Singapore Expats

I'm a Dutch expat who's lived here for seven years already. It's my home. For the most part, I'm entirely acclimated and in a few subtle ways I've even become Singaporean in my habits (at least if my friends back home are to be believed).

However, moments ago I just had an enlightening little encounter - a "Singapore moment" - if you will, that reminded me I'm still Dutch:

Myself, a Singaporean colleague, and an unknown Singaporean lady entered the lift on the ground floor of my office. This lift, problematic at times, decided that it was time to jam the doors when they were halfway closed. The doors just sat there, in limbo.

The Singaporean lady did was was intuitive to her: she immediately appealed to the relevant authority (in this case, by calling out to the lobby security guard sat 10 meters away at the reception desk).

I also did what was intuitive to me: I gave the door a firm kick with the side of my foot. This unjammed the door. The lady stood there, somewhat aghast as did the security guard who was already walking towards the lift. He recovered his wits half a moment later to give me a verbal scolding that was still continuing as the doors closed and we continued merrily on our way again.

A trivial incident, but my first reminder in many years I'm a guest in a country with a different culture from my own.

ts1978 wrote: A trivial incident, but my first reminder in many years I'm a guest in a country with a different culture from my own.

reminds me of the joke, what happens when you put two Singaporean guys and a Singaporean girl in one desolat island ....

answer, they will ask the authorities what to do .... next and if there is an instruction manual ....



coat, hat, umbrella .....

If there wasn't a security guard there, the local would have probably taken the doors off and sold them as scrap to her uncle.

JR8 wrote:If there wasn't a security guard there, the local would have probably taken the doors off and sold them as scrap to her uncle.

That involves manual labor; depends on what the locals' races are.

heh! reminds of some lifts in India, we'd have a lift operator who'd sit inside the lift the whole day and push buttons. when the door got stuck it depended on chaps experience with the lift, he'd end up kicking it or shouting to someone at the top of his voice cursing. sometimes the electricity used to fail and the lift would stop half way and we'd have to crawl out of the lift and he'd give us a leg up.

The other thing I remembered is this video for some reason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_p2MM-5JZs

JR8 wrote:If there wasn't a security guard there, the local would have probably taken the doors off and sold them as scrap to her uncle.

This will be applicable for a local Msian

Reminds me of the time (I think I may have related this before?) when I was at Parkway Parade and stepped onto an escalator which then stopped for some reason. The Singaporean chap and his son in front of me looked around wildly for some kind of help or inspiration, then just remained where they were standing for ages, frozen in panic. I then started walking up the steps, politely said "Excuse me" and went past them.

When I got to the top of the (still unmoving) escalator, they finally figured out it was probably OK to do the same and started walking up the steps themselves. It was that initial look that was so funny - you know the one...

Speaking of Singaporean Moments and things "breaking down" at Parkway...

The door is "down"....



Now it's "spoilt"...

Well, speaking of the kind of English up with which I will not put...

I have been collecting photos of signs of mangled English of the "....any inconvenience is regretted" etc. variety to make an album of sorts.

Plus a lot of other bizarre things I see like footprints on toilet seats.

Funny, I've seen "door is down" and bizarre uses of "spoilt" as well.

You have to visit India, if you want to have real fun

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrull ... -laugh-cry

Mi Amigo wrote:Well, speaking of the kind of English up with which I will not put...

Oh woe, a missed opportunity. If it were up to me, the sign should read:

"Escalator will be temporarily stairs during off-peak hours."

Wd40 wrote:You have to visit India, if you want to have real fun

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrull ... -laugh-cry

Wow, I had no idea, too funny

nakatago wrote:

Mi Amigo wrote:Well, speaking of the kind of English up with which I will not put...

Oh woe, a missed opportunity. If it were up to me, the sign should read:

"Escalator will be temporarily stairs during off-peak hours."

Surprised they didn't say "offed". Which here means something entirely different than where I come from.

Wd40 wrote:You have to visit India, if you want to have real fun

http://www.buzzfeed.com/tasneemnashrull ... -laugh-cry

Chaineese lol.