About: Simmy
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Name:AlastairS
- Profile
- Chinese by ethnicity, Malaysian by nationality, Australian by association and cultural chameleon. Have lived in 5 different countries, including 6 different cities, over 19 years. Am also an avid procrastinator.
2007-12-24 00:54:07
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Posts by Simmy:
The Many Faces of Ignorance & Sim’s Parting Shot
Everyone here has come to the conclusion, at some point or another, that being a TCK is a double edged sword. We benefit tremendously from the different cultures we’ve experienced, the friends we’ve made and the life lessons we’ve learnt. We’ve also suffered as a result of the moves we’ve made, the friends we’ve left, the feeling of not belonging and ignorance
Ignorance is supposedly the enemy of all things “TCK”. It is the object which we direct our hate and the topic of most of our rants. And it is ignorance that some TCKs have fallen victim to. The “ignorance” towards those who are “ignorant” is the ignorance in question. This is the worst kind of hypocrisy. Most TCKs are often reminded how “mature” they seem by non-TCKs and this has led to some developing a superiority complex. It is based on the notion that we, as TCKs, are some how superior to non-TCKs. The notion that we have a better understanding of how the world works, simply because we’ve been privileged enough to experience more than one culture
TCKs are Third Culture Kids. A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. Children fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to have moved around and experience cultures not of their own, or of their parents. In no definition of TCK are we described as “all-knowing” or superior. Neither does it state that we can judge people merely on the basis of something they believe in
We’ve all pulled on personal experiences with our non tck and tck friends. There are just as many ignorant TCKs out there as there are open minded non tcks. This is because simply having these experiences does not make you “open minded” by default. What we fail to realize is that our experiences don’t necessarily mean our opinion is any more correct than the views we are arguing against. This failing isn’t specific to TCKs, but to people in general. Everyone always believes they are correct and are doing what is right. What we as TCKs should be doing, is realizing that our opinions may not be the correct one, as our encounters with other cultures should have taught us. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion; what we should have learnt to do is respect others’ opinions, no matter how ‘ignorant’, or rude, it may seem to us. We also should be able to understand why these opinions exist. If we hold our upbringing and experiences responsible for our views then it’s only natural that someone brought up under different circumstances would express different views
We should question ourselves, first and foremost, before question the opinions of others. Hitler, for example, was not a TCK. He believed, with every bone in his body, that he was doing right by the German people and the German nation. As TCKs we should not commit the same mistakes that such people have committed. Those who forgot they were not the ultimate authorities on life and justice. Who are we to judge someone’s behavior when it’s a direct result of their cultural upbringing and social conditioning?
It is important that we don’t allow such ignorance to propagate. There are many young TCKs on this site who look for guidance and advice. Misguided animosity towards non-TCKs is not something we wish for them to take away from this site. We should be helping these children understand who they are and the world that they belong to, not helping form prejudices
Wielding this double edged sword, stumbling through life we are prone to lashing out at perceived injustices. As TCKs, however, we should and must display an ability to question ourselves before we pass judgment on others because as our encounters with other cultures have shown us, there is more than one lens through which the world is viewed
-Alastair Sim, Neha Shastri & Kristine Vasquez
Many of you may not know who I am. I joined the site towards the end of 2007, thrilled at the prospect of meeting people who have lived extraordinary lives, not seeking people who I thought were my “equals”. I came to this site hoping to find people who shared my values, not necessarily my opinions, to share stories and to make new friends. Although all of these expectations were met, I also experienced a lot of things I didn’t expect to see on this site. There was a lot of negativity and pessimism that I found disturbing, so I took leave from the site. Originally I cited university but really I just couldn’t bear scrolling to the complaining. I had no qualms with walking away; to me people’s opinions are simply that, their own opinions. The only reason I chose now to write my final post is because the site is a global phenomenon, a tribute to Brice’s amazing work. With this sudden influx of traffic and surge in member numbers I felt that this was no longer an issue pertaining to a few members, this site may well influence the youth of tomorrow and for that reason I felt the need to voice my opinion on the matter. I’ve encountered a lot of prejudice and although my opinions may not sit well with many of you, to put it bluntly, anyone who disregards the above is really proving my point.
This will be my final post as I don’t wish to be a hypocrite by trying to “impose” my point of view on people who may disagree. A last remark must be made though. To Brice, keep up the good work mate and thank you. Your site has introduced me to some amazing people. And with this I bid you all the very best of luck in your future adventures, of which I’m sure there will be many! Maybe one day our paths will cross, Insha-Allah!! (God willing, but it sounds more kick ass in Arabic!)
Yours Sincerely,
Alastair Milton Sim Jia Qing
“Family-sick”
So it’s Chinese New Year…. and I’m sitting in my room in London, all alone on the verge of tears… I’m not sad, i’m not hurt, I just miss my family. In my life i’ve come up against some serious obstacles and every time i’ve cleared them or dragged myself over, not letting them get me down… but now my body is tired, my mind is exhausted… and all i want is to hug my parents, my brother and my sister and tell them how much i love them…
It’s times like these that I kinda wish life could be that little bit easier… but alas, c’est la vie… Just needed to get it out of the system i guess… hope you guys have an awesome Chinese New Year, and if you’re lucky enough to spend it with family cherish it.. cause there are people who would give nearly anything to be with their families tonight…
European Get Together? Or just suggest a place for Simmy’s next trip…
Hey guys… I know i’ve been a little (understatement) absent recently but Hannah’s post got me thinking about a London get together… or maybe even a European get together during Easter.. basically i did the math and have 5 weeks off over end of March and April… I’ll be studying for most of it but a little get away is in order i think.. Was just wondering if anyone is interested. And even if you can’t make it maybe you could suggest a place where i could go or even better, someone i can visit! haha..
Simmy is BACK… not really…
Hey guys just stopping by to say a quick HI!. Sorry i haven’t been around, i’ve been bogged down at uni with reports and the such.. trying to stay awake though is what takes up most my time. Trying to decypher an iranian professor after lunch and after an hour of speaking german is taxing.. and usually results in a 5 minute power nap in which my friends steal my stuff and write that i’m gay on my hand out… hahaha….
Anyway i’m sorry but i can’t even attempt to keep up with all the goings ons… there are like a gazillion people who have joined and posted since, so i’d be fighting a losing battle.. not to mention the battle i’m already losing with this south african circuits and systems lecturer “To thoze of euuu who don’t alredi own a boock, every houer you spend without it increases the chaance of euu failing”…. thats my attempt to phonetically type out the saffie accent haha….
Anyway just wanted to say hi! to those of you who don’t know me, i lived on this site for a good two to three weeks during the winter break. Went back to uni last week and really haven’t been back since!… so…. HI!
On the topic of mIRC and chatrooms in general
So on the topic of possibly going over to mIRC and idling there, i saw this on xkcd.com.. Ok i know its geeky but its DAMN funny hahahaha…. Oh and just generally i reckon people that come ONTO the site, even if they’re answering posts should leave a window open on the chatroom.. I do it all the time. That way I know when people are in there! Anyway, just my opinion!
Here’s the link:
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/responsible_behavior.png
RE: Fetal Diaries #8
I tried commenting on your thingy but it wouldn’t work.. Dio knows why!.. and i needed to do this before i went to bed otherwise i’d forget… so here was my comment that was supposed to be on your post Kristine!
[Note from Panda: your comment was awaiting moderation that’s why it didn’t show up. But since you already created a new post I’m going to delete that comment. OMG I got into Alastair’s head!! lmbo]
what about these lyrics from two awesome australian artists!
These Days by Powderfinger
It’s coming round again
The slowly creeping hand
Of time and its command
Soon enough it comes
and settles in its place
Its shadow in my face
Puts pressure in my day
This life well it’s slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like I had planned
It’s coming round again
The slowly creeping hand
Of time and its demands
It settles in its place
Its shadow in my face
Undignified and lame
This life well it’s slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like I had planned
Control well it’s slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like I had planned
Soon enough it comes
Soon enough it comes
To tie us down
OR This Old Love by Lior
Yes, yeah we’re moving on,
Looking for direction,
Mmmm, we’ve covered much ground.
Thinking back to innocence,
I can no longer connect,
I don’t have a heart left to throw around.
Ooh, and time moves on like a train,
That disappears into the night sky.
Yeah, I still get a sad feeling inside,
To see the red tail lights wave goodbye.
But we’ll grow together,
We’ll grow old together,
And this love will never,
This old love will never die.
Well, money slips into your hands,
And then slips out like it was sand,
And there are shoes that you can never seem to fill.
I’ve chased so much and lost my way
Maybe a face for everyday,
That has so casually slipped me by.
Ooh, and time moves on like a train,
That disappears into the night sky.
Yeah, I still get this sad feeling inside,
To see the red tail lights wave goodbye.
But we’ll grow together,
We’ll grow old together,
And this love will never,
This old love will never die.
Morning comes,
Sometimes with a smile,
Sometimes with a frown.
Yeah, so i never want to worry,
If you gonna stay around.
So let’s grow together,
We’ll grow old together,
And this love will never,
This old love will never die.
Yes, yes we’re movin’ on,
Movin’ right along…
I love both of these songs. Always have to blink back the tears. This Old Love was the song for our slideshow in my graduating year.. and These Days was played at my friend’s funeral. Rest In Peace Duckjon…….
Simmy’s Super Short Stories (Non-Fiction): #1 That time I was on Al Jazeera International…
Ok guys, I went for Simmy’s Super Short Stories as the title for my series because.. well they’re my short stories and apparently they’re pretty super. If anyone can think of a better title, I’m glad to change it but i just needed a working title. [The author apologises to anyone who thinks this story is not very super]
So I guess most of you have clicked on that link that Brice posted. If not watch this at 9 minutes 40 seconds.
Right so there it is, me on TV. Broadcast to the world, me sweating because it was a really hot day and also because I was pretty nervous and also me making some funny facial expressions. Anyway theres a story here and since Brice really wanted me to START writing my stories down, I thought I’d start with this… so here goes.
The day started as every other day on that holiday, I woke up had a shower had some breakfast and set off with my sister at my side to Boarders where I would leave her reading while I did some wandering and people watching (note: not shopping!).
In front of Ngee Ang City (the building with Kinokuniya in it) I saw a television crew setting up. “Hmmm I wonder what they’re doing” I wondered. As I got closer I saw one of the women shaping to ambush us. I’ve had my fair share of street ambushes in my time, as all travellers had so I went through the steps of diversion. I took a quick look to see if there was a decoy that I could put between me and the woman so that she would talk to THEM instead of me.. but no, it was early and we were the only ones in a 10 meter radius. She was also too close for us to make a swerve without looking like we were intentionally giving her the miss. Knowing the ambush was unavoidable I grit my teeth and stared straight ahead and braced myself. “Hi! Excuse me!” “Dammit….”. The following conversation went along these lines:
Lady 1: We’re interviewing people for a “Street Talk” segment of Riz Khan and we wondered if you wanted to be in it
Me: Depends on what you’re asking I guess
L1: Well we’re having the Singaporean foreign minister on the show and wondered if you have any questions for him
Me: haha well I’m not Singaporean
L1: Please please? We need some young people on the program.
Me: Welll…..
At this point the more attractive young lady (not being shallow… well.. yes I am haha) approaches me and says
Lady 2: I think you’d look really good on TV
SOLD!
Me: Alright, I’ll do it!
Abi (my 12 year old sister): MUAHAHAHAHAHA
So anyway they ask me to think about something to ask the foreign minister… Now the only thing I know about Singapore and their foreign policy is their water agreement with Malaysia. I think Malaysia has the right to raise the price of water they’re selling Singapore, and Singapore don’t. But I didn’t want to have the government on my back so I couldn’t mention that. So really I had NOTHING. While I was musing I got to talk to the more attractive young lady and found out she recently graduated from London, from SOAS (The School of Oriental and African Studies). I forget her name now and I regret not asking for her email address (I’m good at this flirting thing.. terrible at the next part haha). She was a TCK who was of Indian decent but now worked out of Seattle and got to travel the world with her crew. After Singapore she was off to Durban! Lucky woman.. just thought I’d add that as a point of intrest hahaha..
They said I could just say what I think of Singapore.. Again, I didn’t want to INSULT the country. But i decided to go with the usual “Singapore is beautiful” speal… So i said I was ready and they told me where to stand and to look ONLY into the camera. As is obvious when you watch the clip, I DON’T just look to the camera. I glance to my right, or left of the screen, cause thats where the attractive young lady was hahaha. Anyway after my speak I thought “Its over….” but noooo, they proceeded to ask me a whole bunch of questions that I had to answer off the top of my head. One of them was “What do you think of Singapore’s image in South East Asia?” and the respons I gave to that was the one they used. So my answer was off the top off my head, thus the funny faces as I tried hard to think of what I was going to say! Mainly I was concentrating on not saying anything bad! “Don’t mention the corruption in the heart foundation! DON’T MENTION THE WATER PRICES!! DON’T DO IT!!” hahaha. Thats why i used the word “Dirt”, cause i didn’t know how else to describe SEA without being offensive to SEA.. Really sound stupid though haha… Dirt.. wth! (At this point I’ve started watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s… *And I said what about Breakfast at Tiffany’s, She said I think I remember the film and as I recall I think, we both kind of liked it, and I said well thats the one thing we’ve got!*)
Anyway when I was done they thanked us, gave us some tissues cause we were all sweating profusely but then continued to chat! Again, being crap at reading the signs I didn’t ask for a number or an email and said “Well best let you guys get back to ambushing other innocent people! Good luck!” and that was the end of that I thought. I mean, they would never put me on TV and I literally FORGOT about it till a month later. My friend posted on my facebook wall,
“HEY!!, I think I just saw you on Al-Jazeera tv talking about singapore and south east asia!?!?! - Were talking about how singapore is an economic role model for asia or something…i just caught the end of it. That is u right?”
and IT WAS! I found the clip online and the rest, as they say, is history!! I got dozens of “HAHAHAHA DUDE YOUR FACE!!” and lots of parents saying “Alastair you handled yourself very well considering that was improvisation!”… But the first time i watched it my impression was “DUDE I WAS NOT EDUCATED IN SINGAPORE!! DON’T TRY TO LET THEM CLAIM MY AWESOME-NESS!!” hahahahaha and really, I just regret not asking that lady for her email address. Would’ve been a useful contact. Meh, all if buts and maybes now. Sorry this ends so abruptly.. I had more to write but my flow was disturbed by dinner and Breakfast at Tiffany’s!
Hope you guys enjoyed that little story. There will be more! But right now I’m hitting Milan for a birthday celebration!!
P.S
Audrey Hepburn was absolutely STUNNING wasn’t she?
And then there was Alastair…
Festive greetings one and all! My full name, according to my passport, is Sim Jia Qing Alastair Milton. My mum calls me Alastair, grandmother calls me Jia Qing and to my friends I’m just Simmy. I have an older brother who is currently studying in Perth, West Australia and a younger sister who goes to school in Medan, Indonesia.
I was born on the 1st of April 1988 in the small mill town of Laha Datu in East Malaysia. My father is Chinese Malaysian and my mother is Chinese Indonesian. Seeing as they met in Newcastle, England whilst at university and my mother doesn’t speak any dialect of Chinese and my father didn’t speak any Malay, English was the language we spoke at home.
At the age of 10 months my father took a job working in Papua New Guinea as a computer programmer on a project to computerize the system at a palm oil company called New Britain Palm Oil Development (NBPOD). Life in PNG was probably the best childhood I could have asked for. Since I had been there since before I could walk and the town of Mosa was a very small, the locals were familiar with me and my older brother. In my 7 years in PNG i learned how to walk, talk, swim, play golf, ride a bike, start a fire without using a match, build a tree house, make a “pop gun”, learn that I was allergic to bee stings and generally develop a love for the outdoors. I had friends who were locals and those who were expatriates but to me there were one in the same.
In 1995 my father took a job in Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. I remember not being scared of moving to country where I didn’t understand the language but mainly being upset that I wouldn’t get to see my friends!
So we set off to Indonesia and for the first time in my life I genuinely felt out of place. Despite visiting my mothers family once a year while we lived in PNG, we spoke no Indonesian and many Indonesians spoke no English and those who did, didn’t speak it fluently. At first we took Indonesian lessons, but at 7 years old my concentration span wasn’t able to last the 1 hour lessons and after the teacher yelled at me and my brother for speaking Pigin English my mother decided that this wasn’t how we would learn the language. We eventually picked up the language the hard way. By picking up phrases and vocabulary through our Indonesian friends we learned Indonesian in less than a year. Since we were part of a very small expatriate community we attending a link school from Medan International School. At first there were 5 students. My brother, the three other expatriate kids who’s dad was English and mother was malaysian and myself. In the next 5 years the numbers of students fluctuated and at it’s smallest there were only 3 students. My sister and her friend, who were 5 years old, and myself, 12. Despite having many native friends I felt deprived of English speaking friends and so I socialized with parents, teachers and often joined chat rooms. Looking back, I feel that during this period of time I matured rapidly as a result of having to talk make conversation with much older people. Living through the Asian economic crisis, the smog and the religious riots also changed me as a person. Being a Catholic family we lived in constant fear that the riots who make their way into our house complex. We even had a plan for what we would do. My brother, whos Indonesian still had a strong English accent would hide along with my father in the root. My mother, sister and I would then try our best to convince them that we were Muslims. It was a very unsettling time. We couldn’t leave the country because there were riots everyday on the one road to the airport. On most days the sky was filled with black smoke from rioters burning buildings.
Fortunately the riots passed and although some of my dad’s colleagues lost their lives our family was safe. In 2000, my dad took another job in Medan, North Sumatra. The biggest change for me was that now I would be attending a school of about 70 kids, much bigger than the school of 3 I was coming from. But by this point in my life I had learned how to adapt and fit in quite well. Over the next 3 years I was captain of the school soccer team, student council president and competed in state athletic meets as the only competitor below the age of 20, my best result being 4th in the 400m. The biggest change came when I was 14. One of my teachers passed away and I blamed myself for this. His death was stress related and in the time that I had known him I had done nothing but cause him stress. I always wanted to do MORE than I needed. I wanted him to give me more advanced work and when he refused I despised him. When he passed away I realized that there were more important things in life than academic achievement. I went from being a highly driven student to one who enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. I was still a straight A student, but I was no longer stressed about not getting 100% or not being THE top student.
In 2005 I moved to Perth, Australia to attend boarding school for the last two years of my schooling. By this point I had done a lot more growing up than some of my peers and found the most difficult part of being in Perth was having to act immature as to not seem arrogant or stuck-up. There was still more growing up for me to do though and this was to take place half way through my final year. I tore my anterior cruciate ligament in a rugby tackle and needed a knee reconstruction. Being a very active person I didn’t take to this very well. I was very upset but worse was to come. My father was diagnosed with cancer and my long term girlfriend dumped me, all in the same week. I, like most people would, spent two weeks wallowing in self-pity. After 2 weeks I made a decision to be happy regardless of what was going on in my life. There was more to my life that I hadn’t appreciated before, I was alive and had friend and family that loved me. This has since been the philosophy that I have lived with, to be happy and always live with a positive outlook.
After 2 years in Perth my TCK instincts kicked in and I knew that I couldn’t stay in Perth for another 4 years. I applied to Curtin University in Perth as a back up but my main choices were MIT, Caltech in the United States and Imperial College in London. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into Imperial College to study Aeronautical Engineering (an interest I developed probably as a result of spending so much time in the sky) and have been there for a year and a half now. I applied to Imperial College without ever having been to Europe and although this made the move daunting, the thought of having to stay in Perth for another 4 years was even more daunting. I live in Bayswater in London with a Japanese, an Australian and a Swede as my flatmates.
I write this sitting in my friend’s place in Milan. He and his family were kind enough to let me stay with them for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Even though most people here speak little or no English, I almost feel more comfortable with not understanding and being in situations that other “normal” people may find uncomfortable. Although having spent 3 years learning French and 1 year attempting to learn some Spanish, I manage to get the gist of Italian conversation.
In summary: I have lived in 5 countries, 6 different cities, over 19 years. Speak English, Indonesian/Malay, a little Mandarin (which I’m not forgetting), am in my second year of German at uni and although i did French for 3 years and Spanish for 1, I can remember almost none either of them! I have friends from every continent and intend to continue to learn languages for as long as I can! My parents and sister live in Medan, Indonesia and my brother lives in Perth, Australia.
Even though I feel incredibly fortunate to have had these experiences, sometimes I wonder if I would give it all up for a “normal” life and if I would impose such a lifestyle on my children, assuming I ever have kids! But these will be answered in the fullness of time and right now all I’m really doing is focusing all my efforts on being happy and enjoying life!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY AND I WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
- Alastair
P.S
Sorry if this seems very disjointed and somewhat poorly written. I’ve never attempted to write out my life story in such detail. Hopefully my next attempt will be a little easier to read!
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