Tips and Tricks

So here I am... I'm actually, finally, really here.

Yay! *cue little excited jumping around the room* (Hey, there's no one here to notice! :P)

Already I've noticed the HUGE difference between UBC and NUS (and USyd for that matter too):

• It's at a completely different scale. I know Universities always feel huge when you first arrive, but with 12,000 students living here, and 40,000+ studying, it has to be huge. And it definitely is - especially with no nifty shuttle bus doing the rounds.
• Everyone is really friendly - in lifts, they wait for you; everyone says 'hi'; bus drivers give directions and are patient; sop assistants start sporadic conversations with you. What began as something that was kinda creepy has rapidly turned into something I'm convinced would make Sydney a better place if we adopted it. How can a city be dangerous or dull if everyone has such a positive attitude!
• The food on campus is not only cheap, but of fairly good quality. And there are loads of 'chain' restaurants here too - and three pubs which can only be a good thing Each of them are hugely popular for their own special 'nights': Koerner's for its live music on Mondays, The Gallery for its $8 pitchers and karaoke on Tues, and the Pit for its Wednesday night parties.
• Varsity sport is huge here. It's such a North American thing and the rumours/stereotypes are true. There are jocks and cheerleaders and quarterbacks and frats and sororities. It's just so bizarre to actually be here in amongst it all!
• Student politics are alive and well, but not in the way we know it. There are no big rallies/political debates or anything ... yet. Apparently student elections are just as debaucherous and narrow-minded as at home! Yay! And there's no VSU!

But back to what I did today - I got my UBCCard (Student ID) and U-Pass (unlimited transport pass) from the bookstore, shopped around a little for random supplies (and noticed how many things have 'UBC' written on 'em!), before taking a tour of campus. This only re-affirmed my belief that the campus is HUGE, but it was a great way to meet people - so far I've met Nicole (UQ), Ella (Melbourne), Clare (USyd), Fi (Nottingham), Cat (Brighton) and Hunter (USA). Not a hugely varied group there I know, but it's early days!

A group of us had dinner at the on-campus Irish Pub Mahoney's (every University should have one of these!), which was great, and an awesome way to meet the other Sydneysiders who are here. After that we thought we'd try out the 'Pit' - the infamous UBC version of Manning. Only more 'pit-like' and seedy. At least pre-semester it's quite quiet and we even danced a little!

I thought I'd defer from my usual ramblings today to discuss something that all long-term travellers will feel at some time. No, I'm not talking about homesickness per-se. I'm talking about missing important events back home.

For me, the most important (personal) events I've missed have been my parents' birthdays. Before I arrive home, I will also miss my younger sisters birthday. This year was a particularly important birthday for my Mum (I won't mention which one here!), and it felt strange not being able to celebrate with them at home.

Granted, we tend not to have large birthday celebrations (except for me!), so I didn't miss a huge party or anything, but the concept behind it is more important.

The more you miss, the further you feel from those you left behind. There is always the ability to phone, and MSN and Skype help a lot in keeping the links strong, however they don't compare to actually being there.

I dunno ... this is one of those "hmmm" posts that don't really lead anywhere, but I felt it important to include these sorts of ramblings (some might say musings!) here as well as the usual pragmatic stuff.

OK, to answer many people's queries about Singapore all at once, I thought I'd put them all in one big post.

(1) Where are you?
Prince George's Park Residences
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore

(2) What are you doing there?
I'm on University exchange with Sydney University. I am studying subjects at NUS that will be credited to my Sydney degrees.

(3) What language do they speak there?
There are four official languages.
English is the language of admin.
Malay is the national language.
Mandarin is the official language of the Chinese majority.
Tamil is the official language of the Indian minority.
On top of that there are the two main Chinese dialects Hokkien and Hakka, and other Indian dialects, such as Hindi.

(4) Can you tell me what Singlish is?
Singlish is Singaporean English. Basically its English, spoken with a tonal accent - think of Chinese sentence structures being applied to English phrases, add 'lah' at the end for emphasis, and a smattering of Hokkien, Mandarin and Malay phrases in the sentences, and you've got it.

It's a lot harder to understand and be understood than you'd expect, considering we are taught in English. The lecturer's are easy to understand, it's just the students that can be difficult.

Some examples:
Can (lah)- I am able; We are able to ...
Also can (lah) - That's a good suggestion/alternative, we can also do that...
Cannot (lah) - We can't do that.
Come 1:30 can already - We will be there from 1:30, so you can come after that.
Ulu - jungle in Malay - the sticks.
Makan - to eat in Malay - Let's Makan/Have you Makan? - have you eaten?
Wah lao - OMG in Hokkien
Wah lan (a) - F**k in Hokkien

(5) When will you be home?
Ah, the most popular question!!
July 7 is my current expected date home. It's now booked and final.

I will be in China May 15-June 13.
Singapore June 13-15.
Thailand (Ko Phi Phi) June 15-July 4.
Singapore July 5-7.

(6) Are you enjoying it?
Hell yeah! It's been a challenge at times, but I've grown to love it. I will miss Singapore and the people I've met here a lot when I leave.

(7) What is the weather like?
Hot and sticky. 25-31 degrees 365 days a year, with varying levels of humidity. Nov-Jan/Apri-Jul are the wettest times.

(8) What is the time difference between Singapore and Sydney?
-3hrs in non-daylight savings
-2hrs in daylight savings (now)

(9) Have you changed?
I don't know. Some people say yes (Lu, Dad), others no (Mum). I can't say as I don't view myself as a person - I'm me.

(10) What have been your best/worst expereience(s) so far?
Best - going to Cambodia, having Chinese New Year dinner with a local family, meeting all my global friends
Worst - the first week before orientation, the 'not-knowing' factor that comes with moving to a new place, the cliques that have developed among some groups of exchange students.

(11) What are living costs like?
Housing/cars for the locals are really expensive (unless you live in govt-subsidised HDB flats).
Cars have the CoE (Certificate of Entitlement) which can be up to $20000 and then the cost of the car, which is taxed at 200%.
Food is dirt-cheap. Lumch/Dinner is max $4 (usually $2-3).
Clubbing is expensive - as alcohol is taxed so highly.

(12) Do the locals study really hard?
Yes and no. I think the Singaporeans study more, but they seemingly have no sense of time management, so it balances each other out

(13) Singapore v Sydney
Argh! Sydney is my home!!! I could live here short-medium term, but not for the rest of my life. The political restrictiveness would get to me (being a political-science/govt major), rather than the rules (Singapore is a fine city as they say)

That being said, I think both cities can learn from each other. For example, there is far more of an international feel here. The singaporeans realise they have to go overseas to experience the world - its far less insular than syd - like we think if there is anything important around the world, it'll come to us.

Singapore is like nothing else - its clean, distinctly Asian, yet fairly Western as well. Visitors don't feel out-of-place, or awkward at any time, and if anything, they marvel at the fact that everything just works!!! You'll come back wishing CityRail worked like the MRT!

Travel
Use the MRT (train system) as much as possible - its fast, easy, and cheap. Trains run every 3-8minutes from 5am to midnight. Buy a tourist/stored-value ticket from one of the booths at the stations, and get what you don't use refunded at the airport train station on your way home.

Taxi's are plentiful, always run on meters, and are also cheap. Really good for trips that the MRT doesn't cover - like the Night Safari.

Food
Singapore has amazing food.

Apollo Banana Leaf in Little India (just down from the Little India MRT station) is fantastic.

Smith St Hawker Centre (a night market in Chinatown) is also ... wow! So cheap, and everything is safe to eat - look for stalls with a big "A" or "A+" behind them - it means the Singaporean govt has checked the place out and its deemed safe. Go for your life.

Eating anywhere in Singapore is safe - I recommend if you have the time (and money) to have high-tea (afternoon tea) at Raffles Hotel. It's an institution, and is well worth it. Don't eat lunch that day though - or you will end up wasting your money.

If you don't do that - go to the Long Bar at Raffles and have a beer or a Singapore Sling (cocktail). Be a tourist!

Shopping
Shops there close very very late (9:30pm mon-thurs, 10:30-11pm fri-sat, 9pm sun). They open at 10 or 11.

Buy electronics from Harvey Norman, Sony stores.

Visit the Chinese markets in Bugis. (near Bugis Junction shopping centre).

The Japanese department stores there are also great. Sogo I think still exists there, and is great.

You won't find pirate CDs/DVDs there though - best place is Johor Baru (the Malaysian town on the border). To get there takes an hour or so, and for students costs ~$4!

Orchard Road (kinda like Pitt St) is huge, glitzy and expensive. Definitely worth the trip though.
Suntec City is excellent - if massive.

Sightseeing
Must sees:

• Botanical Gardens (if only for the Orchids)
• Night Safari (the zoo at night - its amazing!!!)
• the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay complex (looks like bug eyes, or durians
• an Asian fruit - the MRT has signs saying "no durians" - referring to their pugnant smell
• Asian Civilisations Museum at Empress Place (the new one)
• Sentosa Island (its expensive, and a bit of a waste of time/money, but it has a great war history museum in Fort Siloso, and Singapore's only beaches. Don't visit on a weekend!!!)