History is the current theme of the titles that I've just read and started reading. Hehe!
As part of my training for the museum guiding activity at the National Museum of Singapore, I picked up a copy of Mark Frosts's and Yu-Mei Blasaingamchow's Singapore: A Biography.
I've just finished the book and I'm quite confident that I've picked up the key events and personalities that any museum guide should at least know.
Also, the book gave me a much better understanding of the country that adopted me. When I learned that I got the job in Singapore, I told myself that one thing I was really going to do when I get here is to immerse myself in the local culture, to learn about the local way of life.
This thinking I suppose stems from the years I was volunteering/working with the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod (the volunteer program of the University of the Philippines). One of the programs I handled was the Summer Immersion Service Program. Every summer, a group of students would be deployed to very remote areas around the country where they are to stay for about three weeks. The aim really of the program is for the students to see that there is something happening outside of the classroom and that there is a need to do something, especially that we belong to the country's premiere state university.
That kind of "learning" was the reason why I really wanted to be involved in different activities while living in Singapore. Believe it or not, I hardly get bored when I'm in Singapore. There are quite a number of things to do around the island. Having lived here for two years (and I'm hoping it will be for several more years), one thing I would like to do really is to show visiting friends that there is so much more to Singapore than Orchard Road. Hehe!
Anyway, the topic deserve a post on its own. I'm going back to the book. What I really loved about the book is that it introduced me to personalities that not too many people know about I guess. We're talking about individuals who don't get to be in the same spotlight that is given to Raffles. People like William Farquhar (who I generally liked very much more than Raffles), Elizabeth Choy, Mamoru Shinozaki, David Marshall, Constance Goh, Mrs. Siraj, May Wong (as in May Wong bar at Neil Road! Haha!), even the rickshaw pullers, the coolies, the convicts, the amahs, the samsui women, and so on.
In a way, reading the book also allowed me to look for parallel histories between Singapore and the Philippines. Hmm, to a certain extent, I think this is one thing I will be able to offer museum visitors when I become an official museum guide. I can relate Singapore history to the histories of neighbouring countries.
Singapore: A Biography is certainly going to help me do that as it is my bible on local history. Hehe!
Meanwhile, the other book is the memoir written by Grace Coddington. In the first few pages of the book, Grace wrote that people only learned of her or became more interested in her after she was featured in the documentary The September Issue.
Grace, I know you won't get to read this, but I want you to know that I have known about you long before The September Issue. And even then, I was already a fan. Sally Singer was correct when she said you are one of the greatest living stylists ever. Because you really are. Period.
I think those who were mentored under her are very lucky. Hehe!
Anyway, I just started on the book. It's been with me since December 2012 (!!!). Haha! I kept on delaying because I didn't want to take out of it's plastic wrapping. Hehe!
What I wouldn't give for the book to be signed by Grace Coddington.
More on the book after I finish it.
What book are you currently reading?
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