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Submitted by Riley Hazel the 2024 Spring program in Singapore, Republic of Singapore…

This Wednesday I decided to go to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, the city of Malaysia that connects to Singapore. I had off and wanted to see Malaysia at least once, no matter where I go. Johor Bahru was an interesting city, mainly known for its shopping and food experiences. I did a little cafe hopping and shopping at the local mall but it surprised me the differences between Singapore and Malaysia only just across the border. For one, Johor Bahru is a lot less clean than that of Singapore despite it being on the border. Wherever I was walking, the streets were a mess and had a lot of trash, but while I’m used to that in most American cities, the air was also terrible too. It was not only very dry, but also smoggy. The cafe’s and where I ate, however, was an entirely different experience than I would experience back home. Most of the cafe’s I went to were both a cafe and clothing concept store. The food choices vastly differentiated than back home, such as having jackfruit cheesecake. The cheesecake is not your average New York style cheesecake, but genuinely a cheese cake that was both moist and crumbly. The baked goods in that country were almost all homemade which made it by far better than back home where msot goods are delivered already made. The mall was filled to the brim with not only shops, btu massage parlors, hairstylists, and vendors separate from stores. It was almost a free for all in there with there being so many stores of the same kind being right next to each other. The Asia obsession with gacha, a by chance figure or toy game, was crazy in Malaysia too with the mall having a collection on each floor. That is one main thing I wish we had back home, but I don’t believe it will be so for a while as that culture isn’t really well known. The people are a lot more reserved as well, barely interacting or even looking at you unless they were a shop keeper. Conversation between strangers is never seen and often is forgotten if you try to converse with a stranger. By far, Johor Bahru, Malaysia was a very interesting place filled with a diverse culture of Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese. Very much so, the culture from Singapore can be seen carrying over into Johor Bahru but not as much. (Submitted on May 3,2024)

Submitted by Navleen Kaur the 2024 Spring program in Singapore, Republic of Singapore…

This is my last weekend in Singapore, and I spent it wonderfully! I visited Kuala Lumpur with my friend, and we had an amazing time dipping our toes into a new culture. Upon landing in KL, my first impressions were that it is a hot, humid, and crowded city. Instead of relying on public transport, we relied on Grab. In the heat and humidity, Grab seemed to be the most convenient option for us. After we got through immigration and exited the airport, we took a Grab to Putra Masjid, also known as the Pink Mosque. This was a beautiful mosque located at the edge of the water. There were many tourists visiting this Mosque, especially Chinese tourists. I also saw some locals visiting the mosque. The locals generally came better prepared as they were dressed in the proper traditional attire which covered their entire body and head. My friend and I were able to borrow full length robes for free and cover our heads before entering the Mosque. Afterwards, we went mall hopping as it was too hot to continue venturing outside. The prices at the malls were much more affordable than the prices I had been seeing in Singapore and Hong Kong. I was able to complete a lot of my shopping for my family in KL! I was especially surprised by the price of books. In the US, books can range from $10-$30. However, in KL’s REXKL, most books were costing around $3 USD! I bought two books, dresses for my sister and cousin, and a top for my mom. FOr myself, I bought the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF 50+. In KL, this sunscreen was about $4 USD while it is sold at about $15 USD in Singapore! I am so happy I stocked up there! My friends were advising me to stock up on any skin care or hair care products in Malaysia because the prices are so affordable. This even carries through over to the food. None of the meals I had exceeded $2.91 USD! The portion sizes of the food were very good and the quality was top-notch. While there were not many vegetarian options in the food courts of the malls we frequented, I was always able to find at least one stall that offered nutritious and a balanced plate. My friend and I did climb the Batu Caves, see the Petronas Twin Towers, wander around the Central Market, and check out the more local spots. Mostly, we stayed in the malls because we wanted to take advantage of the AC and low prices! My study abroad program is wrapping up and I am so grateful that I was able to have such a cultured and vibrant experience. (Submitted on May 1,2024)

Submitted by Riley Hazel the 2024 Spring program in Singapore, Republic of Singapore…

Oh wow, where do I even begin? Just last week I, along with other interns, tried durian for the first time in Singapore. While I was interested to see how it tastes, the others were not. The biggest thing I’ve ever heard about durian was that it smelled terrible, but I surprisingly enjoyed the smell. It’s odd but others were not able to withstand the smell. Besides the smell, we were able to taste the durian as our office bought some for everyone. Lets just say, that I will never have durian by itself ever again. The thing that shocked me the most was that this fruit is not only the least healthy in terms of sugar, but also you can’t eat it with alcohol as it will upset your stomach severely. Thats a suprising fact as you can do so with any other fruit. Now, the taste wasn;t the most pleasant as I did gag a few times. It’s a sweet but bitter taste that can only seem to be missing the sugar. I’ve suggested that it would taste good as a cream puff or an ice cream, to which I was replied to as they have those within Singapore. The texture of the durian was the worst part of it all as it was creamy, like ice cream but also a moist banana. I hated it so much but I ate the rest of what I bit into. I’ve never head of a fruit being creamy before by just eating it raw, but this was the first. The overall rating I gave it was a five out of ten as I’ll hope to never have  it again. I was very suprised when all my coworkers from Singapore, or nearby enjoyed eating the durian. It tasted like ice cream to them which surprised me even more. How can one enjoy such a foul fruit? I gave them the benefit of the doubt since they grew up here and have ate it most of their lives, but I was still astonished. My first ever durian eating experience was surely a memorable one, but one I won’t want to relive again. Trying these new foods that we do not have within the United States is truly wonderful. (Submitted on April 29,2024)