SINGAPORE - Landing in Singapore with
nothing but his smartphone and the clothes on his back, Martin Pasquier was
bombarded by many Singaporeans offering to help via social media.
Armed with three Chinese phrases, the
Frenchman was in Singapore from February 9 to 15 as part of a cross-city
experiment created to test the goodwill of people through social media.
Mr Pasquier was one of two participants
involved in the "Can Man Live on Social Media Alone?" experiment.
Intrigued by the notion of surviving on social
media alone and curious about Singapore, he volunteered for the experiment.
He was tasked with relying on the goodness of
Singaporeans throughout his one week stay. His counterpart, Singaporean Daphne
Chui, was to survive under the same requirements in London.
Over the seven days Mr Pasquier was in town,
his Facebook page, Can Man Live on Social Media Alone? (#CanManLondon), was
filled with accommodation offers, invitations for lunch, and for dinner.
Many of his fans on Facebook admired his
bravery at taking up the experiment while others simply wanted to meet up for a
chat.
"Hi Martin! Ur real brave doing this! My
friend and I can provide you dinner in Orchard Road tomorrow around
8:30-8:45pm. Facebook message me if you need dinner!", wrote Dianne Choo.
Mr Pasquier, 28, was so impressed by Singaporeans
generosity, graciousness and willingness to help he has changed his view on
travelling, and connecting with foreigners.
In an interview with AsiaOne, he said:
"Here (Singapore), people are very kind and I have no reason to be
paranoid. When they offer something it was genuine and not in any way a scam.
"I met like 4 or 5 really great people
with whom I could interact with for hours without feeling like a total
stranger," he revealed.
He added that he felt inspired to show the
same graciousness and openness to foreigners when he travels back to France.
Amongst those who offered the lone traveller
help is Jed Senthil K Jivaraju - a budding actor. Mr Jivaraju, who is also a
public servant, said he was eager to help Mr Pasquier out.
Mr Pasquier stayed in Mr Jivaraju's four-room
HDB flat in Potong Pasir for one night, after which they went out to have a
local breakfast consisting of toast and half-boiled eggs at a coffee shop.
"My intentions were simple. If I were to
be in London I would hope people would be kind to me and I wanted to do the
same," he said.
"I wanted to be a good host in
Singapore," he added.
In addition to ensuring they have food and
lodging each day, Mr Pasquier was given daily challenges, which were posted on
their Facebook walls. The tasks were mainly charitable in nature and designed
to help raise awareness around specific causes within the cities.
One task included helping non-government
organisation, The Soup Kitchen, prepare and distribute food to needy families
living in Little India.
Describing it as one of the highlights of his
trip, Mr Pasquier said it gave him an opportunity to see a different side of
Singapore.
"I was allowed to see the poorest
conditions in Singapore, which I would not have seen if it was not for the
challenge."
At the end of the three-hour task, he
commented on his Facebook profile page: "Industrial Soup Kitchen! 3h, 15
good people from as many countries, 100 meals!"
Promising to return to Singapore, Mr Pasquier
wrapped up his trip, bade farewell to his 737 Facebook fans and left Singapore
Thursday night after a jam-packed week.
Angelina Dass
AsiaOne
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment