It has been exactly 1 year since I've arrived in Singapore. That is why I choose to blog today.

Lets get into the mood of reflection now...

1. What were my perceptions of Singapore/Singaporeans on April 20th, 2007?
I thought that...
- Singaporeans were a confident lot.
- Singaporeans speak good English.
- Singapore would be a nice city to live in, despite it being small and crowded.
- I would feel at home here, since this is truly where I come from.

2. Wht are my perceptions of Singaporeans now?
- They are discourteous. They have a lot to learn about being polite and smiling to people they do not know.
- They speak horrible vegetable English.
- There are a competitive lot, with exceptions here and there. =)

3. How have I changed in this 1 year?
- Not as er, helpful as before...*=(*
- Learnt to see things from other people's perspective
- Not as naive as before. I used to have big hopes of doing well. I have not given up that thought yet, but...
- See things in a wider view. People from different countries have different experiences. We have to see things from their point of view instead of from our point of view(I'm kind of repeating my 2nd point. but this point states that I interact with people from different countries, heh)
- Learnt to be myself in front of some friends
- I have a facade in front of some others.
- Discovered more about myself.

Basically, Penang is still where my heart lies. I remember that one of my SMU admissions interview question was WHY I want to enter SMU. I said that I wanted to return to my home country, where I really come from. But I come to realise that I've been raised in a different environment, ie Penang, and still prefer that environment than the one in Singapore.

Nevertheless, it is the condition of my heart that I have to change. It is not that Singapore is not a good place to live in. It is because of the high stress that I am experiencing in university here which I am in the process of learning to cope with that makes me dislike staying here. I think once I learn to come with the high stress and at the same time, learn to be myself in front of others, I will become a happier person, even in the busiest moments that I have in Singapore. =)