A Singaporean Arrival

by Reuben Passi, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

After over 24 hours of travelling from the UK, I finally touched down in Singapore during the early days of August ready to start on a new adventure on a completely new continent.

Doing thorough research before coming to NUS definitely helped me to prepare for what sort of challenges may arise however when you finally arrive and are immersed in the environment nothing can truly prepare you! I arrived a few days prior to one of Singapore’s most prominent national holidays called National Day and so not only was I whisked up in the frenzy of meeting new exchange students and trying to get used to a new environment but was also able to witness some gorgeous firework displays and festivities at the Marina Bay Sands!!

However, one of the first striking things about Singapore truly is the weather as never in my life before have I experienced such levels of heat and humidity! Just to our luck most of the exchange students and I arrived in the middle of a heat wave so adapting from the mild 20-degree heat of home to the 32-34 degrees in Singapore was an enormous challenge especially as my dorm room was not equipped with AC. Nonetheless, after a few weeks, I did begin to adapt to the heat however I can safely say that no one ever fully adapts to the humidity here despite what they may say! However, despite how overwhelming this can be at first, being in a perpetual state of summer does have its perks as you never have to worry about wearing a big coat or scarf again.

Before arriving, I was pretty anxious about making new friends as I didn’t know anyone going to NUS or any other universities in Singapore at all and so completely on my own! However, the university put on a few events such as campus tours that allowed me to meet people as well meeting people in my hall and through group chats online that connect all of the exchange students. Therefore, before classes had even begun, I was able to make friends straight away which greatly helped me to adapt and adjust to being in a new place. The great thing about making friends with other exchangers is that everyone also wants to travel around Asia and so not only are you able to meet new friends but also you can start to plan trips to new destinations that you wouldn’t have even dreamed of being able to go to before.

Overall, my arrival in Singapore was full of incredible memories that I will continue to look back on for many years to come!