Before I left for Singapore, I was told that it was a very different culture than the US and that I should be aware of certain things that may be considered disrespectful in this country. Throughout my time here, I have been extremely cautious of my vocabulary and actions. However, most of the time, the locals here are familiar with people from the US and usually forgive small nuances that I may have done accidentally.
I unfortunately cannot think of a time where I had a complete ethical or cultural dilemma, but as mentioned in my previous blog entries, there are certain practices that are specific to Singapore that I found myself having to learn and adapt to cultural practices. I believe one of the most shocking experiences I've had was with dealing with the internal shuttle bus at NUS, as well as the MRT bus (public transport). I remember finding myself very frustrated that I could not seem to get on to a bus despite the fact that I had been waiting at the stop longer than most people had. There was one time that I had tried and failed on three separate occasions to get on to a bus that would take me to my classes. I got pushed and shoved aside by other students that wanted to board the bus as well; but after talking to some of my local friends, I found that it is quite normal and you have to somewhat maneuver yourself through the crowd in order to end up on a bus. I never once lost my cool or anything of that sort, but it definitely did shock me that lines were non-existent on campus. From this experience, I learned that it is best to follow the cultural norms here, otherwise I'd end up spending close to an hour waiting for a bus!
Another cultural practice that surprised me was the idea that to reserve a table, you have to place a packet of tissues on the table. I cannot even begin to fathom how many tables my friends and I essentially "stole" from locals at the packed hawker centres (these are locations that have EXTREMELY cheap local food inside these compartmentalized food stalls- similar to a food court). Unfortunately, we did not learn of this practice until orientation, which was approximately two weeks after we had arrived. It can get frustrating sometimes to spot an open table but to later see that someone placed a tiny pack of tissues in order to reserve it. However, instead of fighting the process and acting oblivious to this practice, my friends and I have joined in! So far, it has worked like a charm and we have no issues whatsoever with people taking our table.
I guess my main point of this blog is to say that sometimes it's best to adopt cultural practices here in order to better integrate with the community. It does not hurt to try new things! Although I am not used to nudging my way on to a bus, I still have tried to learn the ways of obtaining a spot! Additionally, I have not yet had a problem with a local judging me for changing to the Singaporean ways- in fact, my friends appreciate the effort and keep teaching me other Singapore-specific practices.