Differences and Similarities

Today (Monday) we went to the Singapore Science Centre.  I was going to blog about that but it was unimaginably boring.  There was an exhibit where you had to walk through rocks without setting off the sound detector, which only went off when something reached 95 decibles.  So instead of boring you, I am going to tell you about some intriguing differences and similarities between Singapore and the U.S.

The first thing I noticed was that they were serving sushi and curry for breakfast.  But you can also get foods as American as pancakes and waffles.  There was also a very wide variety of fruits and juices being served, some that I had never heard of before such as the dull, gray dragon fruit.

We have been traveling on the subway often and we noticed that some of the names of the stops would seem very normal to us, such as City Hall.  Others, however, had names such as Bukit Batok.  This is also true of many streets and places.  There are also some picture signs on the subway that could be interpreted different ways...

Don't have hands?

Ah, the excitement of visiting a foreign country where things are so different and unique. Or exactly the same...

We met a friend for dinner who is from Singapore.  Here is our conversation below.  Her answers show some differences between the US and Singapore.

 

Me:  "Hi.  I have a few things to ask you about Singapore."

Friend:  "Okay."

Me:  "I heard it is illegal to chew gum in Singapore.  Is it true?"

Friend:  "It is illegal to sell gum in Singapore or to bring it into the country in large amounts.  It was to stop people from putting gum on train tracks."

Me:  "What language do you learn in school?"

Friend:  "The first language you learn is English.  The second language is your mother tongue.  So if your mother is Chinese you learn Mandarin.  If you are smart, you also learn a third language, either French or Japanese.  Japanese is most common."

Me:  "What is the school year like in Singapore?"

Friend:  "We have year-round school.  There is one month off in June and one in December.  The school day is from 7:30 until 3:00."

 

It was very interesting talking to our friend and hearing more about Singapore.