Now you must be wondering how does this theory apply to a person who has stayed in S'pore for six months. Well, it doesn't 8-) However, it does apply to an American-Chinese who has stayed in S'pore for the past six months and somehow got mixed up in France. It all started by boarding a Lufthansa flight. All of a sudden, I am no longer seeing the familiar Asian faces. After 15 years in the states, it's hard to believe that France is more of a culture shock for me than S'pore. Of course, I did not take my six months stay in S'pore into consideration. Now I have to admit that I really chickened out by coming to S'pore. It will really be a challenge if I moved to Europe instead of S'pore.
I now understand why Asian passports have so many pages. Every time you go to an Asian country, you need to get the passport stamped (or chopped as S'poreans would call it). In a way, it's good because I can show off to people all the countries that I have visited 8-) In Europe, I transited through Frankfurt and Geneva. They didn't care if you had a passport at all. There are no evidence on my passport that I have been to Europe. When I drove across the border from Switzerland to France, it felt like that I have entered the checkpoint of a factory. No need to check passport. No welcome sign such as "Welcome to New Hampshire. Live free or die." Maybe if I had taken the highway instead of a local road, I would have encountered a better welcome. When I left the Geneva airport, they simply wave me right through. Talk about a world with no borders, I like the concept.
It's very ironic that the moment I set my foot on the ground of France, in front of a McDonald of all places, I step on a piece of chewing gum. It took me a while to get it off the bottom of my sneakers. No, France is not that bad. It's just God toying with me 8-) After getting used to the cleanliness and safety of S'pore, it's hard to settle into another country. But the opposite side of the coin is that it gave me a false sense of security. Two of us were in France and both of our cars got broken into. It remined me of the days whenever I drive a car with New Jersey plate into New York City, it usually gets broken into. In this case, it's the Swiss car in France. In France, they perceive people from Swiss as rich and good candidates for petty crime. I wonder if S'poreans are treated the same way in M'sia. Switserland in many ways is similar to S'pore, but it only has 3 official languages instead of 4 8-)
Speaking of cars, most popular cars in France are either Peuget (Jonathan, eat you heart out) or Fiat. Driving on the French highway is a pleasure. No one, I mean no one, hogs the fast lane at 55 mph. Cruising down the highway at 180+ kph feels good because no one will be in your way. Maybe it's also because I haven't driven in six months and I need to set lose all my bottled up driving frustration 8-) Road signs are a bit different in France. The interesting ones are the "exclamation point" as in "watch out!" (I still haven't figure out what it means) and cross sign on town's name as in Ghost Buster (end of the town). I also like the traffic lights in Geneva which turns to yellow before green so you can rev the engine and set the clutch in preparation for the drag race 8-)
And of course, the food is a different story altogether. No more hawker food and coffee shops. In the States, we used to go to French restaurant only on special occasions, things like anniversary and special dates. Well, eating French food in France everyday just doesn't feel the same. Maybe it's just the atmosphere that is not quite right 8-( French food is good if you know how to order from the menu and pick the right wine. ("Menu" in French is "set" in Singlish.) Also you have to try to avoid things such as rabbit, horse meat, and other internal organs of animals. I guess I felt the same way as an American looking at fish with heads as when I look at rabbits with eyes and ears. But cheese and wine are not my idea of a good time. I guess I would say Cheese to France is Durian to S'pore - the worse it smells, the better (supposedly) it tastes.
Of course, the best thing about being away from S'pore is to avoid the hot and humid weather and to get in touch with mother nature. It's nice to enjoy the dry and cool weather of the French Alps. And also to be able to go to Chamonix to see the awesome Mount Blanc, the tallest mountain in the European Alps, was simply spectacular. The scenery and the natural surrounding is something that I will miss about France, along with the autoroute (highway) driving 8-(
Another thing I am going to miss is the the liberalness of France. After six months in S'pore, I felt this is the biggest culture shock. In S'pore, all nudity are censored on TV and magazines. (I am trying to catch the episodes of NYPD Blue with nudity in S'pore) In France, you can see nudity everywhere, even on the commercials on TV and streets! Of course, one of the must see in France is the topless beaches. It's such a contrast from Sentosa or East Coast beaches. Make sure you bring your extra dark sunglasses 8-)
I won't keep ramble on with more detail about France. Just to sum it up, I felt that France was fairly intimidating, mainly because of the language barrier. But it was definitely an eye opener, even for an American like me. Just some food for thought. Saw this on a CBS News report in France from the Sky TV of UK. Why are we celebrating so many anniversaries recently? The D-Day, Moon landing, Assassination of JFK, Vietnam, viva le France, Woodstock, just to name a few. Does that mean our generation is no longer looking forward and but just reminiscence about the past? What made the past so exciting? Are we going to look back 25 years from now and celebrate the anniversaries of O.J. Simpson's trial, Jackson and Presley's wedding, or White Water Gate? I certainly hope not.
03/08/94
p.s. too bad you can't post photos 8-)
