Tag: Shelly Mishra

It's that time of the semester again. After four months of doing the bare minimum amount of work, students hustle to cram four months of knowledge in their brains during finals seasons. This universally dreaded season, that lasts from April 28th to May 12th this year, is not too much different at NUS as it is at GW. One key similarity is that every study space is jam packed with students reading class textbooks for the first time or reviewing online lectures for classes they barely attended.

To find out your exam date, you have to go to NUS's equivalent of Blackboard called IVLE. Each course has its final exam date listed in the course page. It's really helpful to know when your final exam dates are so you can plan trips and the flight back home easier. This semester, my exams are on April 30th, May 2nd, and May 9th. Additionally, I recently had an unofficial final exam for my Public Health in Action class. Perhaps its just my classes, but I have found that a lot of classes at NUS offer open note exams. I was allowed any soft copy material for my public health exam and will be allowed any hard copy materials for my Global Economic Dimensions of Singapore class. The exam formats are very similar to those at GW: open response essays, multiple choice, and short answer. However, some exams are conducted online on an application called Examplify. Moreover, the exams are worth a greater percentage of the overall grade for the class. With 40% of the grade being class participation, my public health exam is worth an outstanding 60% of my grade!

Like GW, NUS also has a designated reading period for students; however, NUS's reading period is one week long whereas GW's reading period lasts one or two days. While most local students spend that time preparing and reviewing for exams, exchange students use it to make their last few trips to other countries. Many of my friends are going to China, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and even the UK! I, myself, will be spending three days in Bali, Indonesia. While many of my friends are spending the entire week abroad (while abroad), I have decided to actually use some of the reading week for its actual purpose. I also hope to make a solo trip around Singapore itself during one the reading days. ...continue reading "Finals, Family, and Feelings"

By shellytakessingapore

"Singapore's greatest export is its brain!" joked my '80 year old' professor in my Global Economic Dimensions of Singapore (basically the economic history of Singapore) class. Only 278 square miles in size, Singapore lacks natural resources to fuel its economy. Its main economic asset are its people. The government invests heavily in its people, especially in the education sector in order to produce future leaders in all fields. Upon a simple Google search of countries with the highest academically ranking students, you will find Singapore consistently popping up towards the top of the list. Moreover, Singapore is home to the top universities in Asia and the world including the National University of Singapore. However, the education system itself is not the sole reason for the success of Singapore in ranking highly on international scholastic performance exams such as the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). If you walk through almost any spot on the NUS campus with tables, you will find students with their nose stuck in a book. Singaporean culture gravitates strongly towards academia; this is not to say that every Singaporean values academic success above all else. Below, I will describe the wide variety of students that can be found at NUS. Many of these characteristics overlap between students and this is certainly not an exhaustive list of the types of students at NUS.

1. Muggers
No, when I say mugger I don't mean in the literal sense of the word. While having a discussion with a local friend, I learned that a mugger in the Singaporean context is a student who you barely see outside of the library. This student is constantly reviewing notes from lectures, doing practice problems, and preparing for exams. A mugger is the stereotypical image that comes to mind when one thinks of a nerdy Singaporean student. It might seem that being called a mugger is offensive, but many Singaporeans find being called a mugger a compliment.

2. International Student
In my residence hall, UTown Residence (UTR), a majority of the residents are international students. These students are not usually undergraduate students but rather master's and Ph.D students. The first few floors of UTR are actually married flats which means that instead of the typical four single bedrooms with a common space format like the other rooms, the room has one single large bedroom separated by a door to a tiny living room with a full kitchen. Not a lot of the masters and Ph.D students occupy the married flats though and they are often assigned to exchange students who wish to transfer out of other residence halls to UTR. Despite being stressed out about their constant projects and presentations, the international students often attend the activities held by the RAs and are friendly and pleasant to talk to.  ...continue reading "Types of Students at NUS"

By shellytakessingapore

In last week's post, I mentioned I attended a public speaking seminar where I had the opportunity to hone my oratory skills as well as meet local students. One of the local students I met is a bubbly and friendly girl who is in her freshman year at NUS. This week, she took me on a journey through Singapore's food at one of the largest Hawker centers near one of the metro stations stops called Lavender. This Hawker center is three stories tall with food stalls located in every direction. The diversity of the food makes it almost impossible to decide what to eat. With the help of my local friend, I tasted new dishes and experienced new flavors from combinations of foods that I have never previously thought could go together.

1. Milo Dinosaur
This is an iced drink that is made from a powder called Milo. Milo is a combination of sugar, chocolate, and malt powders and is usually mixed with milk or water. I would describe the taste of a hot milo drink similar to that of hot chocolate. What makes Milo Dinosaur different from regular iced Milo is the addition of Milo powder added to the top of the cup. If you have a sweet tooth, this will be the perfect drink for you.

2. Goreng Pisang
While Americans might be used to the U.S. being the capital of deep fried dishes, Singapore also has its own twist on deep fried food. One of them is called Goreng Pisang which means "fried banana" in Indonesian. While consumed as a snack, this sweet dish is made from slathering batter on bananas and deep frying it. ...continue reading "Food 102: Another Introduction to Local Singaporean Food"

By shellytakessingapore

If you were to walk along the streets in UTown, the NUS equivalent to the Vern at GW, on any given day, you will find dozens of table stalls with students promoting their clubs by selling trinkets, snacks, and handing out pamphlets. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the university will give clubs the opportunity to advertise their club by hosting games such as darts, ring toss, and more. For every stall visited, students receive a sticker on a business card sized tracker sheet and after collecting six or more stickers, students can redeem the sheet and collect an additional prize.

There's almost never a reason to be bored at NUS. In addition to the weekly club fairs, the residence halls at UTown also host student friendly events each month. One such event that a fellow GW friend and I attended was called ArtJam. As we walked out of our dorm, we could hear pop music blasting in the air and dozens of people lined up to collect blank canvases and painting supplies. The purpose of the event was to relieve any stress and anxiety due to midterm exams that were happening that week. While I was fortunate to not have any midterms this semester, ArtJam provided me with an outlet to express my creativity. I designed a t-shirt for myself using green and black fabric pens and paint. I enjoyed creating my shirt so much I asked the staff hosting the event if I could have a canvas to make another painting. The staff was incredibly friendly and even offered me some snacks to eat while I painted. Despite being artistically challenged, I painted the silhouette of two women dancing against a red and gold background (see picture). NUS students, on the other hand, are talented painters who perfectly captured scenes from nature and human life. In addition to the ArtJam, the UTown Residence Hall Staff also host music jams and personal effectiveness seminars. One seminar that I attended taught public speaking skills by the Singapore World Champion of Public Speaking from the Toastmasters Competition in 2016. Throughout the session, I learned valuable skills to improve my presentation and speaking ability and had the opportunity to meet local students who live in the same hall as me. Another event held by NUS was a health screening that allowed students to get a free checkup on their body weight, blood pressure, fat percentage, and more. This information helps me to understand how healthy my body is and if there are any health areas of concern.

So how does one find out about these events? Like GW, NUS uses OrgSync to advertise events held throughout campus. All one simply has to do is sign up by clicking "I will attend" and a reminder email will be sent to the student on the day of the event. NUS also does a good job of advertising these events by putting posters up around residence hall elevators and cafeterias. The turnout for these events is quite impressive and the organization of each event is incredible. NUS boasts the best campus life and it has rightly earned that title. Next week, NUS is hosting wellness series that include activities such as terrarium making, yoga sessions, and even pet therapy. I look forward to attending these sessions as I know I will gain new skills, friends, and memories!