Hungarian-viatheNetherlands-inSingapore: NTU

Nanyang Technological University. It is located on the Western side of the island. As far as I can see beyond the campus to the west there is jungle :) I saw some red signs this morning on the border with skulls. I'll have to investigate what it means: Don't wander off campus or don't go into the unmaintained part of the island?

It is hilly and lush green.

It is also like a maze: On the small map, I live just south of the Jalan Bahar / PIE crossing outside campus. Two buses service the campus, and both are either normal :) or double decker, UK style. My bus, 199, enters at the northeastern entrance from Jalan Bahar. I get off the bus between the pink and brown sections (where it says North Spine), but the business school (Nanyang Business School, NBS) is in the South Spine, the blue section. I either walk along the building outside (did that the first day, never again, already too hot and too much to climb), I cross in the basement of N2, or take one of the two free! campus buses that would deposit me closer to the business school, at the south end of South Spine (this is my favorite method if it is raining or if it is hot, i.e. always).

NBS is building S3. If you compare its location to the one on Google Maps, you'll be surprised, like I was on Monday. (At least now I understand that it was not my navigation skills that failed me.)

NBS main entrance from the South Spine core (Level B1, see explanation later)

NBS from the Student Services Centre (the top of the hill beyond S3)

NBS from the south

and NBS from the inner courtyard

It is a seven storey building. Levels 1 and 2 and Basements 1 to 5. Basement 5 (B5) is the lowest, and the actual ground level. Level 1 (1) is the level of the Administrative building :) And, given that it is long, it is divided into 3 sections, A-B-C. Imagine my confusion when I saw 1 B1 B2 as the nearest levels when I first arrived. And likewise, if I have to go to S3 01 B73, and I know B stands for the section, but I don't find 73 on Level 1, what do I do? I asked the only person I saw in about 15 minutes, and she happened to be the person I needed to talk to. Lucky. Finally. (And the address is on B1! Great!) As good as signposting is in the city (based on my vast experience from Sunday) it is as poor in NTU. Even with the map I regularly manage to get lost. (Well it is the third day now, so I think/hope I got the hang of it, but I am not really going to test my knowledge yet. And I strictly carry one of my two maps with me all the time!)

The phd offices are located in B2. There are two corridors on every floor, like this

and phd offices are in the middle, so we don't have a window.

This is the entrance to the phd room, it is operated with a card.

And this is my cubicle with my newly acquired water bottle and other important things

We have a small kitchen to get water from:

This is the nearest canteen at the south end of the South Spine:

On the two sides there are stalls (they seem to love stalls in Singapore), where different kinds of food are served/sold, but the whole thing is operated by the same company. There is a stall for salads & pizzas, western food, Indonesian, vegetarian, rice with veggies, Chinese, Indian, and drinks. I have tried 3 different kinds of drinks, but it is like anywhere else if it comes from a fountain, a sugary sirup, perhaps the taste is slightly different, but definitely not nice :) But the food!!! My favorite so far is the Indonesian stall. I would have called it Indian food, because they have all kinds of curries. They also have lots of different vegetables, they don't look at me funny when I ask for no rice and they give me large portions (the Indian stall people are stingy!). What I do is I "usually" ask for a curry and 3 different types of vegetables. It costs me 2.50 to 3.50, depending on the cost of the curry (vegetable portions are 0.50). The local currency is the Singapore Dollar, which is roughly 0.8 USD, 0.6 EUR, and 175 HUF. So food at the university is VERY CHEAP. And one more attractive thing about the place: it is open from 7am to 9pm, Monday to Saturday! I don't think I am gonna cook after all :)

Some more buildings close by my bus stop: the Chinese Heritage Center