Rain And More Rain

Technically, it's summer season back in the Philippines. But I discovered here in Singapore that rains often occur almost everyday (if not, at least once a week). A Singaporean friend told me that April is usually a rainy month. The dry seasons starts at July while the wettest months are from November to December (wet Christmas, anyone?). The sunniest month was February (that's why when I first came here, I experienced hot and humid weeks and rarely rainy days).

I would wake up early in the morning, still dark outside at six, only to hear the soft patter of raindrops against the window pane. Sometimes it would rain hard in the early afternoon. At other times, late in the afternoon, just before dusk creeps out over the city. Overall, I could say no one could predict precisely when rain would occur. I have to be observant of the distant dark skies before I leave the apartment without an umbrella.

Speaking of umbrellas, I was surprised that anyone can borrow one at some Hang Ten shops that rent umbrellas for $6 each. Up to 90 days one can use these umbrellas. To refund your dollar, return these umbrellas at any Hang Ten store (showcasing these rentable umbrellas) including the plastic casing, the price tag, and also show your receipt.

You may not return it of course. If you do, then you have bought one.

Training Days And Languages

I had been busy attending training for six days since last week, so I wasn't able to catch up on my blogging habits lately.

Just like in my former job, I got to be trained this time with a new set of reporting tools that my current employer has been utilizing. I was glad to be trained first instead of immersing myself at once at the beginning of my work week.

During the training, I got to meet and interact with people of different nationalities. I find it amusing and at the same time challenging to communicate with them. Luckily, English is widely used here in Singapore. But just like Taglish back in the Philippines, most use Singlish - English mixed with Singaporean local terminologies in between. Some pronunciations and accents make it at first difficult for me to understand what my colleagues would say. But eventually, I got the hang of it. Along with other colleagues, during the training days, we got to meet with two instructors. One was a French woman and the other a Swiss man. Both could communicate well in English, though I sometimes mistake a word or two from them because of the difference in English accents that I'm used to back in the Philippines.

Just yesterday, while playing a card game with a Singaporean local, he asked me the country I came from. But before I could tell him, he asked me if I was from the Philippines. Astonished of course, I replied back on how he guessed it right. He told me that I got this distinct accent that Filipinos have when speaking in English clearly.

I guess that tells it all (with a hidden smile on my face).

Friday, My Goodness

Being a Catholic, it's one of my duties to attend mass especially this Good Friday. But I observed here in Singapore, even though today is a holiday, everyone seems to be enjoying and doing things normally. I should not be surprised since being a multi-cultural place, those few Catholic citizens will be the one who would solemnly celebrate this day while the rest of the population would go out and enjoy the holiday with friends, families and loved ones.

Good thing there was a nearby church a few bus stops away (the handy bus terminal book I bought was so helpful that instead of utilizing the MRT trains I usually ride the bus to go places more frequently). Good to see that there are many Singaporean Catholics (and even obvious expats) of other races who visited the church.

What I like about in Singapore is the religious tolerance the country practices to unite all people of different races. It makes this country more fascinating and more challenging for me, especially when I relate to other Singaporeans - Chinese, Malays, Indians, other fellow Filipinos and the Americans or Europeans.

Currently, I only know two languages - Tagalog/Filipino and English. I plan to study Chinese language (like Mandarin) someday just like what my friend is doing nowadays. I know this would help me further in understanding and blending with the locals.