When I arrived to Singapore initially, I was completely enamored with the country (and of course, I still am). Every new place, thing, and experience was delightful and so, I did not have the chance to process all my emotions. But once I started to settle into my new home and to acclimate into university, then I experienced spurts of culture shock.
Singaporean culture draws from the country’s diversity, with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and other influences. Singlish is the perfect example of this because it is uniquely Singaporean. They love quick and efficient communication and Singlish accomplishes just that. Chinese, Malay, Tamil words are speckled into Singlish sentences. This communication tool was a steep learning curve for me and, often times, it contributed to culture shock.
The biggest difference between American and Singaporean culture would be the emphasis on academic achievement. Although Singaporeans value a well-rounded student, there is a lot of pressure to obtain high marks, and thus creating an extremely competitive environment. I can say that the bell curve contributed to this as well and I found this to be the most shocking difference. In fact, this semester was my most challenging one yet.
