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A Week in the Life of an MBA student on an internship:

Rebecca Nakamura
Internship with: SI Associates, Singapore

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10

Week 1 (Posted on June 26, 2000)
It's been about one week since I arrived in Singapore. I'm filled with lots of different first impressions, which I'd like to share with you all. But please take these with a grain of salt. When it comes down to it, I really have no idea what's going on.

Of course, one thing that anyone would notice about Singapore is the climate, in particular the humidity. I'm pretty sure Chicago gets as hot in the summer, but I don't think even Chicago can top the humidity. I suppose once you get used to not being able to breathe, it really is not that bad. My recommendation is to avoid being outside during daylight and staying in air-conditioned buildings, buses, trains and taxis as much as possible.

Next to the internship itself, the thing I was most looking forward to about Singapore was living in a truly diverse society. I believe that the ethnic breakdown is approximately 77 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malay and 7 percent Indian (and 2 percent other).

While English is the primary language of business, what you hear on the street will usually be Chinese (Mandarin or a native dialect), Indian (Tamil or Hindi) or Malay. In fact, I keep forgetting that it's an English speaking country. When I interact with, for example, a cashier, I usually expect him or her to speak to me in an Asian language, and I nearly reply in Japanese (sort of a gut reaction leftover from the time I lived in Japan).

Since arriving, I've been doing my best not to cause any international incidents and getting myself in trouble in what is rumored to be a very "strict" nation. This means no jaywalking and leaving all my chewing gum back in the states. But, as I'm sure the average Singaporean will tell you, people jaywalk all the time. I'm sure it's less common than in the average major U.S. city, but it's an everyday occurrence. I always feel a tremendous amount peer pressure to follow suit when I see all the locals do it.

Gum is also available. I'm not quite sure where, but I know it is because I was borrowing a coworker's desk, and right there next to her pen stand was an open pack of chewing gum. I wondered if I should cover it up or something. And a few days later, while I was talking a cab, the driver reached into his mouth, pulled something out and threw it out the window. I'm pretty sure it was gum. It was either that, or his tooth, and I'm pretty sure that Singapore doesn't allow you to litter the ground with your teeth either.

With regard to the internship, I am working for a company called Strategic Intelligence (SI). You may find SI on the Web at www.strategicintelligence.com. SI is an independent research firm that produces economic, political and business intelligence on Asian countries. Currently, the company is headquartered in Singapore and also has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Jakarta. SI is planning to start operations in London and New York. It is also considering expansion into Japan and Korea. My main project for the summer is to prepare a feasibility report regarding entering the Japanese and Korean markets.

During this first week, I've spent most of my time "interviewing" employees and managers from different departments, reading up about the company on its Web site and preparing a game plan for the rest of my time here. I'm looking forward to working on the project because it will really incorporate many different aspects of what we have been studying throughout the IMF Program. In addition, it is a great way to pursue my personal interest in the Asia region. Until next time, stay cool and please do a little breathing on my behalf.

Week 2 (Posted on July 3, 2000)
It looks like I have made it to the end of the second week here in Singapore. In many ways, I'm still very aware of how new I am to this country and how unfamiliar things are. In other ways, it seems as if I have been here much longer than just a couple of weeks. I think this mixed reaction is a natural result of adjusting to a new culture, workplace and home.

I was very thankfully able to locate a grocery store that is closer to home than the ones I'd been shopping at previously, and it is right on one of the bus routes I can use to get home from work. I think it's close enough that one of these days I may actually try bringing home fresh poultry or meat. I've been rather nervous until now, because of the distance and the heat. Fortunately, I'm not a major ice cream fan, because ice cream would just never be an option. On the way home from the store the other day, my bag of frozen mixed vegetables left a sizable puddle next to me on the bus seat. I tried mopping it up with my handkerchief in the seconds before the bus pulled up to my stop and only managed to spread it around even more.

At work, the project I have been working on is ever so gradually taking shape. The first two weeks were spent just learning as much as I could about the company via interviews with the employees, reading the company's Web site, Intranet and archives. Now, I am in the process of summarizing my findings and preparing a report that examines the company's strategy thus far and its near future plans. This will serve as a foundation for my work on the remainder of the project.

The thing that is really interesting about working for Strategic Intelligence is being able to observe a young but very successful and rapidly growing company from the inside. I have been able to witness the triumphs and difficulties that come with this success and growth, both for the management and the employees. Since about a year ago (the company has been around for about two and a half years), the company has grown from two offices with six people to four offices throughout Asia with about 50 people.

Just in the two weeks I've been here, there have been two new hires who have stepped aboard. Already, in the Singapore office space, which was newly acquired in February of this year, two meeting rooms have had to be taken down to make room for desks, and there are almost not enough sales and customer service staff people to support all the current business. The challenges are numerous, and I have the unique opportunity of getting a bird's eye view of what's going on.

Little by little, I also seem to be adjusting to the climate and getting my bearings. The weekend before last, I ventured out to soak in some authentic Singaporean experiences. This trek brought me to…a Borders bookstore. This past weekend, being even more adventurous, I ventured out again and went to…MPH, which is pretty much like a Borders. But it's the Singaporean version of a Borders. I feel like a native already. Actually, I've been cautious about being outdoors because my skin reacts badly to the sun. (I know-what am I doing living in Singapore?) But, hopefully, with a bit more bus map research (is it just me, or is the Singapore bus system really a challenge to master?) and a lot more sunscreen, I should be able expand my horizons (or should I say "Borders"?).

Week 3 (Posted on July 10, 2000)
It is difficult to believe that just three and a half weeks ago, I was getting on a plane and going to the other side of the globe. It is even more difficult to believe that four and a half weeks ago, I was finishing up final exams. Spring quarter has already become a distant memory.

Here is Singapore, at least to some extent, I'm beginning to develop routines. Roads and buildings are becoming familiar. I know where to buy groceries and household items. I (more or less) understand how to work the laundry machine. I have managed to gather enough cooking utensils and basic ingredients to make more than tuna fish sandwiches.

At work, too, I feel I am making good progress. I've spent enormous amounts of time online searching for resources relating to the Japanese business research and intelligence market. I've managed to dig up information on some Japanese and non-Japanese business research firms that offer products and services similar to Strategic Intelligence's. And now I'm wading through it all. I have to read lots of less relevant material in order to unearth the more relevant material hidden within. It's not quite as challenging as finding a needle in a haystack. It's more like five percent needles and 95 percent haystack. But, the project certainly has even more direction than it did a week ago.

With regard to seeing the sites, I did visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens this past weekend. After applying several layers of sunscreen, studying the bus maps carefully and packing a bottle of water, I headed off. The Gardens are truly beautiful. Being a native Chicagoan, it's definitely different to walk around outside and see lots of palm trees and huge tropical plants. The experience is a little like visiting the tropical plant rooms at the Lincoln Park or Garfield Park Conservatories, but everything is outdoors, the area is huge and the plants are everywhere.

Within the Botanic Gardens is the National Orchid Garden, featuring thousands of orchids and orchid hybrids planted along side other foliage and flowers. Being in the Orchid Garden is like visiting an orchid display in Chicago, but everything is outdoors, the area is huge and, well you get the idea. Probably the most beautiful orchids were the ones in the "Mist Room," which housed several rare orchid hybrids developed at the National Orchid Garden.

Another interesting section was the "VIP Orchid Garden," which showcased flowers that were named in honor of heads of state, diplomats and other VIPs (and/or their spouses) who had paid an official visit to the Garden. Seeing these "VIP" orchids made me wonder what one must achieve in order to have a flower named in his or her honor. I don't suppose they name orchids after people who successfully graduate from business school. Actually, one flower was named for a woman from Korea who just happened to be the seven millionth visitor to the Orchid Garden. When she got back to Korea, she probably said something nonchalantly to her friends like, "Yeah, Singapore was great. I visited the zoo, ate some good food, had an orchid named after me and did some shopping. You know, same old, same old." Well, that's about it for week three. Next week will be the one-month mark-I can't wait to find out what happens between now and then.

Week 4 (Posted on July 17, 2000)
This week, my update is titled, "The Encounter."

Let me begin with a little background information. For quite some time, I marveled at the lack of creatures, e.g., flies, ants, mosquitoes, spiders, etc., in my apartment. This surprised me both because of the humid weather and because of the relative ease with which any of these could get into the apartment. Being from a non-tropical country, I've never seen this before, but the bathrooms do not have regular windows. Instead, there are covered with several slats of glass placed at an angle that allow for ventilation. They look almost like large permanently open Venetian blinds. I guess because of the angle, insects are discouraged from coming in. There is also a large window in the laundry room, with just a grate-and no glass-covering it. Small birds could easily fit through the openings.

I've never mentioned this lack-of-creatures-phenomenon before because I didn't want to jinx myself. (Yes, this is foreshadowing.) Actually, the occasional insect or spider would not bother me much. What I do have difficulty with are slithery, slimy kinds of creatures, like worms and caterpillars. I'm sure you can guess where this is heading.

One day last week, I came home to find a small, flesh-colored lizard-like creature occupying my kitchen sink. I let out a loud yelp and then stood there, paralyzed. This little guy was worse than a worm because I had no idea how fast it could move. (I'm somewhat confident that I can outmaneuver a worm.) I knew I would not be able to leave the kitchen until I had rid myself of my guest (for fear it would roam free in throughout the kitchen, or worse, the entire apartment). But I also feared that if I went for it, it might dash off into who knows where.

So it was lizard against woman, and for the most part, lizard was winning.

For the longest time, it stayed perfectly still, and I wondered if it was dead. After I splashed some water on it, its legs moved sluggishly. Ugh! I grabbed some plastic bags and covered my hand with them, hoping to use them as a pseudo "glove" to pick up my little friend. I also put paper towels on the inside of the bags, not wanting to be able to feel the contours of the body with my fingers. (Just reliving the experience as I write this is giving me the willies!)

After about forty-five minutes of both trying to muster courage and waiting for the "right" moment (all the while desperately hoping that it would somehow just evaporate into thin air), I went for it. As I was holding it, through the paper towels and plastic bags, I didn't want to squeeze too hard. The thought of any lizard guts leaking out was just too much.

In the end, I think I managed to capture it alive. I then tied it up in the bags and sent the whole thing down the garbage chute.

Now, I realize I was overreacting-that this is an illogical fear. As I stood there looking at the creature, I knew that it was probably more afraid of me than I was of it. But, this time, reason was not going to win over irrationality.

When I relayed this story to a coworker a few days later, she said, "I think most people in Singapore wouldn't have even done anything about it. They would have just left it alone. There are probably two or three of those in everyone's home."

That day, I went online and booked a flight back to Chicago.

No, of course I didn't. But I was pretty horrified. Actually, being from Shanghai and a foreigner to Singapore, as well, my co-worker was pretty sympathetic. She tried to reassure me that one gets used to this over time. However, I concluded that this was a situation in which I simply would not be able to do as the Romans do. Before this happened again, I would have to arm myself with the proper tools: the telephone numbers of the police station and the fire station.

Perhaps to make me feel better, my co-worker went on to say, "At least it wasn't a rat. The rats here are HUGE. I saw one once. I must have been lost, because I don't remember where it was, but it was as big as a CAT." Hmm, I'm feeling better already.

My coworker was doing a little foreshadowing herself. That evening, after I got off the bus on my way home from work, I lurched back upon catching sight of-yes-a dead rat lying on the grass.

Okay, let's see…do I want to use Travelocity.com or Expedia.com?

Week 5 (Posted on July 24, 2000)
Having gotten off to a bit of a late start on my internship, I just passed the halfway point of my stay in Singapore. I thought this might be an ideal time to look back, reminisce and process some of what has been going on.

Looking back at the past five weeks, what I'm most aware of are the challenges I'm facing and the valuable long-term lessons I'm learning. Of course, in many ways, these are two ends of the same spectrum. Allow me to share a little of each.

When I confirmed that I would be doing my internship in Singapore, I was very excited. I was grateful for the opportunity to work in and increase my exposure to Asia. At the same time, I was apprehensive. I had spent two years living in Japan after graduating from college, and I understood that there were challenges associated with being an Asian American living in Asia.

While I would not normally "blend in" in Southeast Asia, because Singapore is so heavily populated by ethnic Chinese, I, as a Japanese American, tend to "look the part" of a local. People seem to assume that I understand the rules and know what's going on. Outside of work, clerks and so forth regularly speak to me in Chinese.

These are perhaps minor annoyances that are easily rectified. The real challenge is something subtler. It is related to connecting with others. There is something ever so slightly mind-bending about being in a sea of Asian faces but identifying much more strongly with the occasional non-Asian ones. Also, at those moments when I feel I just don't quite have the energy to deal, I crave the "cultural immunity" that comes with people being fully aware of the fact that you are foreign. On more than one occasion, I have wanted to carry a sign that says, "I am not a stupid/confused/deaf/etc. Singaporean. I am a stupid American, thank you very much." I'm thinking about having that printed up on some t-shirts.

Another more tangible challenge is dealing with the crowds. I think the most difficult aspect is taking public transportation with all those other people-particularly the long bus ride from my apartment to the office and back. (It's especially fun when I'm carrying groceries or a 10 or 20 roll package of toilet paper. No one seems to sell four roll packages.) I'm sure it is just my imagination, but I could swear that the bus drivers wait until the passengers are lulled into a sense of security and then suddenly slam on the brakes or the accelerator, forcing everyone to be vigorously jostled around. It wouldn't be as big a deal if it weren't for the fact that everyone seems rather sensitive to being touched or brushed up against accidentally. When this happens, the "victims" often recoil, and I wonder if I somehow unintentionally poured vinegar into their wounds. I'm extremely thankful that I don't have to carry the load of books I usually tote to class. If I did, there would be much death-by-backpack on the buses in Singapore this summer.

Equal to the number and magnitude of the challenges are the valuable experiences I'm gaining. Certainly, I'm accomplishing my goal of greater exposure to Asia. I'm living in Asia in a country that plays a significant role in the Southeast and East Asian economies and that has a history and society greatly influenced by the region. I have also met co-workers from other parts of the Asia-Pacific area and have learned about their cultures, societies and economies. In addition, I work for a firm that researches the economic, political and business environments of Asian countries. I'm pretty much tuned into the all-Asia channel all the time.

Because I'm working for a relative young, rapidly growing firm, I'm also seeing with my own eyes the challenges of building a company-including wooing investors, meeting demand, building a brand, expanding into new markets, developing customer service and creating and maintaining an excellent workforce. This is part of the training you just can't get in the classroom.

So, I can conclude that while I'm not ready to become Singapore's next resident alien, I know I'm getting my money's worth and more. I wouldn't trade the experience. I might fast forward it at times, but I wouldn't trade it.

Week 6 (Posted on August 1, 2000)
A classmate asked me about the food in Singapore recently, and I thought this would be a good topic for this week's update. Having been here a little over six weeks, I'm certainly not an expert in the cuisine of Singapore, but I can at least share with you some of my experiences.

Most of my encounters with the local fare have been during the midday meal. The same co-worker I mentioned in my week four update has been kind enough to introduce me to a number of places near the office to have lunch. Usually, we will go to a "hawker" or food centre, which consists of a number of different food stalls and a large common seating area, similar to a food court back home. But in Singapore, because of the year-round warm weather, many of these are open-air. In addition to hawker centres, there are numerous small individual cafeteria-like establishments, fast-food places and plain old restaurants.

Eating "western" can be a little pricey, but you can easily grab a lunch of Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian or other Asian food for the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars. If you are into spicy food (which I am), then Singapore is the place to be. Many dishes are quite spicy to begin with, and you can wash them down with extra hot peppers that are commonly offered as a free condiment.

Some stalls have their menu options posted on large pictures, which you may point to when ordering. These have allowed me to have a vague idea of what I am eating. Other stalls have a variety of options in large warming dishes. The customer will select several items, which are then scooped up and served on a bed of rice. In the beginning, ordering lunch at one of these establishments was rather intimidating. I had no idea what anything was. Now, I can swagger up to the counter and confidently say, "Yes, I'd like that brown soupy stuff with the green and red pieces in it and that yellow paste containing some type of meat, poultry or fish."

I'm also learning new table etiquette, something I call, "spoon-and-fork-eating." Many food stalls offer only spoons and forks (or, if they serve noodles, chopsticks). Knives are not available. In the past, I have used a fork in conjunction with a spoon when eating pasta. However, the average person here is able to use the spoon and fork together to cut up all sorts of food into bite size pieces and neatly clean their plates. While everyone else around me is handling utensils like a chef at Benihana, I'm usually sitting there sawing my food thinking, "Uh, does anyone have a spoon with a serrated edge?"

The other day, a few co-workers and I went to a Chinese restaurant, known for its dim sum and seafood. Ironically, though, we had to order non-shellfish dishes because one of my co-workers and I are both allergic to certain shellfish. Fortunately for us, though, the restaurant had plenty of chicken feet dishes on the menu. We had the chicken feet soup and the chili sauce chicken feet. Let me tell you-- these fresh ones are much better than those chicken feet TV dinners American grocery stores sell in the frozen food aisle (Actually, I admit that it wasn't my first time eating chicken feet. I had tried some once in Chinatown in Chicago, but I incorrectly thought I had closed that chapter of my culinary experimentation.)

Here are a few other bits of Singapore food trivia: -In addition to local and regional brands, supermarkets sell lots of U.S. and Japanese brands.

  • Singapore offers many vegetarian options, in part to accommodate those who do not eat meat for religious or cultural reasons.
  • There are very few fast food drive-throughs in Singapore. (A co-worker tells me she knows of only one McDonald's drive-through.) And while catsup is in short supply at fast food restaurants, you can always find plenty of chili sauce packets.
  • To indicate that you would like your food "to go" or for "carry out," you should say that you will "take away" or "take with."
  • Numerous food stalls sell freshly cut tropical fruit and freshly made fruit drinks.
  • And speaking of tropical fruit, I've learned that guavas are not always a pink-orange fleshy fruit, as I had always believed. Another type of guava is a pale, crisp and watery fruit that almost has a neutral taste. It is served cut up and eaten with a sprinkle of sugar.
  • If you would rather pass on the fruit drinks, you can always have a freshly made soybean drink, which is like sweetened, liquefied tofu. I will end this week's update here. Bon appétit!

Week 7 (Posted on August 7, 2000)
No account of Singapore would really be complete without mention of the amusements and delights on the island of Sentosa. Unfortunately, I haven't been there yet, so instead we'll have make do with my account of what is perhaps the next coolest attraction in Singapore: the Night Safari.

A while back, I had promised myself I would go to the Night Safari before I left Singapore. For those of you keeping track, you know that this update comes after my seventh week here, so I was starting to run out of time. This past weekend, though, provided the perfect opportunity to go. One of the other IMF students, John, who is doing his internship in neighboring Malaysia, came to Singapore on business, so he, myself and a friend from work met up to go to the Night Safari.

At this point, I realize I have managed to mention "Night Safari" four times without telling you what it is. My apologies. The Night Safari is part of the Singapore Zoological Gardens, which also houses the Open Zoo. Both the Night Safari and Open Zoo avoid the use of animal cages. Instead, the animals are housed in large, landscaped areas surrounded by moats, or in the case of good climbers, glass-fronted enclosures. As much as possible, these habitats are designed to resemble the animals' natural environment.

The Night Safari opens near sunset, and visitors can ride a tram and also walk several trails to view 100 or so different species of wildlife at night in a simulated tropical jungle setting. Before going, I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured, maybe we would actually see about half the animals. But, in fact, all of the animals along the tram path and most of the animals along the walking trails chose to make an appearance, and the entire experience was just about as cool as the brochure made it out to be.

From the tram, we were able to view flamingoes, cattle and buffalo, lions, tigers, elephants, boars, bears and deer-lots and lots of deer. (I had no idea there were so many different species of deer.) On the walking trail, we viewed leopards, pythons, otters and an owl, among other creatures. We also had the chance to view several examples of the world's smallest buffalo and the world's largest rodent. This rodent is hunted for its meat, which, in some parts of the world, is considered a delicacy. (Later at dinner, the three of us pondered how the first person ever to eat a lobster came to the decision to eat it. Our conclusion was that, in general, humans will try eating any animal at least once and will decide against only those that are truly inedible. I'm guessing that the name of almost any non-poisonous animal (and several poisonous ones) can be followed by the phrase, "is, in some parts of the world, considered a delicacy.")

Speaking of delicacies, at one point, we saw the bongo, which is a brown antelope with white vertical stripes. Learning the name of this creature was somewhat of a surprise because one of the restaurants at the Night Safari is called the "Bongo Bongo Burger Bar." Hmm…. We also learned about life in elephant society. A single older female controls the elephant herd, and the males must fend for themselves as they are run out of the herd around the age of 15.

Perhaps the most vivid moment of the evening took place when we walked through the hall of bats, where the bats are allowed to fly freely. Out of the three of us, I was the only one who was really eager to walk through, but we all ended up going for it. A few steps after entering, I noticed several tiny bats flitting about. I squinted a bit in order to adjust to the darkness and catch a glimpse of these. A few steps later, though, my eyes opened as wide as saucers upon seeing the approximately eight inch bat in the tree, only to open as wide as frisbees at the sight of the one and a half foot long bat hanging just a few feet in front of us. When this one started to move, I grabbed the sleeve of John's shirt and froze until I was able to resume breathing. Then, as I picked my loudly beating heart up off the floor and put it back into my chest cavity, I wondered to myself, "In this situation, is it proper protocol to run now, or wait until after we hear the phrase, 'I want to drink your blood.'" (Of course, I am just being facetious. The tour conductor on the tram assured us that these bats were harmless. You know, assuming you can do without such luxuries as breath and a heart beat.)

When I'm not out exploring the jungles of Singapore, I'm at the office exploring the business information markets of Japan and Korea. [Note to reader: Please cross out previous sentence and replace with less idiotic segue.] For the last few weeks of my internship, I will be conducting a study to understand the business information needs of Japanese as well as Korean multinational firms in the region. This will involve survey research, which will hopefully provide me with some quantitative and qualitative data for my final report. Well, I'll wrap it up here for week seven. Please tune in again next week - same bat time, same bat channel. [Note to reader: While you are at it, please do something about the ending, too.]

Week 8 (Posted on August 14, 2000)
It's now mid-August, and while many of the IMF students are wrapping up their internships, it seems I am just getting to the heart of mine. I have completed the questionnaire for my marketing research project and have started sending it out to a number of companies in Singapore and Hong Kong. I am supposed to aim for about 25 responses within each of four sub-categories of companies. I will have to make a number of follow up calls to ensure this result, but so far, I'm happy to say, I've received five responses from the first round of questionnaires.

We've had a number of special guest stars recently on our Crazy-American-MBA Student Adventures in Singapore series. In addition to John, the IMF student (mentioned in last week's update), Singapore welcomed some Very Important People from the DePaul University Community, who came for university-related business. The party included Rev. John P. Minogue, C.M., President of DePaul University, Ambassador John F. Kordek, Associate Vice President for External Relations, Dr. Arthur Kraft, Dean of the College of Commerce, and Dr. Ali M. Fatemi, Professor and Chair of the Department of Finance.

John (the student - you'll notice there are several of them named above) and I had the good fortune of being invited by Ambassador Kordek to join him and Father Minogue for dinner during their stay. The invitation was certainly a great honor. It also provided us with an opportunity to explore one of the better known Singapore attractions.

Now, in general, I am what I call "Singapore-dumb." I may know a thing or two about Chicago, but I'm still relatively unschooled in the areas of dining out and nightlife in Singapore. However, after consulting a number of co-workers and relevant Web sites, I was able to narrow down our dinner venue options to the Empress Room, a Cantonese restaurant at the Raffles Hotel.

The Raffles Hotel is a beautiful structure, inside and out. It is reminiscent of Singapore's colonial period and has been renovated and maintained over the years to preserve its elegance and splendor. It is also a huge building, stretching for an entire city block. Before heading up to the restaurant for dinner that evening, we made a short stop at the Long Bar (ha ha, "short" stop, "long" bar - I didn't do that intentionally), which truly houses a long bar. And, as the guidebooks will tell you, patrons can and do eat peanuts out of the shell and then throw them (the shells) onto the floor.

Dinner was an excellent five-course meal beginning with barbecued Peking duck, followed by prawns with walnuts (from which I refrained due to a shrimp allergy), crispy chicken with minced garlic, fried rice with crab and then dessert of mango pudding and mango ice cream. The restaurant was not crowded, and the service was very attentive and friendly, allowing for a very pleasant and leisurely dinner.

In terms of highlights of my stay in Singapore, dinner with the university president and a former U.S. ambassador probably tops the list. But next week, I'll do my best to wow you with tales of a weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur!

Week 9 (Posted on August 22, 2000)
I am officially down to my second to last update. With so little time left for my internship project, things at work have been very busy. In order to send out the survey I prepared, I had to generate lists of contact information for companies in Singapore and Hong Kong and contact each company to confirm the information was current. This alone was a time consuming process. After sending out the surveys by fax, I have also had to follow up by phone. It's pretty much as nightmarish as some might imagine marketing research to be. But the rewards are great, too. Every time I get a survey back, I'm so in awe, it's as if have witnessed the miracle of birth. I check the fax machine hourly, and when something starts to come through, I coach the machine by saying, "That's it - breathe! Now push! Push!"

Of course, life here is not all work and no play. As I mentioned in my last update, I would like to share about my weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur, or KL, as it is affectionately called. A friend from work and I managed to swing a three day weekend by working on Singapore's National Day, which was on a Wednesday, and taking the following Friday off instead. And after hearing from John during his trip to Singapore that "the whole of Malaysia is on sale," my friend was inspired to go to KL. (Every year, Malaysia has a national sale in which many stores across the country offer discounts of up to 70 percent. Singapore also has such an annual sale, called the "Great Singapore Sale," earlier in the summer.)

Early Friday morning, we hoped on a bus from Singapore to Johor Bahru (in Malaysia) and took a plane from Johor Bahru to KL. The taxi ride from the KL International Airport to our hotel allowed me to get a breathtaking view of the acres and acres of palm trees that border the city. My friend said that Malaysia is the largest grower of palm trees in the world, and KL is surrounded by plantations.

After checking into the hotel, taking a short breather and having lunch accompanied by fancy fruit drinks called "fantasies," which is Malaysian for expensive non-alcoholic beverage, we headed out for our first shopping excursion. We went to Suria KLCC, the ritzy and chic shopping center nestled between the Petronas Twin Towers (more about the Petronas Towers later). Suria KLCC is a huge indoor shopping center with too many stores to name. My friend, normally conservative in her spending, turned into a shopping fiend. I, as the poor student from the U.S., played the part of the window shopper.

I was greatly impressed by the number of foreign retailers present. Malaysia may still be "recovering" from the Asian financial crisis of 1997, and many retailers are not yet turning a profit, but they have arrived and are poised and ready for that surge in disposable income, when, hopefully, it comes.

On Saturday, we took in some sightseeing spots. First, we viewed the world's tallest flagpole at Merdeka Square, the site of the proclamation of Malaysian independence in 1957, and the High Court building located across from the square. Then, after a brief tour of the History Museum (brief only because the museum is small), we caught a taxi to the National Museum, which led to the most adventurous part of our trip.

When we hopped into the taxi and told the driver we wanted to go to the National Museum, he seemed a bit reluctant to take us. We were soon to learn why. When we arrived at our destination, the driver pulled over to the side of the road to let us out. All we had to do to get to the museum was cross two directions of traffic on a multilane highway. The driver said he could not take us right to the museum because he would have to drive very far in order to turn around. I couldn't quite gather if this was due to all the construction going on, or if it was just a regular fact of life in KL traffic. Either way, I was about to insist he drive it anyway, when my friend said, "Okay," and started getting out of the car. Since she is from Malaysia originally, so I deferred to her better judgment.

We stood there for some time waiting for the "right" moment to cross. I think that it took me about five minutes to realize I should not be doing this - not out of fear, but our of the knowledge that I simply would not be successful in my mission. It was like putting two and two together: American plus crossing busy Malaysian highway does not equal reaching museum. My friend seemed determined to cross, however, so we waited.

We finally managed to cross the two lanes heading in the first direction, but when we got to the median strip, I wished we hadn't. Now, we were faced with four lanes of traffic, and a curve in the road prevented us from seeing the oncoming cars until they were about a block away. For those of you living in Chicago, think Lake Shore Drive immediately after the S-curve near the Michigan Avenue exit. We stood there for quite some time.

To make a long story short, we never made it to the museum. In all, our trip to the median and back took us about 45 minutes. All the while, several locals managed to make it across safely, but this required a special atomic destabilizing procedure that allowed cars to pass through their bodies without causing any injuries.

By the time we made it back to safety (the gravel shoulder of the highway), my friend had mysteriously lost the desire to go to the museum. We hailed another taxi and told the driver we'd like to go to the National Mosque. He told us he couldn't take us, again because of the difficulty in turning around to the other direction. My friend shifted to get out of the taxi again, and I thought to myself, "We are not getting out." I understood (1) we were lucky even to get this taxi out here on the highway and (2) no driver was going to take us in the other direction. I quickly asked the driver the name of the "nearest shopping center in this direction" and instructed him to take us there. This is how we got to the location of our second shopping excursion: Mid-Valley Megamall.

I have heard that the Mid-Valley Megamall is the largest shopping center in Southeast Asia, and upon seeing all the sales, even I caught the shopping bug. I finally broke down and splurged on a Mont Blanc pen. This is the sort of item I never imagined purchasing while still a student. I feel like I should take out an insurance policy on it.

That afternoon, we met up with a friend of my co-worker's for dinner and then went to the KL Tower for a nighttime view of the city. As I mentioned earlier, KL is the home of the Petronas Twin Towers, the buildings that beat out the Sears Tower as the world's "tallest" - you know, because of the spires on top. Now, as a native Chicagoan, I felt it was my duty to get a good view of the Petronas and be thoroughly unimpressed. From the KL Tower, I was able to get this good view. Reluctantly, I have to admit I was impressed. Actually, the towers don't seem quite so tall because they are not that large around. However, they are beautifully designed and quite pleasing to the eye. But fear not, I still know which building is "number one."

All in all, it was a great trip. Kuala Lumpur is a wonderful city. As one co-worker, who "loves" KL, said, "It's a bit like Singapore, but it has a very different pace." I thoroughly agree. KL was hit harder than Singapore during the financial crisis, yet it is rapidly growing into a modern, cosmopolitan city. With fewer crowds and a more relaxed atmosphere, I found KL to be quite "livable." It also seemed relatively open and welcoming toward visitors. At the end of the trip, my friend asked whether I would prefer working in Singapore or KL for a few years. I wasn't quite sure of my reply. For a long-term stay, it might be a toss up. But, I thought, KL would certainly be a good place for, say, a 10-week summer internship.

Week 10 (Posted on August 31, 2000)
On Monday, August 28, my internship officially came to an end when I hopped on an early flight from Singapore and headed back home to Chicago. My final week was a rather hectic one, with a string of late nights spent at the office trying to finish up the final report for my internship project.

I can honestly say that the internship was a very valuable one. I learned many lessons with regard to the growth of a company, marketing of a product and brand, marketing research and interoffice dynamics and human resources. I also received a crash course in understanding and appreciating various aspects of the regional economies in Asia. I believe these lessons will be valuable tools in both my short and long-term future.

I also appreciated the opportunity to build upon my previous experience in Asia (two years in Japan after graduating from college) and compare life in Singapore with life in Japan. One contrast is with regard to business and employment opportunities. In Japan, in large part due to language and cultural barriers, it is very difficult for foreigners to come in and find jobs. In Singapore, on the other hand, where English is the language of business and the government supports outward looking economic practices, foreigners with university degrees are encouraged to come in and work and multinational firms and start ups and given financial incentives for establishing operations in the country.

This summer was also an enriching time of many firsts. Of course, this was my first time to be in Singapore and, at least for one weekend, Malaysia. It was also my first time working in such a diverse workplace, both with regard to ethnicity and nationality (Singaporean, Malaysian, Chinese, Australian, U.S. American, etc.). I ate deer meat and durian, the very strong smelling tropical fruit, for the first time. (Neither tastes like chicken.) And (I am particularly proud of this one) even after 10 weeks of life in Singapore, all the stuff I brought back fit into my allotted check in and carry on baggage, and I didn't have to ship anything home.

In closing, I would just like that thank you all who have shared in this journey with me. I sincerely hope you, too, have had a memorable summer and, like me, are looking forward to all that is to come.

 

 

 

 


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