Happy Birthday Singapore! I love my country!
ha ha ha. Now lest u start thinking that i sound like some brainwashed product of the PAP/MOE's propaganda machine, i'll have u know that i have perfectly sound, rational reasons for being patriotic. Besides, i mean, do u really believe that the attempted indoctrination of patriotic values really work? From national education, to social studies, even to the compulsory Singapore Studies module at University level, do u reeeally think all that instills any deep sense of patriotism and rootedness in any half-intelligent creature?
Well, surely i know my Majulah Singapura (albeit not knowing what it means though, and mispronouncing certain words here and there hA- EveRyoNe does, believe me :P) and pledge by heart, but honestly it irritates me having to sing/recite them on such a frightfully regular basis for 12 bloody yrs more than it makes me ecstatic to be Singaporean.
[although i didn't mind learning the annual national day song- catchy what. And i mean, music lessons are so wonderfully lovely when compared with MATH and SCIENCE. :/]
Ah anyways i must admit when i was younger, i used to very much want to migrate.. To the States, to Aussie, to UK, anywhere that seemed cooler than this tiny heartland humble hometown..
But as i grew up i grew to love this place, i learnt to appreciate many things that i've taken for granted. Once u've travelled and learned more about SG & the world, u'll start to amaze at how remarkably resilient we are and how brilliant our nation is to have achieved so much in so little time. My only fear is that we have peaked in our progress but i put my faith in my fellow countrymen to bring us safely into the next era..
Honestly, for such a small nation, and in this part of the world, to be where we are today is nothing short of astounding extraordinariness. But then again, being small also contributes to the easier governance, and also why we make alot of top *whatever no.* lists. Take the most recent list in international lifestyle mag, Monocle, where we were ranked 17 in a list of the 20 most livable cities in the world, beating heavyweights like Paris, (PARIS!!), LA, HK, Hamburg, Milan, New York, etc etc. WOW.
This is the link: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/18/arts/rmon17singapore.php
(i found the murder part fascinating. only 17 and ALL SOLVED. i mean, where else can u get that man. cheers to Safe S'pore hee. ;)
And u know, no matter what this will be the place where i grew up, my family and friends are here, and i LOVE local food; i mean, give me hokkien mee over foie gras anY daY man. ;) Also, i can't take the cold, so i am happy with the temperature here and i freeze and get nose bleeds (like in Deustchland last yr :X) at anywhere colder.. The only thing i regret is that i won't get to dress up for winter.. Trench coats are sooo fun! About the only layering we get to do here is tank top over tank top. hA.
Of course there's lots to lament about Singapore, things like lack of freedom of speech, horrible dress sense, herd mentality, kiasu-ism (which may not be thaT bad la. survival skills u know), lack of experimentalism, lack of etiquette, lack of opportunities, ELITISM, the worshiPPing of ang mohs (god how sick i am of that), etc etc.
But there are also so many good things that we all take for granted, and if u think about it and compare, we have it good man. Our std of living is better than that of ur average European, and our pple are nice. Really, i would deal with any suaku heartlander over the skinny bitches in Devil Wears Prada anytime man.
Oh and yes, i do love Singlish. Despite how much it is discouraged, i really do think it is uniquely Singaporean, and only if u are Singaporean would u be able to get the tone and the meaning right and perfectly understand the nuances of meaning. :)
But yes, the subject of Singlish is one that fascinates me and shall be touched on another time..
In the meanwhile i shall gaily sing in my not-singing-material-at-aLL voice:
*This is home, surely, where i know i must be...*
*WHere i belonggg, where i keep my, heart and soul, where we are one big family...*
Really catchy songs horh. Told u already. ;)
posted by charm*ain @ 11:48 PM
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