Csbuzz ISE001|2013.02

CSbuzz ISE001|2013.02

CS Mobility Monthly Newsletter- Singapore Introducing CS Mobility Same Team. Same Great Service. New Name. As you may have noticed, we have a brand new look – and a new name. The biggest event in the Chinese community is Chinese New Year On the 1st of February, our Company (Lunar New Year) which is a fifteen day celebration, bringing name will change to CS Mobility. together families for different traditions each day. Fortunately, As NCompass Mobility, we had become most of the shops will only close for the first one or two days aware of a similarly-named organiza- (and some may close early on New Year’s Eve). In the weeks preceding tion, so decided to rebrand, to avoid Chinese New Year, you will notice brightly coloured decorations and any confusion in the future. lights, especially around Chinatown, and many stores will be playing Our name may be changing, but we still traditional New Year songs. have the same great team with a You will also see decorated red envelopes – called Hong Bao (or Ang Pow), which are continued focus on providing the great given by married couples to children of family and friends, containing money and service you have come to expect from wishes for good luck in the coming year. On visits to family and friends people will us - and our core belief remains the exchange two oranges. This year the first day of New Year is 10th February, when we welcome the Year of same: Family Comes First! the Water Snake. Gong Xi Fa Cai! CS Mobility – Consider it Settled

Twelve honoured animals were invited to take part in a race to the Chingay Parade Jade Emperor’s Palace, where he would place them in order. 2013 is the Year of the Water Snake, so you may be wondering why the Singapore 2013 Snake was one of the honoured animals. – February 22nd and 23rd Long ago, the snake had four legs and his friend, the frog, had none. The people liked the frog because he rid them of pests. He also caught insects for the lazy snake, who used to bite people. Despite warnings from the Jade Emperor, the Snake would not change, so The annual Chingay Parade started in Singapore on 4th Feb- he was punished: His legs were removed and given to the frog. The ruary 1973, because of a fire work ban in 1972. To compen- Snake was sorry, so he donated his body to be used for medicines sate for the lack of fireworks to celebrate Chinese New Year, to help people after his death. The Jade Emperor forgave him, and a Chinese parade was arranged with lion and dragon dances, gave him a position in the Zodiac just after his cousin, the Dragon, street performers and vividly decorated floats. Later, Malay whom he helped to control the rains. and Indian groups were invited to join in the performances. Despite his good fortune in being chosen as an animal sign, the It is now a wonderful multi-cultural themed event for all na- Snake was still angry that the frog had his legs so, to this day, Snakes tionalities: however, it still includes the special Lion dances to still try to eat frogs. celebrate the Chinese New Year! This year’s Parade theme is ‘Fire in Snow’. Snow symbolises CS Events struggles and hardships, but the power, passion, dynamism Look out for details of CS Mobility’s two events: and determination depicted by Fire, offer the inextinguish- - Learn about the traditions and rituals of Chinese New Year on our walk through festive and bustling Chinatown on Friday 1st February. And… able light of hope to overcome the cold harsh Snow. This is -Discover the stories behind the zodiac animals and the eight legendary Singapore’s grandest street parade, with breath-taking per- Heroes of China in our Chinese Gardens Walk on Saturday 23rd Febru- formances. Check the official website for more information ary. and ticket prices (www.chingay.org.sg ) For more information, contact: Avalone at the CS Centre ([email protected] or tel: 6731 8101). You can also log into your PORTAL at www.cs-mobility.com THE FOODIE

The is a special celebratory appetiser served on the seventh day of Chinese New Many Christians undergo a period Year in Singaporean and Malaysian of self-deprivation for Lent, in tradition. remembrance of Christ’s forty days (It is not common in China or in the wilderness. At this time, Hong Kong) Lo Hei means ‘tossing each Christian may choose to give luck/prosperity’. This day is also up a favourite food or drink, or a recognised as everybody’s birthday! favourite activity, from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. The food is called Yu Sheng (which means ‘raw fish’ but when Traditionally, people would eat only very simple fare during Lent, written, it looks like ‘abundance rise’ so indicating a wish for so on Shrove Tuesday (the day before the beginning of Lent) they future prosperity). You will see packs of Yu Sheng in the super- would use up fresh ingredients and enjoy a final sweet treat. market with each ingredient separated; shredded fish, vegeta- In England, Shrove Tuesday is called Pancake Day –mothers make bles, fruit, crackers, spices and sauces; each with an individual pancakes (like French crepes), and roll up fillings of lemon and auspicious meaning. At home, the family will gather around sugar or jam or cream. In 2013, Shrove Tuesday is on February a central dish, and as each ingredient is added, the family will 12th - even if you’re not giving anything up for Lent, you can still shout messages and wishes for health, longevity and prosper- enjoy Pancake Day! Yummy! ity. Then every diner will reach their long chopsticks into the bowl and together they toss the Yu Sheng to mix it – the higher they toss it, the better their fortune for the coming year. Finally they sit down to eat… You may have the opportunity to take part in the Lo Hei – it’s a joyful community activity and it tastes delicious! Long before the arrival of Stamford Raffles in Singapore’s War Memorial 1819, Singapore’s indigenous people were Singapore marks its Memorial Day (Total Defence Day) on February 15 with a Orang Laut (literally “People of the Sea” in service at the Civilian War Memorial to remember the victims of the Second Malay), who lived in boats just offshore. World War. Members of this now extinct group were Near to the War Memorial Park in the Civic District, the 67m high Civilian War properly known as Orang Biduanda Kallang, Memorial, which stands between Fairmont Hotel and Suntec City, comprises four which may explain the name of the area where square white pillars, reaching together towards the heavens. The pillars represent the ethnic groups of civilians who died during the Japanese occupation of they lived – Kallang River / Kallang Basin / Kallang. Singapore; Chinese, Malay, Indian, and others. The Kranji War Memorial is designed to represent the three arms of the Allied Armed Forces. The columns represent the Army, the Air Force is symbolised by the aeroplane wing atop the columns, and the submarine tower on the aeroplane wing denotes the Navy. The names of the military war dead are engraved on the columns.

Manila, Philippines I recently had a chance to visit my birthplace, Manila, Philippines and was happy to do so! Manila actually refers to Metropolitan Manila, as it’s made up of sixteen individual cities. There are over 11.8 million people living in the metropolitan area, so you can imagine the traffic! Because of the traffic, some people choose to have a driver who is familiar with the roads and has the skill of manoeuvring the vehicle between the thousands of motorbikes and tri- cycles which are common in the region. Common transportation for people is the jeepney; these are made from old US military jeeps from World War 2. A popular place for keen shoppers is Greenhills: an indoor market which sells items from shoes and handbags, to clothing and accessories. You can even find the occasional “fake” items, however unfortunately these are illegal to import back to Singapore! Then we headed over to Greenbelt, a shopping mall located in Makati City, for higher end fashion from local designers Before travelling, it is advisable to check for travel advisories at more reasonable prices. from your Embassy. THE VIRTUAL TRAVELLER TRAVELLER THE VIRTUAL Food is also very tasty there, as there are so many different varieties for different palates! Some of my local favourite dishes are: adobo (soy sauce chicken or pork), lumpia (fried spring rolls), and pansit (noodles). Manila is also known for its fla- vourful barbecues, which we got to taste at Alexander the Great restaurant! Talk about upsizing the food! The most popular dish which all Filipinos know is the “lechon”, which features a whole pig roasted over charcoal and served up during any special occasions or celebrations. It is known as a “national dish” of the Philippines! Make sure you get to try this crispy pork dish when you visit!

So enjoy your adventure! As they say back home “It’s always fun in the Philippines!” Expressing Culture through Music -As we travel to different parts of the world, we find that we can explore culture through music; we enjoy the pipes in Peru; the Gamelan in Indonesia; the Koto in Japan and each has its identifiable sound and musical style. In the beachy resorts in Asia, we are greeted with a local fruit punch and taste of local music, and this is all part of our cultural discovery. Of course the radio stations play familiar music, whether it’s today’s sounds, music from previous decades, or classical. But let’s not forget the supermarkets and malls… Recently, we’ve enjoyed (and weeks later, endured) joyful, celebratory sounds of Christmas music – the religious carols and the Santa/sleigh riding/snuggling up in the snow-type fun songs – and when no one’s nearby, we may even sing along as we get in the mood for Christmas. But even if we love Christmas music, it is sometimes a relief when it stops abruptly immediately after Christ- WRITERS BLOCK WRITERS BLOCK mas, and we return to the usual music – but it’s not for long... Chinese New Year has its own celebratory and traditional songs – I’m not sure how many songs there are, but we seem to be hearing the same handful of songs repeatedly. Even though we don’t speak Mandarin, we discover that we have unconsciously adopted a little local culture as we find ourselves humming along to the Chinese New Year music (but only when no one’s in ear- shot!) Happy Chinese New Year – and Happy February!

The views expressed in Writer’s Block are not necessarily those of CS Mobiliy