Back in Singapore (for now)

26 August 2008; 2332hrs Singapore

I’m back! And slept the whole day through. Jet lag.

The flight was uneventful save for the rude flight attendants. Not to me, but to the Chinese workers who were headed to the Dot to work. it made me realise how lucky we are to be able to receive such high quality education and for the opportunities available to us because of that, and the high standard of living. The opportunities we have are boundless. We are so lucky that at most times, we do not even realise it. Now, I do. The Little Red Dot is not that bad a place afterall. It’s not perfect, but compared to what I’d seen and experienced, it’s certainly one of the better places to live in.

The conversation I had with a Chinese worker sitting next to me was a hoot and a barrel of laughs. They were trying to fill up the disembarkation card (which an air stewardess kept asking me to take from her, and I kept refusing) with great difficulty. They simply didn’t understand how to fill that in, and even had a book of instructions for that! One senior stewardess prepared a sample for them and rudely told them to pass it along and copy what she wrote, except for the names and addresses. In that case, wouldn’t that be totally different? Wouldn’t it be better to write the explanation in the boxes in Chinese so that they can understand what to do?

Ah well... So I was helping the guy sitting next to me, and we struck up a conversation after that. He’s really really young – not even 20 – and has left home in search for work in a foreign country! I’m amazed, and impressed. But at the same time, a tad sad that he had no opportunities to advance back in his home. We talked about life in the Dot and how much he would have to spend a day. The kinds of things he could do for leisure.

Then he asked about... the red light district. Whether the Dot had one... Ah... Of course. He wanted details! What type of girls can he find there? Which type is better? Like I would know... I’ve only walked down the streets to see the place, not to give them business. In any case, this type of issue is subject to the individual’s preference... My meat, your poison.

Ah well... I wish him all the best no matter what. And hope he doesn’t get any diseases during his stint here.