Hi!
Catch of the week;
Thought you guys might like to ponder over this:
" Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit."(by Jawaharlal Neru)
When we talk about interculture, it pretty much depends on our way of life and the different beliefs, cultures and values we adopt. It also tells how we people behave and perceive the world around us.
In the local context, things like kiasu-ism and singlish depict our lifestyle and what truly makes us Singaporeans. Believe it or not, much as I choose to deny that I'm not among the herd, a part of me still displays involuntary acts of 'the typical Singaporean syndrome-singlish, kiasu, kiasee, and whatever you can think of!' Well, we know that culture is learned and shared, so whatever we do is dependent on how people around us present themselves. Oh my, now we know 3/4 of the nation is guilty of the above.
Lately, I came across this Romancing Singapore campaign, which provides initiatives for singles to interact. It has been around since 2002 and is a social platform, as well as a marketing strategy for businesses. Not bad, considering the many benefits it offers like movie marathons, island-wide treasure hunt etc.(yearly event) Being in a collectivist society, we are prone to always thinking about others before self, adhering to what society expects of us. Even for something like marriage, we have to cater to the likings of our parents and goodness gracious, following what the government says when they encourage more people to get married and give birth(of course, not forgetting the benefits that comes attached to it). This, I can never understand why.
All I know is, Singapore has changed from a country with traditional mindsets, to one that is open to new ideas and very much westernised. Though this may seem the case, our mentality towards certain issues like filial piety is still highly ingrained in us. Any forms of rebellion acts are frowned upon. Being Asians, it is our culture to value these despite which nationalities we call ourselves to be or claim to be 'western in thinking'.
In the local context, things like kiasu-ism and singlish depict our lifestyle and what truly makes us Singaporeans. Believe it or not, much as I choose to deny that I'm not among the herd, a part of me still displays involuntary acts of 'the typical Singaporean syndrome-singlish, kiasu, kiasee, and whatever you can think of!' Well, we know that culture is learned and shared, so whatever we do is dependent on how people around us present themselves. Oh my, now we know 3/4 of the nation is guilty of the above.
Lately, I came across this Romancing Singapore campaign, which provides initiatives for singles to interact. It has been around since 2002 and is a social platform, as well as a marketing strategy for businesses. Not bad, considering the many benefits it offers like movie marathons, island-wide treasure hunt etc.(yearly event) Being in a collectivist society, we are prone to always thinking about others before self, adhering to what society expects of us. Even for something like marriage, we have to cater to the likings of our parents and goodness gracious, following what the government says when they encourage more people to get married and give birth(of course, not forgetting the benefits that comes attached to it). This, I can never understand why.
All I know is, Singapore has changed from a country with traditional mindsets, to one that is open to new ideas and very much westernised. Though this may seem the case, our mentality towards certain issues like filial piety is still highly ingrained in us. Any forms of rebellion acts are frowned upon. Being Asians, it is our culture to value these despite which nationalities we call ourselves to be or claim to be 'western in thinking'.
Anyway, culture does allow us to widen our horizons. In Singapore alone, we have the 4 different nationalities and each have their own uniqueness, couple them with a touch of Singaporean-ism and tada, we have a multi-lingual and multicultural Singapore we can truly call our own!
But it's fast losing its place.
ReplyDeleteAs people get swept up in the human rat race.
farhanfranhafraahn
Hi,, thanks for the "food for thought",, it is true...
ReplyDeleteNice post,, simple and brief.. :D
ooo interesting and ironical coming from the former prime minister of india, good friend on gandhi's and who could never keep pakistan and india together.
ReplyDeletethough a more interesting line would be
"war is the continuation of politics by other means." by von something i donno how to spell his name lol.
ooo interesting and ironical coming from the former prime minister of india, good friend on gandhi's and who could never keep pakistan and india together.
ReplyDeletethough a more interesting line would be
"war is the continuation of politics by other means." by von something i donno how to spell his name lol.
Hey Hui Shan~!..
ReplyDeletefound urs thru Marcus's blog.lol.
Anyway, it's the kiasu/kiasi-sim and singlish that portrays a singaporean flavour. Some foreigners think that it's nothing to be proud of but some think it's a unique for our mutlti-racial culture. And also in response to the social collectivist, think that's how the media wants us to think what they talk about and not we think on what we come out with. Pretty collectivist
Nice POsting-Hear From you in my blog too!!
Cheers WAINE *_*
i noticed i left this blog entry out. let me finish up what i started... :)
ReplyDeleteculture. something so diverse, it's interesting. but have u ever gone overseas, and spotted mannerism that identifies another singaporean? i have seen it for myself, and it's quite ugly in my honest opinion. i was in some airport (bangkok i think) and one of the shops selling local delicacies were giving out free samples. this uncle clad in shorts and slippers (singaporean ahpek stereotype) wouldnt stop 'sampling' the food(kiasu-ism), even amidst stares from other passerbys. when he was finally done, he turned around, told his family, 'eh, not nice lah. lets go.' which led me to conclude that he was singaporean. LOL.
and yes, i agree that singaporean-ism i unique in a sense. it's a melting pot of 4 different cultures from 4 different nationalities! imagine, where would all the good food be if it weren't this way?!