I’ve been in Singapore for almost two weeks now and I’m definitely feeling settled in.  I’ve found a nice group of friends and have met a bunch of new people.  Of course, the other Penn Staters here are the coolest!  People tell me Singapore is a weird place to study abroad and perhaps they’re right.  But I think the weirdest places often have the most to offer.  At the very least, weirder places attract weirder people, which is great if you’re looking to make some interesting friends.  So far, it has felt more like a vacation/summer camp than a study abroad, but with classes starting tomorrow it’s looking like that will change.  I’ll be taking four classes here, but rumor has it that they are more challenging than classes at American schools (ie they grade on a bell curve here).

                Two weeks probably isn’t enough to see most countries but Singapore is different.  Singapore is small.  Before I left, a few people asked me “Which country is Singapore in?” not realizing that Singapore is its own country, or a city-state as it is often called.  This isn’t to say I have seen the whole city by any stretch, but I’ve certainly seen a lot.  My first impression it that for such a nice country, it is really a shame how little Americans seem to know about it.  The only thing most of my friends seem to know about Singapore is that you can’t chew gum here (which isn’t completely true- but more on that in another post).  Southeast Asia has a reputation for being unsafe and poor, but Singapore is actually the complete opposite.  I think most Americans would be surprised to learn that Singapore is safer, cleaner, richer, and, in my opinion, nicer than almost any American city I’ve visited.  This wasn’t the case fifty years ago, but the amount of progress Singapore has made over the past half century is nothing short of astounding.

                The country’s infrastructure and small size makes it very easy to travel around.  The public transportation system of busses and trains will take you anywhere in the city for a couple of dollars, and all of us exchange students have been taking advantage of that almost daily.  Singapore has all of the things a typical city has- the harbor, the financial district, China Town, etc, and over the past few weeks I have at least seen the main attractions at each site.  Some highlights so far have been the food, zoo, nature hikes, downtown, and National Day.

               National Day is Singapore’s equivalent to July 4^th in America.  It seemed as if almost all five million people in the city came downtown to watch.  My school books a prime location at the harbor every year for “Rag Day,” where all of the school faculties put on performances with floats, videos, and choreography.  Afterwards, we have some of the best seats in the city to watch fireworks and the rest of the festivities.  Conveniently timed only a few days before classes, National Day was a great way to have some fun and learn about Singaporean nationalism and culture before the semester begins.

Yes, there is a boat on top of those buildings.

Location: Singapore, Singapore