Anyway, I digress.
January in Review!
(Australia Day at Altitude)
It's hard to believe that I have already been here for over half a month, but at the same time I've grown a little accustomed to living in Singapore already. Thinking back to when I arrived the second week of January, I had a lot of expectations for what Singapore would be like. Some turned out to be true, and some weren't.
One of the biggest expectations I had for Singapore were the extensive list of rules and laws here. While it is illegal to do many things (chewing gum in public, jaywalking, eating or drinking on public transportation, ect.) a lot of these things are not actively enforced across the country. This is most likely due to a lack of personel to actually regulate a dense population in accordance to all of the laws that are in place. That being said, many still follow these rules and hold others to them. (Except I've seen quite a lot of jaywalking.) (But I mean I would never do it. Please don't cane me.) The severity of the punishments seems to keep the laws in place without using active enforcement (there are cameras everywhere, but I've only seen the police twice). As a result though, the city is very clean, and that is something that was surprising and rather refreshing. However, clean doesn't mean "completely devoid of litter" just as many of the signs around the city say "Low crime doesn't mean no crime".
The nightlife here is another thing that I had heard a lot about. It is a common occurrence especially with the student population of Singapore to go out on the town on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. There are many different clubs and bars that provide wonderful social venues for everyone to meet up, have fun, and relax together winding down from the weeks work. The bars and clubs vary in type, location, and focus, but it's hard to go wrong if you're anywhere near the bay on any of those nights. A lot of student interaction happens in these locations, the more popular clubs are a place where you can run into many people that you've met at the school that you wouldn't normally be in class with or get meals with on a semi-regular basis. Let me know if you want more details about the hotspots to hit up while you are here, I'd love to help you out. (1-Altitude still remains to be my favorite.)
When studying abroad, a lot of people tell you to research the country you are about to go to. And while that is a good idea, I would like to mention that doing this will not prepare you for actually living there. My recommendation to anyone studying abroad in a new country, talk to someone who lives there or has been there for an extended period of time, this will give you a lot more applicable information than any website could. That being said, there are a lot of things you just have to pick up on the fly once you arrive, and they come quickly. People are understanding here too (especially if you're as white as I am) and will sometimes even be surprised when you can understand a little bit of Singlish or pick up quickly on some of the mannerisms.
(The city is preparing for Chinese New Year!)
A majority of my time this month has been getting to know the city that I'm living in, adjusting to the very different class/school system, and getting settled in Singapore. In the coming month, I will be diving into a little more strenuous school work, so you can expect to hear about that. Chinese New Year is also coming this next month, so that should be exciting. In addition in February I will begin traveling around Southeast Asia, starting with Kuala Lumpur and Thailand. So look forward to some more travel posts coming soon!
That's all for now! Until next time!
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