the Google Student Ambassador Summit SEA (Singapore, July 10-12, 2012)

It wasn't just the people.

Or the place.

Or the student summit, the activities, the loads of freebies, or the endless food.

It was the way everything beautifully merged together to form a heck of a 3-day experience.

Sketchy Shady Shiznits
Sometime last December, 2011 (I really can't pinpoint when it was; it was that random), I found a little Google form that would change everything. I distinctly remember seeing it posted somewhere, by someone, on some Facebook group...well, all I know is that it was promoting the chance to become a "Google Student Ambassador."

Should be good on the resume, thought I. So, I filled it up. I was asked about how I use Google products, what I think about the Google mission, what my extra-curricular activities are--simple things. In a few minutes, I had sent the form. In a few days, I'd forgotten all about it.

A full trimester went by and I heard nothing about my application. It was all but another fake joke to gather personal data...until May came around. I received an email from Minty Cai, informing me that I had been shortlisted by Google and they needed more information from me (passport number, address, etc.) by May 6th. That was about as shady as the whole operation could get. It was just a regular text email with another Google form attached below it. No fancy logos, no official-looking signatures. Regular text.

with Minty Cai, our most gracious host

I went against my inhibitions and sent the details they needed anyway, a few hours before the deadline. Soon after, they sent me this:

Round-trip e-ticket for Singapore

Just like that, I had a free trip to Singapore for a 3-day conference at Google headquarters.

Stubborn Still
The conference was scheduled for July, right smack in the middle of my OJT trimester and preparations for Freshmen Elections. I am an officer in my political party, and it was a very--very--busy time. 2 months after the excitement of being chosen by Google, I sat in my room contemplating whether to stay and work or take the all-expense paid trip to Singapore. What?

Again, I made the (obviously) better decision. I finished packing the morning before my 8am flight and headed to Terminal 1 for my first flight alone.

The plan was to attend the conference and work on my laptop whenever I had the chance. At night, I could Skype with my fellow officers back home and not miss a thing; like I never left. The plan, however, decided to stay behind in Manila.

Is This the Real Life?
I snuggled into my window seat and stared out at the view that greets every tourist: the butt-end of NAIA Terminal 1. I am proud to be Filipino, but something has got to be done about that place. This paragraph is dedicated to all the dead, previously hopeful spirits of every tourist that has ever come into the country only to see and smell NAIA. I liked the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" campaign but arriving here is just so anticlimactic.

Every tourist's first sight

Before I knew it, I woke up and we were nearing Singapore. I wished the trip took more than three hours, because I needed more than 3 hours of catch-up sleep. Regardless, the much nicer facade of Changi Airport was enough to convince me to get up and go.

I met Jyle, Queenie, Amourr, and the rest of the Filipino Google Student Ambassadors as we walked through the airport. It was a typical exchange of pleasantries but my mind was still on what I had to do back home. Upon reaching Arrivals, we were greeted by some overly-friendly Indonesians--our fellow Ambassadors. They gave us a big loud welcome greeting and we stood there like the rocks on Easter Island.

Totally looks like:

Spot the difference

This was when I started thinking about cultural differences. It was one of the intangible side-learnings from the trip. Are Filipinos really naturally suplado when it comes to meeting other nationalities? Is it only when we're in groups? If we arrived first, would we welcome them the same way? It intrigued me.

Soon after, we were greeted by Tinaga. Yes, that would be her name. She, together with some helpful guys, were responsible for our transportation and accommodations throughout our stay. This paved the way for some interesting storylines later on.

Tinaga, the one in charge of our transporation and accomodation. (c) Ricky Daniel

...or Is It Just Fantasy?
It all made sense. I fell asleep on the plane and woke up in some magical land where Sonata's are taxis and thick greenery lines the highways.

The highway, with its unending greenery and Sonata taxis. Will the Philippines ever look like this?

Really, the greenery was the first thing that struck me. I expected the cleanliness, the discipline of the drivers and pedestrians, the smart city planning. I did not expect such an urban city to still value the benefits of trees and grass. No wonder the air was still so clean amid the city hustle-bustle.

Of course, I still got the chance to admire things like the disciplined driving--how buses don't cut in front of you after picking up passengers; the city-planning--enough open areas, well-laid out intersections; and the technology--smart stoplights, effective MRT system. And it began playing in my head, as it did for the next three days: I didn't pay a thing for this.

We were assigned in pairs to rooms in the Grand Copthorne Hotel. I had absolutely nothing to complain about in the hotel. We had a great view out the window, the beds were extremely comfortable (unfortunately I only got to spend about 14 hours total in it; more on that in a bit....), WiFi was shouldered by Google (was that...50 Singapore dollars for the whole stay?), adequately large for two. My roommate, Kirk, and I never had the chance to have the hotel breakfast; we heard it was also very, very good. It was either extra sleep or breakfast for us, though.

the view outside our hotel window

entrance to the hotel

hotel's front facade

just a Maserati dealership right outside.

room for two. no complaints at all!

Yep Probably Fantasy
We rode a bus to Google headquarters. What do pinoys do in a bus? Play "Call Me Maybe" from a laptop and sing along, of course.

Kirk playing "Call Me Maybe" on the bus

Meanwhile, a singer girl named MaeMae from Thailand told us she "didn't know that song" and that her favorite singer is Lea Salonga. That's culture for you.

And we arrived. I'll let the visuals speak for themselves.

Videos of the Google office, pantry, snack bar, meeting tables, etc.

First free Google "SWAG" (Stuff-We-All-Get)--the Gmail bag! (c) Queenie Reyes

the snack-all-you-want bar. (c) Queenie Reyes

Take as you please. (c) Queenie Reyes

Pat and Queenie going for some goodies. (c) David Ramos

Don't forget the 2nd floor.

PIZZA GALORE! (c) David Ramos

At least a dozen different flavors. (c) Queenie Reyes

Make your own healthy smoothie! (c) Queenie Reyes

The fridge where we discovered grape Yakult. (c) Queenie Reyes

To top it all off, Overly-Hyper Gelato Man! (c) Queenie Reyes

Gelato. Free gelato. (c) Queenie Reyes

Googley
The entire conference was filled with great talks and activities given by several Googlers from all over the world. I learned so much, from Marketing/PR strategies to how student organizations can use Google products. We also learned about the Google culture, and what it means to be "Googley." My favorite things about the Google culture include:

- being brutally honest
- respecting competition
- prioritizing the users
- never being condescending
- reduced bureaucracy
- openness to trying new ideas

and the overall liberating feeling of being yourself in your environment.

It was through the interactive talks and activities that we were really inspired to take part in working towards Google's simple mission:

To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

And that was typed from memory. The mission was so simple and so obviously beneficial that we just had to figure out ways to further this goal. Truly, we became Google Student Ambassadors not because we were compelled by the free trip, not because it was expected of us by the organizers, but because Google made us believe in and desire its mission as well.

Got to try out the Chromebook! (c) David Ramos

Planning session with our multi-nationality group.

some other group.

found a Mykee Domingo doppleganger!

break-off into countries: the Philippines room

Experience Singapore
The first night ended with an incredibly stuffy nose on my part and an incredibly eager Johan who really wanted to go out for some reason (apparently, his "friend from Singapore" was inviting us out to some cool place). We decided to go anyway--even if I was sick and the others were tired--since we just had to "experience Singapore." It was, after all, only a three-day stay.

It was 10 in the evening when we trekked towards...wherever David and Johan led us, the true Lion City dwellers they are. Taxi fares are way too expensive (peak hours could set you back the equivalent of 600 pesos or more), so we took buses and MRT's.

David our trusty travel guide. asking for directions.

To disassociate from David, we decided to take douchy tambay-kids photos.

Pissing off tired Singaporeans by camwhoring in the bus! (c) Queenie Reyes

On the 2nd deck of the bus. (c) Queenie Reyes

The public transport system was a refreshing change after commuting in Metro Manila ever since I could. Buses had their own lanes--and they never cut in front of anyone. The train system is very efficient. It isn't cheap to commute (by our standards), but you get what you pay for.

After about an hour of traveling we ended up meeting Johan's friend, the guy who he'd been saying was inviting "us" to go out and have some fun. The ensuing hour consisted of us finding another place to go because all Johan did was seclude himself with his buddy and have some heart-to-heart bonding. I made sure everyone knew this, sharing this realization with everyone one-by-one:
"Nagets mo ba yung nangyari?"
"Ano?"
"Sinamahan lang natin si Johan. To meet his buddybuds."

We ended up in some 168/Divisoria looking area. Queenie, Ryan, Jyle, and I decided to "have some fun" finding the other end of the cramped "mall." We found it--it was a pharmacy. Then we went all the way back to our original entrance having bought or seen nothing. My legs were killing me by this point, adding to the discomfort of my runny nose. Was this the Singapore experience?

At 12 midnight, the four of us put our foot down and decided to experience something--anything--memorable. So, we found a little stall selling "Singapore's #1 Ice Milo" and we decided that could be memorable enough.

and the Singapore's #1 Ice Milo Club was born. (c) Queenie Reyes

After meeting up with the other Filipino GSA's, we decided it was time to call it a night. David told us that there are no more buses or trains past midnight, and taxi rates would go up. Cue the most memorable part of the night: the van.

"All is well that's end well." on the sketchy van

Some shady guy offered us a trip using the van. It would be cheaper than taking taxis, and all 12 of us would fit perfectly. Only, it looked shady as they come. The photo above shows the sign attached to the van. We certainly didn't want anything to "end" that night.

We took the van. We had too much fun that night--some of it at the expense of others. It was here that we birthed a new GSA running joke: backstabbing someone (lightly) then saying, "..........pero mabait naman siya." It was too fun. Before we knew it, we were back at the hotel. Johan made me take a photo with his un-fun, un-helpful friend.

pero mabait naman siya.

After surviving the shady van ride.

We ended the night playing a round of Monopoly Deal.

As usual, I almost won.

Day 2
It hadn't even been 24 hours in Singapore when I woke up on the 2nd day of our trip. I say "our" because I instantly felt like I was a part of something, rather than one of the people sent on a random conference trip. My roommate, Kirk, and I missed breakfast, so we grabbed a few muffins and pieces of bread to eat while on the bus.

It was another day of great talks, demos, and exchange of ideas. We got a kick out of some accents--like how one speaker was talking about "prawns" and it sounded like "porns." At around 5pm, we left the Google office early for...a river cruise and Google-sponsored dinner. Nothing much, really.

the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The stands for the Formula 1 races

The variety of bridges

Then David and Pat, who were right in front of me, decided to wave at everyone they saw. If you look closely, people did wave back.

Before and after the cruise, we had time to take photos with the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the background.

[Photos in this section are (c) Queenie Reyes!]

The boat for our river cruise!

Filipino GSA's!

Team DLSU!

Team Ateneo!

Team UP!

Team PUP!

and finally, team UMak!

Finally, you have got to meet Queenie Reyes. We rode a bus the night before--Bus 51, to be exact. She turned it into a song. Then, she found someone from Thailand who didn't think she was a weirdo for that. Here's what happened:

Queenie teaches her "51" song to MaeMae, Jyle talks about "prawns," and I can't believe it's 7PM.

It Ain't Over Yet
Then came the dinner at Medzs, a Mediterranean restaurant. We were given a card where we had space for five stamps. Each of the stamps corresponded to one part of our meal (main course, dessert, etc.) and we were to go to certain parts of the restaurant where we could choose which main course, dessert, etc. we wanted. And that's all you need to know.

(unofficial sources told us this dinner was worth around 3,200 pesos a head!)

Rosti--some potato shreddings+mayonnaise thing. It was weird but overall a great dinner!

Nope, Still Not Over
We were stuffed, but itching to make up for our lackluster night out the previous evening. Zouk, a popular club in Singapore, was walking distance from our hotel. There was no questioning the plans for the night.

It was ladies' night, so the girls got in for free while we had to pay something like $25. I think most of that money went to the stamp they placed on our wrists. The guys and I stood there like 3rd-world idiots checking for the stamp mark, only to find out that it was only visible under the bouncer's "black light flashlight." Genius.

I'm not sure if I can tell you this, but Andy--one of the guys working under Tinaga who was in charge of our accommodations and transportation--was too praning to let us go alone...so he chaperoned us the whole damn night. It was too funny. He later told us (at around 3am) that it was his first time to go clubbing.

But as we all agreed, what happened in Zouk, stays in Zouk. I leave you with some "safe" photos.

this one's the kicker. nice one David nice

wild din si Johan, 'di niyo lang alam.

Day 3
With 4 hours of sleep, Kirk and I missed breakfast again. It was the last day, and we got every minute of sleep we could to enjoy the last day in Singapore.

We enjoyed a few more talks, made some group presentations, and received some more Google freebies. On the last day, we got Google Student Ambassador ID's, a souvenir photo card (with Mr. Pa-star Forever Johan nicely photoshopped in because he was in the comfort room during the photo op.), ID laces, and the winning group won some strange blanket-like hoodies. It was time for goodbyes that I wasn't ready to make.

with Ms. Aileen, one of the Google Singapore people from the Philippines!

Mae Mae getting everyone's contact details #clingy

at the lobby of the building where Google is located.

a last photo-op with my fellow Pinoy GSA's

Many of them stayed behind, but I and a few others really had to head back home to Manila. With that, we said our thank you's and goodbye's--and took our private bus to Changi Airport.

All's Well that Ends Well
I really don't know how I can summarize these three days. It was too amazing an experience--and I missed out on a lot of details in this post, lengthy as it is. I learned so much, gained many new friends, had some awesome food, gained a greater appreciation for culture, technology--and had loads and loads of fun doing so. All for filling out a Google form.

Thanks Google!

Hardly Humdrum

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Wednesday, August 08, 2012

the Google Student Ambassador Summit SEA (Singapore, July 10-12, 2012)

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