Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Culture Shock - the sequel
I'm now typing this article from the very privacy of USP's Computer Room. Noone's around cos' it's the lull period for USP as no modules are conducted right here. Yes, this is the first week of Special Term Part II and I am so totally relieved to have survived my hellish six weeks completing my two USP modules. This probably explains why I have not updated this blog cos' I was so stressed up and depressed during the last two weeks of my first Special Term. To the incoming 95% of the NSMen, perhaps you made the right choice not to matriculate in the Special Term but you might have a harder time trying to re-adapt to the academic culture as compared to those who entered early. To the 4% of NSMen who matriculated early in May but did only one module, you made a better choice than the 95% who choose to extend their holidays till August and certainly your first semester will be abit better. But to the 1% of NSMen like me who chose to do TWO modules, well we're in the same boat and we can only hope for the best when the results are out soon.
The previous Special Term was fun and challenging. The fieldtrips were great, the interactions between the seniors and the year zeros were equally great as well. I got to interact with many USP seniors at the Chatterbox and I even know some of their secrets (censored). The class size was definitely perfect. I had fourteen people in my Biodiversity module, where six of us were year zeros, while I had ten fellow nationalists in my Nationalism module, where two of us are year zeros. I was the only year zero who took two USP modules, surprising everyone including myself. Well I had the passion for these two modules so why not? By the way, please click the link on the right to see more photos which testify my wonderful six weeks in the USP.
Can you believe that I single-handedly wrote a ten and a half page (approx. 3500 words) paper on Singaporean Food Culture? Ideally speaking I wouldn't wish to stress myself up but I couldn't find someone who shared my passion for food. At least my biodiversity essay was better where I wrote only 1000 words (new record since JC), cos' I had two wonderful seniors who willingly took me in (and one of them is in the Dean's List). I really suffered from sleepless nights during the last two weeks as deadlines came crashing down. My mother is really worried about me. She prepares a bottle of herbal tea whenever I travel to campus. She has to force me to go to bed. Serious! I ignore people on MSN. She is so concerned that she said, "How to give you all these energy stuff if you stay at hostel? Everytime overstretch yourself, stay at home better lah." (She conveniently took my PGP application form for the USP blocks from me and I don't know where it is. What I only know is that the deadline for housing application is over.)
I'm really it's all over and no matter how the grades turn out (the USP average is always an A- or B+. Wish me luck.), I know I've survived. Period. And I learnt lots of new stuff, broadened my perspectives, improved my writing and research skills and much more to come. I made great, quality (but certainly not quantity) partnerships with fellow year zeros and seniors. Like what Cindy Chandra has said,
"its not humiliating when u see ur juniors are now ur seniors. age doesnt really matter when it comes to uni rite"? Yes. I love the diversity right here. This is a totally new playing game where everybody learns from everybody, professors included. For example, my Nationalism professor didn't know the history behind Tiong Bahru (even though she was conducting a Singapore Studies module) until we brought her there for our field trip. She's not a Singaporean by the way.
Where can you get that if you were doing a breadth/general education/elective module in the rest of Kent Ridge? Where can you get maximised interactions? In this current Special Term, I'm currently taking a more relaxed pace to university life by taking just one biology module as an unrestricted elective. More time for me to grasp the abstract biological concepts and to read up more on biological sciences. I may not major in it but it'll certainly come up useful during my chemistry modules, especially when I tackle organic chemistry. Thank goodness the module is an open-book, MCQ exam, but the questions are rather tricky. I keep on making careless mistakes even though I understand the concepts well. I shall settle for nothing less than an A for this module. Which means paying more attention, perfecting further MCQ trial questions and being meticulous in labwork (it only starts next week).
However, I really find the atmosphere of the class very disturbing. There might be only 47 people taking the module but noone's interacting! Noone's posing any provocative or interesting questions that can help everyone learn better! It's the biggest culture shock I've to tackle with considering what I've heard from my fellow USP seniors with regards to lessons in their own faculty. Dear reader, please do not feel offended but unfortunately I feel more at home at USP as compared to my home faculty. Isn't it very ironic? Like what my fellow year zero just told me, it's better to hide our secret identity (just as a Commando wearing a red beret will not reveal his appointment and workscope in the SOF, if he is part of the SOF) lest non-USP students see us as arrogant or elitist. Perhaps I really need to appreciate this second culture shock again and assimilate accordingly just like an ordinary student of a faculty. We USP students are just an ordinary undergraduate doing extraordinary things. We don't really like the label of being "scholarly" or "elitist". We only wish to do things
differently. We yearn to
challenge, not conform. That is all.
By the way, I'm turning twenty-one on the 19th of July, 2007. However, as my birthday clashes with USP's FOC, I intend to hold my celebrations earlier. Confirmed details will be out real soon, but it is very likely to be held in the East and on a weekend.
And it's back to the books. I hope I don't go crazy again.
"Just as every girl should have a husband, preferably her own, so every culture must have its state, preferably its own. "
Ernest Gellner, nationalist theorist, (1925-1995)
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zeligdhilee breaking the MUSIC.
15:05
