topum

This was in Singapore. Good night gang.

...to buy a Breitling watch.

In Changi Village, Singapore.

He was the most serious man at this street party in Singapore.

The sea in Singapore is way busier than in Thessaloniki (see here)

You know how when you visit India for the first time it can be quite funny to see groups of moustached guys everywhere walking around holding hands (sometimes they just have only their little fingers crossed, just to express connection / affection symbolically) or even resting their heads on their friends' shoulders or chests or kissing their friend's shoulder or neck in a sudden outburst of affection and tenderness? This is what friends do there and it has no sexual meaning and that's why it can look quite unusual and funny to a western eye sometimes.

In Moldova Russian speakers (speakers of Romanian too but it is less pronounced) pronounce the middle sound in "big" and "meek" in the same way. It is definitely not the sound that is in "big", it is closer to "meek" but just a bit shorter. The same goes for "bed" and "bad" (pronounced exactly the same and somewhere in between the two but closer to "bed") and "coke" and "cock", both are pronounced as "cock". So I have this conversation regularly here:

- Whoa, I am hot and I need some cock! And a big one. Do you want cock?
- No, thanks.
- Who wants cock? You? One? Big or small? You? Big cock for you? OK.
- Bjorn, why you never want cock? You don't like cock?
- No, I don't.
- Why?

One of our British volunteers became really good friends with a local volunteer here and the guys are very close. So the Brit tried to teach the local guy to say "coke" properly but the local guy always forgets and does "cock" again. He says that it is weird to have two different "o"s and that an "o" is an "o" so there. The Brit makes fun of him a lot though. We were in the capital and the Brit went to McDonalds to get some food for us because we didn't have time for lunch and had to drive up north asap. His local friend, who also was with us, ordered a Big Mac and "a small cock" of course. When the Brit returned with our orders he gave his friend his Big Mac:

- Here is your Big Mac mate, small cock you already have.
- Where? No, I don't have cock. You haven't given cock to me yet.

This also happens with Singlish in Singapore of course (but Moldovans do the "coke/cock" pair much better):



Also, locals who only saw my name written and never heard it pronounced before meeting me (happens sometimes when our new volunteers are given their welcome packs on the evening of their arrival ahead of the welcome workshop in the morning) often pronounce the "j" in Bjorn as in "jam" but even more pronounced Russian style (followed by a long "o" and a really hard Russian "rrrrrrr") when they address me for the first time which cracks everyone up. Bzhooooorrrrrn!

Today I read a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva (a Russian poet) which started like this:

Here's again the window,
Where nobody sleep.
Maybe they're drinking wine, or
Maybe they're simply sitting.
Or maybe they two can't break
The union of their hands.

Then I decided to go to my photos and find the first photo with a window in it. It turned out to be this one, taken in Singapore:



I wonder what would that poem have turned out like if she had been looking at these. Would it have been much different or pretty much the same?

Wow, so one of our new volunteers is this super impressive American woman who just gets things at lightning speed, is supper effective in doing and managing shit and people, intuitively gets all interpersonal / cultural differences / communication stuff, is driven, calm, tough and super likeable. And on top of that completely on the same wave with me at how she approaches things. I am so happy that she is here and also that she is not hot all (now, this is so horrible of me on so many levels, right?).

I am a bit surprised that after not speaking much English for a couple of weeks my English seems to have degenerated to the point where it does not flow out of me automatically as at usually does and when I do throw things out they are in a "that shit with that stuff was kinda shit and much better than that other thing" format. I never was very eloquent in English but I do hope that it recovers back to the usual level soon.

When I used to spend half of my time in Singapore my English turned into a bad version of Singlish quickly too. I suspect that it was because it simplified and made routine conversations much shorter.

A conversation at a supermarket till, which in Singapore could be like this:

Cashier: [pointing at the single item on the belt that the woman behind me is queuing to pay for] Quickly can?

Me: Can, lah.

He serves the woman behind me before me in silence, except for "No need, no need" from her when she sees him stretching his arm to get a plastic bag. She leaves in silence. He serves me in silence. I leave in silence.

I like how efficient this is. A lot of things are assumed and not said.

In London this could turn into this though:

Cashier: I am sorry, would you be terribly upset if I just quickly served that person behind you first? They picked up the wrong item by mistake and had to go back and change it but have the rest of their items already here with me, it is just three items, it will be very quick.

Me: Sure, I don't mind at all, please go ahead.

Cashier: Thank you so much. I just know that they are in a hurry.

Me: Not a problem at all, please go ahead.

The woman behind me: Oh thank you so much, I am rather late and seem to be terrible with labels. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Me: No problem, I hope you still make it on time.

The woman behind me: Thank you. Thank you so much.

Cashier: Thank you.

The woman behind me: Thank you very much.

Cashier: Thank you.

Me: Thanks [and just continue this endless thanking fest between the three of us where everyone thanks everyone at least 117 times for everything (including thanking them, yes you can thank people for thanking you) into eternity basically. And I really like this way too. I like how considerate, polite and personal it is.

Marina Bay, Singapore.

Duxton Hill, Singapore.