Please love Singapore

When I went to Russia with a friend about seven years ago; and I was totally embarrassed. 

It was my first group tour because we were worried about language barrier. We went to Moscow and Saint Petersburg; beautiful cities with abundance of culture. 

One of the places we visited was Hermitage Museum. We saw tons of collections at the museum; art pieces, sculptures, artefacts. We were told specifically to take pictures in the museum, we were required to get a photography licence which was about Euro10 if I did not remember wrongly. In any case, I was very sure the amount was very affordable. The group was also told to note some of the areas did not allow flash to be used. The two of us decided instead of taking photo, we would get a photo-book from the museum when we leave. The book would have better pictures compared to us taking our own and we wanted to leave our mind free for the museum tour. On the same note, no one in the group bought the licence. 

As the local guide brought us from room to room, she would do a head count to make sure no one was left behind. At some point, she realised a couple of the group members were missing. We stopped and she went around looking. And...she found them snapping away with their cameras. The guide had the grace and did not say anything. But I would truly understand if she was cursing silently. 

As the museum tour progressed, more and more of the group members took out their cameras snapping, and sometimes ignoring the no-flash policy. A group member even encouraged the two of us to ignore the photo licence policy and start photographing. 

I could not be more embarrassed. 

That was seven years ago. Fast forward to 2013, I learnt to love Singapore a lot more. Spending time and living outside of Singapore has helped in building that love. I am still sometimes embarrassed by some Singaporeans' behaviour but I am not as bother as I was in the past. 

There are a lot more foreigners in Singapore, and we feel it. Foreign talents working in Singapore, foreigners who turned permanent residents / citizens or simply tourists. Singapore started with migrants and I think most of us are alright with the influx of foreigners (given the low birth rate?). Singapore is a small island, and human is the one resource that we can rely on. 

There is so much to love about Singapore, our fantastic readily available book vaults, affordable public housing and education, accessible public transport, and safety. I hope the foreigners who settle down in Singapore love Singapore for who she is, and has the intention of contributing towards Singapore as a citizen not just in term of financial. It is easy for some foreigners to say they pay their due through income taxes just like Singaporeans, or they could be paying more than some Singaporeans, and hence should enjoy the same benefits as Singaporeans. I think they must have forgotten our ancestors had started to pay dues way long before. It is disturbing and confusing to hear some of the foreigners who settle in Singapore continue to speak bad of the country or her people... 

Day to day complaining is fine, even Singaporeans grumble about her fellow mates. But when the comparison starts or when complaining turns into bitching, it gets unbearable. There must be something to love about Singapore, otherwise why set foot here? 

I agree Singaporeans are not perfect. We could be grouchy, we could even be nasty or stupid too at times. Think about it - Singapore have more than 5 million people in a tiny red dot. One would tend to get a higher dose of the similar personalities compare to a country with plenty of land. But there are plenty of nice people around too, just like every other countries. 

Please love Singapore.