The Past Couple of Weeks

I'm sorry for not updating my blog for a long time... I was pretty busy...

Now, I'll share some of the things I did or learned in this past couple of weeks.

Registration Day

On this day, you turn in all the required documents to process your registration and your student pass (student visa). You'll get your student ID on this day. I recommend you to be there on time or earlier since all the exchange students will be there and you'll have to wait for a long time... And make sure you have everything with you! One of the things I needed was a passport-sized photo. When I showed it to this lady, she told me my eyebrow is slightly covered with my bangs... So I ended up waiting in a long line and paid $7 for 4 pictures where I actually needed only one.... Anyways, you can pick up your student pass in a week or two.

Welcome Briefing

Information session was held by the business school for non-graduating exchange students. You'll be given an Information package and a timetable of the courses you are currently registered for. Instruction on add/drop courses are also given.

Courses I'm taking

All my modules (courses) are from the business school!!

• MKT2401 - Asian Markets and Marketing Management (equivalent to MKT361)
• MKT3402 - Consumer Behavior (equivalent to MKT311)
• MNO3301 - Organizational Behavior (equivalent to MGT341)

All my classes are 3 hours long... We usually get one 10-15 minutes break in between but it's not enough for me... It's like classes at UH. I think there are around 30-40 people in each class. We have in-class discussions, group case analyses, quiz, group project & presentation... I actually realized students at NUS study really hard. Most of the students in my classes raise their hands and speak up at least twice or three times during the class discussion. Many of them are always studying, even while they are eating..

Class Registration

Since I was talking about my classes, I should also mention about the class registration. At NUS, they have a bidding system for course registration. It sounds confusing but lucky for exchange students since we don't have to deal with it! For exchange students, we just had to list up to 10 course preferences on an application form. Once you are accepted, you will receive an email with the list of courses you are currently enrolled in.

I actually had a hard time registering for the consumer behavior course. I couldn't get into this course at my first registration so I had to register during the add/drop period. It made me more difficult to register because I couldn't find out the time schedule of this course until I have access to IVLE which is like a MyUH Portal at UH. So I ended up missing two classes in the first two weeks.

Transportation

Transportation here is pretty easy to remember. You only need one card called Ez-Link card to access MRT (train system) and buses. We also have NUS shuttles going around on campus. Since I live in UTown, I need to take D2 to get to Business building and D1 to come back. You can check the bus routes in NUS map which is on their website. It's getting off the subject but you also need an Ez-link card to print out your lecture notes.

Trip to Sentosa

Sentosa is a small island located in the southern part of Singapore. I heard they have great beaches there. I'm not sure if they are as good as Hawaii... Universal Studios Singapore is in this island.

Orientation was held here by the business club for business exchange students. They were planning do a lot of activities at the beach but it was pouring so we couldn't do much.. But I still got to know some people so I had fun :-)


This is one of the old pictures I took  when I just arrived at Singapore.

 

Merlion

 

Well, I finally figured out how to upload pictures so I'll post more and try to update my blog more frequently!! Now, I need to go and study for my first quiz!