Singapore - Clean, Green, and just like America

Singapore skyline from the Esplanade

Singapore's very first impression was the immense similarity to America. As we drove from the airport on a wide, open highway, we listened to the english radio station, read the english street signs, and looked at the vast lawns of the modern high rise condos. Often comparisons are made between Singapore and HK, but truly there are many more differences than similarities. They are both very highly developed countries with strong economies and a thriving expat community. In addition, there is quite a bit of foreign capital in both places. Besides those similarities, Singapore shares much more in common with America. The organization of Singapore is very clear and they didn't just throw up buildings anywhere like how they did in Macau. They purposely preserved the greenery native to Singapore and thus maintaining it's somewhat tropical feel. With the hot and humid weather and lush greenery, Singapore feels very very similar to Florida with of course a bunch of Asian people. The prevalence of English is absolutely astonishing. Probably the same amount of English is used in Singapore as is used in the Bay Area. Needless to say with countless similarities, there is virtually no culture shock when travelling to Singapore. It's like a watered down, sugar coated version of a real Asian experience.

Thian Hock Keng Temple in Chinatown

Sri Mariamman (Hindi) Temple

Buildings in Little India from the British Colonization of Singapore
Beautifully restored details on a British colonial building

Wondering the street markets of Little India

What is striking about this small country is the amazing Asian diversity, which brings back feelings of home and the bay area. There are Chinese, Indians, Filipinos, Malays, Vietnamese, and many other Asian groups and ex-pats. The diversity of the country is reflected on the number of national languages - English, Chinese, Malay, and Hindi. I found the ethnic diversity to be refreshing from all Chinese people in Macau. On the other hand, with this great diversity I had trouble identifying what a true Singaporean experience is like because the societal culture isn't readily apparent; similar to how the Bay Area is a melting pot of cultures from the around the world. Sometimes with all the cultural confusion, you end up just having a very westernized/american experience, which for me was slightly annoying. I don't want to experience something american when I'm in Asia. I want something that is different and a new cultural experience...in singapore its just so damn hard to figure out what the culture is...at least in HK you can still get a pretty authentic chinese experience despite all the westernization and modernity. You know that chinese culture is the culture of their society. So this leaves the question does ethnic diversity lead to no 'real' cultural viewpoint and thus leaving the society to break off into their own specific ethnicities to find what they are looking for; maybe their looking for their heritage or a piece of their homeland or culture of which to belong that reflects who they are...which then poses another question does cultural diversity within a country actually encourage more ethnic segregation???

The one thing that clearly separates Singapore from America is the social repression of its people. America thrives on the freedom of its people. Singapore is infamous for its strict government policies. The country has stripped their people of many social freedoms that many Americans take for granted. The complete lack of freedom of speech is quite shocking. The government has a straggle hold on any anti-government sentiments. Many of the newspapers are garnered towards a pro government stance. My friend from grad school, who was born and raised in Singapore, greatly misses the the freedom of speech she had while studying in the states; the freedom to be who you are without fear of governmental reprecussions.

In addition, the countless rules were incredibly annoying. Stuffing coffees and snacks into our bags on the subway, carefully crossing the street in the crosswalk, secretly chewing gum...all of this done so we wouldn't get caught by the police and be fined some absurd fine. By the end of the four days, I was sick of all the rules and I already felt suffocated. I feel that the government has carefully planned every single thing about this country to make it soooo organized and orderly...it just leaves no room to breathe. I believe the most amazing thing is that everyone just conforms to all these rules without question...in reality though singapore is a parliamentary government it's restrictions on its own people are more severe than communist china.

I do feel the BEST part about singapore is how incredibly nice and helpful the people are to tourists. The prevalence of English makes it quite easy to ask directions. On several occasions on the bus, the bus driver would guide me to get off at the right stop. Several locals helped me order my food at the hawker centres, which are open air food courts. Though the city does have quite a bit of hustle and bustle, people still take the time to be polite, which is great for lost tourists:) Their mannerisms are very similar to American sytle etiquette, which is quite a refreshing change from the pushy people of HK and Macau. As a whole, Singporean people are probably one of the nicest people I've met.

Learning to share a classroom

As I continue my work at UMAC, sometimes I try to gain some sort of perspective from my classrooms. I feel that I learn so much for my students. Probably more than I actually am teaching them. The style of teaching for these classes is a bit more relaxed and less structured than I am used to. At first I thought it was style of the courses here, but I realized it just Zoe's teaching style. She purposely makes the class less structured so the students are not babied as much. I feel that this style is definitely great to help improve their own independence and personal motivation, but I do think its a bit much for the students to handle on their own as freshman. Especially in China, the school system is very structured and students are held to high expectations. Whereas, in our English classes I'm not sure what the expectations are. I feel that it is difficult to teach a class if as a teacher you are not even clear what kinds of skills and information you should be disseminating to the students. Luckily, Zoe's style is very 'go with the flow' so she doesn't feel the stress of the situation.

I do sometimes feel that this kind of class structure is a bit disorganized and students are sometimes scrambling to understand what is expected of them in the classroom. I think it may be hard for students that are less motivated to find purpose in this class because the expectations for them are not very clear and straightforward. Of course, those students who are already overachievers will succeed in any classroom environment.

I believe this is one of the cons of team teaching a class. You don't have the power to structure the class exactly the way you would like to and in turn you are subject to follow the lead teacher's structure. I do think that the ideas for the classes are clearly aligned in Zoe's mind but I don't know if that information is actually given to the students. She often gets frustrated with the students when they are unable to follow her directions for tests and assignments, but I don't think its the students fault. I never blame the students. Even though they should ask more questions to clarify something, their past teachers probably discouraged any kind of questions, so I'm not surprised if they are struggling to gain the courage to speak. I think its still a very scary thing to raise your hand and ask a question. I think its the teacher's first job to make sure the assignment or test questions are as clear as possible. I don't think you are babying the students when you are clearly explaining a major project through a handout. If you want something done a specific way, you need to explain that way to the students. They just won't magically be able to read your mind and produce a piece of work exactly the way you want it without you ever telling them.

As I finished grading papers this week, I was comparing their current work to their first diagnostic test and I've not really seen any improvement. I see the same verb errors and punctuation errors. My biggest fear is these students leave this class with no new skills and they still write the same way. I don't think the class really focuses on writing so its difficult for them to improve if they don't know how. Zoe doesn't like to focus on writing because it is a lot of grading and is boring to teach. Though it is not the most exciting topic, it is so vital for these students to know how to write. Every single assessment in their whole life will be written. They have to know how to express their thoughts in writing.

I've gained much from the students as well. They have taught me how to be flexible. You often plan out an elaborate lesson plan but you may only get to the first quarter of it because the students don't necessarily respond to how you want them to the material. Learning to change your plans instantly is part of being a teacher. I've learned how to excite a class and get them willing to discuss various topics in class. I think the reticence the students is probably one of the toughest battles in the classroom, but slowly but surely they are breaking out of their shell.