Again, I don’t have an application yet to embed a slideshow so please click the link below for pictures!
INSEAD had arranged this tour for the partners to attend with our tour guide being an expert in helping people with relocation. Since we had just arrived from KL a few hours before, I was exhausted but I was so glad to have gone on this tour.
First stop was a wet market nearby at Ghim Moh. Wet markets run only during the daytime and they sell things like fresh fruit, veggies, fish, chicken, and meat. Connected to it area also food stalls and other staples. You don’t bargain with the vendors but just pick and choose all the things you want in a basket and bring it to the vendor to pay. The fruits were especially good looking but it would’ve been difficult to carry it around all day long so I vowed to come back another day.
Next stop was Little India where our guide showed us the best curry powder stand there and she brought us to the oldest temple: Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. That name is a mouthful!
We next stopped on Arab Street which was really quiet because of Ramadan. During this time, the Muslims fast from 7am to 7pm so there were very few food stalls open and few people on the streets. I hear at night the place really lights up with activity because everyone is up and about eating and socializing.
Then we went on a short history tour of Singapore and stopped at the Singapore River. Near this river, it is thought that Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles first landed in Singapore and a statue of him marks the spot. Also in this area is the oldest building in Singapore, I think built in 1823 (?) which is now a building housing art and a restaurant.
Our last stop of the day was Chinatown where we saw lots of decorations set up for the mid autumn festival. They had especially beautiful pomelos. I need to go buy myself some mooncakes!
That afternoon my friend Alex had arranged an interview for me at the National University Hospital (NUH) for a pharmacist position in their Cancer Center. I had a bit of time to rest and change but I was still quite tired before going to the interview. Thank goodness NUH is only one bus stop away.
I met up with Alex at NUS first then we headed to NUH together. Their Cancer Center Pharmacy is pretty amazing, considering the workload they handle. This location is responsible for the chemotherapy inpatient and outpatient, pediatrics and adults. It’s a 5 pharmacist and looks like 5 technician job, 6 days a week. They make something like 100 chemotherapeutic agents per day. The technician does all the prep in a clean room while all gowned up and the pharmacist does the checking outside of the clean room. The outpatient infusion center is right to the pharmacy so they’re easy to deliver while the other locations, like pediatrics, have deliveries of their chemotherapy.
The hospital itself is pretty amazing, they have 1000 inpatients. The building itself is composed of two wings and it’s pretty confusing figuring out where to go pharmacy-wise since they’re all split up. The main pharmacy is of course in the basement 😛
The job I was interviewing for is mostly dispensing with some clinical, focused on chemotherapy and related medications. The team sounded like they worked well together, it’s just that they are short one pharmacist because one just recently resigned. I will find out in a few days to see what their offer will be like.
After the interview I came down with a terrible fever and sore throat. I think it really is something going around INSEAD.