We are a happy family---mingle with Singaporean students

This Saturday I was invited to participate in a BBQ meeting held in Riverlife Church by a Singaporean friend. His name is Alan. We came to know each other one month ago when Ms Jenny took us to visit the Riverlife Church. After that Alan always kept in touch with me through SMS or Facebook. He is a really kind-hearted guy and is enthusiastic to make friends with students from China. He is also an NUS student. If you want to know him, you can just ask me and I will invite you as his friend on Facebook. He is very easygoing and if you have some questions about Singapore and its people or your own life in Singapore, you can just go and ask him without any hesitation.
After I got there, I found that they had already begun to prepare the BBQ food. Then a lot of Singaporean students came towards me, consisting undergraduates in NUS and those who are going to NUS together with us in August. They showed kind hospitality and introduced themselves enthusiastically. After that we began to play some interesting games and enjoy the BBQ at the same time. Almost everyone of them talked with me and asked something about China and my life in Singapore. When I just stood in front of them and made a brief report about myself during the game time, everyone was listening with great concentration and cheered for me now and then. But in terms of oral reports in our class, we often get silence, ignoring or even booing. I was deeply impressed by their kindness and hospitality. Frankly speaking, however, I was struck by a sense of regret at that time. I really felt it a pity that we didn’t show the same excitement and kindness to them before. Every time they invited us to join their activity, we just accept them without showing any gratitude or excitement. And we never invited them to join our entertainments. It seems that we tend to stay in the group of students from China and enjoy ourselves on our own. And we always take Singapore friends’ kindness and hospitality for granted.
In my opinion, we should show enough excitement and willingness to mingle with Singapore friends. Most of them are of the same race as us and we almost share the same ancestors. It is very easy to get along with them and find the same interests. I met a Singaporean girl at the BBQ meeting and actually she is my senior because she is studying Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering or NUS. She told me that she had come across a lot of SM2 or SM3 students in Chemical Engineering. But she said that it is really a big pity that all of them are willing to stay within their own group and seldom spend time together with Singaporean students. Students from China occupy a large portion in Engineering and they always want to stay together with their homecountry friends. But I think that we should get more familiar between each other with Singapore students and that is the initial purpose of us coming to Singapore. We come here not only for different education, but also to know more about this country and its people. And if we don’t mingle with its people, how can we assimilate ourselves into the society here and lead a better life in the near future?
Singapore friends really showed us genuine friendliness and we should do the same in return. Although they are hosts and we are guests, only through mutual friendliness can we make a harmonious atmosphere and build a happy family. We should be well-behaved guests. Please go out and make friends with Singaporean students and you will soon find that the friendship with locals can make your life in Singapore much more extraordinary.