Singapore: Day 52

Today is the beginning of the last week of the program. I started off my day at work with breakfast at Chinatown. I bumped into Nelson on my way to the MRT, and he recommended that I try a pork bun stall at Chinatown. I had the kway teow bakso soup and a long bean with meat pancake afterwards. I've been eating more lately so I could try as many foods as I can before I leave Singapore (a strange thought, leaving).

Kway teow bakso soup

Long bean with meat pancake

After I quickly ate, I went into lab and picked up my project. Because I had a large breakfast, I was not hungry and continued working past lunch. Later during the day, I was hungry and went to the Kopitiam for popiah. I talked to the chef and he asked if I was going to come back to Singapore to work. This has been a growing thought lately, going abroad for work. My study abroad in Singapore has only opened my eyes to what is possible. The world is so large, and I want to experience more of this international culture.

Laney and James had dinner with their coworkers, so Angelo, Nicole, Emily, and I remained to make dinner plans. However, both Angelo and I were running late, and plans fell through. Instead, I went to Just Acia for dinner. It is unbelievable the number of times I've been here (both with Emily and by myself), but this restaurant holds so many memories. It is the place I go to to heal wounds and find quiet space. I ordered the dory fish ramen in tomato soup.

Dory fish ramen in tomato soup

Afterwards, I returned to my room in PGP and continued working into the night. I felt like I was falling apart, because I was behind in my blog and Reach the World as well as in the ISF class. I also haven't been able to work with SASE often enough this summer due to my busy schedule, and I was unsure of the status of my applications. Too much to do, too much to worry about!

Singapore: Day 24

Monday was a tiring day. I overslept, and as a result arrived to work around 10:45 AM. After a long day of experiments, I got off of work a bit after 6:30 PM.  I missed dinner with everyone at Chinatown, so I grabbed a meal at Just Acia with Emily, who also left work late. Just Acia has definitely been my go-to spot for meals. It is nice and quiet, and serves good food as well as a free flow of drinks and ice-cream. It really helps me unwind. I ordered the spicy cheese ramen set, which came with a pseudo-kimchi and edamame. I also tried the machine version of teh tarik (a.k.a. pulled tea); it was delicious but still incomparable to the pulled tea I had at Zam Zam!

Spicy cheese ramen set at Just Acia

 After dinner, we returned to our rooms and continued our work. My days in Singapore have entered a lull of work, dinner, and homework amidst dreadful applications and insufficient sleep. Despite this, I am loving my time here!

Singapore: Day 22

Today, I woke up in the afternoon again. I was feeling quite disoriented, as many thoughts and emotions preoccupy my mind. I had an uncomfortable realization recently-- I pride myself in being detached from my childhood circumstances, but I think that I may not be detached from being American. I value independent and unbound existence, so I was disappointed in the fact that I was defined by my setting. I've also been questioning my identity, as I normally define myself by my academics, passion for science and helping others, pursuit of a meaningful existence, and my journey for understanding. In Singapore, all these traits are unrecognized or not valued, which is why in a sense I feel that I am not being recognized. Perhaps that is why I am disoriented, and I must re-define myself in order to feel more alive in this new home.

After I became presentable, I headed to Just Acia, an Asian Fusion restaurant inside the medical school. I ordered the deep fried dory with melted cheese on rice set, which came with a free flow of drinks and ice-cream. The meal was unhealthy, considering that I consumed large quantities of cheese, mayonnaise, milk tea, and ice-cream, but it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I must come back here again for another meal!

Rice dish, soup, pickled cabbage, ice-cream, and milk tea

After spending five hours in this restaurant, I went to NUH to grab popiah to snack on later. I must finish these applications soon and continue sending out emails to international service organizations, SASE, and research labs. My first deadline for Reach the World is also coming up on Monday, so I must complete that as well as my class assignments and readings for the week and more papers for my research lab. So much to do, but so little time!