To many people who are thinking of working overseas, please go ahead if you have the opportunity.
I was out of Singapore during my internship in Boston during undergrad, and took courses at MIT (and final year project on Neural Networks), then proceeded to work for a couple of years before setting up Greenyarn.
Leaving for a short period initially allowed me to be more independent. Being away from close friends and families would mean that I needed to deal with the problems I face without constantly calling for help. As a teenager, it was easy to think that I was independent, but you only find out when the safety wheels are off when you are alone in a foreign land.
I lived in Malden, MA with a nice Italian lady, and got acquainted to the “family”. I got to experience other culture and traditions, and find out about how Halloween and Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US. It was of course fun and exciting, and I get to see snow in a different light.
Often, as a tourist from the tropics, you see snow as a magical moment where you can go out and wait for snowflakes to land on your tongue and coat everything in a layer of white, when meet people on the streets to have a snowball fight and build snowmen together, after which, you go inside and have a hot chocolate drink.