Graduate Studies Blog
Article by Han Jaewon
MSc Accountancy Class of 2017
It was February last year when I landed on Singapore soil and I was very excited to start a new adventure ahead of me. At that time, I was still in the 20s and was making a grand plan for the new life here in NTU. Now, one year literally flew and I am 30 years old and looking back at what has happened here in the past year. To be honest, my life here has been a series of studies (I can’t complain, since I am here to study anyway). But at this time, the fact that I don’t have any more pre-readings or group presentations in the upcoming weeks makes me feel very sad and reminisce the past one year. Yes, it was very challenging to manage all the hectic study schedules, but I also found happiness in all those busy days at the same time. It has been just a week since the last day of my programme, but I’m already starting to miss all those days so much and thus, I want to recollect and share how my typical week was like in NBS in this blog post. For those who are reading this post, this is my “Monday to Sunday daily accounts” described in a narrative way; these can be different from yours when you join this program in the future.
Sunday
My Sundays are definitely different from my Saturdays. Why? It is because I have a class tomorrow and this tax module is one of the most challenging subjects in this program. I have almost 100 pages of pre-readings, and it feels like its encrypted in some other languages (LOL!). So I only allow myself to laze around my bed until lunch time and go to the reading room to start preparing for tomorrow’s seminar. Since most of the stalls at the canteen 11 are closed on Sunday, I usually go a bit further to canteen 14 which offers one of the best pork-ribs (it used to be my favorite, but since the chef changed recently, it is no longer a fav of mine. Those who are reading this blog and planing to join this program, please take note!). Although I have a lot of things to do for the seminar, I try not to exert myself given that it is still a blessed weekend. So I finish the reading (even if I can understand only half of what I read) before evening and go back to my room and chill for the rest of my Sunday; so as to reserve my energy to go through another hectic week.
Monday
Alarm goes off at 10:00 AM, but it is not easy to wake up since I went to bed quite late last night. However, I really have to wake up to prepare for my afternoon tax module which everyone is struggling with the most (including me). Yesterday, I already read almost 100 pages of the text book, but have not attempted today’s seminar questions. As the seminar starts at 2:00 PM, I naively think I have time to at least form my own answers roughly to the questions before the seminar. I reluctantly get off the bed, shower and go straight to the reading room (in Graduate Hall 2) which has been my second home sweet home, as most of my time is spent here. Oh my god, today’s seminar questions are really difficult and when I get to the reading room, it is already 11:00 am. Boy, do i regret procrastinating! Although study is very important, eating is equally important, so I text my buddy “Paul” to have a quick lunch. By this time, it is already 1:00 PM; okay then, I need to go back to my room and dress up for the class. Basically, I end up being insufficiently prepared for the seminar, but it is quite common since we usually have a lot of work load before classes. After 3 hours plus almost another hour, everyone’s eyes glaze over, but we have gone through another tough seminar, adding one more topics to our final exam, Yay! Some of our class mates are going out to have an outside-dinner, but me and Paul decided to eat at a nearby canteen; Kofu!! These days I am addicted to the chicken rice set there. After dinner, I decide to get some rest since I don’t have a class tomorrow!! I also find myself lazy to go outside the campus at this late evening (yes I am an old guy…). So I just download a Korean movie and watch it, lying in my bed, and at this moment, I feel like I am the happiest man ever in the world. Before turning in, I do work out because one of my goals to achieve here is to have a sexy and hot body! Now the time is already 1:00 AM, but I am still surfing the internet to catch up with all the latest gags (and also news). But the thought of having no class tomorrow, gave me the liberty to sleep in.
Tuesday
I did not set an alarm last night, and I wake up at 11:24 AM. I check some What’s Apps messages and Kakao Talk messages. There is nothing special though. Today I have to prepare for the management accounting module, which is relatively easy going. After lazing in bed for a while, I get out of my bed and shower. Where would be my destination? Of course, it is the reading room! I pack everything I need for the preparation for the seminar and go down to the reading room. Since I have ample time to study, I decide to spend morning in watching some Youtube videos. As usual, I text Paul “Dude, eating at 12:30?”. We go to the canteen 11, which is the closest to my hall, and get food at the “Mixed Veg” stall. This stall is really good since every day it offers different food and I can just choose whatever I want like a buffet style, which is quite rare in Korea. After lunch, I go back to studying, but I finish my study for tomorrow’s seminar within 3 hours. Then, it is very high time to do some sports. Me and Paul are both big fans of badminton and swimming. Today, we decide to play badminton. This sports time would definitely be one of the happiest moments here. After perspiring like an athlete, I head back to my room and chill. Again, i feel like I am the happiest person in the world. But, tomorrow I have a morning class, so need to sleep as earlier as possible. I set an alarm at 8:00 AM, but wasn’t able to sleep because my body was already getting used to sleeping late. I promised to myself that I would have a regular sleep pattern moving forward.
my second home – reading room
Wednesday
I wake up feeling tired because I barely slept last night. Again, I reminded myself to keep a regular sleep schedule. My class starts at 9:30 in the morning, so I quickly groom myself and take a shuttle bus to the class venue. All the modules in this Acc program are quite challenging and requires hard work, but this management accounting module is relatively easier to follow, and thus many of our classmates seem more relaxed every Wednesday morning. About 3 hours and quarter of the morning class finished and again I head to the nearest canteen, Kofu. Since we have a mega module tomorrow – intermediate financial accounting, I know I can’t just slack for the rest of the day. But for the sake of study efficiency, I cut myself a little slack to recover from the tiring morning class; nap time!! Usually, a nap is just an hour or so, but my nap lasts until 5 PM. Since it is soon to be dinner time, I text Paul “dude, eating at 6:30?” After dinner at canteen 11, I go to the reading room and start reading tomorrow’s seminar materials. Since tomorrow seminar is in the evening, and thus I will have time to study before the class, I call it a night a bit early around 8 PM. For the rest of the night, I work out and again watch a lot of Youtube videos until I fall asleep.
Thursday
Today, I have to really attempt all the seminar questions. Otherwise it is very hard to catch up with the pace of the seminar. And thus, I get out of the bed right away, and take a very quick shower, and go straight to the reading room. Until the shuttle comes and picks us up at around 5 PM, I concentrate on my revision. By 4:30 pm, I manage to finish all the questions and go back to the room to groom myself for class, and since I am going outside the campus, I feel obliged to dress more professionally. Evening classes always come along with buffet-style refreshment. I would not say that the food is fantastic, but still it is a free meal and I can save money. Usually, I have better concentration in the evening, so I eagerly participate in the class. Speaking up during the class is actually very nerve wrecking, but I find it a very good opportunity to improve my communication skills in public. In addition, I am really a curious person, so if there is anything difficult to understand, I can’t sleep without fully understanding it. I usually bombard my instructors with many questions in this regard. After the evening class, chit-chatting with my buddies on the way back to the hall is also quite an enjoyable moment since it feels like I am on a city bus tour. Tomorrow is the last day of classes in this week, and I have an audit module which is quite interesting. As usual, I work out and watch some Youtube videos before going to bed.
Friday
Today is the last class day of this week and I have another evening class. Since the class is in the evening like the last day, I spend the whole morning and afternoon in reading seminar materials and attempting seminar questions in the reading room. For the audit module, there is no clear right or wrong answer, so I usually try to think out of the box and come up with the most logical and commonsense answers. Also the seminar itself is very much discussion-based, and hence, the instructor encourages us to share our thoughts on matters.The shuttle bus is always very punctual and picks us up and takes us to One North located at Buona Vista. Refreshments are ready before the class, and today the food is happen to be pretty good (Yay!). One of the star instructors, Mr. Goh Kia Hong starts off the lecture by cracking us up. He is a very humorous person and has his own unique teaching style which I enjoy a lot. The very last class of this week has just come to an end, and the long-awaited weekend is her. Even if I have no mega plan for the weekend, but I am just happy to know that I can loaf around my room tomorrow. For Saturdays, I obviously do not set an alarm since nothing bothers me tomorrow.
Saturday
Saturday is the only day I can entirely be free from all the studies and do anything I want to do. Although I am super free, I spend most of time in the campus doing some sports and going to canteens that I usually do not go to during weekdays. Sometimes, I go to Boon Lay to shop some clothes or gadgets. But on the days I feel lazy, I coop up in the campus. To be honest, a couple of weeks ago, I went on a pub crawl with my seasoned Singaporean pub crawler from my batch, and therefore I am nearly broke now. There is nothing much to do in the campus other than doing sports, eating, and idling, but I enjoy all three of them, so it could not be any better! Today me and Paul decide to go for a swim and as expected, the swimming pool is very crowded but I also enjoy this festive vibe on a weekend. The best part is eating at the western food stall at canteen 1 after swimming. Chicken cutlet and other pastas here at the canteen 1 is by far the best food ever in this campus. Since it is quite far from my dorm, I do not come here during week days. On a weekend, eating here right after an intense swim is the one of the top 10 happiest moments in my entire life. After a fulfilling dinner, I head back to my room and do the usual (lazing, watching YT videos). Before I go to sleep, I mumble to myself “this week was also good one….”.
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