A Semester in Singapore @SMU!
Living in Singapore and attending Singapore Management University for four months has been nothing short of incredible. Coming in having only visited Asia once, I was uncertain whether I would be able to adapt but quickly found that it was not an issue with the unique blend of East and West cultures. Singapore has a mix of expats and local residents of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Eurasian descent. This translates to signs in English and seeing colonial architecture, as well as Buddhist temples and cultural neighborhoods such as Chinatown and Little India! Some of the highlights of living in Singapore include:
Food
Singapore has a wide variety of cuisines, from locally cooked dishes to Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, and Western cuisines! Some of my favorites have been Nasi Lemak (a Malay dish with sambal/chili paste, eggs, cucumber, otak-otak, coconut rice, and fried chicken) and Kaya toast (toast, butter, and kaya (coconut jam) with coffee and soft-boiled eggs (so simple but so delicious)! Food is also relatively affordable depends on whether it's from a Hawker center (inside one of the many city malls) or in a higher-end restaurant. Prices range anywhere from $5 SGD-$40SGD per meal at a restaurant, but fine dining can be much more!
Travel
One of the best things about living in Singapore is the proximity to other Southeast Asian countries. During this semester I've been able to travel to Malaysia, which is a 5-6 hour bus ride from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. During recess week, I went to Thailand for 9 days. Along with this, I visited Vietnam, Taiwan, and East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. If you are able, I would definitely recommend taking longer trips to these places. A weekend doesn't do them justice! If I had to replan my courseload, I would take more classes on Tuesday/Wednesday to have more flexibility in traveling. Also, it is relatively easy to travel to countries in Southeast Asia without breaking the bank due to the currency differences!
Sightseeing/Exploring
Singapore has tons of beautiful and modern sites. Places like Marina Bay, the daily light shows at Gardens By the Bay, the futuristic ArtsScience museum, that can all be explored in under a week. Along with this, there are neighborhoods that are quite interesting such as Haji Lane/Arab Street, Joo Chiat Road (featuring Peranakan shophouses). These are worth exploring as well.
Friendliness of locals
SMU students tend to keep to themselves, but are friendly once you get to know them! Local students have shown me around, eaten meals with me, given me tips, and so on. Definitely try to get to know them via group projects and school CCA's (extracurricular activities, there's a club fair at the beginning of every semester)! Some of my favorite CCA's include the kayaking club. We got to kayak off the coast of Singapore and see Malaysia and the surrounding islands. Trekking club where we saw monkeys. Cycling club where we got to see some of the more remote areas of Singapore! Locals mainly use the app Telegram to communicate club updates as well as a messaging app.
Healthcare
Singapore's healthcare system, among other things, is efficient. When I've had to walk into the SMU clinic, located in the tunnels connecting all the buildings. I've picked a timeslot, come back, and seen the doctor for ~10 minutes. Then, I receive medicine on the same trip. I will definitely miss this efficiency back in the states.
Transportation
Singapore's public transportation is centered on MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), busses, and LRT (smaller, and only in some areas). It is efficient and the trains/busses are fairly clean. Fare is prorated by distance and not a set fee, so you must tap your metro card/credit card in and tap out at the destination. Otherwise, you'll be charged for the entire bus route! Since public transportation stops at midnight, it's good to have other backup options such as Grab (Uber of Southeast Asia, used in other countries as well), CDG taxi, and Gojek. I've found that Gojek is usually cheaper but it's easier to get Grabs.
Safety
Something I will definitely miss about Singapore is how safe it is. I found some of the areas considered unsafe in the city by locals, feel far safer at night than in US cities. At all hours of the morning, there are still people walking about! In Geylang specifically, I will miss having food readily available late at night.
Diversity
Out of about 400 exchange students at SMU this semester, 75% of the student body was from Europe! This was super interesting, as I expected there to be an equal mix of people from Europe and the Americas. People from America/Canada only made up about 9% of the student body. So, I was able to meet people from around the world and learn about different life experiences.
