Ryan Akiba has found his future home during his travels with the Semester at Sea program: Singapore.
“We just left Singapore and are on our way to Vietnam and what an astounding place it was. Singapore was, by far, my favorite place I have ever been in my life. ,” Akiba wrote in an email, “I can now say a great big “thank you” to Semester at Sea for showing me where I want to be spending the majority of my life.”
Akiba loved everything about Singapore: The layout of the city, the lifestyle of the people, and the sophistication.
Before visiting, Akiba said he had the stereotypical impression of Singapore being the “country of laws” because of the numerous laws against littering, spitting, jaywalking and many other seemingly petty acts. While there are many laws, he added, Singapore is a place where people don’t seem to have the desire to break them.
“There is no desire to litter because trash is unclean and requires someone else to pick it up for you. There is no desire to spit in the street because the streets are clean and spitting would dirty it. There is no desire to jay walk because if everyone were jay walking it would create chaos in the streets,” Akiba wrote. “(Essentially), Singapore, as the grandiose and advanced city that it is, harbors individuals who have learned, and in turn (taught each other), that while the individual is of the utmost importance, we cannot benefit ourselves at the detriment of society.”
See photos from his visit to Singapore here.
