Schreyer and Penn State emphasize the importance of gaining global perspective. Study abroad is a great way to gain global experiences. Last summer, I had the opportunity to go to Singapore! It was for a study abroad trip for an engineering design course. It was a 3 credit engineering class that took place at the National University of Singapore. It was very unique in that, Penn State students worked with students from NUS, and Brigham Young University to create a sustainable cleaning product.
Our class focused on the principles of product design. The ultimate goal was to come up with a final prototype of our product by the end of the three weeks. The class was great, but working on the project was so much more fun than I expected. We were in teams made up of students from every university. This allowed us to learn more about the student culture at NUS and BYU. I became really close to my team members, and we would hang out together even after class was over.
The trip wasn’t all about studying though. We got tons of time to actually explore Singapore and experience the culture. After class was over, we would head out to the metro station and figure out where we wanted to go. Singapore is a very small country, so you can get pretty much anywhere by the metro. Although the country is small, there is tons to see. The country is known for its dedication to being green, so you’ll find there are gardens everywhere. The most famous being Gardens by the Bay, which has these incredibly big fake trees called super trees. They’re as tall as some skyscrapers in New York City. There are also little neighborhoods that represent the different sides of Singapore, like Chinatown and Little India.
There is also this great man made island called Sentosa. It has theme parks, shopping, and restaurants, but more importantly it has beaches! The beaches are great. A couple other fun things we did was go on a Night Safari. Its actually the first night safari in the world. We also explored marina square, which is the downtown of Singapore. Most importantly, we tried so much new food. Food is a very integral part of Singaporean culture.
The trip is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had! I made incredible friends and got the chance to live in a new country. I couldn’t have asked for a better time! Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity that you should definitely try to do if you have the chance. Not all study abroad trips have to be for a full semester. The trip I went on was only for about three weeks. It can be hard to go for a semester, however there are many other options if you still want to study abroad. There are shorter trips during the summer or even trips that take place over break. These trips may also be cheaper than going for a full semester.