SINGAPORE WARNING: WATCH YOUR HATS

Sometime Singapore expats and future expats visit this blog in order to find out what it is like for a foreigner to live in Singapore. They want to know about climate, job prospects, cars, and condos. I can tell this because of that little sitemeter icon that I keep at the bottom of this blog. Unfortunately, there is not much advice to be found on this site.

Well, today I'm going to put a piece of tangible, profound advice that will help foreigners living in Singapore. Ready?

Keep your hats clean and dry.

I've ruined two of my favorite baseball caps since I've been living in Singapore. In Missouri I could just hang my hats on nails in the garage or throw them up in a closet. The constantly changing climate of the Midwest would eventually offer a dry interval that would prevent my prized hats ruination. Here in Singapore, the incessant humidity prohibits such a cavalier hatcare regime.

If you have a hat in a tropical environment, it is important that you let it dry and air out before you store it.

Here is a picture of what will happen to your hats if you leave them untended.

Word of the Day
Milliner- one who makes, buys or sells hats.

THIS IS WRONG...

A fourteen year old infant died in a Honolulu airport after being detained by customs agents.  The child's parents had flown it in from American Samoa in order to have emergency heart surgery.

Link
Baby Detained, Dies in Honolulu

LEARN ENGLISH THE CHINESE WAY

Check out these Chinese made learning blocks.

Link
Chumble Spuzz!

ELECTION PROGNOSTICATION

My old debate coach is prognosticating about the primaries on his blog. It wouldn't surprise me if he is totally correct.

Link
Reacher says Wait for It

ONE GIRL'S ACCOUNT OF HER TRIP TO IRAN

My flatmate's girlfriend visited Iran last fall and posted an account of her trip on Facebook. I thought it was interesting enough to link to on this blog, but alas you can't link to things on Facebook. I asked her if I could just republish it here, and she said that she didn't have a problem with that. In fact, it has apparently been translated and printed in an Iranian magazine.
Note- I have not edited any of the original Facebook post.

8:24am Monday, Nov 19, 2007

I must say that Iran is probably one of the most misunderstood country in the world. I learned how much the media can impact people's perspective and found out how untrue some of the things I've heard of Iran. it is TOTALLY different from what I thought it was. It is hard for anyone to understand it unless you've been there yourself, and I must say that I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to visit one of the most BEAUTIFUL places in the world!

IRAN:

the Country -
Iran is VERY modernized! I thought it was like a third world country but it is FAR from that! they have shopping malls with like fountains in them, marble flooring, and classy decorations. They have internet, the latest cellphones, PDAs, Ipods, etc... Iran is also VERY VERY rich in culture and history. it's like stepping into a LIVE museum. though they have new modern buildings, they also have tons of buildings and palaces that have been there since the 18th CENTURY! Iran is also very rich in art, they have handicrafts ranging from glass art, wood art, ceremic, marble, carpet, brass, tiles, oil paintings, basically any material you can think of, they can make something creative out of it!

The Language -
They speak Farsi (a.k.a the Asian French). Farsi sounds alot like French because Iranians have alot of French influence. Culturally, Iranians were linked with the French culture about 100 years ago. they say "Merci" for thank you just like the French and they say the months of the year in french too (janvier, fèvrier, mars, decembre....etc) even their behaviours are pretty much like the French too, very refined, very fashionable and they like to show off.. :P
and also, there's only two places on earth where you can see people walking around town, carrying bread with their hands: France and IRAN. lol!

The People -
are ABSOLUTELY very very friendly. they are the nicest people I've ever met! very friendly and even though they don't understand English, they try their best to be nice to you. they are especially nice to foreigners!

The Greetings -
Iranians greet one another by kissing on each side of the cheeks 3 times.


The Ladies -
OMG..... Persian women are DROP DEAD GORGEOUS!! their eyes are enough to make you go weak. THEY ALL LOOK LIKE CELEBRITIES!!! they wear heavy make-up and even though in Iran, women are not allowed to wear short sleeve shirts, they wear tight fitting manteaus (long coats) and glittery, branded head scarfs. they like to show off, they carry branded bags like gucci, prada, LV...etc.. they just simply look STUNNING!

Plastic Surgery -
is as popular as getting braces. MY GOODNESS! 7 out of every 10 people have probably done nose jobs, chin jobs, botox, facelift! (MY DAD ACTUALLY ASKED ME IF I WANTED A NOSE JOB! HAHAHAHAA!! but of course i said HECK NO!)
you can walk down the streets and see at least like 2-4 men/women with bandages on their nose. lol! it is UNBELIEVABLE!!

Dancing -
ALL, and I mean EVERY SINGLE Iranians can dance regardless of their size, height, and personality. they just got IT! lol! they can shake and shimmy and sway like a PRO! it's in their blood..

Dating -
is not accepted in Iran. therefore people there get married to each others cousins. as weird as it may sound, it actually happens. lol... they have no chance to interact with the other gender. there are no clubs or pubs, and girls and boys are seperated from young in school, even up til university! though they sit in the same lecture hall, guys and girls sit in separate sections. you are not even allowed to be seen walking down the streets alone with a man if you're a woman and vice versa. if they catch you together without a marriage license, you can be sent to jail.
BUT of course the locals have their own way of "dating". how? by DRIVING. lol!
I witnessed this MYSELF! young people in Iran have got nothing much do to on weekends, so they drive around and "hunt" for girls. now, the roads in Iran are VERY tight, so when a group of boys in a car sees a group of girls in another, they honk and exchange phone numbers when their cars pass each other. then they'd give each other a call and meet up at each others house and uh..... do stuff.... which is actually far more unhealthier and dangerous in my opinion.

Religion -
Iranians were originally Zuroastians. They only became an Islamic country when the Arabs invaded their country 1400 years ago. that's why the Iranians dislike the Arabs alot and they get very offended if you call an Iranian an Arab.
In fact, there are also alot of Armenian churchs in Iran! I've visited quite a few, they look so much livelier than the mosques there. lol!

The Government -
Alot of Iranians hate the government because of what they portray Iran to be. that's why alot of people around the world think that Iran is a very "dangerous" and a very "backward" country because of their leaders. In fact, it is the total opposite. they people in Iran are pretty much like you and me. They have alot of Western influence especially the younger generation. they know about Christina Aguilera, Ashlee Simpson, Eminem, 50 Cent, they listen to their music! in fact, there's even a channel on TV all about the latest hollywood gossips! I happen to watch one of the shows where they were talking about Britney Spears' lip enhancement! lol! Of course, the government doesn't allow all of that but the people still watch it anyway. Almost all the locals have satellite TV and they get like the latest pop songs by smuggling them back from the US or other countries. It's kinda like how bubblegum is banned in Singapore but we still chew them anyway.. no one really cares. lol!

The History of Iran -
Iran was not even a muslim country to begin with. they were originally Zuroastians. The Mullahs (the religious people) are the ones that caused the revolution in the 1970s. before the 1970s, Iran was ruled by Reza Shah (King of Iran) and people could wear what they want, and do what they like, women even wore BIKINIS to the beach! but then, this dude called Khomeini decided upon the Islamic revolution and caused Iranians to lose their freedom. women had no rights, they had to cover their hairs, wear long sleeve coats, and basically making everyone look like muslims, even if they are not truly one. So far, all of the people I've met there are not even muslims! they just had to obey the muslim law stated by the government just to stay out of trouble. Iranians are very proud of their original culture and most of them refuse to believe in Islam because they see how unjust their government is. they are confused with what's true and what's not and they basically hate their government and the dictatorship because of the price they had to pay: their freedom... and the saddest part is that no one else will know what is going on in their country and what the Iranians are going through unless they've been there themselves...