8 Things I Learned During My Internship in Singapore
1 — Life shows you better alternatives
I’m honest Singapore wasn’t my first choice to go abroad. But through some accidents I ended up there and had such an personal development at such a pace I couldn’t imagine. Singapore also opened my eyes for different cultures and especially the whole asian region, which I’ll have an eye on till now.
2 — It’s all about the people
The part which made Singapore such an adventure were the people I’ve meet and the conversations I had . It was so revealing to talk to people with a total different point of view. And you can find them everywhere: at work, at the training, at meetups or even at the beach. It was crazy what deep conversations I had with some intern friends I’ve meet at my work.
3— Problems will appear and they’re solvable
You’re wasting your thoughts on problems which will never appear in 99% of the time. For example I was always scared that my credit card is not working. Guess what? It worked every damn time I used it. On the other side there will be problems you’ll never could guessed of. And this is the challenge. But also guess what? They’re solvable. So you shouldn't waste energy on thinking of future problems and face the problems you’re having right now which are keeping you away from your goals.
4 — You can achieve everything and even more
I had a small check list I wanted to achieve in Singapore, this included meeting new people, attend some tech meetups and do Judo, my favorite sport. I also wanted to learn Chinese but I canceled this point as soon as I realized Singapore is a very western country and everybody is understanding English. Nevertheless, I’m going to learn Chinese at our university. The astonishing thing was I achieved every point and some more e.g. get an understanding about machine-learning and Blockchain, meet our CTO, found a very good mentor, got free entrance to the best sky bar in Singapore and so much more.
5 — Nothing will happen if you don’t go out
Sitting in your own room and hopping for something to happen is so bad for your mood and overall experience. This we’re the busiest three months in my life and I was never happier, probably because I’ve spent so less time in my small room. The simple thing is, when you keep yourself with stuff and good people busy, there is no chance for a bad mood or a negative thought. To achieve this it’s so simple: you have to move out, do what you like and search opportunities.
6 — Artificial intelligence is a game changer
My internship was about machine-learning and I attended some AI meetups. And after this my gut is saying 24/7 to me: “man this is a technology with unimaginabel power”, which even becomes more powerful because we’re collecting more and more data each second. And IoT and the Blockchain are just playing into the power and possibility of this technology. So it’s an amazing time to be alive and I’ll focus on this topic much more.
7— Close the distance between your goals
It was always a dream for me to train with Japanese Judokas. And in Singapore it worked out. I was training at a local Judo club which had good connections to a Japans team and they flied in for training. Luckily I was there at the same time and I could cross out a big Bucket list item. Such coincidents probably could only happen when you get closer(digital or in the real world) to your dreams and goals. E.g. It’s the same for finding a job in the tech industry. Move into a city with great tech companies and I could bet through some connections you can land there a pretty decent job. Maybe not your exact dream job, but from there you can take the necessary steps to move to this specific job.
8— Be grateful
I’m so grateful for this experience and the people I’ve met. It’s very hard to explain this feeling to someone. One simple thanks wouldn’t be enough but otherwise I really can’t explain it, so I just say…
Thanks to every one!
Bonus Learning: Some people will turn your goals upside down
Sometimes there is a bonus on top on everything. The same happend for this stint. At some moment things will happen or people will appear which will take completely you focus away from you previous goals and let you think about new opportunities and them. And yes there was one person who took my focus totally away from goals I had set for myself. Hope she’s doing well but it doesn’t worked out and I have to accept that. I’m really wishing her the best and it’s crazy how important some people can become in such an short period.
For all this reason Singapore will always have a special place in my life and I will definitely come back better and enjoy the benefits and advantages of this city even more.
