Yup, exactly 2 years ago, on a rainy morning I took my stuffed travel bag, and headed to a tiny local airport to start a 22 hour journey to Singapore. And on 17 August 2008, I touched ground on Changi Airport. Ah! So sentimental!
Coming to Singapore I did not expect much – I really just wanted to go somewhere, and Singapore felt welcoming and interesting.
One of my first photos in SG
So, what surprised me about Singapore?
- Equality of genders! In Europe there is a stereotype that in Asia women have to be submissive and are ill-treated. But since coming to Singapore, I start to think that in Europe most people are sexist and misogynistic. When I walk into the office, I feel it does not matter if I am a woman or a man, and I have always been fairly judged on what I did, not who I was.
- Common language - European Union has huge issues pulling their act together, because even after 60 years, they still cannot agree on picking a common language! They say it’s impossible to make people adapt a second language for the purpose of easier communication, so when you travel to Europe, most people speak their native language, but no English. Singapore proves this so wrong!
- Acceptance towards people of different religions and races – I come from a country that is catholic in an extremist way, and since I am not catholic, many times I have been bullied, humiliated or ill-treated with the aim of coercing me to be catholic (silly, ain’t it?). In Singapore, I feel no one cares what I do, what I believe in or how I want to live my life as long as I’m not a nuisance to others.
- The highly raved Singaporean cuisine - turned out to be just 3 types of food: fried, deep fried, and stir fried! ;p
Of course I love the clean environment, safety, lack of vandalism 
But what I don’t like? I hate the constant allegations that just because I’m ang moh, I must be super rich >:|, when that is so not the case… Yes, I do admit that ang moh are guilty of lowering salaries for common Singaporeans – because we are desperate to get a job, and start out with a disadvantage in the recruitment process, and so we are ready to work managerial and high-grade jobs for equivalent of a domestic helper salary, so in the end your boss will also want to pay you so little (if the ang moh can work for peanuts, so can you fellow Singaporean ;p). And yet, I constantly am faced with opened or joking allegations that I swim in cash.
Ok, I know there are also those filthy rich ang moh, who have package, car and who knows what else… But so are some seriously rich Singaporeans here, and it does not mean every Singaporean is dirty rich, ohkay? 
AWESOME post!!! I’m glad U love singapore! I’m sure U’ll b staying here for good!
Question: u came here just to explore, and then landed a job? or did u land a job then decide to come to singapore?
Anyway, I’ve been here 12 years. but it does seem like just yesterday…
glad you love this place! It seems to me you love the food here! hehe
I moved to Singapore about 8 months before you did and i am an ang moh as you are and unlike you I noticed here:
In relationships men are little more than butler.
In working environment, you are right, no differences but I didnt feel that back in old europe.
Common language you are referring to mandarin ?
And sorry but it is a bit naive believing that 300 million people from Hamburg to Tarifa will speak the same common language. I wish, I really wish, but it is not doable.. The scale between Singapore and Europe is too different to be compared.
A strong, excessive, exaggerate interest for the old testament. Never seen so many people reading that book as in here. Let alone those who try to help your lost soul and approach you every other day. Personal experience.
And honestly never felt so much “noise” about races as in here. As if there were races other than human race.
On the rich ang moh issue…I agree with you. I hate the double price for everything..Angmoh price vs Local Price..
I live in a HDB in Pasir Ris but they all assume i stay in a condo in district 11
PS: There is a typo in the title
Come for the English and acceptance, Stay for the food!
Aaah yes, the food
I loved it so much I gained 30 pounds after 2 years in SG. Fortunately I lost those pounds just recently, but still, SG poses a risk of obesity for food lovers 
hi hi….i come and work in singapore for 3 months dy^^ the life was quite nice oso..i means for me ^^
Let’s enjoy the life ^^ cheers~
This is very interesting thank you for this post
Happy 2 years!:D
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Glad that u like Sg… so u go ‘steady’ with a local guy before? hee… sorry, mebe tis is personal but jus curious.. aniway, stay ur stay here as long as u like :>
lol..suddenly one thought comes up in my mind : you should actually publish this post on Sg National Day ! haha…
Anyway , happy to hear that you like Sg ^^
@Daphne dunno about Angmogirl, but none of my European friends managed to get a job here b4 arriving here. Aaa so true about the food ^^
Are you still as scrawny? heheheh
nope, I’m fat now ;p
I agree with Lorenzo, comparing Europe to Singapore is rather different, it is much larger scale, it is meant to be an ECONOMIC union more than anything else (don’t let policy makers fool you)and for the most part the people who matter in business and politics speak English. In fact I have had troubles learning languages from locals sometimes because they are so keen to speak English and they do so fluently so your claims that “hardly anyone” speaks English doesn’t apply to everywhere in Europe.
And really, I don’t know which part of Europe you come from but I’ve lived in Finland, Norway and Sweden (I’m a half Finn-half SG Malay) and at least up here in the Nordics I don’t feel any inequality between genders. In fact I find women are quite empowered and have a lot of say in the workplace.
Perhaps there is a bit of bias in what you wrote, of course I understand the food etc etc. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. There are some things I really love about Singapore, but ultimately it’s not the ideal place to stay for me and that’s why I never took up citizenship. Good for you that you like it there though
I think Nordic countries have dealt successfully with gender in-equality, and probably that sort of explains why a small fraction of my family did emigrate there ;p