My initial impressions of Singapore were that it was surprisingly similar to America in some ways, primarily the level of development and industrialization in the city. The shopping malls were populated with stores commonly found in American malls, and there were a surprising amount of American fast-food restaurants scattered throughout the city. However, there were also many differences immediately apparent between Singapore and America. While much of the fast food was similar, the vast majority of restaurants were very diverse in cuisine, from traditional Singaporean to Northern Indian. Once you begin to get further from the urban centers, the flora and fauna were also quite different from those found in America, and far more diverse. Obviously, there were many signs in different languages, however, the number of languages was surprising. In America, at least in the South, oftentimes signs and warnings are displayed in Spanish and English, but in Singapore, most signs were written in at least three different languages. The infrastructure too was much different. I was extremely impressed by the efficiency and scale of the MRT system. The stations each had a unique architecture and multiple expansive platforms for linking routes. The number of people using the system must have been immense, but it rarely felt very crowded with the masterful design. With regard to the program, my first impressions were quite good. It seemed we would have much more free time than I originally expected, but still have a solid number of structured events at interesting places to look forward to. Those on the trip also seemed pretty cool, even though I hadn?t spoken to most of them yet. The hotel was also pretty awesome. The rooms weren?t too small, and the daily breakfast buffet was extremely impressive, and on the whole, tasted quite good. I just hope no one gets beat up at some club.
