Week Two!

It really is hard to believe that we have already been in Singapore for two weeks. It seems like the time has flown by and been packed with activity though there is still so much to see and experience. This past week we had the opportunity to gain some insight into the education system in Singapore while visiting Hwa Chong Institution; get a better idea of how the public housing situation pans out at the Housing Development Board and see a performance that was part of the Singapore Arts Festival. We would have seen a taping of BBC Asia, but Barack Obama was busy winning the primaries back at home, so they weren’t filming the show that morning and our visit was postponed.

This weekend, however was the highlight of my trip so far. Each student got to stay with a Singaporean family at their home and experience a taste of what it’s like to truly be a Singaporean. Most of us were paired with one other UNC student, though some groups had 3 or 4. My homestay was with a student, Nessa, who will be attending UNC next year as part of the joint degree program. It was fantastic. For the afternoon we hung out with George and his homestayers- Elliot, Catherine C, Elaina and Jared. First we went to a little Hainan Restaurant and had traditional Chicken Rice, a very popular local dish. We also ate amazing Chinese desert soups. They were iced, fruit and sago- refreshing and light, which is exactly what you want after being out in the Singapore sun. Then they took us to Mindcafé , a local board game café frequented by teens. It’s a genius idea! Snacks, drinks, board games- what more could you want!?

After this Colleen, Nessa and I headed back to her HDB flat for a traditional steamboat dinner with her family. It is usually had on the Chinese New Year or at family celebrations. The meal consists of tons of raw food, which you cook at the table in broth in a fast cooking crock pot type thing. After, we made pineapple tarts from a family recipe! It was a really great experience to get a little insight as to what it’s actually like to live in Singapore. In the morning I went to church with Nessa. She attends a Baptist mega church, as she called it. At the youth service alone there were about 1000 people! It was a very different experience from the Episcopalian church that I was raised in, but a good experience none the less. I stayed with Nessa and her sister at a hawker center (outdoor food court) and then explored Chinatown.

Returning to PGP it was really interesting to hear about all the different experiences that people had at their homestays. Some lived in private housing, others in public. Some attended church, others didn’t. Some had home cooked meals, others ate out. Family structures were different and opinions varied. Singaporean’s make up an incredibly diverse society that is being revealed to us layer by layer as we listen to each others experiences and open our eyes and minds to the nuances around us. This week we begin learning about Malaysia in our history course in preparation for our departure to Malacca on Thursday where we will be immersed in one of the cultures that has contributed to making Singapore what it has become. Hopefully connections will abound, and regardless the experience will be amazing.

From here in Singapore,

~Katie