I remember that it was about after I finished grade two in Singapore when I got back with my mom and brother. As I said, I worked really hard and skipped grade three, and I don't really remember when exactly, but I finally went to live with my mom and my brother. It was nice that I could be an annoying clingy child again. It's fine wanting kids to grow up, but making them live with other strangers and not able to visit you is not the best idea. Anyway, me and my brother were still not getting along, but it did not bother me that much back then. I would usually just hang out with that house owner woman's daughters and her friends since those were the people I met first when I got to Singapore. Everyone was nice in school and I was a good student, but I didn't often hang out with people after school or anything.
The education in Singapore is strict. It's a lot about discipline, so most students are good students. I know I describe it like it's a scary hell and the teachers there are devils or something, but it's actually not that bad. If you grew up there, you won't feel like it's anything too strict or scary because that's how you were raised. I don't know if they still do, but when I was there, I remember a kid getting corporal punishment for doing something wrong, nothing major, just the palms. That's okay because many countries' schools do not discourage corporal punishment. It's just the high expectations they have for students that can drive people insane. I didn't like it at all. I did fine in school, and I tried because I feared failing and being not successful. They basically train kids to be perfect even at a young age. Putting kids in classes arranged in their overall marks and yelling out kids' grades for everyone just scares me, but who am I to say anything, since Singapore's education system does promise success and it's a free country. You're welcome to leave or to just not care about grades. People who can graduate their universities have the potential of many successful careers and a stable income.
Anyhow, I didn't hate or love my days in Singapore. It was what it was. My mother started going to English lessons. Even Singapore does not teach the most standard English and pronunciations. It was still a nice little two years to let me and my family get started on the language. Us three also got baptized and started going to church there. Most families were Buddhists in Taiwan, and even though we practiced the simple traditions of Buddhism, we felt more drawn to Christianity. It was also a time when my mother was just getting used to not having a career and being a full-time mother, so she needed that support and faith. I was grateful we found God, and our faith helped us through some difficult times. Honestly, I don't know how my mom did it. I remember she was taking care of so many things. She even made me and my brother sleep with her every night to save electricity bills, because Singapore is summer-time all year long and there's one air conditioner in each room. She even had to help my dad's business in Taiwan through Skype when my dad got too busy.
In the end, we left Singapore because of the academic pressure was getting heavier and heavier, and it wasn't easy for us, especially since we just started to learn English. Also, there is a massive examination for all six graders that is very very important, and my brother, who was older, was getting closer to the sixth grade, and my mother thought that it would be too much pressure for him. So, we decided to move to somewhere in North America, but the problem was... schools in North America let students continue the grades based on what they had completed in their last country, and because of Singapore's standards, they made me and my brother retake and drop grades. So if we move right away from Singapore, we would not be able to go to the grades of our age. That is why we decided to move to our next destination, Malaysia.
Editor: A.B.
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