Through this amazing opportunity, I was able to tour Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Before I started my journey to Asia, I had always thought of these countries as heavily cultured and full of deep history. When I first heard about this study abroad opportunity, I was elated at the fact that I could have the possibility of traveling to another country to immerse myself in their culture. My classmates and I first stayed and Singapore, and I was just amazed at how clean and heavily vegetated the city was. Most of the buildings were modern and contemporary, and most of the people there spoke English. A difference I noticed between their culture and our US culture is that they can get in trouble for something as simple as eating or drinking on public transit. Another difference I found is that in Singapore, they do not use face towels. As far as Malaysia, the food there was amazing. My group and I were able to visit a heritage center, and we were able to see the living spaces and traditions of Malaysians. There is an amazing drink called “Teh Tarik”, which is tea with sweetened condensed milk that we were able to try. I would definitely recommend it to others. One cultural difference I saw between Malaysia and the US is that they drive on the opposite side of the road. Lastly, we are finally stationed in Thailand, and the Thai food is absolutely amazing. My favorite dish would definitely be Pad Thai. A cultural difference that I see between Thailand and the U.S. is that they have a lot of different types of food items on their McDonalds menu. I saw they actually have a chicken cheeseburger and a special cheese sauce, which I had never heard of but am excited to try.
