Glad to be a Singaporean
I had always wanted to go on SEP to experience a different culture, taking a break from a lifestyle which I have been so used to for the past two decades. And now having stepped out for week or so, the biggest takewaway I got is not from this new culture I experienced in HK, but more of the realization of how much I have taken what I have at home for granted. It's during these times that you really appreciate what you have at home, and feel glad to be a Singaporean!
We seem to have the luxury of almost everything in Singapore, and apparently many of us don't realise this. No doubt we do not have krispy kremes and H&M like what they have in HK and other countries, but we still have other 'substitutes' along those lines. In terms of food, we have almost everything back at home. When speaking to Hansu over the last few days, we realised that he has never tried Singaporean food, never tried dimsum, mooncakes and much more. No doubt some of these food I mentioned belong to the chinese tradition which is common in Singapore, but that aside, we actually have a fusion of food choices from all over the world, and not every country has that luxury.
Food and shops aside, I am so grateful for the languages that we have learnt since young in Singapore. Having English as a first language, and mandarin as a mother tongue has helped me so much here in HK. In terms of school, I sometimes wonder how the locals (those who are poorer in their command of English) and the other exchange students (from countries where English is not their first language) can cope with lectures. I can sometimes feel the anxiety and worry that they have just by looking at the frowns on their faces when the lecutrers and tutors speak.
Similarly, when out in the streets here in HK, despite my horrible attempts to converse in cantonese, I can always fall back on English or Mandarin. My proficiency is these two languages have never once failed to ensure my survivability here in HK. And even when someone speaks to me in cantonese, there is this chance that I may understand parts of the sentence, simply because cantonese has some relation to mandarin. Again when comparing to our counterparts who are not as fluent in English, and have no knowledge of mandarin at all, its so hard for them.
See, so to those who keep complaining about being Singaporeans, think twice. As josh, elaine and I always say in HK, you gain some, you lose some. For every 'not-so-good' we get as a Singaporean, theres always a 'good' like the many that I have mentioned.
The last few days have been sports, food, more food, more self-guided tours and books. Sports being one attemp at running around the school, a few rounds of tennis, a few games of 8-ball pool and quite abit of table tennis. Food being more dimsum, more local food, and more krispy kremes! Tours being exploring new places like Yau Ma Tei, Temple Street, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, and City University (which really looks like a shopping mall with students who dress really well).
Books simply being the start of lectures and tutorials. And oh all the talk about SEP being slack and whatsoever, you know what .... it's so true (for this week at least). When people are going for lectures, we are playing tennis and going for dimsum. When my roommates are studying, I go to bed. When people are paying attention in class, I think of where to go after class. When people are spending their nights in the hostel rooms, I come back around 10pm every night after touring the HK streets. Well maybe all this 'slackness' is due to the fact that I haven't really gotten all the modules I wanted, so workload is still kinda light. We'll see as the weeks go by, as I certainly need to remind myself that I am afterall still an exchange STUDENT, and not a tourist.
We seem to have the luxury of almost everything in Singapore, and apparently many of us don't realise this. No doubt we do not have krispy kremes and H&M like what they have in HK and other countries, but we still have other 'substitutes' along those lines. In terms of food, we have almost everything back at home. When speaking to Hansu over the last few days, we realised that he has never tried Singaporean food, never tried dimsum, mooncakes and much more. No doubt some of these food I mentioned belong to the chinese tradition which is common in Singapore, but that aside, we actually have a fusion of food choices from all over the world, and not every country has that luxury.
Food and shops aside, I am so grateful for the languages that we have learnt since young in Singapore. Having English as a first language, and mandarin as a mother tongue has helped me so much here in HK. In terms of school, I sometimes wonder how the locals (those who are poorer in their command of English) and the other exchange students (from countries where English is not their first language) can cope with lectures. I can sometimes feel the anxiety and worry that they have just by looking at the frowns on their faces when the lecutrers and tutors speak.
Similarly, when out in the streets here in HK, despite my horrible attempts to converse in cantonese, I can always fall back on English or Mandarin. My proficiency is these two languages have never once failed to ensure my survivability here in HK. And even when someone speaks to me in cantonese, there is this chance that I may understand parts of the sentence, simply because cantonese has some relation to mandarin. Again when comparing to our counterparts who are not as fluent in English, and have no knowledge of mandarin at all, its so hard for them.
See, so to those who keep complaining about being Singaporeans, think twice. As josh, elaine and I always say in HK, you gain some, you lose some. For every 'not-so-good' we get as a Singaporean, theres always a 'good' like the many that I have mentioned.
The last few days have been sports, food, more food, more self-guided tours and books. Sports being one attemp at running around the school, a few rounds of tennis, a few games of 8-ball pool and quite abit of table tennis. Food being more dimsum, more local food, and more krispy kremes! Tours being exploring new places like Yau Ma Tei, Temple Street, Kowloon Tong, Kwun Tong, and City University (which really looks like a shopping mall with students who dress really well).
Books simply being the start of lectures and tutorials. And oh all the talk about SEP being slack and whatsoever, you know what .... it's so true (for this week at least). When people are going for lectures, we are playing tennis and going for dimsum. When my roommates are studying, I go to bed. When people are paying attention in class, I think of where to go after class. When people are spending their nights in the hostel rooms, I come back around 10pm every night after touring the HK streets. Well maybe all this 'slackness' is due to the fact that I haven't really gotten all the modules I wanted, so workload is still kinda light. We'll see as the weeks go by, as I certainly need to remind myself that I am afterall still an exchange STUDENT, and not a tourist.
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