a taste of what Chinese patriotism is like today. He remarked: If China didn't make so many mistakes (in their administration of the country) along the way in the way, there would be no Asian 4 Tigers (Singapore's one of the Tigers) or even Japan. It may come across as arrogant but he is very right. Thank goodness there are no "ifs" in history. Singapore's survival (and subsequent growth) as a nation was really a miracle, imo. We had like nothing then. Human resource? Yeah. Well, China already had like dunno how many times more people than us during that time. If China had opened its market then, Singapore probably had no chance to survive.

We are really blessed to have Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) as our prime minister during our developing years. I'm not a pro-govt person (nor am I pro-opposition) but I cannot deny that LKY is a visionary leader and made many wise choices in the development of our nation.

Don't you feel like there is a serious identity crisis in Singaporeans these days? When I'm with the Chinese, I don't feel particularly "chinese" and when I am with the Ang-mohs, I don't feel particularly "westernised". I feel most at ease with fellow Singaporeans but there seem to be fewer and fewer of us. Everywhere we turn, there is a foreigner, a PR, a permit worker not far from us. What makes me Singaporean? I really don't know. The local food? Okay lo. I'm not a particularly foodie person. My roots? I can't speak my dialect and have no idea which part of China my ancestors came from. Singlish? Maybe...but is that sufficient to build a national identity?

One very interesting question I noted. My colleagues asked, "So how many languages do you speak?" and they expect an answer of at least 3 languages. Is being trilingual a given now?? It's so bloody competitive everywhere these days. My colleagues can all speak at least 3 language btw. Yes, even the older Singaporeans. They know dialect!

Hongkonger knows Cantonese, Chinese & English. Indonesian Chinese knows Indonesian, Chinese and English. Chinese knows Chinese, English and whatever dialect from whichever province they come from. I know Chinese, English & a little Japanese (thank goodness I am picking up a new language!). It's kinda silly learning Japanese 'cos the Japanese economy is gloomy and with their ageing and homogeneous population, the future of their economy is quite bleak; but I'm learning out of interest lah. Other than Japanese, another language I'd love to learn is Cantonese.

There are still some interesting points to talk about with the Chinese 'cos I frequent Baidu's tieba and know some of their forum lingo. Do Singaporeans my age frequent Baidu? I don't think so. Many Singaporeans still think the Chinese as "low class". Well, the Chinese are rising up to be a very formidable power so if we think knowing English makes us superior and more "high class" then we are very wrong. The Chinese are very determined and it's scary. It's scares me at least. I was just sharing my worries about the future with my mum and my mum just said, "You have God." Yeah, I have God. :)

They also discussed about how materialistic the girls are in HK. Apparently all the working ladies in HK have to have branded goods and wear branded labels. Even the scarves they use have to be Burberry. They asked me if Singaporean girls are like that too. HAHAH. How I know. Maybe. I don't really socialise enough to know how other Singaporean girls think about branded goods or whether it has become a social pressure to use branded stuff. There is definitely more materialistic behaviour as we are becoming used to instant gratification but the people I hang out with are still quite down-to-earth. Yes, some of the richer ones buy branded stuff but I don't think they are slaves to their bags and clothes. I see nothing wrong with buying branded items when you have the extra cash.

Interesting lunch. It's always interesting hearing others' perspective on issues. See, I'm taking the initiative to ask people to lunch with now. I need to train up my interpersonal skills. The weaker I am in that area, the more I have to practise! The worst that can happen is to be labelled as a lame shit, annoying crap, or weirdo. Haha. If you can get past that, you can hold a conversation with anyone. Fortunately, those nasty labelling don't happen very often.

Okay, signing off here for now! I don't know what my future will be like but it will be bright! Must claim God's promise. Yes yes. It's the only way to keep moving on.

Bye bye.

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