Post-Trip Reflections

On hindsight, I have realised how short sighted I was. I expected to learn so little. I did not expect to be so moved by this trip.

My greatest regret was not being diligent enough to pick up the Thai language before the trip. I struggle a lot with picking up a new language. Being part Chinese, I am often disappointed by my inability to grasp the language and understand what my friends are saying. Hindered by this disability, I decided that languages are not my flare and almost totally gave up on learning something new. Sadly, learning Thai had never crossed my mind up till we reached Thailand.

Despite the language barrier, there was something about interacting with the people of Thailand and learning their culture that has expanded my heart for these people. A desire to serve them and to better their lives. My expectation to develop a desire to learn was more than met, it has been fuelled by a passion to make a difference in the world. Honestly, I have been struggling in university from the start of semester 1. I did not feel ready to start school. The thought of taking a gap year or gap semester was a recurrent one. I felt simply, overwhelmed by the pressure to excel and get good grades. Before this trip, my desire was to see how the people in Thailand are so hungry and thirsty of knowledge and education and hopefully I’ll be able to catch that fire within them. However, the outcome is vastly different to what I expected.

Each experience had its own value and they were each impactful in their different ways. I was inspired by my professors and their passions more than the through watching the Thai’s learn. Starting the trip with the Lecture Series at CMU helped me to change my perspective and prepare myself for the days of learning ahead. It made the research experience so tangible. I realised what it meant to be actually interviewing the Thai people and hearing their views on Heritage Preservation. I saw the value in doing the research and the possible fruits that it may bring. From then, I chose to put aside my previous discomfort towards visiting certain heritage sites and chose to take the perspective of the people.

I have become closer to my batch mates, my Heritage group especially. I loved that we would travel in as one entire group (some of my other friends call us “The Pack” because we’re all always together). That was the best part about it. No one was left out and everyone was each important and valuable to the success of our group. It was such a joy being able to spend the entire trip with them. Getting to know each other abroad is very different from getting to know each other in the comfort of our homeland. We see each other stepping out of our comfort zones, being afraid and feeling insecure. Yet we choose to accept one another just as we are. We’re a group with many differences, some of us detest drinking, some are uncomfortable with unfamiliar places and people and some are introverted and quiet, but it is these very differences that pull us together. This reminds me of a passage in 1 Corinthians 12, about the body of Christ. Each of us have different strengths and weaknesses. It is these differences that unify us. When one of us falls, others will be around to help him up again. I experienced this especially during the Leadership Amazing Race. Each of us had a unique set of skills, which we chose to use to complement each other’s strengths. Kim is such an observant girl who has such a good eye for photos and videos. Ying Wen is so motherly, ensuring that everyone crosses the road safely and is hydrated. Hui Ning is the Man of the group, leading the way and directing where to go. Manda is our source of endless joy and never failed to make us laugh. Yun Xuan is our encourager and the one who always inspired hope within us. Our ability to perform as a coordinated and unified team, resulted in our success during the Leadership Amazing Race.

I have realised my strengths, and I have learnt to recognise my weaknesses. From young, I have been unafraid to take up new challenges, talk to new people and be spontaneous. Yet this same confidence in my abilities and my adaptability has resulted in a blindspot. I fail to recognise or realise the needs of those around me. The amazing race made this very evident. While leading the group across the road, I often failed to give others a heads up, crossing the road when they were not prepared. I convinced our group to go to CMU on Wednesday to complete a couple of surveys and interviews despite it being our rest break. On hindsight, I realise that there is a time and place for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and it takes wisdom to determine when to do what. I am still learning and I know that I have so much more to learn. Having approachable seniors like Joash and Soak made this trip a greater learning experience. As I mentioned in the start, I did not feel that I was able to cope with semester 1 well. Sharing this with Joash and Soak at different points of the trip gave me opportunities to glean from their experiences and learn from their lives. They are two very different people, but they are both seniors I really admire. They are seniors who are so passionate about what they do. They inspire us to be better people through our interactions with them. And, they challenge us to make a difference.

It’s been such an amazing trip. It helped me to reflect on my life, my ambitions and my aims. What do I hope to achieve in my life? What impact do I want to make in the world? Will I come back here, to the place where it all began? Will I come back here and give back to this land that has given me so much?

Goodbye for now,

but trust that I will be back.