Some Like It Hot

Fun Fact: Did you know that Singapore keeps a running record of every tree that grows in the country? This way, they are able to preserve ancient species of rain trees while accounting for any trees that may have fallen in a rainstorm. Also, the majority of the highways are lined with a dense riparian buffer of rainforest trees, bushes and colorful flowers that are actually meant to reduce noise and dust coming from the passing vehicles for residential areas.

I honestly have never seen flowers, plants and trees co-existing in such a manner as in Singapore. This country feels like a fusion of an ecological paradise and urban sprawl, which is eye-opening because one statement contradicts the other. Also, my apartment room is facing a gorgeous lake with exotic tropical trees. Whenever I have free time, I will walk across the whole lake and take pictures. Also note that this country's weather is always hot, and we are in monsoon season, which is something I have only heard about in the news.

Aside from the beautiful natural habitat and hot rainy weather, the food here is very good, but very spicy!! You can't beat the price either with food costing about S$2.50, or $2.00 in USD. The dishes here are unique as well, ranging from coconut milk seafood curries to Singapore's version of water ice with rose syrup, brown sugar sytup and condensed milk. As long as you can get past the heat, you are definately in for a treat!

In terms of the people, this country is definately the asian melting pot with european and australian sprinklies. Even still, the people can still spot us out as being Americans regardless of our own ethnicity. I try to blend in to prevent looking like a tourist, but I usually end up towering over everyone because of my tall height, which leaves the locals wondering how I got so tall since that isn't the norm.

So far, we have been in Singapore for almost one week, having JUST gotten over jet lag, and I have already begun preparing for my research. In this internship, my research will focus on optimizing glycerol production in algae by modifying various factors, such as the environment as well as the genetics. During my laboratory introduction, I noticed how fast-paced Singaporians are when working with experiments so this should be interesting. I am currently preparing for the next work day, so I will log out for now, la!

Lynnicia M.