From all walks of life, but still tied to roots back home

The Straits Times, April 21, 2007
By Betsy Pisik, Straits Times US Bureau

NEW YORK 2,000 Singaporeans
They miss Singapore but also love the freedom and opportunities offered in New York

INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE: Photographer Jing Quek, 24, has learnt a lot from his time in New York, but feels homesick.








NON-MAINSTREAM LIFESTYLE CHOICE: Artist Wee Hong Ling, who has lived in New York for 15 years, feels that the Big Apple offers a culture that encourages risk and change, which allows her to pursue her passion in fine art ceremics. She went to New York originally to attend graduate school.





NEW YORK - MS WEE Hong Ling came to New York to attend graduate school, but when she discovered fine art ceramics her life took 'a screeching left turn' that made her want to stay on.

Mr Jing Quek came to Manhattan to study photography and expects to return to Singapore in the next few years - after he has made lots of contacts and completed his training.

Ms Helen Tan was transferred to the Big Apple by Reuters to evaluate bonds: Although she likes living in New York, she plans eventually to return to her family and a familiar culture.

These are only three of the estimated 2,000 Singaporeans who now live in the New York area, forming the nucleus of a community that is both far-flung and wildly diverse.

All are connected to their roots in Singapore but, in one way or another, many of them value the freedom and opportunities they find here.

'I am clear that it is not possible to have done this in Singapore,' said Ms Wee, whose elegant ceramics reflect an Asian sensibility.

'I think that one of the great things about being here is that there are a lot of non-mainstream life choices as well as a culture that encourages risk and change,' added the artist who has lived in New York for 15 years.

She has not forgotten Singapore though. Last year, she organised a monumental first group exhibition for Singaporean visual artists in New York City at the Asian American Arts Centre.

The Prime Minister's Office told The Straits Times that an estimated 20,000 Singaporeans live in the United States. The 2,000 who live in the New York area are in the overlapping realms of finance, banking, insurance and consultancies. Many are in college or graduate school.

It is not always an easy transition.

'I was so unhappy when I got here,' recalls Ms Tan, who longed for the familiar accent and a plate of really good Hainanese chicken rice.

'The subways stank, the people were rude, I live in a matchbox, the weather was harsh,' said the 35-year-old who has been in New York for five years.

But soon she made friends and discovered the nightlife, restaurants and relatively inexpensive shopping that make New York fun.

Ms Tan travels home frequently and notices that Singapore is getting better too. She is especially excited about the energy and opportunities the new integrated resorts bring.

The bond evaluator is the new president of the New York-Singapore Association (NYSA), a volunteer group that arranges monthly events for Singaporeans to meet for happy hours and network professionally or socially. Its website can be found at www.NYSingapore.org

NYSA has about 350 members, most of them single professionals, but its influence is greater than that: Many members take their non-Singaporean friends to the events to introduce them to the music, food and personalities of their homeland.

Ms Tan and Mr Marsk Ong, an analyst for Starwood Hotels and Resorts, are coordinating the obligatory 'after-party' for more than 600 expatriates and their friends following today's Singapore Day events.

They have found a nightclub in the trendy meatpacking district and a Singaporean DJ who is eager to spin for his countrymen.

'You never know how many Singaporean artists there are in New York until you start looking for them,' said Mr Ong, 27, whose Singaporean friends e-mail regularly asking him to find them jobs. 'We are finding them in unusual industries.'

Mr Ong, who left the Republic 10 years ago to study finance and marketing in Los Angeles before moving here, said that recent graduates and other young professionals are more likely to move abroad now than even a few years ago, in part because they fear they will not be able to establish their careers at home.

'There are so many foreigners in Singapore now, they are taking a lot of the jobs,' said Mr Ong, who notes that many of his friends are not yet established in their careers and feel frustrated. They think of America, still, as a land of opportunity.

Certainly that is how Ms Zaina Dell'Aquila, 51, would describe her life here.

A corporate chef who now oversees the legendary staff cafeteria for Conde Nast Publications, the magazine group that owns Vogue, the New Yorker and other titles, Ms Dell'Aquila left Singapore nearly 30 years ago to follow the man she loved.

Now divorced and remarried, the chef says that she is happiest recreating her own food for her family - often with South-east Asian ingredients and spices delivered by visiting relatives.

'I consider the US my home now,' said the mother of two. 'But socialising with other Singaporeans makes me feel closer...You can't lose touch with your roots. That's why I put some effort into joining and organising events for NYSA.'

Photographer Jing Quek, 24, says he is learning more here than he ever could in Singapore - but he is homesick and wants to return next year. New Yorkers, he says, can be painfully self-absorbed and 'lack kindness'.

'This is a good experience,' he said. 'I absolutely like the scale of things here, and the kind of people who work here set a high standard. The time here has been invaluable.'

Mr Quek makes composed group portraits of construction workers, sports teams and other groups in typically Singaporean settings.

Even if no one can quantify the local population, Singaporean officials in New York can vouch for the fact that it is growing.

For the last couple of years, the United Nations Mission and the Consulate have hosted informal National Day celebrations in an office conference room, complete with hot trays of national dishes and, often, a speech by a visiting dignitary.

But this year the event will be moved to a hotel ballroom because Singapore's United Nations Ambassador, Mr Vanu Gopala Menon, fears the celebration has outgrown his space.

'Each year, the Singaporean community has grown, and is showing greater interest in getting in touch,' Mr Menon told The Straits Times. 'You want to welcome them in the family home, but we have no choice' but to move to larger quarters.