Day 25: China Syndrome

My brazen attempts to pass off as a model immigrant got off to an uninspiring start today...

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I was supposed to go to a Mandarin lesson today. Of course, there is no practical need form me to learn Mandarin. After all, English is one of the official languages, and you'll never find anything in business written in Mandarin that isn't written in English first (unless you go to a super-traditional food court or something, but you'd only do that if you don't mind things like frog porridge - or things that you don't know are frog porridge, I suppose). However, I always say back home that people who move to the UK should learn English, and so it would be hypocritical of me to move here and not at least show a modicum of cultural awareness by trying out the home language spoken by Singapore's largest ethnic group. So I booked in for a trial class with a woman called Linda and her school. The first class is free.

Well, unfortunately I didn't make it. Having seen the haze reports, I succumbed to temptation to sit at home and do nothing. I spent the afternoon listening to the Test match (very disappointing). After going for dinner to the local food court at the Paya Lebar Square, I found Neil watching the West Ham match (much more pleasing!), so that's how I spent the evening.

As it's a Saturday, I'm going to take in a film before bed. Tomorrow is the traditional Sunday routine of doing the weekly shopping. I don't think I'm ready for another trip to Malaysia just yet, so I'll stick to Paya Lebar Square for now. 

In addition to the shopping, I now find my Sundays occupied by a non-West-Ham type of ironing. In this country, you can only wear your shirts once before they begin to wreak to the high heavens of roasting human flesh and require washing. So, while I could get away with doing no ironing for several weeks back home, Sunday evenings now are perpetual ironing evenings. I guess it's nice that there is something to fill my Sundays now that it is even less economic than it was before to get to the Santo Lounge quiz.

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By

The Imperial Orange,

24th October 2015