Sara in Singapore: Philosophy of Life

I woke up this morning to extreme humidity and thunderstorms. I woke up at about 4 a.m. . . . jet lag. I keep waking up at 4a.m. I just can't help it. I like force myself to stay asleep. I put on the local news and I try to read, etc. Anything I can do to sleep just a bit more. But today instead of forcing myself back to sleep, I went ahead and showered and got dressed and wrote a small note to the girls saying I had gone on a walk. I walked to the small railroad canteen and bought myself a tea. I'm right now sitting in the canteen at a table by myself. Instead of just a few people here like the other morning, there are a million people. I think they're tourists. There are lots of cameras going off and strollers and children running around—Lots of commotion.

I love watching the people here that buy their food and just sit alone; like myself. Everyone is drinking tea, of course. It's like this tea is their Starbucks; they need it to survive! LET ME TELL YOU- the young guys that work here...wowza. They are CUTE. It's really sweet. Three of them keep walking passed my table as their cleaning up the place and smile. Not in a creepy way, but in this really cute and sweet way.

AHH! An American. A blonde guy with a HUGE ass backpack and a camera around his neck. He's walking around aimlessly with large pits stains. Meanwhile I'm starting to recognize some Malay words, which is great!! Recognize these words meaning I've heard them before, not that I know what the hell they mean. And I'm still sweating terribly. I'm trying not to think about it, but I can't help it when there's gushing sweat rolling down my face. And when I see many women fully covered in this heat, I can't help but feel even more hot.

Today, this place smells like incense and tea. It's the most amazing smell. There's a group of Malay men (which keeps growing) sitting at the table to the left of me. They are so damn loud! And they're all laughing and drinking, smoking cigarettes and talking....so loudly. It's quite amusing, actually. Yesterday I went to the office for the first day. I met with the president of UNIFEM, Pia, who is a Swedish woman who has lived in Singapore for many years. She's the one who hired me for the internship. I met the office manager, Melissa, and saw the desk that will become my home for the next three months.

Right off the bat, I was asked to collaborate on certain events happening in the near future. Another girl who works there and I have come up with a program/event that will be happening in July. I felt so at home. It's a beautiful office and it was a great morning becoming adjusted to the place. But all the real work starts on Monday. Two of the interns I met there are becoming full-time workers. UGH what a dream that would be!

For example, M, one woman who was an intern before and then ended up staying and working for UNIFEM was born in India, went to school in India and then finished school in Thailand. She moved to Singapore two years ago. Her husband is Singaporean and she moved here to be with him. After being at the office she took me to lunch just down the road.

Now to set the scene, my office is on Orchard Road, which is like the business district of Singapore. And that's where all the most extravegant and elegant shopping is. All the designer brands, most expensive and elegant restaurants, as well as five-star hotels are here. But where she took me was a Hawker Centre (local food courts). My entire Indian meal, which was huge, was three dollars. Incredible! It was all super fresh and cooked so well. It was so delicious.

As we sat there, we talked about her traditional Indian wedding, she showed me pictures of it, and we talked about my father, our lives, what it is like here in Singapore. She encouraged me into thinking that this summer would be amazing for me. Which I had no doubt about anyway, but it was really comforting to know that she had done the same thing I'm embarking on, just two years ago. The canteen is so packed!! One of the guys from the table next to me came up to me just now and sat down. I'll stop writing for now and see what happens . . .

So it's two-and-a-half hours later since I was last writing in my little book. A man from the large table of malay men next to me, pulled up a chair to my table, and offered to buy me a tea. We simply began to talk. We talked about Singapore, about laws, religion and politics. The past two-and-a-half hours were so incredible. He sat with me and we talked about how this railroad canteen, the one I'm still sitting in now, will be torn down July 17. This place is still owned by the Malaysian government, but the Malaysian government just sold this place to the Singaporan government. I guess the reason was because of money and politics. This land is extremely precious. He began to tell me how he's been coming here every morning for the past 22 years after his night shift with his co-workers. They sit here, drink their tea, smoke, relax, read the newspaper. But in just 10 days, the Singaporean government is going to destroy it all. It's quite sad. They're going to turn it into commercial buildings.

Singapore is becoming more and more developed and this is just one more historic, rustic place that is becoming commercial land. That means that this train stop here which connects Singapore and Malaysia will no longer exist. He is extremely upset because there is so much history here and it's all going to demolished. We talked about our philosophies of life. We both thought the same way! His philosophy: "I cannot change the world, but I know I can change myself which influences my surroundings." He talked about how he was a bad Muslim years ago. He drank, smoked and was a womanizer, but he changed because he knew as a human being on this earth that he was worth more than just temporary satisfactions. He believes in wellness and being a good and peaceful human being. He told me about his recent travels to Bali and how he spent all night talking to one of the waiters.

"My favorite thing to do in my life is to meet other and through them I see the world. Through them I experience others lives and it keeps me alive. I love people. They're so beautiful," He told me. Kimoon used to be a bodybuilder, but made no money so he became a personal trainer as a hobby. "It keeps me young and seeing people happy because they succeeded through their results is the most rewarding. I don't do it for the money, I do it because im able to change someone's life. And thats amazing, isn't it Sara?" and Kimoon is no Dahli Lama, or Ghandi. This man is just a local worker. Just a normal guy. We talked about so much! The conversation never paused and we never hesitated to bring up anything to each other. We asked each other hundreds of questions because we truly just wanted to understand each other. He was also so hilarious! and laughed at all of his own jokes. It was a riot. His farewell was... "Ok Sara. Sara, Sara la la la. I must go home now to sleep. I start work at 4:30 p.m. but I sure I going to see you the next morning. Stay vibrant, young one, and enjoy this humid day. And get yourself an Asian boyfriend. They're so much fun to have around!"

He chuckled, shook my hand, grabbed his motorcycle helmet and walked off.