Post-Trip Reflections

It only felt like it was yesterday when we left for Chiang Mai. I can’t believe it has been 2 weeks since we came back! I miss the laid-back culture, I miss the people and I most definitely miss having my daily cup of Thai iced tea. As I re-read my pre-trip reflections and reflect back on my experiences, I can say with confidence that this trip has met most of my expectations.

What it means to be a USP Scholar ✓

Before the trip, I must admit that I couldn’t fully understand what it means to be a “USP scholar”. For my pre-trip reflection, I could only glean insights from the mission statement. Truth be told, the USP programme boasts a multi-disciplinary education which USP aims to expose its scholars to. However, I was unsure how that could be USP’s unique selling proposition as a typical undergraduate would have to take modules outside his field of study. Through this trip, I’m heartened to have finally found the answer. The main focus isn’t about the multi-disciplinary education that I receive. Sure, those were perks that would greatly broaden my horizons and provide a holistic education for me. But to me, what’s special about USP is the nurturing environment it creates to encourage learning.

On our first day, the dismal results we’ve received left us feeling heavy-hearted and disheartened. Prof Geraldine, Prof Pattrick and Prof Nat made it a point to lift our spirits and encourage us not to give up. It was then I realised USP is about the journey of learning. Here, failures aren’t frowned upon. The end result isn’t as important as the growth we receive as USP scholars.

Being the first year TOPS is credit-bearing, it’s inevitable that all of us are a little unsure of what to do. It feels as though all of us are fumbling around in the dark, trying our best to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The seniors who tried their best to plan and facilitate the trip; the professors who try their best to make TOPS as fulfilling as possible, often tweaking and improving the programme to fit our needs; and the freshmen who try their best to deliver results. It’s heartwarming to see the USP community coming together and learning as a group. All of us are on a learning journey together, and it is always comforting to know that I’m not alone.

Working together with my peers has also been an inspirational experience. Described as the cream of the crop, it’s no doubt that USP scholars are high-flyers but that’s beside the point. What’s inspiring is their attitudes towards their work. I’ve witnessed, on many occasions, fellow scholars staying beyond the stipulated time to work on their research project. The lengths they’d go to ensure they produce the best results possible encourages me to do the same.

It is the environment that USP seeks to create that is most special to me.

Cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity ✓

One of my pre-trip goals was to gain greater cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. I managed to gain a deeper understanding of the culture in Thailand. Throughout my trip, I’ve never met a Thai who was rude or unfriendly. From the doorman at the hotel library, to the professors we met, to the university students we interviewed, to the stall owners at the night bazaars and to the monks we met at the temples, all of them were nothing but pleasant and approachable. Why do I say so? There were many incidents I’ve witnessed that reflect their easy-going attitude:

• The Thais always make it point to show their gratitude. Be it buying elephant pants from a stall owner or ending an interview with the youths, the Thais are sure to thank you with a polite “kop khun ka”.
• A masseuse made me a hot drink for my flu when I went for a Thai massage.
• The university students we interviewed were accommodating and graciously acceded to our requests.
• Our attached student translators willingly took up the responsibility of being our local tour guides and brought us around Chiang Mai during our free time. They never once complained about doing translation, and even offered to link us up with their friends if we had insufficient data.

Their friendly, gentle and non-confrontational disposition would be one of my most memorable takeaways from this study trip.

Photo credit: Natalia Chioang

I also learnt to be more culturally aware and sensitive. During our interview with the monks, I had to constantly keep in mind to maintain a safe distance away from the monks in order to respect their religion. On that same day, we were also told off by a lady for taking a photo of a monk who held up a paper with the word “make-up” on it. As a freethinker, I didn’t see any problem with that. The monk wrote the word himself, so I naturally assumed that it was alright to take a photo. I wasn’t aware of the consequences that could happen. Now, I understand that the lady’s intentions were purely to uphold the reputation of Buddhism. I wasn’t one to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, but the least I could do was to respect their culture. Ignorance is no excuse for our behaviour. Religion is a sensitive issue that must be dealt with care and caution.

Exposure to a multi-disciplinary education ✓

Whether it was History in seconday school, or Economics in junior college, humanities have always been my favourite subjects in school. Till today, I harbour slight regrets of not pursuing an Economics degree. One of the reasons why I’ve been looking forward to this study trip is because of the exposure to social sciences.

Apart from the complexities of social issues (as elaborated in my reflections for Day 1), I was able to learn from my group’s attached professors and my group mates who were from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communications.

One particular lesson etched in my mind is Prof Patrick’s sharing on the “Philosophy of Science”. He also told with us how a sociologist would think differently from a journalist. He shared with us his experience as a sociologist, and the different interview techniques he would use to draw responses from his interviewees. From his sharing, I’ve learnt the different approaches one could take while conducting a social science research. Although I’m not pursuing a Humanities-related degree, I am grateful for the opportunity to be exposed to fields beyond my major.

Venturing beyond my comfort zone ✓

 

I made a promise to myself to venture beyond my comfort zone and I did! Cliff diving has always been on my bucket list and I’m proud to say I mustered enough courage to do so. The experience was unlike any other. The feeling of free-falling and the rush of adrenaline were extremely exhilarating. I would do it over and over!

Approaching strangers for an interview and stepping up whenever I needed to were also the small steps I made. They may not seem like much, but I believe every little step goes a long way.

Of course, there were aspects of the trip that didn’t meet my expectations.

Honing my communication skills 🙁

Photo credit: Crystal Hong

I had hoped to hone my communication skills through the interviews with the Thais. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to do so. This is because we decided that splitting up the roles would be more efficient and organised. Jin Hu and Fay, who were more articulate, were assigned the roles of interviews while Crystal, Darren and I were assigned to deal with the media deliverable. I did, however, had occasional interviews that I had to conduct. I found it a challenge to think of questions on the spot. Due to the language barrier, I had difficulties trying to bring my point across. In the end, I had to rely on the student translators to help with the interview. Since I had limited opportunity to conduct interviews, I wasn’t able to improve on my skills as an interviewer.

Forging bond with USP peers 🙁

 

 
Photo credit: Natalia Chioang and Ong Yong Jia

While 7 days was a good amount of time to forge a bond with my fellow group mates, I can’t help but feel that this was limited to the groups we were allocated to. Due to the unique itinerary planned for each group, there was little opportunity to mix around with the other groups. Although this is an inherent problem that would invariably arise due the different nature of the topics, I can’t help but feel a little distant from the other groups. Even during the times when we had group activities planned for us, most of us stayed close to our groups without mingling around with the others. I hardly knew where the other groups went or the topic they were researching on. I recognise that this is a mistake on my part as the onus is on me to socialise with the other groups. Perhaps one way to encourage bonding amongst the freshmen is to mix the groups during the leadership race.

Relating to my major 🙁

Lastly, my greatest regret of this trip is the failure to keep in mind my major. My sole priority was to get data for our research topic and my tunnel vision has caused me to completely forget about how this trip would enhance my education at NBS. Apart from gaining cultural awareness, I wasn’t able to find anything relatable to my majors. Perhaps the only exception was the discovery that I should never open a shop in Maya Lifestyle shopping mall because there’s little human traffic.

Overall, the TOPS has been an immensely fulfilling and deeply enriching journey. I couldn’t be anymore thankful for this opportunity.

What a great adventure indeed!