For those saying foreigners just complain about Singapore, I have a video about things I love about Singapore too!! I'm really happy here! Relak ah lol czcams.com/video/V0JcQkI8CfE/video.html
Don't be afraid to share your feelings with us, we love to hear it. Could you share with us how your roommates were noisy? I have a noisy neighbor here and I can't stand them.
I really enjoyed this culture shock video! I appreciate that unlike other 'culture shock' videos where people have NEVER LIVED ABROAD EVER and are shocked by super commonplace things, you focus on very subtle, nuanced details that probably even Singaporeans don't realize they do. Super interesting!
@@LindieBotes Several days ago, I met an auntie(obasan) in the elevator of my condo. After knowing that I work here as an expat, she directly went to the exact question of rent price. I was not that defensive at that time, cause in China sometimes old fellas would talk like that. I told her the price. She replied "good for you". And after she got out the elevator, she turned to me and said "you know what, I have an apartment here, of my own". I didn't know what to react, laugh ,cry? Should I tell her that my condo in Shanghai can afford three such apartments here, given the fact that the condo I rented is not in the hub area? Oh, fuggedaboudit. Just don't want to turn a morning greetings into a kiasu war.
Hi there, Singaporean native here. I've lived in Australia and San Francisco and yes they're all very different cities and cultures. The whole quiet office thing in Singapore: This depends on office, I used to work in an exhibitions company, a visual effects company and now I'm at a government office. The exhibitions company was noisy, there would be phones ringing, people talking to each other in various parts of the open concept office, it definitely wasn't quiet. The VFX company was super quiet because everyone is busy working on their stuff on the computer, everyone talks via instant message. So it just depends what kind of office environment you're in. No one saying good morning/ good bye in the Singapore office: Yup this is true. I honestly think it's just bad manners, but don't stop that from doing it yourself. I figured that if people in the US office say good morning/ good bye, and the Japanese find it extremely important to wish and greet people, it surely can't be a bad thing. So I do it even though no one in my office does it, and I don't care. The no chatting thing: Generally Singaporeans are very guarded at work because a lot of them have their own friends and family stuff in real life and feel work people are work people. They also have a tendency to get very cliquish, so it's up to you if you want to try insert yourself into a clique or not. People also treat work as work, because well, it's to earn money and feed the family. You're generally lucky if you're doing a job that you also like doing. Also hahha you've been 'spoilt' by JP greeting culture, yeah Singapore does not do that. It's not that they're unfriendly, they're usually either 1. tired. 2. had a bad day. 3. unmotivated at work. But it doesn't mean every SG person is unfriendly, they're just very reserved but if you ask them a question, they can be very helpful. We may not look friendly but we are helpful and nice when we want to. Western food: Yeah, western food is expensive. You will probably save money trying to cook some / prepare some yourself. Queuing: Yup, it's a classic herd mentality thing. So you have to beat the queue by anticipating when people queue for things, safest is generally 1 hour before a popular time slot. Dating questions: Uh that's more of because people are bored and randomly ask stuff like that cause they don't really know how to ask bout other stuff, so don't take that seriously. It's the kind of stuff relatives ask people on Thanksgiving/ Chinese New Year. Also, your agent is a jerk. Agents should not say stuff like that.
Hmm now it makes sense why the guests I had from Singapore were pretty much quiet the entire time. I thought I did something wrong or not up to their expectations.. so it's all good lol
Am I the only one who would love to see a video about Dubai and Pakistan and the other countries Lindie has lived in? I'm SO curious!!! Ps: this video is very interesting, thank you Lindie!
I am a foreigner in US and the fact that everyone is expected to loudly declare their entrance to the office by a greeting makes me very uncomfortable. Also I don't like it when my office mates talk with each other or with other people or on the phone, it distracts me.
@@ceamean Are you saying people in other countries don't have "human social behavior" and are hence "actually dangerous"? Dangerous compared to United States, the only country with regular mass-shootings of disgruntled employees in their workplace?
Especially in open offices the workers should take their (loud) conversations elsewhere, especially phone calls and such if they are not related to the topic. Afterall, for me its rude to distract others especially when the reason why we are at work is because we are working.
Iâve worked for a company that supported active communication, light-hearted conversations, âwater coolerâ chat, out-of-office activities, etc. I also worked for a very quiet office where nobody really talked or knew each other on personal level. The latter was a nightmare. Nothing kills office culture and identity like silence and separation from coworkers. Itâs depressing and results in high turnover. People like to pretend that they are so busy that chatting with a coworker is distracting and disruptive to work. Not true. Stats show that most people do only four hours of work a day on average, because itâs physically very taxing to concentrate for long period of times, and taking no breaks actually works against productivity. If someone is claiming that they are at work, doing work for 8 hours straight, 100% of the time, they are full of bs. Taking interest in your coworkers outside of their work life promotes team-building, trust, sense of community and common goal, and makes work actually enjoyable. So yes, I agree with Sim, no communication and no fun at work is bad and is a sign of a toxic work environment.
Wow! This is such an interesting video! Although it was filled with things you didnât particularly like, Iâm glad youâre happy & thriving overall đ
I'm so thankful for this video because I am German but have studied in England for two years, without any real culture shock or problems, and I assumed going on my year abroad in Spain would be easy-peasy because I already have experience with living abroad and it's still in Europe so it shouldn't be that different from home, but I am actually struggling a bit (and feeling bad for struggling because of aforementioned reasons)
Donât feel the pressure to answer questions. Just donât answer with a smile. Change the subject. Also know that singapore WANTS people to have relationships and to promote romance.
Ok to be fair, I got a supervisor, in a MNC, who once said, "Can't you just turn on your charm to make the female client happy" so that .I could get better service rating. It is really annoying and unprofessional of him to even suggest, it was as if he treated his male staffs as gigolos. Anyway, most of the other places that I worked do not tolerate such sexist jokes, so you might be just unlucky to meet such people.
Singaporeans are quite reserved actuallyïŒespecially with ppl they donât know very well, they will not really greet or initiate a conversation with strangers. We a bunch of æ ąçæ§kind of character due to our upbringing, but once you hit off with us , we can be very fun and crazy to be with. Good luck mate.
Great video!! And the personal questions are probably in more Asian countries. When I was teaching English in Korea people asked me all the time if I have boyfriend and so on. When a female student asked me it was ok, but when my older male students started to ask me if I have a boyfriend, why I don't have a boyfriend and when I'm going to get married and that I should find a boyfriend soon, that was too much!! Though I really enjoyed people talking to me, like a lady who sat next to me on the train and we just started a nice conversation. That would never happend to me in Europe.
Good to see another video hun! I'm curious though, culture shock for me was a mixture of both negative and positive. Have you had any stand out positive experiences in SG that you haven't had in Korea / Japan etc etc? Stay strong, you inspire alot of people here to stick with their passions, myself included!
I hope everything is going well overall living in Singapore and that on a regular basis, the positive experiences outweigh the negative ones đ I love your videos Lindie and that you felt comfortable sharing this video! Itâs not only informative but it helps me relate to you on that basic âwe all have frustrations in lifeâ level! :) íìŽí ! đđ»
I'm a Malaysian. Many of the things you have said about Singapore also apply to Malaysia. Concerning greeting people and saying "hi", The culture here is to bother people especially strangers as little as possible. For restaurants workers or convenient store cashiers and the like, we usually just start listing out what we want so that they can get our order quickly and move on to the next person. I would be like "one mcchicken set, drinks changed to iced Milo. Having here. Thank you". For social situation, it is weird or awkward for us to just say "Hi how are you" to someone you have never talked to. What you do is find something you share in the moment to ask the other person or to say something to them. For example in a church as you mentioned, ask the person beside you what time does the prayer start, who's the pastor, where's the toilet....(I'm not a Christian I hope you get my idea). In a classroom, I would ask someone beside me whom I have never talked to what the teacher was saying just now or when was the deadline or make comments about how difficult the class is. From that one question, you keep expanding on that topic whether it's church or class. Then, you can start talking about other things after awhile. That's how I go about it as someone who grew up in this kind of culture. On the topic of being asked or teased about dating, it is absolutely annoying and I hate it so much. I agree with you that it is incredibly childish and invasive. It's sometimes considered banter buy I just hate it. They won't stop as well. I have found my group of uni friends and thank God they don't do this. When I was interning at an organisation, I got asked by both fellow interns and the other workers there. I hated that aspect of the working atmosphere there.
Asking how much you pay for rent is not a personal question. At least in Hungary is totally okay to ask. What is more personal is your wage, unfortunately, people don't speak openly about their earnings (it would be helpful to raise each others' wages).
The only reason I'm uncomfortable with people asking how much I pay for tent is the way they react when I do tell them. Singapore is quite expensive but I don't like when people assume things about my status or salary based on where I live. Interesting that it's normal to ask that in Hungary! Thanks for sharing!
@@LindieBotes Singapore is strange. If I asked you how much you pay for rent and you don't pay too much, I would like to get your tips and tricks how to get a cheap rent.
Greetings are usually done by those who are pretty good in office politics. The rest just want to go do the work and go home. Small talks in office are also part of unhealthy office politics
Lindie, I just realized your channel, love love love your channel. I strongly nodded for every single points(except fish, haha being Japanese) Looking forward to your new posts!
If you live in China and say hi to everyone you meet,you will be totally exhausted after 5 hours. I live in this world but mentally I donât belong to any particular culture nor society. other peopleâs behaviors or life styles donât cause any problem for me, I either against or support them,I only create rules for me to live by.freedom is priceless!
Iâve lived in Singapore for over 10 years. Probably the biggest thing that annoys me is the tray thing... most people refuse to tidy up their own mess and return their trays when eating out. đŹđ€ there are a lot of good points about Singapore but that one thing particularly annoys me.
The new food queueing experience if you look closely is mainly carried out by young people in your age group. The older people are more practical and may queue for good bargains.
Hey Lindie, just a note on the culture that Malaysia and Singapore share. There is a strong culture of wanting to intimately know someone deeply as soon as you meet them. In the first day of my current friend group, I knew their full names, hobbies, interests and pet peeves. Not saying hello is definitely a non-thing there at work, though itâs common outside of work.There is a culture of misogyny in both our countries, Iâm sorry you went through that. Thereâs been a growing grassroots movement for equal rights and itâs slowly climbing up the ladder. If you need someone to talk to, donât hesitate to message.
Thank you for your work and video. I study abroad in UK full time, this year is my last year and I get sometimes so sad and schocked by many stuff even though I'm also from Europe. Next year i want to move to another country for master degree and I'm really stressed but it's good to see no matter where i would end up there is always good and bad side. I appreciate honesty because i don't like when people romantize one country and hate another. I look forward for more videos about tips to moving another country how to deal with stress loneliness â€
People seem to also think that âculture shockâ is always negative. A lot of it can be just âhuh, thatâs differentâ types of realizations. People not saying âgood morningâ seems heavenly to me đ Iâm NOT a morning person or the type of person who wants to be greeted when they come into a store or whatever...frankly I find it irritating. Maybe I need to move. However, if Iâm at a cashier, it would be odd if they didnât say âhiâ at least đ. I also love the cold so maybe I should stay put. Lol
Asking about rent and dating life is really normal in Ireland too, the former partially because of the housing crisis. I'm presuming the latter is new because of the time you spent in conservative countries?
Hello Lindie! I really enjoyed watching your videos as they inspire me to study new languages. Hope to meet you here in Singapore. I am also working here now for almost 5 years.
Not the point of the video. But I'm happy to know that seafood and fish are considered separated things in Singapore. I'm allergic to crustaceans and have this ongoing fear of dying over some shrimp when I visit.
Regarding the greeting culture, personally i do find it very odd to have 1 person come in and greeting everyone excitedly every morning. Like once in a while its fine, but ill honestly find it annoying n useless.đ we get in , do our work n then once the rush is over we gossip a bit here n there in our cliques. It's also frowned upon to talk during work in certain offices and the tone is usually set by the boss. So it really depends on your working place. As for the personal qns, i see it going both ways. For eg, when i take a grab or cab ride, irs v common for drivers to ask how long j moved to the estate/ how much i paid for my bto. Its like our versio of small talk. But because you're a foreigner, ppl might also just be damn kpo n nosy abt what u earn etc so just laugh it off and say " not much la" or just ignore n ask another qns. Hope u settle in soon, it must not have been easy and i know for sure j wouldnt be able to do it â€. 1 week overseas and ill miss my chilli sauce đ
3:50 ya Singaporean strangers are ur average quite kid, we donât really like small talk and stuff but if u get to know them better they will start to open up,nice video by the way
Most of the things you say are true. I am Singaporean by the way. Yes small things get escalated n some women do use flirting to get their ways. Yes hard to get healthy salad here too.
Could you talk a little bit more about your life in Singapore, the pros and cons, the places you love and the ones youâll recommend to visit, etc... ?
Agree with most of the stuff here. i once went to ask a colleague something and she was like why can't you text on our work chat and I was like because you're sitting like 3m away? the not greeting people thing is so ingrained here, it seems. When I tell people that in other countries greeting anyone even strangers is a thing, they look at me kinda strange like "you mean they say hello to people on the street?"
It's a pity that you had those experiences but please continue to be who you are- saying hi to your colleagues and even the stall assistants. I'm a Singaporean and I do enjoy small talk with my colleagues in the morning. And I also greet and thank the workers when they serve me. By the way, when you are asked those personal questions, I suppose the people are just trying to create topics and be interested in you. Well, at least they tried. And lastly, it seems like you are taking this culture shock pretty positively and that can be helpful for you to assimilate into the culture here.
Iâm not sure if itâs my area or a common thing, but in my area we have a thing called âlate night shoppingâ where my local town stays open later on one day of the week. The rule of thumb is; âif a restaurant isnât busy on late night shopping, donât go in thereâ. So, I know the whole âpeople will queue if thereâs a lot of people for a food placeâ very well đ
omg the cell group at church is so relatable! i am from indonesia ppl are so warm and welcoming... i got shock in my life in sg i am like why no one say hi? Am I invicible lol lol lol
Yes, usually Singaporeans are quite reserved, needs more time to warm up. As for personal questions, yes, some people are quite busybodies, but I have nothing to hide so just give them short and sharp reply (I don't think the locals are so blunt as to asking what is your salary)
Hallo Lindie! Ek is ân Singaporean; jammer om te hoor van jy ervarings hier. Ek vra om verskoning vir my lande mense. Ek hoop dit gaan goed met jy na 'n jaar. Wees veilig en lekker đđ€đ» P.S.: Ek het in 2015-2016 in Kaapstad gewoon en het ân bietjie Afrikaans geleer
Im not in a new country or anything but I'm glad its not just me who finds it uncomfortable when people just start off a meeting by asking about your love life. Its just really strange to me.
Hi Lindie, I'm a year late to this video but I thought I'd comment anyway because you have just experienced most of what I experienced as a Singapore citizen born and raised (Eurasian/mixed) throughout my life there. I also don't eat seafood, and having had to explain that this includes fish every time, I deeply feel your pain hahaha. I'm half Dutch and have moved here to the Netherlands (which was a different kind of culture shock) and I think it's cool that you speak Afrikaans, it's just all pretty relatable to me hahaha. But thought it was so fun to see the parallels between our experiences, and I'm not sure if you still live in Singapore but if you do want to talk about that- I mean idk (can I just say this to a CZcamsr/random person on the internet?) You can message me lol I guess? Hahagahaha okay ending this now before my verbal diarrhea gets worse.
In Japan I would sometimes get personal questions too. And they wouldnât reciprocate either. Itâs not everyone but some people just donât treat foreigners the same way they normally treat people if their own culture. If it seems like people are being nosy or asking you anything youâre not comfortable discussing itâs best to act like you normally would.
@@LindieBotes Personally, I think you took it too hard. You're unduly applying norms based on current Western ideological trends. He didn't mean any harm.
@@mypartyisprivate8693 sure maybe some people can brush this away but it's people like this that will see it's OK to make a comment like that and then continue with other things that are more severe. Maybe I can push this aside but other situations that I've experienced here are too gross to put on CZcams and I will not take such things lightly.
This is not about western ideological trends but about common decency and not discriminating. Sad to hear it happened to you (and the worse things even more so!) , but good to hear you didn't take it lightly! Now maybe he will be more respectful and professional towards women in the future.
@@mypartyisprivate8693 See this is why you don't talk to crazy Westerners. Don't befriend them, don't talk to them, don't include them, don't hire them. They can't find trouble if they have no one to interact.
Do move to Malaysia too k!! The weather is the same, everything is cheaper, and you can practice both mandarin and bahasa!! And perhaps also takes up tamil.. đđâ€ïž
Dear Lindie, I am Singaporean ... ! I normally watch video only & don't "give / contribute / participate" in comments ... ! I have "read & screened" through the whole list of comments ... & realised that "non of them" give you a good "reply or answers" as to WHY people in Singapore generally Don't Greet others when they first enter Office ... ! There could be various reasons for it ... Besides what the other people have said that Singaporeans are generally quite "Quiet & Reserved people"
most offices in sg are not that quiet imo.. my office is especially noisy because of all the âauntiesâ chit chating, shouting across their tables, etc lmao. Same experience with Previous company as well. Both mncs đ€Łperhaps the office environment is also highly dependent on the nature of work i guess~
Where did you read that Singapore is unhappy, even though we don't have much fun events and parties every night, I feel like we are okay despite our complaining which does not put us down too much, in which I find quite annoying as we are quite blessed in Singapore in my eyes. The World Happiness Report ranks us 34th most happy country out of 150+ so I wouldn't say we are unhappy at all, just unassuming and unimportant in the chart.
Interesting topic. I aways wondered how it would be to live in a place outside Brazil and how I would feel like. I believe I'd be very awkward about the 'not saying hello' and the 'personal questions' types of situations. You work on here is very spiring and got me excited to learn new languages. God bless you!
Hi, Lindie. I am glad you are talking about this kind of experience and I was wondering if, based on your point of view, is there in Singapore a lot of chauvinism? Because that could be the reason why they told you those things. At the same time, I find it very interesting, you know, the thing about not greeting at work but it is ok to talk about personal things hehe. A real contradiction eh?
The do you have a bf one could be because they wanted to know the chances of you being pregnant and having to take a leave of absence for an extended period of time,,people here are really particular about high efficiency levels lmaoo
It is so impressive to learn your experience in Singapore. I would say that it is quite normal starting work without greeting colleagues in China.:p In fact i am not sure about the root, either.
Whoa⊠I have a disability, and I am on my own in Singapore quite a lot⊠I wish people would ask me about my dating life, instead of the other questions they ask⊠Like why is nobody helping me⊠Why is nobody accompanying me? But this doesnât just go for Singapore⊠I think people forget that people with disabilities to get married and have children and go to work, and do everything elseâŠ
This video is kind of old so maybe you've moved or acted on it already. Anyway, the landlord HAS to know about your agent's behaviour, this is absolutely unacceptable, the lies and the inappropriate comments. Unfortunately, real estate agents in SG are some of the absolute worst in the world.
I've been considering working in Singapore someday but this makes me think twice... I also tend to be quiet so I really need that warmth and openness in an office environment. Are there any cultural factors that have pleasantly surprised you? What's kept you happy there?
It's totally different when I moved companies! The place I am at now is absolutely warm and welcoming. It really depends. At the time of filming this, what I said related to my office at the time and happened to be the same in my friend's office. I'm not sure if it's a trend across most offices. I work in a startup now and maybe that makes it more warm and open? What makes me happy: the humor! People are hilarious and love laughing. The sense of humor locals have here is either really slapstick or really clever and punny. I also like that food is a huge part of the culture. Even if I can't eat everything, there's always good available at any hour. It's a national pastime to eat and talk about food haha. I have a video on things I love about Singapore if you wanna check that out too! Hope you decide to move here, it's wonderful!
@@LindieBotes Will do, thanks! I've only recently discovered your videos and they (along with the 50-odd episodes of Terrace House I binged the other week) have inspired me to take up Japanese. Mandarin and Korean will be next. Love the channel!
It depends on how big your office is and how the working environment. Personally I prefer quiet no talking but my office is the opposite. Everyone talks and itâs quite noisy! I know some office have good morningâ session where everyone greets loudly vs my current work place, where if we meet a person one the way in we will greet individually. So different place different strokes
@@LindieBotes Haha! That's nice to hear. I have to say, I have admired your work for a very long time. You're such a rolemodel for me! Lastly I have to ask... Have you been thinking of learning Finnish? I have a playlist on my channel lol. Sorry if this is odd for me to say, I have ASD. ^-^
Very informative and in some cases shocking video! Thanks for sharing! And about bad thing: If a plumber or another person as he, asks kind of this question in some european countries, woman can sue a couple of thousands dollars from him! Disgusting...
Sorry ... Accidentally press message & send out pre-maturely ... ! These are some of my "logics / reasonings / explaination" for it ... As to WHY people in Singapore Don't Greet each other much in early office hours ... ! 1. They could be feeling tired from the night before or maybe they are NOT movitivated in their work ( dragging their feet to work etc ). 2. Also, Singaporeans are generally "quiet / Shy / reserved' people ... They mind only their own business & Not greeting others much ... ! 3. Singaporeans are also generally "serious & no-nonsense people" ... They are rather serious in their "work environment & attitude" ... They conduct their work seriously ... Generally, They Don't do politics much or crack jokes like a clown in a serious environment like office ... Besides, lots of people are also "invisiblely observing" all your "words, talks, actions & behaviours" which unknowly to you ... They just didn't tell you only ... Bottom line, office is a place for "some serious work to be done" & Not for "Socially greeting, small talks or clown place" to happen ... ! 4. The fourth & last point is the "highest possible reason" for people "NOT greeting in office" when they first arrived in the office i think. Singapore travelling journey to work can be Hectic due to "rushing / habitual lateness / rain / traffic / sending their child to school first" & various other reasons & issues etc ... There are many reasons to be & for LATE ... By opening your "BIG MOUTH" to Greet people first thing first in the office early in the morning ... You are indirectly telling people that you have just arrived into Office ... & Worst still, that you are LATE to arrive or LATE for work ... This can be a serious "penalty /discpline / Character" issues ... ! If people are NOT happy about you ... They may "report / inform / complain" to your direct boss, and you could get unneccessary "questions / warnings / troubles" from your boss ... Especially if you Don't have a good relationship with your boss ... All that is "Stupid & NOT Neccessary" to happen ... If you can avoid "trouble or problem" ... You would want to keep it "simple / easy / trouble free" as much as possible ( Smart Move ) ... ! Hence, by "keeping your mouth shut or mum" without greeting anybody ( or without any announcement ) ... Nobody actually knows when you arrive or reach office ( Since you greet people only when you enter office the first time early in the morning ). Your second or subsequent entry, most don't greet people anymore, Right ... ? Worst still, if you "big mouth" & greeted people so loudly ... Everybody in the office can hear you ... & your big boss in his office may hear you too ... Can you imagine, if you are supposed to start work at 8.00 am sharp ... But happen that on that day, you arrived slightly LATE at 8.30 am ... And as usual, you "enthusiasticly greet your collegue loudly" ... Then, everybody would have known that you JUST ARRIVED or being LATE for work also ... The next thing that happens ... Your boss ask you to go into his office ... Can you imagine what he will question you next ... ? That will put you in an awkward & difficult "position / situation" ... Isn't that "STUPID" enough ... ? Hence, by NOT greeting people first thing early in the morning in the office actually has got it's "strategic & significant meaning" ... it's also a "reserved & smart move" for people who are "often / occasionally" late ... Not to forget that Singaporeans are one of the "Smartest people on Earth" ... There is every "logic & reason" for WHY they are do thing in that "way or manner" ... Every "act / culture / move" is precisionly calculated & executed for a reason ... ! How i know about all these "Stategic Non- Greeting Culture" ... ? Cos i was one of those who "wake up late often" and also "arrive late for work often" into office ... And hence, when i Don't greet people & sit down silently on my own seat ... Everybody thought i have previously went to toilet or for breakfast or some meeting or somewhere ... ! It's actually a "smart & stategic move" ... "NOT to foolishly announce" or "overly exposed yourself to weakness" ... ! Of course, my "logic & reasoning" only speaks for those "habitual lateness people" for work like myself ... But if you always arrive in office early or on time ... Then, there is "Not much reasons" Not to be polite to give your collegue a "warm & early morning greet" ... ! Hope my explaination helps & answer abit of your "doubts & culture shocks" you experienced here ... ! Remember, in Singapore, Nothing is by Chance ... Everything happen for a "reason / logic / purpose" ... Now you know WHY it is common for people NOT to greet each other early in the moring in office ... Cos they could be "frequent or habitual lateness people" like myself or others ... They are just trying to "cover & protect" themself from any possible "dangers / harms / office politics" in their working area ... This is only "common sense / common knowledge / common logic / common practice" in Singapore i think ... ! Hope "All those Long Explaination" Helps .... ! Thanks ... !
a good riposte would have been to the last one agent: Why don't you use your feminine charm? Lindie: Oh really? Why don't YOU use your feminine charm? đ đ đ
For those saying foreigners just complain about Singapore, I have a video about things I love about Singapore too!! I'm really happy here! Relak ah lol czcams.com/video/V0JcQkI8CfE/video.html
Lol us Singaporeans complain all the time too. Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Enjoy your stay!
Don't be afraid to share your feelings with us, we love to hear it. Could you share with us how your roommates were noisy? I have a noisy neighbor here and I can't stand them.
I love how you don't pretend to be ok with every situation all the time.
1ratman91 Glad to see other people respect her for that
I really enjoyed this culture shock video! I appreciate that unlike other 'culture shock' videos where people have NEVER LIVED ABROAD EVER and are shocked by super commonplace things, you focus on very subtle, nuanced details that probably even Singaporeans don't realize they do. Super interesting!
Feel free to lie when you get personal questions from strangers.
I've never thought about that HAHA. For now I've learnt to say straight up "I'm not comfortable answering that" when people ask about salary or rent.
@@LindieBotes i don't think you need to be so polite with such people. Just say, "don't be kaypoh"đ
@@LindieBotes Several days ago, I met an auntie(obasan) in the elevator of my condo. After knowing that I work here as an expat, she directly went to the exact question of rent price. I was not that defensive at that time, cause in China sometimes old fellas would talk like that. I told her the price. She replied "good for you". And after she got out the elevator, she turned to me and said "you know what, I have an apartment here, of my own".
I didn't know what to react, laugh ,cry? Should I tell her that my condo in Shanghai can afford three such apartments here, given the fact that the condo I rented is not in the hub area?
Oh, fuggedaboudit. Just don't want to turn a morning greetings into a kiasu war.
Learn jiu jitsu an break their arms. That works too.
@@heinlich I don't get it. He saying "I have an apartment of my own" implied what exactly....?
Almost sold for a few camels in Dubai?!
LOL luckily my dad was like um NO and my mom held on to my hand like there was no tomorrow
yup same. i was like so lets casually mention that. lol i love Lindy
When I was 7, we went to Tunisia and a random man asked my dad if he could buy me in exchange of camels too lmao
So how many camels were you each worth?
@@veloboy not the point. But I like your question. đ€â
Hi there, Singaporean native here. I've lived in Australia and San Francisco and yes they're all very different cities and cultures.
The whole quiet office thing in Singapore: This depends on office, I used to work in an exhibitions company, a visual effects company and now I'm at a government office. The exhibitions company was noisy, there would be phones ringing, people talking to each other in various parts of the open concept office, it definitely wasn't quiet. The VFX company was super quiet because everyone is busy working on their stuff on the computer, everyone talks via instant message. So it just depends what kind of office environment you're in.
No one saying good morning/ good bye in the Singapore office: Yup this is true. I honestly think it's just bad manners, but don't stop that from doing it yourself. I figured that if people in the US office say good morning/ good bye, and the Japanese find it extremely important to wish and greet people, it surely can't be a bad thing. So I do it even though no one in my office does it, and I don't care.
The no chatting thing: Generally Singaporeans are very guarded at work because a lot of them have their own friends and family stuff in real life and feel work people are work people. They also have a tendency to get very cliquish, so it's up to you if you want to try insert yourself into a clique or not. People also treat work as work, because well, it's to earn money and feed the family. You're generally lucky if you're doing a job that you also like doing. Also hahha you've been 'spoilt' by JP greeting culture, yeah Singapore does not do that. It's not that they're unfriendly, they're usually either 1. tired. 2. had a bad day. 3. unmotivated at work. But it doesn't mean every SG person is unfriendly, they're just very reserved but if you ask them a question, they can be very helpful. We may not look friendly but we are helpful and nice when we want to.
Western food: Yeah, western food is expensive. You will probably save money trying to cook some / prepare some yourself.
Queuing: Yup, it's a classic herd mentality thing. So you have to beat the queue by anticipating when people queue for things, safest is generally 1 hour before a popular time slot.
Dating questions: Uh that's more of because people are bored and randomly ask stuff like that cause they don't really know how to ask bout other stuff, so don't take that seriously. It's the kind of stuff relatives ask people on Thanksgiving/ Chinese New Year.
Also, your agent is a jerk. Agents should not say stuff like that.
Where do Singaporean make friends?
@@coconutpineapple2489 school friends (from primary, secondary school and junior colleges, polytechnics) go a really long way in Singapore
@@coconutpineapple2489 same way everyone does lmao
Thank you for being so so confident and upfront! I learned so much from what u share here. :)
Wow the last one, seriously. I'm Singaporean and I've never experienced that before. Be careful of that agent!
Hmm now it makes sense why the guests I had from Singapore were pretty much quiet the entire time. I thought I did something wrong or not up to their expectations.. so it's all good lol
The last one đ€Šââïž
Omg! thatâs not a joke!
8:40 That is call "Kpoh" a typical privacy invasive trait more common than kiasu culture.
Am I the only one who would love to see a video about Dubai and Pakistan and the other countries Lindie has lived in? I'm SO curious!!!
Ps: this video is very interesting, thank you Lindie!
I am a foreigner in US and the fact that everyone is expected to loudly declare their entrance to the office by a greeting makes me very uncomfortable. Also I don't like it when my office mates talk with each other or with other people or on the phone, it distracts me.
It's called human social behavior. It's necessary. The lack of it is actually dangerous.
@@ceamean Are you saying people in other countries don't have "human social behavior" and are hence "actually dangerous"? Dangerous compared to United States, the only country with regular mass-shootings of disgruntled employees in their workplace?
Especially in open offices the workers should take their (loud) conversations elsewhere, especially phone calls and such if they are not related to the topic. Afterall, for me its rude to distract others especially when the reason why we are at work is because we are working.
Iâve worked for a company that supported active communication, light-hearted conversations, âwater coolerâ chat, out-of-office activities, etc. I also worked for a very quiet office where nobody really talked or knew each other on personal level. The latter was a nightmare. Nothing kills office culture and identity like silence and separation from coworkers. Itâs depressing and results in high turnover. People like to pretend that they are so busy that chatting with a coworker is distracting and disruptive to work. Not true. Stats show that most people do only four hours of work a day on average, because itâs physically very taxing to concentrate for long period of times, and taking no breaks actually works against productivity. If someone is claiming that they are at work, doing work for 8 hours straight, 100% of the time, they are full of bs. Taking interest in your coworkers outside of their work life promotes team-building, trust, sense of community and common goal, and makes work actually enjoyable. So yes, I agree with Sim, no communication and no fun at work is bad and is a sign of a toxic work environment.
Wow! This is such an interesting video! Although it was filled with things you didnât particularly like, Iâm glad youâre happy & thriving overall đ
I'm so thankful for this video because I am German but have studied in England for two years, without any real culture shock or problems, and I assumed going on my year abroad in Spain would be easy-peasy because I already have experience with living abroad and it's still in Europe so it shouldn't be that different from home, but I am actually struggling a bit (and feeling bad for struggling because of aforementioned reasons)
Donât feel the pressure to answer questions. Just donât answer with a smile. Change the subject.
Also know that singapore WANTS people to have relationships and to promote romance.
So they don't say hello but they ask about your dating life. That's super ironic.
No, it is the same logic, they tend to focus on things that matters
@@geromeney8379 it's all perspective
Haha I love the way you tell your stories. Very fun!
Ok to be fair, I got a supervisor, in a MNC, who once said, "Can't you just turn on your charm to make the female client happy" so that .I could get better service rating.
It is really annoying and unprofessional of him to even suggest, it was as if he treated his male staffs as gigolos.
Anyway, most of the other places that I worked do not tolerate such sexist jokes, so you might be just unlucky to meet such people.
Singaporeans are quite reserved actuallyïŒespecially with ppl they donât know very well, they will not really greet or initiate a conversation with strangers. We a bunch of æ ąçæ§kind of character due to our upbringing, but once you hit off with us , we can be very fun and crazy to be with. Good luck mate.
Yeah! Singaporeans are hilarious - I love the humor here and Singlish is just the best thing! I'm really enjoying it here!
Great video!! And the personal questions are probably in more Asian countries. When I was teaching English in Korea people asked me all the time if I have boyfriend and so on. When a female student asked me it was ok, but when my older male students started to ask me if I have a boyfriend, why I don't have a boyfriend and when I'm going to get married and that I should find a boyfriend soon, that was too much!! Though I really enjoyed people talking to me, like a lady who sat next to me on the train and we just started a nice conversation. That would never happend to me in Europe.
Good to see another video hun! I'm curious though, culture shock for me was a mixture of both negative and positive. Have you had any stand out positive experiences in SG that you haven't had in Korea / Japan etc etc? Stay strong, you inspire alot of people here to stick with their passions, myself included!
I hope everything is going well overall living in Singapore and that on a regular basis, the positive experiences outweigh the negative ones đ I love your videos Lindie and that you felt comfortable sharing this video! Itâs not only informative but it helps me relate to you on that basic âwe all have frustrations in lifeâ level! :) íìŽí ! đđ»
I'm a Malaysian. Many of the things you have said about Singapore also apply to Malaysia.
Concerning greeting people and saying "hi",
The culture here is to bother people especially strangers as little as possible.
For restaurants workers or convenient store cashiers and the like, we usually just start listing out what we want so that they can get our order quickly and move on to the next person. I would be like "one mcchicken set, drinks changed to iced Milo. Having here. Thank you".
For social situation, it is weird or awkward for us to just say "Hi how are you" to someone you have never talked to. What you do is find something you share in the moment to ask the other person or to say something to them. For example in a church as you mentioned, ask the person beside you what time does the prayer start, who's the pastor, where's the toilet....(I'm not a Christian I hope you get my idea). In a classroom, I would ask someone beside me whom I have never talked to what the teacher was saying just now or when was the deadline or make comments about how difficult the class is. From that one question, you keep expanding on that topic whether it's church or class. Then, you can start talking about other things after awhile. That's how I go about it as someone who grew up in this kind of culture.
On the topic of being asked or teased about dating, it is absolutely annoying and I hate it so much. I agree with you that it is incredibly childish and invasive. It's sometimes considered banter buy I just hate it. They won't stop as well. I have found my group of uni friends and thank God they don't do this. When I was interning at an organisation, I got asked by both fellow interns and the other workers there. I hated that aspect of the working atmosphere there.
Asking how much you pay for rent is not a personal question. At least in Hungary is totally okay to ask. What is more personal is your wage, unfortunately, people don't speak openly about their earnings (it would be helpful to raise each others' wages).
The only reason I'm uncomfortable with people asking how much I pay for tent is the way they react when I do tell them. Singapore is quite expensive but I don't like when people assume things about my status or salary based on where I live. Interesting that it's normal to ask that in Hungary! Thanks for sharing!
@@LindieBotes Singapore is strange. If I asked you how much you pay for rent and you don't pay too much, I would like to get your tips and tricks how to get a cheap rent.
Pretty common question in New York. Mostly just cause everyone is always comparing and understanding the market
Greetings are usually done by those who are pretty good in office politics. The rest just want to go do the work and go home. Small talks in office are also part of unhealthy office politics
I need to know more about getting held at gun point story.
What happened? How did it go?
We thank God you're okay though.
Lindie, I just realized your channel, love love love your channel. I strongly nodded for every single points(except fish, haha being Japanese) Looking forward to your new posts!
If you live in China and say hi to everyone you meet,you will be totally exhausted after 5 hours. I live in this world but mentally I donât belong to any particular culture nor society. other peopleâs behaviors or life styles donât cause any problem for me, I either against or support them,I only create rules for me to live by.freedom is priceless!
Now that you've mentioned, I do separate fish from seafood too. Weird but never noticed it hahahah
Yep , it appears that mainland Chinese also separate fish from seafood
Most people in the world do that.
Iâve lived in Singapore for over 10 years. Probably the biggest thing that annoys me is the tray thing... most people refuse to tidy up their own mess and return their trays when eating out. đŹđ€ there are a lot of good points about Singapore but that one thing particularly annoys me.
The new food queueing experience if you look closely is mainly carried out by young people in your age group. The older people are more practical and may queue for good bargains.
To be honest I never considered fish and sea food to be the same category and only now I see how weird it is xD
Hey Lindie, just a note on the culture that Malaysia and Singapore share. There is a strong culture of wanting to intimately know someone deeply as soon as you meet them. In the first day of my current friend group, I knew their full names, hobbies, interests and pet peeves. Not saying hello is definitely a non-thing there at work, though itâs common outside of work.There is a culture of misogyny in both our countries, Iâm sorry you went through that. Thereâs been a growing grassroots movement for equal rights and itâs slowly climbing up the ladder. If you need someone to talk to, donât hesitate to message.
About personal questions, I think that's Asian thing. We do that a lot here in Korea.
Yep same here in China,
Thank you for your work and video. I study abroad in UK full time, this year is my last year and I get sometimes so sad and schocked by many stuff even though I'm also from Europe. Next year i want to move to another country for master degree and I'm really stressed but it's good to see no matter where i would end up there is always good and bad side. I appreciate honesty because i don't like when people romantize one country and hate another. I look forward for more videos about tips to moving another country how to deal with stress loneliness â€
People seem to also think that âculture shockâ is always negative. A lot of it can be just âhuh, thatâs differentâ types of realizations. People not saying âgood morningâ seems heavenly to me đ Iâm NOT a morning person or the type of person who wants to be greeted when they come into a store or whatever...frankly I find it irritating.
Maybe I need to move. However, if Iâm at a cashier, it would be odd if they didnât say âhiâ at least đ. I also love the cold so maybe I should stay put. Lol
Asking about rent and dating life is really normal in Ireland too, the former partially because of the housing crisis. I'm presuming the latter is new because of the time you spent in conservative countries?
really enjoyed this video, so thank you for making this!
Hello Lindie! I really enjoyed watching your videos as they inspire me to study new languages. Hope to meet you here in Singapore. I am also working here now for almost 5 years.
This shows how much I know. I honestly thought Singapore was one of those supper happy places
Not the point of the video. But I'm happy to know that seafood and fish are considered separated things in Singapore. I'm allergic to crustaceans and have this ongoing fear of dying over some shrimp when I visit.
I wish the best for you Lindie! hope you'll be able to adapt to your new homeâ€
I lived there for 11 years. It's a "spartan" society, brutally competitive country just due to how small the country is and the large population.
Regarding the greeting culture, personally i do find it very odd to have 1 person come in and greeting everyone excitedly every morning. Like once in a while its fine, but ill honestly find it annoying n useless.đ we get in , do our work n then once the rush is over we gossip a bit here n there in our cliques. It's also frowned upon to talk during work in certain offices and the tone is usually set by the boss. So it really depends on your working place.
As for the personal qns, i see it going both ways. For eg, when i take a grab or cab ride, irs v common for drivers to ask how long j moved to the estate/ how much i paid for my bto. Its like our versio of small talk. But because you're a foreigner, ppl might also just be damn kpo n nosy abt what u earn etc so just laugh it off and say " not much la" or just ignore n ask another qns. Hope u settle in soon, it must not have been easy and i know for sure j wouldnt be able to do it â€. 1 week overseas and ill miss my chilli sauce đ
3:50 ya Singaporean strangers are ur average quite kid, we donât really like small talk and stuff but if u get to know them better they will start to open up,nice video by the way
Yes I agree with you that it is expensive to eat healthy when you are outside.
Most of the things you say are true. I am Singaporean by the way. Yes small things get escalated n some women do use flirting to get their ways. Yes hard to get healthy salad here too.
It is painful to get plumbing services. I am fortunate that so far I could fix all my own plumbing issues.
Hello, fellow TCK! I knew there was a reason I liked you. Very interesting video. I hope things have gotten easier :) Dios te bendiga!
Could you talk a little bit more about your life in Singapore, the pros and cons, the places you love and the ones youâll recommend to visit, etc... ?
Good for you for not taking the bs from that man that offended you like that!
ì ë ììììžë°ë ë¶ê”Źíêł ì±ê°íŽì 4ë ì ë ìŽë©Žì ìŽêž°ì êł ììą íì”ëë€. ëìêČŹì ìŽëì ë êł”ê°ìŽ ê°ê”Źì.
ì ëĄë êž°ê°ìŽ 2ë ì ìŽë ìŽì ë§ìŽ ì”ìíŽì§ì šêČ ë€ì.
ì ë ììê¶í©ìŽ ìë§ì êł ìíìëë° êčìčë„Œ ì§ì ë§ë€ìŽëščìŒìë©Ž ìê”Źë¶ë§ìŽ ìŹëŒì§êł ì ìíêž° ììëì”ëë€ ^^
Agree with most of the stuff here. i once went to ask a colleague something and she was like why can't you text on our work chat and I was like because you're sitting like 3m away?
the not greeting people thing is so ingrained here, it seems. When I tell people that in other countries greeting anyone even strangers is a thing, they look at me kinda strange like "you mean they say hello to people on the street?"
yeah they do? I'm surprised too
It's a pity that you had those experiences but please continue to be who you are- saying hi to your colleagues and even the stall assistants. I'm a Singaporean and I do enjoy small talk with my colleagues in the morning. And I also greet and thank the workers when they serve me.
By the way, when you are asked those personal questions, I suppose the people are just trying to create topics and be interested in you. Well, at least they tried.
And lastly, it seems like you are taking this culture shock pretty positively and that can be helpful for you to assimilate into the culture here.
Iâm not sure if itâs my area or a common thing, but in my area we have a thing called âlate night shoppingâ where my local town stays open later on one day of the week. The rule of thumb is; âif a restaurant isnât busy on late night shopping, donât go in thereâ. So, I know the whole âpeople will queue if thereâs a lot of people for a food placeâ very well đ
omg the cell group at church is so relatable! i am from indonesia ppl are so warm and welcoming... i got shock in my life in sg i am like why no one say hi? Am I invicible lol lol lol
Yes, usually Singaporeans are quite reserved, needs more time to warm up. As for personal questions, yes, some people are quite busybodies, but I have nothing to hide so just give them short and sharp reply (I don't think the locals are so blunt as to asking what is your salary)
Hallo Lindie! Ek is ân Singaporean; jammer om te hoor van jy ervarings hier. Ek vra om verskoning vir my lande mense. Ek hoop dit gaan goed met jy na 'n jaar. Wees veilig en lekker đđ€đ»
P.S.: Ek het in 2015-2016 in Kaapstad gewoon en het ân bietjie Afrikaans geleer
Excellent video. Thank you for sharing this! :) What are some places you love to explore in Singapore?
Omg I can totally relate to these points as well--ESPECIALLY SEAFOOD omg
Im not in a new country or anything but I'm glad its not just me who finds it uncomfortable when people just start off a meeting by asking about your love life. Its just really strange to me.
Hi Lindie, I'm a year late to this video but I thought I'd comment anyway because you have just experienced most of what I experienced as a Singapore citizen born and raised (Eurasian/mixed) throughout my life there. I also don't eat seafood, and having had to explain that this includes fish every time, I deeply feel your pain hahaha. I'm half Dutch and have moved here to the Netherlands (which was a different kind of culture shock) and I think it's cool that you speak Afrikaans, it's just all pretty relatable to me hahaha. But thought it was so fun to see the parallels between our experiences, and I'm not sure if you still live in Singapore but if you do want to talk about that- I mean idk (can I just say this to a CZcamsr/random person on the internet?) You can message me lol I guess? Hahagahaha okay ending this now before my verbal diarrhea gets worse.
yaaaay new video (:
In Japan I would sometimes get personal questions too. And they wouldnât reciprocate either. Itâs not everyone but some people just donât treat foreigners the same way they normally treat people if their own culture. If it seems like people are being nosy or asking you anything youâre not comfortable discussing itâs best to act like you normally would.
Omg that last pointđŹđŹ
I've had worse happen but would rather not mention it in a video :(
@@LindieBotes Personally, I think you took it too hard. You're unduly applying norms based on current Western ideological trends. He didn't mean any harm.
@@mypartyisprivate8693 sure maybe some people can brush this away but it's people like this that will see it's OK to make a comment like that and then continue with other things that are more severe. Maybe I can push this aside but other situations that I've experienced here are too gross to put on CZcams and I will not take such things lightly.
This is not about western ideological trends but about common decency and not discriminating.
Sad to hear it happened to you (and the worse things even more so!) , but good to hear you didn't take it lightly! Now maybe he will be more respectful and professional towards women in the future.
@@mypartyisprivate8693 See this is why you don't talk to crazy Westerners. Don't befriend them, don't talk to them, don't include them, don't hire them. They can't find trouble if they have no one to interact.
Do move to Malaysia too k!! The weather is the same, everything is cheaper, and you can practice both mandarin and bahasa!! And perhaps also takes up tamil.. đđâ€ïž
Yeah, malaysia is more big and cheap !!!! đ
Dear Lindie,
I am Singaporean ... !
I normally watch video only & don't "give / contribute / participate" in comments ... !
I have "read & screened" through the whole list of comments ... & realised that "non of them" give you a good "reply or answers" as to WHY people in Singapore generally Don't Greet others when they first enter Office ... !
There could be various reasons for it ... Besides what the other people have said that Singaporeans are generally quite "Quiet & Reserved people"
I'm currently finding myself in a state of perplexity... You don't eat seafood and YOU SPENT YEARS LIVING IN JAPAN??? How did u manage to get by?)
Ramennnn!!!!! And beef bowl! And all kinds of other delicious Japanese food that doesn't have seafood :)
most offices in sg are not that quiet imo.. my office is especially noisy because of all the âauntiesâ chit chating, shouting across their tables, etc lmao. Same experience with Previous company as well. Both mncs đ€Łperhaps the office environment is also highly dependent on the nature of work i guess~
Rice ya. Same here. Maybe those quiet one are using watsapp or got personal grp chat.
Where did you read that Singapore is unhappy, even though we don't have much fun events and parties every night, I feel like we are okay despite our complaining which does not put us down too much, in which I find quite annoying as we are quite blessed in Singapore in my eyes. The World Happiness Report ranks us 34th most happy country out of 150+ so I wouldn't say we are unhappy at all, just unassuming and unimportant in the chart.
Interesting topic. I aways wondered how it would be to live in a place outside Brazil and how I would feel like. I believe I'd be very awkward about the 'not saying hello' and the 'personal questions' types of situations. You work on here is very spiring and got me excited to learn new languages. God bless you!
Your content is great, but perhaps it's about time to consider improving your audio since it's so dialog heavy.
Thanks for the support but unfortunately I can't afford a mic or recording equipment right now!
@@LindieBotes I can send you my snowball. I was going to start a youtube channel with it but then got super lazy
Hi, Lindie. I am glad you are talking about this kind of experience and I was wondering if, based on your point of view, is there in Singapore a lot of chauvinism? Because that could be the reason why they told you those things.
At the same time, I find it very interesting, you know, the thing about not greeting at work but it is ok to talk about personal things hehe. A real contradiction eh?
@Rxx x chauvinism or if it is a strong patriarchy society in general.
sounds like Japan on steroids
Ramon Almonte Work culture may be equally depressing but hours are better
The do you have a bf one could be because they wanted to know the chances of you being pregnant and having to take a leave of absence for an extended period of time,,people here are really particular about high efficiency levels lmaoo
What you said here is so so true. You are well weighted in what you shared. No worries about those who are butt hurt k!
girl, i think the personal questions things it's like SEA's things
I donât think Singapore is a guarded reserve culture at all. Compared to Philippines maybe, but Northern Europe and East Asia not.
Once you adapt to Singapore way of f life ....now Singaporean is facing culture shock.
Te amo love from Colombia đšđŽ
Fish and chicken coz of of religion..
they donât really greet unless you have a close connection with your officemates..
It is so impressive to learn your experience in Singapore. I would say that it is quite normal starting work without greeting colleagues in China.:p In fact i am not sure about the root, either.
Whoa⊠I have a disability, and I am on my own in Singapore quite a lot⊠I wish people would ask me about my dating life, instead of the other questions they ask⊠Like why is nobody helping me⊠Why is nobody accompanying me? But this doesnât just go for Singapore⊠I think people forget that people with disabilities to get married and have children and go to work, and do everything elseâŠ
This video is kind of old so maybe you've moved or acted on it already. Anyway, the landlord HAS to know about your agent's behaviour, this is absolutely unacceptable, the lies and the inappropriate comments. Unfortunately, real estate agents in SG are some of the absolute worst in the world.
Your comments are actually quite fair.
Oh no, for the last part about agent, he/she shouldn't have said things beyond his/her professional realm. Wonder which property agency is it?
The not greeting people at your office or anywhere is soooo sad. :(
Silent office situation.. Totally experienced that in Singapore.
I've been considering working in Singapore someday but this makes me think twice... I also tend to be quiet so I really need that warmth and openness in an office environment.
Are there any cultural factors that have pleasantly surprised you? What's kept you happy there?
It's totally different when I moved companies! The place I am at now is absolutely warm and welcoming. It really depends. At the time of filming this, what I said related to my office at the time and happened to be the same in my friend's office. I'm not sure if it's a trend across most offices. I work in a startup now and maybe that makes it more warm and open?
What makes me happy: the humor! People are hilarious and love laughing. The sense of humor locals have here is either really slapstick or really clever and punny. I also like that food is a huge part of the culture. Even if I can't eat everything, there's always good available at any hour. It's a national pastime to eat and talk about food haha.
I have a video on things I love about Singapore if you wanna check that out too! Hope you decide to move here, it's wonderful!
@@LindieBotes Will do, thanks! I've only recently discovered your videos and they (along with the 50-odd episodes of Terrace House I binged the other week) have inspired me to take up Japanese. Mandarin and Korean will be next. Love the channel!
I wouldnt worry. I used to live in singapore and theyâre generally really friendly
It depends on how big your office is and how the working environment. Personally I prefer quiet no talking but my office is the opposite. Everyone talks and itâs quite noisy! I know some office have good morningâ session where everyone greets loudly vs my current work place, where if we meet a person one the way in we will greet individually. So different place different strokes
Personally i think that every company around the world has its quirks. so its not just a SINGAPOREAN problem really.
Some points sound like my home country Finland. We are very cold to people and we love queueing :Dddđ«đźđ
A lot of my Singaporean friends LOVE Finland and feel very at home there đ€Ł
@@LindieBotes Haha! That's nice to hear. I have to say, I have admired your work for a very long time. You're such a rolemodel for me!
Lastly I have to ask... Have you been thinking of learning Finnish? I have a playlist on my channel lol. Sorry if this is odd for me to say, I have ASD. ^-^
Very informative and in some cases shocking video! Thanks for sharing! And about bad thing: If a plumber or another person as he, asks kind of this question in some european countries, woman can sue a couple of thousands dollars from him! Disgusting...
Asking for rental price is very practical actually
Not all office are quiet,my office is like a fish market lol
That is a very funny question coming from your employer.
He was a bit creepy. I'm glad I left that company :(
Arabs may say this to their unwelcome harasser, "may the fleas of a thousand camels descent upon you". lol.
Sorry ... Accidentally press message & send out pre-maturely ... !
These are some of my "logics / reasonings / explaination" for it ... As to WHY people in Singapore Don't Greet each other much in early office hours ... !
1. They could be feeling tired from the night before or maybe they are NOT movitivated in their work ( dragging their feet to work etc ).
2. Also, Singaporeans are generally "quiet / Shy / reserved' people ... They mind only their own business & Not greeting others much ... !
3. Singaporeans are also generally "serious & no-nonsense people" ... They are rather serious in their "work environment & attitude" ... They conduct their work seriously ... Generally, They Don't do politics much or crack jokes like a clown in a serious environment like office ... Besides, lots of people are also "invisiblely observing" all your "words, talks, actions & behaviours" which unknowly to you ... They just didn't tell you only ... Bottom line, office is a place for "some serious work to be done" & Not for "Socially greeting, small talks or clown place" to happen ... !
4. The fourth & last point is the "highest possible reason" for people "NOT greeting in office" when they first arrived in the office i think. Singapore travelling journey to work can be Hectic due to "rushing / habitual lateness / rain / traffic / sending their child to school first" & various other reasons & issues etc ... There are many reasons to be & for LATE ... By opening your "BIG MOUTH" to Greet people first thing first in the office early in the morning ... You are indirectly telling people that you have just arrived into Office ... & Worst still, that you are LATE to arrive or LATE for work ... This can be a serious "penalty /discpline / Character" issues ... ! If people are NOT happy about you ... They may "report / inform / complain" to your direct boss, and you could get unneccessary "questions / warnings / troubles" from your boss ... Especially if you Don't have a good relationship with your boss ... All that is "Stupid & NOT Neccessary" to happen ... If you can avoid "trouble or problem" ... You would want to keep it "simple / easy / trouble free" as much as possible ( Smart Move ) ... !
Hence, by "keeping your mouth shut or mum" without greeting anybody ( or without any announcement ) ... Nobody actually knows when you arrive or reach office ( Since you greet people only when you enter office the first time early in the morning ). Your second or subsequent entry, most don't greet people anymore, Right ... ?
Worst still, if you "big mouth" & greeted people so loudly ... Everybody in the office can hear you ... & your big boss in his office may hear you too ... Can you imagine, if you are supposed to start work at 8.00 am sharp ... But happen that on that day, you arrived slightly LATE at 8.30 am ... And as usual, you "enthusiasticly greet your collegue loudly" ... Then, everybody would have known that you JUST ARRIVED or being LATE for work also ... The next thing that happens ... Your boss ask you to go into his office ... Can you imagine what he will question you next ... ? That will put you in an awkward & difficult "position / situation" ... Isn't that "STUPID" enough ... ?
Hence, by NOT greeting people first thing early in the morning in the office actually has got it's "strategic & significant meaning" ... it's also a "reserved & smart move" for people who are "often / occasionally" late ... Not to forget that Singaporeans are one of the "Smartest people on Earth" ... There is every "logic & reason" for WHY they are do thing in that "way or manner" ... Every "act / culture / move" is precisionly calculated & executed for a reason ... !
How i know about all these "Stategic Non- Greeting Culture" ... ? Cos i was one of those who "wake up late often" and also "arrive late for work often" into office ... And hence, when i Don't greet people & sit down silently on my own seat ... Everybody thought i have previously went to toilet or for breakfast or some meeting or somewhere ... !
It's actually a "smart & stategic move" ... "NOT to foolishly announce" or "overly exposed yourself to weakness" ... !
Of course, my "logic & reasoning" only speaks for those "habitual lateness people" for work like myself ... But if you always arrive in office early or on time ... Then, there is "Not much reasons" Not to be polite to give your collegue a "warm & early morning greet" ... !
Hope my explaination helps & answer abit of your "doubts & culture shocks" you experienced here ... !
Remember, in Singapore, Nothing is by Chance ... Everything happen for a "reason / logic / purpose" ... Now you know WHY it is common for people NOT to greet each other early in the moring in office ... Cos they could be "frequent or habitual lateness people" like myself or others ... They are just trying to "cover & protect" themself from any possible "dangers / harms / office politics" in their working area ... This is only "common sense / common knowledge / common logic / common practice" in Singapore i think ... !
Hope "All those Long Explaination" Helps .... !
Thanks ... !
You should go where you are treated best. Not Singapore.
a good riposte would have been to the last one
agent: Why don't you use your feminine charm?
Lindie: Oh really? Why don't YOU use your feminine charm? đ đ đ
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