This morning, I woke up later than usual. Having already bought coffee and instant oats, I had them for breakfast, and also the overpriced apples I bought yesterday. They were so expensive yet not nice at all.

Today I went to Metrotown to finish my shopping. It’s a really huge mall, with lots of big name stores. Sears, T&T Supermarket, Real Canadian Superstore, Toys ‘R Us… these are just some of those I managed to see. I got there at about 4pm and only had 2 hours to shop as the mall closes at 6pm (!!!) on Sundays. So I only got enough time to cover Sears and Real Canadian Superstore. The latter must be the cheapest place to get groceries I’ve been to so far, alongside with T&T… It was quite unfortunate also, because this morning I went to the neighbourhood grocery store to buy a bottle of pasta sauce, and at the Superstore it was half the price!

I bought pretty much everything on my shopping list, except for bedsheets. I just can’t seem to find the correct size because the beds here in the university are of not the standard single size.

Anyway, I bought a printer today, because I figured it’ll be cheaper than to print at the library for C$0.13 per sheet. The sticker price for the HP printer was just C$39.90. I was thinking, wow, what a good deal… until I checked out and the final price became C$54. Ouch. Hidden costs in the form of 12% taxes, and an $8 recycling fee (!!!). Apparently here in Canada certain provinces have the practice of charging recycling fees on printers and printing services. What a rip off.

Anyway, so far in my few days here I’ve been very amazed at how the public transport (they call it transit here) works. The drivers are very polite – many of them greet passengers and are very helpful. Passengers holding valid fares (i.e. student passes, monthly passes, transfer tickets) are allowed to board from the exits of most bus services, and the driver won’t check. Even when boarding from the front, I’ve observed that many passengers don’t bother to show their passes or tickets, and the bus drivers are OK with that. That’s pretty amazing – it seems that one can cheat by simply boarding without paying. The most amazing part is, for their Skytrain (something like Singapore’s LRT/MRT), there are no entry/exit gantries! People can just board or alight without bothering to pay, although there are ticket sales machines available. There is only a sign saying something like “Entry beyond this point requires a valid fare”.

Vancouver is also a very accessible city for wheelchair bound people, cyclists, and those with babies in strollers. All buses and trains are equipped with a number of seats that can be folded up when someone who needs to bring a wheelchair or stroller on. Passengers are also very polite – people sitting in seats meant for less mobile passengers stand up immediately and move away upon seeing such passengers. Buses and trains are also equipped with bicycle racks for cyclists to bring their bikes on. I’ve also noticed that buses have anti-slip flooring installed… which is a really brilliant idea since it’s always very easy to slip or fall on a moving bus.

Now, if only Singapore can have some of these standards… I know this is impossible, because of the human factor – many Singaporeans and Asian migrants in Singapore will never bother to give up their precious bus or MRT seats to the elderly. Bus drivers are mostly rude and not helpful – probably because of work stress… and the transport companies will NEVER implement a policy for boarding from exits or allowing passengers to board without showing their passes… because on one hand, transport companies in Singapore are profit-driven, and one the other hand, if such a policy is implemented… I am sure many people will be taking buses for free. Imagine our MRT stations without the entry/exit gantries… that’s a totally revolutionary idea. But it can only happen when Singapore truly becomes a city of the same standard (and with people of the same standard) as Vancouver.

Now, in one of my previous blog posts, I highlighted the problematic behavior of foreign workers in Singapore. I was bombarded with criticism and accusations of me being xenophobic and racist, among other stuff. My suggestion was to teach foreign workers about how Singapore’s culture is different from their home countries’, and hopefully that would make Singapore a place that’s better for everybody to live in… and now I am here in Vancouver, seeing many Asian (predominantly Chinese) migrants (first and second generation) behaving like they are perfectly naturalized… very polite, very civic-minded.

So is it impossible for good behavior to rub off on people who come from third-world countries or cultures that don’t mind pushing and shoving around? No it is not impossible. Is there a need for Singaporeans to accept foreign workers’ unruly behavior because we should respect their culture? No there is no need for that. We can respect others’ cultures and at the same time have them take up our better practices or habits. Just like what is happening here in Vancouver. Just like in Singapore, this city is a melting pot of different cultures, with probably half the population being Asians. However, Asians here blend in very well, speaking perfect English and behaving very well. But they still stick to their Asian foods and cultural or traditional practices. This is totally unlike Singapore’s situation which still resembles that of a third world country’s. And our government always tells everyone that we are a first-world country. We are far from that.

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