And Changi really is a fabulous airport. Like everything else in Singapore, it is pristine and orderly. The departure lounge is filled with soft and cushy chairs. There are good restaurants and shops, and the duty free shopping is the cheapest I have yet seen (we priced the alcohol today in Singapore and Bangkok to confirm this fact). There are little alcoves where you can settle onto a comfy couch and watch the news, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, or movies. Free internet portals are all around. And at immigration the lines are short and they give out free candy. What can beat that?!
A day spent at Changi inevitably leads to a pleasant day. I know, this seems quite a paradox, but I swear it's true!
So the airport portion of my day was good. The actual airplane flight, however, was another matter. A couple of guys two rows in front of us decided that, as soon as we took off, they needed to eat something that absolutely wreaked of garlic. It was so pungent that at first I couldn't quite pinpoint the fumes that were floating in our direction, making us positively ill for a good portion of the trip. We asked the flight attendants to have them put the food away, and they did politely request such action be taken, as did we ourselves pointedly ask the men, but they kept pulling their food out and trying to sneakily eat it. As if the very fact of having the food unwrapped was not a dead giveaway for the fact that they were eating. Ugh, food that has such a strong odor should be banned from airplanes!
I hate to make stereotypes, but sometimes living overseas forces one to come to certain generalizations. Of course, there are many exceptions to the rule, but my experience has been that Chinese people (this flight was all Chinese), and to a certain degree Singaporean Chinese (though much less so), are some of the pushiest and least respectful people I have ever met. I was pondering this thought today as I was forced to confront this fact when the crowds of people on our flight shoved their way to the front of the check-in counter (trying to check in in groups of 20 rather than wait their turn) and then rushed onto the plane long before their seat number was called (a pet peeve of mine). Liz (who is Singapore Chinese and not like this at all) and I think that it is probably related to a communist mentality of push-your-way-forward-to-get-your-daily-rice-or-you-won't-get-any. The problem is that in most places it just seems rude and totally unnecessary. In fact, people are ALWAYS trying to cut in line out here. My friend Heather, who is quite bold about confronting people, is really good at turning the evil eye upon any cutter and forcing them to the back of the line.
Another thing that this made me think of today is the oft-invoked idea of "Asian values" (usually used as an explanation for why Asian society should be able to develop and govern in its own way, as apart from the West). Now, I definitely believe in a certain degree of cultural relativism and maybe that there are some small similarities between Asian cultures, but the longer I live out here the less I believe that this blanket concept of "Asian values" has any real weight behind it. There is no true uniformity amongst Asian cultures that can be used to define one set of Asian values. For instance, I see the Chinese and Japanese as being soooo different. Of course, both have the concept of saving face (indeed, this is very important in both societies), but the Japanese seem so much more refrained and respectful, while the Chinese are very aggressive and pushy in most things. Back the example of lines- the Chinese like to shove their way to the front, whereas the Japanese are uniform and meticulous about standing in line. All you have to do is go to a train station in Tokyo to see the difference! One factor that has often been classified as an "Asian value", that I now flatly disagree with, is that Asians are all more communal and believe in family values more than the West. First, I think that in Singapore at least, the society is anything but communal. In fact, it seems to me that most Singaporeans care little for their communities, but really only for themselves and their families. Singaporeans are very unlikely to be highly involved in their communities, nor do individuals or businesses donate to local needs. Family is important, but it seems that it is mostly in a monetary and material sense. I honestly don't think that Singaporean families are any closer than the average American, Canadian, or European family. Parents do financially support their children for longer, but this is primarily because it is a national standard to do so. And kids just don't move out of home until much older. But in Singapore you also always see really old people working. For example, in the food centers it is normal for those who bus the tables to be in their 70's and 80's. Now, this may be that the older Chinese people are hyper aware of not wanting to be a "burden" on their families, but it is also evidence to me that Asian families don't necessarily always take care of their older relatives in the way that is always portrayed to the West.
Well, these are just some thoughts that came from conversations during the last couple of days. Stereotypes broken and stereotypes formed. This is all part of living overseas- experiencing different ways of living, witnessing things that may seem very bizarre or rude or what have you, and figuring out a way to process it and fit it into one's own particular world view- or not.
And just to make this somewhat relevant to the last couple of days spent in Bangkok- here are a couple of pics. Liz, Heather, and I- though we didn't actually manage to get any pics of the three of us together.
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