Arab Street

Singapore is about as multicultural as a country can get, and earlier this week I checked out another new part of town: Arab Street. Arab Street is home to the the islands Muslim population, and was really, really cool! I think it was so amazing because it was something I had never experienced before. You can find chinatowns all over the United States, but I this Arab area was like something out of the movies. The first thing we saw upon turning down the street was the Sultan Mosque.

We weren't allowed inside, but as you can see, the outside is gorgeous! It was built using contributions form the local muslim communities, such as glass bottles for the windows. Next we walked along the main road, and I was in shopping heaven!

There were stalls upon shops upon shops of scarves, fabrics, jewelry, perfumes, and more! I seriously wanted to buy every pashmina I saw. It helps that everything is super cheap! I didn't buy anything, but I plan on going back for scarfs and possibly for some custom perfumes. 

To finish off the afternoon we ate dinner at an Arab restaurant called Zam Zam. I ordered beef Murtabak and Ginger tea. Both were new to me and both were delicious!! I guess it is customary in Arab cultures to eat cucumbers with ketchup? They brought it too our table and I was really skeptical, but it wasn't bad. I couldn't really get over the fact that I was eating cucumbers with ketchup though, so I only had one.

Culture Shock: My First Impressions

I've officially been in Singapore for 5 days and have already seen so much! I am constantly feeling torn between needing to study and sleep and wanting to go see all of the amazing sights Singapore has to offer. Like I was warned, Singapore is a very westernized city. However, there are some major differences between this large city and the cities and people of the United States. Here are some of the major differences this far:

• It is so hot and humid! I feel like I am living in a tropical rainforest, and I kind of am. Everything in my room is constantly damp (gross, I know)
• Food is super cheap is you eat at the food courts, which are really nice and not like American food courts at all. I regularly eat lunch and dinner for under S$4 at nice "hawker center"/food court place where you can choose from a variety of Asian dishes at different stations. There is even a "western" station where you can get fish and chips, and pizza!
• Restaurant food is super expensive! I ate at a lebanese place where the prices were S$22 per entree! I have yet to find the in between.
• American Brand toiletries are BEYOND expensive. Pantene shampoo is S$10 and Revlon Lipstick is S$15! Sunscreen is the worst though, your typical Neutrogena spray sunscreen is S$25 a can!!! Good thing I brought exorbitant amounts of sunscreen with me.
• Southern hospitality definite does not exist in Singapore! The people are by no means rude, but there is a mindset of being afraid to loose, known as "kiasu". People do not wait for those exiting (or "alighting" as they in Singapore) to get out of the Subway car before entering. It is so weird! They are literally so afraid of getting left behind that they get into the subway car before people even have chance to exit! Now obviously not everyone does this. But the mindset is evident throughout Singapore.
• You have probably heard that Singapore is very clean, and this is definitely true. You get fined S$5000 for eating on the subway or in the station! There is not very much littering, but I have seen people picking up litter on the streets as a profession.

There are many other differences that I notice everyday. However, overall Singapore is a very livable place for a western English speaker. There are obvious barriers with culture and language, but most people know enough English to understand what I am talking about when I order food (whether I have any idea what I am ordering is another story) or am looking to get back to campus in a taxi. Singapore itself is so multicultural, I think people are used to a few barriers here and there.

Where I'm Living in Singapore

For my time here in Singapore I'll be staying in the Prince George's Park Residences on the Campus of the National University of Singapore. I have my own room and bathroom and I am living on a floor with 12 other girls from the SEAS trip. My room is pretty nice, however there seems to be a bug infestation that is less than thrilling.

my room

The PGP Residences have very nice amenities. There is a mini super market and four places to eat right here in our dorm community. This is very different from UNC because there, we have two dining halls for the entire school! US SEAS participants were lucky because we are living in one of the only two air conditioned buildings in the residence, and there are 6 buildings! I don't know how the other students live without air conditioning! It is so hot! I would probably insist on being shipped back to America, or sleeping in the library, if I didn't have AC (or as they call it in Singapore, air con).

the Prince George's Park complex

Chinatown

On Wednesday afternoon I went to Chinatown with some other members of the SEAS group! We took the MRT (which is the Singapore Subway) from campus straight into street stalls and a massive food court. After briefly watching an older Chinese man sing a folk song while also playing multiple instruments, we went to look for some food. I settled on some dumplings because it was one of the only dishes I recognized, but they were very tasty.

Then we set off do so some shopping! First we walked into a large indoor mall. There were a lot of Chinese stores inside, but it was not we were expecting Chinatown to be like. We walked down the streets outside of the main courtyard where the food and mall were and found many more Chinese shops and restaurants, but it was by accident that we saw the real heart of chinatown. Down a small side street with lanterns hanging from above were tons of street vendors, selling chinese clothes, shoes, and trinkets. There were also really cool carved chopsticks, paintbrushes, and decorative stamps. There was so much to look at; we didn't even see all of it! I ended up buying a pretty green pashmina scarf for only three Singapore dollars! It was overall definitely a cool place to see and a great place to get some souvenirs. I will probably be going back to do some more shopping.

Jurong Bird Park

The goal for day one in Singapore was too keep us awake for as long as possible (all day) so that we would adjust to jet lag faster. Therefore, it was a busy day! After going receiving the keys to our rooms and eating our first Singaporean meal at the "e-canteen" in our residence area, we headed off to the Jurong Bird Park!

I know what you must be thinking, what is a bird park? I thought it was some big park where a lot of birds lived, and I guess I was kind of correct. It turns out that a bird park is like a Zoo, but with only birds! There were all kinds of birds, from swans to pelicans to peacocks and beyond! The Southeast Asian bird exhibit was my favorite. It was very extensive and most of the birds I had never seen before. Such as these:

Later we stopped in on the Birds of Prey. The Bald Eagle could obviously sense that we were Americans, because he was posing for us the entire time.

We also saw the penguins being fed...

... and the largest man-made waterfall in an aviary (It kind of looks like I've been trekking through a rainforest doesn't it?).

In typical Singaporean fashion, the park was extremely clean and pleasant. We saw people power washing the dirt off the sidewalks, sweeping the leaves away (as you can imagine, this requires lots of work in an outdoor area), and separating the recycling from the trash in the trash cans! This public bathroom was spotless (a more than impressive feat for an amusement park public restroom) and even came complete with its own nature backdrop!

After the bird park we went to a nearby mall to get necessities. It was HUGE! The biggest mall I have ever seen and I didn't even see all of it. After all of that I was more than ready to get some rest when we got back!

Smooth Sailing

Well not actually... during the flight to Frankfurt and to Singapore I experienced some of the worst turbulence ever! However it would only be for short periods, and on a 12 hour flight, 5 minutes just doesn't seem very long.

Overall, the flights were much better than I expected. I was on the Singapore Airlines A380, which is the largest passenger airplane in the world! It is a double decker, and I was on the second story! I was lucky enough to get an aisle seat. Additionally I was in the first row of my section, which meant while I couldn't keep my carryon luggage in front of me at all times, I got plenty of legroom.

The A380 before take off in JFK

I was so impressed with the airlines! All of the flight attendants were wearing long, tight, blue dresses with an oriental print on them. They also had their hair up in fancy buns and chignons and were wearing red lipstick and full makeup. It has got be to difficult to look that nice for the entirety of a 12 hour flight!

The Singapore Airlines flight attendants 

Even though we were in Economy, we were treated very well. We received hot towels at the beginning of each flight and whenever was deemed "morning". We all got nice blankets and pillows, socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and headphones (the comfy kind) for our own personal entertainment system that was complete with games, music, movies, TV, and tons of other features like city guides and a "learn a language" app. We were fed two meals on each leg of the flight and they were superb! I had everything from fish to steak to funny egg noodles, and it was all great! I hardly ever felt hungry.

I tried to stay awake for the entire flight to Germany so that I could sleep as much as possible on the flight to Singapore. My plan worked for the most part, although I was still exhausted when we stepped off the plane in both locations.

The airport in Frankfurt was ver similar to airports in the United States, the only thing different was that people were speaking German and the Euro was used. The airport in Singapore felt different. Everything was very clean and colorful, and there were plants everywhere! I felt like I was stepping in to a tropical rainforest!

Singapore Changi Airport

Singapore Changi Airport