Summer Internship with IBM Singapore – Ravi Karan from Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering

My excursion from Indira Gandhi International Airport to IBM Singapore, Changi Business Park has been no less than a vicarious ride. I was the smart alec of my college in terms of finding an opportunity to do my internship in overseas and adding an IBM tag to my resume was an exhilarating experience.

This opportunity was courtesy the generosity of my maternal uncle. I resided with my uncle’s family in his condo. The house had all the facilities in this world that includes swimming pool, gym, spa, barbecue place, golf field and waterfalls. It seemed as if I was in no less than a fairyland. If this was not enough, my workplace left me dumbstruck. It was a gigantic business park with two skyscrapers dedicated to IBM and few other companies like Honeywell and Standard Chartered filling in.

It was an amazing experience to hang out with Chinese people. They show an immense amount of interest in knowing about our traditions and history. Luckily I met few Punjabi’s in my office and we were game during lunch hours, trying out all delicacies of Korean, Chinese, Mexican, Punjabi food in the food courts of the company. During working hours I was under a delivery team headed by a Chinese manager. Besides learning quality work, it was great on part of my team who shared there oodles of experiences with me. I was assigned to monitor technically the ticketing system of Singapore Airlines.

I still remember that pool and drinking sessions on Friday nights and clubbing on weekends in the Uber cool discs on Clarke Quay Street. Usually on the weekends I used to hop on my bag, fill it with all the necessary stuff and set out on my own to explore Singapore. The subtle breeze of Botanical Gardens, deceitful aroma of Sentosa Island and wildlife scene at its best in Singapore Zoo and Bird Park created an everlasting impression. On 30th July 2010 it was time to say goodbye to the most happening June and July of my life and as I handed over my T43 ThinkPad to the cloning center, all those precious moments went through my mind.

I had the best of everything in those two months albeit there was a regret of not been able to chat with the girl sitting in the left cubicle of admin block. So as I was taking my final steps out of the office, I decided to say her goodbye. I was taken aback when she said, “you know I find you really good looking and I am feeling sad that you are leaving today as I won’t be able to see you anymore”. I cursed myself for not talking to her all this while . But as they say “it’s never too late”. I was scheduled to go back to India on 10th of august, so I asked her out to show me Singapore till then. I felt blessed for getting an opportunity to hang out with a Chinese girl as I got to see the nuances of Singapore. Both of us had the time of our life in Universal Studios and then hanging out at Arab Street and Orchard Road. On the penultimate day of my journey, I went along with my colleagues to Marina Bay sands and I challenged my fortune by playing in casino with my stipend. As they say “Fortune favors the brave”. I added 200 Singapore dollars to the total earnings of my dream trip and boarded my flight back to Delhi on august 10, 2010.

“From being a trembling, nervous, & lonely boy on June 1st to a confident & social man on August 10th, it has been a journey of a lifetime”

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