First 24 hours in Singapore

As soon as I stepped off my 10 AM flight from TPE to SIN, I felt it: the slightly suffocating, infamous and overwhelming humidity of Singapore. Granted, I was in a long-sleeve shirt and jeans because of the colder temperatures of Taipei, but suddenly I patted myself on the back for packing exclusively shorts, sundresses, and short sleeves.

Walking to immigration, I had to remind myself that I was in a completely different country with no prior connections. This was going to be my home for the next five months.

As I texted my family that I arrived and waited in line with my arrival card, I felt my excitement and anticipation for the semester ahead rise. I was in Changi airport, which many people deem the best airport in the world! To my slight disappointment, I did not have a chance to explore, and my terminal looked like a nice, but ordinary, airport. I got a text from Clara, my "exchange buddy" who graciously met me at the airport to take me to school, the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Clara is a math major who just returned to Singapore after a semester exchange at UNC. There I sorted out money exchange, which I then used to pay for our thirty-minute

taxi ride back to school. Clara informed me that NUS and Changi were at opposite ends of the country and that thirty minutes was all you needed to get from one side to the other.

On the cab ride, Clara and I chatted about the differences between UNC and NUS, between Chapel Hill and Singapore. I asked her about school, classes, culture, MRT cards, SIM cards and whatever else came to mind. She patiently answered all of my questions. I quickly realized that Singaporeans drive on the left side of the road, which threw me off slightly. In hindsight, there is no shame (okay, slight shame) in admitting that I have definitely gotten on the wrong bus going in the wrong direction since I forgot to account for that difference.

In the cab, one of the things that struck me was how LUSH Singapore was. The city has an incredible amount of greenery, including tropical trees, flowers and grass. All was very orderly and seemed routinely managed.

My dorm, Cinnamon, in University Town was really nice, the lobby looked like one of a small hotel. Fine, maybe not quite like a hotel, but a large office space with couches and tables and bookshelves. It is connected to our dining hall, which at that time, I wasn't sure how the meal plan worked (but I figured it out later!) We checked into my room in the lobby, got room keys, and dropped off my two checked bags and backpack.

After Cinnamon, we bussed to a Clementi Mall and the Kent Ridge MRT stop, where I got my SIM card and MRT card. Clara took me to buy some dorm essentials, such as hangers and tissues. I downloaded all the popular bus apps and social media apps they use in SG (Telegram, WhatsApp…etc.) After, we got dinner with Amy and her friend Kayla at our school's cafeteria. The food was incredibly cheap and quite good. All stalls were around $3-$5 SGD (which is $2-$4 USD)!

After a long, long day of traveling and logistics, I was exhausted and, frankly, missed the comforts of Taipei. I headed back to my room to shower and unpack. I ended the night reminding myself what a privilege it was to be able to study abroad in Singapore and the unimaginable adventures and new friends that awaited.