Friday, May 20, 2005
home sweet home...?
hey guys, as u can tell...im back from taiwan. Sorry about not posting my tw number up...i totally forgot :P lousy excuse but that's the real truth.
Anyhow..taiwan is a great place to visit...the people are so nice...and not at all as scary and dangerous as some make it out to be.
Perhaps because i was so overwhelmed by the hospitality and graciousness of the taiwanese people that me and my friend had a
minor disagreement. She felt that i was attacking her nation (there you go,
Lee Kuan Yew, a patrotic Singaporean for you!! Says who they don't exist??) whereas i felt i was merely stating a fact. Perhaps it was the Taiwanese civility that truly impressed me...and when compared with Singaporeans, made
me feel
truly ugly.
Okay. Those of you who are
true patriots should STOP reading here.
**Btw, im not saying Taiwan is better than Singapore. As pointedly pointed out by my friend, every country has its own forte. Taiwan also has it's own dogshit to clear. **
Now.K, you've been sufficiently warned.
Of course, im
not saying
all Singaporeans are ugly..But hey, you gotta admit...Singaporeans aren't
generally known to be gracious.
Kiasu and kiasi would really be better descriptions. And many a time, our attitudes are really very much less than desirable.
We call ourselves a developed nation...but in my humble opinion, we seriously lack the civility that defines a nation as 1st world.I'm not saying Singapore isn't a great country (Now, please...don't start ranting on Malaysia. I'll get to that part by myself, thank you.)...
it is. I love the fact that it's clean, and orderly and efficient. What i
don't like is that because Singapore is great, her people seem to think, by association, that they are a class above the rest as compared to other nations in Asia. I just feel that because of our economic standing, Singaporeans think they are more "cultured" and on-par with other developed nations.
Oh really? I don't really think so. Maybe a little better, but definitely not light years ahead.
For example, say you were queuing at a supermarket. Suddenly, the counter next to urs opens. Being 3rd in line, would you offer the person in front of you to go first to the next counter or would u quickly zip across and pay up? I think the latter. What happened to graciousness?
As i was telling my friend,
it's all in our culture. It's the "Me First" culture that really grates on my nerves.
Okay. Not all Singaporean's are snobby and ungracious. There are some nice ones around...But certainly, i've met my fair share of the uglies. *blleeech* Complain, complain, and complain. Bah. Toilet dirty lah...food cold lah...quality not up to standard lah...want to be first in everything...everything must be the best.Argh.
Please, someone put me out my misery.
Anyway, i wouldn't say that i am proud to be Singaporean (haha..im half-half anyway.) but im not ashamed to be identified as one either. I just think Singaporeans should be able to laugh at themselves and admit that they are somewhat uptight and standoffish if someone tells them so. It's not as if the statement is a complete mistruth. I really do think we are.
I'm not saying that i'm a model Singaporean. I'm not. But i can admit to my (can i call Singapore mine?) nation's flaws without getting really offended...I think i can at least do that.
In my opinion, it is only when we are able to see our own flaws that we can truly embrace the democracy and liberty we so desire.
XxX,
audrey at 15:05