Description
kiasu Hokkien (kja:su:) adjective scared to lose, competitive
Armed with a copy of The Fine Art of Flirting, a stash of "dirty books" and a precocious attitude, fifteen year old Pei Yi leaves her sheltered life in small-town Malaysia to accept an ASEAN scholarship at a secondary school in competitive . . . some might say kiasu Singapore.
Through a series of letters written over a two-year period back to her best friend in Malaysia, Pei Yi offers readers an insight not only into the hilarious adventures of a teenage girl studying away from home and the agonies of BGR (boy-girl relationships) but also an insight into the Singapore psyche, the nurturing of kiasuism and Singaporeans" unrivalled passion for setting up committees!
I'm in the bus on the way to Singapore! Leaving Malaysia at the age of 15... Wonder if I'll survive the kiasu environment there... Elizabeth said her class is really kiasu. One girl even wrote an essay "How To Make Your Friend Not Study"(like stealing her notes, phoning her, making her stay back in school)
Last night after prep, there was a meeting to plan for our Orientation. We tried to plan a sketch with a dance in it. Anyway, we couldn't decide on anything so we chose three guys and three girls to form a committee.
