By: Thng Wen You
School work, projects, assignments, readings, labs and exams are the norm.
Having been a student for years can make one a bit tired of the routine.
Losing your motivation for school work can be detrimental to our precious CAP scores.
Here’s what I did to spice up my student life in NUS. I had literally spiced it up by signing up for the NOC program to India.
Number of student for my intake: 8
Number of months in India: 6
Number of times I had to gulp lots of water to dampen the flavour on my tongue? Countless
Why India? The most frequent question I hear when I told people about my choice.
Parents knit their brows in worry and while some think that I have gone crazy.
I quote a friend who has aptly said that “India is a beautiful mess.”
I agree completely.
India is chaotic with its sheer number of people moving to the cities. Just try taking a train in Mumbai, what you experience on MRT is a piece of cake compared to the trains here (just check out the video at 3 mins and you’ll see what it’s like). Whilst the crowd may be daunting, India is bursting with its vibrancy and life! While many countries like Japan & Singapore are facing the problem of an aging population, India has her median age at 25 years old (The World Factbook, 2010).
This means that India has the most energetic people who are striving to make a mark in the world. Key focuses of its people are on innovation and enterprise or as the locals say “Jugaad” – meaning an innovative fix.
The people here are an inspiration. Aspirations here are not just about making big bucks here. Social entrepreneurship in India is pushing the frontiers. This should come as no surprise as the Ashoka’s First Fellow was in India in 1981 elected by Bill Drayton. Since then the social enterprise scene in India has evolved greatly to make vast and lasting impact on the social fabric of India. Even President Obama has acknowledged that “India is not simply emerging; India has emerged.”
I am not getting any modular credits for my 6 months internship here but the experience here has been worth much more than that. The friends and bonds created will last even after I leave India. There’s more to life! Live it! Come join NOC India!
To read more about what Wen You experienced in India read her blog here. Be warned, she has been told that she is a lousy blogger. She is not very regular with her updates. One good thing about her blog is the recipe for Indian Styled Potato (also known as Aloo) Wedges.