Tuesday, February 27, 2007
I am at Lucky Plaza on Tuesday to do my fieldtrip report for Southeast Asian studies. We're tasked to visit one of the hangouts where the foreigners from the region hang out on their off-days. Between Golden Mile (Thai), Peninsular Plaza (Myanmar) and Lucky Plaza (Filipino). I pick Lucky Plaza as (1) I'm most familiar with the layout, (2) I want to dispel the myth that Lucky Plaza is not just a Filipino place only on Sundays, but a Filipino support infrastructure exists in the mall. The latter reason, I have to admit, is the convenience of the ammunition I need to convince myself to visit Lucky Plaza on a weekday - Sunday would have been the time when a huge crowd of Filipinos are likely to be there - after all, it's the day off work!
I bring my camera with me, but I decide not to use it in case someone - or worse still, a group of people - try to find trouble with me using the camera on them or their property. I want to look less prominent. I traverse the corridors like a shopper, while mentally noting objects of interest that I want to write about.
So here's my report which I submit to my tutor:
Lucky Plaza: How Pinoy Is It?
I know Lucky Plaza as one of the hangouts for the Southeast Asian émigré, but I am not sure if there are going to be Filipinos around on a weekday (Tuesday). The expatriates usually go to their usual meeting place on a Sunday when they are off work. Perhaps a stereotype, but I am determined to dispel myth by visiting Lucky Plaza shopping centre, the hangout for the Pinoys (Filipinos), on a weekday evening.
From the makeup of the shops around the mall, one can see how Lucky Plaza is more than a hangout and a meeting place. It is a commune where the Filipino in Singapore enjoys a physical and spiritual reminder of their homeland. A high density of Filipino commercial and service outlets are most noticeably found on the third and fourth floors of the mall, where they occupy lots side by side running almost the entire lengths of the mall. The use of Tagalog is prominent on shop signage and posters; some shop names even contain a variation of the word “Philippines”. These establishments transmit the physical entities of home to the émigré in the form of food, music, consumer goods and so on. Some establishments go out to help their fellow people: remittance centres, delivery services, travel and employment agencies, money changers and even organisations that lend a hand in helping their fellows deal with bureaucratic and immigration procedures. Some of these outlets are manned by Filipinos themselves – this is comforting for the worker who requires support in maintaining contact with their loved ones back home, as well as the additional trust in sending back precious hard-earned money.
When I arrive at about half-past six, there are few Filipinos to be spotted. However, this figure increases past seven. Occasionally I see whole families. Cliques occupy tables inside Filippino cafes for dinner. The Filipino crowd is not just restricted to Sundays. Lucky Plaza is a place that they depend on to fulfil their errands, to socialise and to be close to a piece of home when home is far away, at all times of the weeks.
¶ 2/27/2007 11:54:00 am I bring my camera with me, but I decide not to use it in case someone - or worse still, a group of people - try to find trouble with me using the camera on them or their property. I want to look less prominent. I traverse the corridors like a shopper, while mentally noting objects of interest that I want to write about.
So here's my report which I submit to my tutor:
Lucky Plaza: How Pinoy Is It?
I know Lucky Plaza as one of the hangouts for the Southeast Asian émigré, but I am not sure if there are going to be Filipinos around on a weekday (Tuesday). The expatriates usually go to their usual meeting place on a Sunday when they are off work. Perhaps a stereotype, but I am determined to dispel myth by visiting Lucky Plaza shopping centre, the hangout for the Pinoys (Filipinos), on a weekday evening.
From the makeup of the shops around the mall, one can see how Lucky Plaza is more than a hangout and a meeting place. It is a commune where the Filipino in Singapore enjoys a physical and spiritual reminder of their homeland. A high density of Filipino commercial and service outlets are most noticeably found on the third and fourth floors of the mall, where they occupy lots side by side running almost the entire lengths of the mall. The use of Tagalog is prominent on shop signage and posters; some shop names even contain a variation of the word “Philippines”. These establishments transmit the physical entities of home to the émigré in the form of food, music, consumer goods and so on. Some establishments go out to help their fellow people: remittance centres, delivery services, travel and employment agencies, money changers and even organisations that lend a hand in helping their fellows deal with bureaucratic and immigration procedures. Some of these outlets are manned by Filipinos themselves – this is comforting for the worker who requires support in maintaining contact with their loved ones back home, as well as the additional trust in sending back precious hard-earned money.
When I arrive at about half-past six, there are few Filipinos to be spotted. However, this figure increases past seven. Occasionally I see whole families. Cliques occupy tables inside Filippino cafes for dinner. The Filipino crowd is not just restricted to Sundays. Lucky Plaza is a place that they depend on to fulfil their errands, to socialise and to be close to a piece of home when home is far away, at all times of the weeks.
