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Now that we have started our second expatriate year, and things are no longer new or different or shocking, I feel like I have a much better understanding of our Asian home, black spitting cobras and all.
And, despite our various trials and tribulations, I have learned to appreciate and
deeply value the very different attributes that Singapore has to offer, and none more so than this place's amazing population diversity.
When we relocated from Texan suburbia, we left behind a city and a state that are dominated by white, Christian, conservative, English-speaking
Americans. And although the boys' Montessori school was well integrated with children of different races and nationalities, they
lived their lives, for the most part, among people who look and talk just like they
do. Now we live on the other side of the world, in a tiny, densely populated republic in Southeast Asia where English may be the official language, but it certainly isn't the dominant one; where the population of Americans is so small that it doesn't even warrant its own census
category (we are covered under "Other"); where our pale skin stands out like a fluorescent Budweiser light in a dimly lit tavern; and where the friendly inhabitants of our little street alone represent a full theological and dermatological
spectrum. And, although our children attend an American school, they play and learn with students from all over the world. The kids in Cameron's class alone live in homes where a total of eight different languages are spoken; and for several of them, English is not their first language.
Interestingly, the boys don’t seem to have
noticed these changes in their environment. Or perhaps they notice, but they
don’t view them as unusual. They recognize that many of their friends are
different from them, and from each other; and they talk about those differences
frequently, but in a way that celebrates each person’s special traits.
“That’s Bob,” Alec told me one day as I was picking them up from school,
“he shaved his head bald and he’s Chinese.” Another day, Cameron pointed
out a girl from his class: “that’s Grace, she’s Korean.”
Truth be told, we hear a lot about Grace. A lot, a lot, a
lot. Because Grace is Cameron's first love, and Lord, that boy is smitten. He calls
her his girlfriend and, thankfully, she agrees (I’d hate for him to have his
first unrequited love at the tender age of six). According to his teachers, the
whole class knows about and accepts their romantic status. What is so wonderful
about this little relationship, beyond the innocence inherent in kindergarten
love, is that he probably never would have met anyone like Grace back in Texas.
They never would have attended the same school, much less shared a classroom.
Because at the beginning of the year, his beautiful friend didn’t speak a word
of English. She is taking an ESL class (English as a Second Language) at SAS, as
are Bob and several other friends; but for the majority of the first semester,
they held hands and sat next to each other during story time, but they never
talked. I guess Virgil
was right: love really does conquer all things. :)
And
Singapore’s refreshing diversity extends well beyond language
and venomous snake varieties – there is also a wide range of religions
practiced by the inhabitants of our Asian home. According to the 2000
census, the 4.4 million people in Singapore
fall into eight different categories of faith: 42.5%
are Buddhist; 14.9% are Muslim; 9.8% are Protestant; 8.5% are Taoist; 4.8% are
Catholic; 4% are Hindu; 0.7% are classified as “other”; and 14.8% do
not claim a specific religion.
I know that the
U.S. is not a Christian-only country, and that large
quantities of Americans adhere to a multitude of non-Christian beliefs; we just
haven’t been exposed to many of
these people. Consequently, our knowledge of the tenets of other faiths is
embarrassingly scant. The boys’ former nanny is Muslim, and still I left the
conservative boundaries of
Texas
knowing almost nothing about her religion. I would
venture a cynical guess that most of my compatriots know no more about Islam
than what they see on TV; and what I myself have seen on TV is nothing like what
I have seen in person. I’ll refrain from launching into a negative diatribe
here – about manipulating facts for political gain – but really, isn’t
this sort of dogmatic attitude rather pitiful? And irresponsible to boot?
Since moving to
Singapore, I’m ashamed to admit that my Islamic knowledge base
has not expanded as much as I would like, or as much as it should have; but I
definitely know more now than I did before. A small bit of this recent
education: I have learned through my food court adventures that the Arabic term
“halal” is
similar to the Jewish word “kosher” (though not identical by any means), and
refers to anything permissible under the laws of Islam. In a restaurant, it
indicates that all food on the premises has been prepared and is served in
accordance with Islamic dietary standards. For example, Muslims are not allowed
to consume pork (or anything prepared with or touched by pork products), because
pigs are considered unclean. Dogs are similarly considered unclean, and
followers of Islam are not allowed to touch or be touched by these creatures,
even if they are pets. I had no idea.
And what about the burquas
that I see so frequently here in Asia? I recognized these enveloping dresses as
traditional Muslim attire, but I never knew why they are worn: to cover a
woman's hair and body (leaving only the face,
hands, and feet exposed), in accordance with the Islamic precept that women dress and
behave modestly in public. And what never occurred to me - and, honestly, it
probably never would have occurred to me had we not left the shores of our
insular little world - is how this clothing requirement might affect one's participation in leisure activities. Like swimming. Every summer of my childhood
involved a serious swimming component, whether at the local pool or at organized
swim meets; and the same will be true of my children. Their every weekend, for
the most part, involves a multi-hour swim at the American club. I cannot imagine
a life without water-based sports and fun. But how can a faithful Muslim woman
possibly go swimming and still maintain the appropriate level of modesty? It is
impossible. Or, rather, it's impossible to do without running a serious risk of
drowning.
Recently, though, I heard a news story (from Star
News Asia’s Deborah Kan – our favorite local news personality) about a
Muslim woman who has designed and produced a new piece of apparel that allows
the wearer to swim, or even just stroll on the beach, without the full-length
dresses and robes, while still maintaining her modesty. This revolutionary
garment, creatively called a “burkini,”
is a two piece swimsuit made out of lycra that covers not only the body, but
also the head and hair, ensuring appropriate full corporal coverage. Is this
amazing to anyone else?
There are a lot of things I have learned here in
Singapore
that, frankly, I could have done without. The unique
and powerful aroma associated with durian
fruit for one. But the knowledge I have gained, and hopefully will continue to
gain, about the fascinating and wonderful differences that can exist between
people - well, that is just invaluable. I don’t have to subscribe to a religion to try
to learn more about it, and I don’t have to agree with other people’s views
and perspectives just because I try to understand them. But I believe, and I
hope I am teaching my children to believe, that the world would be a terribly
boring place if we all looked alike and spoke alike and thought alike. Plus, if
they understand the reasons behind the differences they see between themselves
and others, they won’t fear those differences, or those people; and hopefully,
they will help to make this crazy world a better place. On that note, I
will now descend from the soapbox on which I am so prone to perch... :)
Take care,
Shannon et al.
No pictures this time.
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