Tuesday, September 20, 2011 @ 10:52 AM: Overseas education
I guess it is time to update my blog (other than chieh who else are reading this please shout out to me on msn/wall/fb? :P), especially in my one day mc with a half infectious eye now thanks to the diligent application of the eyedrop.
Was reading blogs by H and L on overseas education and singsocs (the shortforms of names inspired by the very one who likes to give names to other ppl) and I can't help but feel just a bit nostalgic about CUMSA, the very organisation that I've been with for more than 2 years and the knowledge that our distance will grow apart in the coming years just makes me miss those good times we had.
The necessity of singsocs overseas? Or basically country-based organisations? Both viewpoints iterated by two different points in the spectrum - one is a current comm member while the other is a non-member whom in my impression is friendly and approachable. It feels like doing a GRE essay (or social studies) looking at the merits and demerits of the system and trying to come out with a balanced viewpoint though I have to admit that I am inherently biased.
First, I would like to debunk the total unnecessary presence of such organisations in overseas universities as purported by L. It is of paramount importance to note that there are many different kinds of people in the world. Some people may be more adequately adaptable to different personalities and values, and are accomodating to contrasting viewpoints and criticisms. These are the pple who will benefit fully by exposing themselves to a wide range of people out there, learning more about each other in terms of cultures, disciplines and probably good contacts for the future. However, not everyone is made of steel. Where some efforts of friendships have been made, and these people remain as hi-bye friends they may not persevere in reaching out to pple of different values and will stick to those who share more similar thinking and approaches to life. Here, I am not assuming that if you are from the same country or region you will have the same values with your countrymen, but there is always this higher probability of having such occurence, considering that in the case of Singaporeans in Cambridge, most are from HC or RI which basically meant a rather homogeneous mix. And this is where the associations come in, acting as a comfort zone for many to recharge and refuel before they venture out into new friendships, the mind-boggling questions and intensive essays or basically find solace and comfort.
Acting as an important base for freshers to explore fully the cambridge life, the friendships made before going there would give a certain headstart in terms of social life. In terms of like getting about, having lecture mates, etc. It has been especially useful to have listening ears about problems you face and situations where it meant a lot of help is needed (you wouldn't get someone relatively unknown to help you move luggages and boxes right?). However don't get me wrong. Coming overseas means that we should go right out and mix with the locals. But always take note it comes at the expense of additional energy required (especially if you are an introvert) having to approach new pple with new mindsets; or that they have different definitions to friendships.
I am glad that in my first year in Homerton, not many Singaporeans are there. In fact K (or affectionally called Jinbao) was my only senior there with W as my neighbour. These gave me the platform (or necessity rather) to make friends with pple from all different countries (but mainly natscis cos we shared slightly similar values) or from badminton. However, it was precisely this need for affirmation of values that I became heavily involved in CUMSA matters as well, and the natsci gang had helped me survive many incidents that occured throughout. Which is why I am of the view that you aren't restricting yourselves to only a singaporean context, but you are having the additional comfort zone when you are in CUMSA. And that has been really useful and essential to me. And also thanks to that, I have then the energy to make really good friends who are not from the Singaporean/Malaysian circles either in bridge, badminton, college or course mates =)
thank you for bringing me memories...
