Spending my sophomore year abroad as a part of the Global Bachelor’s Program was not how I envisioned my college experience when I first applied to George Washington University. At best, I thought I would get one semester to explore the world outside of the United States. Instead, I’ve been fortunate enough to embark on two consecutive semesters abroad. The first was spent at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland and the current at the National University of Singapore.
With over a month completed at NUS, I’ve fallen into an easy routine: wake up early to the roosters outside of my hostel room, head to the dining hall for a quick breakfast of coffee, cereal and toast, catch up with the other exchangers in my hall, and head off to my first lecture of the day for my International Relations of Asia class.
For lunch, I’ll take a quick bus ride to a nearby hawker center for some chicken and rice and kopi (coffee). After lunch, I go to my remaining two classes of the day: History of Ancient Rome and International Security. During my break between lectures, I sit outside and complete some readings before the midafternoon rain arrives.
Once classes are done for the day, it’s back to my room at Eusoff Hall to get some dinner; it’s always a variation of rice with two meats, vegetables, and an apple served with a sugary drink, cordial. Over dinner, my friends and I plan out the rest of our day. The big social event in the dorm has been the Inter Hall Games; over the last twenty five years, Eusoff has won twenty three times so the expectation has been set high for both the athletes’ performance and in supporting the Hall. Most nights, we show up to whatever sport is playing, leading me to watch events like basketball, soccer, badminton, tennis, and road races.
At eleven in the night, the day is still young. With so many of my local peers spending the early morning hours studying, participating in extracurricular activities, or heading to the gym, we’ve all adapted to the new sleep schedule. We head down to supper stretch — a collection of restaurants and most importantly, a 7-11, right behind my hall — to grab a late night snack. We order a Milo tower: a drink produced by mixing powder with milk that has become a staple of my time in Singapore. Once we finish, it's back to our hostel rooms to finish studying and prepare for the next day.
While the weekdays follow this typical structure, the weekends are far more flexible. In the few weekends since I’ve arrived, they’ve been spent celebrating Chinese New Year, visiting Singapore’s Southern Islands for a rainy beach day, and traveling to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia to hike through tea plantations. With such a strategic location along the Malacca Straits, exploring other parts of Southeast Asia has been made incredibly
easy.
The opportunity to be in Singapore has provided an international experience far different from my time in DC and Belfast. As someone who studies International Affairs with a focus in International Security and Russian, the Global Bachelor’s Program has pushed me to explore a region that I was not well versed in — a necessary step for anyone interested in pursuing a future in government.
Whenever I reflect on my time abroad, I’m drawn back to a moment in August — before leaving for Belfast — when I made the decision to apply for this second semester abroad. With no way of knowing if studying abroad was something I could do for a semester, let alone a year in vastly different places, this entire experience was set in motion. My semester at NUS has already led me to a stronger foundational knowledge about Asia, learn from people with all sorts of backgrounds, and see the world firsthand.
Sophie Rice
GW Exchange - National University of Singapore
Spring 2023
Elliott School of International Affairs
International Affairs Major
Global Bachelor's Program Student (Belfast, FA22)