July 20, 2016, 09:00 AM 
For those of us lucky enough to have studied/worked overseas, life is great. At least for the first year. First, you fill your apartment with furniture you actually chose for yourself. You bring pets/people home where your parents might have frowned upon. And some people get to own a car – without getting into massive debt for the next ten years.
But once the novelty settles, there’s a whole bunch of things you’ll miss about Singapore – and it’s just more than the usual food/Singlish/safety, etc.
1. Singapore’s relatively benign ah bengs
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Singaporean’s ah bengs are hooligans? Pfft. They’re relatively harmless compared to the thugs you’ll meet overseas. When you’re alone on the subway at 11 pm and gang of rednecks/bogans enters your carriage, you’ll wish they were ah bengs.
2. Not being questioned at the airport
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Immigration Officer: How long will you be in for?
Me: About a year or so.
Immigration Officer: Do you have a return ticket?
Me: No, I haven’t bought it.
Immigration Officer: Why?
Me: Because I might want to stay a little longer after this semester for some sightseeing.
Immigration: Why?
Eh bro, your country is great. But not that great, you know?
3. Not being questioned at the airport for your dietary decisions
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Immigration officer: What’s this?
Me: Chilli.
Immigration officer: Doesn’t look like chilli.
Me: It’s belachan.
Immigration officer: We’re going to have to take a look.
It’s goddamn belachan, not C4. Why don’t you people understand that?
4. Not paying for extra condiments at McDonalds
Love extra ketchup and a bit of extra spice? Count your blessings you live in Singapore. McDonald’s overseas can and will charge you anywhere from US$0.10 to US$0.25 for one extra serving of condiment.
Doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you’ve never paid for sauce as a Singaporean, prepare for a massive culture shock.
5. Relatively decent public transport
YOU MISS A TRAIN. NEXT TRAIN: 57 MINS
That’s like a breakdown every day. Something SMRT fortunately hasn’t achieved yet.
6. Having shops open after 6 pm
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Who knew? Singaporeans working the longest hours in the world could be a good thing. Especially when you’re in a tiny town like Loughborough and everything is shut after 5 pm.
7. Ordering fast food using Singlish
^ Just about the only people who can understand your gibberish
What you actually say: “Aunty can I have one Meh-Nugget, one Meh-Furry and a small French Fry lease?”
What you exactly want: Hi, could I have one box of McNuggets – no meal – one McFlurry with a small box of French Fries.
What people think you want: A single piece of McNugget, a furry ice cream and one french fry. One.
8. Hanging out with people of different races
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Singapore has a long way to go before true multiculturalism is achieved. But take heart – we’re doing in far better than most countries. Stay overseas long enough and you’ll notice that people of different races hanging out is pretty rare.
9. Affordable durians
Five bucks a seed for generic ‘unbranded’ durians?
10. Not tipping people
For those who have lived in the US, tipping involves giving up to 15%-20% of your money every time you dine – even if the service sucked. That’s like contributing to CPF every time you buy a pizza. And tipping is not even a good practice.
Watch:
11. Not paying a tonne of money for chicken rice
Chicken rice at Maxwell Hawker Centre: $3.50
Chicken rice at Melbourne Central: $8.50
12. McDonald’s Curry Sauce
Speaking of sauce, one of Singapore’s overlooked 21st century achievements is that McDonald’s great curry sauce was developed right here. There might be the McCroissant in Germany and the McOZ down under, but you know these pale in comparison to the tastiest sauce known to humankind.
But here’s the good news – McDonald’s is releasing a limited edition bottle of curry sauce. One that you can check in your luggage and bring along for the next semester for a taste of home.
Interested? You can grab these off at any McDonald’s outlets come 21 July 2016. Simply purchase any Extra Value Meal and you can purchase this Limited Edition Curry Sauce Bottle @ $4.50! Limited quantity only… trust us when we say LIMITED QUANTITY.
This article is brought to you by McDonald's, which greatly helps our writer repay his study loan debt and occasionally go on vacation.
Top image from here.
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