Aza Wee Sile 0900380G TNS: Reflection Journal

Entry One One of the challenges I foresee while living in the Global Connect Village is not knowing a single soul in Transnational Studies class and having to socialize and make friends lest Im marked down for peer appraisal. I am very apprehensive about having to stay at Temasek Green. In fact, I even told my mother to pick me from school at 9pm and send me back to school by 11pm, everyday. The age gap between the other students and I is also sure to be a hindrance to any decent conversation, or mutual interests. I think, having to live with four strangers for two weeks could either be a complete disaster, or I could leave TNS with new friends. I am keeping my mind as open as possible, and very ready to make a good impression (even if I dont want to). The second challenge I am anticipating is living independently, away from my family. I have always been homely and family-oriented. I know Im going to feel the familiar uneasiness when Im away from home and living with complete strangers. Being away from the comforts of home, having to do household chores (laundry, dishwashing, cooking, etc) does not sit too well with me. Still, I know that I will leave the nest someday, and this will be good practice for then. And having to do household chores, I guess its high time I leave my spoilt ways.

Entry Two Based on what I have learnt, yes I do think I am a transnational person. I have never been intolerant of other cultures or races. My closest friends are not even of my race. I can appreciate the quirks of certain cultures and the different customs of people of different nationalities. Furthermore, I love to travel. I might be young, but Ive had my fair share of adventures in other countries. The favorite part of my travels are always the homestays, or meeting local people. I get so curious about the differences in our lifestyles and priorities.

believe a big part of why I believe I am a transnational person is because of I grew up in Singapore. Singapore is a cosmopolitan hub, a very clear example would be that I attended a catholic girls school but even so, there were Muslims, Hindus, Eurasians, Australians and Japanese students there. Even when I was a child, I never discriminated or shied away from anyone who spoke differently or looked any different from me. My parents themselves have many friends of different nationalities and races, and I love being able to celebrate Hari Raya, Deepavali, Easter, Christmas and every other public holiday with equal zest. Entry Three If it had to be any country in the world I could pick to live in, it would be France. I know that France is romanticized but I have to admit, I am a Francophile, just a bit. I admire how zealous and protective they are of their culture. I love how rich their culture is, from the food to the art to the history to fashion to perfumery to French skincare product. French is also a beautiful, beautiful language, albeit hard to pick up. They also have luscious countryside towns and villages. Some of them are so quaint and old-fashioned, its almost like stepping into a fairytale book. So why would I want to live in France? Because I want to absorb every last drop of their culture. The cultural profile of France and Singapore have some minor differences. Generally, Singaporeans tend to be more communitarian than the French (as seen from the country dimensions profile). This could be due to the fact that Singapore is primarily an Asian society. Since I could to retrieve my own cultural profile, I can only gauge my orientation and I believe that to be more of an individualistic-nature. Also, Singaporeans are more diffuse in orientation. I believe that Singaporeans tend to have a larger public space, because our community is so small. I am more specific in nature, preferring my private space to be separated from my public spaces. I do not think I would have much difficulty (apart from language) in integrating into France. My cultural profile is not drastically different from that of the French. Lets hope not.

Entry Four Some of the major challenges I faced during my stay in the GCV was the lack of sleep, the guilt of water wastage and the possibility of weight gain. Im a Business student, currently on internship and juggling TNS. Initially, I thought it might be a struggle to juggle both, but it turns out that when youre having fun, anything is bearable. I did not have any problems with my flat mates, and we all integrating well. Everyone was easy to get along with, and everyone chipped to for food, cooking, sweeping, mopping, and everything else that was necessary. Everyone slept only at the wee hours of the morning, after hours of experimental cooking and UNO Stacko. Despite the differences in our age, characteristics and upbringing, all of us got along really well. Another challenge was the guilt of being wasteful. Every night I would run a hot bath in the tub. It goes against my beliefs to be so wasteful, but staying in the GCV was like an all-expense paid for holiday. No, the challenges I faced was not the challenges I had anticipated. TNS was altogether just a lot of fun and a really good time spent.