The CEE students started their day with a beautiful visit to the Gardens by the bay, then had a free afternoon to get some last minute shopping or relaxation. In the evening, everyone returned to the hotel for our program farewell dinner. The dinner was based off of Chinese New Year traditions in Singapore. The starting dish included a salad with 2 types of carrots, cilantro, dried fruit, cabbage, sesame seeds, oil, and more. This Singaporean tradition on Chinese new year includes tossing the salad very high with your chopsticks, and the higher you toss the salad the luckier you are. Each toss represented a wish for the year ahead. Some of the CEE students wished for high salaries ahead, success at work, good health, and more. 

To follow the salad, a seafood soup, a whole chicken, and vegetables were eaten. The chicken is prepared by boiling the chicken with spices. The vegetables are prepared by boiling them with seasonings and flour until it thickens. Another appetizer includes was fried shrimp. All of the students enjoyed the appetizers. 

The main course was sea bass with broccoli and a tomatillo sauce with a mild spice. It was a very fresh and savory dish. To pair it, we ate it with noodles. We tried a variety of teas, including apple, grape, and lemon tea. All of them were a delicious pair to our meal. We also chatted with Yiming about her experience traveling with our group. She said we were a great group to travel with and specifically highlighted how fun we are, how we’re on time, and our collaboration. 

To end our dinner we had a mango sago. It tased like delicious mango juice with jelly strings inside. It was a very refreshing way to end our dinner. When dinner ended, the CEE students were sad about the trips end but excited for the night at Marina Bay Sands.  

Blog by Tamara Bader