Friends I Haven't Met

Gambatte!

2010-09-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

And once again, this is the second time I've spoken to a complete stranger. To be fair, I wasn't the one who initiated the conversation (again), but I did have a meaningful conversation.

I was sitting alone on the bus, reading my book as it pulled into Newton Station, and as a crowd of people came on, this middle-aged Japanese lady pointed to the seat next to me and said something I couldn't catch, but with that questioning look which clearly meant, "Can I sit here, or is this seat taken?" I shook my head, and she sat down. I was about to turn back to my book, when she asked me a question about the bus line and whether it passed by Marina Bay or Takashimaya.

Se we started talking. I learned that she was a housewife from Japan (from a place which is "Tokyo's neighbour", as she put it), who has been staying here in Singapore for about eight years because her husband is here on business. She has picked up quite a lot from her stay here, knowing about National Service and the annual F1 races and universities and stuff like that.

She was a really nice person to talk to, despite the language barrier. You see, while she had a good grasp of the grammar, she found it hard coming up with the vocabulary to use. And I couldn't even speak to her in her native language. One thing I really noticed for the first time was all the sounds in the Japanese language. Even while she was speaking English, each word was punctuated with one of those Japanese phonetic sounds which I pick up from all the anime I watch (which isn't much).

I found that I really wanted to talk to her more, and ask her more questions, but I kept taking a while to think of things I could ask her in simple English so that she could understand. I guess I never wanted to know how to speak Japanese more in my life, besides that time I noticed the Japanese girl on the bus I take home from camp. Yeah.

So well, that's number two, with a smaller time margin, so hopefully this will be one of those things which will occur more often.

The First Time

2010-05-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

So after a year and a half of inactivity, procrastination, and general cowardice, I've finally done it. I'm talked to (and helped) a complete stranger.

I went to the library today, and on my way home at about 6pm it was drizzling slightly. Nothing which would cause severe pneumonia, but the air was still damp nonetheless. I set off from Newton MRT station with my umbrella, heading for that bus stop which is now inconveniently around the corner instead of across the field. I noticed a middle-aged ang moh a couple paces in front of me.

It took me about twenty fifteen metres or so for me to actually pluck up the courage and do something which I have never done in my life before, which might have had social repercussions and resulted in psychological scarring. But it went okay; thankfully my first time was with a foreigner. (That is a sentence you don't want to use out of context.)

Turns out this man was from New Zealand, and has been living in Singapore for the past six months. He says he likes it here; it's different from his home country, but he likes the food here. That's about as much as we talked about; he crossed at the pedestrian crossing while I went running after my runaway bus. He thanked me as we parted ways though, and he said he really appreciated it. So this has been my first time and I hope I did some good today.

My Second Facebook

2009-11-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Kevin Low, and welcome to my new blog.

This blog is special, in a way. It will be different from my current personal one, yet inextricably linked. I decided to start this because I feel that the average Singaporean locks themselves inside a personal bubble, never interacting with the world beyond their friends and relatives. Take a look around on any MRT or bus and you'll understand what I mean. Half the time, everyone is quiet, or they're only talking to the people they know; the other half, they've got headphones plugged into their ears. Conservative Asian society, and all that.

So I think it's time for a new social experiment. Now that my IB exams are over, the time is ripe to start changing the world. It's nothing avant-garde or illegal. All I'm going to do is to talk to people. The buses and MRTs are first priority; we'll see what other areas people are willing to talk in as time passes, I guess. Just talk and be friendly, and see where that takes us. I get to experience the world, and to a limited extent, the world gets to experience me. It's a win-win situation; what have I got to lose?

This blog is titled after William Butler Yeats's quote: "There are no strangers here; only friends you haven't yet met." I've had the idea for over a year, but I only suddenly remembered this quote in June, and I thought it fit quite well. This blog will be a log (rhyme!) of the people I've met this way and a small fragment of the story that is their lives.

For all my cynicism and misanthropy, here's to hoping this one works out.
Kevin

NOTICE

2009-07-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

WATCH THIS SPACE.