Having a curious liking for wearing his glasses upside down – behind the nape of his neck – is just one of YG’s many quirks that make him such an endearing personality. Hailing from Taishan, Henan China, YG was previously employed in a wine-processing factory, located just 600m from his house, before coming to Singapore to work as a construction worker. Since coming to Singapore, he has developed a number of unusual passions – like walking.

While YG frequents climbing a mountain in his native village of Taishan, there are unfortunately no “real” mountains here in Singapore. Still, YG is happy to make do with the many parks and community gardens in Singapore. On one occasion, he walked the full length from HealthServe’s Geylang Clinic to Bishan, for a simple reason – he was “bored”. As he walks, YG does not simply zone out, but is an avid observer who pays close attention to his surroundings. He recounts to us the sight of Hindu devotees circumambulating around an iron cauldron full of incense sticks at midnight, which proves to be such a novel sight that he cannot “un-forget” it. After all, there are no Hindu temples in China, so the plethora of “curious-looking” temples in Singapore must be intriguing.

While YG is currently seeking shelter with HealthServe for a workplace injury, he plans to return to Singapore again – this time to learn English. “Singapore is such a conducive environment for learning English”, he claims, and he wants to maximize his next stint in Singapore by picking up a new language.

YG, we thank you for showing us what it is like to find joy in everything and to never stop learning!

– written by Yong Han Poh.