Responsibility, Simplicity, and Construction

(From Tammy Chin)

In the lab, I’ve been trying to find the right conditions for thermal cycling of the PCR reactions for the fifth fragment of the Dengue DNA. I had a meeting with my supervisor, Eng Eong, another principal investigator of our lab, Subhash, and some colleagues at the Genome Institute of Singapore Wednesday afternoon. They gave me more efficient primers and enzymes to work with and through their supplies, today I finally successfully amplified all the fragments (there are five total) of the Dengue genomes. With only about two weeks left, I will not be able to finish sequencing all the 50+ DENV 2 isolates but will certainly have a methods report done and some isolates sequenced. This entails doing as many DNA amplifications, gel electrophoreses, DNA extractions, and sequencing forms as possible before I go, all while wrapping up my work in a report that Eng Eong will guide me with next week.

Over the weekend, we went to Pulau Ubin, a nice little island to the north of Singapore. Cycling through the terrain was something I missed from childhood. Biking downhill with the wind in my hair and just letting the wind guide me, was such a relaxing feeling, and it reminded me of how places stripped of urbanity and technology are just as refreshing as bustling cities and how simplicity is still such a welcome concept. Our three hour long trek through the dirt trails and granite roads of the Singapore that used to be, of the last few “kampongs,” or villages that originally populated Singapore, was breathtaking. It was a nice piece of lived history, with its rubber plantations, durians along the road that people picked and placed in their baskets, wells for water, and noisy electrical generators. Many elderly people sat in stands alongside the road, offering “refreshing cold drinks” to us exhausted bikers. I admire these people who have lived on this seemingly deprived island and live without material luxuries that people only a 10 minute bumboat ferry ride away probably would never imagine being able to survive without. The people on the island are friendly and cater to you, whether in selling their food or their bikes or in providing you with a basket when they see you with purses (which I definitely thought was a nice gesture).

I’ve noticed that there is an enormous sense of community here in Singapore. People graciously give their seats to the elderly and to the stressed out moms with their tiny children on the MRTs and buses. From the posters of statistics plastered around construction sites, I know that the workers also believe in safety first and pride themselves on the minimal number of accidents and lost hours at the sites. MRT stations also repeatedly show clips that remind Singaporeans to keep Singapore safe by doing their part in watching out for suspicious activity on the trains. With adages such as “Low crime doesn’t mean no crime” on the walls of the MRT stations, Singapore knows that unity is essential for a prosperous country. People are actively helping make Singapore better. A sense of responsibility is well-established here, from the “act responsibly signs” on the tracks of the MRTs, the daunting ads that illustrate what could happen (a world of darkness) if we consumed all the energy/natural resources of the earth, of course the infamous fine signs for littering, chewing gum, spitting, smoking, and the list goes on. Souvenirs with the tagline, “Singapore: a fine city” and the red “no” symbols, crowd the shelves of every tourist location here.

A few nights ago, Mary and I ventured off into the city after working in the lab. We went to Lau Pa Sat, “the largest remaining Victorian filigree cast-iron structure in Southeast Asia” with stalls galore, selling from stingray to stinky tofu, all at affordable prices. Right next to it was Satay Street where meat kabobs were sold with cucumbers and onions and a peanut dipping sauce. The signature satay was delicious. We also went to see the famous Merlion, but unfortunately it was covered in green due to construction. It seems like Singapore is constantly being remodeled. Everywhere you look, you see cranes and workers in hats and boots with pedestrian walkway signs pointing to the allocated pathways. Every day, we walk past a construction site where a new MRT station will be built. It is located right next to wear we live (and we sigh at the government for not constructing it sooner). Here a new MRT station, there a new shopping mall. Here a new casino, there a new Universal Studios. It seems the country is trying hard to revamp its older buildings and attract tourists.

In other news, Mary and I will be soaking up more of the Southeast Asian culture. We're getting up before the sun rises Saturday to visit Ho Chi Minh. Exciting! I'm sure there will be many experiences/cultural similarities & differences to share.