Ever thought about how some of our daily habits may seem peculiar to non- Singaporeans?
A Taiwanese man, who goes by the handle Chief Editor Wei (伟总编教短视频) on Xiaohongshu, recently shared his thoughts about “the many bizarre habits” us Singaporeans have.
Wei has lived in Taiwan for 32 years, and in China for 10, and he now looks to be based in Singapore and Malaysia where he teaches courses on creating short form content.
“Singaporeans love showering. It’s not out of the norm for them to shower thrice a day. In Beijing, when it’s cold, it’s totally fine to not shower at all for the day,” he said.
‘Scuse me, how can you possibly not shower at least once a day with humidity like ours?
Before you totally write off Wei’s video, we can kinda see where he’s coming from with his next point.
“Singaporeans also like to use tissues to reserve seats. On one occasion, someone even used a rock to reserve their spot. The positive thing about it is that this really displays how adaptable Singaporeans are, and they’re not as inflexible as everyone says,” he continued.
Valid observation? We can’t think of another country that uses packets of tissue to ‘chope’ seats, so it’s understandable that it comes as a culture shock to foreigners.
His third point: “Singaporeans like to go barefoot when they are indoors.”
Wei said in Taiwan and Beijing, people generally wore slippers indoors because they believe “the floors are very dirty”.
According to him, it proves that we mop our floors and keep them super clean often. We suppose that’s a good thing as well?
He then ended his clip by calling for others to share other “odd” habits Singaporeans have.
Netizens, however, had more pressing things to discuss.
Of all the three points Wei brought up, the one that sat weirdly with them was about us “loving showers”.
“Are you not supposed to shower after perspiring the whole day? Do we have four seasons? Think about it… it’s not bizarre at all. This is not weird, it’s just a difference in culture and habit,” wrote one netizen.
Another also asked: “So when you’re in Singapore, you can go without showering for an entire day?”
Some took issue with the way he labelled our common practices as “bizarre”, with others questioning if he accurately understood the meaning of the word.
“Bizarre is not the right description to use here. It’s merely a contrast in habits. You can’t expect everyone in the world to have the same practices, right?” read another comment.
Here’s what we’ll say: Hot weather? Take a shower. It’s really not that bizarre.
Photos: 伟总编教短视频/ Xiao Hong Shu