Uniquely Singapore

"S. I N. G A P O R E."
"Singapore! Jia You!" ("Go Singapore!")

For being a 26 mile wide island country, Singapore has a ridiculous amount of national pride. I got here just in time for National Day on Aug 9th--photo with Yin Jin (a fellow badger!) at right--which includes a festive parade and fireworks show (video I took of the fireworks, sorry it's not rotated). There's also a National Day Parade theme song each year, and it's been in my head ever since hearing it over and over again on the buses. Check it out: Shine for Singapore. The singer is Hady Mirza, the winner of Singapore Idol.
We also soaked up some Singapore pride at the Olympic table tennis finals on the 17th with a bunch of locals. Singapore won their first medal in 48 years! It was a silver one, and much deserved after seeing how fierce the Chinese are at ping pong. I even got in the news (well, sort of): Channel News Asia. I think we were the only group of non-Singaporeans and we were sitting in the front, so the news stations were all like, "What are you guys doing here? Do you like table tennis? What do you think of Singapore? Is table tennis big back home?" Anyway, I've been here for about 2 weeks and I'm already sold on the Singapore Spirit.

And so far I've found Singapore to be a very livable city. The weather has taken a bit of getting used to (and lots of water), but people are really helpful when you ask for help and it's so easy to get around by bus, train, or taxi. Mostly everything is written in English, but Chinese, Malay, and Tamil are also official languages. I still have a lot to discover. I did some walking around by myself the first few days because I had some free time... and because I had to go to the Immigration Checkpoint Authority twice and spend hours waiting for my student pass. There are a lot of temples, churches, and mosques, and some cultural areas like Little India and Chinatown. Singapore is definitely rich with tradition, but there's also a lot of Western influence here. There are tons of typical clubs and restaurants downtown, and stores like 7/11, Starbucks, and Burger King are pretty common. Check out the Bhangra dance a student group performed at our welcome tea: video clip on youtube.

Right before school started, a group of us went to Tioman Island in Malaysia, which is a cute little touristy (but still pretty secluded) spot about a 2 hour ferry ride from Mersing on the Southern Peninsula. The beaches were nice and the water was so clear and refreshing (and salty!). It was a good place to chill out before we started classes.

And then classes began (on the 11th)... dun dun dun... I'm taking four business classes here, and I think they'll be pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to tutorials starting next week because then I can get to know more people in my classes. So far I've met a ton of exchange students (there are 900 of us in all, from Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Croatia, France, China, you-name-it), but I hope I can meet some more Singaporeans.

And the dorm is pretty cool! I was so lucky to get housing on campus; most exchange students didn't get any and have had to find apartments off-campus. There are two food courts, a cafe, a minimart, basketball and tennis courts, and a snack hut all within my dorm that houses 2800 students!

So I'm pretty settled. I can find my way around the island pretty well, I know where to find the best food (pretty much anywhere, haha), and my dorm room is all decked out with a Singapore flag, some pictures from home, and of course a plant. I couldn't find a Singaporean plant, but this one from IKEA will do in the meantime :) Now I just have to study, I guess... or start getting my travel plans together!

Here are my first three photo albums:
and i thought AUSTIN was hot - SG 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2426753&l=4a12b&id=8605287
trip to tioman! - SG 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2429816&l=d9a9e&id=8605287
getting settled in singapore - SG 3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2432953&l=447dc&id=8605287

Some neat differences I've noted so far:
1.) The use of umbrellas when it's not raining--to keep the sun off! I was confused at first when I saw people walking with umbrellas and the sun was shining as bright at could be. Pretty smart though, because the mix of humidity and scorching sun is killer.

2.) The food. Food is so good and so inexpensive. At a food court or on campus, for S$2.00 (about $1.50) you can get rice and two to four veggie dishes... and no tipping at any restaurants. However, there is a significant lack of cheeeeeese. ;)

3a.) Ladies Night. On Wednesdays ladies pay no cover charge at a lot of clubs and get FREE drinks! Just don't share with a guy because they can get escorted out on the first offense.
3b.) Drinks not on Ladies Night. They cost about S$15. Yikes! I even paid S$10 for a bottle of water at a bar one night.

4.) McDonald's. I had to mention it. We've been once, and we ordered delivery the other night, too. Yup, McDonald's delivers. 24-7. We ordered breakfast at 4am after getting home from the bars and our McMuffins and McGriddles arrived around 4:45. Also, McDonald's and other fast food restaurants are popular hangouts because most fast food places have wireless internet.

5.) Coffee. The green tea is great, but coffee is a little different. The first time I asked for a coffee the lady wanted to know if I wanted it "black or white?" On campus I ordered a black coffee and found a layer of sugar on the bottom! Most people here drink coffee with milk and sugar, so I think black coffee automatically has the sugar in it.

6.) The internet... It's not the same! I can't access GoogleMaps, and I was trying to listen to some radio stations or watch MTV videos online, and they aren't accessible due to copyright laws. I'm attempting a work-around...

7.) The foliage. There are so many crazy plants, trees, and flowers here! I love plants, so I was in heaven at the Botanic Gardens. I still have more exploring to do there including the Orchid Garden.

8.) The vocab. Here's some sweet new words I've learned:
top-up = to add value, as in "I need to top-up my prepaid phone so I can SMS all my friends," or "I better top-up my EZ Link (transportation card) so I can take the MRT home."
alight = exit, as in "Please alight the bus from the rear," or "If you are transferring to another MRT line, please alight at the next station."
lift = an elevator, of course!

Oh yeah, 9.) The WEATHER. Pretty much a constant 85-feels-like-95 during the day and 75-feels-like-85 at night. It's actually not that bad, though, and most buildings are air conditioned.