Convergence at Six Degrees

The funniest thing happened when I decided to sit in a favourite coffee-joint this morning to surf, plan and write. As I was writing the previous entry, the store manager came up and asked if I would like to sit in on a book promo session. I had seen the book earlier at the counter and was initially attracted to it, but told myself I had come to complete some work and would look at the book after I had accomplished my task for the day. So as luck would have it, the manager came up to me with the invitation and I couldn't turn it down. This book is of course Six Degrees of Expatriation by Maida Pineda.

I hope I don't get into trouble writing about my encounter here, but it made an impression deep enough for me to want to blog about it. The author, Maida, is like a breath of fresh air. Contrary to my very ignorant impression of writers, she wasn't loud and intimidating (don't ask where I got this impression from, I probably just conjured it up from nothing). Instead, she was open and polite, always smiling and for want of better words, amazingly sweet. She shared with us a snippet of the book, about her experience when her honeymoon period in Singapore had come to an end, and when she experienced a fall, both literally and figuratively.

What touched me was her curiosity and and her desire to learn more about our culture, while remaining non-judgemental. I asked her if there was anything that struck her about Singaporeans and she quipped eagerly, "you mean something positive?". I replied that it doesn't matter, just that I wanted to know how an Expat viewed us, and was prepared to receive an honest opinion. She commented that Singaporeans are all hardworking and concerned about getting ahead. I enquired if that meant that we were caught up in consumerism, and she apologized and said, yes. She almost looked sorry that she had to admit it, but I on the other hand, was happy and surprised, that her views echoed mine. She said that the prevalence of consumerism was sad, but that as long as we knew who we were, then we could pay more attention to our spiritual selves and work on it. Rightly said, I see it as a constructive comment instead of a criticism of our identities and our goals.

It was a fulfilling morning, to see that someone supposedly sitting outside the fence of our culture had views that converged with mine. Of course, these are general comments in a casual conversation and do not in anyway characterise the entire Singaporean community (this disclaimer is here for fear of the backlash I'll get when my comments get distorted to something like "Singaporeans are empty or have not emotional core or shape"). There were other things that we chatted about that made me feel I wouldn't mind talking to her again. Just in case I don't get the chance to meet her again, I'd just like to say a warm welcome to her, to come be part of our eclectic culture.