http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,199817,00.html?
STREET TALK
Ang Moh expat: Chow Yun Fat's 'mum' welcomed me
By Jason Johnson
April 24, 2009
IT all started with a dream.
For a year, I had been living and working in Singapore - hating every minute of it. The heat, the politics, the heat, the rudeness, the heat, the heat.
But then I had a dream about Chow Yun Fat introducing me to his mother, and after that, everything seemed somehow all right.
I'm not one to place much stock in dream analysis, but this dream became somehow important to me.
It felt as if, after a year of hard work trying to fit into a foreign culture, my favourite Chinese actor was finally telling me, in a word, to chill.
The dream made me feel welcomed. It was a psychological breakthrough. An epiphany.
(Chow may not be Singaporean, but his wife is, so just work with me here.)
I think the fact that Chow was introducing me to his mum was the key to the whole thing. It felt like I was being asked to look beyond superficial things.
People talk funny. Who cares? Waiters are rude. Who cares? There's no freedom of speech. Who... Okay, let's not go there.
The thing is, most of the things that drove me crazy about Singapore, and still do at times, are things that don't matter much.
When you look at the things that really do matter, as I was reminded to do after I met Chow's mum, this is where Singapore shines.
Strong families. A rigorous social safety net. Relative racial harmony. Prosperity. Relative equality. Cultural richness. Low crime.
You know the drill.
To criticise Singaporeans for 'talking funny' when there are places in the world where war, genocide and poverty are the norm seems naive at best, and insane at worst.
I've always been grateful to 'Dream Chow' for introducing me to his 'Dream Mum'.
Since that time, I've gone on to start my own Singapore family, and watching my kids interact with their Singaporean mother has given me no end of joy.
I would advise anyone visiting Singapore to have their own little Singapore dream.
It doesn't have to be about Chow Yun Fat. I've heard Fiona Xie is a popular choice.
The writer is a Canadian expat married to a Singaporean Chinese marketing executive. He will be reviewing movies with the new FiRST magazine, a free weekly pullout in The New Paper from 7 May.
STREET TALK
Ang Moh expat: Chow Yun Fat's 'mum' welcomed me
By Jason Johnson
April 24, 2009
IT all started with a dream.
For a year, I had been living and working in Singapore - hating every minute of it. The heat, the politics, the heat, the rudeness, the heat, the heat.
But then I had a dream about Chow Yun Fat introducing me to his mother, and after that, everything seemed somehow all right.
I'm not one to place much stock in dream analysis, but this dream became somehow important to me.
It felt as if, after a year of hard work trying to fit into a foreign culture, my favourite Chinese actor was finally telling me, in a word, to chill.
The dream made me feel welcomed. It was a psychological breakthrough. An epiphany.
(Chow may not be Singaporean, but his wife is, so just work with me here.)
I think the fact that Chow was introducing me to his mum was the key to the whole thing. It felt like I was being asked to look beyond superficial things.
People talk funny. Who cares? Waiters are rude. Who cares? There's no freedom of speech. Who... Okay, let's not go there.
The thing is, most of the things that drove me crazy about Singapore, and still do at times, are things that don't matter much.
When you look at the things that really do matter, as I was reminded to do after I met Chow's mum, this is where Singapore shines.
Strong families. A rigorous social safety net. Relative racial harmony. Prosperity. Relative equality. Cultural richness. Low crime.
You know the drill.
To criticise Singaporeans for 'talking funny' when there are places in the world where war, genocide and poverty are the norm seems naive at best, and insane at worst.
I've always been grateful to 'Dream Chow' for introducing me to his 'Dream Mum'.
Since that time, I've gone on to start my own Singapore family, and watching my kids interact with their Singaporean mother has given me no end of joy.
I would advise anyone visiting Singapore to have their own little Singapore dream.
It doesn't have to be about Chow Yun Fat. I've heard Fiona Xie is a popular choice.
The writer is a Canadian expat married to a Singaporean Chinese marketing executive. He will be reviewing movies with the new FiRST magazine, a free weekly pullout in The New Paper from 7 May.
