Being in this environment, I’ve also noticed how different my eating habits have become. At Berkeley, I ate more sandwiches, pasta and pizza. Now, rice and noodles are the staples. Breakfast is different, too. In the United States, I think of pancakes, waffles, bacon, cereal or hash browns as breakfast foods. At my cafeteria here, many of the main food stalls serve similar dishes throughout the day, although there are also toast, cereal and pastry options.
One difference really surprised me: my cafeteria doesn’t have dessert! At Berkeley, I was used to seeing cookies, cakes or muffins available with meals. Here, that’s not part of my normal cafeteria experience. Food has ended up being one of the easiest ways for me to notice the similarities and differences between everyday life in Singapore and life back home.
