When I had the privilege of visiting New York last year, I had a closer look and feel of the heartache of the most powerful country in the world. DJ and I went to Ground Zero and took pictures. I could not bear to smile like a tourist. There were flowers, candles, notes, etc. for the people who died in the suicide terrorist attacks that took away close to 3,000 lives five years ago today.
"Oh, my God" were the only words most of us could utter as the world watched the World Trade Center break into rubbles. The sight of people falling, flying from the building was unbearable.
What a tragedy, indeed. Death has its own way of taking its place even in the most secure, rich and guarded place. But how comforting it is to know that there is Someone we can call and look up to even in the most scary, most hurting, and most devastating moment in history.
"Oh, my God."
...some people feel the rain,some just get wet.
since December 2006
Will you be my 3rd wife?
I was on my way home from church yesterday. On the train, there was an Indian man who started conversation with me. I responded politely, smiled and nodded my head. He told me he has one wife in India and one in Singapore. What he said after that freaked me out. "I've been searching for so long. I want one more. Now I think I found you. Will you be my 3rd wife?"
Yikes. Haha.
Funny but scary, too. He smelled alcohol. I stopped talking to him and wished to get off the train as soon as I could especially when he began talking to another guy. I couldn't understand everything he said but I caught one phrase - "just one night". Was he selling me to that guy? Oh, goodness. Other passengers laughed, shook their head, while the rest tried not to catch his attention. He was crazy.
For the past three months here in SG, I've always felt safe. I would walk around the city without having any fear of snatchers. I can put my cellphone in my backpack without having to guard it like crazy. I would pass by a street with construction workers (Indian and Sri Lankan looking men) sitting around and still, I feel safe. They are respectful.
But well, that crazy Indian man on the train reminded me Singapore is not that 110% safe after all. No country is.
Yikes. Haha.
Funny but scary, too. He smelled alcohol. I stopped talking to him and wished to get off the train as soon as I could especially when he began talking to another guy. I couldn't understand everything he said but I caught one phrase - "just one night". Was he selling me to that guy? Oh, goodness. Other passengers laughed, shook their head, while the rest tried not to catch his attention. He was crazy.
For the past three months here in SG, I've always felt safe. I would walk around the city without having any fear of snatchers. I can put my cellphone in my backpack without having to guard it like crazy. I would pass by a street with construction workers (Indian and Sri Lankan looking men) sitting around and still, I feel safe. They are respectful.
But well, that crazy Indian man on the train reminded me Singapore is not that 110% safe after all. No country is.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Singapore, lah! Part 2
Welcome to my new world
A series of stories on my first three months in the Lion City
Language
Scene 1: walk, work
One day, I took a 40-minute walk from work to home. I heard my housemate ask me, "How was your work?"
I said: "It was good. I spent most of my time with the photos."
She asked again: "How was your work?"
Hmm...maybe she didn't hear me. So I replied: "It was good. I spent most of my time with the photos. Did some editing."
She looked confused, so I explained more. "Photos. Editing. Those are parts of my work! (How come she doesn't know my work? We talk about it everyday, I said in my head:-))" Then she laughed. She said she asked me, "How was your walk?" Not work. Haha. What does photo editing have to do with my walk?! Oh, goodness. Two women working in the communications department just had miscommunication problem!
Singaporeans have soft "r". They don't fully articulate it, so words like "work" and "walk" sometimes sound the same. All right, my Filipino ears have to adjust to the Singaporean tongue!
Scene 2: PhP2,600 for a 5-kg rice, anyone?
I picked a 5-kg pack of rice in a shop. The store owner talked to me in some Chinese-sounding language. I panicked. Politely, I asked again (in English) how much was the rice. She scratched her head, mumbled, and managed to say, "$80". I realised she doesn't speak English.
Wow. So expensive. Eighty dollars (or some PhP2,600) for a 5-kg rice? No, thank you. Besides, I only had $10 in my purse. I went to another shop and got it there for only $4. Whoa!
Scene 3: servant, seven
I did an interview one time with a campus ministry leader. She mentioned about her team's name as "Seven", or that's what I heard. I asked why her team is called Seven. She frowned and said, "No, not seven, but Servant." Oh, shoot. Well, there goes the soft "r" again!
A multi-racial country, Singapore speaks English (primarily British English), Mandarin, Malay and Tamil (and I don't know what else). It's fun to walk around public places, eat at coffee shops, or take a bus ride - you'll hear all these different languages - so beautiful, confusing, and fascinating.
By the way, if Filipinos have Taglish (Tagalog-English), Singaporeans also have Singlish, where they mix English with common phrases of mostly Chinese dialects.
And in case you're wondering what "lah" means, it's a common word Singaporeans use to punctuate their sentences. If you visit Singapore, lah will be one of the first local words you'll learn.
A series of stories on my first three months in the Lion City
Language
Scene 1: walk, work
One day, I took a 40-minute walk from work to home. I heard my housemate ask me, "How was your work?"
I said: "It was good. I spent most of my time with the photos."
She asked again: "How was your work?"
Hmm...maybe she didn't hear me. So I replied: "It was good. I spent most of my time with the photos. Did some editing."
She looked confused, so I explained more. "Photos. Editing. Those are parts of my work! (How come she doesn't know my work? We talk about it everyday, I said in my head:-))" Then she laughed. She said she asked me, "How was your walk?" Not work. Haha. What does photo editing have to do with my walk?! Oh, goodness. Two women working in the communications department just had miscommunication problem!
Singaporeans have soft "r". They don't fully articulate it, so words like "work" and "walk" sometimes sound the same. All right, my Filipino ears have to adjust to the Singaporean tongue!
Scene 2: PhP2,600 for a 5-kg rice, anyone?
I picked a 5-kg pack of rice in a shop. The store owner talked to me in some Chinese-sounding language. I panicked. Politely, I asked again (in English) how much was the rice. She scratched her head, mumbled, and managed to say, "$80". I realised she doesn't speak English.
Wow. So expensive. Eighty dollars (or some PhP2,600) for a 5-kg rice? No, thank you. Besides, I only had $10 in my purse. I went to another shop and got it there for only $4. Whoa!
Scene 3: servant, seven
I did an interview one time with a campus ministry leader. She mentioned about her team's name as "Seven", or that's what I heard. I asked why her team is called Seven. She frowned and said, "No, not seven, but Servant." Oh, shoot. Well, there goes the soft "r" again!
A multi-racial country, Singapore speaks English (primarily British English), Mandarin, Malay and Tamil (and I don't know what else). It's fun to walk around public places, eat at coffee shops, or take a bus ride - you'll hear all these different languages - so beautiful, confusing, and fascinating.
By the way, if Filipinos have Taglish (Tagalog-English), Singaporeans also have Singlish, where they mix English with common phrases of mostly Chinese dialects.
And in case you're wondering what "lah" means, it's a common word Singaporeans use to punctuate their sentences. If you visit Singapore, lah will be one of the first local words you'll learn.