Tag: Shivani

By shivaniinsingapore

On Wednesday, November 7th, my exchange friends and I watched the election results from a TV lounge inside one of our residential halls. In all, there were fifteen of us from five different countries. Since Singapore is thirteen hours ahead of the US, we all met up around 9 AM to watch the news reports as the polls closed.

When most of the news networks announced  that President Obama had won, my friends were all extremely happy. Several of my Singaporean friends also were excited about the results of the election. However, what I found most interesting was the fact that people were willing to skip classes and tutorials to watch the results with us.

Most of my friends were extremely curious to figure out how elections work in the US in terms of how the electoral college works, as well as what it means to be a majority in the House and Senate. Thus, a lot of the American students spent a majority of the morning explaining our political system, as well as how checks and balances work. ...continue reading "Election Results"

By shivaniinsingapore

Everyone always jokes that there are only two favorite hobbies of Singaporeans: eating and shopping. It comes as no surprise then that Singapore has a very unique culinary culture.
Food in Singapore can range from very expensive ($20+ Singapore) to extremely cheap ($3-$4 Singapore). The cheaper places tend to be located in these places called Hawker Centres. Hawker Centres are known for serving very traditional foods of Singapore, along with other local Southeast Asian dishes. They serve anything from Singapore's very own specialties  such as Chicken Rice and Chili Crab, to authentic Indian food, all for a mere $3-$4 per dish. Some of these Hawker Centres are even open 24 hours! The way a hawker centre works is that you simply walk up to a stall that seems to offer what you are looking for, order your food, and wait a couple of minutes for them to prepare it. If you'd like a drink or even dessert, you would have to go to a different stall that is especially for either drinks or desserts. ...continue reading "Food in Singapore: The brief synopsis"

By shivaniinsingapore

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit the 800 + year old temples of Angkor Wat, situated near Siem Reap, Cambodia.

My friend and I arrived in Siem Reap on a Tuesday night and took a cab to the hotel; after we put our bags down, we headed straight back outside to go visit the Night Market. We got a Tuk-Tuk driver (tuk-tuks are this form of transportation that has a motorcycle or moped attached to a type of carriage in which passengers can sit). In Cambodia, there are no meters- you have to negotiate the price before you travel. Our tuk tuk cost us about $2 US for four people to go to the Night Market. I also should probably mention that the unofficial currency in Cambodia is the US dollar, and that there are ATM machines that dispense US currency (they do not, however, accept change!) The Night Market was intense; there were tons of small shops selling almost identical merchandise: cotton printed pants, Cambodian silk scarves, jade Buddhas, and temple artwork. The market was packed, and each shopkeeper would try to grab our attention by saying, "Hello lady!" We decided to hold off on the shopping until Thursday, and kept walking. We got dinner on a well-known street called Pub Street; my friends got a traditional Khmer barbeque, in which the waiters placed a makeshift grill on the center of our table and provided them with 5 different types of raw meat: beef, snake, crocodile, kangaroo and shrimp. It was up to my friends to cook everything properly and eat it. I, on the other hand, had Cambodian rice, which was very good! Our meal was very cheap too (I paid about $3 for everything)!

...continue reading "Chum reap suor Cambodia!"

By shivaniinsingapore

My classmates at NUS are fairly different than my classmates back home...their typical lives differ vastly than what I am used to in many ways.

The first difference I noticed was that these students appear to study MUCH more than what I am used to. The students in some of my classes can be seen at the library reading and sometimes re-reading the required texts/articles. When asked why they re-read assigned readings, I was told something interesting. I was told that since these classes are based on a bell-curve, only a couple of students can obtain the top mark of an A+. Thus, a lot of the students spend countless hours trying to practice memorizing the readings and create their own conclusions in hopes of being able to obtain a great grade. I, however, have never re-read a textbook unless I was studying for an exam and did not understand some of the material. I noticed that some of the students are used to memorizing texts rather than applying and understanding the significance behind some of the readings. After discussion with some local students, I found out that they have been raised to memorize. Their college entrance exams, called the A-Levels, apparently require some level of memorization. One local student mentioned that having a great memory would secure a very good grade on the exam. Overall, there are far fewer essays/assignments in my classes here than back home, but the weekly discussions in tutorials or in classes require great understanding of the readings.

...continue reading "Life as a Singaporean Student"

By shivaniinsingapore

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.

...continue reading "…Study Abroad Problems?"

By shivaniinsingapore

This week I've decided to write about some of the biggest "surprises" I faced so far in Singapore. I haven't had a huge shock yet in Singapore, but have had small surprises that demonstrate things that I would have never expected.

Everyday Scene:

...continue reading "Biggest shock(s) of Singapore"

By shivaniinsingapore

After having been in classes for three weeks, I can safely say that there is a lot of curiosity amongst my classmates as to what exactly constitutes American culture. In classes, I always get asked several questions about US perspectives on various topics; the most discussion of US culture comes from my Gender and Society of South Asia course. While in this class, I am pushed to think critically about how the US/Western mindset is different than the Eastern mindset. Most of the time, I don't know how to answer. Culturally, there are numerous things that are different between the US and Southeast Asia; however, I have enjoyed every last bit of the learning process!

...continue reading "Foreign Perceptions of Americans"

By shivaniinsingapore

After two weeks of adding and dropping courses, I was able to finalize my courses (at NUS, they are called modules). Since I am a non-graduating exchange student, there was only a select number of modules I could apply for. I was extremely lucky and ended up with 4 modules, which equates to 16 or so hours at NUS. However, I met people that only had 3, which is the bare minimum number of classes you need to maintain your students pass. It was mentioned at orientation at NUS that there is very good chance that you will not get ALL of your ideal schedule or classes if you have a "popular" major, namely business, economics or psychology, but you may end up with some of them. Additionally, you also have the option to submit an appeal form. As a senior, I have a few remaining GCRs left for my major, so I am focusing on courses that relate to specific cultures. My course list includes: 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.

...continue reading "Week Two- Classes have begun!"

By shivaniinsingapore

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! ...continue reading "Week One- Hello from Singapore!"