FOOD

Can you smell it?
That is the first thing that makes Singapore Singapore.
Singaporeans are well-known for their enthusiasm in food.
Rojak, Nasi Lemak, Carrot Cake, Black Pepper Chilli Crab, Chicken Rice.
You name it, we have it! :D

Different sources of food in Singapore:

CAFES
Just the thing to perk us up!
That was what would be heard from the young working crowd.
Cafes are usually found near city areas.
StarBucks, Coffee Bean, Tea Leaf
have become the in places for hang outs for the young nowadays.

COFFEE SHOPS
Auntie, one cup of KOPI-O!
Found in most housing estates, one can often find coffee shops almost anywhere in Singapore.
Till today, Singaporeans, regardless of their ages,
can be found here for a nice and simple family meal.

FAST-FOOD RESTAURANTS
I wanna take photo with the yellow clown!
A all-time favourite with children and teenagers,
fast food restaurants are a familiar sights everywhere.
There are MacDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC),
Pizza Hut, Burger King, MOS Burger, Long John Silver and much more!

HAWKER CENTERS/FOOD COURTS
So convenient for takeaways!
Food Courts and hawker centers are peoples' main eating choice while dining out.
An average meal costs around $2-$5 in a hawker centre.
Whereas one in a food courts costs about $3-$7.
Choices of food in hawker centers and food courts are widely ranged.
Some stalls are even offering Japanese, Italian, Indonesian and Korean dishes!
One good example of a food court would be Kopitiam, found in shopping malls.

RESTAURANTS
One 1920s red wine, please. Thank you.
Different from the cheaper and more informal,
restaurants are usually more posh and budget busting.
Whatever the cuisine, the budget or the occasion,there’s definitely more than a few to choose from.
They also have dishes from all over the world.
One restaurant found in Singapore is The Pinnacle.

Some common, well-liked food in Singapore:

Rojak
Nasi Lemak
Chicken Rice
Satays
Laksa
Roti Prata
Chao Kuey Tiao
Carrot Cake

E.g. In Bartley Secondary School, stalls selling various type of food was opened. Some of these examples are 'Chinese Kitchen', 'Indian Fiesta' and 'Makan Malay'.


Lou hei, is a tradition carried out in Singapore during the Chinese new year.

RELIGIONS





A modern society now,
Singapore comprises of Chinese, Europeans, Indians and Malays.
The culture of Singapore expresses the diversity of the population
when various ethnic groups continue to celebrate their own cultures
while they intermingle with one another.

Most Singaporeans celebrate the major festivals associated with their respective religions.
::For the Chinese, they have Chinese New Year.
::For the Indians, they have Diwali (known as Deepavali)
::For the Malays, they have Hari Raya Aidilfitri (known as Hari Raya Puasa)

Each racial group has its own distinctive religion
and there are colourful festivals of special significance all year round.
Each bears its own unique character.
Even so, the bulk of Singaporeans do think of themselves as Singaporeans, regardless of race or culture, as followed by the Singapore Pledge.

"We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation."

Many of its most interesting buildings are religious, be it old temples, modern churches, or exotic mosques.
An understanding of these buildings
does play a part in contributing to the appreciation of their art.

Besides being understanding and appreciating each other's cultures and traditions,
Singapore has also organised various methods for people of different races and religions to interact and mingle with one another.
One of the ways is through school and education.
Students in school can communicate and interact with people from various races and religions.
Despite these differences, students still can have a great time together, because they think of themselves as one people :D


Singapore has also promoted bilingualism,
which is the habitual use of two languages,
whereby English is the linking language between different races and racial groups.

SINGLISH



Singlish is an English-based creole language native to Singapore.
It is the first language of many younger Singaporeans,
especially those whose parents do not share a native language or dialect,
and is the second language
of nearly all the rest of the country's residents.

The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating
from English, Malay (mainly Bahasa Melayu rather than Indonesian), Hokkien, Cantonese, and to a lesser extent various other Indic and Sinitic languages, while Singlish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese.
Also, elements of American and Australian slang have been used in Singlish.

Examples of Singlish (not recommanded for use):

England
Deliberate mispronunciation of "English"
"Wah, your England so powerful, I don't understand."

Act Cute
A phrase that describes behaving in an exaggeratedly cute or adorable fashion. Can be used as both verb and adjective. Usually performed by females who appear they cannot escape their childhood.
"Eh, Ah Lian is always so act cute one! She trying to be smurf, is it?"

Malu
Malay for "shame", "embarrassment" or "loss of face".
"When you talk to Jenny, don't make me malu okay?"

Chope
To reseve or hold something for somebody. Sometimes used in games to denote having attained a "safe" position.
"If we're not at the theatre by eight, can you chope some seats for us?"


The Singaporean government currently
discourages the use of Singlish in favour of Standard English
as it believes in the need for Singaporeans to be able to effectively communicate with the other English users in the world.
The government runs the Speak Good English Movement to emphasize the point.

E.g. In Bartley, classes on Debates on English has been assigned for us to improve on our standard of our spoken English.