Singapore

You know, when you tell Americans that you're from Singapore, you can almost see them conjuring an exotic image of an island... that's part of China. Hold up! This is a disclaimer once and for all: Singapore is NO WHERE near China, and we're certainly not part of it. Our forefathers did not strive so hard, only to be dismissed as part of PRC in the end. I think I've had it up to here. First, they think it's funny to portray Singapore in Pirates of the Carribean as some pirate island. It is true that we used to be a trading port in the olden days, but by no means do we have witch-like figures or people with black paint all over their faces. People in the old days are simply toiling labourers who moved over to Singapore to earn their keep by supporting the port. I swear to God when I was in the theater watching the movie with my friends, when Chow Yun Fatt goes "Welcome to Singapore!", followed by sinister music and demonic surroundings, ALL my friends turned to me and raised their eyebrows. Man. Horribly misjudged. And yesterday, I was watching TV, and suddenly they're talking about an exotic virus of sorts that has infected the Americans. And ta daaa, the virus is from no where else but Singapore! Give it a rest people, it's getting old. Also, stop telling me that ohhh, it's the place where 1) they ban gum (I don't think they even care right now 2) Michael Fay got caned. Sigh. I wish people go to Wikipedia more often.