Wow! I really did it... It's still hard to believe that I'm back to living on the other side of the world. Back in december Ali Garcia, a fellow classmate and one of my best friends, and I decided we should try and spend our summer interning abroad. It fit in our schedules and the UC gave us all the tools we needed to get it done. We applied for the international experience program, and in March we found out we were moving halfway around the world!
Filled with anxiety and excitement, Ali and I walked through the doors of the Chicago's O'hare International Airport and started our journey. Our first stop was in London. We stayed there for a 3 nights visiting a friend and exploring the city. It was the perfect start to our trip. It was my first time in London and I absolutley loved it. For anyone interested in architecture and or history, London is the place to be. Some of the best things we saw were the Tate Modern, The London Museum, any of the gardens, and the National Gallery Museum. I will go into more about London in a later post, but definitely put it on your list of places to visit if you haven't been already.
Saturday morning we left London and boarded our plane to Singapore. The flight from Chicago to London was rough so Ali and I were a little less excited about this 13 hour flight. We decided it was worth it to fly Singapore Airlines as they have been known for having incredible service. I can honestly say that was the most enjoyable flight of my life. The cabin was spacious and the service was incredible. Immediately the gave us warm towels, (which i'm still not sure what we were supposed to do this those) and offered us something to drink. Naturally Ali and I had to try Singapore's famous cocktail called the Singapore Sling. 14 hours went by quickly between the offered entertainment, sleeping, and reading. Before we knew it, Ali and I were in Singapore.
Not many people know, but I actually used to live in Singapore when I was 6. My family lived here for about a year and that is what really sparked my love for international travel. One thing I didn't remember however was the heat. Before we came everyone kept talking about how hot it is here and I explain how I've been here before so it shouldn't be too bad. Incorrect. As soon as we left the airplane we could feel the humidity stick to us. Singapore is almost exactly on the equator which means they don't experience much temperature change throughout the year. This also means it is almost always 80 degrees and above with at least 80% humidity. Thankfully I felt like I got used to the tropical climate after a week or two, but it took a lot of sweat and learning how to optimize shade and any air conditioning.
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