Singapore (Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette)

Whether you travel for business, pleasure, or a combination of the two, the ever-popular "Culture Shock!" series belongs in your backpack or briefcase. Get the nuts-and-bolts information you need to survive and thrive wherever you go. "Culture Shock!" country guides are easy-to-read, accurate, and entertaining crash courses in local customs and etiquette. "Culture Shock!" practical guides offer the inside information you need whether you're a student, a parent, a globetrotter, or a working traveler. "Culture Shock!" at your Door guides equip you for daily life in some of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. And "Culture Shock!" Success Secrets guides offer relevant, practical information with the real-life insights and cultural know-how that can make the difference between business success and failure.

Each "Culture Shock!" title is written by someone who's lived and worked in the country, and each book is packed with practical, accurate, and enjoyable information to help you find your way and feel at home.

 (6 customer reviews)

This is a useful book for knowing how to behave at a local cocktail party or with your local business clients. But when I lived in Singapore in the late 90's I found it did not explain the aspects of Singapore society that actually caused me amd my family "culture shock" - rude crowds, unpleasant public behaviour, and the unexpected reaction of Singaporeans to their efficient, but not exactly pleasant government. I and other expats supplemented this Culture Shock guide with books like Stan Sesser's *The Lands of Charm and Cruelty,* which had an extremely helpful account of S'pore and of "the irrational fear which even the best educated Singaporeans feel towards their government." This is certainly something we experienced. Sesser helped us understand this attitude of our neighbors/acquaintences and made it possible for us to know how, politely, to talk with them about matters other than simply small talk (I would have liked to have known about that from the Culture Shock guide to...Read more

Bought this book on the strength of other titles in the Culture Shock series. Was disappointed with its boilerplate descriptions of the process of culture shock and culture-by-culture descriptions of major holidays. As other reviewers have mentioned, there is little discussion of the realities of modern Singapore nor the aspects of which will most likely cause cultural misgivings (ki'asu culture, pursuit othe 5Cs, difficulties in making local friends, government policies towards the media, arts and alternative lifestlyes, etc.). Furthermore, few practitical strategies for dealing with life in Singapore are introduced (building a network of friends, taking advantage of extensive opportunities for personal and professional development, developing a love of sports, using Singapore as a hub for exploring the region, etc.)

This book was recommended to me as a 'must read' by a friend who had already done the expat thing in Singapore. The other review of this book nearly decided me not to bother with it by dismissing Craig as just an expat wife. I'm really glad I decided to give it another chance as I am keen not to make too many blunders when I relocate to Singapore. It's impossible to summarise all the nuances of a complex and sophisticated society in the pages of such a slim book, but Craig manages to simplify what is a fairly scholarly exercise on cultural naunces and encourage the reader to adopt a positive attitude to surviving cultural dislocation through mutual understanding, communciation and respect. She herself admits that many of these cultural mores are in a state of flux in Singapore (as they are in any culture), and the book is now seven years old ­ a long time in such a rapidly progressing society. However, I am certainly pleased to take her advice about keeping my mouth closed...Read more