|
THE programme introduces Singapore as "one of the strictest societies in the world". The narrator says: "In Singapore, there are hefty fines for spitting, vandals are caned, and taking drugs can mean jail or even the death penalty."
So what did it do for Zaine and Memphis? It seems that when they got back, Zaine changed but Memphis did not.
Zaine, from Melbourne, and Memphis, from Hervey Bay, Queensland, had to spend a week with Ms Yeo, Mr Chua, and their two daughters, Ada and Esse, at their apartment in Nadia Mansions on Ah Hood Road in the Balestier area.
After the experience, Zaine started an automotive traineeship, and told his mother that he loved her.
According to the programme, he also started getting up earlier, and is now awake most mornings by 8am.
On the programme, he said: "I respect that Ada wants to get somewhere in life ... When I compare our lives I feel a bit outdone. It made me think I should probably do something with my life."
Memphis, on the other hand, is still partying and has zero respect for rules, reported The Daily Telegraph of Australia. She has moved out of her home.
Australian magazine Woman's Day reported in September that her mother, schoolteacher Michelle Taylor, 47, said: "Memphis didn't change. If anything, her bad behaviour was exaggerated... I think it was so strict over there that she came back and went wild."
'Crazy'
Memphis told her family: "They (Singapore parents) have real strict rules, and they go to school a lot. Never even said a swear word in their life. It's crazy over there."
She told Woman's Day: "The family (in Singapore) was very, very different (from mine). Their way of living shocked me. Their life sucks."
Zaine told his family: "The girls, they get up at six in the morning, and then they study and they go to school. Cos' they want to go to a good university. That's what everyone does there."
Zaine also felt that Singapore's was "not a fun culture".
He kept commenting that the hairstyle he had to have when he went to school looked "ridiculous" and "dorky".
Early on during their stay here, the two teens faced several difficulties in adjusting to life in Singapore.
In one part of the hour-long episode, the two accompanied the Chuas to distribute food to home-bound elderly in one-room flats under the Meals-on-wheels programme, which is a charity programme run by Touch Community Services.
They also visited hawker centres, Orchard Road, and spent a weekend at Sentosa. When Ms Yeo heard about how the teens are doing, she said: "I think that Memphis is still trying to find her direction. I also don't know what has happened after she went home."
"But I was very glad when I saw Zaine hug his mother."
She noted that even Memphis, the girl who had behaved wildly and violently in Australia, was very nice to Ada and Esse, even off-screen.
She said: "I was very realistic about not being able to change them. I don't think a week-long stay can be magical. It was simply too short a time.
"Our family also doesn't have a dramatic story that might move somebody to change. We're just a normal family.
"We just hope that we've sown some seeds, which other people can water in time. "I think we have a pretty good family life, and we wanted to show how we enjoy each other's company."
Ms Yeo was glad that she brought out the respectful side of the teens, which she found heartening.
"They both have good points, and just need the right environment to uncover it."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
| 
