Evan's Singapore Report

I can't believe I didn't get a photo of Evan with his poster.  But he did such a good job on his culture report.  He knew right away which culture he wanted to report on.  It was a fun walk down memory lane helping him put together his poster and oral report. 

He brought in a piece of Paranakin pottery, a buddha, and a piece of lacker decoration.  

We also gave each child a piece of naan to taste. 

Introduction:

I used to live in Singapore, so for my culture report, I’m going to tell you about the cultures in the country of Singapore.  There are three main groups of people who live in Singapore: Chinese, Malaysian (or Malay), and Indian.  Everyone lives together peacefully and are very respectful of one another’s cultures. 

Most people in Singapore live in HDB condos or apartment buildings. 

Languages:

In Singapore people speak Mandarin Chinese, English, Malay, Tamil, and Tagalog.  All Singaporean students study English as their first language at school. 

They speak their native language at home.  This makes the majority of Singaporeans bilingual. 

Geography:

Singapore is a small island in South East Asia.  It is known as the little red dot, because it’s so small that on a map, you can hardly see it. Singapore is a rain forest.  It’s right on the equator.  It’s always hot and humid, and it never snows! 

Clothing:

In Singapore you might see people wearing traditional Chinese or Malaysian clothes.  Some Indians wear a Sari (a wrap-around dress made of colorful fabric), and Muslims wear hijabs, which are head-scarves. 

For money, they use Singapore Dollars.  Singapore is an expensive place to live, housing can cost as much as London or New York City.  Cars there cost as much as a house costs here.

Religion:

The main religions in Singapore are, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Islam, Mormon, and Christianity.  There are lots of different religions in Sinapore because there are so many different cultures there.  Everyone is very respectful and tolerant of their religious differences. 

Traditions:

Some of the Holidays celebrated in Singapore are: Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Vesak Day (Buddha’s birthday), Hari Raya, Christmas, and, of course National Day.  In 2015, Singapore celebrated 50 years as a country. 

Recreation:

Swimming, Soccer, kite flying, basketball, and water polo are all popular sports in Singapore.  This summer at the Olympics, swimmer Joseph Schooling beat Michael Phelps to win a gold and in the 100 meter butterfly. 

Food:

Food is a huge part of the culture in Singapore.  It’s one way that all of the different cultures in Singapore come together.  The two most popular dishes in Singapore are: Chicken Rice and Chili Crab.  Seafood is very popular.   People eat Chinese, Malay, and Tamil food.  One of my favorite Hawker Centers when I lived there was Al Ameen, it was just across the street from where I lived.  They sold Indian food and my favorite thing to eat there was garlic naan and butter chicken.