It's one thing to read about Asia and scroll through pictures on a Google. It's an entirely different feeling when you step out into the breathtaking heat of an Asian country. I've quickly become accustomed to the thick layer of sweat that has taken residence all over me.
Time is flying past and I am settling in nicely to what feels like a life that I have never lived before.
The entirety of my life has been spent peddling away at my father's savings account in small southern towns. At home, a war amongst the differences rages. Acceptance for uniquities is falling to an all-time low and I am experiencing the complete opposite in Singapore.
Today I am writing to you from a country where I am a pasty white marshmallow selected from the bag, in a sea of freshly roasted 'mellos.
Meaning, I am very pale in comparison. It's a silly analogy, but it's the best way I can explain how strange it is to be "the odd one out". I walk down Orchard Road, shopping metropolis and venue for Asia's largest underground mall, The Ion, and I am the difference.
By all means, Singapore is one of the most diverse country in Asia, housing people of all nationalities and ethnicities. Nonetheless, my blonde hair, blue eyes and red lips make me stand out just a bit.
Aside from the differences, Singapore is welcoming, safe and radiant. People don't care if you pray five times a day or haven't prayed since you were 3 years old. Go about your life and respect other's right to live. That seems to be an unspoken motto here.
Taking care of kids in a country with minimal crime is a breeze. We take the MRT, the underground shuttle, to the city for lunch without a wince of insecurity.
While sitting with some local students, I raved about how convenient it was to be able to walk anywhere and feel completely secure. Looking at me with a sideways grin, he said, "It's a little too safe."
He was referring to the strict government and regulations put in place for those that reside in Singapore. It's safe, because no one dares to break the laws for fear of the consequences.
Something to consider when complaining about America's laws, whether you feel they are too restricting or too lenient. The saying, "It's always greener on the other side," rings through my mind constantly here.
On Sat. May 28, Khue and I ventured to Little India by MRT in search of henna, loud Indian music and "the Little India smell". I have fallen in love with "the Little India smell", a sweet and spicy smell that combines warm curry and fresh flowers linked together by string.
We grazed through the streets, down the cracked, roughly paved roads (no mothers' backs were broken) gazing into closet sized shops. Music made for dancing blares from each doorstep, competing with neighbors' music next door.
Little India's existence is an achievement in itself. It is a slice of Indian culture plucked and dropped in the midst of an entirely different cultural environment. The United States may be a 'melting pot', but based upon the ethnic discourse displayed in US news, Singapore is doing fairly well.
The United States is a common conversation topic here... Scratch that. Trump is a common conversation topic here. I was stopped in a mall and upon revealing that I was an American on holiday, the salesman asked, "Are you Trump or Hillary?"
He looked at me and assumed Hillary, based upon my gender and hair color, because those are two factors that influence who I chose to run the country... *cue eye roll*
ANYWAYS... I digress.
American culture has permeated a multitude of countries through film, media, fashion, news and the list goes on. Average Americans may no little to nothing about Singapore, but I tell you, they know a lot about Americans.
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