You know, I was kind of worried that my 'good luck' from last year wouldn't be brought forward to this year, considering that I had such a fantastic 2011. I guess my worrying is unnecessary, at least for now. Last year in November, I applied to quite a few banks, financial institutions, and other non-b&f companies in hopes of landing myself an internship this summer. Truth be told, I got demoralised after I received a couple of rejection emails and I kinda stopped applying for the positions in b&f thereafter. 

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from an unexpected bank, Credit Suisse. The email invited me to go down for their first round of interviews. I was shocked, surprised and very elated. I've never expected them to shortlist me, considering my very average academic results and CV. Last Wednesady I went down to CS' office at One Raffles Quay for my first group assessment...... and in the evening I was called back for a final interview on Friday. Unnecessary details aside, I am now an unofficial intern at Credit Suisse! Unofficial because I've yet to sign the contract. I'll be placed in the IB Ops division. I'm really really thankful for this opportunity. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this opportunity!  


I'm looking forward to my 10 weeks internship at CS this summer. They seem to have a very friendly work environment and from what the AVP has told me, the company culture sounds very positive too. Now I can finally stop worrying about my lack of an internship and focus on my studies. 

 Sorry for the lack of updates. Time passes too quickly. Ever since I went back to Singapore, I've been busy spending time with my family and friends. I'm currently in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. I'm enrolled in a summer program at Yale. It's the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) - Global Summer Programme (GSP). The class I'm taking here is International Economics. I haven't been updating much since coming to Yale because the workload is simply crazy! I spend a lot of my time doing my readings and assignments. It's so crazy I barely have time to go out and play properly. 

Luckily enough, my professor has cancelled Monday's class and this means I have an extended weekend. My next class is on Wednesday! In light of this rare opportunity, my friends and I have decided to embark on a 2D1N Niagara Falls trip! In fact we're departing in 4hours' time. I'm pretty excited about this trip. 

Earlier this afternoon, I was in New York City. I was there to watch Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana at Radio City Music Hall. Being in NYC itself feels so amazing. Too much Hollywood I guess. While I was walking down 6th Ave, the song Empire State of Mind kept playing in my head. Lame, but I couldn't help it. Zarkana was kind of disappointing. I was expecting quite a lot since it was Cirque du Soleil... I guess it's alright since I only paid 30USD for a 52USD ticket. 

It's time for me to go. I'll try to write again soon, but I don't think it's quite probable considering the workload I have. :(

 Hello! I haven't posted any entries for nearly a month! I'm back in Singapore for good. My exchange in Hong Kong has ended. I'm really grateful to the people that accompanied me through those 5 exciting months. I got to know a bunch of really great Singaporean friends over there and I'm very sure we'll remain to keep in close contact! I've also get to know some foreigners and locals in Hong Kong. In fact, one of them, a HK local, will be coming to Singapore in about 2 weeks' time and I'll be meeting her again. :D 

Even though my exchange is over, I'll still be blogging about the things I've done and gone to in Hong Kong and my travel to the various parts of China and Taiwan. Expect me to write more often since I'm very free now!

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I went to Macau in February, a few days after I returned from my Singapore Chinese New Year break. In fact, I've been to Macau twice during my stay in Hong Kong. The second being in April, when my family came over to visit me. 


( MACAU )</div>

 Guilin + Yangshuo over the Easter Weekend 21-25 April. Yay or nay?

Confirmed: Taiwan from 9 - 18 May. Will be going to Tainan, Kenting and Taipei! Might drop by Kaoshiung for a day or something. Excited! :)

 Dear Xiu Ru,

Congratulations on being nominated and accepted into Yale University's Global Summer Program for 2011! By participating in the IARU Global Summer Program, you will be joining a new community of global citizens and of future global leaders. Your classmates will be outstanding students from IARU universities across the globe. Together, you will analyze some of the great challenges facing a globalizing world, study with outstanding faculty, and experience the local culture of where you will be studying.

Yale Summer Session is awarding you a $3,000 tuition scholarship. Due to a generous donation by Banco Santander (Bank of Santander) you have been awarded a $2,375 Room and Board scholarship for this course. You will need to pay for health insurance and the SEVIS fee.


WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?!?!?!?!? 

I haven't been writing here regularly.. I've been busy ever since coming back to Hong Kong. I've travelled to Macau, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in this month alone, all of which were short day trips or weekend trips. Come next weekend, I'll be travelling to somewhere further up north in mainland China. I'll be going to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) for a week. One of my friends will be travelling with me for the most part of the trip. She'll be returning to Hong Kong 2 days before I do though. This means I have 2 days by my own to explore Shanghai. 

Planning to travel to Beijing and northern China after my semester in Hong Kong ends. If possible, I'll go to Korea too. I really want to check out Seoul and Busan. I made a couple of Korean friends over here in my exchange university, so hopefully they'll be able to host me when I'm there. If time permits, I'd also like to make a trip to Tainan, Taiwan. Tainan is known to be a foodie's paradise. I hear the food over there calling out to me... Finally, if I have enough money and time, I'll go to Japan too. Tokyo and Osaka! So many places to go, so little time, so little money. 


I'm thinking of applying for summer school in the states, which will take place in July. Yale's and Berkeley's international summer school courses really interests me. I'm going to apply for it and not worry about the finances for now. I reckon the chances of me getting selected is really low since it's such a prestigious and competitive program, so I'm not having high hopes...

I will try to update soon with photos!