So, after describing a bit of Germany I want to continue with Singapore. I lived in Singapore for the last 2 years before starting University.

Before moving there I didn’t know anything about this country/city, except that it was in Asia. Well that changed quite quickly. As you can see from the picture Singapore is right next to Malaysia.

A few facts and figures:

As this little country lies 137 km north of the equator you can imagine how warm it is. The average temperature is about 30 degress celcius with almost 100% humidity all year round. When the temperature drops to let’s say 25 degrees we put on a sweater because it seems cold out ^^.

The population of Singapore is about 4.84 million. The Chinese who account for around 78% of the population, the Malays who account for 14% and the Indians who account for 7% of the population.

One thing I really loved about this country is the diversity of cultures and people. It it awesome to be able to try so many different kinds of food, experience different festivals and rituals and hear so many different languages in one city.

Singaporeans seem to think the same as they cherish the fact that so many different ethnic groups, races, and cultures are all living in this small space peacefully. You don’t see that very often. One way the government is supporting this is that they encourage every Singaporean to call themselves “Singaporean-Chinese”, “Singaporean-Malay” etc emphasizing that first and foremost they are Singaporean and then stating their original heritage.

One of the main languages in Singapore is English. It is the language of administration. The 3 other main languages are Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. This picture shows a typical sign in Singapore including all 4 official languages.

There is also a very distinct dialect spoken by many in Singapore, called Singlish. One example of Singlish is the use of ‘lah’ at the end of a sentence. It could be compared to the ‘eh’ in Canada meaning it cannot be said at the end of EACH sentence. One sentence that is however used a lot in Singapore is “Can, lah” or “Cannot, lah” meaning “Yes, we have this or yes we can do this for you” or the opposite “No, we do not have this or no we cannot do this for you”. One thing you will find out about Singaporeans very fast is that they love to shorten sentences as much as possible. I actually had an interesting conversation with my driving insturctor about this. He said it fit the Singaporean lifestyle – “always in a hurry”

Oh, and one more quick fact. If you ever go to Singapore and someone asks you “Have you eaten?” Don’t be surprised. Often this is equivalent to saying “How are you?” as eating is a very important part of Singaporeans’ lives.

Here’s a taste of Singapore:

The lion is Singapore’s symbol. There’s a father, a mother and a child.

This is where the bars and clubs are. Very good Indian restaurant on the top of one of the houses.

Singapore has a bit of everything. Little India, Chinatown etc.

These are Durian, the worst smelling fruit in the world. But Singaporeans still adore it.

This is the view from the Singapore flyer. Went on it during the National day parade. Awesome experience.