Working Abroad .03

The past week has been an emotional roller coaster! There were some moments when I really missed home (for example, missing my sister's 18th birthday dinner) and others when I was having the time of my life. Work has been keeping me busy, and this week was especially crazy because we had the APAC POps Summit in Singapore, meaning that all of our APAC HR teams (from Tokyo, Sydney, China, India) gathered together for a few days to reconnect with each other and ourselves, listen to speakers, share highlights from each region, and do team bonding activities.

Overall, the summit was life changing. The speakers were incredible. Every single person I met was passionate and kind. And I learned so much about how Google operates here in Asia, how the teams work together, and how tight-knit and authentic every single person is. I walked away with some of the best new friends (like Koharu, Meng, Jayson, Jennis, Natalie) who I've known only a few weeks but feel like I've known forever. I'm still reeling from the entire experience and overwhelmed with such gratitude to be able to have this opportunity.

Team Bonding Activities

We did a marshmallow tower activity in small groups which was surprisingly really fun! The team also went to the most delicious Thai restaurant that I've ever been to in my life for a team dinner. I had a blast meeting some of the Tokyo Googlers on the team and became instant BFFs with a few of them :) The next evening when we went to Sentosa Island it felt like we were in Hawaii. The resort was stunning. They had unbelievably delicious food and we got to mingle and relax on the beach that night!

Obstacle Coursing, Para Jumping, Zip Lining

My breakout session for one of the conference days was doing all kinds of adventurous stuff at Sentosa. I did the highest level obstacle course, which involved walking on planks and tight ropes in the air with only having some rope to hold onto. It was such an intense course. My arms were so tired after and I was drenched in sweat. I bonded so much with my teammates, especially Anurag and Lucia who were in front of and behind me. We were each other's moral support as we conquered our fears! Para jumping from a 15m ledge was also pretty intense.... I was shaking afterwards! But my favorite was zip lining down to the beach. There was a torrential downpour right when I was about to zip line, so I got drenched! It was so invigorating though and the view was absolutely stunning. An experience I'll never forget!

Costume Party at the Shangri-La Rasa

Natalie, Jennis, Meadhbh and I dressed up as Hawaiian girls for the costume themed party that night. The costumes were so creative and hilarious; my favorite was "Larry and Sergey"; the guys actually impersonated them all night and stole the show! Each of the costumed groups had a dance-off - even I went up on stage to do a Hawaiian hula with my group. The food at the hotel was so delicious - there was even a chocolate fountain! At the end of the night a group of us got the dance floor going, and we learned how to do Bollywood dancing. Everyone had an absolute blast. The following morning back at the Singapore office, we had a great panelist come speak followed by an amazing "reconnect with yourself" session where people shared their stories of inspiration. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Their stories were so heartfelt and inspirational; it was a great way to end a wonderful summit.

Singapore Green Corridor 10.5k

I completely underestimated the humidity factor for this race. I was sweating just waiting for the race to start and at the end I looked like I had just gotten out of a pool! Nevertheless it was a beautiful run through the forest of Singapore spanning from Tangjong Pagar to Bukit Timah and surrounded by trees the whole way. It was inundated with runners too! I didn't bring my phone but I did manage to steal a picture from the race site (don't mind the fact that I look like I'm about to pass out). My legs were so sore for a few days after that I could barely walk!

Samantha's 18th Birthday

My beautiful sis turned 18 this past week! My family had a birthday dinner for her at her favorite restaurant, Banana Leaf. I was really bummed to miss out. But on the bright side I'll be back in time for prom and her big graduation party :) I'm so proud of that girl and can't believe she'll be going to college soon...