More Than Just Dettol Touch
Recently I have been seeking for a reason to go home. Sometimes things get so comfortable here in Singapore, especially now there is no school, and I have a room to myself with 24/7 broadband network. I can live however the way I like . Yet something is missing.
Was discussing with Geir during our lunch today, about how Singapore is such a safe and orderly place to stay. However sometimes things are so impeccably organised that one feels that she/he is living in a sterilised bubble. And breathing too much of sterilised air actually makes ur immune system more delicate and unable prep up its fighting and defence mechanism when a potent viral strand attacks.
Too sterilised until the basic human interaction seems to be coated with a layer of Dettol germicide sometimes. I have been going to this Indian lady's sundry shop to get my daily dose of paper and chocolates . The things in her shop are not cheap and I could have bought my chocolates from any vending machine around the school, but for me, I prefer buying things from a human being.If my money is going to be given out for something, I 'd rather press down the notes in someone's hand then passing them through a slot that eats it up with an ungrateful, eager "zeee" sound. Therefore I usually make it a point to buy chocolates from her, an old lady whom i think deserves my money more than a faceless, money-eating machine.
Days passed. I never stopped going to the Indian lady's sundry shop, but certain things about her become more and more apparent to me. There was once I accidentally gave her a Malaysian coin and instantly she exclaimed over-reactingly " Noo..this one Malayisian coinnn!" in her shrill voice. I apologised sheepishly and fumbled quickly for a Singaporean coin. Since then onwards she would scrutinize every penny i give her with unmistaken caution. She has never given me a discount of a single cent, regardless of me being there everyday and only complains most of the time to me about her dull business. And the sole purpose of asking me whether I am staying in Singapore for the holidays was to find out if I would frequent her shop these days. And my last reservation of the belief that she could b a kind lady whom I can warm up to affectionately has finally evaporated today after buying some stuffs at her shop. She miscalculated the total amount by 50 cents short and I kindly reminded her to recount, after realizing her mistake, she demanded the 50cents in the most straightforward manner, and almost a triumphant smugness. “Give me 50cents more.” No thank you, no please. Beat that.
Then I finally realized what I had missed about home, and the little town which I grew up in. A sense of genuine human touch, maybe with a bit of grime and sweat, but of warmth.
Our shop sells provisions too, but because we know our customers well, we extend the relationship further from just to that customers and sellers. My uncles and cousin would deliver sacks of rice, eggs, sugars right to the doorstep of their houses. Sometimes it involves carrying the hefty sacks on their shoulders and climbing flights of stairs. With regulars, we even allowed them to owe us until they get their pays at the end of the month. Prices are negotiable to an extent too, don’t have enough money today? Never mind, pay us back tomorrow. That’s the level of trust and close-knittedness people of small town share. In big cities, everything gears towards robot-like efficiency, automation etc, even in service lines, courtesy and cordialities are only full-frontal performances, often with the service persons having a flashy smile plastered on their faces and rehearsed lines flowing from their mouths. I miss the grime, the sweat, and mostly the warmth. I associate old ladies and sundry shop here fondly to those back at home, but apparently certain idiosyncratic faiths on my side are sorely misplaced. Of course, there are a lot of unassuming, pleasant old ladies in Singapore, especially those cleaning ladies within my block, but somehow the exchanges between us are limited to smiles and occasional brief lines.
Grimes , germs are necessarily for our immune system for they trigger a reactive defense mechanism from our body; same goes to more-than-skinned-deep interpersonal interaction between people, it is important to trigger our innate reaction to care for the other person. Not just the people whom are the closest to us now , but also those who have the potential of being close to us one day.