"A western city in the East"

It's been a week since we've been in Singapore, and I'm still amazed at how a place so far away can feel so close to home. On Saturday, we went to Outram Park near Chinatown, and me, Pete and Steven saw Singaporeans line-dancing to country music. It was surreal to see people who live on the other side of the world wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots; it's incredible how globalization has enabled the west to pervade a culture so far away.


Similarly, grocery stores, taxis, and hawker stands play American Top 40. It's definitely odd to be eating Nasi Lemak while the stand nearby blasts Miley Cyrus.

On Sunday, me, Aja and Mary explored City Hall. We decided to stop by the central library in order to get some reading done for class. This week is exam week, and the library was bustling with people getting some studying done in order to make high marks on their exams. We learned from Dr. Queck the importance of exams in determining a Singaporean's future due to streaming from an early age; I was able to see this up close when I peered up from my reading to see that the industrious people studying across from me looked to be about 11 years old. The stress emanating from these pre-teens was palpable, and their focus was comparable to what a mob of American high school seniors look like the week before AP exams. After some people watching in the library, we visited Singapore Art Museum, the National Museum of Singapore, and Fort Canning Park.







In Front of the National Museum of Singapore.













A children's show at the National Museum of Singapore.












A view of Clarke Quay (pronounced "Key") from Fort Canning Park.







Although I said before that western culture has managed to pervade much of Singapore, some parts are still left untouched. Yesterday after class, a group of us ate lunch in Little India and it felt a world apart. From the outdoor fruit markets to the Indian music playing all around us, it truly felt like a different place.

While sometimes I don't feel too far away from home, I'm not quite sure if I could call Singapore a "western city in the East." At times I'll talk to Singaporeans and it'll be just like talking to any Charlottean back home; other times I'll sit on the subway and realize that there are four different languages being spoken around me, one of which I barely recognize as being my own. Whether or not Singapore can be seen as a westernized city is just one of the enigmas that adds to its charm, and just one of the reasons I feel compelled to continue exploring this marvelous place.

-Don M.