Dear TRS
I am writing this to voice my opinion of foreign expatriates as an average Singaporean. Being a daily commuter on public transport, it can be quite stressful enduring the long commuting hours, the after work stench in this torturous weather and the peak hours crowd. Sometimes, I seek solace in taking longer bus rides over trains as it is generally a more peaceful way to commute.
There are so many noises that disrupts the peace but I find it relatively easy to dismiss the occasional boorish man talking loudly over the phone, rowdy students or crying baby. What I find it difficult to tolerate are western expatriates, a seemingly higher class of social group having loud conversations when there are 2 or more in a group and happened to be taking public transport.
Once, I was on a late night train. The commuters from what I deduced are hard labour workers, retail workers and the office warriors who have worked overtime – all sporting tired faces, seated and trying to catch some rest. Then, a group of 6 ‘foreign talents’ entered the train. In broader terms, they are Ang Mohs, but speaking a European language. They were not drunk or acting rowdy, but the volumes of their conversation were loud and high-pitched, acting with total oblivious to the surrounding commuters. I plucked up my courage and feedback to one of the ladies to speak in a lower volume. But I got a defensive and unapologetic response, telling me that my request was absurd. For the longest time they have stayed in Singapore, they have spoken like this and I was the first to comment on their behaviour. I was caught dumbfounded. I thought they would correct their behaviour with an apology. I lost my home ground advantage and was in fact feeling a little embarrassed. Definitely not the right way a foreigner should treat a local of the host country. Being the only outspoken ‘Asian’ in the train, I was outnumbered and put down by their ‘white’ superiority. So I decided to keep my mouth shut until I alighted at my next destination.
The second time of my encounter was in a packed bus during after work peak hours. The bus was quiet except the conversation of two Europeans and a whining infant. They were impeccably dressed, engrossed in a seemingly highly intellectual conversation, but in a higher than average volume. Similarly to the first incident, if they were speaking in English language, I believed that they could have manage the conversation at a more subtle volume. But speaking a foreign language, it became a freedom to express and free for all to hear but not understand.
I could tell that most commuters were put off by their conversation, seeing their frustrated faces. There was another lady who kept turning back to cast a glance at the pair, trying to hint her frustration, but it did not catch their attention. I was once bitten, twice shy, so I decided to endure without giving a comment. Even the infant’s whining was drowned under the pair of loudspeakers.
I channelled my angst with a post on Facebook, where friends who idolize the westerners and their culture jumped into a defensive comment saying “Asians can be loud too”.
It makes me quite sad that our local community spaces are intruded by the various foreign social groups where some high and mighty ones are not oblivious to feedbacks, acting loud and proud. Or is it that the normally outspoken Singaporeans have cast ourselves as less superior when faced with another higher status social group. Singaporeans should learn and be encouraged to speak up with confidence, without feeling shy or losing face. Or perhaps, we should just learn to shut our mouth tighter and push our tolerance threshold higher and higher…
Dear TRS readers, do you feel what I feel?
Regards,
The average timid Singaporean