In the know, la?

I have been in Singapore now for the longest stay of this trip so far, enjoying time with my parents and seeing what has been their city for a few years now. Every day is an education here. It is a curious world of difference.

Singaporeans add the syllable "la" into conversation at their leisure, though usually at the end of a sentence. And articles as well as verb tenses are generally deemed useless. For example, if you say, "I'm going to pick up some wine. Do you need anything?" The response from a Singaporean could be, "No need, la." Ok. Or when booking an appointment to have your refrigerator fixed, you may ask, "Can you come at three?" The response, "Three fix refrigerator? Can. Can," the 'can can' part said in rapid fire like it were one word. Cancun, only Cancan. And when you say, "thank you," the return is, "welcome!" This language is called, yep, you guessed it, Singlish. And my mom has become surprisingly fluent!

I am confused on when to say what and on what applies to whom. The ethnic make-up of Singapore is mostly Chinese, then Malaysian, then Indian. They all know who they are and who everyone else is. And among those populations generalizations are made of each. To live here is to know who is what and who thinks what of whom. For me, I remain a deer in headlights.

Here are a few things I've noted, nonetheless. Those who work in construction most often look West Asian, whether Indian, Bengali or Nepali I know not. But for lunch, they usually find a shady place to nap, under a bridge or tree. I have only met one Philippina so far and her English (not Singlish) was amazing. She was a waitress at the Long Bar at Raffles Hotel, but typically they are known to work as maids. While cleaning people's apartments may not seem like paradise, it can get worse. A couple was hauled into court recently for allegedly abusing their Philippina maid. Yikes! Also, worse still, many maids live in a tiny room off the main apartment, no electricity, no air conditioning, no bathroom. There is a "maid's room" in my parents' flat, where no one lives. I am no Michael Phelps, but my wingspan extended I could touch the walls. So, it's probably 5 feet by 6 feet.

And outside the windows of many apartment buildings and HDB flats (government housing), laundry dries on long poles hanging out the windows. People joke that this is the official flag of Singapore. A woman was reported to have died this month, falling from her 8th floor apartment, leaning out the window to bring in the laundry.

Also, the government rules the country with what is called economic freedom and social control. I'm not exactly sure what all that means. But as for social control, here's an example. The language a child learns in public school here is dictated by the origin of the father. Were a Singaporean woman of Chinese descent to marry a Singaporean man of Indian descent, their children would learn Tamil in school, for example, as well as English. Were the father of Chinese descent, however, the children would learn Mandarin. Children are taught their "mother tongue," the word mother referring to the father's family's country of origin, the child's mother and her native tongue irrelevant. It's strange to me that kids in the same schools would be required to learn a language based upon ethnicity rather than a choice extended to the family of that child. Oh, well. There's always private school, right?

But here's what I wonder. Why not just teach English only? Singaporean isn't a language and they have adapted English to serve their needs (a former British colony). Here's the catch. From what I've read, the government needs this type of curriculum in order to maintain this "multi-racial" society. Mind you, it is not multi-cultural, as the cultures remain quite distinct. But aren't we all in the human race? Still, Singapore's government is founded on and maintained by keeping these distinctions. A non-Singaporean cannot own land. But even a Singaporean landowner has rules on to whom he can sell the property. In ways like these, the government controls its population, no lines blurred. Likewise, if charged of a crime, you see a judge in court. There is no jury of your peers, no difference of opinion. And if found guilty, the punishment can range from a fine, to caning, to execution. A woman just got of the bus in a t-shirt that reads, "Legalize it." The fine print of the shirt indicates that it refers to legalizing gum.

As for economic freedom? Singapore thrives, many banking institutions set up shop here. And shipping is huge. And have I mentioned oil? From my parents' window, you can see the occasional bursts of flame from the top of a refinery. But with social control, it's hard to imagine that true freedom in anything can exist. A quirky place for me, I cannot wait for what tomorrow may bring.