Old Friends?

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to go back to my ex-landlord's place to pay them a visit. It's always nice to visit old friends again. This time however, I was actually on the way to the library, so I decided to pop in about 2pm to catch up with them.

Well, as usual on Saturdays or Sundays, some of them are out for some fun but a few of them were around. In fact, it was rather rowdy as usual with my ex-landlord inviting his friends over to play cards. My ex-room mates were having their lunch in the room too.

The "New kid on the block", whom I wrote about some time back is now starting to feel more comfortable. She told me she still does not like Singapore but at least the work isn't too bad. Her working hours are quite normal and she does not work on weekends. After being around for a while, she realizes that she is quite lucky as some of us migrant workers have to work on weekends too. For example, while my sister is allowed to take a day off a week, she had not taken a day off in 4 weeks, all in an effort to earn more money to send back home!

Another ex-room mate who was around was one we called "Chilli Queen" because she is so fond of hot and spicy stuff. She's also a good friend and just like me in the past, she usually prefers to stay home on weekends so that she don't have to spend money unneccessarily. Most of us try to save as much as we can in the short stint in a foreign country!

Actually, you can see (and hear) from the videos that we Chinese speak rather loudly, especially the men! A local friend once told me that the way we speak sounds like we are picking a fight! Ha ha! But that's just they way most (not all) of us speaks.

It's aways nice to visit old friends again. While I love my new room and the privacy it gives me and my sister, I kind of miss the friendship, gossips and even the bickering at the old place!

I want a Christian Name!

A few days ago, a customer suggested that I have a Christian Name. He said that Chinese names are not easy to remember and especially to pronounce, especially for non-Chinese. This is even more so when you have to pronounce the name in Chinese, since our names are direct conversion using Pinyin. It does not read like any typical English words.

In Pinyin, every Chinese character has 4 tones, dictated by symbols wriiten next to their Pinyin translations.

He suggested the name Niki. So I will be called Niki Li??? I said I will think about it. I wasn't sure if it is a good name, or if there are any meanings associated with that name, given my limited English???

While I am proud of my nationality, there is a saying that, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!". So I thought that since many Singaporeans have a Christian name, why not have one too? In fact, in major cities in China, many Chinese are having Christian names too.

So what makes a good Christian Name? It must be simple to write, easy to pronounce, easy to call and uniquie! I am not familiar with Christian Names... so I hope my readers can help me!

So, any suggestions? Or is the name Niki, a good name for me?

Straight Hair!

I wrote sometime back that my ex-landlord gave away my hair straightener. Well, I managed to borrow one from a friend and decided to temporary straighten my hair just to get a feel of what it was like before. Women are always vain I guess... and since I am quite free during the weekends when I do not work, I can afford some time to indulge in my vanity. It's not an easy job and takes about an hour of hand-breaking work on my own. It's alot easier with a friend to help me.

Here is what I look like with long straight hair. I am going to enjoy a couple of days with my new straight hair because once I wash it, it's going to be curly again! Actually, I personally prefer my hair with a bit of natural curl.

But a change every now and then is good for the soul... regardless of what kind of change it is!

My First English Class!

Some time back, I wrote about signing up for English Classes. Well, it's been almost 3 months ago now and I finally signed up for my Elementary English Class. I've always wanted to learn to speak better English. Since coming to Singapore, I have picked it up a little but I still have a long way to go. I think the most important thing is to have someone to practice with, and that is the toughest part in Singapore. Singapore is a multi-racial country and most people are able to speak a good level of mandarin. When they know you are from China, they immediate start speaking to you in Mandarin.

While I did not really like my stint at Bread Junction, there was one good thing about it. As the staff were mostly Malays, they only speak to me in English, and like it or not, I have to learn it. We got along quite well, with a help using our hands to gesture and make some signs! Sometimes when it does help, we even make funny sounds! Quite funny actually!

For my first class, we were made to buy some photocopied notes at SGD3 per set. Not very impressive notes as you can see from the picture, but good enough to learn I guess. For those of my readers who are new, a friend is helping me translate and maintain this blog despite her busy schedule. I am very appreciative. She wanted me to start this to help me earn some extra money from Google Adsense but so far, it's not alot. Nevertheless, she's been a great help and mentor actually!

The class that I am attending is Elementary English and we have about 7 students, 5 of which are Chinese. I am glad to see so many Chinese learning English. Two are locals. The first day, we learn basic alphabets. I already know some of these as I use Pinyin to type sms and to do this, I have to understand basic sounds and letters. Nevertheless, it was a good revision and I learned some new words too.

Just like a bad student, I sat right a the back of the class, playing with my pen. Naturally, I do pay attention too while taking some pictures for you of course. Ha ha! Our teacher is a middle age lady who had taught English in school before. That's good because I am impressed with the Singapore schooling system and if she is good enough for the schools here, she must be pretty good!

I am really looking forward to the next few lessons where they actually teach you conversational English. Afterall, I think for me, being able to converse is more important than knowing how to read and write well.

My Sister doing her make-up!

I know we come here to work but being women, we also want to look good. Last Saturday, when I wasn't working and my sister had to go to work, I had the opportunity to take a video of her doing her make-up! It's not often I get to see my sister around the house, so we had a fun time chatting away while she "painted" her face!

This video also gives you a view of the new room. It's small but clean and neat and it beats being in a dirty room with eight beds! Enjoy!

Which is my side of the bed?

I am now beginning to like our new room. Without living eight to a room, we can be a lot more creative. I even decorated the room to my liking too. Can you guess which is my side of the bed?

I bought new bedsheets, new pillow cases, a table and a few other items too. In the past, there were too many items on the bed to want to do it up nicely. Now, we have a cupboard, drawers and even a make-up table to keep some of out things. This way, we can keep our bed really neat! How nice!

I am beginning to get used to the new place and I now have a sound sleep each night. While the room is not air-conditioned and we can hear the traffic, getting used to it is easy... especially when you are dead tired at the end of the day!

Blogger was down!

For some reasons, blogger/blogspot was down and even my last posting was lost. My apologies and I will repost some of these by this week.

Li Jing

My sister is changing work location too!

One evening, my sister came home and complained to me that she had a tiff with her Singaporean colleague. At her work place, they are paid commission based on how much each individual sells. When you attend to a customer, you ring up the bill and you get paid the commission. My sister said that a few times, when she made a sale, her Singaporean colleague will rush to ring up the bill, so she gets the commission instead. My sister got really upset too because they called her, "大路妹"! I told her that phrase don't mean much as long as she don't attach a stereotype meaning to it!

I am aware that I am only listening only to her side of the story... so I shall not make any comments. However, I did tell my sister about my early experience with some local workers too. Many local workers tend to treat us Chinese workers as if we are a big threat to them or their jobs. The truth is, we are here to earn a living, and are willing to work really, really hard to make ends meet too!

Anyway, my sister requested for a change of location from her boss and ever since, she had been posted to Yishun North Point for a couple of weeks and then to Serangoon NEX shopping center till now. She seems to enjoy the change of environment better, as it gives her a chance to experience different parts of Singapore. I told her she is seeing more of Singapore than I ever did, despite me staying here almost three years already!

I had the opportunity to visit her on a few Saturdays when she was working, just to make sure she is OK. Most times, she is so happy to see me. I even bought her a soft toy which she likes alot at NEX. It cost me a lot (SGD69) but I will do anything just to keep her happy. I made a promise to my mother to look after my sister really, really well... and I intend to keep that promise!

Working on Saturdays!

One of the big changes during this second stint in Singapore is that my boss told me I do not have to work on Saturday. In the past, I had to work half a day on Saturday, and for this, I get 7 days leave a year. However, now that the canteen at the MOE does not open on Saturday, my boss will be deducting the 7 days leave.

However, recently, my boss took up a new place at the HSA canteen at the Singapore General Hospital. They have to open on Saturday too. Last Saturday, I worked there till 3pm! That's like almost a full day. Another 3 hours more and it's a full day of work!

My boss now wants us to work on alternate Saturdays there. No extra pay, no extra leave. Unfortunately, I have already signed up an English course at the local community center and lesson starts in May every Saturday morning. My boss wasn't too pleased to hear this, and said that since my lessons are from 9.30am to 11.30am, I should go to work after my lessons, and stay till the canteen is close. Is this fair?

First, we agreed that the 7 days leave be deducted because we don't work Saturdays. Now he wants us to work Saturdays but will not give us back the 7 days leave. One of the weekends, I even worked a full Saturday and Sunday because they had a big weekend event at the MOE... no overtime pay too.

Please don't get me wrong! I am just curious if we, migrant workers here, are taken for granted? Employers know that we have signed a 2 years contract and will squeeze the maximum out of us. Regardless, this is still much better than my short stint with Bread Junction anyway, so, I am really not complaining... just curious and would like to know what my Singaporean readers think!

What would a Singaporean worker do when faced with such a situation?

My first night at the new room!

Moving to a new place and sleeping on a new bed is always not easy for me. Sometimes it takes me a few days to get used to the new bed and the new environment. Fortunately, it was a long weekend, which allows me an extra day to get used to the new environment. Sunday is going to be my first day at my new room... am I excited!

I spent the latter part of Sunday buying some utensils for my cooking and eating. At my previous place, we could use what was provided by my ex-landlord but my current landlord is a Muslim, which means I have to use my own utensils. Not that I mind using his, it's more like he minds me using them as he has to ensure everything is HALAL (...although I do not know what exactly that means! Nevertheless, I must be sensitive to these things). He did tell me not to leave pork in the fridge!

That evening I went back home at about 8pm. My landlord was at home so I was feeling a bit uneasy about moving around. He is a nice person but I think it's just me, trying to get used to the place.

At one point, I was feeling hungry and I did not feel comfortable to go cook in the kitchen. Fortunately, I had a loaf of bread which I brought over from my old place and I took two slices before I went to sleep (or at least attempt to sleep). Plain old bread taste good when you are hungry enough!

I tossed and turned till my sister came back close to midnight! By then, my landlord was asleep so I showed my sister the bathroom and how to turn on the heater etc... We then had a short chat before we both tried to sleep. She must have been tired as before long I could hear some heavy breathing! I was awake till about 2am!


When we both woke up on Monday, my sister said she had a very sound sleep and the room and bed was very comfortable! My poor sister must be really tired. She had to work overtime, just trying to earn a little more!

Does this look like me?

My ex-room mate who helped me move took this picture of me and my soft toy. She said that we both look alike. I had a good laugh and it was good because it took out some stress from the heavy moving job! I really appreciate having friends who can make me laugh and have fun, even when times get tough! I always remember the days when I first came and how stressed I was trying to make ends meet. It's exactly in times like these that you need someone to help you see the lighter side of things!

Have a good laugh at my expense!

Moving in!

I told my current landlord that I will be moving. He was rather disappointed but he wished me well anyway. He knows we'll remain friends and anyway, the new place I am moving to is just a 5mins walk away.

I had my stuff all packed since Thursday, anticipating the move. Today (Saturday) is the start of the move. Unfortunately, I have to work today for half a day (actually more like a full day) at the new HSA canteen at the Singapore General Hospital (another article on this later).

Moving wasn't easy as I we had 2 big luggages and a couple of smaller ones. As I don't have a car, I had to lug the luggages all the way from by current place to the new place, about 300m away and I had to cross one major road. I had to make about 5 trips to move everything! Fortunately, one of my new friends, (the new lady who was crying the other day) had not started working yet and volunteered to help me. She was bored at home... so I was very appreciative of her help too.

The landlord was quite nice. He bought a new clock, new curtains and even a poster for me to put in the room. Although I was very busy with my own packing, I managed to put up the curtain, the clock and the poster.

It's definitely one of the toughest weekends I had here. In the past, I had move from one place to the next before but then, I had less stuff. Also becase the places are further apart, I took a taxi, which means minimal lugging and walking. This time, it was all footwork. But come to think of it, it's good exercise! Maybe I can skip my jogging for a few days!