If my first trip to Singapore in January 2005 was merely a vacation between two semesters, my second trip in October 2005 was supposed to be much more than that. In Slovenia the last year of your studies is reserved for writing your thesis and many people don't do just that. The year is long and there's plenty of time for other things such as work, travel or volunteer. And since I was so impressed with Singapore and I had someone there, I decided to find a job or internship for at least 6 months, which I hoped would be a great experience for me and beneficial for my further career. And an opportunity presented itself: I met someone, who said he will provide me a job.
First meeting with the agent
I was introduced to a Malay man, who supposedly helps foreign students getting a job or internship in Singapore for a fee. I guess we were naive and trusted that man blindly, because he was full of promises and showed a lot of effort only during the first meeting, where he expected to claim his fee. He made a good impression on me, we met in a big shopping mall, it was probably Suntec city, where we sat down and talked. He was visibly a practicing Muslim, which was comforting for me at that time, because I feel, if someone is so religious, he will not only abide be the rules of his faith, but also try his best to help this young student from Slovenia. It was so hot that day, but I saw he was very thirsty. However, he told me, that he's not allowed to drink before dusk, because it was Ramadan. Our conversation was short and he tried his best to hint, that he came to collect his fee. Since I had no ideas about how these things work in Singapore (all I knew is that money's number 1 concern), I paid the fee for an exchange of promises, who would later turn out to be empty.
The HDB block in Tampines, where I used to live.
The weird apartment owner
I lived in the same apartment I used to stay during my three weeks in January. I only rented a room like last time (signed a contract, paid my fees). The owner, a young Chinese guy, was living there with me, in the rest of the apartment, which was pretty small. I had the keys to the main door and my room, where he didn't have access. But I had to pass through his living room to come to my room. I have to say, he was a weird guy. Sometimes I greeted him and he just stared at me. He never spoke to me directly. If he had something to discuss, he would call the agent and the agent would contact me. Of course I did not cause any problems, I paid my rent always on time and lived my life quietly. Probably the weirdest thing that ever happened to me was when we accidentally had to leave the apartment at the same time. I didn't know that he's already at the main door, trying to unlock it, when I was locking the door of my room. I say hi, but he doesn't even reply. And guess what? He locked the door back in front of pretending I'm not there! Can you imagine that? We stood like 1m apart from each other and he did that. That was the ultimate weirdo moment.
I started to become bitter
As the day passed by, I became more and more bitter. I was only allowed to stay 30 days in Singapore (with the possibility of extension for another 60), so I hoped I will get a job very soon. That agent said my job is guaranteed, before I came. I was so naive, I know. Interestingly, when he claimed the fee (was around 350SGD, around 150 Eur at that time), his efforts massively decreased. I called him many times, but he didn't answer. A week passed and sometimes he would just send me an SMS with an excuse. After two weeks passed and I became massively nervous and angry, we decided to stop being polite and threaten him by going to the police. That seemed to scare him and in a day he said I have an interview. Guess where? In the Goethe Institute, a German cultural institution, that promotes cultural exchange and the learning of the German language abroad. I wasn't really happy about it, because I had no idea what awaits me. But I gave it a try.
The odd interview experience
I was told to have my interview at 4 pm, where he would introduce me to the interviewer. The institute was located somewhere near Orchard road. I came there all elegantly dressed and 15min before the supposed interview. Guess what? He was 30min late! He came all sweaty and confused, talked like an old granny, but didn't tell anything, that would make me feel reassured. And then the biggest joke: The institute didn't look for an intern at all, they didn't even know why he came and what he wants. Probably my second weirdest moment ever. He talked and talked about me and how I'm good and German and what not, but I saw the lady wasn't interested. She was just polite and let him speak. She soon told us, that they're have no vacancies at the moment. We briefly spoke in German and I told her that the man next to me promised me a job and brought me here saying you have a job to offer. She felt bad for me, but couldn't help me at all. I left saddened and angry. He promised to bring me to more interviews, but I totally lost confidence in him. And actually, I never saw him again after this blunder. He disappeared.
Another blunder at the Singaporean police station
So we decided to go to the police, because I was so angry, that he cheated me. That was another adventure, I tell you. The police station was located at Orchard road. The person I was with, she was a Singaporean, did all the talking, explained the whole story and the woman was typing everything in the computer. Although everything seemed so simple to us, she typed so slowly and asked 100 questions. We had his name and we had a business card with the address of an office, that didn't exist. He just used someone else's address and posed as his own. About 1h and a half passed, I was nearly melting in my chair. Policemen came and go, the woman that worked on our case, was also busy with other stuff. And then, when we were nearly finished... guess what happened? She accidentally deleted the whole fine -_- FML! I saw that, because she was fumbling around and her reaction was very telling, but she pretended everything's fine. But we had to retell the whole story again and she started to type the whole thing from scratch. We sat there nearly 3h, but the biggest joke was: Nothing happened! Nothing! Not that day, not a week later, when we checked the progress. I guess they just put my case in a drawer and continued sitting around doing nothing. Singapore has a very low crime rate and I've never seen policemen so laid back like in Singapore.
I gave up! That was it for me
And after all that I said to myself: That's it! I don't care anymore! The first month was so stressful for me, I was totally not enjoying my stay in Singapore, because I have expected something completely different. But I'm the type who is at first greatly disappointed, but after my emotions settle, I try to find something positive in every situation. So I said to myself, I will
try to make the best of it. Screw the agent, screw the police, I will do things my way. I extended my stay at the immigration for another 30 days (and later for another 30) and lived my life normally. My savings were nearly gone, but I had her, who helped me a lot and I'm grateful to her until this very day. You have to know, money goes out of your wallet very fast in Singapore and at that time I was just a poor student, who used his savings for this trip. The air ticket was expensive, then came the fee for the cheating agent, then a fee for the real estate agent and a rent in advance plus the normal rent... and add to that transportation, food and other small expenses and money is gone pretty quickly.
The first two weeks after the agent blunder I took a rest from everything and went to shopping malls, explored Singapore, lived a daily (boring) life.
My Hari raya experience
Then came Hari raya (the Malay celebration day at the end of the Muslim fasting month Ramadan) and I was invited to join in the festivities, which were basically family gatherings and visits with a lot of food and chatter. I mostly had fun, although I was the only white non-Muslim person at the table. The food was really yummy and abundant, Malays are famous for being very hospitable. I probably had eaten more during that time than any other time in Singapore. But there were some moments, where I felt uncomfortable. A group of Malay men (all in baju) asked me to join them at the table and they questioned me about various things, where I come from, how's life in my country. That was all fun, until one of them started to make fun of my (for them) big nose. I don't like taunts that target someone's ethnic particularity such as the supposed "long nose" of White people or the supposed "small eyes" of East Asians. From what they said, I had the feeling that they were full of stereotypical thinking about Whites in general. I just smiled, nodded, but felt very uncomfortable in that moment. But all in all, it was a fun time. It was one of those times, where I really got to know the Malay culture in Singapore from the inside. It gave me a lot of food for thought in 2006, when I was long departed from the city state.
What Singapore meant for me
In 2005 I got the chance to catch a glimpse of how another nation lives. Prior to 2005, I've only been to some European countries and briefly in Tunisia. But I have never stayed 3 months outside Slovenia before and I've never been so far from home. That itself was one of the best experiences I ever had. I grew up. I changed. Suddenly I was that guy who travels far, who goes alone (although I had someone there), who puts on his backpack and leaves. I realized that traveling is what makes me happy, that exploring cultures, that are so far and so different, is something I want to do all my life. I was infected with the travel virus. And although I initially thought, that I will settle in Singapore, I realized a year later, that this is not where I'll find my luck. Fate led me to Malaysia in 2007 and 2008, but that's a long story for another post.
How I saw Singapore and Singaporeans
I have no idea, how Singaporeans saw me. Some saw me as that white guy, who lives in the same HDB block and wondered, why is that so, since most Singaporeans thing "all White people are rich" and should therefore live in condos. Maybe that stereotype cost me few more cents, because sometimes my food was charged more than it cost for the locals, probably because of the color of my skin. That upset me at that time, but now I can only smile. It also upset me, when a kid and her mum laughed at my nose (yep, they pointed at it). I'm fine, if kids do that, but grown ups? Come on... Yeah, there were definitely many things that made an impression on me during my time in Singapore, good and bad.
Singapore is very crowded, you always have the feeling that you're living in a big city, rather than in a small country, even if Singapore is both. I've met totally friendly awesome Singaporeans, but I've also encountered weird people, like a Chinese uncle on the street, who started to yell at me for no reason. I'm happy I didn't understand him. We all base our opinion on the things we see and encounter. For me, Singapore is a fine place (no pun intended), but there is a lot of room for improvement. A lot. And I'll leave that to Singaporeans, I'm sure there's a lot of people, who will bring about change to the way things are done there. There are two types of Singaporeans: The well-traveled cosmopolitan ones, who usually worked and studied abroad and the ones, that seldom leave the state, live in their HDB reality most of their life and don't see outside the bubble.
What I liked and disliked about Singapore
What I love about Singapore is the efficiency, the convenience for everything, be it food, shopping, transportation, everything works fine (again no pun intended). But sometimes I felt Singaporeans lack a human touch or a human approach. Give Singaporeans a plan and they'll do a perfect job. Tell them to be spontaneous and they will suddenly be lost. Well, that's not the case for every Singaporean of course, but there's some truth in it. The economic and social situation is not as good as the government wants to portray it, I've seen too many Singaporeans work like crazy for meager wages. And the race relations are not as good as Singapore advertises them (some Malays feel they can't make the same career as the Chinese), although I have to say in Malaysia they're worse (if that's anything to be proud of is another question).
I have to say that was 2005. A lot has changed in the recent 5 years, so I'm not sure how up to date my assessment is, but I'm sure those who know Singapore, will find some truth in it.
I had my struggles when I returned
I have to say it wasn't easy to leave. After 3 months you just start to adapt to life, you start to mingle, you start to see yourself as part of the locals, not a visitor. But then you have to leave and start over again. I came home before new year 2006 and it was really hard. Not only did we have snow and almost 40 degrees less than Singapore, it was also a big change of life, I had to get used to the Slovenian food and people. From a big hot city into a cold snowy countryside in Slovenia is a huge changed. I struggled. I was disappointed in a way, but still happy that I could have this experience. 2005 transformed me into a traveler, Singapore made me interested in Asia and that's why it will always have a special place in my heart. I returned to Singapore in December 2008, but only for 2 days and everything felt different. At that time I came as a visitor from Malaysia, my heart and mind were there, Singapore was just a destination for a short trip and nothing more.
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