I’m the sort of person who warms up to people very slowly. Slower than a slow cooker cooks porridge. So when I signed up for a five-week summer school programme in Tianjin last year, I felt a bit nervous… but as it turns out, I had a blast.

All my peers took the same two modules, so we ended up spending a lot of time together. We got to know each other really quickly – something I wasn’t used to before!

There was no shortage of things to do – we went sightseeing in Beijing and Pingyao, and also found time to explore the streets and corners of Tianjin on our own (my roomie’s sense of direction is as bad as mine… he kept straying from the group). It did not take us very long to find out where the cheap meals, good food and even cute vendors were (they chatted up some girls in our group!).

Goods are much more affordable there, and this meant we went on regular shopping sprees. The guys in our group did not “lose out” to the girls when it came to shopping! Luckily, space constraints in our luggage, together with our “protesting” wallets, kept us in check.

Boys’ night out shopping!

“There’s always space for more Pocky,” said a friend who brought back over 40 packets of these treats to Singapore.

There were times when the rain kept us confined to our hotel rooms. Once, the roads were flooded and lessons had to be postponed. But it made for a good time bonding with my new friends over movie marathons, card games and heart-to-heart talks. We even had a xiaolongbao party and had the soup dumplings delivered to our hotel!

The best part of this experience was meeting people from across the globe, including China, Korea and the US. Learning alongside them – with their different cultural backgrounds and academic perspectives – felt very fresh and invigorating.

More importantly, I got a chance to meet peers from NTU whom I otherwise wouldn’t have known. We’re good friends now, and still meet up regularly for get-togethers.

A period of five weeks feels just right for a summer programme. It’s long enough for us to bond, and also not too long in case we miss the good food and good company at home. 😉 This summer programme really made for an unforgettable break… If you haven’t signed up for it yet, why not have a go this summer?

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