This would be my first encounter with Vietnam and its culture for I have never been there before. I hope to be able to immerse myself in the Vietnam culture and embrace it with an open-mind. I have been living a fairly comfortable life in Singapore and it is not often that I get to immerse myself in a lifestyle that is out of my comfort zone. Being in a completely foreign place with different people who holds different values and go about life differently strips all sense of familiarity away. Everything becomes an adventure and I hope that I would seize all opportunities presented to me and not be held back by fear. Furthermore, in Vietnam, we might not have the same luxuries readily available to us as we do in Singapore. Seeing how differently people live their life in simplicity, and actually experiencing it would be an incredibly humbling experience. I wish to remind myself what is important in life – not all the glitz and glamour of the concrete jungle but rather, finding joy in the simple things in life and investing time in what matters most.

I believe that one of the best things about travelling is interacting with the locals and fostering new friendships, and strengthening current ones. I believe that I would be able to be more confident and effective when interacting with other individuals. Communicating there would certainly not be easy for we do not share a common spoken language – even simple everyday tasks such as asking for directions for the toilet would be tough. I believe that we would be able to conquer them and get creative with how we interact with the locals so that we would be able to understand each other. Meeting and making friends abroad can also make this big world seem a little smaller, allowing me to feel more connected wherever I go. Such networks might also be beneficial in the future.

I believe that embracing a new culture would also help me build cultural sensitivity which is essential in our increasingly globalised world. This trip would pique my curiosity about how different people see the world and I believe that is largely influenced by our environment. I hope to understand underlying values that the Vietnamese culture holds that may be different from what Singaporeans believe in and explore their social norms. Being aware of such cultural values and norms is not only fascinating, but it would help me better understand the world – from understanding international issues and conflicts, to applying it in my daily life such as seeing problems differently, and hence handling them more efficiently. New perspectives would also inspire new ideas and opinions which I might not be able to form otherwise.

Ultimately, I hope to learn from the experience and become a better person, applying what I have learnt in school and in life. Also, I wish to have fun with my peers, building stronger friendships within and outside of USP.