Down to Perth

The Singaporean Obsession with Studying Overseas (for a Year)

G’day G’day. 

Singaporeans are obsessed with academic achievement. Singaporeans believe that studying overseas will provide one with a better education. However, this ‘better education’ comes with steep financial cost. 

I’ve been blessed to have had the opportunity to study and live overseas for a year, as i pursued my honours degree in psychology. yes, i wrote a thesis, which was interesting (more on that later), i studied very hard, and yes, i got, or hope to get the grades that every asian (and/or Singaporean) should be getting or would hope to achieve. BUT studying overseas is NOT SOLEY about the grades, the academic achievement or the Singaporean obsession to get ahead in life (although it helps you on your way). 

Over the course of this really quick year, I’ve grown, experienced, learnt, cried, sweat blood, died a little on the inside and out (okay may be not the crying part). Some say that studying and living on your own overseas, is a lonely, stressful and relationship breaking process that should not be undertaken if you’re not willing to give it all up. I’d say, its a fantastic growing process that many Singaporeans are deprived of. Take the plunge and experience, step out of your comfort zone and grow! 

I’ve gotten to know different people with differing degrees of craziness and warmness.

Owned my first car! cute little thing really. awesome stuff there. 

Saw the most amazing sunsets that Singaporeans don’t really get to see. 

Watch a football match at a stadium that has more people in attendance than school assembly. yes, S-league matches have lower attendance than normal school assemblies.

observe a random tree in the middle of a carpark in full bloom. and experience flowers that are not 1)frangipani 2)balsams 3)bogainvillea. 

used a jacket/pullover/hoodie for an extended period of time ( time > time it takes to walk around in Suntec city). 

more importantly, this year has been spent growing together with Vanessa even though we were apart (refer to previous few blog posts), treasuring my family and all the lovely people i’ve left behind in Singapore. Through this experience, God has put my life into perspective, and for that i am grateful. 

As I’ve come to the end of my year. I pray that God will lead me to greater heights and more exciting experiences. More than i could have ever imagined. 

So in all of this. did i even study? 

This picture was totally worth all my hard work this year. 

To God be the Glory. The Best Is Yet To Be.

Caving

Greetings Earthlings. 

Yes, the lack of posts over the past few months can be attributed to the stressors of the demands of my thesis writing. good news is that that’s officially over, bad news is that i have so much back log to clear. 

Thesis writing was crazy, but before all that craziness happened, i managed to strike an activity off my ‘bucket list’, not that i actually have a physical copy of that list, but well. this caving thing has been somehting on that list. 

set out early on a saturday, the saturday that vanny was supposed to arrive her in perth for the third time. i went down south to dunsbrough with a small group of Singaporean friends that i met here. awesome stuff really. 

the photos do not do the experience any justice. we were on our hands and knees navigating the caves, which according to the guide had 100% humidity and ‘many aussies cannot take it’. i guess Singaporeans should feel right at home here. 

we were given gloves so that the oils and acids on our hands would not react with the limestone rocks causing erosion and blah blah, cos the cave takes so mother long to grow and develop. there was this point in the tour where we had to leopard crawl through a really low over hang. and after that we experienced totaly cave darkness. seriously weird sensation. 

the caves used to be a top honeymoon spot of couples almost 200 years ago, when Western Australia was still a colony of the british. and yes, these couples did what most couples do on a honey moon, in the dark and damp caves, with the dressing of the day. go figure. its amazing really. 

awesome experience. would love to do that again! =) 

in