An explorative question by Andris:

April 28, 2009 emmybunny

What if?

What if I was living in Singapore right now?

What if?

A geographical and cultural question came from my fellow CIM-er, cellist Andris. She is from China, and pondered what it would be like if I, myself, were in Singapore right now. I think I’d be going through the hugest culture shock in my entire life, like a slap to the face. Sure, the food is great, but it is so overcrowded and poor in some areas. Food sellers have been known to replace the insides of certain Chinese treats with ground cardboard, making people ill. They eat absolutely everything over there, leaving no waste, but also a lingering sense of guilt if you are American. We just don’t eat dogs. They go to the bathroom in little holes instead of nice separate bathrooms. I would need weeks, even months, to be able to fully grasp this culture and begin to appreciate it. I would start to enjoy being immersed in a sea different from my own, learning speech and writing, and traditional crafts, such as origami. I would appreciate the beauty of exotic wilderness like nothing before I’ve ever seen, and the roar of city life. I think after the initial culture shock, I would attempt to fit in, even if the Chinese people bluntly stared at my blonde American physique. For, this is what Chinese immigrants go through when first immersing themselves in American culture, and when we stare, not too politely, because they might not speak English.