The aspirations of a Russian student.

Recently, I read a declaration by a Russian student over what she wanted most from life. She is studying English in Singapore but her remarks made me wonder whether studies were her true desire.

She wrote that she most wanted her parents to be healthy and to do well in her studies. That, I thought was reasonable enough, and expected. Then she wrote that she wanted to meet a rich Singaporean guy, marry him and spend her life, "shopping everyday for branded stuff". She topped this off with "I want to be a famous model."

The girl in question has a very high self-image, which has comic effects on her movement - she sashays around as if everyone has nothing better to do than to look at her. The funny thing is, they usually do look at her - but only to wonder why she is moving in such a strange way. The looks are not, I feel, in admiration of her appearance.

I have seen other things written by this girl. Her most frequently expressed desires are to "have lots of plastic surgery" and "to buy branded stuff". She lives entirely for image and seems to think that life actually consists of image - that that is the meaning of life, itself.

Considering her, I wonder how many other young foreign women, studying here, in Singapore, are actually here, not for their studies - but for the chance of capturing a "rich Singaporean guy" and occupying the rest of their days spending his hard-earned money on "branded stuff". In a way, I feel sorry for anyone who gets caught up with a girl like this. She is too shallow to give deep meaning to anyone's life - and will very quickly impoverish anyone she encounters.

There is a recent trend towards Singaporeans marrying overseas women and men. This is fine and should bring many interesting people into the world, of diverse background (assuming that they have children). However, I am a little concerned over the quality of the women concerned (and perhaps men, too...I haven't any information concerning them). Are many of them like this young woman with her fantasies of an earthly branded goods heaven? If so, then I fear for the future of Singapore - for surely the children of such a one can only promise more shallowness? Surely, she can only bring more empty-headed people into this world?

There needs to be an assurance of a certain level of sophistication in the migrants to Singapore, if Singapore is to maintain and enhance whatever sophistication it possesses, in the long-term. On the other hand, if the intention is to create a consumerist society with no deeper purpose than to shop (which seems to describe a lot of people in Singapore, actually) then this Russian acquaintance of mine is perfectly suited to the society in which she finds herself. Perhaps she will find a husband here who is delighted that she is so interested in Gucci, Cartier, and Bulgari (her top three brands according to her).

Perhaps it is all part of some cunning plan to boost the local economy: import hundreds of thousands of consumerist airheads to flood the local shops and buoy up the economy with their excessive purchases (or excessive demands on their boyfriends' pockets). Perhaps we should start shipping young Russian girls in by the cruiseliner load. It could do wonders for the local economy and its brand name stores.

Then again, such women could lead to a lot of unhappiness for local men, caught up in their consumerist whirl.

You have been warned.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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