'I eat chicken rice 3 times a week': Swiss expat reveals 'weird habits' she picked up after moving to Singapore

Adapting to a different culture as a foreigner can be challenging, almost like rewiring your thought process. 

However, one expat has wholeheartedly embraced the Singaporean way of life.

Swiss native Mary Muller took to YouTube on Dec 15 to share a list of all the "weird habits" she has adopted after living in Singapore for a year.

The first habit she mentioned is leaving her belongings unattended.

"I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing because Singapore is so safe," she mentioned, noting the presence of CCTVs that make theft seem unimaginable.

With Singapore’ year-round summer climate, Mary said she was initially puzzled when she was served hot or warm water at restaurants.

Mary now finds herself ordering warm water, claiming that it enhances the taste of food.

And with Singapore's diverse food culture offering endless options, Mary surprisingly doesn't mind eating the same food regularly. 

"There are weeks where I eat chicken rice three times a week," she added. "I have fish porridge every other day."

To further illustrate her point, she even said that she can eat leftovers for five consecutive days.

However, she did mention that it's not really a Singaporean habit, but this is something she started doing after living in Singapore because in Switzerland, she would eat out or cook something different every day. 

Carrying a brolly everywhere

Despite Switzerland's weather being an obsession for Mary, Singapore's consistent climate has shifted her focus away from it. 

This makes sense since the former is a seasonal destination, while the latter's weather remains constant most of the time.

With that said, she does carry a portable umbrella, acknowledging Singapore's unpredictable rain bouts and deeming the weather app unreliable.

Mary also highlighted the convenience of 24-hour grocery stores in Singapore, mentioning how the nearest FairPrice is only a three-minute walk from her home

In Zurich, she emphasised the effort required to reach a store, involving driving and weather considerations.

Mastering the art of Singlish is the icing on the cake for Mary.

When texting locally, she forgets about proper grammar, exemplifying with, "Hey girl, can we meet there lah."

Although not grammatically correct, her friends in Singapore understand her. However, she must be cautious with friends in Switzerland, where Singlish may be misunderstood.

Netizens provided additional context to Singlish in the comments section.

One Singaporean mentioned code-switching between Singlish and English based on the situation, while another stated that Singlish is reserved for Singaporeans and proper English is used for others.

Another interesting comment is from Mary herself. In response to a comment about eating Asian food every day, she expressed her full embrace of Singapore in all its delicious glory: "I eat Asian food every day and I don't miss western food at all."

AsiaOne has reached out to Mary for comment. 

ALSO READ: How expensive is Singapore? 2 tourists try to survive on a $50 budget for a day

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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