Newspaper Review 1 - How Do I Love Singapore? Let Me Count the Ways...

I have lived in Singapore for the past eight years. I stay in a HDB flat with my parents and my 13 year-old brother .I have no relatives staying here so I used to get quite lonely during my first one or two years here. But, as time passed, I got to know my neighbours more.

I have shifted house four times yet I do not get lonely often as my neighbours can always keep me company. Many of my Singaporean friends have made me feel very fortunate to be living in Singapore. These are just some of the reasons why I wish I could stay here for more years to come:

• During my stay in my last house I moved out of, every Friday would be me and my neighbours’ ‘get together night’. Each family would at least one dish of food and we would meet each other at the void deck area. We would play badminton too.

• When my family and I would go to the supermarket to shop for groceries the salespersons always have a smile on their face and are very helpful.

• When I first came to Singapore I did not really like any spicy foods, but now I love it, I especially like curry chicken, YUM!

• My current neighbours are very friendly .Every time they see my family or even me they will greet my with a smiling face .That family is a Malay family so they even invited us to their house to celebrate Hari Raya; • A woman once helped my mother find her way to KK Hospital as my mother applied for a job there and it was her first time going there.

• My mother’s colleagues were very kind and patient with her when she was still new.

• Now more places in Singapore are smoke free not like in other countries, people smoke almost everywhere.

• When I first started primary school I was nervous and scared, thinking other people would treat me differently as I was not from Singapore. But, instead I became good friends with most of the girls in my class in just two to three days. Until now, I still have a very good friendship with all of them.

Singapore is a country that will stand as one united people regardless of race, language or religion. I could list all the reasons why I love Singapore, but I am sure that I will still have many more reasons the next day yet they all cannot describe how much I LOVE SINGAPORE!!!

Jan C Relador