My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore Read Online Free PDF Page B

girls in my AEP are sort of in cliques so I’m alone.
    You know, before I came, everyone told me that it’s going to be so tough studying here but it’s not true at all! I’m quite free (and lazy).
    There’s an ASEAN scholar at my school who’s staying at Marymount Hostel. There’re only 36 girls there and NO GUYS! There are six girls to a room and in the whole hostel there are only four toilets! They can’t go out, like go shopping! And they have nuns to watch them during prep time. My God! It sounds terrible. Their rooms have no tables, terrible!
    That girl I told you about—Yoonphaik—has very funny features. Her ears are small and shaped differently from ours, and her arms have two lines at the elbows (instead of one like ours) and her arms bend like this:

    She has a line running down the back of each leg and other funny things. She told us all this, and said how creative God is to make her like this. My God, she’s full of admiration for God!
    A misconception about Singaporeans is that they’re SO clever. Of course, their education system makes them a lot cleverer than us, but it’s ’coz of the way they learn from young. They’re not super geniuses or anything. What I like here is the education system. But I haven’t been studying alot or reading much or becoming cleverer and cleverer. I realized that I haven’t read any wholesome books in my life before. I mean, all I read are silly kids’ books, romance novels and a lot of Archie comics. I’m now reading The Barretts of Wimpole Street which is a play the Sec 2s read last year for Literature. Tell me ’bout everything. How’s your life back in BM and at school? Are you taking tuition? Reply soon PLEASE. I’m always waiting for your letter.
    Love, Pei Yi
    Thursday 16 January
    Dearest Mei Yee
    It’s late at night now. Your birthday is in half an hour’s time. I’ve just finished rereading your old letters. When I read your letters, I giggle. This morning Nicole and I woke up so late—at 6.30 am—so I skippedbreakfast. I’ve changed partner. Here’s the sitting arrangement in my class:

    My former partner, Siyan, gave the excuse that the OHP (overhead projector) needs more space so I’m now sitting at “” and Siyan at “X”. Siyan doesn’t want to sit with me. I feel so disliked in school ’coz I have no close friends.
    Swimming lessons tomorrow—I’ve paid S$15 for a course but I can’t go ’coz period is here! Damn period. Sanitary pads here are more expensive. The only thing that’s cheaper is highlighter. Only 80 cents each.
    Alisa’s former school in Malaysia has pupils that are rich, famous, extremely beautiful or talented. That’s the impression I get but she says they’re all very normal and not like what I think. One of her classmates represents Malaysia for sailing and another one of her classmates is the Sultan’s grandson. Alisa is a class prefect.
    She’s the kind of girl that’s popular and has many admirers. She eats very little and exercises a lot.
    What have you been doing in BM? HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You’re now SWEET SIXTEEN. Any admirers already? How’s Jackson? Still so disgusting? I better go to sleep now.
    Love, Pei Yi
    Friday 17 January
    Dearest Mei Yee
    Today is your birthday. School was quite nice today. We had a class party today and I took some photos. The photos are being developed at Coronation Plaza. I’m glad I’m now sitting with Huiwee and near Yoonphaik, Serena and Lingling. They’re quite nice and friendly. My classmates have this stereotypical impression of me being a goody-goody, extremely clever and a bookworm. One of them was reading a trashy novel and when I asked her, “What book are you reading?”, she replied, “You don’t read this kind of book.” And during some class activity, when we had to say what our