It’s been great at work so far. Although it’s only been two days, it feels like I’ve been here much longer - knowing some of the people helps, as does having such a casual, close-to-nature work environment. We’ve had a number of visitors these two days, and much to my delight they were all people I knew… and to my amusement every one of them had commented on how different I look with my hair down, in proper office wear, etc. etc. (I won’t be keeping up with that much longer, I think. On my first day I’ve had colleagues very kindly informing me that ‘they’ - or ‘we’ now - tend to dress down a lot more than the other departments. Jeans, t-shirts, slippers and even Crocs… they’re all ok.) I can imagine it’s quite a rare sight for those who’ve only seen me in the field.
And world of small worlds… there are so many connections. One of my bosses is an Imperial Alumna and knows my MSc personal tutor, and a few others are acquainted with people I know from Imperial. Yet another familiar face around - who wasn’t from the conservation scene - is a lady who used to be the school clerk/administrator at my secondary school, who is now the administrator at the office.
Naturally, there’d be questions on my background, where I’m from, and my accent. As usual, and as expected. I suppose it’s something I won’t be able to dodge no matter where I go in Singapore. Again I discover that I am most ill-at-ease and uncertain of my words (I come out sounding weird) when I am brought to be aware of my accent… As I wrote two years ago, I do not wish to come across as posh or elitist, but even when I adopt my most ’standard’ English, I’m aware that I can still sound a little foreign. As the Wiki article on Singlish rightly informs us, “Singlish phrases are sometimes injected into discussions to build rapport or for a humorous effect”. And so I try. Sometimes. But it just turns out awkward. When I’m around people I’m most comfortable with and know that I won’t be judged by my English (or when I do want to be judged), that’s when I speak most fluently, confidently, and naturally. And I enjoy seeing the surprise on people’s faces when they realise that I understand and can speak Mandarin.
In a non-Cantonese setting, I’m what they might call a banana.