This week marked the first official full week that I have spent in Singapore. Despite having some crummy weather, as each day was filled with rain, overcast, and more rain, I still managed to experience some sunshine in the form of new experiences and discoveries. Firstly, I had my first week of my 8-week internship this week, which could not have started better. Working for a venture capital firm located in the central business district of Singapore not only makes me feel heavily immersed in the financial culture of the city-state, but has helped me to get to know the area as well as the metro lines, something that I was quite skeptical about. My internship with Good Startup has led me to not only have learned much about the venture capital field and all of its compilations, but has also provided me with the opportunity to connect with some incredibly driven and accomplished individuals. My first week has entailed much sourcing and due diligence with respect to pre-seed and seed staged companies, which can be strenuous at times, but the welcoming atmosphere, the positive work environment and the overall genuinity of my coworkers has truly made the first week go by extremely fast. Moreover, the CEO of the firm, who is now based in Austin, Texas, flew out for the week and invited me to grab some hot chocolate – to which we had an amazing one-on-one conversation discussing his background, my background, my future goals, overall career advice, and how strong the AC units are in Singapore. My office is also right next to the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre, where I go every day for lunch with members of the team if we are in-person. When the whole team regroups in the office next, as many take remote days, as did the entirety of the team last Friday, I will be pumped to introduce to my blog readers the Good Startup team!
The second highlight of this week was the tour of Singapore that commenced on Saturday. The entire Bucknell group in Singapore joined together on a bus and walking tour, where we visited Little India, Chinatown, and Kampong Glam, the neighborhood that hosts the Sultan Mosque. At each destination, I was tempted (and I fell victim) to the amazing different food options that were offered. One in particular, however, was the Chicken Biryani that was sold outside of the Sultan Mosque – it truly had to be one of the best chicken and rice meals I have ever tasted. While in Chinatown, we walked through what seemed to be a festival, where I really got the chance to see and immerse myself in a different Chinatown, as opposed to what I grew up experiencing in New York city’s Chinatown. We ventured into a temple within the neighborhood, which was one of the most ornate buildings I have ever stepped into, and one with one of my favorite names: The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. At the festival, I learned traditional Chinese games such as 5 stones, a game that coupled muscle memory with hand-eye coordination. We also ventured into a temple within the neighborhood, which was one of the most ornate buildings I have ever stepped into, and one with one of my favorite names: The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. Overall, this tour allowed me to get a great sense of Singaporean culture and allowed me to see many different and intriguing areas of this great city-state!
