Been here for a month

It's been a month. And somehow, it wasn't hard getting used to here compared to Taiwan. It's kind of weird why this is so. Taiwan, afterall is a Chinese society. But I didn't feel part of it. Maybe because Tainan has no public transport and I felt like a handicap when I cannot go anywhere independently. People write documents and emails in Mandarin and I felt like I am an idiot who doesn't know how to send emails to the locals. Roadsigns are in Mandarin, which is a constant reminder that I am not at home.

I think in many ways, Singapore is like a Western-Chinese fusion city. Which is somewhat like Urbana-Champaign (UC). There are a lot of Chinese here, so we converse in Mandarin. But the main language outside is English. Singaporeans watch American shows since young, and so there wasn't much difficulty following their accented English (of cos, I cannot understand Texas or Southern-accented English). So it was really quite easy getting used to things here.

Of course, the weather outside is a headache. Sometimes it gets so cold that I don't feel like walking that short distance to the bus stop. Sometimes, the sun comes out and melts away the snow. Sometimes, the melted snow freeze to become ice, and the whole place becomes an ice arena. I slipped down twice yesterday, and nobody was surprised. Treading on the ice really freak me out. And I am glad today turned to a thunderstorm day and the 15 degree celsius rain thawed away the freaking ice. It's amazing how the weather changes constantly everyday. And I find myself glued to the weather forecast every now and then.