this is everything i didn't say
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exchange diaries #5 singapore vs busan
Wednesday, 10 July 2019 || 12:03 am
i am writing this back in Singapore. time flies, and all good things come to an end. my exchange in Busan had been a roller coaster ride, no doubt, but i am so grateful for the things that happened in the school and of course in the country. my last week in Seoul had been really crazy as i went idol-chasing and i'll probably have another post for that separately. but in this post, i would just like to talk about the differences living in Singapore and Busan. what i write in this post are purely my own opinions and other people might have different feelings about it.
1. the weather
i went to Korea having to wear three layers of clothes in March, and left Korea sweating in a t-shirt in June. meanwhile in Singapore, i sweat all day every day. i really really like the cooling weather in Korea, even though three layers is a lot, but sometimes i don't even sweat for a whole day and i loved that feeling. i think the nicest weather was in May, like around 20 degrees celsius and with the sun, it is a perfect weather. i absolutely loved it and was reluctant about coming back to Singapore because it is summer 24/7. also, seeing flowers grow on trees even though it was for a short period of time, was really really breathtaking. but then again the spring season, somehow, was when i started seeing a lot of couples going out HAHA. ok but i absolutely loved Korea's cold weather. except for the fact that when it rains, it rains for the whole day and doesn't stop. also, towards summer, we get longer days, that's pretty fun. i also liked that the sun rises at 5/6am so the sky is already bright, which makes it so much easier to wake up early in the morning, compared to in Singapore, where sometimes i struggle to even wake up at 7am..
2. traffic
let's just say i almost die once a day every day walking on the roads. while in Singapore, the cars give way to pedestrians most of the time, it is not the case in Korea. i really have to look right, look left, look right and left again and right again, to cross the road. even crossing at the traffic lights can be scary sometimes. the cars just zoom past you like that. i think one very cool thing about the traffic in Korea, is that it is the opposite side from Singapore. i don't know, i just found it really cool. but yes, on the roads in Korea, we gotta be alert.
3. public transport
eating is allowed in public transportation in Korea. i needed some time to get used to this. BUT EATING IS ALLOWED. okay you obviously don't eat like a packet of chicken rice in the train, but like you can eat a sandwich or a fruit in the trains or buses. i loved this. but i had to control myself when i came back to Singapore. also, we didn't have to tap out our card while alighting the bus because the fare is deducted when we board the bus, and i got so used to just hopping off the bus like that. when i got back to Singapore, every time i take the bus, i had to make a mental note to myself to tap my card out. also, similar to the reserved seats in Singapore trains, there is a reserved section of about six seats in the subways in Korea. based on my own experience, while some Singaporeans tend to "save face" and not sit in case they see someone in need board the train, most locals in Korea just go for the seats. like, just go for it man. also, unlike the Singapore trains where we can see how long it takes for the next train to come which is on average three to four minutes, the trains in Korea have a fixed time to arrive at a station on a daily basis, so the waiting time varies. it was pretty interesting for me. AND AND AND the bus stops in Korea are not sheltered so on a rainy day... i prefer to stay indoors.
4. amount of walking and hills
everyday was legs day when i was in Busan. even when i don't want to, i would have to climb hills or stairs every single day without doubt. because my dormitory campus is located on the foot of a mountain and the dormitory is right at the top of the campus... and even if i take the bus up, i will still have to climb a bit. i'm only complaining because i think i did not lose weight from the climbing.. while walking in Singapore is mostly on flat ground which i learnt to be really thankful for, walking in Busan would require some proper footwear in my opinion.
5. recycling
truth time: i never really used the recycling bins in Singapore and usually just throw everything into the dustbin. but in Korea, their rules on separating trash is really strict. we had to separate paper, tins, plastic and stuff. the trouble for me is that sometimes the labels of the recycling bins are in Korean and i don't understand the words. but with this experience, i feel that Korea is a country which is trying its best to save the earth.
6. dustbins
or the lack thereof. honestly, it is really really hard to find dustbins along the roads of Busan personally. but the streets are still generally quite clean. in Singapore, there are dustbins literally everywhere and i think i kinda took them for granted because when i went to Korea, sometimes i had to hold my trash with me all the way until i went back home. i learnt to put a small empty plastic bag with me whenever i go out to put my trash in it because i knew that it would be some time before i come across a trash bin.
7. plastic bags
talk about saving the earth, most stores in Korea do nOT give plastic bags. they will charge you for a plastic bag. so every time i go out, i bring a a recycle bag with me just to save that ten cents or two every time i go shopping. bless the free plastic bags we have at ntuc but i think in ntu they have stopped with the plastic bags already.
8. studying culture
the competitive education system in Korea is no joke. i already saw people studying on the first week of school. and even as an exchange student, i saw everyone around me studying and felt the need to study as well. which was why i studied quite a bit for midterms. but i slacked off during finals. it's really intense and i found it really scary because once the exam period comes, you see the reading room seats being choped by books. they overnight study and stuff in the reading room and whenever i see people studying and i'm not, i comfort myself by telling myself that i'm an exchange student. i thought studying in Singapore was stressful but in Korea, it's like a whole other level in my opinion.
9. greeting
respect, respect, respect. people in Korea greet by bowing to one another which was something i had to remind myself to do, and sometimes i end up waving and bowing at the same time. it really surprised me, because even in church, one kid bowed to me???? i guess in Singapore we are more casual with our greetings we wave and say yo and stuff but in Korea i had to say annyeonghaseyo and bow and bowing, in a way became a habit to me as i said it to store owners and bus drivers. and thanking bus drivers as well. it was something that i never did when i was in Singapore before.
these are the first things that come to mind when i compare Busan to Singapore. comparing to what the media portrays, there are so many things about Korea that i learned from my own experience and it really was an eye-opening, interesting one. if i could stay in Korea for half a year again, i would, but if i was better in the language. as for now, i'll just stay in Singapore and recover from my idol-chasing ventures i had in Seoul.
till next time x
