For a person who creates a big fuss about almost every phenomenon around her, the fact that I barely learned something new in the past 30 days surprises me. You see, even a week in New York or 10 days in Manila had stimulated a lot more thoughts in my head than spending hundreds of hours in this very City of Introverts. For a while, I wondered why—after flying forth to Manhattan and back, I finally understood.

(Well. Not much, but let me try.)

A motion-flapboard (like those in the airports) displaying a 3D-poetry
entitled “24:00:01″—a time that does not exist, or a space beyond
conventional boundaries. (Shilpa Gupta—Singapore Art Museum)

1. One Has to Open Their Hands to Embrace

To be fair, half of the blame should probably go to myself for having fastened my opinions on Singaporean people too quickly. I made my judgments, and as soon as there were enough evidences to support them, I concluded that Singaporean minds were not worth exploring. Even more horrible, I did not believe that these people even possessed the so-called ‘minds’ to start with. I assumed that, living under a ‘democratic’ system that does not allow media nor anyone else to strongly oppose the government, this city-state is crowded by either hypocrites or apolitical individuals. Both categories of which did not seem to interest me at all.

I hope no Singaporeans feel offended because clearly I was wronged.

I erred not in the sense that “Singaporeans actually care about politics and the fundamental aspects of being a human!” though, because truly they don’t (by all means the sentence sounds pretty funny). I was incorrect for denying the compelling characteristics of pragmatic heads that these people own. I mean, I cannot really bump into someone on a train to Littered with Books and talk about whether or not the United States has the obligation to protect the entire world, but it really is fascinating to observe two Engineering students, being acquainted to each other, engrossed so much in their gadgets and barely made the effort to converse (that was sarcasm, by the way—you will frequently discover scenes like this). Well. What I wanted to highlight was their ingenious ability to develop experiential strategies e.g. personal methods of pre-exam cramming, intra-organizational communications, and/or inventions of shorter terms to quicken linguistic impracticalities.

Their level of attention to heuristic issues is exceptionally high, especially in ensuring effectiveness of works—probably owing much to their already high standards of convenience in basic needs.

So, yeah.

2. One Distraction Is Already too Much

Despite my physical existence in the Land of the Merlion, my mind had always been somewhere else. My first week in Singapore was devoted a little bit too much to homesickness (Skype calls almost every night) and the following ones spent mostly with: 1) the guilt of not at all dealing with Mr. Thesis, 2) pre-Boston preparations, as well as 3) excitement for being able to work together with G20 Youth Indonesia fellows.

Unlike other exchange students who travel abroad in their weekends (casually exploring Southeast Asia on Saturday and back on Monday isn’t much of a big deal for them), I was stuck in my room, doing absolutely nothing else than: 1) reading books—which I don’t regret, 2) sending/replying emails, and, basically 3) glueing myself in front of a laptop trying, in vain, to be productive. I have to admit that ‘presence’ isn’t exactly what I was throughout the past weeks.

3. Also, I Was Too Busy Making Mistakes

The sophistication of Singapore’s daily technology can be overwhelming for some people. I myself had wasted tens of dollars due to my being uninformed (also, embedded stupidity) in using this supposedly-cheap facilities. The-you-don’t-really-have-to-buy-another-Nets-card, the phone-ordering-a-cab-charges-you-three-dollars, the no-change-if-you-pay-by-cash-in-a-bus, this whole business of lifestyle can be more complicated than you thought they would be. (Okay that was purely me being Indonesian.)

4. ‘Ideas’ Aren’t Really the Currency Here

Don’t get me wrong.

What I really want to convey is, carefully speaking, that ‘inspirations’ (or other forms of abstraction) don’t exactly matter for the people of Singapore. Of course, such premature premise is only based on my limited exposure to the customs (I attended public lectures, in-class discussions, club activities, and a series of luncheons but that’s that) so please keep your subconscious unbolted for alternative possibilities.

I don’t infer that Singaporeans (Chinese, Indians, and Malaysian migrants thereof) aren’t smart—they are outstandingly clever and hard-working—what they don’t really do is to ‘aspire’ or talk about ‘dreams’ as loud as we do in Indonesia.

I mean, they definitely have ideas on what moral nihilism is (I’m taking a course on Moral Philosophy), or how The Strait Times has been shaping opinions on the Punggol by-election (from a seminar on Media and Politics), or ambitions to make SGD 100.000/year, but, you know, authentic, idealistic notions like “youth should become the agents of change” or “we need the kind of leadership that allows personal development”—these principles don’t make a case here. As long as there’s a utilitarian value to something, one will simply shut up and do it.

5. Because Prosperity In the Setting of Peaceful Coexistence
Does Not Require a Mutual Sense of Community

The following sentences might not necessarily relate to the previous point, but: 1) Singapore is a country of (mainly) Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian people, 2) the fact that they use English as their national language does not mean that they use it on a daily basis—whenever possible they would prefer to use Chinese, Indian, or Bahasa Melayu instead—making it harder for each group to understand one another’s way of thinking, and 3) although they appear to ‘live in harmony’, I deeply doubt that they are open to accepting differences or would go for pluralism at all.

The last point became twice evident to me as I got back from Manhattan last week. There, I could effortlessly be my complete self without the fear of being judged, nor a necessity to seek for conformity from the society. You see—the label ‘New Yorker’ does not just require you to have tolerance, it is reserved for people who actually celebrate differences! Begin a conversation with a stranger in Times Square and you’ll see what I mean. Here in Singapore, however, you cannot really trust anyone.

Let’s try to be a little more systematic and commence with how Singapore and Manhattan are similar. First, they are both lands filled with people from different ethnicities (races, skin colors, you name it). Two, in many parts of the world, their citizens are famous for being determined and reasonably individualistic. Three, both lands are relatively developed—in the sense that they run an advanced transportation system, hold high standards of living, etc.

Now let’s move on to how they are different. First, of course, as much as it might be hard for a New Yorker to understand an immigrant who keeps talking in his/her mother tongue, the nonnatives can trust the New Yorkers, being aware that they only speak English and they cannot conspire with one another to fool you in front of your nose. Whereas the New Yorkers, of course, has this natural call to cherish humanity and collaborate. Having the entire city-state speaking four different languages, however, a newcomer does not simply have the confidence to feel ‘accepted’ or establishing bonds with a Singaporean-native.

Second, there’s a world of difference between the kind of ‘individualism’ (to strictly distinguish it from ‘selfishness’) that prevails here and there in the United States. Here, I think, people literally don’t care. I’m not saying that ignorance is a vice. It’s just that—people here prefer to mind their own business, especially in the public domain. Again, the government, private companies, as well as students in Singapore do have various kinds of community service projects that aim to help the disadvantaged and all—I’m not saying that they are mean, it’s just that they set areas of where they want to be involved and avoid. Whereas in New York, you know, random kindness like a guy offering to help you with the suitcase in the Subway is not much of a miracle.

6. Still on Language

Another obsolete joke about Singapore would probably be upon how they mutilate conversational English into these Chinese-grammared sentences with English vocabularies. The ‘what‘(s) they put in the end of an informative statement, the ‘lah‘(s) when they give up arguing, or how you should never ask someone to do you a favor. Will make another post about Singlish if I can find the time.

***

I’ve probably spoken too much. Remember that this post is just a shallow observation based on limited exposure on the society of Singapore. A lot of people might disagree. But it was honestly the way I perceive the meta-social bits before my eyes lately.

Also, this is my debut on WordPress! It (still) sucks that Posterous is closing down.

P.S. I’m learning German and it’s intriguing that they have five different ways to indicate that a noun is plural. Probably quantity matters so much there. Good night!

I’ve always thought that if there is a dichotomy of where people would live, they would be compartmentalized into those who prefer either Manhattan or London. The former being lively, vibrant individuals with ideas and hopes while the latter being blokes and ladies who are fond of timeless, classic lifestyle. Until last year, I was quite confident that I belong to the second box. Having experienced New York myself, however, I should say that I might have made a huge mistake.

This is my post-conference article about world’s most beautiful city. As Frank Sinatra puts it, “If you can make it here, you’ll make it anywhere.”

1. The People

For one thing, people here talk and walk fast. They take subway, grab a portable meal and phone on their way to work. Time seems to be an extremely rare commodity, and one shall do whatever it takes to use it very wisely. This can hardly be found in Jakarta–let alone Depok–whose citizens should bear with traffic jams and belated trains. In the Big Apple, you simply can’t survive without pushing yourself off the limit and keep up with everyone’s pace. Even beggars and street singers need to be creative lest they want to make money.

Quick fact: almost 250.000 people test their luck by moving in (and out) every year, but only really, really determined ones get to the top. New York is like the ace card: one needs to know what game they enter to make the most use of it. Otherwise, it’s almost definite that you’ll fail.

Anyway. What I like the most about New Yorkers is their inherent individualism–some people mistranslate that as ignorance, though–that allows you to be your complete self. I can shout amidst a flow of humans (a simpler experiment would be wearing an annoying, orange shirt) on the street and nobody would care enough to judge and talk about me in more than an hour. This behavior welcomes the wildest form of dream and, with a little extra hard work, it might actually come true.

2. Books, Books, More Books

Strand Bookstore (its slogan being “where books are loved” and “18 miles of books”), is so far one of the main reasons why I think I would love to stay here forever. This is not to mention the other 9 independent bookstores and Union Square’s Barnes and Noble. Yes, people usually go to New York to enjoy its bars and restaurants, but one (read: I) needs to read before they can hit anything else. Here’s why:

Imagine one shelf of good books. Does visualizing it make you happy? If yes, now imagine there is one big room full of sectionalized shelves of good books. And if that’s not enough, imagine there are four floors of them. FOUR EFFING FLOORS! Now that I have visited the bookstore myself, I can die peacefully. Wait–I still need to make a lot of money to buy the whole building before I can really rest in peace. HAHAHA.

Anyway. It’s not actually about the fact that their stores are huge. It’s the basic reality that the books are good. Let’s admit it: Indonesian books offer you less worth-discussing ideas, but rather mainstream books that people would buy. American bookstores, on the other hand, were made in such way that you could hardly see books as mere economic commodity. Books are rather very appreciated. The Harvard Bookstore in Boston even printed their own custom cover with a card saying, “The great story inside might be undermined for its horrible cover.”

Here in our country, the publishers dare not to take unorthodox titles that would barely be popular for domestic readers. Shall we sigh in unison now?

These reasons being said, I think you would understand why the United States is such a perfect place to breed and feed thoughts.

 

3. Breathtaking Spots

One does not simply walk and fall in love with a city–but such statement might need further justification for New York. One simply stops at the 42nd street station and walk up through Times Square to comprehend why people can’t stop romanticizing Manhattan. History also contributes a lot in shaping today’s United States former capital city. Go to Top of the Rock, sail to the Liberty Island, throw its museums a visit, or simply stop at Chelsea Market and you’ll understand what I mean. Alicia Keys did not lie when she says that the city is a concrete jungle whose lights will inspire you. No exceptions exist for that statement, methinks.

I tweeted this but I’ll say it again: if Boston is the City of Academia and D.C. is the City of Power, then New York is the City of Dreams. With all humility, I wholeheartedly wish I can spend a significant amount of my life there–an amen from you might mean a lot.

After Paris, I think New York is the second most romantic city on earth. Not because of the people, nor of its vibrant streets, but more to the fact that it’s harder to find a true love there. You know, scarcity always results in a higher value. A perfect place for pragmatic individuals who are only prepared to freely fall for their challenging job and not an unexpected partner, but end up to encounter the latter somewhere in their story.

So today, I stumbled upon this image and was helplessly distracted (I actually still have 4 articles and 1 paper to submit, dear God). Without further ado, here goes the product of my thorough investigation (read: Wikipedia searching) of New York’s (Selected) Most Popular Date Spots:

1. Strand Bookstore

Expected scene: A guy and a girl simultaneously laying hands on the same book, which is–apparently–the last copy available in the store. (Cheesy. Sorry.)

Strand Bookstore is an independent bookstore located in East Village. Its slogan is “18 Miles of Books”. The store is famous among New Yorkers for its giant collection of publishers’ overstock, used, rare, and out-of-print books, as well as the chaos on and around its shelves.

2. Rubin Museum of Art

Expected scene: Two geek couple gets struck on a glass cube of a Himalayas heritage, what else?

The Rubin Museum of Art is a museum dedicated to the collection, display, and preservation of the art of the Himalayas and surrounding regions, especially that of Tibet. It is located at 150 West 17th Street between the Avenue of the Americas and 7th Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood.

3. Carnegie Hall

 

Expected scene: Most plausibly, a violinist dating a pianist who has always been dreaming to have a recital there on their graduation day.

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1891, it is one of the most prestigious venues in the world for both classical music and popular music. Carnegie Hall has its own artistic programming, development, and marketing departments, and presents about 250 performances each season.

4. Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory

Expected scene: A future baker brings his kind girlfriend to taste the best chocolate bar in town?

In the world of chocolate making, there’s the easy way, and there’s the Mast Brothers way. Unlike many chocolatiers who use couverture—discs of pre-made chocolate that can be remelted for confections and bars—Rick and Mike Mast are one of a dozen or so American chocolate artisans who hand make chocolate from cocoa bean to bar. Right now, they make about 200 bars a week in a 200-square-foot commercial kitchen in Williamsburg, ready to be witnessed!

5. Chelsea Market

Expected scene: I give up. Any volunteer?

Chelsea Market is an enclosed urban food court, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan. Built in the former National Biscuit Company factory complex where the Oreo cookie was invented and produced, the 22-building complex fills two entire blocks bounded by Ninth and Eleventh Avenues and 15th and 16th Streets, with a connecting bridge over Tenth Avenue.

I’m so dying to visit these places next year, and I believe that Nico would have the same excitement quo eagerness! New York, wait for our second visit!

People remind us to reduce our daily carbon footprint; either by using public transportation, being a vegetarian, or–in a more advanced level–retrofitting our houses. I think, if you really want to mitigate the amount of carbondioxide waste, you should ask the government to simply bomb the entire Jakarta and rebuild it. Put energy-efficient apartments next to environmentally-friendly offices, malls somewhere in the corner, and ban car companies. Voila, almost zero fossil-fuel used everyday! But no, darling, we can’t afford such magic. People will still commute and use transportation to move from place to place.

Alright. That intro paragraph wanders way too far from the main idea of this post. As a matter of fact, it has nothing to do with the rest of this article: an experience everyone must have had, travel coma.

I’ve just found the phrase from Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists (Abbey Pinola) as “She drifts back into her travel coma,” and I was like snap! This is totally the term I was looking for! Again, sometimes someone else happens to have a better way to describe concepts that you have in mind.

Let me take the liberty to define this phrase. You know that long state of complete voidness when you’re a passenger in a car, train, or bus from one place towards a particular destination where your mind unconsciously sets itself off somewhere–often memories, ideas, visualization of future, wishes, or simply total black out? While physically, most of us will stare vacantly out the window, to the cloud, trees, or those people passing by.

Somehow, I personally think that is when brains are in their best performance: pure, unopinionated, half-witting, barrierless, and plain. I believe that it’s one of those occasions when it can emit alpha waves:

Such brain waves are often associated with states of relaxation and peacefulness during meditation and biofeedback. Recent evidence indicates that activities promoting alpha waves appear to have positive health benefits.

You see, my mind usually comes up with interestingly debatable thoughts or stories when I’m riding a train. It just happens like that. Being engaged in a conversation might also trigger and develop ideas in a different way, but it’s never completely yours.

Unlike sleeping where you’re in utter unawareness of what’s going on, travel coma allows you to have a leak of concentration in response to certain sounds or voices, but until then, the control over your brain is conquered by the subconscious.

Intriguing how our mind works, eh?