I remember that I was just pushing the trolley to give out welfare packs with the in-house goddess, Ms May, and the other Panthera RAs. I was just feeling so lost on what I should write about. All I could think of at that time was Parkinson’s Disease and Selenium Binding Proteins, which were still fresh on my mind (Shout out to LSM2241 and PHS2120), only to be brought back to reality by Her Majesty: “Kong ah, 叫丽轩interview她 (Kong, can you ask Li Shuen to interview her)”. No, Li Shuen, I need the content LMAO. This content is running dryer than the RV pond during the Singapore Drought season.
Anyway, before I digress too far into this serendipitous backstory, let me introduce to you Zoe from the University of Melbourne! She is here in NUS for an exchange! My impression of her was just this ethereal resident that I run into sometimes! I am so glad that I have the opportunity to understand the magic behind this lady from Panthera!
K: Hi Zoe, what do you study?
Z: I read Media and Communication at the University of Melbourne! I took mainly Communication and Economics modules here in NUS!
K: So why did you come to NUS for exchange?
Z: NUS is the top university in Asia and I really want to see what the education system here is like and how the Asian education differs from the western one. I thought that since I would only be here for one semester, I can learn more since I know that the modules in Asian universities are really rigorous (and it is!! Even though it can be pretty stressful here, I learnt so much!!). As a bonus, NUS is in the middle of Southeast Asia and I was thinking of travelling to neighbouring countries within the semester.
K: Can you tell us how does your day go here?
Z: My day in NUS starts with waking up in my nice and warm RV room! I head to the dining hall for breakfast and the food here is always fresh and fulfilling! However, my friends’ “hello” and beautiful smiles are the best memories of the day! I appreciate the opportunity that we can all eat, talk and share together in one space because my home university doesn’t have a dining hall! I found that this gives me a strong sense of belonging and it is truly a pity to not have this experience of spending time with your friends. Aside from my friends, there are super nice aunties and uncles who work in the dining hall! They always give me extra food hahaha and they will praise me for being pretty hahaha, I love them! After my breakfast, I will go straight to the RV library situated in a wide profusion of vegetation. I will sit there quietly, read, write and sometimes just look up to the sky. When I need to go to class, I prefer taking the shuttle bus (A1), even though it can take while to come.
Formal Dinner
My favourite place on campus would be the open space beside AS8 04-01! It’s pretty cool and calm, and there are always seats there. After class, I will come back to RV to have dinner, we always have snacks like brownies, ice cream, or even Tiramisu! Sometimes, the dining hall gets festive and there would be a feast!! After dinner, I normally take a walk on the playground, just by myself, put on my headphones with music on, everything is perfect! Before I sleep, I will go to the level 6 lounge to study! It is a very clean and quiet space and the best part is that it’s fully air-conditioned! I have done almost all of my assignments here! After that, I would wind down and prepare to sleep!
K: Nice! You know, in Singapore, we take food really seriously! What are some of your favourite spots to eat then?
Z: OMG, I highly recommend you to go to UTown to have 红油抄手, (Dumplings in Chili Oil) at the Xiao long Bao store in Fine Food! (Interviewer’s note: I approve this recommendation. The vinegar-infused chilli oil is awesome.) I had it more than 20 times on weekends and I recommend it to five of my friends and they all love it!! However, if you don’t like spicy food, don’t try it! RVRC has a lot of welfares too like ice cream, bubble tea, yoghurt, curry puff, douhua, etc, all of these small surprises will just make your day happier!!
K: Aside from Singapore’s favourite pastime, what are some of the activities you’ve participated in school?
Mid-Autumn Festival in UTown!
Z: I was in a Chinese drama club, but I only went there maybe three times, because I have a lot of homework. I helped Chinese society (华会) to host the mid-Autumn festival and it’s a great experience as I could bring joy to the audience and celebrate a traditional Chinese festival altogether. I also went to a park with my RV friends to plant trees, two trees I planted are called: Dyera costulata and Sterculia Parciflora. It’s very meaningful, it raises the awareness of environmental protection among the public and for me personally, it’s the first tree that I have ever planted in my entire life and it is in Singapore!! Maybe a few years later, when I come to Singapore again, they will be 20 meters high hahaha!
K: What is your favourite part of your experience here in NUS?
Z: My favourite part of my experience in NUS is that NUS has a lot of interesting, student-run communities and people from different nations can infuse so well. I made a lot of friends who come from different cultural backgrounds. Almost every decision I made was supported by my friends and tutors and I can build my confidence here easily! I felt like at home here and have this amazing sense of belonging! After this, I will go to Indonesia for a six-week internship, the opportunity is given by the NUS club, I am excited about it!
Aside from that, it’s meeting the other exchange students from countries likes America, UK, Indonesia, Denmark, French, India, Germany, etc. By spending time with them in dinner or breakfast, I get to know different countries’ cultures, policy, ways of living and even their native languages. More importantly, it is this pure and affectionate friendship that we all long to build has made our exchange life so enriching and memorable. You know sometimes when I have late class at night and I was really just exhausted, and my exchange friends would always cheer me up and tell me that everything is going to be fine! I felt much better afterwards!
Here I want to give special thanks to Yong Jen and Stacy, as they created opportunities for us to meet by organising all of the amazing activities for us. Without Yong Jen and Stacy, we may not be so close to each other!! I remembered one of our events was pyjamas party night! We laughed, shared food and stories and we played Mafia, pretty chill, uh? However, when it was to the end of the party, we were all getting really emotional (It’s near the time to say goodbye), and almost all of us cried….. 🙁 yeah, that’s how important we are to each other! If my exchange friends will see this post, please show this quote to them! All of my love and best wishes hides in the words below:
“Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes.”
Hanging out with the exchangers in RV
K: Oh my god, even I felt that! Any advice for any exchange student who is coming to NUS?
Z: My first advice is to try to about establishing a work-life balance because life in NUS is not only about striving to succeed in academic, but also making friends and joining all kinds of activities if you have time. You will be surprised at the end as all of those beautiful small moments sew together and makes who you are. My second advice is not to bring too many clothes here, it’s freaking hot here!!! A simple shirt and a pair of flip flops are enough! You will also receive a lot s of shirts in school. The campus covers almost everything you need, you actually don’t need to bring anything but do remember to download Grab or Gojek for transportation, NUSNextbus for the campus shuttle bus. People here use WhatsApp and Telegram quite often, so make sure you download them for social interactions. Also, it’s better to attend the lectures as not every module have lecture recordings, and it’s better to participate in the class anyways. Last but not least, go RV, everything will be sorted out! Go RV, you will have an enriching experience! !!! Thanks to all RVRC’s RAs’ help and love!!! It’s been an unforgettable experience here and we hope we can meet soon again!!!
K: We, too, hope to see you soon! Thank you so much for being such an amazing guest!
Till then, #ridgeviewblogs
Written by Kong