Inyas Blog » Singapore

Goodbye Singapore: It’s time for continent-change

bjoern — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:40:30 +0000

After some amazing months working in Asia and experiencing the Asian way of living, working and having fun life speeds up again. Last week I was offered a great job-opportunity at the German Development Cooperation/GTZ in the SADC-region, that I was writing my diploma-thesis about, and I decided taking this chance immediatly. It was a great time working for the FES in Asia but as Susi left for her trip to Latin-America I was able to get back to my beloved continent Africa and after this dream-offer it was very easy to decide.

Of course it’s amazing fast – as I decided this week to take the job, I will leave Singapore forever on 22nd December and will start the new challenge after a great christmas and ski-holiday from 1st February and most probably move to Botswana in March. I hope everything goes like planned, as no contract is signed so far, but the opportunity is extraordinary amazing and of course I took this small risk – as always. :) Life is great and I am awaiting the time in Africa a lot.

Operation “Singapore Expat” sucessful

bjoern — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:29:11 +0000

After signing an official “9-to-5″ working contract I applied almost two months ago for the so-called “Employment Pass” in Singapore, that would allow me officially to work and live in the country after I had only visitors visa so far. But it took me four visits to the famous “Ministry of Manpower” and even one healt-test including HIV-testing before the tiny-little island checked and accepted me and hand me out the “Employment Pass”: first I had to officially hand in the documents, than they lost the acceptance letter in the ministry, then I had to hand over my finger-print and health-certificate and last but not least I could collect the pass. I was very happy to receive the “new” pass with all fancy stuff and was even more suprised when they told me that this little card would now be enough to enter Singapore and replace my passport at least at their boarders. Of course my first try at the boarder proofed this promise wrong: It was good that I was already trained by more crazy buerocracy and was not suprised when they also required my passport… Nothing new – just one more fancy card I added to the collection and I learned that their buerocracy is almost as inefficient as in European Union.

Working for ASEAN and Asia media-projects

bjoern — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:10:50 +0000

After so many years as freelancer and my own boss working for NGOs and governmental institutions, I am finally also caught up in an office-job for the next months. Due to a lot of great coincidence I started to work for the “Office of Regional Cooperation in Asia” of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) here in Singapur. As project-manager I am responsible to work on governance-projects with ASEAN and stakeholders of social dialogue, like ASETUC and other regional partners. Additionally I am following up my media-passion and work as media-consultant for the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) on their online-portal AYCN.net all over Asia and also for establishing a substainable Asia-European Network of Young Journalists with the European Youth Press and Asia-Europe Foundation. This combination from regional governance and media-projects is a great start to get introduced to the region and experience Asia, as it involves a lot of travelling and work with very interesting partners from diverse countries. LetÂ´s see how the office-job transfers me after some months and hope to stay flexible and open-minded – but I have seen from a lot of colleagues, that this should be possible. :)

Magic days in “down-under”

bjoern — Tue, 19 May 2009 17:31:55 +0000

After Vietnam I still had enough time before I finally entered “working life” again and so Susi and me decided to use the chance to escape from Singapore-island to another island: “down under”, “Aussie-Land”, “Terra incognito” or simply Australia.

As we had only two weeks we decided to go for Sydney, Tasmania and Melbourne and I am still overwhelmed when thinking back to these days between amazing landscapes, European lifestyle and great food as well as beautiful coasts, koalas, cangaroos, whales and wombats in real life. We stayed with friends in Sydney, where we visited the “blue mountains” nearby and lived in great CBD of this cosmopolitian city but enjoyed long costal walks as well. Afterwards we went for some days to the nearest point to Antartica, to Tasmanian island, and that play of nature was almost not able to resist – some days more and I would have applied for Australian citizenship. This nature was extraordinary, the seatrips on speed-boats through huges waves with whales and albatrosses were outstanding and the food and Tasmanian people were great pleasure. Coming back to this island is for sure and also a “must” for Melbourne, where we stayed the last days to enjoy the urban cultural life before going back to the “artifical island” of Singapore. If you have once the chance to go to Australia use it! I will do it again in October and will see more of “Ayes Rock” and the aboriginy culture.

Kuala Lumpur or Singapore?

bjoern — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:14:44 +0000

After arriving back to Singapore without any university-pressure nor any other voluntary engagement I started to look seriously into job-offers, specially in governance and media in the region. As there were not so many opportunities I was more than lucky to receive different offers and went last week even to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (see pictures from the great city attached) to speak with a regional media-programme, which is working as well in Myanmar. The offered tasks and challenges were really great and so the decision was not easy but I decided finally to stay in Singapore and enjoy my private life over here. And I started yesterday working as consultant for the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre for their projects in Asia and a fulltime job will hopefully follow until end of this month.

Additionally like to work as a journalist from here, as you see with this article about a “well-known Bavarian woman in Singapore” and have fun with colleagues, that publish the view out of my window in their media. And the time until Â´real workÂ´ starts wonÂ´t be wasted as well: I booked flights to Vietnam in two weeks and afterwards Australia and enjoy this freedom of freetime a lot.

Relaxed Holidays in Germany

bjoern — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:12:57 +0000

After heading back to Germany I experienced three magnificient weeks of holidays in my home-country. First I had 31 hours of birthday because of time-shifts and celebrate my 30th birthday on two continents with a great party and lot of great friends in the “1a Lauschgift” in Berlin. Afterwards I was touring through Germany; starting in Hamburg, Schwerin back to Berlin and finally arriving to Munich. Here I felt that I was attending a “trainings-camp” with constant mountain-climibing and records in cross-country skiing… 35km daily… I hope to be prepared for Singapore football now. :)

After so much holidays with rain and snow I am now lucky to be back in sunny Singapore. And I am excited about the next weeks cause I have to decided on my new job over here and hope all my dreams come true. As you see attached I already like my little island so much, that I published the first article in the “Ostsee-Zeitung”:

Singapur: Mein kleines Disneyland

Master-thesis was sucessfully handed in!

bjoern — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:31:50 +0000

After three months of field-research in Southern Africa with the GTZ in Botswana and trips to South Africa, Mozambique and Tansania and afterwards one month writing my master-thesis in Singapore I finally handed in this “masterpiece” yesterday to my university in Berlin. The thesis elaborates before the background of transboundary water-management in the SADC region to work out, how experiences from methods of European integration policies could improve the harmonization of national water-laws in the SADC region. My supervisers, Prof. Dr. Herta DÃ¤ubler-Gmelin (MP) and PD. Dr. Ulrich van der Heyden, already have the thesis and I also sent it to GTZ and SADC office and hope, that the results could help establishing a substainable water-governance in the water-sector of Southern Africa to avoid potential conflicts. I will realise therefore a big party back in Berlin combining my 30th birthday and this master-baby – hope to see you in “1a Lauschgift” in the evening on 28th February!

Download in German: Master-Thesis “Transboundary Watermanagement in SADC”
Executive Summary in English language: Master-Thesis “Transboundary Watermanagement in SADC”

Three days to go until master-thesis is finished!

bjoern — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:26:32 +0000

It is getting damn close now! Only three more days and I have to deliver my master-thesis to the University of Berlin while almost finishing my whole university-life. I only have to attend two vocal exams in June and then I would be done. As I had three months of field-research in Southern Africa I enjoyed the last three weeks here at the National University of Singapore very much while finalising the thesis on the research. As most of you know I was never so much attracted by university but more by practical experiences and non-formal education but during the last nine months, when I was the first time in life studying serious and finishing 13 university-paper (!) I learnt to appreciate also theoretical university-life and feel ready now to finally graduate as skilled (sic!) master-student.

Singapore was therefore the ideal place, as the nations future will be build on solid education and knowledge management and the National University of Singapore as well as the Nanyang Technological University are the leading Asian universities and NUS even reached 30th place in the current “Times”-ranking. As I never studied abroad I was fascinated by the campus-university with its amazing opportunities, where even the alumni-building is bigger and more modern then my whole “OSI Institute of Politicial Sciences” at home. I attache some pictures, that show some parts of my life during the last three weeks and will go immediatly back to my thesis now. :)

Nature at Pulau Ubin

bjoern — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:42:51 +0000

After I defeated the horrible jetlag and got used to the fact, that Europe is seven hours after us I sucessfully integrated into Singapore and experienced this great mixture of European, Asian and American style and Asian food and athmosphere. I enjoy my great university with its nice campus and appreciate the fact, that I do not loose hours between lectures like at the university of Berlin but can attend special lectures about Pakistan or today Thailand with ex-ambassadors. Besides this formal I am shown around and have great fun at receptions of Goethe Institute or wakeboarding downtown in an artificial lake.

Singapore is “Asia for starters” as a lot of people tell me but has also small islands around, where you can see mangroves and rainforest. We went to Pulau Ubin last weekend, rented bikes and had a great day on the nice island with nice sun and blue sky – what you want more in life?

First days in Singapore: eating and shopping :)

bjoern — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:33:44 +0000

After arriving in Singapore last Monday it took me some days to get familiar with the climate and the speedy city as I was still on Botswana mode. Four million inhabitants are gathered on a small island almost at the equator and so itÂ´s not only warm with 25 – 30 degrees but also very humid. And the city is very speedy and has a phenomenal traffic-system with millions of cars, subway-lines, buses and around 17.000 cabs – almost everywhere are the blue cabs and helped me a lot during the first days. And if you ask Singaporians their beloved hobbies are: eating and shopping, so the shopping-malls are amazing. I am currently living together with Susi in a flat share at 10th floor with swimmingpool, tennis court and other cool gadgets to use. ThatÂ´s great stuff and we even manage to smoothly agreeing how to share our small room. :)

After arriving and experiencing the town I was already working on my thesis at the Central Library of National University of Singapore, which is an amazing huge university with all what I need for the next weeks to finalise my thesis. Besides this work I got in contact with some potential job-partners and will continue this Â´networking experience from the scretchÂ´ the next weeks to find my dream-job for March/April or so.

If you want to reach me here you can send an email or phone to (+65) 977 58 334 but please be aware that we are seven hours before Europe. :) Next week weÂ´ll visit Brunei, so if anybody has some suggestions or contacts there, please forward me.