Someone I met today was a student from Cornell University. That isn't really very interesting in itself. There are a lot of top performing schools here that get people into the prestigious Ivy League constantly. What's different is that the kid I met was from Singapore.

"So why'd you choose the United States to study?"
"Well, the choice was between here and the UK. I looked at the schools, and I found that when you go to the UK, you only study what you're going to school for. I thought that the education here is more holistic."

I don't know what Singapore is like in any regard, so I was curious why he would pick somewhere with a lot of barely hidden unrest.

"Do you like it in the United States?"
"Yeah I like it so far. There's so much to see and learn that's so different."
"What are you studying?"
"City planning."

A quick Google Search on urban planning in Singapore brings up a very conveniently placed Wikipedia page. It tells you that Singapore has been meticulously planned since day one. It makes me wonder what he thinks of the infrastructure support here, and whether or not he has a taste for the occasionally organic and unorganized ways that cities spread here. Maybe there's something appealing in the perceivable chaos, or maybe it's just a warning to something he should not want to achieve.

I remember back in the 90s it was a big deal when that kid got caned for vandalizing something. There are some crazy laws about being dirty and disrespecting property in Singapore. The laws alone tell you how much they value their public goods and infrastructure, with punishments far more severe than hefty fines. If things appear to be working there, I wonder what they hope to learn from here.

He said that the education is more holistic, so I wonder what he feels about what the current president here. Is it much different from there? I don't believe there is any government entity without woes, but does their administration vehemently oppose each other more than we do here. Is their president or Prime Minister more likely to denounce "real" or "fake" news? Is that normal to him?

I guess I'm really trying to figure out how much of it is a culture shock in the alarming sense. If it were me, knowing I didn't live here would give me a spectator sort of relief. That the world I'm living in isn't really the world I belong to most of the time. He seemed like he came from an affluent family. I wonder if sending your children to the United States is the norm for richer people in those countries.

Maybe he sees what already makes America great, and wants to bring it home. Who knows? We parted ways today, after he said that he was going to go visit Hong Kong, a city not necessarily known for having great urban planning. So who knows?

Maybe he likes a little chaos in his day, but so do I.