9 things only people who grew up in Singapore will understand

In countries like Singapore, the fierce heat is met with an equally intense love for air conditioning. So much so that one of Singapore's founding fathers famously said that air conditioning was one of the most important inventions in history.

That's why you can always tell apart the tourists and non-locals just by whoever's brave — or foolish — enough to endure the heat and humidity to dine al fresco.

The official languages of Singapore are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that multilingualism is the norm here. A mixture of these languages, along with other Chinese dialects, is what resulted in the local creole language of Singlish.

A writer based in Singapore, Miss Rachel Reads, creates TikTok videos of herself reading classic books in Singlish, including "The Little Prince." In addition to the use of multiple languages, in Singlish, verb conjugation is often dropped.

Singlish's most iconic word, "lah," can be used to express anything from annoyance — "come over, lah!" — to finality — "okay, lah."

In Singapore's city center, there's not a lot you'd miss with just English alone. Customer-facing workers are pretty good at spotting when someone's incapable of Singlish.

We like to shorten sentences though, so if you're in a taxi and the driver asks something like, "Stop here, can?" The correct response would be either "can" or "cannot." A longer reply like, "Sure, stopping at this taxi stand would be fantastic, thank you," will only complicate things.  

But wander out to the heartlands — the terms used for Singapore's suburbs — and you might be wishing you understood words from the other languages that locals sprinkle into their everyday interactions. 

The debate over whether people should be showering in the morning or at night is still going strong.

But under the tropical heat and humidity, doing so less than twice a day isn't just picking one side of the debate — it's straight-up disgusting.

Just last month, someone posted their frustration about the matter on X, the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter. In a post that's been reposted on X over 1,000 times, the person begged Singaporeans to shower in the morning to avoid some, ehrm, smells.

—sarah ???? (@IMHRESIDENT) August 14, 2023

Fashion trends and brands are global, and the tropical climate doesn't stop us from busting out weather-inappropriate apparel.

In Singapore, the rainy season between December and March is as close to fall as it gets. That one or two-degree drop in temperature is all we need to bust out our hoodies, oversized sweaters, and boots.

Singapore has more than 200 shopping malls. That comes out to around one mall for every 28,000 residents. But these establishments aren't just for shopping.

For those acquainted with life in the tropical heat, these malls provide a cooling oasis to help break up walks through the outdoor heat.

You're not from here if you've never spent a few minutes letting the sweat on your back dry on far-too-cold air conditioning in a shopping mall.

Life near the equator is incredibly regular. Proximity to the equator means that sunrise and sunset don't vary much throughout the year, and the four seasons don't exist.

Instead, one can tell the passing of time by whether it's the season for haze, or tropical diseases like dengue. Starting fires to clear the land for new crops after harvest time is a common occurrence in Southeast Asia, and can result in smog that blankets surrounding countries, including Singapore.

Plus, the hottest months of the year are also prime time for mosquito-borne diseases like dengue to spread — meaning that it's time to clear out your stagnant water and cover up if you're living in a mosquito-heavy area.

One might think that an enormous helping of carbs wouldn't pair well with the sweltering heat.

In reality, though, the amount of energy we burn up in the heat makes a hot bowl of porridge or an enormous plate of rice the perfect accompaniment during lunchtime.

Personally, I recommend Thunder Tea Rice — a vegetarian dish consisting of rice that's topped up with tea leaf soup, herbs, vegetables, and tofu — as a healthy and carb-filled lunch.

Singapore's hawker food culture is a rich tapestry, intricately woven with influences from across Asia. Signature dishes, like Hainanese chicken rice and laksa, which are relished in Singapore, also have roots and variations in neighboring countries like China, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

It's this shared culinary heritage that makes claiming a dish as a country's own pretty contentious. Singapore's bid to have its hawker culture be recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage sparked criticism from social media users in other countries.

My takeaway from this is to enjoy the food, without stepping into messy debates about who owns what.

Ordering one "kopi" — pronounced "ko-peeh" — at a typical corner coffee shop in Singapore will result in a black coffee mixed with a generous dollop of sweet condensed milk. 

Those of us who prefer "kopi-o," black without sugar or "kopi c kosong" coffee with evaporated milk, just shout out the correct order.

Such is the love for these brews that Singapore has seen a ridiculous number of complex charts detailing the many ways you can tailor their coffee — with or without condensed milk.