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Week 1 of my project I decided that I'd shoot some scenes of Campbell Lane in Little India, to try my hand at Vlogging to document my own Little India Journey. I was admittedly an amateur at filming myself speaking to the camera, and I must have seemed rather unconfident and unsure as I went along. However I did have an big microphone mounted on my camera, giving off an air of professionalism which must have prompted Sid to ask me as I walked past his shop: "are you a YouTuber?".
A little embarrassed at the question, I hesitantly responded "yes". ( I have a YouTube channel after all, but I wasn't the type of YouTuber he was probably referring to). Out of embarrassment I began to share with him details of my project, throwing out big names like the National Arts Council and Indian Heritage Centre to dampen what in my own head was his glorious perception of my YouTube channel, filled with videos reaching millions of views featuring a confident me sharing my amazing travels with the whole world.
Sid proceeded to be incredibly warm and welcoming, and began to show me around his shop named 'Singapore Indian Handloom'. Over the course of the project I probably met up with Sid the most out of all my participants. Besides his shop being located right below the where my office was, he was also always welcoming and eager to chat and catch up with me.
The friendship I have with Sid is something I am incredibly grateful for, and he has made me feel so much more welcomed, accepted, and integrated into the Little India community.
By Neil Chan
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