Wednesday 17 October 2007

Singapore

Great news for us: the final outcome of the school's exchange decisions is out: I've got confirmation of my exchange to Singapore for P3,P4, and P5. Singapore has a smaller campus than Fonty. This year there was so much demand for campus exchange in P3, that INSEAD had to waitlist many people after a lottery. This means that many students have not got their request fulfilled (yet) to transfer to Singapore. There is a waitinglist now for the Wharton exchange and for Singapore. My sincere best wishes, and goodluck to everybody who's on the lists! I knew that I had a very strong case to go to Singapore, since I am seriously interested in working in Asia. Off course, like everybody else, I also very much look forward to spend part of my MBA there. The great thing about Singapore is that it's very modern and Western in a way, but at the same time it's truly Asia. The food, the people, the warmth, the possibilities. One of the things that I loved about Singapore when I was there before, was to go to the rooftop swimming-pool of Angela's apartment at night, jump in, and then enjoy looking at the tall buildings around me. The air still warm, the sky clear, you can smell the orchids around the pool, and you can hear all the typical noises of a bustling Asian city by night in the distance...

There is more good news... we also found a terrific place to live. The Singapore housingmarket has gone completely crazy in the last few years. As a consequence, housing in Singapore has become very expensive, and prices are still rising dramatically. There are so many expats looking for places to live, that supply can impossibly cope with demand. Luckily, we won't have to spend time looking for a place, because what we got now is perfect. I'm absolutely delighted that we managed to rent a condo in Heritage View, probably the best complex around INSEAD. The apartment building looks amazing, it's a beautiful modern highrise with a cool swimming pool, tennis courts, barbecue places, and a huge garden with palmtrees. Many students live there, so we'll be able to do our groupwork in the garden. Only at a few minutes walking distance from INSEAD, and with the MRT stations around the corner. I look forward to pick up Angela from work (when I have early classes) to go for dinner at Lau Pa Sat, Clarke Quay, Equinox, Little India, or any of the myriad of other wonderful places in Singapore...

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