Culture
Culture is a very interesting thing to me, especially growing up in a multi ethnic city like Singapore, I have always been exposed to people of different races and of different cultures. It’s funny how culture is one of the main topics I’m learning in sociology at the moment. I enjoy sociology because it’sso relatable to real life and I can actually apply it in the real world unlike any other subjects I took before.
What is culture? Cambridge dictionary defines it as the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time
What is culture? Cambridge dictionary defines it as the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time
The reason why I’m bringing the topic about culture up now is because I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Culture here is different from Singapore. The way people behave, text, use social media, date and the way they view things are completely differently. This is something I’m used to since I’ve travelled around Europe before so it’s not like I had a culture shock when I got here. However being here for more than a week is different. I’ve been here since September and I’m still getting used to the culture. I keep talking about cultural difference, let me go into the details. I’ll start with a basic one.
Texting. People in Singapore tend to reply quickly especially if you’re making plans, they do not ghost on you and if they can’t make it, they’ll tell you. Here it’s the opposite. Not every single person is like that but quite a few. (Or maybe I just keep meeting the wrong people) People here take days to reply ( I’ve gotten accustomed to this and I do this nowadays too, sorry friends for the late replies). They ‘double blue tick’ you more times than not and they just completely do not reply you for days. Honestly, maybe it’s cool here but I get really annoyed cause in my culture, it’s just plain rude. It makes me feel like I did or said something wrong, even if I didn’t. If I was 16 again, I would probably be having anxiety.
Dating. Well I’m not in the mood to get into it, plus it will probably take up a whole post alone. But trust me, it’s different. Or maybe I’m different. I’m still figuring it out.
Making Plans. People wait until the last minute to confirm plans, which is really infuriating. I don’t like not knowing what I’m doing. I’ve gotten used to this to a small extent.
I think the main reason why culture here is so different is because London is such a cosmopolitan society with people from all walks of life and all parts of the world, this makes it tougher for everyone to conform to a certain set or rules and norms. Since Singapore is smaller, it’s easier for everyone (despite being from different races and cultures) to follow a certain set of rules.
I guess I’m still getting used to the culture here, it’s not easy to just jump into a need continent as a 19 year old alone and try to figure out the culture and societal norms here. Sometimes I wish I could erase my past- I wish I grew up my whole life here instead, that way it would be less painful to leave my ‘Singapore past’ behind. I know I don’t really mean it, but it’s just painful to leave my life behind, Especially my friends. This is the choice I made and I know it is important for me to be here.
-flyingkaar, London
Texting. People in Singapore tend to reply quickly especially if you’re making plans, they do not ghost on you and if they can’t make it, they’ll tell you. Here it’s the opposite. Not every single person is like that but quite a few. (Or maybe I just keep meeting the wrong people) People here take days to reply ( I’ve gotten accustomed to this and I do this nowadays too, sorry friends for the late replies). They ‘double blue tick’ you more times than not and they just completely do not reply you for days. Honestly, maybe it’s cool here but I get really annoyed cause in my culture, it’s just plain rude. It makes me feel like I did or said something wrong, even if I didn’t. If I was 16 again, I would probably be having anxiety.
Dating. Well I’m not in the mood to get into it, plus it will probably take up a whole post alone. But trust me, it’s different. Or maybe I’m different. I’m still figuring it out.
Making Plans. People wait until the last minute to confirm plans, which is really infuriating. I don’t like not knowing what I’m doing. I’ve gotten used to this to a small extent.
I think the main reason why culture here is so different is because London is such a cosmopolitan society with people from all walks of life and all parts of the world, this makes it tougher for everyone to conform to a certain set or rules and norms. Since Singapore is smaller, it’s easier for everyone (despite being from different races and cultures) to follow a certain set of rules.
I guess I’m still getting used to the culture here, it’s not easy to just jump into a need continent as a 19 year old alone and try to figure out the culture and societal norms here. Sometimes I wish I could erase my past- I wish I grew up my whole life here instead, that way it would be less painful to leave my ‘Singapore past’ behind. I know I don’t really mean it, but it’s just painful to leave my life behind, Especially my friends. This is the choice I made and I know it is important for me to be here.
-flyingkaar, London
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