First Impressions

Wow. The second week of classes is about to begin and it has been a whirlwind of excitement, entertainment, and enjoyment. From the second I landed on the plane I have been amazed with how clean and beautiful this place is.

Changi Ariport

On my flight from Hong Kong to Singapore, more than half of the flight consisted of exchange students, which was a cool way to meet some people. I met up with some other UNC students and other exchangers who were also going to Residential College 4, our dormitory for the semester. When we finally landed and got to NUS, it was probably 3am and there was no one in sight, but we were in awe of how amazing the campus looked. It actually looked like I was at a resort, and it still does!

The next couple of days consisted of meeting probably one thousand other exchange students (I’m exaggerating, but still) and doing so many things at once. We met up with a host buddy, Yong, who actually studied abroad at UNC a couple of years ago! So, he showed us around, took us to the aquarium on Sentosa Island (for free) and took us out for the night.

So far, I am in love with the city and its people. Everyone is extremely nice here (although sometimes a bit to reserved). Singapore is so diverse and many people have different kinds of English accents which is cool. The main canteen that I eat in has different stalls of Indian, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Chinese food all in one place. What is hilarious is that they have a “Western” stall as well, but none of the food is even remotely close to what we eat! But anyway, even when I am walking around the city, I do not really feel like a minority. Out of the 5 million people in Singapore, 2 million are foreign. There are so many international people in the city which I find really cool; it is literally one of the most diverse hubs in the world.

The city is so clean. I feel like I can eat off of the sidewalk and be fine…but not really. They really know how to create such hustle and bustle without taking away the greenery of the country. For example, New York, the “Concrete Jungle,” is amazing but really has no greenery save for Central Park. In Singapore, there are just trees everywhere, even inside or on top of buildings. You can be right in front of the tallest building in the city but be next to a ton of trees.

The more I am here the more I hear how awesome Singapore is. For example, apparently they have the best water filtration system in the world? At first, they had to import their water from Malaysia because they had none of it on their tiny island. Then, they realized that they needed to do something about it so created a large investment for clean water in the country. Now, which is extremely ironic to me, they are shipping their clean water to Malaysia!

So far, I have been to Sentosa beach, Marina Bay, Chinatown and Vivo City. On a city tour, we visited Arab Street, the Masjid Sultan Mosque at Arab Street, Bugis Street, Haji Lane, the Hindu and Buddhist Temple at Waterloo Street, and St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Singapore's Public Library, and the Esplanade.

16-story public library

Sri Krishnan Temple on Waterloo Street

Inside the Hindu Temple

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in Waterloo Street

Inside the Buddhist Temple

Haji Lane

Masjid Sultan Mosque

Part of Bugis Street

It might sound like a lot, but it’s just a really small portion of Singapore. Thankfully on all of these adventures I have yet to get fined, caned, or arrested. Let’s hope that trend continues, eh? I am going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next week to celebrate Thaipusam, a Hindu festival where devotees undertake a pilgrimage to mark Pusam's (the name of a star) highest point throughout the year. Should be great!