Welcome to Singapore

Hi everyone!

                It’s been about a week since I arrived in Singapore and I’m finally getting my feet under me. If I had to sum up my first impressions of Singapore, I would say: clean, organized, safe, hot and modern. Singapore is a city-state 85 miles north of the equator and is known for its booming economy, love of food, and excellent public transportation, among other things.

I am living in an on-campus apartment in University town (a brand new sub-campus complete with dining halls, a gym, an infinity pool and town green). Most other international students that live on campus also live in U-town, so there is always people out and about and a variety of languages to be heard.

view of U-town from my friend's room

                                              

                So far I have explored Chinatown, Little India, Sentosa Island, the Marina Bay area and some other districts. I have been getting familiar with the MRT (mass rapid transit system) and the bus system. Both of which are very organized and easy to navigate. Some things to note: it is illegal to eat or drink (even water) on the MRT, on-campus meals cost about $3 and the locals mostly speak Singlish (a blend of English, Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese and other languages).

                

                 So without further ado, here are some pictures around NUS and the lovely city of Singapore.

Around the Faculty of Engineering

Central Library

view from the beach at Sentosa Island

The Merlion

The Singapore Flyer as seen from the Gardens on Marina Bay

Classes don't start for another week, so until then I'll be getting better acquainted with my home for the next 4 months and looking into where I want to travel with my free time. Stay tuned!

~Kelly