EAP Singapore: Southeast Asia for Beginners

Singapore is a small island located off the coast of Malaysia, in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is the only industrialized nation in the area and is the perfect distance from every other Southeast Asian country. Oh, and Singaporeans all speak English. I’m not just talking about “Singlish,” their own little English-Mandarin-Tamil-Whatever dialect with a twist. I’m talking real Hollywood-Business-Western world English. They all know it. How advantageous! A clean and safe city smack-dab in the middle of the poorest area of Asia that speaks English. Perfect. Buy me a one-way ticket!

Here’s my UC Irvine Cliff’s notes version of life at the National University of Singapore (NUS):

 The Upside:

1. 
   Ladies Night: Nightlife can be pricey.. for men! Ladies get free entry and free drinks on Wednesday nights, so Wednesday night is the ultimate party night at all of the hotspots in Singapore. The clubs are full and the music is good. Only downside: if you’re too late, you’ll wait in long lines and miss the free drinks period. A couple of Wednesdays ago, my girlfriends and I were early and received a complimentary bottle of champagne!
2. A Top University: NUS is one of the top universities in the world. That means no slackers here. You have to 
   work your butt off. But you definitely learn the meaning of hard work. Thank goodness for EAP’s grade inflation!
3. Foreigners: There are so many expatriates here. Clubs and bars are full of foreigners, and there are 400 international students every semester at NUS. Studying here allows you to meet people from all over the world. And with all of the events/facebook groups/exchange parties that the school organizes for us, it is truly an amazing international experience!
4. Cheap and Nearby Travel: Traveling by budget flights from country to country can be as cheap as $10 USD and take as little as 
   45 minutes in the air. Plus, the planes are as comfortable and as clean as any other airline.
5. Getting Around: Public transportation is long, inconvenient, and closes in the evening. But it always takes you where you want to go, so you don’t have to walk as much as you do in other major cities. No destination is unreachable by public transport!
6. Shopping: Singaporeans love to shop. It seems like there is a shopping center on every street and every corner. Shoppers, this is your haven. You really can shop until you drop on streets like Orchard Road, where there exists a never-ending string of 10 story super-malls.
7. Eating: Food is cheap. And it’s everywhere. Prices are anywhere from $1 USD to $5 USD when purchasing a normal meal. It is easy to avoid pricey American chain restaurants, as there are “canteens” (food courts) in every building at school and hawker centers all over the city with cheap, good food.

The Downside:

1. Weather: Let me tell you, there is nothing like Southern California weather. Savor it all you can while you have it. Singapore is hot, humid, and rainy. Bringing an umbrella everywhere you go is a must. And wearing shorts and a tank top is mandatory because if you don’t, you’ll be sweating up a storm.
2. Fun in the Sun!: Not Really. Want to go to the beach? It’s an hour away by public transport and only about 1 km long on Sentosa Island. Pay only $3-4 to get over there but expect to go swimming because there isn’t much sand. Singapore imports too many things to have beaches. To them, it is a waste of necessary port space.
3. Transportation: Taxis add up quickly and public transportation takes 2-3 times as long to get you to your destination. But you can’t drive — Cars are heavily taxed and driving is discouraged.
4. Expensive Nightlife: Alcohol is taxed beyond belief (beers are approximately $5 USD each, a bottle of wine is minimum $30 USD, and hard alcohol is minimum $60 USD) and there is a limit to how much you can bring into the country from duty-free. On top of that, club entry fees are about $21 USD on most nights, drinks are watered down, and ladies… don’t expect men to buy you drinks. That just doesn’t happen here.
5. Grades: Yup.. grades transfer. But your coordinator will inflate your grade by 10%! And professors will never fail exchange students.
6. Petty Theft: Singapore is safe, but when you venture out of this city, you have to be very careful. There are thieves everywhere. In one week, I’ve had my iPhone 4G stolen, and two of my friends have had their wallets, passports, and blackberries stolen!