Life, Laughter and Everything Else

I have always been a proponent of spending time alone, far from the security and comfort provided by one’s close family and friends. This time alone was a statement of independence, that of self-sufficiency, a statement that screamed I am strong enough to survive on my own. In addition, time alone meant one was not subject to the whim of one’s companions. I did what I wanted, how I wanted and when I wanted. That was freedom. And so I often traveled alone, planning the itinerary according to my taste and changing it according to my whims. I neither had to wait for the friend who wanted to snap pictures of every other thing neither did I have to inconvenience my budget to his taste. It was great, at least at first. Then it got to the point when the loneliness caught up with me, when as I stared at the majestic monument or scenery in awe, I looked to my right and left and realized there was none to share it with. When I had to use the loo, there was no one to watch over my bag, nei...

"I am sorry, but are you good at IT?", she inquired with the most apologetic of expression. I gave her an incredulous look. Seriously? This was the second time I was being asked that question in one month and I took offense. It was almost as if the world judged that the only reason my race would be allowed to venture overseas was to fix other people's computers. "No. I am a production engineer", I replied, half wondering if I should clarify it had nothing to do with human production, which my people are also well known for. "Oh. That is a pity. Our printer broke down and we were wondering how to fix it", she said pointing to a piece of contraption that lay on the table nearby. Men being men, I offered to help. On walking over and looking into the inside of the contraption, I saw what most millennials see if they were to ever see the inside of the multiple devices they are perpetually holding onto; abyss. I doubted she would give me a discount f...

At the heyday of xenophobia in Singapore, foreigners who neither spoke English or spoke it not very fluently were often the target of snide remarks and jokes among the local population. As the service industry occupations started being filled more and more by foreigners, one could frequently hear complaints about the difficulty in communication with the foreigners. One common scenario was for example me buying some mixed rice at the food court and the China born sever would state the cost in Chinese. It would irk me. "Do I look Chinese to you". Or if he caught me on a bad day, "Don't know English, why come here?" Of course I would not say it out, but that would be the chain of thoughts in my head, something I would follow up with my friends when I joined them later at the canteen. Now that I am in Germany, the role has been reversed. My German is elementary at best and my efforts at speaking it out has been hindered by almost total incomprehension of w...