Ok, more with my observations. One thing I have not seen in the States which most S'poreans have is something called bolster. It's a big long pillow that you hug when you go to sleep. It comes in different sizes. I saw my landlord's kid sleeping with a cute little tiny bolster. It's quite interesting to see. They didn't provide them in the hotel where I stayed. I do have one now in the room where I am staying. I still have yet to figure out how to use them. They don't come with any instructions 8-)
One thing I don't think I can ever get used to is romanized Chinese. The first day at work I was introduced to so many people with romanized Chinese names. I had a very difficult time remembering their names, not to mention pronouncing them. Especially in S'pore where you have so many different dialects. Knowing the Manderin actually make matters worse because the characters are pronounced differently. Another example is the cafeteria menus here. Kiam Chay is sour cabbage in Hokkeian. I know what it is (even in Taiwanese) but I just can't tell from the writings on the menu. They also use all different kinds of languages, e.g. Malay, mixed in with English (I think Singlish is what it's called). I wish they sell a dictionary with all these words in it. Anyone know where I can get one?
Contrary to popular belief in the States, chewing gum is legal here in S'pore. As a matter of fact, I chewed my first piece of chewing gum here without getting in trouble (thanks Tom). The problem is that you just can't get them here. You have to go to other countries, like Malaysia, to get it. You need to be very desperate to do that. It's a good thing that I am not a die-hard chewing gum fan.
Last Saturday night was the lighting of streets in Chinatown for the coming of Chinese New Year. It was so crowded that it took me 20 mins to walk just one block. Yes, there is a Chinatown in S'pore. You ask why? I am in no position to answer that. To me S'pore is one big Chinatown. No offense to those Malays or Indians. S'pore does have a mix of cultures which I find very fascinating. Everyone gets along so well, unlike NY or LA.
Although there are only a few TV channels here in S'pore, I do enjoy watching them. I especially find the commercials interesting (ok, so I find everything interesting). I saw a spot for Nokia hand-held (cellular for those in the States) phone here. It shows a boy and a girl meeting in the park in bright day light. The boy offers the girl the service of the hand-held phone. The girl refuses at first, but eventually accepted the offer after the boy's insistence. Then she kept on talking until the moon comes out 8-) I also saw a commercial for "True Love." It's very nicely made, but I was just wondering what they are trying to sell 8-)
Finally, I saw the readers in soc.culture.japan have regular gatherings in Japan. I was wondering maybe readers in the soc.culture.singapore would like to have regular gatherings too. If you are interested, please send me an email. If I get enough responses, I will try to arrange a date and place where we can all meet. Happy New Year!
p.s. yes, I know Buffalo lost, what else is new 8-)
