Hello everyone! I have been here for a little over three weeks and have experienced so much excitement that I cannot simply express it in words. I arrived to the National University of Singapore (NUS) at the end of July and was greeted by a student that currently attends NUS. She helped me find my way back to the university and aided with my check-in process. NUS provided me with housing in their newest addition to campus called University Town, or UTown for short. UTown hosts academic based programs, such as the University Scholars Program, in these residence halls. Each hall appears to have a theme to it, similar to how Thurston Hall is broken up into floors based on academic interests. I currently reside in the Graduate Residences, which is a large high-rise building that provides an excellent view of some of the many buildings of Singapore. The picture in this post is the view from my room on the eighteenth story. I have three suitemates that share the bathroom and living room area; I was delighted to learn that my suitemates are all from different places in the world. They are all seniors; one is from Sweden, another is from Canada, and the last one is from France. So far, it has been a great joy to learn about their cultures and what daily life is like for each of them back home. We talk about anything from stereotypes to healthcare and education systems in their home states. Another added bonus is that each day, I get a mini-lesson on the Swedish language!
Before classes started this past week, I spent a majority of my time exploring and getting to know the area. The first two adjectives that pop in to my mind when I think of the name ‘Singapore’ are clean and safe. The crime rate is close to zero, and I have yet to see a single piece of trash littering the grounds. Also, the rumor IS true: chewing gum in Singapore is illegal. However, there is a copious amount of breath mints available! One can get around Singapore via public transportation, called the MRT. The MRT is extremely similar to the Metro; however, it also has many rules that the Metro does not have or enforce as strictly. For instance, no one on the MRT is allowed to eat or drink, even while waiting at the station. Failure to comply could result in a hefty fine of up to $500 Singapore dollars (SGD). There are cameras as well as station managers that help to enforce this rule, although I have yet to see someone attempt to eat or drink while on the MRT. Additionally, there is reserved seating for those that are elderly, pregnant, injured, or carrying infants. For the most part, people are willing to give up their seats to anyone that falls under any of those categories. The locals here also are extremely helpful and will provide you with any assistance necessary.
As mentioned before, my first week of official classes began this past week. The process of obtaining classes is very different than in the US. At GW, we normally would wake up around the start time of registration and punch in course numbers to obtain the classes we would like. After talking to some locals, I found out that they obtain courses through a bidding system. This means that each semester, the students are allocated a certain number of points and they have to disperse the points based on their necessity for the class. Then, the office will determine the cutoff for the number of bid points necessary to obtain a seat in the class, and everyone with bid points higher than that cutoff will be provided a seat, at the cost of the cutoff number. As an exchange student, I did not have to go through this process. I did, however, have to go through the add/drop process, which was somewhat stressful. There are only a handful of seats open to certain classes for exchange students, and if the class is full then there is no chance of obtaining a spot in the course. Originally, I had four courses registered. Upon examination of the course times and exam schedule, I found out I had conflicts in both course times and exam schedules, so I had to drop a couple of classes and add new ones. Eventually I ended up with courses that I am sure I would enjoy. We also have to register for a tutorial session, which is similar to a discussion or recitation session. Thus, each week, I have roughly three hours of formal instruction per class. My classes include: Rice, Spices and Trees: Peasants of Southeast Asia, Gender and Society of South Asia, Introduction to Theatre and Drama, and Pre-modern Japan: History and Culture.
The course instruction itself was a lot of fun! My classes are all very small (20-30 people), with the exception of Intro to Theatre. The tutorials are apparently even smaller, with half the class being in one of the two sessions. The one thing I did notice is that the local students thoroughly enjoy interacting with the professor and asking questions; participation is very prominent in these classes, despite the time of day it is offered. However, the discussions were insightful, and I was able to learn a lot more than what a textbook could teach me. The students also were studying in the library on the first week of classes; back at GW, I normally would not be there until a few weeks in to the semester. Some of the local students I conversed with claimed that there was a lot of competition at the school between classmates. I have yet to see it, but then again, it was only my first week. The other interesting aspect of the courses here is that it is university policy to let class out 25 minutes early (most courses are two hours) so that students may get to their next class on time. NUS’s campus is quite large and has internal buses that run constantly throughout the day.
Tomorrow marks the second week of classes; tutorials do not start for another week, but I have already been assigned readings. I do not have an official textbook for any class, except for Introduction to Theatre. Most of my readings are journal articles that provide analyses on topics presented in class. I can’t wait to see what this week has in store for me!