Pre-Trip Reflections

 

“Initial thoughts”

Like the others in my USP batch, I was more than happy to embark on this unique experience, live in a new country, meet new people and integrate into and appreciate the culture that Chiang Mai has to offer.

Through TOPS in Chiang Mai, one would begin to learn to appreciate the little things in life and how blessed we are to be in Singapore. Chiang Mai is a country that most people would not consider going to. And in this day and age, education and learning knows no boundaries. There’s only so much knowledge one can learn and harness from the pages of a textbook, but through practical experiences and seeing things as they are, that is the true essence of learning. As such, I believe TOPS will give us USP students to discover ourselves and take a bold step out of our comfort zone. In addition, TOPS would expose us USP students to a culture and environment that is significantly different from ours, allowing us to understand and gain new perspectives on the pertinent issues that concern the country of Chiang Mai.

As the saying goes, 增广贤文, which means to continuously expand one’s capacity for learning, I believe it is imperative that students that given the chance to explore various modes of attaining new knowledge, and not be constrained by the four walls of a classroom, and TOPS manages to achieve just that. Thus, I see it as a privilege that we, NTU USP students, are given this opportunity for continuous and enhanced learning. By focusing on the various facets of Sustainability, Heritage, Youth Culture and Healthcare, this collective effort would paint a comprehensive picture of Chiang Mai and bring about a new sense of self, a new awareness of my place in the world.

Being in the Healthcare group, we have to conduct behavioral studies and observations concerning the usage of Tobacco and the Food Nutrition Labeling in Chiang Mai. But before we jump into any comprehensive data collection or the formulation of our work plan, it was especially important we understood what Chiang Mai was like as a country, its demographics, its environment, level of education, financial stability, because these crucial aspects form the backbone of our research project. Failing to understand these aspects properly would undermine our success to accurately portraying the locals’ perceptions and awareness towards tobacco usage and nutrition literacy. During the initial stages of our work plan, we did encounter a few hiccups as we seem to lack the direction as fieldwork and documentation was an entirely new concept to us. After the much-needed clarification and help from Prof May and Prof Natalie and our USP Seniors attached, Chloe and Yi Jin, we were set on our way as the work plan began to take shape. Struggling to finish our IRB Application and work plan while having to revise for finals was quite a challenge for me, but I am extremely thankful for my team that found time despite their hectic schedule to finish it together.

Apart from the academic aspect of fieldwork and documentation, being able to go to Chiang Mai and getting away from the everyday atmosphere of the classroom gives us USP students an opportunity to spend time with one another in this new environment. This would undoubted allow us to connect on more of a personal level without the structure of the normal school day. As the day of our departure approaches, my level of excitement and anticipation is slowly building up each day. I look forward to creating episodic memories with my team and along with my fellow USP scholars. We, as scholars, should not be defined solely on academic excellence, but by our awareness and comprehensive understanding of the people and society around us.