Until Next Time...The Finale of Singapore

I never realize how much time has gone by until I read my blog. It's been awhile since I've written anything but so much has transpired. As of today, August 7th, I only have 10 days left in Southeast Asia! This is astonishing for me to believe because 7 weeks have gone by so fast. Although, I am anxiously waiting to get back to the States and back to my confront zone and life. Oh yeah...and to also see my Black people! (Will talk more about this later). In a nutshell, since living here in Singapore, I've worked at a magazine company called MillionaireAsia, lived with a Malay Muslim host family, embarrassed myself multiple times, learned how to navigate Singapore via MRT train station, went to an exclusive Porsche event and learned various other small tidbits like Singlish (Singapore English slang). I will discuss my experience while being here and information for anyone visiting Singapore. Last, I will share a VERY embarrassing story that my family has been impatiently waiting for me to post so people worldwide can laugh and judge me. So here it goes...

Things to know about Singapore...

The Food

The food in Singapore is amazing. When I first arrived in Singapore, I asked my host mother not to cook any American food since I wanted to be immersed in the culture. To this day, she still hasn't prepared an American dish. This is not to say, I haven't eaten at American restaurants. A couple weeks ago, I broke down and ate at Pizza Hut and KFC. Which is also good and at Pizza Hut, they treat it like a 4-star restaurant; you have to wait to be seated and you also have a waiter. I've also had Wendy's for lunch a few weeks ago, which my embarrassing story stems from. However, I would recommend traveler's to divert away from American restaurants simply because it can be expensive and when visiting a new place and culture, it is best to try the local food; if it doesn't cause harm to the digestive system. The food is a wide variety of Asian dishes; mostly I've eaten Malay, Indian, and Chinese cuisines. Besides the food I eat at my host parents' home, the food I do buy is very cheap. When I say cheap, the price range is between SGD $3-8. Of course the price for food can be more depending on the location and restaurant. My favorite dish is Chicken Curry Mee (mee meaning noodles) and it cost 3 dollars! It's a very spicy dish. Mainly anything prepared here is going to be spicy, which I love. Last week, I went to this Thai restaurant with some co-workers (meal came to 6 dollars with a coke) and had seafood mee soup. I added some extra jalapeno and chili peppers to the soup, and while I was chewing (and talking) I bit into a chili pepper and it literally took my breath away. I couldn't speak for 5 minutes. My coworker had to ask for a glass of ice water because I couldn't raise my voice above a whisper. It felt all hot and tingling throughout my body and when the ordeal was finally over, I felt completely drained. Upon arriving back to the office, all I wanted to do was take a nap. All in all, the food is great here and that is the number 1 thing I will miss about Singapore. 

Malays are Muslim

I'm not sure I mentioned this before in my blog but I live with a Malay Muslim host couple. They are roughly in their 60s and I believe they are the funniest people to be around. They can really keep up with the younger generation. Upon my arrival in Singapore on July 8th, tired and jet-lag, my host parents picked me up from the airport, gave me an hour to unpack, and off we went visiting Singapore and family. We did not get back to their apartment until 12 or so and I was beat! Especially since I had to start my internship the next morning. I have many more examples to prove how energetic they are. 

Often times I get asked from my host parents or from their family, "how do my parents and family feel about me staying with a Muslim family?" My reply is always the same, "I was raised to be open and respect other religion and beliefs. Honestly, my parents don't care and we really never discussed this aspect in great detail." I'm grateful to have parents who care more about the kind of person someone is rather than what religion he/she belongs to. Staying with a Muslim family was actually a fleeting thought and they taught me so much, which was the purpose of this trip. 

While visiting some of pa's (I call my host parents Ma and Pa) extended family in Seremban, Malaysia, I also learned some Malay: 

Apa Kabar (How are you)

Kabar Baik (I'm good/fine)

Terima Kasih (Thank-you)

Maken (Eat)

Minum (Drink)

These are just a few words I've learned. 

Since I've been living here, I also started to read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. I've actually had this book for awhile but being in grad school has prevented me from reading for enjoyment. I now appreciate the wait and believe this happened for a reason. What better way to read about Malcolm X than to live with a Muslim family and ask all the questions needed about the religion and culture? Like Malcolm X discovered later in his life, some of the initial teachings he believed were false. While reading the book, I've been asking Ma some questions about things referring to Islam or The Nation of Islam (which are two VERY different components) and she was getting very upset. "This is all false," she would say flailing her hands. "I never heard of Wallace D. Fard or Yoruba Proverb, have you," she would ask me and I would just tell her I'm just reading the book to learn more about Malcolm X. But I did tell her that once Malcolm X was barred from The Nation of Islam and began his journey to Mecca and met other Muslims, his philosophy did change. This calmed her down and I encourage her to read the book after I'm done. Like me, Ma is an avid reader and is excited to learn more about Malcolm X. I just hope she doesn't get too upset and tear my book apart before she reach the end.

This month is also Ramadan-the fasting period for Muslims and it ends tonight! Tomorrow is a national holiday-The Celebration of Eid. My host parents bought me traditional Muslim clothing to wear on this day that includes a jilbab (head covering). All day, we will do nothing but eat and visit family.

MRT

Above is the map of the MRT system in Singapore. I'm on the red line and live off of Yishun. It's pretty easy to get around but it gets VERY crowded on the trains. Another interesting thing about the MRT stations, is that they are all connected to a mall. Yes, an upscale, up-to-date mall; so you can imagine how materialistic and fashionista Singaporeans are. Except for the food, everything else is quite expensive in Singapore; cars, HDB-housing development board-this is also where 80% of Singaporeans live, clothes, shoes, etc. There also good deals at certain stores, especially since the GSS (Great Singapore Sale) just finished. Or be like me and just buy majority of stuff at street vendors and markets.

Black People-or lack thereof

There aren't many Black people here. I have been here roughly 6 weeks and I can count on one hand how many Black faces I've seen. Ma stated how sadly the Singapore Government hasn't done much recruiting throughout the African diaspora. I'm sure there is a Black community in Singapore...somewhere...but I just don't have enough time to go looking for them. The closest remotely similar to Blacks (and its very close) are Indians. I once went to Little India (purple line) with my intern group and got stared at everywhere I went. Although I didn't see this occur, two of the intern guys told me how an older Indian woman was sizing me up from the moment she saw me until I left her peripheral vision. My theory is that they are wondering who this woman that is the same shade of brown as them but with different texture of hair. Hopefully they don't think I'm one of them but a Hindu dissenter! Also, the three main races represented in Singapore are Chinese (80%), Malay, and Indians. 

Hypervisibility 

Just as I hardly see Black people and when I do, they seem to NEVER notice me, everyone else does. I get stared at EVERYWHERE I go. And it's not a shy stare either, but an open-I'm watching you walk, scratch ya booty, sit, fart, sneeze- type of stare. Once I asked Ma how to say "it's rude to stare" in Malay, and she told me over here it's actually not rude to stare...

I believe the stares come more from of curiosity, than hostility. Like I said earlier, I don't see Black people here so they don't either. My host parents and program coordinator have told me I just look "different". And I possibly am, besides me being Black, I have two-toned colored hair with natural twists sooo...I digress. What I learn to lessen the intense stares-is to just stare back. :-) It has actually helped a lot. But the men are a different story; I do my little staring tactic and typically THEY DON'T LOOK AWAY, then it just becomes awkward and I lose once again. Normally this happen with the Indian men. 

The Finale-My Embarrassing Story...Please Don't Judge Me

When this initially happened I told the story to my family, and their first reaction was to laugh. The only person to pray for my well-being was my daddy. Thank you Daddy.

Usually Ma prepares my lunch before I leave for work. But this particular day she did not and I decided to eat at Wendy's. After ordering my food, I proceeded outdoors to eat, since it was a beautiful day outside. That's when I realized, the lady did not give me any ketchup. So I looked around, no one was near me (thinking cool, I'll just run inside) stupid me didn't even cover my food. When I went back inside, I looked through the window and saw a swarm of nasty ugly looking pigeons attacking my food! I ran back outside screaming "git!" Some of these minions got away with my french fries, I was too mad! 

Now I had a choice to make...not really knowing where their red ugly claws landed or pointy disgusting becks touched, I could either a. Discard the food and buy something else or b. Pray to Jesus Christ that he covers me and protects my body of any diseases that pigeons may have...this all happened before I got a big advance at my internship and was getting low on money...so let's just say I did alot of praying the next couple of days...I know I know please don't judge me! 

So after the incident I decided to buy an ice cream cone and walk outside back to my internship. There are benches alongside the sidewalk where smokers usually sit for a cigarette break. Again, a beautiful day so I decided to sit on one of those benches and enjoy my ice cream cone before I head back inside. I wasn't sitting on the bench a mere 30 seconds when I turn to the left and there's a girl (a big girl) slobbering and about two inches from touching me! Both her arms were outstretched and it looked like she was about to touch my face or either take my ice cream cone...I don't know. But I leannnnnnnned far back and I can only imagine how my face looked at that particular moment. I know I was thinking, "what the heck is this crazy girl doing???" She stayed there less than 5 seconds, but that scared the crap outta me. By this time, I concluded that I didn't need to be outside any longer and took my sickly, scary behind back inside to work.

That's it!

I have no more to say! Really, this is less than a 1/4 that has happened while in Singapore. So many memories and so many stories I will cherish. I concluded my internship at MillionaireAsia today. Which saddens me but is also a new beginning since I will now be working for the company when I return to the States. I will be a Features Writer and Marketing Consultant, this is all freelancing. But I am so excited and ready to begin the next stage. I guess Brian, founder of MA, was really impressed with my work. I've been interning for merely 5 weeks and conducted an interview/wrote article, read/wrote a book review, closed a 7k deal with a client and will also write the article on the client as well. I been busy! 

Next week, the ILAPers will travel to Thailand and arrive back in the States on the 17th. I am excited to be back home but will miss the memories I created while abroad. My desire was to take every opportunity available. I achieved my goal!