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a japanese pop icon posted:Even some Singaporeans I know share this opinion. Which is odd, but I think self-loathing singaporeans are kind of common. Anyway, it makes sense for Singaporeans to speak proper English to non-Singaporeans, but it shouldn't matter what Singaporeans speak among themselves. I sometimes cringe when hearing Singlish (or a poor imitation of English) spoken to foreigners, but calling it 'some joke of a "language"' is plainly ignorant and very insulting.
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Jun 27, 2010 09:29
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creamyhorror posted:I'll admit to being self-loathing to an extent, but it's really more a matter of seeing the faults in yourself rather than hating yourself. Most people I know are actually more positive than negative on Singapore. But it is a joke of a language that even your government is trying to extinguish.
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Jun 29, 2010 09:46
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Oh, seriously, do we have to take this toxic discussion international? Bad English comes up every time the news is slow in Singapore. The reason why we have a reputation for bad English is not so much the fact that we can't really speak English as a nation - it's that we think we can, and don't know the difference. And just like how it is here, everyone flocks to their chosen banner. There are the counl-give-a-shits. The holier-than-thous. And the why-can't-we-call-just-get-alongs. Yes, the pricks tend to sound like Cuatal. It's not that you don't have a valid point, dude. It's the way you put it across, as if nothing could possibly have a definition other than what you've assigned it. Like a small, confused goat, Singlish and its trappings have their place. Mostly for flavour and comedic value. And like the small, confused goat, if you have to ask what comedic value it has, you're just not going to get it. And for those wondering what this Singlish business is about, it's not just adding LAH to everything. Lah actually has difference connotations, depending on context, tone and inflection. http://talkback.stomp.com.sg/forums/ This is Singlish. Just prod any one of the threads in there to get a sample of how the average Singaporean talks, what he's concerned about and what his idea of humour is. Oh, it's a forum run by our national newspaper, by the way. You might begin to see that self-loathing Singaporeans have plenty to hate on. The language, the blahness of everything, the way we've never seemed to overcome holding the white man in some sort of reverence since our colonial days. Come here, ye goons, and prosper. You don't even have to be rich, just shave the neckbeard, suck in the gut and get laid. I've checked this thread off and on for a while, because it's amusing to see other people discuss your home country. It seems there are some fellow Singaporeans here, just not very talky. No disrespect to them, but it suits the passive-aggressiveness of this country. We're not likely to punch you in the face, but by gods we'll pen some really angry letters. Mostly incoherent, of course, because of the Singlish. If there's any more interest - and I must say, there's quite little to be curious about in Singapore - please ask more questions. I can answer most things, I think. History, food, daily life, how to go about settling in, and such. Maybe a little politics, if the men in black aren't listening.
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Jul 2, 2010 12:40
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I was asking about the working holiday thing on the last page; is there much casual employment and would it be viable to do for 6 months, or is Singpore not really well set up for that like Australia, et al are?
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Jul 2, 2010 14:05
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Pompous, you can't legally work here without a permit as a foreigner. There's casual employment like flyer distribution and such, but most people are only willing to hire citizens or permanent residents. If they hire a foreigner, they'll have to take on the task of applying for an employment pass for you. And no one likes to fill out forms. I'm not sure what the set-up in Aussie is like, but no, Singapore isn't the sort of place you seem to want to go. You'd have to luck out with a company looking for a short-term worker - and then they'd probably be able to find them cheaper locally or from around the region. Our wages aren't fantastic at the bottom tiers. That said, I've had plenty of friends who were here on a student visa who found employment off the record. Always menial tasks like serving, cooking and the like, though. Assuming you meet average goon specs, the idea of a white male bussing tables would be too much to handle for most local minds. You would draw attention. There's nothing to stop you doing freelance work with cash payment, if you can find it. But you should know our local classifieds, including craigslist, are quite frankly poo poo. Besides, you wouldn't want to stay here for six months, unless you intend to make Singapore a base for travelling to other places around the region in that time. You can see all there is in Singapore comfortably in two weeks. I'll even show you around. Why not just take a run-through tour like the duder who backpacked SEA? You can do that far more cheaply, and see more.
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Jul 2, 2010 15:06
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FUCKER MANI posted:Pompous, you can't legally work here without a permit as a foreigner. There's casual employment like flyer distribution and such, but most people are only willing to hire citizens or permanent residents. I've been through SEA a couple times, and studied in Bangkok for a year. I'm having poo poo for luck finding a (real) job here in the US now that I've graduated, so thinking of going back overseas if nothing pans out by the end of the summer. Right now I'm thinking of spending a few months in Thailand getting my Thai back up to scratch and sitting their proficiency exam + the US government's so I have something official to show potential employers, but if I can't find a job that isn't teaching English there (seems likely given their bogus labor laws regarding foreigners) I'd probably pack it up for somewhere else. I've been to Singapore a couple of times and have Singaporean friends from studying in Australia, right now I'm just exploring other potential options in the region. At this point I really don't want to start another language, so that leaves Laos (more or less), SG, or maybe Taiwan. I didn't know about it until the previous page of this thread, but Singapore actually has a Working Holiday Programme for foreigners, provided they're under 30, from certain countries, and have or are working on a uni degree. Australia and NZ have something similar, although it's for a full year.
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Jul 2, 2010 16:03
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crazypeltast52 fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Jan 18, 2011 |
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Jul 2, 2010 22:18
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I've been through SEA a couple times, and studied in Bangkok for a year. I'm having poo poo for luck finding a (real) job here in the US now that I've graduated, so thinking of going back overseas if nothing pans out by the end of the summer. Right now I'm thinking of spending a few months in Thailand getting my Thai back up to scratch and sitting their proficiency exam + the US government's so I have something official to show potential employers, but if I can't find a job that isn't teaching English there (seems likely given their bogus labor laws regarding foreigners) I'd probably pack it up for somewhere else. I've been to Singapore a couple of times and have Singaporean friends from studying in Australia, right now I'm just exploring other potential options in the region. At this point I really don't want to start another language, so that leaves Laos (more or less), SG, or maybe Taiwan. Sorry, I should have re-read the thread before jumping in. Would have saved you repeating yourself. That, and I also missed the Working Holiday Programme that was linked, which is news to me. That looks like a decent idea for students, though it seems to state, "Expect to be underpaid." It sounds like you don't want to teach English – there's some demand for that here, and you would be the native speaker everyone specifies they want. It would make it easier to help if you could be more specific. What sort of work are you looking to do, and what sort of salary did you have in mind? crazypeltast52 posted:Me too. I'll be the pale white kid who also fails at finding accommodations. This I'm quite surprised at. There are hostels - really swank ones - attached to most of the major universities here, and your school's office should know about this. For the goon going to SMU, this seems to be what he's looking for. Though the dates seems out, I doubt anything has changed. If you're not going to SMU, there are a few private hostels around, though they're mostly for backpackers. If you don't want to spend anything and your own school doesn't give a poo poo if you sleep on park benches, try writing the school you're coming to and ask if they have a home-stay programme. We had that back when I was in school, where the teacher would come in and announce that X Japanese/German/Midget students would coming for an exchange, and ask who wanted to host one. The foreign students then stay with their assigned person and the family for as long as they're over here.
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Jul 3, 2010 09:39
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FUCKER MANI posted:Sorry, I should have re-read the thread before jumping in. Would have saved you repeating yourself. That, and I also missed the Working Holiday Programme that was linked, which is news to me. That looks like a decent idea for students, though it seems to state, "Expect to be underpaid." I'm mostly looking to kill time while I have applications processing for government jobs (which take hilariously long here), grad school, etc. I actually don't mind teaching English itself; I have a TEFL and a little bit of experience from some internships, I just don't have a huge enough boner for Thailand to do it at Thailand-wages. (OTOH, I'd take just about anything else there, because I could really use some good work experience/a chance to use Thai in a working environment). If not, I was originally thinking about teaching English in Taiwan since it pays comparably well, and I could pick up Mandarin again on the side. I didn't know Singapore really had much of an EFL market, I'd be interested to hear more about that. Is Singapore big on American English? It seems pretty Commonwealth (the voice on the MRT, "working holiday program(me)", etc) from my experience, although the way everyone actually talks is... unique. Having studied in Australia I'm pretty familiar with both, but I can't fake an Aussie accent anymore.
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Jul 3, 2010 13:49
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Pompous Rhombus posted:
I'm American and people turn their heads and look at me whenever I say anything, regardless of where I am. From my experience, there's next to no Americans here and the white people are all European or Aussie. In the MRT one day I was talking and another American turned around and started talking to me because he said it was nice to finally hear another accent he recognized. Edit - Lots of people also ask me if I'm British or Aussie, despite the fact that my accent does not resemble either of those in any way. Cuatal fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Jul 4, 2010 |
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Jul 4, 2010 20:19
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I didn't know Singapore really had much of an EFL market, I'd be interested to hear more about that. It's not as big a market, but ads looking for native English speakers to teach the language come up fairly often. These are all from private language schools, and it's a great help that you already have TEFL accreditation. You can try writing these schools direct - a quick Google should turn some up for you. Otherwise, ask your local friends to keep an eye out in the newspaper classifieds. You won't actually be teaching locals - the bulk of the students are international. Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, that sort of thing. More Chinese than anything these days, I've been told. British English is our flavour, but other than the odd spelling here and there, no one's really particular, or really knows the difference. It's more out of habit than anything, I believe. If you're talking about speech, most people are just going to assume you have the White Man Slang, so any accent is fine. We can't tell the difference. That's why Cuatal gets accused of being from strange foreign lands. For people who don't have many white friends (most of us in Singapore), you guys all look and sound the same. On the flip side, the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai languages, for example, are all very distinctly different to us. And that's not even going into the different dialect groups of the Chinese, who speak in completely different ways. You can even tell a Singaporean Chinese and a China Chinese apart just by the way they speak the same language. But all the above probably sound alike to the poorly travelled white person - and he probably thinks we all look alike too. So we're all Asian to him. It's that way with us. A white bloke's a white bloke. We're not trying to injure your pride or anything, we just don't place English accents very well.
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Jul 5, 2010 10:15
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FUCKER MANI posted:
Oh God, the China Chinese sound like parodies of themselves. It's funny that when I speak Chinese I'll sometimes use that accent and people tell me I sound much more natural than when I just use my normal voice.
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Jul 5, 2010 10:27
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Cuatal posted:But it is a joke of a language that even your government is trying to extinguish.
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Jul 5, 2010 18:51
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creamyhorror posted:You make it sound like government policy must necessarily be right. And no, it's not a joke of a language, and I'm starting to think you're quite an rear end in a top hat. In this particular case it is right. Didn't Ris Loh embarrass you guys enough? It's almost like 90% of Singaporeans around her age sound like that. And I guess you got me, it's more of a joke of a dialect, not its own language.
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Jul 6, 2010 06:53
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Hey, this is a question for all the Singapore locals, I'm going to be spending 3 nights there in August (Aug 10-13) and this is during the week too. I'm looking for accommodation, I know this period is too short to get a serviced apartment (with kitchen etc.) which is ideal for me, but I was wondering if there are any hotels available with small kitchenettes. If this isn't an option again, do you folks have any good suggestions for a good hotel (obviously cheaper is better), I would say my budget is up to around $110USD a night (not sure what that is in the Singapore currency). Basically just looking to see if anyone there has an "inside scoop" of where I can stay for cheap. Thanks!
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Jul 7, 2010 09:59
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Dirrtee_Digits posted:Hey, this is a question for all the Singapore locals, I'm going to be spending 3 nights there in August (Aug 10-13) and this is during the week too. I'm looking for accommodation, I know this period is too short to get a serviced apartment (with kitchen etc.) which is ideal for me, but I was wondering if there are any hotels available with small kitchenettes. Someone else may have a better idea on this, as I haven't had much experience with hotels. What I do know: -None of the hotels I've been in have kitchenettes, just your usual electric kettle affair. -For $110USD, which Google says is $152SGD, try Hotel 81. It's a chain of budget hotels with a bit of a reputation for prostitution, but most budget hotels are going to have that. The one in the link is in a fairly central area of town, and they have branches all over the island. There are backpacker hostels here which are even cheaper, though I can't tell you much about them, not having backpacked my own country. I could tell you your best option if you know the general area you want to stay. Are you coming here for something specific, or just a look-see?
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Jul 7, 2010 11:52
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FUCKER MANI posted:British English is our flavour, but other than the odd spelling here and there, no one's really particular, or really knows the difference. It's more out of habit than anything, I believe. If you're talking about speech, most people are just going to assume you have the White Man Slang, so any accent is fine. We can't tell the difference. That's why Cuatal gets accused of being from strange foreign lands. For people who don't have many white friends (most of us in Singapore), you guys all look and sound the same. Yeah, I'm used to being Generic White Person, doesn't bother me. The weirdest was in China because I guess it's a hobby for them to guess where we're from, and I got pretty much everything but American. I asked some guy why he thought I was French and he said "Americans are either very fat or very muscular, you're too skinny"  Another time I was Russian because I'm tall. Dirrtee_Digits posted:Hey, this is a question for all the Singapore locals, I'm going to be spending 3 nights there in August (Aug 10-13) and this is during the week too. I'm looking for accommodation, I know this period is too short to get a serviced apartment (with kitchen etc.) which is ideal for me, but I was wondering if there are any hotels available with small kitchenettes. Singapore has awesome and inexpensive street food, there's no reason to get a kitchenette unless you have some oddball dietary constraints. Maybe cheaper than you'd need, but I stayed at Bugis Backpackers when I was there 5 years ago. One of my Thai friends was there a couple months ago and he said it was still decent.
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Jul 7, 2010 13:17
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FUCKER MANI posted:Someone else may have a better idea on this, as I haven't had much experience with hotels. What I do know: I'm out there visiting my ex-girlfriend (had booked the flight before we broke up) and that story could very well be its own e/n thread but it doesn't really matter. Fact is we just need a place to stay because she lives with 3 other people and her place is pretty small so it would be the most convenient to get another hotel, someplace fairly decent would be nice. It's good to know that all the food is super cheap, I had that suspicion but it's good to hear. I'll be there sightseeing on my own for 3 days while she works. Would anyone like to suggest a good 3 day blitz of Singapore sights? (might only end up being 2 days).
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Jul 8, 2010 04:59
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Dirrtee_Digits posted:I'm out there visiting my ex-girlfriend (had booked the flight before we broke up) and that story could very well be its own e/n thread but it doesn't really matter. Fact is we just need a place to stay because she lives with 3 other people and her place is pretty small so it would be the most convenient to get another hotel, someplace fairly decent would be nice. Orchard Road, Sentosa, East Coast Park, Singapore Flier, Durian Building, Little India, Chinatown, Vivo City, Bugis Junction, Resort World, Clarke Quay, Jurong Point...It really depends on what you want to do or see. If you're from America, just walking around anywhere here should be entertaining for a few days since it's much different.
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Jul 8, 2010 07:19
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Dirrtee_Digits posted:I'm out there visiting my ex-girlfriend (had booked the flight before we broke up) and that story could very well be its own e/n thread but it doesn't really matter. Fact is we just need a place to stay because she lives with 3 other people and her place is pretty small so it would be the most convenient to get another hotel, someplace fairly decent would be nice. The hostel would be great for meeting other people, if you prefer to do stuff in groups. Also I can't recommend the Singapore Zoo enough.
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Jul 8, 2010 13:33
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Pompous Rhombus posted:The hostel would be great for meeting other people, if you prefer to do stuff in groups. Also I can't recommend the Singapore Zoo enough. poo poo I totally forgot about the Zoo and Night Safari. You can pet emus and kangaroos at the zoo. The Night Safari has a bunch of nature walks and things but it's a bit hard to see some (most) of the animals.
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Jul 8, 2010 13:48
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Cuatal posted:Orchard Road, Sentosa, East Coast Park, Singapore Flier, Durian Building, Little India, Chinatown, Vivo City, Bugis Junction, Resort World, Clarke Quay, Jurong Point...It really depends on what you want to do or see. From Canada so planning on just enjoying the views around there, will definitely try to see as much of these as possible + the zoo! Do any of you know if there are live poker games in the Casino? (might try to make some money while i'm there)
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Jul 8, 2010 23:28
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Back from Singapore and Tioman. It was spectacular, even when things went wrong, they went wrong in a way that turned out nice and pleasant, and not at all hard to deal with. Diving on Tioman was spectacular, the jungle trekking was also wonderful. Saw land planarians, trilobite beetles, and trees full of flying fox bats. Stayed in Chinatown in Singapore. Did Chinatown stuff, which was nice, and exceptionally tasty, and architecturally delightful, but really not that impressive for shopping. Mostly poo poo you can get in Chinatown anywhere. Ate well in Little India. Hiked from Kent park 9km along mostly tree-canopy level walkways on the Southern Ridge, to the Henderson Wave Bridge, and the cable cars to Sentosa. Really delightful. Sentosa was pretty corny and expensive compared to everything else we did, but was pleasant also. Few pictures:     One of the nicest vacations I've ever had, shame it is on the wrong side of the planet, I'd like to come back in 5 years and see what everything they are working on now turned out like.
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Jul 30, 2010 20:43
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Any recommendations on a niceish hotel for next weekend? Heading back through Singapore for a night and wanna splurge a bit, but still under $200 USD a night. No Marina Bay Sands for me 
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Aug 3, 2010 10:09
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kalicki posted:Any recommendations on a niceish hotel for next weekend? Heading back through Singapore for a night and wanna splurge a bit, but still under $200 USD a night. We stayed in Hotel 1929, and really liked the location and the facility. It's a block from food street and the chinatown complex. It is in an old shophouse, so the rooms are micro-tiny, but all clever and design-y. Think it was around 140 singabux a night. Slo-Tek fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Aug 3, 2010 |
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Aug 3, 2010 16:11
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Uhm, so, anyone working in Singapore these days? I just arrived and I basically have zero social circle. Whats up guys? 
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Aug 17, 2010 02:30
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Local goon that has been lurking around. i can try answer any questions you may have
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Aug 18, 2010 06:18
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I've been working here for the last 2 years.
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Aug 18, 2010 08:45
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We can meet up if you're free in the next few days.
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Aug 18, 2010 11:09
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I'm down for sure. As of right now my experiences include hawker stands, Plaza Singapur and work. I don't know if any of those three things appeal to you guys. You guys have any suggestions? Some pool, maybe a beer? Regardless, I work a little east of Chinatown and live a little west of Hougang.
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Aug 19, 2010 02:30
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I'm down for meeting up. Will likely be at the pedestrian bridge at Clarke Quay after 22:00 tonight. PM me for my hand-phone-number.
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Aug 21, 2010 04:23
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Ret posted:I'm down for meeting up. Will likely be at the pedestrian bridge at Clarke Quay after 22:00 tonight. PM me for my hand-phone-number.
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Aug 21, 2010 21:06
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Reading this thread, I can't help but feel envious  I've visited Singapore at least twice a year for the past 3 years and I would love to move there after I graduate.
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Aug 24, 2010 09:20
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Cuatal posted:In this particular case it is right. Didn't Ris Loh embarrass you guys enough? It's almost like 90% of Singaporeans around her age sound like that. Do you seriously think that 90% of singaporeans around her age talk like her? I mean, REALLY believe that? That's loving ridiculous. Come on man. And Arietta, prepare yourself for all the sg goons to come in and say "wait until you move here you'll hate it to death!!!"  Also, I found that no one will really make fun of your accent or turn their head if you have an American one. People will stare at you just because you're white, not because you're american. This also depends on which part of Singapore you're in. Seeing and Ang Mo in Toa Payoh is much more rare than Clarke Quay, for instance, so you'll get a bit more attention..
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Aug 27, 2010 00:52
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zeldadude posted:Do you seriously think that 90% of singaporeans around her age talk like her? I mean, REALLY believe that? That's loving ridiculous. Come on man. Is it really that terrible? Any particular reasons? It would be nice just to keep it in mind. I always feel like it's somewhat similar to home when I'm there (Hawaii).
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Aug 27, 2010 10:12
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So what kind of job opportunities are there as far as ESL and things like that? Slim to none? Any other job prospects?
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Aug 27, 2010 10:52
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Arietta posted:Is it really that terrible? Any particular reasons? It would be nice just to keep it in mind. I always feel like it's somewhat similar to home when I'm there (Hawaii). I honestly think it's more a cultural thing. Singaporeans (in my experience) hate everything, including their own country. You'll get the same anger if you bring up other countries, Malays, mainland Chinese, Americans, Europeans, or any topic that's not food. They are as a whole very fun people but they're just raised to hate things I think! You have to keep in mind that Singapore only looks as nice as it does because it's basically a dictatorship. That's bound to breed some discontent. Cameron posted:So what kind of job opportunities are there as far as ESL and things like that? Slim to none? Any other job prospects? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure 90% of singapore speaks English and it's taught in the schools. You'd have to teach foreigners, I think. a japanese pop icon fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Aug 27, 2010 |
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Aug 27, 2010 15:49
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a japanese pop icon posted:I honestly think it's more a cultural thing. Singaporeans (in my experience) hate everything, including their own country. You'll get the same anger if you bring up other countries, Malays, mainland Chinese, Americans, Europeans, or any topic that's not food. They are as a whole very fun people but they're just raised to hate things I think! Ah I see...My boyfriend is a local Singaporean so if we ever decide to tie the knot, we would probably live over there. But in the chance that all that hate makes me go crazy, I can always drag him back to Hawaii with me (He doesn't mind either way) I'm currently studying to get my RN license, so I would hope it shouldn't be too hard to get a job there after I take their version of the NCLEX... Thanks for the insights!
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Aug 27, 2010 16:53
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Arietta posted:Is it really that terrible? Any particular reasons? It would be nice just to keep it in mind. I always feel like it's somewhat similar to home when I'm there (Hawaii). zeldadude posted:
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Aug 28, 2010 07:40
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Me and Locutus of Burg are on track to meetup Wed around 9:00 for free flow at Le Baraque @ Chijmes. PM if you wanna come, you know you do.
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Aug 30, 2010 04:47
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