THE RUDE SHOCK OF MOVING TO SINGAPORE
It eventually had to happen - the rude shock of moving here. And its taken me a few days before I'm ready to process it out here.
Wednesday. 6:30pm, West Mall, Bukit Batok.
I'm on my way to meet Tay and her boy at the Bukit Batok MRT station so we can go to the club together for a game of tennis. So, I had my a cumbersome tennis bag in tow in my left hand. It's peak hour so its crowded; I go with the flow and move with the flow. There are people in the front of me and at the back of me, to my left is a line of people waiting for some tidbit food, the line ends with a mature older lady at the brink of grandmother-hood. To my right is the line of people walking in opposite direction.
So, walk on I do until my path is blocked by a lady wanting to make a right; that is cutting through the ongoing crowd direction and cutting right into my path. I keep in the direction I'm walking and she walks straight into me. And finds herself in the corner of my body and my tennis bag. She doesn't relent and I'm not moving anywhere forward, backward, left or right. So, her path is cut short.
And then she shoves me with force using both hands to my shoulder and I lose my balance but don't topple over into the people behind me or the lady in the line for food. The good thing is I don't understand a lot of mandarin or dialect so I don't know what she said, but I know it wasn't pleasant.
I still can't believe she actually got physical with me! Yes, yes and all the Smiles campaign and the drive for politeness toward the IMF delegates coming. Suppose I was a real asian foreigner as opposed to a foreigner in her native land? I did find it a little traumatizing, I use that word cause it truly upset me to the the point I thought I really didn't belong here.
One day I shall dare again to tread into that mall....
Wednesday. 6:30pm, West Mall, Bukit Batok.
I'm on my way to meet Tay and her boy at the Bukit Batok MRT station so we can go to the club together for a game of tennis. So, I had my a cumbersome tennis bag in tow in my left hand. It's peak hour so its crowded; I go with the flow and move with the flow. There are people in the front of me and at the back of me, to my left is a line of people waiting for some tidbit food, the line ends with a mature older lady at the brink of grandmother-hood. To my right is the line of people walking in opposite direction.
So, walk on I do until my path is blocked by a lady wanting to make a right; that is cutting through the ongoing crowd direction and cutting right into my path. I keep in the direction I'm walking and she walks straight into me. And finds herself in the corner of my body and my tennis bag. She doesn't relent and I'm not moving anywhere forward, backward, left or right. So, her path is cut short.
And then she shoves me with force using both hands to my shoulder and I lose my balance but don't topple over into the people behind me or the lady in the line for food. The good thing is I don't understand a lot of mandarin or dialect so I don't know what she said, but I know it wasn't pleasant.
I still can't believe she actually got physical with me! Yes, yes and all the Smiles campaign and the drive for politeness toward the IMF delegates coming. Suppose I was a real asian foreigner as opposed to a foreigner in her native land? I did find it a little traumatizing, I use that word cause it truly upset me to the the point I thought I really didn't belong here.
One day I shall dare again to tread into that mall....
posted by The Chilibuddy @ 5:32 pm ::
1 Comments:
crazy timez, sistah! remember, they are more afraid of you than you are of them...when you are in doubt, check your passport...tenkokujin! rock on.
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