#MyASEANStory

[vergelle]

Takeaways from Studying in Singapore

I’ve lived independently abroad for most of 2016 while I studied full-time for my master’s degree. Although I am still waiting for commencement later this year — an event Mama has bought plane tickets for long before I wrote the first word for my dissertation — the coursework is all done and I’m now back in Manila for good.

As I begin a new chapter of my life, jumpstarting a career in environmental management after years of work in industry, I’m making a proper conclusion of that period of my life by summing it up in life lessons and curating events both memorable and mundane. In case you would now be in the same shoes, I hope you get to learn something from them.

Going abroad, for study or otherwise, means letting life happen back home while you’re away.

You’ll have to let go a part of your life when you leave. If you’ve been working for some time, your job would be it. You may not love it all the time, but when it goes, so will the community you’ve grown accustomed to. You will miss having lunch with colleagues who’ve turned into friends, and your discussions about anything under the sun - from politics and spirituality, to childhood cartoons, life events and the occasional (gasp) office gossip.

Months later, you will see photos of team building activities, christmas parties, and outings you are no longer a part of. That’s just part of going out of your comfort zone. Suck it up and look around for all the wonderful things to appreciate - you might miss all these by being too busy feeling left out.

Touring the urban classics of Singapore like The Shoppes at Marina Bay, December 2015

Discovering cultural hotspots like Kampong Glam, January 2016

Appreciating the garden city’s environmental wins like the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, February 2016

You will also miss important family and barkada events because birthdays and traditions will still happen even while you’re away. Acknowledge that the world would go on without you. Wear your comfiest sandals and explore because you ought to make your own life events, wherever you may be.

Night life at Haji Lane, February 2016

Visiting my sister, Ate Cheenee, and cousin, Kuya Janno, in Jakarta during Reading Week, April 2016

Experiencing Bali with Sanjala, Aijie, and Lisa during Recess Week, September 2016

There could be some things that people back home would not tell you, just to spare you the worry if there isn’t anything else you can do. Keep in touch. Thank God for technology, because Skype and Facebook will be your lifeline.

Your friends will have their own lives and so will you, but let them know they cross your mind. Don’t be too proud or lazy to be the first one to say “What’s up?” Update each other and be present “in spirit.” Send postcards.

Unexpected virtual get together with my college best friends, Diana, who’s based in Australia and Kathy, who was visiting from NZ, November 2016

As Dr. Seuss said, “Alone is something you will be quite a lot.”

While you have yet to find your community, you will find more alone times than you usually have. If you’ve been used to being surrounded with people, it may not be such a welcome change. Embrace it still and learn how to be comfortable being alone. In those quiet times, get to know yourself more so when you go out there, it will be easier to be your own person.

Going solo to see Bon Iver Live, February 2016

You’ll start to notice the things people would otherwise do for you. Acknowledge that you now have to do them for yourself. Cook when you can. Discover the countless things you can make with a microwave oven.

Take care of your health.

Gastric scare after many times I would delay eating alone, March 2016

Watching the sunset at NUS UTown Residence, September 2016

When you’ve got no permanent address, you realize that you can get by with less stuff.

When you pack for your first one-way trip, it will seem that 30 kg is not enough. Thank your parents if they offer to go with you that first time so you get more check-in weight, but you’ll probably just bring more than you’ll ever need. Pretty soon you’ll be fine with a few basic pieces to mix and match with your more fashionable clothes. 

You will still find joy in retail therapy, but be practical. Is it easy to wash? Does it get easily creased? Do I really need it? Eventually, your impulse buying would be down to things you can easily consume, like food, and things you find timeless value in, like books.

There will be numerous packing and unpacking. Learn to do them efficiently - bringing only the essentials and just enough nice things to make your place less of a cage and more of a respite.

View from my first room in Nanyang Girls Dorm, January 2016

View from my second room in Nanyang Girls Dorm, August 2016

UTown Residence, September 2016

At the end of it all, you will still find so many things collected over a few months. Give the unnecessary stuff away. Thank your Resident Assistant when they offer to collect your dorm stuff to give to the next resident. Keep only the essentials.

You will experience your adopted city deeper than a tourist, but it is important to stay fresh and not let it harden you.

At one point, the city will feel small that it chokes you. Walk around more. Get lost. It will actually never run out of things to offer you. There are places that are not teeming with tourists, and you won’t even have to pay to enjoy.

The Green Corridor at Bukit Timah with JD, August 2017

Pinnacle@Duxton at Tanjong Pagar with JD, December 2017

Books Actually at Tiong Bahru with Tereza and Yuji, January 2017

You’ll see the city do well in delivery of public services. Appreciate it more than the average local who may take it for granted. You’ll hope that your government could do just the same back home. Your kababayans deserve it too, you’ll say. Hold on to that hope; you’ll need it to hold your public servants to a high standard.

Appreciating a model of Singapore’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System, NEWater Facility, March 2016

Enjoying when I had the bus all to myself (and the driver), March 2016

At some point, you will be a tour guide to your friends. Keep tabs of all the great places and give them this service with much pleasure.

Taking my parents to Mt Faber Park, February 2016

Taking my high school batchmate, Mark, to Kampong Glam on his birthday, February 2016

Touring Alchemists, my orgmates from college, in NUS, October 2016

Your like-minded friends will be your indispensable support group.

Your first impulse is to flock with your Filipino kababayans. Do not resist; Filipinos are the best. More than anyone else, they will understand your homesickness and your food cravings, because, alas, the Filipino cuisine has not yet made its mark in the global scene (probably because it’s satisfying for all the “wrong” reasons - gooey sauces, eating with hands, boodle fight, you name it).

But don’t stop there. Find more things you have in common - course, career, personality, a liking for eye-candy men (woops) - and they will be all the more indispensable.

Spending Valentine’s day with my Chem Engine PH friends Ate Tin, Alex, and Ate Ivon (we are all chemical engineers pursuing different graduate studies in NUS), February 2016

Ate Tin’s wonderful tokens, October 2016

Still, don’t stop there. Living abroad is meant to expand your horizon. By God’s wonders, you will meet people who are different yet the same. Different nationalities, but same faith. Different professions, but same passion for the environment. 

Biking with ladies from Hillcrest, a spiritual formation center I frequent, January 2016

Lantern making with Hillcrest ladies and the elderly for Mid-Autumn Festival, September 2016

Snapshots from our (top to bottom) Spanish, Italian, and Peruvian nights at Hillcrest

Goofing around with my MEM friends Sadia, Joey, Au, Aratrika, and Sanjala in Environmental Planning, March 2016

Friday night out with MEM batchmates - Aijie, Sanjala, Tereza, and Ho Man, April 2016

Saturday potluck of Asian cuisines with Sadia (Pakistan), Manjari (Sri Lanka), Sanjala (India), Yuji (Philippines), and Ho Man (Singapore), September 2016

Allow yourself to be vulnerable. It may be tempting to show the world you got it all together, but friendships form when you ask for a little help.

Friday night heart to heart at Boat Quay with my best friend Sanjala, September 2016

What’s-next-after-masters talk with Adilah and Aratrika, December 2016

Some people might be convenient to keep but are not healthy for you. 

Sometimes, it could feel like a competition while you’re carving your place in the world. Some people could put you down intentionally, or unintentionally just to lift themselves up. In these trying times, lean on your family and friends-turned-family because they will be your backbone and make you strong.

My cousin Kuya Janno’s visits in September, October, and December 2016

Treasure the friends you have back home, and the ones you’ve made where you are. You will notice the deepest friendships because more than the fun nights you’ll spend together, they will offer you emotional heimlich you when you need it. More importantly, they will make you accountable for your dreams. It takes some ounce of discernment, but trust your judgment without being prejudiced. And when you know for sure, seriously keep them forever in your heart.

Farid and Adilah’s wedding, September 2016

Ladies’ Night with Sanjala, September 2016

Christmas light-up with Yuji, Muriel, Sanjala, and Manjari, November 2016

Your perceptions of the world and your passions will be challenged.

Cultures are different, so however different you do things does not make you a better or lesser person. Perhaps you’ll discover you are actually a bit racist at worst, a fool at best. It’s okay, you didn’t know any better before. Remember to be proud of your identity, like your Filipino culture’s fixation with morning showers and bidet, but never let it make you vain.

You know a lot about your chosen field, for sure. That’s what got you a place in your university after all. Share what you know and educate people. But don’t ever let this stop you from learning from others. They’ll offer you answers to questions you would probably never think of asking.

CNY Lunch with MEM cohort, February 2016

Last day of Environmental Technology with Prof Joshi, April 2016

Last day of exams, November 2016

Grades are not important but school is still what you came for.

You will spend a lot of time in lectures, and still a lot more in libraries and study rooms. That is what you came for. Be productive and get as much stuff in your head as possible. Draw from your experiences to make them more meaningful and stickier to memory. Treat lessons like they are the real thing; hinge projects, papers and your thesis to real problems from home - the very same reasons you wanted to go abroad to study.

My study tables in Nanyang Girls Dorm (top) and UTown (bottom), snapshots of my different states of mind.

The many floors of National Library, February 2016

One of the many sunsets watched from YIH Study Room

You are your own worst critic when you are by yourself.

When you spend many an hour doing independent study, it could only lead to two things: you could be too lax, or you could be too hard on yourself. If you are disciplined, you are well prepared. But if you are struggling, this period will be an important life lesson.

When quarter-life crisis collides with schoolwork. Thanks for capturing this, PHD comics.

It’s going to be a major growth zone, and there will be growing pains. As one good friend of mine have said, just power through. And don’t forget to message your friends. Independent study sucks without a buddy. She will be a help as much as you are to her.

Emotions fluctuate, but it’s important to keep the faith.

Bored Panda captured it best.

Being abroad is a rollercoaster of extreme euphoria and borderline despondency. It’s normal so don’t overthink it. When your programme’s almost over, you’ll look back and wonder how it all went by so fast. And years later, the only thing left to feel is gratitude that it happened. :)

There’s a reason for being privileged enough to study abroad. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” While you carve your place in the world, keep a lookout for that which you are called to do.

Overlooking my window from the Old Bukit Tiram House, Retreat in Johor Malaysia, May 2016

Keep the faith. :)

(In 2016, I took my Masters in Environmental Management at the National University of Singapore under the MEM ASEAN Graduate Scholarship.)

#personal #travel #SG2016 #MyASEANStory #ASEAN2017 #yearend

[dalechavez]

STS Exercise: My Asean Story Project: How has ASEAN helped my life

     Even though that its goals are focused on an international scale, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has helped me become a better person in many ways. One of the things that ASEAN has done for me is that it made me appreciate culture even more. Each of the member countries of ASEAN has their own complex and unique culture that has its very own interesting history behind it. Even if you just read up on the culture of one country, you still have a lot of material to go through that could take you on an interesting journey for hours! Aside from making me admire the differences of its member countries’ cultures, ASEAN has also made me value their similarities. Through its various initiatives on enriching its member countries’ cultures, ASEAN showed me how our cultural similarities could help us find ways of understanding ourselves as members of the international community.

     Another thing that ASEAN has done for me is that it made me realize how important international relations are. First of all, maintaining good relationships with other countries allows the countries involved to have reasonable trading opportunities. While it is good that a country can be self-sufficient, trading with other countries can be very useful, especially when a country wants their products to be introduced to a larger market. When done right, engaging in trade with other countries can lead to healthy competition between businesses. These things are some of the things that could help improve our nation’s economy and the economy of our neighbors.

     Another thing that good relationships with other countries can bring is that it could lead to more opportunities for their people. The lessening of immigration requirements between countries can make their people move to other countries easily. The increased diversity of a country’s work force can possibly lead to economic growth. Other than job opportunities, academic opportunities can also increase exponentially – international researches can easily be done thanks to the easy exchange of information and having more options for tertiary education that are available for ASEAN member countries.

     The most important thing that ASEAN has made me realize is the importance of unity. Amidst all of the differences and the disputes that the member countries of ASEAN have with each other, they still manage to find ways in strengthening each other. Their relationship with each other could be applied to any kind of human relations. It is important that we set aside our differences so that we could be able to work with each other efficiently to build a better world for generations to come.

#STS MyASEANStory