Hi Dreamers,
I wanted to give you an update on my time in Singapore. I had a realization...one that I knew all along, but the more it unfolds, the truer it strikes me. At the beginning of the semester, I had the time and desire to share what I was doing everyday. I found Singapore to be a new place...a place of daring adventure with unknown places to scout out, new people to meet, new foods...many open doors. I started out the semester at the National University of Singapore on January 13, 2014 directly after having spent 3 straight weeks in Northern India engaging in field work for an Honors Global Perspectives on Poverty Alleviation course. This is my final semester of my undergraduate career and will be graduating in May! Many people have asked me how I can study abroad my final semester so I wanted to answer that for all:
I was originally going to study abroad last semester at Thammasat University in Thailand and was all set to go minus buying my plane ticket but then God closed that door and made a new path visible to me. I spent last semester at UH Manoa and got engaged and married during that time (totally unforeseen!) and then I was able to go to India and now to Singapore where I have the privilege to travel often. This study abroad experience is a part of my International Business major...I am a double major: Marketing and International Business.
As I have said in past blogs, I am currently taking a Product Brand Management (MKT 3418) class, Entrepreneurial Marketing (TR 2201), Strategic Business Management (BSP 3001) class, and International Finance (FINC 401) class. These four classes meet the mark for the last credits I need for my home university to graduate on time.
Initially, these classes started out well, and by the looks of the syllabi, they appeared to have good structure and standards. I felt that it would not be so difficult and it seemed to be a lot less work than any other courses I have taken in the past. After the first few weeks, I was quickly corrected however. The business school here places a HEAVY emphasis on group work. All of my classes have one huge group project, and one of them has two! They have a hefty weight on our grades, ranging between 30-50% of our overall grade. Something I found quite interesting is that at Shidler, our groups start our projects early and do them well and thorough and we all work together to get it done well. Rarely do we push it too last minute (despite what our professors may attest to). However, here at the NUS business school, 3 of my 4 group projects started only a few days before the project is due and then they spend grave amounts of time working on the projects in a highly stressful manner. I can tell you, that is a horrible way of doing it!!! It is so stressful and creates such tension within the group. Especially as an exchange student who plans ahead (essential for traveling) and is used to being prompt in my school work (ie- I rarely ever wait to last minute), this style of work stresses me out and often brings much frustration, so it has forced me to practice much patience and adapt a new sleeping pattern. Fortunately, after 6pm today, 3 of our soft group presentations will be submitted. Next week is where all of our prep work gets put to the test....
April 9 =
* BSP 3001 group presentation
April 10 =
* Individual BSP 3001 case analysis due
* MKT 3418 group presentation
* TR 2201 30pg paper due and group presentation
April 11 =
*Meet with the Shidler College of Business Dean and Director of Development here in Singapore
Pheww! After that highly intense week, it will be smooth sailing. I will have one week of classes left and then will have 3 weeks off until May 6 when I have my final TR 2201 final. I have already taken my FINC401 final as well as my MKT 3418 final.
The business school culture here is very competitive, each student fighting to be the best and constantly doing anything to climb the ladder. In class, I often feel like its an arena of people fighting for floor time. It is quite interesting, the level of competition seems to have a lot to do with the professor. My MKT 3418 class is by far the most competitive class I have. I have been engaging with others to learn of their perspectives (both Singaporean students and other exchange students) to see if my perceptions are in line with those around me and to keep my priorities straight and in check, and it would appear that most everyone feels this way. Now, if you are wanting to go on exchange in Singapore, don't let this scare you!!! It really is a great place of learning, you do SO much learning! Singapore has a lot to offer and the students here contain a vast wealth of knowledge. Singapore is a great example of the potential a nation has to turn around and become one of the wealthiest, prosperous countries. Plus, if you want to travel, it is a perfect travel hub.
Back to where I started this blog with, the semester quickly unfolded to be very intense and has posed great learning stretches. Outside of classes, I have learned so much from being here in Asia and having the ability to travel to a handful of other SE Asian countries. Within the last 3.5 months, I have had the opportunity to leave my beloved Hawaii to travel to India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Each country is so different from one another and it is so awesome to be able to see different parts of each country and to gain insight on the land, people, cultures, and lifestyles.
I am so thankful for this wonderful, challenging, and completely engaging experience! Dare to follow your dreams and pursue the life you imagine...so imagine big and go for it and always be sure to take the time to sit and reflect and keep your priorities straight. Aloha!
I wanted to give you an update on my time in Singapore. I had a realization...one that I knew all along, but the more it unfolds, the truer it strikes me. At the beginning of the semester, I had the time and desire to share what I was doing everyday. I found Singapore to be a new place...a place of daring adventure with unknown places to scout out, new people to meet, new foods...many open doors. I started out the semester at the National University of Singapore on January 13, 2014 directly after having spent 3 straight weeks in Northern India engaging in field work for an Honors Global Perspectives on Poverty Alleviation course. This is my final semester of my undergraduate career and will be graduating in May! Many people have asked me how I can study abroad my final semester so I wanted to answer that for all:
I was originally going to study abroad last semester at Thammasat University in Thailand and was all set to go minus buying my plane ticket but then God closed that door and made a new path visible to me. I spent last semester at UH Manoa and got engaged and married during that time (totally unforeseen!) and then I was able to go to India and now to Singapore where I have the privilege to travel often. This study abroad experience is a part of my International Business major...I am a double major: Marketing and International Business.
As I have said in past blogs, I am currently taking a Product Brand Management (MKT 3418) class, Entrepreneurial Marketing (TR 2201), Strategic Business Management (BSP 3001) class, and International Finance (FINC 401) class. These four classes meet the mark for the last credits I need for my home university to graduate on time.
Initially, these classes started out well, and by the looks of the syllabi, they appeared to have good structure and standards. I felt that it would not be so difficult and it seemed to be a lot less work than any other courses I have taken in the past. After the first few weeks, I was quickly corrected however. The business school here places a HEAVY emphasis on group work. All of my classes have one huge group project, and one of them has two! They have a hefty weight on our grades, ranging between 30-50% of our overall grade. Something I found quite interesting is that at Shidler, our groups start our projects early and do them well and thorough and we all work together to get it done well. Rarely do we push it too last minute (despite what our professors may attest to). However, here at the NUS business school, 3 of my 4 group projects started only a few days before the project is due and then they spend grave amounts of time working on the projects in a highly stressful manner. I can tell you, that is a horrible way of doing it!!! It is so stressful and creates such tension within the group. Especially as an exchange student who plans ahead (essential for traveling) and is used to being prompt in my school work (ie- I rarely ever wait to last minute), this style of work stresses me out and often brings much frustration, so it has forced me to practice much patience and adapt a new sleeping pattern. Fortunately, after 6pm today, 3 of our soft group presentations will be submitted. Next week is where all of our prep work gets put to the test....
April 9 =
* BSP 3001 group presentation
April 10 =
* Individual BSP 3001 case analysis due
* MKT 3418 group presentation
* TR 2201 30pg paper due and group presentation
April 11 =
*Meet with the Shidler College of Business Dean and Director of Development here in Singapore
Pheww! After that highly intense week, it will be smooth sailing. I will have one week of classes left and then will have 3 weeks off until May 6 when I have my final TR 2201 final. I have already taken my FINC401 final as well as my MKT 3418 final.
The business school culture here is very competitive, each student fighting to be the best and constantly doing anything to climb the ladder. In class, I often feel like its an arena of people fighting for floor time. It is quite interesting, the level of competition seems to have a lot to do with the professor. My MKT 3418 class is by far the most competitive class I have. I have been engaging with others to learn of their perspectives (both Singaporean students and other exchange students) to see if my perceptions are in line with those around me and to keep my priorities straight and in check, and it would appear that most everyone feels this way. Now, if you are wanting to go on exchange in Singapore, don't let this scare you!!! It really is a great place of learning, you do SO much learning! Singapore has a lot to offer and the students here contain a vast wealth of knowledge. Singapore is a great example of the potential a nation has to turn around and become one of the wealthiest, prosperous countries. Plus, if you want to travel, it is a perfect travel hub.
Back to where I started this blog with, the semester quickly unfolded to be very intense and has posed great learning stretches. Outside of classes, I have learned so much from being here in Asia and having the ability to travel to a handful of other SE Asian countries. Within the last 3.5 months, I have had the opportunity to leave my beloved Hawaii to travel to India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Each country is so different from one another and it is so awesome to be able to see different parts of each country and to gain insight on the land, people, cultures, and lifestyles.
I am so thankful for this wonderful, challenging, and completely engaging experience! Dare to follow your dreams and pursue the life you imagine...so imagine big and go for it and always be sure to take the time to sit and reflect and keep your priorities straight. Aloha!