Cultural Evolution: The Singapore Use of Chopsticks

In my 2 year stay here in Singapore, there are a few things that are always viable topics of discussion when I'm with different groups of Singaporean Chinese. Among all of these, my personal favorite involves a very "weird" practice unique to Singaporeans. Somehow, the way they use chopsticks is completely different to how their racial counterparts use it. 

This is basically the "normal" way of holding chopsticks; how the Chinese from China, as well as the Chinese in other countries in South East Asia (except for SIngapore and possibly Malaysia) eat using this utensil. It's how we were taught as well in the Philippines. Heck, that's even my hand in that picture! :D

The sticks are apart, with one resting between the thumb and the forefinger while the other is being held by the tips of the other 3 fingers (see picture). The stick nested between the thumb and the forefinger does not move. It serves as the anchor, while the other stick being held by the three fingers pushes the food to that stick and locking it in place. 

Here's how a typical Singaporean would hold would hold chopsticks. There's a fundamental difference in how it's held. The sticks are together, nested between the thumb and the forefinger. One stick is also supported by the forefinger and middle finger in order for the sticks to cross each other. This forms an "X", compared to the traditional way that forms a "V" shape. 

(And no, that's not my hand because I don't even know how to do it. :D)

Movement of the sticks is limited due to both being nested between the thumb and forefinger. How they actually get the food involves a complex movement of 3-4 fingers and a twist of the wrist. 

From what I remember, the hand actually does a "scooping" motion, mimicking that of using a spoon to get soup. Then, it's as if the whole hand cringes in order to make the chopsticks cross each other while in this scooping motion, grabbing the food. However, unlike the traditional way where people can eat directly from the chopsticks because the form allows them to do so, Singaporeans have to put the food they grabbed using their chopsticks on their Chinese spoons (what do you call those things?), then use the spoon to eat the food.

I've always been fascinated with this evolution of a once thought universal culture. Whenever I would eat in public places, I try to think about how this culture change came about. Even the very old Singaporeans hold it using their way, meaning this habit could have spawned generations ago, when a particular group of Chinese living in Malaysia and Singapore suddenly opted using this method.

What's also strange about this is that it's a topic of discussion among foreigners and Singaporeans, but no one has really written anything about it. It's definitely something worth investigating, because this rift in chopstick handling is very insightful and interesting in the study of cultural evolution. What was once thought of to be a one-way-only method of using turns out having a surprising counterpart. 

It's amazing how cultures seem so similar yet so different. 

I'm still grasping how to actually do it the SIngaporean way. It's a very difficult thing to do. :)

layman

Thank God You're A Man

I found a series of ads from a beer brand that I'm not really familiar with (is this Thai? If anyone can recognize the beer brand please let me know). Now, I can go on and on about gender stereotypes, the discrimination and double standard society has on women, etc. But I'll let it pass this time. We all need to laugh at certain aspects of our lives from time to time. Otherwise, we'll go crazy. :)

My favorite one's the bathroom thing. So detailed! :D Hahaha!

layman

When love does not find you

On my way home from the city, I had a very interesting conversation with the taxi driver. It opened my eyes to a world we all seem to ignore and take for granted.

The taxi driver is currently 48 years old. He has been a taxi driver for 18 years. He was never married. I do not know if he's had a relationship before (I sincerely doubt that he has had one). But I do know he's still single, and he has resigned himself to this fate.  

He's not alone. He has a number of friends who are of the same age as him and still single as well. All of them want the same thing: to find true love just like everyone else. If he had only lived in a romantic movie, he would be able to find his special someone soon. Sadly, life isn't like that. He's pretty much past his prime, left as an average old guy in Singapore: not too tall, very skinny, geeky looking (he was wearing glasses), and has a high pitched voice. He's not rich, he's not good looking and he probably doesn't know how to woo women, which pretty much ruins any chances he has on being able to find someone he can spend his entire life with.  

His friends were actually entertaining the prospect of marrying girls from overseas by engaging in a mail order bride system. He didn't want it because he thought it was going to be scary. If the relationship did not work out and ended up in a divorce, the guy would lose half his fortune to the woman he hardly even knew. So with that, he'll probably not find a special someone anymore. The closest thing he has to having a relationship is by engaging in prostitution (which I figured out from listening to the hints he was dropping regarding that topic). 

In today's world, we're culturally conditioned that finding our "true love" is the ONLY way of being truly happy and fulfilled in that aspect of our lives. Worst part is, this "true love" can only be acquired in ONLY ONE POSSIBLE ACCEPTED WAY. We grow up with that notion through movies, soaps, books, billboards, advertisements, the works. Guy finds girl, does something so girl will notice. Girl likes guy, they fall in love, live happily ever after until they get divorced or otherwise. 

However, society doesn't really tell us what happens when we're not able to do live by this. What happens to that heartbroken guy in the movies, the third person cast out by the couple? We don't know. We happily ignore that guy because we're too caught up in the wonderful life lived by the couple. What we do not know is that the people who are not able to fit into this mold are in pain and slowly suffering because they feel they were outcast from everyone else by not being able to find their "true love". That's why they compensate through other means, through prostitution or arranged marriages, as a desperate attempt to fit into the mold. 

Like what the taxi driver told me, his friends have the same predicament as he does. It means the number of people getting caught up in this situation is increasing. A subculture of people who cannot conform to society's standards of "true love" is already being established right under our noses, and what's scary about it is that we absolutely have no idea it even exists. 

I guess if there is something we can learn from all this, it's that in today's world, we're starting to box ourselves with notions that appear to be universal such as our notion of "true romantic love". What we need to be aware of is that it's not universal. It's something we've boxed ourselves in in order to be comfortable, ignoring the consequences for those who cannot fit the bill. If we allow ourselves to believe that there is ONLY ONE WAY of acquiring this, it makes those who cannot fulfill this feel very insecure, outcast and insignificant. And it forces them to settle for ways that are not necessarily acceptable, just to be able to fit in.

layman

Culture 101: Shanghai's Quirkiness

Whenever I go to a different place, I really don't pay attention to the touristy sites when I take pictures. It's because I can always google these tourist places and usually already find very nice shots taken by professionals. 

Instead, I tend to focus more on the quirky things / events that make a particular place unique. So I focus my spotlight on Shanghai and the things that make it unique to other cities. They're not in particular order, so apologies if I would jump from one picture to the next. 

Without further ado... here we go! :)

Very very cute shirts. These guys work for Velvet Lounge, one of the more popular bars especially among foreigners in Shanghai. As much as it's quite cute, I would feel slightly embarrassed if I were the one wearing the shirt. But I guess if it would make my job a bit easier, I wouldn't mind. 

Mainland China has a tendency to be instinctively amusing when it comes to their English signs and where they're placed, just like this "Fire Hose" sign. I actually couldn't figure out if they painted the guy first then decided to put the sign there for kicks or the other way around. Oh well, I will never know. Cheers to ambiguity and dirty minds. Hehe. 

Check out China's version of South Park. Or maybe it's Cartman's long lost Chinese daddy and his friend? This is what the people in Shanghai watch on the buses when going home after a day of work. Even though I couldn't understand these guys, I found them quite funny. 

Didn't expect to find Sylar in Shanghai! I wonder if he's off to find Chinese mutants and snatch their powers. :)

I wasn't surprised to see TV's found at the back seats in some of the taxis in Shanghai, as a lot of cars everywhere are starting to acquire this feature. I was surprised however, with the touch screen interface of the car TV's, allowing the passenger to actually play some games while waiting to arrive in their destination. Albeit very simple, it's something very entertaining, especially when one's bored. 

 

I guess KFC had a Chinese ancestor after all. :D

Not really a fan of Doraemon , but when there's too many of them in the window shelves, they started to grow on me. I'm sure this was a head turner among Asian girls there. Asian girls have a knack for liking cute stuff compared to other cultures, which explains the design. 

Well, it helps to improvise when the weather can vary from 9 to -4 degrees. In this car's case, the owner (I'm guessing a woman... please be a woman!) decided to make he car a bit more classy and fashionable during winter time. 

  
Santa! No wonder I kept seeing "Made in China" tags in all of my Christmas presents before! You do your Christmas shopping here! Why I didn't figure out the connection before, I would never know. 

So I guess this concludes that Santa's elves are actually Chinese. :)

 
I didn't expect these taxi driver shields to still exist in the city. I guess crime is still prevalent in the city. Honestly though, I don't believe it actually helps the drivers when they get mugged. 

More ways of coping with the cold. Check out the handles in the scooter. It's quite cool how such a simple concept can be so useful and widely accepted. 

Similar to the taxi shields above, I didn't expect babies to still wear these kinds of jeans in Shanghai. Basically, baby jeans have holes at their backsides in order to take a dump easier. I used to see a lot of these in Beijing. I guess having a hole on your butt is useful to some extent. Wouldn't want to wear his jeans now though. :)

And my favorite picture, which absolutely makes sense. If you want a Manicure, you should have a Panicure as well. :) Gotta love their English. 

I will miss Shanghai. It's a kind of place where I pass by the same street everyday and still see something new.

layman

Blogging Freedom

I currently find myself in one of the most exciting places to live in, a place known the world over. I'll be spending my Christmas here with my family, not to mention the other 1 billion people residing in this behemoth of a country. :) 

Sadly though, as much as I want to share my experiences and photos with my friends who are currently somewhere else, I will not be able to do it until I leave this place. Why? Some of the blogging sites I use are banned here in China.

China doesn't have complete freedom of speech, just like Singapore. Unlike Singapore though, China's restrictions extend to the online networks. Online Networking and Blogging sites such as Multiply and Livejournal are banned in China. As far as I know there is no official statement from the government why they have blocked these sites. Most agree however, that it might be due to unsavory political opinions about the government from the users of these sites.

I wonder how they do it actually. Does the government have a body that basically surfs the sites 24/7 and reads every single entry? Or do they result in finding key words from all the sites and methodically study each site and entry and decide which ones to block or not? What if the entries about China are in another foreign language? Do they have translators for it? No one knows.

All I know is that I share some of the government's sentiments for blocking these sites. Online media is a very powerful medium nowadays. Giving everyone power to voice out their concerns / issues would be detrimental to an emerging and maturing society if left uncontrolled. Blogs have influenced a lot of our decisions nowadays, whether they're for gadget opinions, political views, layman opinions, etc. So for a maturing society like China, the internet lifestyle boom may be dangerous because they may get influenced by sites that actually lead to the destruction of peace and harmony in the country through change of heart about their government. 

So yeah, it sucks, but they have their reasons. Thank goodness I can still log on to this blog. Otherwise, my holiday would really turn sour.

layman

Sock and Awe

I just had to post this in light of Bush's shoe throwing incident. It is just too funny. :D Found this at Yahoo! news. Want to play the game? Here you go!

I'll save my commentary on the whole Bush shoe throwing issue for another day. It's time to enjoy the game first.

How many times will you be able to hit him? Hehe!

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Shoe-wielding Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, who was catapulted to international prominence after throwing his shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Iraq, is now the star of the latest viral Web games.

"Sock and Awe" -- named after the military doctrine employed in the US operation to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq -- allows players to throw shoes at a figure of President Bush, as he ducks behind a podium.

Al-Zaidi missed both his attempts before being dragged off by Iraqi security forces, but players of "Sock and Awe" have a little more leeway -- you can keep slinging footwear for up to thirty seconds.

At the time of the writing, the virtual President Bush has been struck in the face by 21 million shoes, the site indicates. (layman: it has actually doubled since then)

Sock and Awe also shows visitors a league table of "Bush-shoeing countries" -- and although the United States is number one, the top five also includes France, Saudi Arabia, and the United Emirates.

News of this new-found Web fame is unlikely to come as much comfort to al-Zaidi, who is reportedly facing up to two years in prison for disrespecting a foreign leader. Players of Sock and Awe are unlikely to meet the same fate.

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layman

Return to Bethlehem

For a change, I'll stop bitching about political systems gone wrong and move on to happier things. It is Christmas time after all. 

Every year, an extraordinary event takes place during the Christmas season. Remember the 11 million people working hard overseas in order to send money to their families back home? Well, around the second week of December until early January, about two thirds (estimated) fly back home. 

Plane ticket prices soar to monumental proportions. Even budget carriers are charging 600 - 800 USD for a 3 hour flight to Manila (it gets more expensive the further the worker is staying). In spite of it, flights are still fully booked. Money is no issue during this time, as long as it means being with their respective families. 

Why? It's because in the Philippines, Christmas is the happiest time of the year for Filipinos. It is such a festive season that fieldwork for marketing research cannot be done because all the respondents are too happy. Every house would have Christmas decors, every mall would be littered with red and green designs. TV shows are bombarded with Christmas ads and TV shows about the season. The Christmas lights and parols are truly unique spectacles to behold and experience.

And so Christmas in the Philippines for Filipinos is truly something that cannot be missed. If it means spending a lot of money and scrambling for flight tickets, it's a small price to pay in order to experience something that's worth way more than money; spending the festive season with those we truly love. 

layman