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Rant: I love Singapore...so freaking much! :)

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I kind of promised that the next rant was going to be about my first crush, but hey presto I changed my mind. I was suddenly inspired to write about my love for my motherland, Singapore. Why leh? Because today, I saw so many beautiful people in Singapore that I feel like I am in Utopia itself.

I went out earlier on to buy sushi materials and the moment I walked out of the lift, it started raining. Not your usual heavy rain, just a very very light drizzle. The landscape was soft and picturesque from the cooling shower. I was way to lazy to go back up and grab my umbrella, so I headed out into the rain.

Just then, I saw my neighbor coming home. I greeted her chirpily and she smiled at me. She noticed that I didn't have a umbrella.

"Take this," she smiled, "Or you are going to get all drenched and you may fall sick."

"Oh..I..I.." I couldn't respond to her sudden show of motherliness.

"Just take it," she placed her umbrella in my hands, "You can return it to me later, I live on the tenth floor, remember?"

With that, she was gone.

I was so moved by her show of kindness that the rain felt exceptionally invigorating. Not those "using-weather-to-describe-your-emotion-type" that our chinese teacher teaches, but just a simple show of kindness made me feel warm, fuzzy and all happy inside.

And along the way, I thought about how wonderful Singapore is. I don't see why some of us have so much complains about Singapore. It is by far the most beautiful place I know. Why? Here are some reasons:

1. We have a caring government who really listens to his people. Regardless of whether it is the color scheme for our flats or anything similar, the government cares about the people. They provide welfare. If you are poor, they give you financial aids to live by.

2. We have a lot of cleaners to keep our garden city clean. A lot. More than any other countries I have been to. And our cleaners are always cheerful and polite. At least the cleaners at my block are, they smile at my mother and me, and greet us with a smile. Do you know China's cleaners are rare and rude? Not all of them I am sure, but I have seen a few who have scowls on their faces and one even swept dust towards me.

3. We have no earthquakes,  no tsunamis, no famines, no drought, what more can we ask for? Do you know the fears of going through all these natural disasters? I have been through a mini earthquake once when I was very young and when I was in China, and I thought I was going to die. Really. It felt like your life was going to be over.

4. I know a lot of people out there doesn't like Singlish or are ashamed of it, but one thing we have to agree upon is that Singlish does provide a sense of belonging and bond us together. Depending on time and location, Singlish does make one less awkward, doesn't it? Imagine yourself in a hawker center,  and some Singaporean, "May I have this seat?" in a British/American/ Australian accent. Your first thought? Now how about when the person ask in Singlish, "Got people or not?" Got difference right! But I can see why people think Singlish is not suitable at times. Like at important meetings or at some international conferences with all the Caucasians. But hey, we do know how to behave, don't we? Just like how we don't speak chinese when we have Indian and Malay guests, it is the same idea.

5. I have a home to live in, a shelter over my head, a school to go to, and food to eat. Why else would I be dissatisfied? I am sure most of us have all these basic necessities! If you don't have anywhere to live, the government is bound to help. And no, I am not even making this up. I saw it in the news. And a Canadian thinks so too:

Be grateful, Singapore. Source: http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?120291-Be-grateful-Singapore
*Note: I don't agree with him completely, I just agree with him on the point about the rubbish being collected everyday. The sound is irritating, but I am grateful.

6. I have heard many people say that Singaporeans are very whiny, they love to complain etc etc. THAT'S OKAY!!! What is wrong with complaining? I complain all the time! I complain to my mother, to my blog, to my dog (non-existent, just for sake of rhyming), to the flower, clouds, trees. There is nothing wrong at all with complaining! In fact it makes things fun! When we see silly people stomping silly things like "something is stuck on her slipper", don't we all go =.=? What fun is there if everyone is way too nice and too satisfied? Because we complain and the government listens, therefore Singapore is becoming more and more perfect!

7. We have everything we need and everything we want. Almost. And that, is already good enough. Do you know that some rural areas in other countries never have all the supplies that they need? I have a minimart below my flat and even though the things are a little pricier at times, I think it is perfect and convenient.

Guys, I am not preaching. I used to have many complaints too and felt that our country was not that good. Like how I have to put up with the irritating ear-jarring banging from the construction at Keming Primary School opposite my house. Like how I get shoved around by old ladies on the bus to school each morning. Like how I stepped on someone's spit and slipped and fell (it was darn disgusting and gross!!!). But hey, I know I love this diamond shaped piece of land, and it is a real jewel to us all.

I know we all are not satisfied with some elements here and there, but that is all okay. I know there are irritating people here and there, and those kiasu and kiasi (nothing wrong with such though) people around, but it is called balance! We need such people to balance out the wonderful people in our population. We don't need, nor do we have a perfect country. For those of you who think that I am filthy rich or rich, sorry, you are wrong. I am not rich but I used to be poorer still. Even then, I still loved Singapore.

Once when I visited China, my grandfather was singing praises of how the Shanghai government was refurbishing their old buildings, "Don't they look pretty like your Singapore buildings?" he asked.

I smiled.

"You can change the cover of the buildings, but you cannot change the hearts of the people." I told him.

He looked stunned, then smiled and told me I was right.

Why? China has a lot of dangerous food. China even has poisonous bean sprouts! You can see the article here. They even use oil from the drains to cook food! Singapore will never do that! Singapore's AVA will never allow such to happen. We can eat in peace, like my mum said. Yes we can. Do you know much of China's water are unclean too? And that much of the people don't have enough water to drink? We just have to turn on our taps and drinkable water comes flowing.

I am not brainwashing you to love Singapore. I love Singapore and its flaws myself and while I complain about the kiasu kiasi and whiny people, they are part of our big Singapore family. I do think that Singaporeans are nicer than a lot of other people. Like I was in Raffles place asking for donations for Apex Elderly's Home and for a while, there were people queuing to donate!

Let's just all be happy and love Singapore, okay? I love you Singapore, my one and only homeland. Even if I have to study overseas in the future, I will come back and do my part! :D

1 comment :

  1. pokemon pokemon pokemon, let's do itJune 20, 2012 at 12:53 PM

    how come u study can get to nygh while i study i cant even go sji or cckss????

    ReplyDelete

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