Aiya, December, stop rubbing it in lah :P U're gonna be one of the 1st ppl I call up when I dunno how to do a maths question :P
Me...I'm doing all my Maths hol hw, plus reading Hong Lou Meng...I'm gonna do history and SS next...Haven't decided what i should do for EL...maybe Sports School entry? Education definitely--I wanted to do the Ezlink thing but we can't :P One of my topics definitely has something to do with education. If we were asked to write one full argumentative essay on Education in Singapore, I'd jump at the chance!
A few days ago there was an article in the Straits Times about Singaporeans who bash their own country online. I'm deeply against that!! There's a lot of difference between one's country and one's government. It's the government which decides how the country turns out--the country itself has no say in anything. It's the people in the country which decide it's fate. A bad government will cause dissent among it's people, but a country by itself is innocent. A country is just a piece of land and natural resources, it's the people--more specifically, the government--which defines it, and make it alive. It wasn't the country that decided to hike the transport fares, or raise GST, etc...it isn't a country which is rude to people, which has a kiasu attitude, which are ugly Singaporeans. The Government decides how the country is run; the behavior of the people in the country define how people from other countries view us. I think those people who are as immature as to badmouth their own COUNTRY (instead of government) online should try to direct their arguments through a more conducive channel (uh-oh, why do I sound like certain teachers here?). If there's something you're unhappy about about the way the country is run, why not do something about it? Write in to the newspapers etc etc...it's useless to just sit there and complain, because nothing will be done about what you're unhappy about. Maybe the relevant authorities won't do anything about it, but you can be sure they'll keep the complaint in mind...
One may be unhappy about the way one's country is run, but a country is still your home...the place where you reside, and probably where your loved ones do too. Why else would there be coups and the overthrowing of governments? These, and some civil wars occur because a particular faction is unhappy with the government, and basically want to replace it by force. Whether the intention is for the good of the people or to attain one's selfish ambitions, usually it's our of discontent. The people who are justifiably unhappy with their governments could have migrated to another country, given up their citizenships, moved on. But why do they stay on to fight? Simple--a country is still worth fighting for...regardless of how bad a government is, a country is still a home we must defend.
Okay, enough, those are just my views...:P
I'm missing Japan a lot...I just want to go back, the sooner the better. Strange, I've never felt this way about any other country I've ever visited! If I could, I wouldn't mind going back to Japan (Tokyo in particular) every year. There are places which I want to go to, just to have a look around, but which my Mum wouldn't see the point in going. Tokyo Dome etc...I feel like going to Azabu Juuban to find the Johnny's office building too, crazy as it seems!! If I had the $, I wouldn't mind watching an Arashi concert there too... Tokyo isn't about sights and scenery like most other places, it's more about PEOPLE and that's one thing I like. I don't really pay that much attention to sights when I go somewhere, but I like to observe people, learn about new cultures.
The service ppl I met in Japan--the salesppl, waiters, etc I know they're just putting on a polite, 'outside' face for strangers, while inside they may really dislike us. It's one thing some people won't like, because it seems so fake. My uncle and parents have this impression that the Japanese look down on other Asians while respecting white-skinned foreigners, and I suppose that could be true. But it makes it more of a challenge to earn their respect, isn't it? The way ppl of other nationalities, including Singaporeans, behave when they're in a foreign country... I always believed that it's important to repect a country's customs and culture when you're there, regardless of whether you're just a tourist or there for business or studies. But others don't see it that way, and they act as if they're in their own country, showing utter disregard. Would you like it if I went to your home, and messed it up, acting as if I were in my own home? Like tourists with a cold...the Japanese ppl would wear face masks, but some tourists go on sneezing and blowing their noses in public. Would you expect the people there to respect you if you didn't respect them and remain ignorant of their culture and sensitivities?
Even as I say that, I'm still upset that Asians--not just those in Japan, but many asians in general--still look down on their own cultures, and worship the west. It's true that many Asian countries wouldn't have been able to modernise without help and inspiration from the west, and we need to keep up with the west in order to remain competitive and prevent ouselves from slipping backward, but Asian cultures, in my opinion, have a rich heritage that is unrivalled by many Western cultures. Long before the cultures in the west became civilized, people in the places that are now China, Indiam Southeast Asia and so on had already built up empires, started trade...the west was a late bloomer. Many inventions and discoveries were made in Asia and spread to the west : Paper, silk, mathematics, tea, etc. There's so much to be proud of!! perhaps Asian countires would still be the 'superpowers' now had it not been for the years of wars, communism, decadent governments and other factors that led to the fall of the east, and as a result, the rise of the west. So Asians, take pride! We must be in touch with the west, but this doesn't mean that we abandon our own cultures. Don't lose touch with your own culture!!