through your eyes..

Recently, quite a few friends have returned for a break from their overseas studies - i wonder how do they view singapore after their stay overseas? Must really ask them when i meet them..

Hanging out with the japanese students really made me see things in a very different light and do things that I've never done before, such as going on the river cruise, or seldom do, such as going arcade, playing pool.

One incident that put me off was at the cold storage at takashimaya. This woman, selling durian, was shouting loudly in hokkien "Lai, lai, neng kor, neng kor!" - "Come, come, 2 dollars only!" My japanese friends had decided that they wanted to try some durian. So, bringing the whole bunch of them along, I went to check out the durians. Naturally, they were excited and curious, looking at all the exotic fruits and wondering why the durian didn't look like what they know it to be - thorny and green. They were all speaking in japanese. Since I wasn't saying anything and standing together with them, the auntie just assumed that I was japanese too. She said to her colleague "A ne kuan, buay sai neng kor liao.." - "Like that (referring to the situation), cannot sell at $2 already.." Her friend then tried selling us the $20 a box ones. I told her that it was too much for us and proceeded to look at the $5 a box ones..so she said "$5, $5" in english. So I asked her coldly, "Ni gang cai bu shi jiang liang kuai er yi ma?" - "Didn't you say that it was $2 just now?" Neither of them dared to respond to that. Just tried to get me to buy the $5 one. Deciding that it was still rather expensive, I wanted to consult Syah, who was getting drinks. That did the trick. As I started to walk away, the auntie offered me a box for $5 and another box free.

Another rather amusing incident was at a toilet. We had all gone to the toilet and as I was coming out, I overheard this auntie talking to her friend. "现在的男孩子越来越象女孩子. 刚才, 我看到一个男孩子带着丝巾." - "Nowadays, the boys are becoming more and more like girls. Just now, I saw a boy wearing a scarf!" *haha..I found it most amusing. Because I knew that the auntie was referring to Toshi. I must say that his dressing and appearance is of certain interest to me and Syah and he's been the topic of several of our conversations.

The thing is he looks kinda beng, but he's very respectful to his teachers and all that. Cognitive dissonance for me and Syah - not what we expected. He has this shirt, guys' style but it's got very delicate flowers printed all over. In fact, I'll use the word "sweet" to describe it. But Toshi can actually carry it off. Plus he's got one of those bags you carry at the side, like my bag. And he wears a scarf around his waist. It's a dull pink and it's got some frills at the end. Plus he has this brown jacket we saw in this bag that, well, I would have thought was a girl's. Wanna know what's the most amazing thing? Syah and I conclude unanimously that he still looks like a guy, ie a normal guy, despite his dressing style, he does not look gay. Perhaps because of his small build, he's only slightly taller than me.

Even though I didn't venture out of Singapore, but I feel that I've learnt quite a bit about Japanese culture and of course, more not-so-nice stuff about Singapore. I've seen Singapore in a different light, using a different perspective and through another pair of eyes.