Singapore Expats

A couple of 'knock off' beers is the norm in Oz and rarely would anyone question, nor vindicate such a tradition. However, just tonight I had a couple of pints at the 'local' which facilitated a view out a glass window peering onto a main street and hence, a bus stop.

Now I am not one to peer or stare into public space too often , but having finished reading the paper and starting my second pint, it seemed that most people getting off the bus had a condescending facial expression smeared from ear to ear. So i watched for a little while to see if it was just a coincidence....but no, around 8 out of 10 people wandering the street, going home, getting off the bus, looking for a destination, seemed it was their business to know what I was doing behind a closed glass window having a couple of brews!

Like a monkey in a cage I found it very revealing and interesting...if not a little disturbing. Unlike a monkey in a cage, I had a choice to leave the enclosure if I so chose... 8)

My question is simple, do Asian eyes wander more easily due to their curiosity, or is it just my imagination of paranoia or lack of attention to detail back in my own culture?

Aw Scoots....you know the answer to this little one, don't you?

Have another one and sod them all is what I say....and have one for me too!!!!

(Not saying anything bad about Singaporeans.....what I mean is....tough luck on anyone having a good stare at me doing what I like when relaxing.....if they don't like it, they can lump it.....Singaporean, Brit, Malay, Yank or Martian)

Overheard at a local bistro:

"I had two cans of beer last night leh"

*gasp* "But it's a weekday!"

"I know...feel so bad"

True story

I say enjoy your beer scoots. Hmm I've noticed that some asians tend to stare particularly on public transportation. But Im used to it and quite oblivious until my friends point it out. Maybe there's really something wrong with my face.
I should cut a hole in my papers on the train and stare back at them.

Maybe it's my turn to have a pint behind a glass window and see what happens.

luvtea wrote:I say enjoy your beer scoots. Hmm I've noticed that some asians tend to stare particularly on public transportation. But Im used to it and quite oblivious until my friends point it out. Maybe there's really something wrong with my face.
I should cut a hole in my papers on the train and stare back at them.

Maybe it's my turn to have a pint behind a glass window and see what happens.

Thanks LT, so its not just me , happy days. Enjoy many pints behind the glass window as each finished pint makes for more interesting stares...

banana wrote:Overheard at a local bistro:

"I had two cans of beer last night leh"

*gasp* "But it's a weekday!"

"I know...feel so bad"

True story

Bloody hell, I would be lucky to have two cans mimimum on a week night - as a 'westener', do I have greater genetic capacity for the tolerance of alcohol or is it just the many years of practice?

By the way banana, have you ever seen the cartoon Bananaman - surely one of the greatest cartoons (besides the Simpsons) in the last decade or two...

Now that I've been stared at in Cambodia, I must say it does make one feel a little uncomfy. I had to ask hubby if I had something on my face. I guess they aren't used to seeing too many Indians in Siem Reap, which in itself is quite amazing, considering the considerable size of the Indian population.

Coming back to drinking on weekdays or weekends, I swear, back home I was always considered a lightweight when it came to alcohol. But here, I seem to be a heavy drinker!! Not that I care, isn't that what alcohol is for? To not care a damn?

Again... what I've been hearing all week...

Friend: " I only drink on 2 days"

Me: "Which 2 special days?"

Friend: "Raining & non-raining days"

Me:

Go to the heartlands, at any kopitiam or foodcourt there will be the locals drinking tigers during lunch. But agree, when the ang moh in CBD does it somewhere, he or she will be glazed upon like one is from Mars.

Try to do it the "french' way here..... Get a 51 / pastis at 10.00am at the counter. Now that should make them stare!!!

Eric

madwolfie wrote:Again... what I've been hearing all week...

Friend: " I only drink on 2 days"

Me: "Which 2 special days?"

Friend: "Raining & non-raining days"

Me:

We should all drink on days that end in 'Y'.

I find the biggest problem is that I usually have more than two beers on the go at one time but I only have 2 hands...on top of that, I have only got one mouth...

In short - I have a drinking problem....and that is what it comes down too. If I had two mouths, people would stare but who cares, you can drink twice as much