At this point, I’ve been back from Singapore for just over a month now. After taking that monster set of flights back, which not surprisingly weren’t as bad coming back as they were the first time, I stopped off at New York. It was kind of spur of the moment, but I decided just before leaving Singapore that I wasn’t quite ready to go back home so I arranged to spend a little over a week traveling between New York City and Boston before returning by bus. I’m glad I did because in a way I felt I could compare the best that the U.S. has to offer with the best that Southeast Asia has to offer so that any comparisons I make could be fair. Also, I had never been to either city so I figured what better time than now.
Even though New York City is somewhat comparable to Singapore in population and size, they felt completely different in all other respects. Experiencing the hustle and bustle of New York made me realize that despite the population of Singapore, it felt very tranquil the majority of the time and I never felt cramped. New York was very exciting to experience and I’m glad I went, but I’m not sure if I could spend a good deal of my life living there.
On the other hand, Boston resonated well with me in similar ways to Singapore. One of the things I appreciated about Boston and that I realize now was lacking in Singapore is the feeling of a richly connected history. Boston is all about things like The Freedom Trail and The Commons, while due to Singapore’s short history (only independent for 50 years), most of what we see is very modern. While it’s not like Singapore could help itself in that regard, it’s just one of the notable differences I found.
Also for the first time, I realized what “it feels good to be home” feels like. By going to school so close to where I live, I never had the chance to be separated for that long, and sometimes even just the knowledge that I was a hop, skip, and a jump away made me still feel at home. But at Singapore, the reality hit me that I was very far from home and it made me appreciate the return that much more.
Without a doubt a part of me misses aspects of Singapore, but honestly I felt like the 8 week period that the internship took place was just the right amount. I learned very much and I think I am now ready to start to apply those things to my life back in America.
My stay at home will be short-lived, as I am Houston-bound for the fall—so no more school for me for another semester! I start my first co-op rotation with NASA in a little over a week so here’s hoping that I built up enough of a tolerance to hot, humid weather in Singapore for me to survive down there in the coming months. But even if that’s not the case, I think Singapore has prepared me more than enough for what it feels like to leave home and start fresh. And for that I am thankful.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
What would you say are the major differences from where you traveling and “home”?
For me, Pittsburgh (both Mt. Lebanon and Oakland) are “home,” so I will be basing the comparison off of those two. If I had to pick two things that are the most notable differences, they would be scenery and food.
For scenery, it’s just hard to match Singapore. It has everything from views of the ocean, to tropical trees, to stunning buildings. It’s hard to just passively walk around in Singapore based on how interesting one’s surroundings are. Singapore has made a very conscious effort to ensure that despite the modern urbanization that has taken place over the past 50 years, that there is enough green so you never feel like you’re trapped in a concrete jungle. Additionally, Singapore is, by many accounts, one of the cleanest places in the world. It’s amazing to walk through a metro station or through the city and not see litter, cigarette butts, or the like anywhere on the sidewalks or in the street. It seems like a very little thing, but it really does a lot to affect my outlook when comparing it to a place like Pittsburgh. I’m not saying that Pittsburgh is a dump, but it isn’t going to win any awards anytime soon for cleanliness or integration of green space.
Another thing that I will miss most about Singapore is its delicious, cheap food that is absent in Pittsburgh. Living in Oakland, I have the choice between fastish-food on Forbes or one of the campus cafeteria locations. While at least Forbes serves tasty food in some places, it can get on the pricey side for regular visits (about $7-9 a meal). The food that Pitt provides is also quite expensive, at roughly $12 a swipe. On the other hand, Singapore can offer a wide variety of food that is omnipresent on the island through their hawker centers. Each of these hawker centers has usually dozens of stands where fresh food from a variety of cuisines is cooked right in front of you. The best part, in my opinion, is how cheap it is! I could get large meals in Singapore for $3-5 at these hawker centers and was always satisfied. The cafeterias connected to the campus were even cheaper (and still at good quality), where meals could be found for as little as $1-3. It’s going to be hard to go back.
For scenery, it’s just hard to match Singapore. It has everything from views of the ocean, to tropical trees, to stunning buildings. It’s hard to just passively walk around in Singapore based on how interesting one’s surroundings are. Singapore has made a very conscious effort to ensure that despite the modern urbanization that has taken place over the past 50 years, that there is enough green so you never feel like you’re trapped in a concrete jungle. Additionally, Singapore is, by many accounts, one of the cleanest places in the world. It’s amazing to walk through a metro station or through the city and not see litter, cigarette butts, or the like anywhere on the sidewalks or in the street. It seems like a very little thing, but it really does a lot to affect my outlook when comparing it to a place like Pittsburgh. I’m not saying that Pittsburgh is a dump, but it isn’t going to win any awards anytime soon for cleanliness or integration of green space.
Another thing that I will miss most about Singapore is its delicious, cheap food that is absent in Pittsburgh. Living in Oakland, I have the choice between fastish-food on Forbes or one of the campus cafeteria locations. While at least Forbes serves tasty food in some places, it can get on the pricey side for regular visits (about $7-9 a meal). The food that Pitt provides is also quite expensive, at roughly $12 a swipe. On the other hand, Singapore can offer a wide variety of food that is omnipresent on the island through their hawker centers. Each of these hawker centers has usually dozens of stands where fresh food from a variety of cuisines is cooked right in front of you. The best part, in my opinion, is how cheap it is! I could get large meals in Singapore for $3-5 at these hawker centers and was always satisfied. The cafeterias connected to the campus were even cheaper (and still at good quality), where meals could be found for as little as $1-3. It’s going to be hard to go back.
Did studying abroad change your academic, career, or personal goals...
Topic:
Did studying abroad change your academic, career, or personal goals? If so, how?
Absolutely. This is one of my favorite parts about the research abroad experience. One is conventional, the other maybe not so much.
From a academic/career perspective, my research experience really solidified for me that I could enjoy the life of a researcher. I came in with a great deal of uncertainty of whether or not pursuing graduate studies would be worthwhile for me. One of the main reasons I chose this program was because the research topic I was assigned appeared to be a really engaging project—and it definitely turned out to be. Not everything that I tried worked, but I think that’s just one of the realities of research. Throughout the duration of the program, I changed my strategy numerous times based off of results I found, feedback from my labmates, or findings from other research papers. It was an excellent learning experience and I can take the skills I honed to any job in the future.
I had an expectation coming in that going abroad would give me the feel-good “abroad vibes,” which I define as a broadened worldview, an increased concern for global affairs, and an urge to make a difference. I’m not trying to say that any of these are bad, or that those who leave study abroad experiences with these feelings are missing something, but to me it was the stereotypical takeaway that I would receive. After spending two months in Southeast Asia, I can say that I have begun to feel some of these takeaways, but something I valued the most was how just being away from home in a new environment with completely new people affected me. There was a sense of peaceful solitude and personal agency that arose out of these circumstances, and it really helped me to evaluate my identity and the goals that I have for myself. It is hard to describe and these words don’t do it justice, but it did something to me that only going away from home, outside of one’s comfort zone can do, I believe.
Did studying abroad change your academic, career, or personal goals? If so, how?
Absolutely. This is one of my favorite parts about the research abroad experience. One is conventional, the other maybe not so much.
From a academic/career perspective, my research experience really solidified for me that I could enjoy the life of a researcher. I came in with a great deal of uncertainty of whether or not pursuing graduate studies would be worthwhile for me. One of the main reasons I chose this program was because the research topic I was assigned appeared to be a really engaging project—and it definitely turned out to be. Not everything that I tried worked, but I think that’s just one of the realities of research. Throughout the duration of the program, I changed my strategy numerous times based off of results I found, feedback from my labmates, or findings from other research papers. It was an excellent learning experience and I can take the skills I honed to any job in the future.
I had an expectation coming in that going abroad would give me the feel-good “abroad vibes,” which I define as a broadened worldview, an increased concern for global affairs, and an urge to make a difference. I’m not trying to say that any of these are bad, or that those who leave study abroad experiences with these feelings are missing something, but to me it was the stereotypical takeaway that I would receive. After spending two months in Southeast Asia, I can say that I have begun to feel some of these takeaways, but something I valued the most was how just being away from home in a new environment with completely new people affected me. There was a sense of peaceful solitude and personal agency that arose out of these circumstances, and it really helped me to evaluate my identity and the goals that I have for myself. It is hard to describe and these words don’t do it justice, but it did something to me that only going away from home, outside of one’s comfort zone can do, I believe.
What surprised you most about study abroad...
Topic:
What surprised you most about study abroad? What do you wish you had known before going? What advice would you give to others?
One of the things that has surprised me the most about going abroad is how quickly one can adjust to new environments. Even though I went all the way across the world, once I got the general idea of where the necessities were located, I felt fairly comfortable. This has even applied to going to less developed countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. For all of the critiques of globalization, one of the benefits of it is that the city feel has become somewhat homogenized up to a certain standard, and yet each place has its own characteristics that make it feel unique.
To be honest, there’s really nothing that I wish I had known before going on the trip. I think that between the study abroad office’s help and Jamie’s help from NUS, I was just as prepared as I could be. The advice I would give to others is to not be afraid to ask questions! The idea of going abroad may be daunting, especially for those who have never been that far from home (which was true in my case), but there’s really nothing to be scared of and there are plenty of people who are there to help you along the way. Additionally, to those who may worry that an experience back home, whether it be an internship or classes, would be a better use of their summer/semester, I can tell you that I had to make a similar decision and I have absolutely zero regrets about the path I have taken. College is one of the few times in your life that you can go to another country without responsibilities to deal with, and it can really impact what you want in your future, something which I believe is one of the main purposes of college.
What surprised you most about study abroad? What do you wish you had known before going? What advice would you give to others?
One of the things that has surprised me the most about going abroad is how quickly one can adjust to new environments. Even though I went all the way across the world, once I got the general idea of where the necessities were located, I felt fairly comfortable. This has even applied to going to less developed countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. For all of the critiques of globalization, one of the benefits of it is that the city feel has become somewhat homogenized up to a certain standard, and yet each place has its own characteristics that make it feel unique.
To be honest, there’s really nothing that I wish I had known before going on the trip. I think that between the study abroad office’s help and Jamie’s help from NUS, I was just as prepared as I could be. The advice I would give to others is to not be afraid to ask questions! The idea of going abroad may be daunting, especially for those who have never been that far from home (which was true in my case), but there’s really nothing to be scared of and there are plenty of people who are there to help you along the way. Additionally, to those who may worry that an experience back home, whether it be an internship or classes, would be a better use of their summer/semester, I can tell you that I had to make a similar decision and I have absolutely zero regrets about the path I have taken. College is one of the few times in your life that you can go to another country without responsibilities to deal with, and it can really impact what you want in your future, something which I believe is one of the main purposes of college.
Explain being an “American” abroad...
Topic:
Explain being an “American” abroad. What types of conversations have you had about being “American” and how has that made you feel about your identity?
Being an American abroad is a really cool experience. Something that I think many Americans take for granted is how much global presence we have through our entertainment, fashion, sports, and culture. Sometimes even just telling someone that I was from America garnered a glowing response— “oh America: greatest country on earth” one shopkeeper said to me.
Something else that I picked up on was that whenever I told people I was from America, they would try to guess where I was from. Most of the time I heard either California or New York. Part of me is thinking, geez, there’s a lot more to America than just those two places. But then I realized that that’s the same type of stereotype that I place on people I meet from other countries! If people say they are from England, I assume they’re from London. From Japan, I assume Tokyo. From China I expect either Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai. Being on the other side of that type of exchange provided a bit of perspective for me.
I have definitely felt prouder/more grateful that I am American. Contrary to what some people may believe, not all foreigners hate Americans and many like us. At the very least, it is nice knowing that I will probably never have a conversation that goes “Oh you’re from America? Where is that?” because of how universally known it is. I didn’t feel like any negative stereotypes clung to me for my American identity.
Explain being an “American” abroad. What types of conversations have you had about being “American” and how has that made you feel about your identity?
Being an American abroad is a really cool experience. Something that I think many Americans take for granted is how much global presence we have through our entertainment, fashion, sports, and culture. Sometimes even just telling someone that I was from America garnered a glowing response— “oh America: greatest country on earth” one shopkeeper said to me.
Something else that I picked up on was that whenever I told people I was from America, they would try to guess where I was from. Most of the time I heard either California or New York. Part of me is thinking, geez, there’s a lot more to America than just those two places. But then I realized that that’s the same type of stereotype that I place on people I meet from other countries! If people say they are from England, I assume they’re from London. From Japan, I assume Tokyo. From China I expect either Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai. Being on the other side of that type of exchange provided a bit of perspective for me.
I have definitely felt prouder/more grateful that I am American. Contrary to what some people may believe, not all foreigners hate Americans and many like us. At the very least, it is nice knowing that I will probably never have a conversation that goes “Oh you’re from America? Where is that?” because of how universally known it is. I didn’t feel like any negative stereotypes clung to me for my American identity.
Tell us about interacting with locals...
Topic:
Tell us about interacting with locals. What did you have in common? What did you find new and exciting?
Unfortunately, there are two things about the research abroad experience in Singapore that have made interacting locals more challenging. One: because you are researching in the summer time, there are much fewer students staying on campus that you can interact with. Two: the nature of Singapore is such that there are many people living there who are either tourists, expats, or international students. As a result, I have not had the opportunity to interact with many locals beyond buying things from people.
From pure observation, however, and from talking to other foreigners living in Singapore, I think that Singaporeans have similar goals and aspirations as people in America. We desire many of the same things out of life and I think that comes from the similarly capitalist societies.
One of the things I found very exciting about the locals is that because Singapore has such a strong international presence, most people have very unique backgrounds. Where I live in Pittsburgh, the vast majority of people in my neighborhood grew up here and came back here when they got older. In Singapore, many people hail from other countries originally and that helps to make my worldview broaden beyond what one might expect from just staying on the little red dot.
Tell us about interacting with locals. What did you have in common? What did you find new and exciting?
Unfortunately, there are two things about the research abroad experience in Singapore that have made interacting locals more challenging. One: because you are researching in the summer time, there are much fewer students staying on campus that you can interact with. Two: the nature of Singapore is such that there are many people living there who are either tourists, expats, or international students. As a result, I have not had the opportunity to interact with many locals beyond buying things from people.
From pure observation, however, and from talking to other foreigners living in Singapore, I think that Singaporeans have similar goals and aspirations as people in America. We desire many of the same things out of life and I think that comes from the similarly capitalist societies.
One of the things I found very exciting about the locals is that because Singapore has such a strong international presence, most people have very unique backgrounds. Where I live in Pittsburgh, the vast majority of people in my neighborhood grew up here and came back here when they got older. In Singapore, many people hail from other countries originally and that helps to make my worldview broaden beyond what one might expect from just staying on the little red dot.
Tell us about the program visits...
Topic:
Tell us about the program visits; the research you did; or the courses you are taking. What about the visits surprised you?
To be honest, I don’t think that program visits are a hugely central part of the internship. Up to this point we have not had anything planned aside from the orientation. Instead, the research plays a central role.
I am working on a project in the SINAPSE laboratory, which is the neurotechnology research center, at NUS. The lab is the biggest I have ever worked in, with row after row of lab space and countless different projects. It is really fascinating and humbling at the same time.
I am working in the neural coding group, specifically on the working memory task project. We analyze neural data recorded from a monkey during a visual memory task in order to shed some light on how the brain encodes task-relevant information. Aside from the principal investigator, Dr. Shih-Cheng Yen, there are two others working on this data alongside with me: Aishu, a grad student, and Roger, a post-doc. The part that I am working on is seeing how important the timing of each neural spike is (temporal resolution) in decoding the target location that is being remembered by the monkey. This involves employing algorithms on the data to turn it into more data that can be analyzed using various techniques. It is very intriguing work and I have enjoyed both coding up the various steps in the analysis, as well as reading related literature to better understand the best way to analyze the data.
Tell us about the program visits; the research you did; or the courses you are taking. What about the visits surprised you?
To be honest, I don’t think that program visits are a hugely central part of the internship. Up to this point we have not had anything planned aside from the orientation. Instead, the research plays a central role.
I am working on a project in the SINAPSE laboratory, which is the neurotechnology research center, at NUS. The lab is the biggest I have ever worked in, with row after row of lab space and countless different projects. It is really fascinating and humbling at the same time.
I am working in the neural coding group, specifically on the working memory task project. We analyze neural data recorded from a monkey during a visual memory task in order to shed some light on how the brain encodes task-relevant information. Aside from the principal investigator, Dr. Shih-Cheng Yen, there are two others working on this data alongside with me: Aishu, a grad student, and Roger, a post-doc. The part that I am working on is seeing how important the timing of each neural spike is (temporal resolution) in decoding the target location that is being remembered by the monkey. This involves employing algorithms on the data to turn it into more data that can be analyzed using various techniques. It is very intriguing work and I have enjoyed both coding up the various steps in the analysis, as well as reading related literature to better understand the best way to analyze the data.
Explain a challenge you faced...
Topic:
Explain a challenge you faced when you studied abroad (for example: understanding a new city, buying groceries in a foreign language, being on your own for the first time, etc.). How did you overcome the challenge? What advice would you give to others facing similar challenges?
One of the really nice things about Singapore is how accommodating it is to people coming from a Western background. Singapore has four national languages (including Chinese, Tamil, and Malay), but the most widespread of these is actually English! Because of Singapore’s origin as a British colony, many western customs can be seen in society.
However, it is no doubt that Singapore is different than anything I have previously experienced in America. For one thing, Singapore has a very strong international presence. While the majority of Singaporeans have Chinese, Malaysian, or Indian descent, there are many other prevalent ethnicities represented in the population. As a result, there were still some customs (mainly religious) that took some getting used to.
One experience that stands out to me is when I was putting my dishes back from a steamed chicken dish I had just eaten, I was swiftly reprimanded by the lady working at the cleaning station in Chinese. I was then instructed to put it in the adjacent cleaning rack by someone standing next to me, and then someone kindly took me to the food stall I had gotten the food from to point out my error.
In Singapore, many of the citizens are Muslim, and one of the important practices in Islam is to ensure that the food one eats is good, or halal. As I understand it, what halal means is that the food is prepared in a way such that the utensils, cooking equipment, and the food itself has not come in contact with bad, or haram, food such as pork. For this reason, when you get food from a halal stand, the dishes must be put in a separate cleaning station so that the utensils and dishes don’t mix.
At the time, this experience had me rather flustered because I was confused, but all it took was a little bit of research on my own to understand my fault and the issue hasn’t arisen. To others that may experience challenges like this, I would recommend that they remember that when we go to other countries, we are guests to the customs of the inhabitants of our destination. What this means is that we have a responsibility to learn the cultural differences so that we can respect others.
Explain a challenge you faced when you studied abroad (for example: understanding a new city, buying groceries in a foreign language, being on your own for the first time, etc.). How did you overcome the challenge? What advice would you give to others facing similar challenges?
One of the really nice things about Singapore is how accommodating it is to people coming from a Western background. Singapore has four national languages (including Chinese, Tamil, and Malay), but the most widespread of these is actually English! Because of Singapore’s origin as a British colony, many western customs can be seen in society.
However, it is no doubt that Singapore is different than anything I have previously experienced in America. For one thing, Singapore has a very strong international presence. While the majority of Singaporeans have Chinese, Malaysian, or Indian descent, there are many other prevalent ethnicities represented in the population. As a result, there were still some customs (mainly religious) that took some getting used to.
One experience that stands out to me is when I was putting my dishes back from a steamed chicken dish I had just eaten, I was swiftly reprimanded by the lady working at the cleaning station in Chinese. I was then instructed to put it in the adjacent cleaning rack by someone standing next to me, and then someone kindly took me to the food stall I had gotten the food from to point out my error.
In Singapore, many of the citizens are Muslim, and one of the important practices in Islam is to ensure that the food one eats is good, or halal. As I understand it, what halal means is that the food is prepared in a way such that the utensils, cooking equipment, and the food itself has not come in contact with bad, or haram, food such as pork. For this reason, when you get food from a halal stand, the dishes must be put in a separate cleaning station so that the utensils and dishes don’t mix.
At the time, this experience had me rather flustered because I was confused, but all it took was a little bit of research on my own to understand my fault and the issue hasn’t arisen. To others that may experience challenges like this, I would recommend that they remember that when we go to other countries, we are guests to the customs of the inhabitants of our destination. What this means is that we have a responsibility to learn the cultural differences so that we can respect others.
Tell us about your study abroad program (the theme) and the country.
My summer program is titled “SERIUS” which stands for Summer Engineering Research Internship for U.S. Students. As the name suggests, the theme of the program is engineering: everyone participating in the program is enrolled in an engineering program, and their projects all center around one form of engineering or another. In particular, I am working on an electric and computer engineering project titled “Decoding the Brain” which has focused primarily on computational neuroscience. All of my work is coding based, with extensive use of algorithms.
I like that the other participants in this program are engineers, but from different disciplines and schools so I can experience a good deal of diversity. Even though the participants in the program are all studying at U.S. institutions, many of them have come from international backgrounds, which some stated as their reason for wanting to research abroad.
The country is the lovely Singapore! Located all the way across the world (12 hr time difference), Singapore is sometimes referred to as the “little red dot” because of its small size. Singapore is an island just off the southern tip of Malaysia, with half the surface area of Los Angeles, but with the third highest population density in the world to make up for it. Contrary to what some friends and relatives were led to believe, Singapore is not a third world country by any means, and it is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers (along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan).
I like that the other participants in this program are engineers, but from different disciplines and schools so I can experience a good deal of diversity. Even though the participants in the program are all studying at U.S. institutions, many of them have come from international backgrounds, which some stated as their reason for wanting to research abroad.
The country is the lovely Singapore! Located all the way across the world (12 hr time difference), Singapore is sometimes referred to as the “little red dot” because of its small size. Singapore is an island just off the southern tip of Malaysia, with half the surface area of Los Angeles, but with the third highest population density in the world to make up for it. Contrary to what some friends and relatives were led to believe, Singapore is not a third world country by any means, and it is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers (along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan).
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