6 days at surfer’s, what’s next?

So six days at Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland, Australia have passed. Today’s my last and final day. And I only have till 9am (7am Singapore Time) before I’ll head to the airport. I’m at the only Starbucks around town, drinking what I usually order while typing this blog.

Usually when I go overseas (or ‘out country’ as my mom likes to say out loud, which makes people think we live in the countryside), I would look forward to going home than the trip itself. Perhaps, its because in recent years, the only countries I’ve visited were in the region.

But this time its different. In order not to offend many people, I shall not say why. Ok, maybe I should. I’m, in many ways, much more familiarized with the Western culture (or so people like to say) than the Asian (Eastern) culture. Perhaps its because of a life-long ambition to be able to stay in the States in the future. And this, in recent years, is the only “Western” country I have visited.

I know many Chinese reading this would tell me “but you’re Chinese Ashley, how can/dare you embrace other cultures, especially the ang mohs?” Well, in terms of food, I’m not one for Chinese tea, herbal soups and daily cravings for rice. As much as I do communicate in Mandarin Chinese and Hokkien at times, English is my primary language of communication.

Personally, though, I don’t believe in a separation of Western and Eastern cultures, I believe everything boils down to personal choice. I’m proud to be Asian, and Singaporean, but my personal preference is definitely not in Asian clothing, food or other cultural items. I think I’ll save the elaboration for all these in another blog. Back to Surfer’s.

So what will I miss here? The first is the weather. It’s winter now, and temperatures in the day is about 15-18 degC and falls to about 9 or 10 degC in the night. I’ll miss wearing what I usually wear in Singapore, tee and berms here. Yes, I hardly put on a sweater or even jeans here.

As I said, I thrive in cold weather, and I melt in tropical climates. In fact, while most other Singaporeans I see are wearing 3 layers of clothing and a huge jacket (just saw a group walking past, if you see an auntie screaming “AH BOY COME HERE LAH”, you definitely know they’re either Singaporean or Malaysian.), I feel that it’s rather warm in the day. Too much air con at home, eh?

Second thing I’ll miss is Aussie English. Really creates a very casual atmosphere around town. And while I haven’t really learn their accent and way of speaking, I think it’s uniquely theirs.

Third thing I’ll miss is the laidback lifestyles of the Aussies. No wonder its called the “Outback”. Professionalism and competition is not key factors here, unlike in Singapore. Its not because you’re Asian and they choose not to serve you professionally, but really, over time, I realised its just their culture.

In most local (not stores meant for tourists) stores, if you ask them about a product, they’ll most probably just say “I don’t know, I’ve never tried that product before”. Even in hotels, “I’m not sure you know, I’ve never stayed in the rooms before” or even “I’m not sure about what the business center facilities are, in fact, it’s my first time here in the business center.”

Knowing most beloved Singaporeans demand formal professionalism, I’m sure if this happens in Singapore, CASE would be called in and the ST Forums/Stomp will be flooded with letters.

Fourth and last thing is the nightlife. While I haven’t visited any bars or clubs over the weekend, the area around my hotel are filled with bars and clubs. So when I was walking there, it’s apparently livelier than Clarke Quay. People are drunk, high on drugs, screaming and stopping cars. One group was shouting at another random group. While some may think its chaos, I think its fun. Hopefully I’d be able to do something like that in Clarke Quay one day.

So what will I not miss? The lack of Starbucks, definitely. Australia is flooded with Gloria Jeans, and Starbucks recently closed 80% of their stores here. So what’s left is 20 Starbucks in the entire country. Yes, it is that drastic. I am so, so lucky there’s one nearby my hotel.

And their public transport. The transport system is kinda complicated as there are 4 or 5 bus service providers. And they don’t tell you that you need to make a transfer! So I was on the bus yesterday for two hours because I went a whole round. Smart, eh?

To end it all, I think this 6 days here in Surfer’s opened me up to the culture. It’s not my first time to Aussie, been here a couple of times but at that time I was still considerably young, and the places we went the previous times were tourist-y. So this time, I decided not to follow my family and go around myself, visiting the town center of another local town and stuff (where the official Apple Store is, managed to get a transaction done at the Genius Bar and bought a couple of items there too (: )

I think a great lesson to learn from the Aussies is to stop, slow down and take a breather. There’s so much more to life than just paper chase and climbing up the career ladder. When you’re free, slack at a local Starbucks, read a good book, listen to great music, people-watch. You’ll get more out of life in that way, than just burying your head in books or working so late till the only time you’re home or the only free time you have is to sleep.

I know many of my friends would disagree with it, because our local culture is one where we have to constantly rush and compete against one another. But this is something I am definitely taking back with me when I’m back in Singapore, even after the memory card that contains photos of my trip has stopped functioning.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll study here in the future?

Have a great day, mate. (: