"It's only in Singapore that one can have this diversity and mix of people — and they all get along," Michael John, a 46-year-old Filipino, shares his journey of growing up in Singapore, returning as a youth pastor, and finding his place as a fitness instructor. He cherishes Singapore's cultural diversity and believes in the importance of love and mutual respect.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00What made me realize that I miss Singapore was when I heard the Chinese New Year music.
00:06Gong xi gong xi gong xi di. Gong xi gong xi gong xi di.
00:11It just reminded me. That triggered a memory of how much I love Singapore.
00:21Hi, I'm Michael John. I'm 46 years old and I'm from the Philippines.
00:26My name is Michael John. I'm 46 years old and I'm from the Philippines.
00:31Actually, my Tagalog is Itiantian because I grew up in an international school.
00:37Sorry for the mispronunciations, my fellow Filipinos.
00:43Originally, my mom wanted to give birth to me in Singapore, but she got sick.
00:48And so while she was in the Philippines, the doctor said, you have to give birth here.
00:52And so my mom gave birth to me in the Philippines. And then a month later, we moved to Singapore.
00:57I went to a Chinese school. And so my first language besides English was Chinese.
01:03And then my second language was Japanese because all my playmates were Japanese.
01:08When I got older, my parents wanted me in an American system like the Philippines.
01:13And the possibility that we might move to Canada.
01:16And so after that, they had transferred me to Singapore American School.
01:21Growing up in that school, I had friends from Japan, China, the Middle East, India, Indonesia, America, England, Australia.
01:31And we learned to become friends, even though we couldn't speak the same language initially.
01:35It's not cool, but it was like a cool thing to talk about your country.
01:40It's like everyone was going through an identity crisis.
01:43And initially, I felt that I had to pretend to like the country that I'm from better than Singapore.
01:50And other people from other countries would do the same.
01:53But actually, I always loved Singapore as a kid.
01:56And when I came back here as an adult, it reminded me that I've always loved Singapore.
02:00I was going to school in Arkansas, John Brown University, and I studied psychology.
02:06And my first few jobs after that were in Ohio.
02:10I worked as a lifeguard. I was a part-time physical therapist.
02:13I was a recreation coordinator for the mentally disabled.
02:16I thought previously that I would live in America forever because that's usually the pattern that Filipinos do.
02:22Have 2.5 kids and a white picket fence, but that wasn't the case.
02:27During that time, I had an offer to be promoted in my company.
02:31And around that time, my senior pastor in Singapore, who used to be my youth pastor,
02:36invited me to being a youth pastor in Singapore because he wanted someone that could work with both expatriate and Singaporean cultures.
02:45So knowing me from before, he figured that I could cross different cultures and different worlds.
02:51And so I came to Singapore to see if I would possibly work here.
02:55And then I fell in love with Singapore and I said, this feels like home and I belong here.
03:00When I heard the song Gong Xi Gong Xi Gong Xi Ni,
03:03it reminded me of the times that I was invited as a child to different households to celebrate Chinese New Year.
03:09Even strangers like us and treating us like family.
03:13It reminded me of the amazing smells, the foods, the games.
03:18And then I felt like this is home.
03:21Working as a youth pastor, it was fun because I got to meet people from different cultures.
03:27And I had to adjust to different cultures because different cultures, you have to behave differently.
03:32And there's different forms of respect, different manners.
03:36After five years of being in Singapore, so I went back to the Philippines because my grandma was sick.
03:43So I went back to take care of her.
03:45I was initially thinking I'd only be there for three months, but then I ended up staying there for 10 years.
03:52I helped her in the family business.
03:54And I also would do part-time bodyguarding.
03:58And I was involved in a VIP bulletproof armor business while I was there.
04:03During the time when I was in the armor business, I started having an interest again in health.
04:10And so I remember that I grew up with a fitness instructor, which is my mom.
04:15She'd make sure we eat our vegetables, make sure we do our push-ups and our laps.
04:20One time when I had a love handle, my mom was like, what's that?
04:24I'm like, what's what? What's what?
04:29Fitness was always a part of my life.
04:31In spite of the many different jobs I have done, everything has led up to this.
04:35Working with people and wanting to help people grow, I find it as a fitness instructor.
04:40It's quite different from my job before as a youth pastor.
04:43But I enjoy that I can interact with a different kind of group of people.
04:48It's not just young people, it's old people, it's kids, it's teenagers.
04:52There's a diversity of people and also different races as well.
04:55So it's not just about fitness, but it's about helping each other, sharing life on life.
05:01So working as a fitness instructor now, I meet people from a wide variety of backgrounds, races and religion.
05:09And that's what I love about Singapore.
05:13I like going to places like Little India, Chinatown, Arab Street and also Kampong Glam.
05:21I do like coming to Little India very so often, a few times a month.
05:26Because they have things that are very interesting and I just love the atmosphere.
05:30It's just so different and I love the food, of course.
05:32The smells, the sights, the sounds.
05:34And seeing people dance as well. Sometimes I see them dancing, random on the street and random strangers joining in.
05:40So I find it very cool.
05:42Actually, it's quite fun to shop here.
05:44I have friends that are expats when they visit Singapore.
05:46I like to bring them to places like this.
05:48You get really good deals on material.
05:51The material is quite nicely made and it's not so pricey.
05:55I enjoy coming here, especially during the festivals.
05:58Whether it be Deepavali or even other festivals.
06:01Just to see them celebrate and interact with one another.
06:13Since I live around here, I'm here nearly every day.
06:17I like seeing especially during the time of festivities.
06:20Whether you do the fireworks, the lion dance, the dragon dance as well.
06:25Here the uncles like to play Chinese checkers or Chinese chess.
06:28It's fun to see them get happy or get angry.
06:31It's all a lot of fun and they'll be drinking coffee or drinking beer while doing it.
06:35It's every day that we see it.
06:37And then there'll be some cool uncles that will dance with the bird here.
06:41I like to try to dance with them for fun sometimes.
06:49One of the great things about Singapore is the microcosms of different cultures.
06:53Singapore is the only country that I know where you have all these cultures really close to each other.
06:59You can go to Little India and then a few MRT stops away you can go to Chinatown.
07:04Then from there you can go to Kampong Glam.
07:07Even though there are different festivals with people of Indian descent, Chinese descent or Malay descent.
07:13It's about relationships and connecting with other people.
07:16And that's what I enjoy.
07:18That is a commonality with all the different races in Singapore and all the different festivals celebrated.
07:23Even though we're all different, we're all the same in that we're all human beings and we all need to work together.
07:28In spite of race, culture or different religions, we all need one another.
07:33Same, same, but different. But same, same.
07:38Being in different countries, growing up and traveling a lot all my life.
07:44It made me realize that I cannot find a country like Singapore.
07:48It's only in Singapore that one can have this diversity and mix of people and they all get along.
07:55And we're all at peace with each other though we are different.
07:59Dear Younger Mike, this letter is from your future self.
08:03I want you to know that you are important in love no matter how different and weird you may be.
08:08I want you to know that love is the key.
08:11Loving yourself and loving others.
08:13Be open to people that you may deem different than you.
08:16Realize that every human being from different races and ethnicities are precious and worth loving and being understood.
08:23Learn from others as others will also learn from you.
08:26And find good-hearted mentors that treasure humans over material things.
08:31And you yourself must treasure people and relationships over material things.
08:35Remember to pursue peace in your heart and know that you can live a life free from fear.
08:41Defend the helpless and the weak and be a voice for the voiceless.
08:46Yours truly, Michael John Mercado Reyes.
08:53www.michaeljohnmercado.com