Dawn Xiana Moon: Intelligent folk pop with influences from jazz and traditional Chinese music. From Chicago.

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Friday, December 01, 2006

What I Learned in Singapore

I'm back in the US, and though I had a wonderful trip and enjoyed being in Singapore, I'm happy to be back in a country where I can understand the entirety of conversations (I usually lost 50% of conversations due to people speaking in Chinese). Here are some things I learned while I was half the world away:

- It's not uncommon to find old men playing Casio keyboards in hotel lobbies backing up women who are lackluster performers but look good.
- The average Singaporean gets about a week off work. And working a 12-hour day isn't totally uncommon.
- Cab drivers usually work 12-hour shifts.
- Taxis are considered public transportation. Thus, they are cheap.
- It's totally possible to cook a gourmet Italian dinner for 40 people in two and half hours (assuming you have a couple of your relatives' maids as kitchen staff).
- Singapore's income tax and sales tax are fairly low.
- Airport security isn't as horrible as it used to be. Instead of taking a full two hours to make it through the checkpoints, it only took around a half hour this time around. Hong Kong's airport was similarly quick, although they literally opened every carry-on bag.
- It only takes 24 hours for me to have to consciously refrain myself from using Singlish. (More on that later.)
- Proving yourself worthy of a bride in the traditional Chinese fashion requires eating and drinking items that are just barely edible. And bringing money to "bribe" her friends into letting you see her.
- Singapore has a long way to go if it wants to become an arts and cultural center. Increasing the social status of artists and people in the humanities would help.

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