Michelle Tiang is a Rodan + Fields consultant and a mom of three children. She has a following of 1.4 million people on TikTok where she shares videos sharing her life with her family, travels, cooking and taking part in various internet trends.
The woman is originally from Singapore and 13 years ago, she moved to Canada. Singapore is an island country in maritime Southeast Asia and Canada is the second biggest country in the world by land, located in North America.
You can imagine how different these two countries are. Canada is a Western country that isn’t homogenous itself, as it was home to indigenous people and, in the 16th century, was colonized by the British and the French.
Canada is stereotypically known for its very kind people, cold weather and maple syrup. It’s a bilingual country and promotes multiculturalism rather than cultural assimilation or a single national myth.
The country has the 8th largest economy in the world and according to historian Ian MacKay, Canada’s values are "egalitarianism, social equality, and peace.”
Singapore, on the other hand, is an Asian country that has a history that lasts for at least a millennium, from when it was a maritime emporium known as Temasek. Singapore, too, was colonized by the British, but had a different cultural development from Canada because it combines European and Asian influences. Actually, Singapore has an even bigger cultural mix as it combines Chinese, Malay, Indian and various other ethnicities' cultural heritage.
Singapore is a developing country showing fast economic growth and is known for its fast-paced life in the metropolis where promising businesses are flourishing. The country is known for being a global financial center and being among the most densely populated places in the world.
Both places are considered safe countries with low crime rates and high trust in the police force. They both have beautiful nature and many artworks to show off. However, similarities never jump out at you when you visit another country, but the differences always are painfully visible.
Michelle Tiang highlights some of those differences in her TikTok videos where she confesses her confusion about the climate in Canada or differences in English words she is used to vs what Canadians say.
Pointing out differences and learning the meaning behind them is always fun and it also challenges your mind because it makes you realize that the way you do things and live your life isn’t the only way and there may be better ones. It helps you appreciate not only the culture you are getting to know, but your own as well.
We would like to hear what surprised you about Canada from the things Michelle mentioned. What are some of your personal culture shocks you experienced when you went to Canada? Did you go to Singapore and learn new things there? Let us know in the comments!
