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    Bangladesh: Traditional houses. Go Now!

    Bangladesh
    This low-lying country has historic ties to India and Pakistan, but today maintains a wholly unique culture. Explore Bangladesh!

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    This archipelago nation is culturally diverse from big cities to isolated islands. Begin Your Journey!

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    Tucked away in this Middle Eastern country, the famed city of Petra (pictured) links the past to the present culture. Explore Jordan!

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    This vast country has a culture that spans past and present... a nomadic life shifting to a modern & sedentary society. Begin Your Journey!

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    The mountains, including the Tian Shan Mountains (pictured), give Kyrgyzstan a unique culture, partially formed from this isolation from the mountains. Go Now!

Culture & Identity of Singapore

Introduction

Life in Singapore runs at a rapid pace as the entire country is simple a city, a large thriving cities that is a leader in numerous industries. This urban landscape does much to dictate the way of life in Singapore.

Life in Singapore tends to be based on the clocks and daily schedules. Most people have regularly working jobs, which run from about 9:00 am to about 6:00 pm, but some industries require evening or weekend hours. Life also revolves around the school schedule, which demands a great deal from students. Even after school hours, most children find themselves with a couple hours of school work to do at home, if not more. Most evenings as well as some weekends are occupied with school work. School is very important to most Singaporese and private schooling during months off of school are not uncommon.

The societal pressure placed on schools, is similar to the pressure put on work and positive performance in that setting as well. The people are very competitive with each other and society tends to add pressure to succeeding. Although the society is one that "looks up" and respects their elders, it is also one that encourages growth from its children as family is important and success is non-negotiable.

All the hard work pays off, literally, as Singapore is a relatively wealthy country. However, how the people spend their money and time off is very personalized. Singapore has no shortage of options when it comes to entertainment and as a transportation hub the people can get nearly anywhere in a short amount of time.

However, one aspect of this free time and life that is often overlooked by visitors is that of the daily life after work. While the sky scrapers and laws outlawing gum to maintain cleanliness may give one the impression of sterility, in homes life is much more colorful as markets offer street foods, colorful clothing, and a more laid back lifestyle that is often times much more traditional that it is modern.

Identity

The people of Singapore almost always identify in two ways: both by their ethnicity and by their nationality. As a country primarily consisting of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians, among others, the people almost always state their ethnicity, but also claim that they are Singaporean, which is simply defined by being a citizen of Singapore. In this way the people hold on to their ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identities, but differentiate themselves from people in China, India, or Malaysia by stating they are also Singaporean. Due to this means of identifying, the people are also united as Singaporeans no matter their ethnicity. More than just in name, most Singaporeans differentiate themselves from foreigners of the same ethnicity in many ways, most notably in lifestyle and the fact that most Singaporeans speak both their native language as well as English (English tends to be the language of communication among the Singaporeans). In an odd way, this is another important aspect in defining what it means to be "Singaporean," as opposed to being wholly "Chinese," "Indian," or "Malay."

This page was last updated: November, 2013