YO say CHIse
SA: National University of Singapore
Cover: Photo taken by CAPT ROC; celebration following 2nd place in orientation among 5 houses
Henry, one of the Fall 2026 Study Abroad Correspondents shares his experience abroad during the Fall 2026 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
Yes, I watched Crazy Rich Asians on the flight over. And no, nothing could have prepared me for
what came after I arrived. 50 days later, I still wonder: How did I go from barely surviving my first week in Singapore –
from getting dizzy, sweating bullets, and sleeping in a dorm with no AC – to calling this time one of the best chapters of their college journey? For 3 months, I had built up Singapore inside my head from all the wonderful things I heard, so
expectations couldn’t be any higher; fortunately for me, most of them were met. But even though I had done a lot of research on the region, nothing could have prepared me for the hot, sticky humidity as soon as I walked out of the plane station. Yes, I even tried using the sauna in Pottruck to brace myself for this moment.
Beyond adapting to the climate, there was also a change in culture. During my second week in Singapore, after my newfound friends asked if I could catch up to their fast-paced Singlish, we
walked down to a nearby food centre, Sheng Siong, for lunch. There, one of my friends spotted an empty table among a packed crowd, dropped a small packet of tissues, and another person their phone, then kept walking toward the chicken rice stall. Alarmed by this, I ran up to them and asked: “Aren’t you afraid someone will take your stuff?” to which they replied something
along the lines of: “It’s okay lah, that means we chope already. In Singapore, it is very safe, so don’t worry!” In America, I don’t think I would even trust leaving my notebook at the table in a
restaurant, much less one that has an open area, so I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to hear
that we can reserve tables by simply placing an item at the table.
As many people know, it isn’t really easy to find your community. Fortunately for me, it was, and one of my favorite ones came through a Telegram message: I remember heading out of my dorm one evening, ready to go for a swim, when my other RA, Nick, texted: “Wanna come to the hall to play some sports?” I almost said no because I wanted to swim, but I’m glad I didn’t. That one message is the entire reason I know what Spikeball is, and it’s now one of my favorite things to play. From that point on I kept showing up, especially for sports I hadn’t heard of (i.e. Captain’s Ball, Tchoukball), learned a lot, and made so many new friends while having a lot of fun. One of the best things about CAPT (my residential college) is finding community through similar interests, and there are so many opportunities and interest
groups to do just that!
As an exchanger, I also had many opportunities to travel around Singapore. On national day, we got to see the fireworks show; a few weeks later, we went to see the light show at the Marina Bay Gardens. During our trips to these various tourist spots, we had several reflections. Li-An, Sofia, and Ondrej talked about the hawker centers, amazed at how cheap and scrumptious the food was despite, or maybe because of, the variety of choices. Ashly talked about the reliability of the MRT, fascinated by its safety and cleanliness, without ever waiting more than a few minutes. All the while, Meredith’s camera roll was already overflowing with all the photos she took for and of
us while we were at the Gardens.
Before arriving in Singapore, these were the 4 goals I set in my Global Correspondent page:
- Making new friends, and engaging in clubs while at NUS
- Learning about Singaporean culture
- Broadening my perspective in Economics
- Travelling around Singapore and surrounding regions
I can now say that all of these goals have been met, but I hope to develop them further. Before arriving, I recall Professor McDaniel’s regards on his many travels: to not simply take your own lens abroad, to take a trip away from yourself, and to let a place change the way you think. Perhaps, only then, did you truly travel.
If there was anything being abroad taught me, it lies in the shift on how I viewed the world. I loved bringing my American perspective abroad to share with others, but I was even more fascinated by the perspectives everyone else brought to share.
At the same time, living in a completely different place gave me a newfound appreciation for my
own home. You don’t need to stay abroad to carry this lesson with you (on a personal front, I argue you should as it is a transformative experience). You just have to realize that no two places are meant to be the same, and there is something beautiful about leaving home. Being away from
home could help understand home a little better, or, it could lead you to fall in love with a new place, with everything it has to offer – just as it had done for me.
I look forward to my remaining time in Singapore, with more stories to tell in my next blog!