Welcome to Singapore
We landed late Saturday night in the Changi Airport. It is known for being the best airport in the world and has a large indoor waterfall. Immediately after making our way through customs we treated ourselves to some Shake Shack. Then we made our way to our apartment, where we met our new roommate, Jocelyn, before going to bed.
On Sunday, we had our orientation and lunch with GAV. We walked to our meeting location and I was stunned by just how hot and humid it became. With the sun not even fully out and the group moving at a leisurely pace I still found myself sweaty and overheated. When we got home we all showered and changed before Alexa, Lauren and I ventured out to find some dinner. Alexa had found a noodle place online that we wanted to try, but we could not find it to save our lives. So we decided to walk around and try to find something that looked good. We ended up going through two malls and an underground tunnel before finding a food court. It was filled with food vendors and was a bit overwhelming, so I chose a familiar favorite, Bibinbab. It is a Korean rice bowl filled with vegetables, a protein (I usually get beef), and a fried egg on top. It was delicious and only about $5! Restaurants in Singapore are subsidised by the government, which allows them to price their food at only a few dollars.
Off To Work
Monday, I started my internship at Colliers in their Project Management department. I am working there with Stella but we are in different departments. Within my department I am working with one other intern: Penelope from University of Delaware. This week we spent most of our time building a Fit-Out Guide, which is basically a guide that outlines the levels of service that the company offers and the prices.
The office is located in the CBD by the water and is on the 17th floor so the view is amazing. It also has a soda water dispenser and a very good coffee machine. There is also a Hawker Center just nearby where I get lunch everyday. A Hawker center is a building filled with small food stands that sell really cheap food.
Exploring and Celebrating
Thursday was Stella’s 20th birthday so we all met up after work for dinner to celebrate. We went to this little Italian place. It had a really great ambiance and we had a lot of fun, but my personal pizza and water came out to $32, so I’ll stick to the Hawker Centers!
On Friday I got out of work early, so I went to explore a little. Since where we are staying is known for its shopping, I decided to explore some of the local stores. I wandered through several different malls and underground tunnels and it might have been one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. The stores were teeming with people on a Friday afternoon. By the time I was ready to head back I could have sworn I ended up 30 mins away from the hotel, but when I opened up my GPS I only ended up being five minutes away. We went to try the famous Din Tai Fung for dinner. We ended up getting all the popular menu items and unfortunately they did not live up to the hype. I had much better food in Chinatown.
Saturday, we went on a walking and bus tour of Singapore. Our first stop was Little India. It was vibrant and filled with colorful vendors selling flower garlands, food, and souvenirs. Next, we moved onto Malaytown. At its center is a street lined with shops and Palm trees leading to a temple in the center. Then we went to Chinatown where we went to a Buddhist temple and Hawker center. Later that night we headed to Fat Belly Steakhouse to celebrate Ariana’s and Stella’s birthdays.
This Takes the Cake
In previous years the hotel has provided students with a cake on their birthdays, so naturally when Ariana discovered a cake in our fridge, we were excited that it had finally been delivered for Stella and Ariana’s birthday. All day we were so excited to eat the cake and even took pictures with it. After singing Happy Birthday we decided to dig in with just our spoons in order to not have to do as many dishes. After we had all taken our first bite Lauren said “ Wait, are we sure this is not Jocelyn’s cake for her friend?” We all screamed and then immediately jumped into action. We went next door to Owen, who had a birthday only a few days before to inquire if he got a cake. He did not. So, Ariana and I raced through the streets of Singapore to find a replacement. We went to two different Sinpopo Bakeries (the bakery where the original cake is from) and they were out of the cake, so then we finally found another bakery with the same type of cake. We hurried back to the hotel where we handed off the cake to Jocelyn before the start of her friend’s party. Moral of the story: Don’t eat random cake in the fridge.
– Maddie