Exploring New Cultures

I’ve spent about a month in Singapore now. There are definitely noticeable differences in cultures, such as the way classes are taught, how traditions are upheld, and how you order food. For example, the restaurants and canteens in Singapore typically close at 8 PM, so it encourages people to sleep early and wake up early. It was a shocking revelation when I tried to get dinner at 10 PM with friends, just to realize that none of the restaurants were open except for McDonalds and KFC. Local slang is a combination of Malay, Chinese, and English in every sentence. Thankfully, I’m in a group project in my software engineering class with all local Singapore students, so I can learn some slang from them. A large proportion of people in Singapore speak Chinese more fluently than English, so I find myself frequently using Chinese to order food on campus and downtown. Additionally, people in Singapore use military time and write their dates with month first, followed by the day and year.

There are even culture differences between exchange students. It took me some time to get used to introducing myself as a third-year student instead of a junior, calling it uni instead of college, quoting measurements in the metric system, detailing temperature in Celsius, saying football instead of soccer, and allowing the French faire la bise. Besides those, I’ve learned henna painting from visiting Little India with some Indian friends, how to play the French version of uno with French friends, gained some new German vocabulary from German friends, decided I will definitely have to visit Greece soon after talking to my Greek friends, picked up some slang from people I met from New Zealand, and taught other people how to use chopsticks when we visited Chinatown. Culture differences are what make each of us unique and makes my study abroad experience even more interesting since it feels like I’m actually exploring the world even though I’m primarily based in Singapore.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed my first month here. I might even be enjoying the freedom a little bit too much. My first two weeks, I went downtown every single day with friends exploring the museums, restaurants, hawker centers, street art, tourist attractions, Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, zoos, and gardens. I’ve participated in art classes here and I’m going to a hip-hop class this evening. I’ve signed up for a cooking class specializing on Thai dishes later this week as well. I’ve watched the Chinese New Year parade and fireworks. We’re planning trips to Bali for a weekend and Korea plus Japan for recess week. I’m also highly considering obtaining a scuba license during my time here. Can’t wait to explore new possibilities and visit more exciting places!