Sunday, July 17, 2005
Leaving on a jet plane
It’s been 10 eventful weeks and this internship is finally coming to an end. I’ve met some fantastic people, played with great musicians and been to really nice places (and the not so nice). Somewhere in between that I managed to learn some stuff about mechanical engineering as well. I’m heading back home with a whole bag of new experiences and memories in my head, and it’s going to be one more year of school before embarking on yet another phase of life. This internship has been a good introduction to life as a working bachelor, and living alone in a foreign land isn’t that hard to get used to as long as you’re willing to step out of the comfort zone and explore. Of course, it helps that almost everyone here is pretty friendly and speaks English.
Some of the locals did ask me if I was considering moving here. Well, it’s a really great place and I can probably live and work here for a while, but I think deep down inside there’s still a part of me that’s not detachable from Singapore. It isn’t so much of a mushy or nostalgic reason, but more the rationale that at least in Singapore I’m known as a Singaporean. Make sense?
Maybe this will clear it up. Occasionally, I find that some people will assume I fit the Asian immigrant/student stereotype, but spending time with colleagues from China and Vietnam has convinced me that there’s no way I can really fit into that mold. In a sense, coming from an English-speaking background, having an English education and exposure to American culture (music, TV shows, movies, literature etc) makes me more “Americanised” than the average Asian in America (we’ll leave American-born Chinese out of this), but my external appearance gives rise to certain assumptions about me. It doesn’t help that most of the places I went to didn’t seem to have many Asians.
Confusing? Basically, I don’t feel any closer to either the American or Asian way of life here. Both sides are familiar yet foreign. Somehow the concept of a Chinese guy who speaks better English than Chinese and prefers American music is not a common phenomenon here.
Of course, the Americans I met have been wonderful, did their best to make me feel at home and never gave me any feelings of exclusion. There was never an issue of racism or hate, just some minor social perceptions that needed to be clarified along the way. I’m sure with time I could probably fit in pretty well, but in all probability it would never be a perfect fit.
Since we’re on that, here are some aspects of American life that I’ve picked up on and would like to bring up.
1) Redneck humour
Watching lots of Comedy Central on cable (I don’t usually watch much TV back home), I observed that every racial/minority group has someone making fun of them, usually one of their own. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Caucasian are all fair game, even in these times of zealous political-correctness witch-hunts. If you maintain an open mind and appreciate most kinds of humour, it can be pretty damned funny and in a way, exaggerating these stereotypes brings them out in the open where people can recognize them for what they are : laughable.
One particular show I liked was Blue Collar TV, devoted entirely to low-brow redneck humour. All the time-tested stereotypes of Southern white Americans are milked dry for tons of laughs by these 3 white guys who claim great redneck pedigree (the closest Singapore equivalent I can think of is Ah-Beng). It’s a fine example of how everyone can benefit from lightening up and not taking yourself so seriously.
2) Social interactions
Many times, strangers from all walks of life started conversations with me in all circumstances; waiting in line, sitting at the bar, browsing guitar stores etc and this is a refreshing change from the typical Singaporean thing, where people can live next to each other for years without knowing one another. Starting conversations with people you don’t know is likely to be met with suspicion, even though we live on such a tiny island. Oftentimes, these conversations with Americans were enjoyable and offered great insight into how they live their lives.
3) Opinions
The individual right to opinion is highly valued here, and it is entirely possible for 2 directly contradicting opinions to be debated without getting personal. This is also something I admire and wish were more commonplace back home, where disagreeing with someone’s opinion is sometimes construed as being against him or her as a person, or even worse, against a whole interest group. Petulant and subjective arguments are things that I see more often in Singapore than I’d like to, even at the highest rungs of society. The underlying mutual respect in most discussions here in America is something to learn from. Of course there’s always a minority of bigots, but the general trend here is to value the freedom of opinion and speech.
To end off this final post before I disconnect my Internet connection, here’s some of the stuff that I’ll miss:
1) Being able to go catch big names in blues within a 45 min driving distance
2) Having the choice of going to blues jams almost every night of the week
3) Big blues festivals
4) Trying out the less common American cuisines
5) Long, scenic drives through the desert, countryside or along the coast
6) Sunshine with cool breeze and not sweating at all
7) Beautiful beaches that make Sentosa look like a playground sand pit
8) Huge selection of great craft beers
9) Less expensive Scotch whisky (compared to Singapore)
10) The freedom to do anything and go anywhere on a whim
11) Not having my cell phone ring and beep all the time for various silly reasons
12) Appreciating the female form of various ethnicities
All right, now for the stuff I won’t miss:
1) Freezing cold mornings
2) Lousy Chinese food
3) Trying to find yet another way to cook the same stuff in my fridge
4) LA traffic – LA residents will know what I mean
5) LA driving – for the most part, fellow drivers were alright but I’ve had too many close shaves with maniacs trying to penetrate the space-time continuum on a crowded highway
6) Having people ask me if Singapore is part of China
7) That damned car whose alarm always goes off in the middle of the night in my neighborhood
8) My thin-walled plywood/chipboard apartment that shakes like an earthquake every time someone jumps in the corridor
Another thing I’d like to do is mention some of the great musicians who’ve been extremely generous with their music and in letting me share the stage with them.
Robert Lucas
The Mama’s Boys
2000 lbs of Blues with Junior Watson
Joey’s Blues Band
Other musicians I’ve had the honour of meeting are:
Nathan James
James Harman
Bernie Pearl and Dwayne Smith
Special mention goes out to “Mama” Laura, owner of Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn and Eric Wagoner of Iva Lee’s.
For every band or name mentioned here there are many other regular guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at jams and gigs, all of them great musicians or music lovers on top of being really friendly people. If I ever hit LA again, I know there’ll be some familiar faces in the crowd.
Thus ends the Great American Odyssey.
I wonder what in-flight movies they’ll be showing on the way home.
Some of the locals did ask me if I was considering moving here. Well, it’s a really great place and I can probably live and work here for a while, but I think deep down inside there’s still a part of me that’s not detachable from Singapore. It isn’t so much of a mushy or nostalgic reason, but more the rationale that at least in Singapore I’m known as a Singaporean. Make sense?
Maybe this will clear it up. Occasionally, I find that some people will assume I fit the Asian immigrant/student stereotype, but spending time with colleagues from China and Vietnam has convinced me that there’s no way I can really fit into that mold. In a sense, coming from an English-speaking background, having an English education and exposure to American culture (music, TV shows, movies, literature etc) makes me more “Americanised” than the average Asian in America (we’ll leave American-born Chinese out of this), but my external appearance gives rise to certain assumptions about me. It doesn’t help that most of the places I went to didn’t seem to have many Asians.
Confusing? Basically, I don’t feel any closer to either the American or Asian way of life here. Both sides are familiar yet foreign. Somehow the concept of a Chinese guy who speaks better English than Chinese and prefers American music is not a common phenomenon here.
Of course, the Americans I met have been wonderful, did their best to make me feel at home and never gave me any feelings of exclusion. There was never an issue of racism or hate, just some minor social perceptions that needed to be clarified along the way. I’m sure with time I could probably fit in pretty well, but in all probability it would never be a perfect fit.
Since we’re on that, here are some aspects of American life that I’ve picked up on and would like to bring up.
1) Redneck humour
Watching lots of Comedy Central on cable (I don’t usually watch much TV back home), I observed that every racial/minority group has someone making fun of them, usually one of their own. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Caucasian are all fair game, even in these times of zealous political-correctness witch-hunts. If you maintain an open mind and appreciate most kinds of humour, it can be pretty damned funny and in a way, exaggerating these stereotypes brings them out in the open where people can recognize them for what they are : laughable.
One particular show I liked was Blue Collar TV, devoted entirely to low-brow redneck humour. All the time-tested stereotypes of Southern white Americans are milked dry for tons of laughs by these 3 white guys who claim great redneck pedigree (the closest Singapore equivalent I can think of is Ah-Beng). It’s a fine example of how everyone can benefit from lightening up and not taking yourself so seriously.
2) Social interactions
Many times, strangers from all walks of life started conversations with me in all circumstances; waiting in line, sitting at the bar, browsing guitar stores etc and this is a refreshing change from the typical Singaporean thing, where people can live next to each other for years without knowing one another. Starting conversations with people you don’t know is likely to be met with suspicion, even though we live on such a tiny island. Oftentimes, these conversations with Americans were enjoyable and offered great insight into how they live their lives.
3) Opinions
The individual right to opinion is highly valued here, and it is entirely possible for 2 directly contradicting opinions to be debated without getting personal. This is also something I admire and wish were more commonplace back home, where disagreeing with someone’s opinion is sometimes construed as being against him or her as a person, or even worse, against a whole interest group. Petulant and subjective arguments are things that I see more often in Singapore than I’d like to, even at the highest rungs of society. The underlying mutual respect in most discussions here in America is something to learn from. Of course there’s always a minority of bigots, but the general trend here is to value the freedom of opinion and speech.
To end off this final post before I disconnect my Internet connection, here’s some of the stuff that I’ll miss:
1) Being able to go catch big names in blues within a 45 min driving distance
2) Having the choice of going to blues jams almost every night of the week
3) Big blues festivals
4) Trying out the less common American cuisines
5) Long, scenic drives through the desert, countryside or along the coast
6) Sunshine with cool breeze and not sweating at all
7) Beautiful beaches that make Sentosa look like a playground sand pit
8) Huge selection of great craft beers
9) Less expensive Scotch whisky (compared to Singapore)
10) The freedom to do anything and go anywhere on a whim
11) Not having my cell phone ring and beep all the time for various silly reasons
12) Appreciating the female form of various ethnicities
All right, now for the stuff I won’t miss:
1) Freezing cold mornings
2) Lousy Chinese food
3) Trying to find yet another way to cook the same stuff in my fridge
4) LA traffic – LA residents will know what I mean
5) LA driving – for the most part, fellow drivers were alright but I’ve had too many close shaves with maniacs trying to penetrate the space-time continuum on a crowded highway
6) Having people ask me if Singapore is part of China
7) That damned car whose alarm always goes off in the middle of the night in my neighborhood
8) My thin-walled plywood/chipboard apartment that shakes like an earthquake every time someone jumps in the corridor
Another thing I’d like to do is mention some of the great musicians who’ve been extremely generous with their music and in letting me share the stage with them.
Robert Lucas
The Mama’s Boys
2000 lbs of Blues with Junior Watson
Joey’s Blues Band
Other musicians I’ve had the honour of meeting are:
Nathan James
James Harman
Bernie Pearl and Dwayne Smith
Special mention goes out to “Mama” Laura, owner of Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn and Eric Wagoner of Iva Lee’s.
For every band or name mentioned here there are many other regular guys I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at jams and gigs, all of them great musicians or music lovers on top of being really friendly people. If I ever hit LA again, I know there’ll be some familiar faces in the crowd.
Thus ends the Great American Odyssey.
I wonder what in-flight movies they’ll be showing on the way home.
# posted by BloozeGit @ 1:31 am 
