The Rotary Club of Singapore East held a wine tasting and Charity Art Auction last Friday. Rotary Scholars were invited to partake in this exclusive event at the Goodwood Park Hotel down on Orchard Road. The wine and food was great! There were Greek and Austrian wines. I had ice wine for the first time from Austria where grapes are frozen to -7 degrees celsius. It was so sweet because the sugars are highly concentrated. In addition, the money raised was for the Rotary Foundation! It was nice to be acknowledged and also witness the generosity of so many Rotarians not only contibuting to Rotary Scholars' scholarships but to the entire Foundation which includes issues like worldwide polio eradication. The Rotary Foundation is on par with the Gates Foundation in contributing to international humanitarian issues. I am always impressed and moved by the giving nature of Rotarians across the world. I will also be speaking at the Rotary Club of Victoria tomorrow evening. It's interesting to be with Rotarians in a different country, because the subject matters are essentially the same when it comes to fundraising and raising awareness of different social issues. I guess it is one of the aspects that allows this organization to be international yet consistent.My roommate reminded me the other day that we have been in Singapore a month. Realistically, the novelty of a new country has worn off. There are still many places in Singapore I want to go and visit and I have tons of SE Asia travel plans. But the distractions of a new area and onslaught of new faces and personalities has calmed down and I realize that this is just life. You have to buy groceries, clean your apartment, go to school, etc. I think the first few weeks, I was oblivious to this reality. But as my mind is clearing, I feel more back to myself. I have been reverting back to what I usually do, going to the gym, school, and my Rotary functions. Nonetheless, I am still meeting new people and embracing every new experience I have. Already it's hard to imagine my life if I had not have had this past month's experiences of living in a different part of the world. It's hard for me to fathom.
A different part of the world isn't necessarily better or worse, "just different." (A theme that was emphasized at our Rotary outbound seminar.) I'm learning about the social issues affecting Singapore. For example, the love/hate relationship this country has had with Malaysia and the omnipresent theme of Singaporean identity (or the lack thereof.) And interestingly enough, the West is always referenced to, obviously because of the colonial history essentially all of Southeast Asia has with it. But at the same time I can't help but feel a sense of blame that this region points at the West. Some social issues, such as teenage rebellion are thought to be due to Western influence, specifically by pop culture and Hollywood films. I see the far reaching effects that Western culture has all over the world. Our hollywood films are constantly referenced and even our politics are paid attention to internationally. It makes me extremely proud to be an American but also slightly weary of how our country affects the rest of the world.
