NTU SRI Opening Ceremonies / Orientation

Today officially marked the beginning of my summer research internship at NTU. There wasn't much going on yesterday, I mostly filled out some paperwork (sorry for leaving you all hanging like that). After an opening speech and a some presentations on general information and campus security, we had a buffet lunch and got to meet some of the other students. Most of them range from sophomores to recent graduates, although about a third of the ~40 students are from Clemson University in South Carolina. I've met people from Malaysia, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Sweden, France, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, and of course USA and Canada. We were chosen from over 1000 applicants worldwide and part of me still can't believe I actually made it.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up by a guided tour of the campus. I already knew about most of the places we visited, but it was still good to familiarize myself with the surroundings. We also checked out some neat areas like the Art & Media Design Building which had a grass roof (see picture below). I also got to know a few people: in the grass rooftop picture, the girl in black on the left (from the Philippines) wants to move in with the rest of her family in Saskatoon (where I did my research last summer), while the one to her right in the blue-and-white skirt (from Korea) actually just completed a semester at King's College at UWO! By the time I got back home I was starving, so I had a big bowl of Mee Kuah (red curry noodle soup) and a plate onion thosai (flaky bread with dipping sauces). This is Indian Muslim food and love the flavors (and lack of bones). Tomorrow I have to get a few more things done for work, but hopefully I'll have some time to do a bit of exploring!Read more