Anyway, being here for almost 88 weeks (So Chinesely fortunate ah...) now, I thought of listing out some of the stuff really just make the studying experience in Singapore unique!(Particularly applicable for JC students...) These are the stuff that, for those who've studied in Singapore, as they think back of their time here, inevitably wander across these stuff. And here they are:
1. Queuing up - When a queue starts, ppl here just start adding on the queue, eager to discover the pot full of gold at the end of the queue, only to find the well-known Changi Village Nasi Lemak stall vendors at the end of the queue.
2. Typically local phrases/terms - e.g. "Wahlun leh!", "Siao ah", "Wah sian...", "Stun", "Stone", "Dao(ignore)", "Pon(teng)", "Sial lah!", "Lame ah you...!", replacement of "didn't" with "never"(I never called you leh...)...
3. Year-long sales - Yes, there is the Great Singapore Sale(GSS) but it didn't make much of a difference to me at all. Anytime of the year I walk into a shopping mall, there're bound to be sales... Giordano polos for $13 each fine print "min. of 2 pieces"; iPod promotion, trade-in any mp3 player and top-up for an iPod...
4. Meritocracy - all sorts of scholarships, talks, workshops, conferences, school events (Orientation Programme, Students' Council, CCA Exco) overseas trips (Overseas Community Involvement Project - OCIP, Youth Exchange Programmes - YEP) that require applicants to be the best among the applicants through stringent agreements and competitive interviews...
5. The constant reminders that "We are a small red dot"... "We lack natural resources/We have limited factor endowments"... "All we have is YOU - Labour"... "We are an open economy"...
Me likey this pic... Very cool...
6. Fancy, state-of-the-art gadgets being wielded by friends around the day after it is released in Singapore - e.g. iPod Touch, HTC Diamond, iPhone... Come this Friday, I'm sure I'll get to see the iPhone 2 the coming week. I'm sure the Singaporeanness will not fail to prove me right...
7. "Just For Laughs - Gags" on mobileTV on SBS Transit buses - Those practical jokes are hilarious at times. Needed to give the ever-busy, ever-serious Singaporeans a laugh to slow their lives down for those bus trips.
8. Excellent public transport service - Bus routes are well-connected, Iris comes in VERY handy many times(service that informs you when the next bus is arriving), and very many MRT journeys. And then there are the relatively cheap cabs.
9. Outings - Class outings, CCA outings, Cell Group outings, after church lunch outings, hostel friends outings... Phew... Social life here very different from before as no cars are needed to meet up. Just hop on a bus or flag down a cab and you're on your way!
"farewell" lunch for senior Wu Chean at Thaipan next to our hostel...
10. Health and fitness - You can never expect to NOT see someone jogging or cycling or just sweating out when you're out. Hmmm... Then again, it could be due to the humidity here that ppl are sweating like free...
I think I might mention some more once I think of more but... That's all for now. I think Singapore's a very blessed nation, (for those of you who are different in opinion, forgive me for saying this) most probably because of the passionate Christians here. I surely do NOT regret one bit coming here and every so often still thank God for bringing me here in the first place.
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