Hello!

I'm Ansu, a 21 years old exchange student from Aalto University and this blog is, for everyone's surprise, about life in SG -and its surroundings. (Read i like to travel)

The duration of my stay in SG is 4 months after which i'll travel for another month in Asia (this I highly recommend for y'all who just might consider an exchange in this part of the world). 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                      Hi or Ni hao?

Even though english is one of the official languages in Singapore, a majority of the population is actually chinese by origin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore. So don't rely on a) getting understood b) understanding the locals at all circumstances. And if they're not trying to speak chinese to you, they might try tamil or malay.

Anyhow, SG is a cool mixture of Europe and Asia. The government is super strict (refer to the above-mentioned link), which actually has its pro's! A) the rate of crime is really low due to super high punishments B) the city is clean and green! C) the quality of food (and hygiene) is - this is my personal favorite part as a food lover (!!!!) - extremely good - not forgetting the local hawker centers, which don't always look all that inviting.

                                                  my first food court meal upon arrival!

The public transports actually function really well here. The MRT system is a quick way to travel and in avoiding traffic jams, if you're ok with a feeling that you're packed up like sardines during rush hours! IF you happen to use the busses (like I do daily) I strongly recommend you who belong to the small minority of smartphone boycotting conservatives to get over it! Its impossible to know any buss arrival times if you don't use the Next buss -app or Google Maps. You'll simply know that the buss comes every 20 minutes during morning peaks and every 30 minutes off peaks - if you're not lucky enough to be at a buss stop with an electronic arrival table.

In the end SG is only one city - and a country - so no place goes under the definition "far". And even though you get lost somewhere, the taxis are not too expensive, especially if you have company! And as a taxi driver stated, Singaporeans are usually willing to help and polite if you don't act like a total jerk.