In the fall of 2011, Mahalia Thomas embarked on an exchange term at the National University of Singapore. The following year Patti Beaulieu followed suit. Together they have compiled notes on how to adapt to and enjoy a term in Singapore. You too could spend an exchange term studying at NUS!
Living in Singapore
Singapore is extremely safe, fairly westernised, and full of expats. It’s very easy to get around, and very clean and orderly. Living in Singapore is much more expensive than the rest of South East Asia. Living on campus is very affordable, but anything outside of campus will cost you more than in Canada. This includes eating out, drinking, and activities around Singapore.
It’s also extremely hot, humid and rainy. Bring flip flops you don’t mind getting soaked. The rainy season brings daily extreme rain storms and you’ll definitely get stuck outside in a storm at least once.
Singaporeans are very shy and a bit closed off, but if you reach out to them they are happy to help. However, you must follow their rules or people will avoid you. For example, don’t sit in the accessible seating on the MRT, this is very rude, and you may find your picture posted online on a humiliating website. Remember, you are a visitor in their country! Be polite and ask questions if you are unsure, and feel free to email us if you have any questions.
Before Arrival
During the application process you will have the opportunity to rank residences, our first choice is the Graduate Residence, where you have a small kitchenette and share the space with three other exchange students. Our second choice is PGP because it is the only other residence without mandatory activities and no meal plan. The meal plan is very limited in selection, and there are lots of great options to eat both on and off campus.
After Arrival
Once you arrive in Singapore, you’ll want to take the MRT to Buona Vista Station, and you can hop on one of the free university buses up to UTown where most of the residences are. The campus is huge! Don’t try walking. If you are unsure of where you are, just ask. Singaporeans love to be helpful. In the first week you will find that there is a lot of paper work and small fees to be paid. They will lead you through the process, but just be aware that you will have lots to do in the first few weeks getting set up.
Eating
Eating on campus is really affordable and diverse. Each faculty has it’s own canteen which is a food court style area with several different stalls for food and drinks. Each canteen usually has Chinese, Malay, Japanese, halal, Indonesian, Indian, American (which is gross), Korean, and juice and coffee stands.
Drinks
If you’re looking for a proper coffee, the closest you can get is the Starbucks or Sapporo in UTown, otherwise, the coffee is pre-sweetened with milk and sugar already added. If you’re looking for a delicious fruity drink, try one of the numerous fruit smoothie stalls located in almost every canteen. Our favourite is avocado.
Food
The best breakfast in Singapore is kaya toast. It’s sweet, and toasty, and comes with eggs (ask for hard boiled or you get almost uncooked eggs). Starbucks also serves more western style breakfasts if you aren’t ready for congee or cold noodles. Lunch is usually hot food from the canteens, try the Laksa stand where you get to pick all the contents of your soup, or Korean Bibimbap that comes in a hot bowl. For dinner the canteen is your cheapest option, but there are some restaurants on campus that are okay, and not as expensive as off campus. Off campus if you don’t mind paying for it, you can get just about anything. Singaporeans love their food. There are also hawker centres (like a food court) all around the city that are where the locals eat. We recommend getting Chicken Rice or Carrot Cake, which is not a dessert. Try Tea Tarik, it is a delicious milky tea that frequently comes in a bag with a straw.
Travel
Singapore is a great travel hub, and the flights are even cheaper than in Europe. We recommend looking on Air Asia and Tiger Airways. Don’t expect any service, but for short haul flights you don’t need any. Kuala Lumpur airport is a short flight away and is an even cheaper airport for longer flights. We visited Cambodia (our favourite), Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Burma, Australia, and Hong Kong. South East Asia is very accessible and very cheap to travel around. Bring a good back pack and good walking shoes.
Shopping
Singapore has every store from around North America and Europe, it’s a shopping Mecca, but also quite expensive. If you’re average size in Canada, remember that you’ll be quite a large size in Asia. Try everything on. Shopping outside of Singapore is extremely cheap, even if you just cross the border into Malaysia. In Singapore, the shopping centres are extremely extravagant, look for Orchard Road (a massive shopping street filled with malls), Bugis, and Vivo City (by Toyo Ito).
Education
Don’t expect a Waterloo style education from NUS. Students at NUS work steadily through the day. It’s long hours in the libraries, and the study areas will always be completely packed, especially around exams. Singaporean students put a lot of effort into memorization and knowledge acquisition, but not process and application. The education is quite different, we had a lot of British, Japanese, and Chinese professors. They are all very unique in their teaching style. In your studio projects, you will find there is very little emphasis on program, but a high value in skilled model making and production. Laser cutters are free but busy, and there are lots of supplies in the architecture stores. Ask the Singaporean students where things are. There are lots of resources but they are difficult to find.
Night Life
Going out in Singapore is very expensive, unless you are female. Wednesday night is ladies night, and often on other nights free drinks are given as incentive to enter different bars and clubs. Go to Clark Quay and get out it’s numerous bars and clubs, then sit on the bridge and hang out. Or go up to One Altitude (the highest bar in Singapore), Marina Bay Sands or New Asia Bar.
Overall, Singapore was a really great experience and very unique. It’s very international and there are lots of people from all over the world living there, so you’ll meet lots of cool people and have a great chance to network.
If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to email either of us.
Patti Beaulieu – patti.beaulieu@gmail.com
Mahalia Thomas – thomas.mahalia@gmail.com
