The setting was at the "House of Traditional Javanese Massage".
She introduced herself as Idah, who originated from Sabah, East Malaysia. The second child from a family of 6 children, she came to Singapore seeking for a decent job. Though not awed by her decision to step into my homeland, I was dazzled by her enthusiasm and fluid articulation. Idah inquisitively spoke of issues one would never expect from a girl who comes from a kampong. The high standard of living in Singapore turns the younger generation into a pampered bunch, which “will not survive 3 days of kampong life”. I rebutted, stating that her statement is a generalization that might not necessarily apply. Stating myself as well as my social circle of friends as an example, I mentioned that we are educated to be aware of the less fortunate. From this statement, I realised that even us, Singaporeans, fall into categories of stereotypes by our neighbours from the nearby countries. Nonetheless, I was intrigued by her chain of thought in forming such a perception of the young Singaporean generation. It then triggered me, what about those in the Philippines or Cambodia? What would they make of us?
I realised from this experience (I had the conversation during the massage) I was very much ignorant to the fact other people had their perceptions and stereotypes towards us too. I walked away a more receptive and open-minded person, as the experience was rather humbling. Despite her comments, Idah was still friendly throughout. I thanked her thoroughly for the massage, and even more for the insight into the perspective of other young adults within the Southeast Asian region.
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