Seriously, Canadians have to stop looking like the squirrels that rule their backyards when they find out I’m Singaporean and speak English.

When my sister first told me that some Canadians think Singapore is a province in China, I laughed and seriously thought she was joking. Turns out, she wasn’t.

I have had countless Canadians ask me, “Where did you learn to speak such good English?�

English is our first language. And possibly the only language I’ll ever be able to speak decently. Singapore is not a province in China, but a nation-state in South East Asia, right at the tip of Malaysia (where you find lots of pirated goods) and above Indonesia (where you go for cheap massages).

I’ve only met one Canadian who upon hearing his friend comment about my British accent (I didn’t even know I had one) said, “Oh yeah, those darn British. Colonized Singapore.�