September 15, 2009
The Pace of Life
An interesting observation after commuting around S’pore for a little while: Singaporeans don’t seem to like ‘doing other things’ when they commute or travel. This is about as well as I can describe the phenomenon, and I would classify it as a bit strange.
I’m the type to leave home carrying my breakfast and a boxed drink, listening to music, sometimes holding a set of case notes to read before class. I’ll finish my breakfast by the time I reach the bus stop, then start chatting on MSN and will furiously type on my phone until the bus reaches the school. I’ll likely keep typing while walking through campus until I reach the classroom. My observation of life in Hong Kong is similar; people are always eating, drinking, doing multiple things on the go.
Not so for the people in Singapore. It didn’t strike me until last Friday, after I bought a drink at 7-11 and was walking through one of the busiest shopping malls during after-work hours. The mall was extremely crowded, and I started to notice that I was basically the ONLY person holding any type of food or drink walking through the mall. It was so strange I actually started to get a bit self-conscious and wondered if I was doing something wrong. I then came to the conclusion that most people don’t eat or drink when walking on the streets, in malls, or at bus stops. On the buses and MRTs, people are generally very quiet – hardly anyone talks, neither on their phones nor to their friends. This is very unlike public transit in Hong Kong and other Asian cities (i.e. Japan) where people are yapping nonstop to each other and at their phones.
Maybe this is the culture of Singaporeans, maybe there are some other reasons that I, as a foreigner, do not quite grasp. I enjoy noticing these little quirks and cultural differences as I stay here longer. I’m sure there will be more to write about in the near future.
