After spending 2 weeks in Singapore, I can confidently say that it is the best place I have ever visited! From the incredible cuisine to the kind locals, Singapore is truly an amazing destination!
Looking back, Singapore is not really what I was expecting before the trip, in a good way! People had told me that Singapore would be clean, but I was expecting that it would be a step up from New York City, but still somewhat disorganized since there are so many people. However, to my surprise, there is not a piece of trash anywhere in the city. The whole city is maintained like a luxury property.
After talking to some locals, I quickly learned the reason for the cleanliness of the city. Everyone calls Singapore a “fine” city, and they have 2 reasons for this. The first reason is simply how nice the city looks. However, the second reason is because you can be financially fined for every small thing. For example, littering costs 300 Singaporean Dollars for the first time, and it only gets worse from there. The locals mentioned that although places like Japan focus on tradition to keep the city clean, Singapore uses fines to give the people the mindset to keep the city clean.
Since this was a Business Study Abroad, we had some fascinating business meetings that we attended. We went to many places, like: Halliburton, ExxonMobil, Maybank, ESSEC, The US Embassy, S&P Global, and an A&M Business Dinner! During each of these business meetings, we learned quite a lot about the business aspects in Singapore. It was very interesting to learn about how culture plays a large role in the Singaporean business practices. The business professionals are direct and straight to the point with each meeting, which helps achieve efficiency. When touring the Halliburton factory, we were astonished by the great amount of discipline that each employee has, as each of them were completely focused with no phones or any other distractions. Businesses in Singapore still ensure that they keep the employees happy, but they have strict boundaries between having fun and completing the tasks that a job entails.
This trip really helped me grow my business network by meeting a lot of people, especially Aggies! It is amazing how big the Aggie network truly is, and how many people are part of the Aggie network worldwide. With each business that we went to, they gave an overview of their business practices and also made sure that we could ask questions to better understand how they do business. This really helped us understand the Singaporean way of doing business, as well as make connections to the similarities and differences compared to the American way of business.
After talking to many locals, many Singaporeans have a lot of respect for Americans. They really respect the American business practices and it was very interesting talking with them about how life differs in Singapore from the US. Many things like giving tips at restaurants and the ages for schooling were fascinating to learn about. It was especially interesting talking to locals about the military service that each male has to complete when they turn 18. The 2 years of service makes people seeking a degree start college at 20, not 18 like in the US.
My initial impressions of Singapore from when we got there were mostly accurate, but I learned a lot more throughout the trip. The cleanliness that I saw at the airport when we landed was maintained everywhere throughout the trip. It is amazing how such a largely populated city is able to maintain such a clean environment.
I am very excited to go back to Singapore one day and spend more time exploring the glamorous city. I am very thankful for my time there, and I am also appreciative to CIBS, Texas A&M University, Dr. Lane, and Mrs. Castro for making this trip happen. I am also very thankful for Sharon and Irman, our tour guides, for their dedication to making our trip memorable.
