What's culture shock to you for those who live(d) in Singapore?

[sundaymorningstaple]

I'd be very wary of wayward valk's negotiating the human flotsam & jetsam along there. Would be just like getting hit by a small truck.

self righteous hat? Come on, you know me better than that. It was pure sarcastic. Nothing more.

[Strong Eagle]

I'd be very wary of wayward valk's negotiating the human flotsam & jetsam along there. Would be just like getting hit by a small truck.

self righteous hat? Come on, you know me better than that. It was pure sarcastic. Nothing more.

OK... hats off to you! Unfortunately the jaw walkers treat my bike like a Honda Wave... at least until i honk the dual car horns on it and get a serious reaction out of them.

[QRM]

I'd be very wary of wayward valk's negotiating the human flotsam & jetsam along there. Would be just like getting hit by a small truck.

self righteous hat? Come on, you know me better than that. It was pure sarcastic. Nothing more.

OK... hats off to you! Unfortunately the jaw walkers treat my bike like a Honda Wave... at least until i honk the dual car horns on it and get a serious reaction out of them.

You will get a better reaction with these: http://trainhorns.net/

I should fit a pair in my lift, just as the doors open it blast those locals that just walk in before checking if anyone is getting off.

[renault]

I'd be very wary of wayward valk's negotiating the human flotsam & jetsam along there. Would be just like getting hit by a small truck.

self righteous hat? Come on, you know me better than that. It was pure sarcastic. Nothing more.

OK... hats off to you! Unfortunately the jaw walkers treat my bike like a Honda Wave... at least until i honk the dual car horns on it and get a serious reaction out of them.

You will get a better reaction with these: http://trainhorns.net/

I should fit a pair in my lift, just as the doors open it blast those locals that just walk in before checking if anyone is getting off.

You seem to be having big problem with local. By the way, how do u define LOCAL? just in case you are not aware, Chinese from China, Indian from India, ASEAN counterparts do live in Singapore in large number especially in the last 10 years where the real singaporean population was only estimated 2millions and has increased to about 4million including westerner counterparts.

Our street, traffic, residential area are filled up with foreigners( asian or westerner). So i hoped you can be rational when trying to categorize local. Again, you do have a choice if u cant blend into how the way and how we live here in singapore. Pack and return to your country.

By the way, let me know if it work for ur horn cos i would like fix one at my condo to blast some westerner who love to return home drunken on weekend and puke, pissing at the garden.

[QRM]

Oh another local with a HUGE chip on his shoulder. Ask the pharmacy for some cream to reduce the chip swelling, and see if they can replenish your stash of humour pills.

I define a local as someone who generally has a big lump on his shoulder, has poor situational awareness, probably caused by the large chips blocking the peripheral vision, brought up by a maid, has little or no concept of mortgages. Believes that deportation is the answer to everything and thinks its perfectly acceptable to let people work for no minimum wage and never allowed a day off. They tend to instantly jumps on the facts and figure band wagon, as they have been so genetically conditioned to never laugh about their country.

Oh and regularly beats and scolds children, maids etc.

If you want to get all technical the real Singaporeans are the Malays, which explains the national anthem?

[rattlesnake]

Personally I think the locals sometimes get a rough deal on this forum. They get picked on for pushing in (lifts and trains), shuffling, snotting and what I would consider - relatively minor quirks. Comparing this to the countries where I have lived (UK and Aus) their quirks are nothing compared to the crap behaviour I have seen from 'locals' in those countires i.e. hooning in cars, graffiti, toughguy attitudes and a general disregard for everyone but themselves. Any yes, pissing in the street and puking on the pavement. Not to mention their welfare grabbing mentalities.

From what I see, people forget about the negatives of their own people in their own country but feel it is okay to come here and nit pick the locals, regardless whether they are Singaporean, Malay, Indian or Chinese. If a local tries to defend it, they are shot down - all I say is, keep it in perspective.

[sundaymorningstaple]

The problem is a matter of perception. The countries you mention (and don't forget my homeland as well) as well as, I dare say, almost every country in the world, don't run around the world screaming "Tony! Tony! Look at me! Look at me! (borrowed from Saturday Night Fever for those of you too young to remember a trim John Travolta) We are number one in this, that and all these other things, we are better than everybody else, we are a homogeneous society, we treat our minorities fairly, yadda, yadda, yadda.......

When you run around bragging about oneself, you set yourselves as target for anybody who wants to point out all the bad traits that the government would love to be able to sweep under the carpet and hide from public view. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? We could add to the list like plagiarism run rampant as well (we won't even bother with theft of IP like software!). Like the issue with the 10 years test questions that was in the papers last week. Everybody pissing and moaning that they couldn't get their cribbing cheatsheets where they normally just memorize the answers and regurgitate them on test day.

Instead of constantly bragging about oneself, this country would be better placed letting the world brag about what it's done. When one is conceited, everybody wants to take a shot. Do you blame them?

Oh, with only 1 out of 4 as foreigners here, the odds of it being a local are still pretty good. And, in my case having lived with and among them for over a quarter of a century, I know my locals pretty well. I live in the heartlands and am an HDB 'owner' and am also a member of our grassroots organization as well. I think I can speak with some authority here as all my 26 years here have been as a adult. Your credentials here?

Insert *ducking under chair* smilie here!

[QRM]

Personally I think the locals sometimes get a rough deal on this forum.

I think you'll find 99 percent of the time its self inflicted.

They get picked on for pushing in (lifts and trains), shuffling, snotting and what I would consider - relatively minor quirks.

Couldn't agree more, it is minor but I think you are missing the point the dig is more aimed at the person saying how great he is.

Comparing this to the countries where I have lived (UK and Aus) their quirks are nothing compared to the crap behaviour I have seen from 'locals' in those countires i.e. hooning in cars, graffiti, toughguy attitudes and a general disregard for everyone but themselves. Any yes, pissing in the street and puking on the pavement. Not to mention their welfare grabbing mentalities.

I don't think anyone has said their own country is the greatest place on earth. If anything most here agree with your points about the negative side of their respective country and some of the expats are here to get away from it.

If a local tries to defend it, they are shot down - all I say is, keep it in perspective.

Nothing wrong with defending but there's a certain "diplomatic" way of doing it that "some" locals just cant seem to grasp. If I logged on a Singaporean forum and said Singaporeans are a bunch of butt heads and the UK is the center of the universe. What kind of reaction would I get? now thats putting it into perspective.

[rattlesnake]

The problem is a matter of perception. The countries you mention (and don't forget my homeland as well) as well as, I dare say, almost every country in the world, don't run around the world screaming "Tony! Tony! Look at me! Look at me! (borrowed from Saturday Night Fever for those of you too young to remember a trim John Travolta) We are number one in this, that and all these other things, we are better than everybody else, we are a homogeneous society, we treat our minorities fairly, yadda, yadda, yadda.......

When you run around bragging about oneself, you set yourselves as target for anybody who wants to point out all the bad traits that the government would love to be able to sweep under the carpet and hide from public view. You know the ones I'm talking about, right? We could add to the list like plagiarism run rampant as well (we won't even bother with theft of IP like software!). Like the issue with the 10 years test questions that was in the papers last week. Everybody pissing and moaning that they couldn't get their cribbing cheatsheets where they normally just memorize the answers and regurgitate them on test day.

Instead of constantly bragging about oneself, this country would be better placed letting the world brag about what it's done. When one is conceited, everybody wants to take a shot. Do you blame them?

Oh, with only 1 out of 4 as foreigners here, the odds of it being a local are still pretty good. And, in my case having lived with and among them for over a quarter of a century, I know my locals pretty well. I live in the heartlands and am an HDB 'owner' and am also a member of our grassroots organization as well. I think I can speak with some authority here as all my 26 years here have been as a adult. Your credentials here?

Insert *ducking under chair* smilie here!

I don't know what the ducking under a chair bit has to do with this, neither the time in position.

Using that argument we may as well all give up and agree with everything you say.

Now, my right of reply - you say you have been here 26 years. That means you have not been living in Aus or UK for 26 years. You also lump your homeland in with Aus and UK for arguments sake. I haven't lived in US so I can only comment as an outsider and occasional visitor.

The point is, Yes they do run around saying their the best at everything - but I just see that as puff. The number of times in Aus I got told by the media and the public that it was "worlds best" or "worlds most liveable" etc etc, how much better they are at this, or that, how beautiful their beaches are, how good they are at sports etc. They even have news stories when the country is mentioned on a US news channel. Now that is real small country mentality. The UK, they are generally disliked by mainland europeans - not to mention aussies because of their "superior" attitude. I am going to leave the US out of this because I think we have all seen enough during the last 10 years to make our own minds up about their supposed superiority. Yes they all do run around saying how good they are - just like the arrogant Danny Zuko in Grease - but only when Sandie is not around as he behaves quite charming then (as a "John Travolta" point of reference only )

Is this what it is all about, bring Singaporeans down a peg or two, they walk around with their chin stuck out so we take a poke at it - come on. This seems more about intolerance to me rather than anything substantive. But then again - thats only my opinion. All I am saying is, put it in perspective.

Sure, I haven't live here 26 years, but I have lived in other countries, travelled widely and seen a lot of good and bad in almost all people (eskimos and goblins excluded). I think I am still qualified to speak objectively about what I see and perceive.

Does this mean I now need to duck?

[renault]

Oh another local with a HUGE chip on his shoulder. Ask the pharmacy for some cream to reduce the chip swelling, and see if they can replenish your stash of humour pills.

I define a local as someone who generally has a big lump on his shoulder, has poor situational awareness, probably caused by the large chips blocking the periperal vision, brought up by a maid, has little or no concept of mortgages. Believes that deportation is the answer to everything and thinks its perfectly acceptable to let people work for no minimum wage and never allowed a day off. They tend to instantly jumps on the facts and figure band wagon, as they have been so genetically conditioned to never laugh about their country .

Regulary beats children etc.

If you want to get all technical the real Singaporeans are the Malays, which explains the national anthem?

Hey QRM, from your replied, you are ignorance about singapore history and dont think u have a right to make such comment. Read today straits time and u will learn about my history in singapore.

I really think u are not welcome to this country. U can try that at speaker corner and jolly prepare to get smack with banana skin onto ur face.

I would recommend u as a foreigner be contented of having a job here and if you are still not happy.Then get packed up and return to ur country.
You are such a disgrace to the expat here .

[QRM]

Hey QRM, from your replied, you are ignorance about singapore history and dont think u have a right to make such comment. Read today straits time and u will learn about my history in singapore.

I really think u are not welcome to this country. U can try that at speaker corner and jolly prepare to get smack with banana skin onto ur face.

I would recommend u as a foreigner be contented of having a job here and if you are still not happy.Then get packed up and return to ur country.
You are such a disgrace to the expat here .

Well who said I was not happy here ? In fact I am very happy here. I am a foreigner but I do not work here, but your Govt has written a nice letter asking if we want to be PR. I like the place so much I just might take up the offer.

As to why read the local paper for the history of Singapore? you mean you rely on news papers for history?:shock: Correct me if I am wrong, the paper is totally controlled by the Govt?

Its probably thanks to the views of the expats you actually have a speakers corner now, and people are allowed to throw banana skins I suspect the thrower will be fined though for littering


So tell me why do you want an expat to go to speakers corner for you? Is there anything about Singapore you dont like? and would you have the balls to go to speakers corners to raise the issues?

And when you say about MY history, its actually OUR history follow the words of Singapore National Anthem I know its in Malay heres a translation for you.

"Let us, the people of Singapore, together march forward towards happiness."

Dont forget the "people of Singapore" means everyone here, you, me, the Indonesian maid, the Bangladeshi street sweeper, and the "real" Singaporeans ie the indigenous Malay, we have all in our own little ways through out history made Singapore what it is today.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Is this what it is all about, bring Singaporeans down a peg or two, they walk around with their chin stuck out so we take a poke at it - come on. This seems more about intolerance to me rather than anything substantive. But then again - thats only my opinion. All I am saying is, put it in perspective.

Actually, it's not what it's all about, but you are getting close. If they walked around with their chins stuck out, they have reasons to as their government has accomplished a lot. Or should I say LKY has. Nothing really wrong with that. Unfortunately, there is where the problems come in. If they would learn some humility and graciousness to go with their accomplishments then, and only then, would they get the respectability they so desperately want.

Sure, I haven't live here 26 years, but I have lived in other countries, travelled widely and seen a lot of good and bad in almost all people (eskimos and goblins excluded). I think I am still qualified to speak objectively about what I see and perceive.

Other countries, especially other Asian Countries should have already shown you that that argument is possibly flawed. No other Asian country has quite this attitude. Yeah, the Japanese are insular but that is cultural where all are outsiders - and their politeness is legendary - even if it's only for show/protocol. Possibly part of Singapore's problem comes from their constant trying to straddle themselves on the fence between the east & west trying to be the be-all for any & everything. I personally think it's more about being treated by the government as depreciable assets that is having it's effect on the local population. It's left the local population at loose ends and they no longer have a rudder. That tension may well be what causes them to have a constant chip on their shoulders. I don't know, but it's there and it's real. It's not perception. And it was here in both good times and bad. The government knows it but try as they might, it's the one thing they don't seem to have a answer for.

Does this mean I now need to duck?

No, that smilie was for me to duck the flames.

[renault]

Hey QRM, from your replied, you are ignorance about singapore history and dont think u have a right to make such comment. Read today straits time and u will learn about my history in singapore.

I really think u are not welcome to this country. U can try that at speaker corner and jolly prepare to get smack with banana skin onto ur face.

I would recommend u as a foreigner be contented of having a job here and if you are still not happy.Then get packed up and return to ur country.
You are such a disgrace to the expat here .

Well who said I was not happy here ? In fact I am very happy here. I am a foreigner but I do not work here, but your Govt has written a nice letter asking if we want to be PR. I like the place so much I just might take up the offer.

As to why read the local paper for the history of Singapore? you mean you rely on news papers for history?:shock: Correct me if I am wrong, the paper is totally controlled by the Govt?

Its probably thanks to the views of the expats you actually have a speakers corner now, and people are allowed to throw banana skins I suspect the thrower will be fined though for littering


So tell me why do you want an expat to go to speakers corner for you? Is there anything about Singapore you dont like? and would you have the balls to go to speakers corners to raise the issues?

And when you say about MY history, its actually OUR history follow the words of Singapore National Anthem I know its in Malay heres a translation for you.

"Let us, the people of Singapore, together march forward towards happiness."

Dont forget the "people of Singapore" means everyone here, you, me, the Indonesian maid, the Bangladeshi street sweeper, through out history we are all expats that has made Singapore what it is today.

Why contradict urelf here. If u have so much complaints about singapore, y do u like this place so much and considering taking up the offer or is ur native country so bad that u wanted to leave in the first place.

U are crap to say that all expat has made singapore what it is today. I think it the other way round else why would you even want to consider becoming a PR. Guess you have not read the paper again. It doesnt matter whether it is govt controlled cos u can do ur study elsewhere and they will tell u the same history of singapore. But to answer ur stupid and shadow question, the paper can give u a quick overview.

i'm born and bred here and too bad me and my forefather have no issue with my country.
But u seem to have too many crappy complaints here and thats y i'm recommending u to bring ur ball for a corner kick.

National Anthem is for citizen, i welcome u to sing along if u decide to take up citizenship in the near future.

[rattlesnake]

SMS- I am sorry, but this seems to say more about you and your attitudes than anything else. I honestly don't think the Singaporeans are any more or less gracious than Americans, Aussies or the British. It's just we're living here and see it from a different perspective. I am sure a Singaporean, living in the US would be annoyed by all the over the top pomp and chest pumping that goes on everytime they open a new burger restaurant, release a new Oprah diet or when one of their baseball (insert gridiron or basketball) teams is crowned world champions yet again.

Actually, to be brutally honest, judging by the state of the economy across the western world, which countries like the US have inflicted upon us, Singaporeans have probably every right to be smug. Life's too short to worry about it though .......... in my opinion.

[taxico]

for a variety of reasons, and i say this without years of experience from being around this forum, there seems to be a lot of bickering between participants lately.

I am amazed how often the race question comes up. You go to the doctors, they take down which race you are. What is the point in that? I am human like any Chinese, Indian or Malay, how about that for my race - human.

this race thing is usually used by government departments for statistical purposes... i presume they find it useful for tracking and plotting.

race is taken pretty seriously by the PAP, and there's some interesting journal articles coming out of NUS...

try Chua Beng Huat's "political culturalism, representation & the pap of singapore."

anyway... i don't like american "low-flo" toilets. it's crap. literally. heh...!