The Simple Life

*This is a load of my chest so it's rather long. read it if u may, if not, i don't really care :)*

The second week of the summer term has just come to a close. Summer term is way more packed than Lent. i've got classes everyday, 4 hour lab sessions 4 times a week, weekly perception tests for 3 of the modules that i'm taking, 3 field trips within the next 2 weeks, projects and assignments and another 2 exams in june. still all this doesn't compare to what i have to endure back home. there is much to complete but i don't feel the stress. maybe it's because i know i'll do well even without mugging till my eyelids droop and dark circles start to appear around my eyes. maybe it's because, from what i observe, no one seems to study that hard anyway - the atmosphere is so relaxed unlike the high-pressure cooker NUS. besides, the passing mark is only 40% and students study just enough to pass. no one bothers if u are a straight A student or not. (please do not misunderstand, my motivation to excel does not depend on the performance of my peers)

i met Hira a week ago and we had a really good conversation. it was comforting, somehow, to see her again back in lancaster after the easter vacation. she had so much to share (her trip and personal life) and i was touched by the amount of trust and confidence that she had in me and my opinions. our conversation brought me back to thinking about life and the many problems that come along with it. another thing that could have triggered the thinking spell was probably the realisation that 2/3's the exchange had gone and i'd going back to singapore in 2 months time. back to my family, the country of my birth and childhood.

On the one hand, i'm happy that i'm going to see my family again, the people whom i love and miss so much. my friends, who i know will always be there to lend a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on. That aside, i want to deny that i have to slip back into that society, one that so easily entangles success and material possessions, that confuses need and want, and looks at grades, money and position.

Well, lazy as i am, i'll just extract part of the email that i wrote to my mentor some time ago.

Here goes: "thanks for praying for me while i am here. i'm doing very well. God has shown me so much since i arrived. from the different way people learn/different educational approaches to simple life's issues. if u have been reading my blog, there are several entries in feb/march where i was complaining that i couldn't get used to the slow pace of life here. i needed some stress, had the want to constantly keep myself on the move and occupied with work. how warped is that? guess that's how singapore made me, how i grew up. now, i'm happy with kind the kind of lifestyle here. i realise how much time i actually had/have left to pursue my other interests like volunteering at a preschool, interacting with the other internationals, traveling, and even becoming a committee member in the Anglican and Free Church Chapel on my campus. there is too much work in singapore that u are sometimes blinded that that is all there is to life (though u know at the back of your head it isn't the case), nothing else, just the pursuit for grades and money. most students join co-curricular activities just because it is required by the ministry or to earn points for on-campus lodging in the case of uni.

Another thing I observed is that people here don’t bother if u are earning big bucks or not. everyone is equal. Probably because Lancaster is a small town. I’m sure such informal social “classes” still exist in larger cities like London. But I was really comforted to see that there are actually communities like that who overlook such superficial issues. It makes everyone’s life so much happier and better. In Singapore, as u know, it is not common for the rich or better educated to look down on blue collar workers or those who dropped out of school. I was having a really good conversation with my friend from Canada. She is a Singaporean and had spent 16 years of her in Singapore before her family migrated to Canada. Her dad was an engineer in Singapore but was unable to find a job in Canada because I think canada’s demand for engineers is low. He is now working in a factory. (Her mum is an architect. )She said she would be proud to tell all her friends of her dad’s work. Another friend of hers has a dad who is a taxi driver and she said he would do the same.

I think almost no one of the current younger generation in Singapore would be ‘PROUD’ to do that. It is so sad, it is as if any of those jobs do not help people make a clean living. Maybe its because of the people I mix with often (better educated) & they way we were brought up (see, even I am trying to “class” myself in Singapore society) that fuelled this sort of thinking. It is sad because u would think the better educated would be more mature and wise etc (bigger knowledge base) but I believe, after interacting with so many people through my course of work during my year one vacation, it is otherwise. I have also observed that the less educated in Singapore lead happier/more contented lives. U actually LEARN SO MUCH from them... I would like to think of it as a paradox.

Life here has been so simple for me these past few months and I really enjoyed it. performing the most basic tasks just to keep me going. Eating, sleeping, studying (as required), housekeeping, no television, no movies, little shopping. (with the exception of the easter holidays in Europe) All these things actually made me realize how pampered I was back home; Too many luxuries, some people actually have to wreck their heads over which new mobile phone to buy etc. Back in Singapore, students (and I suppose the working class as well), do not publicly admit that they are short of cash, here, I often here students rambling about how they’re unable to afford a new coat and stuff like that. People here are so open, Singaporeans are afraid to “lose face”.

If I had the choice, (and I guess u would also think that), I wouldn’t choose to go back. singapore is a really nice city and the government has done so much to improve living standards, give the population the best the world has to offer but look at what all these has done to society. I find it very disconcerting. All the ‘needs’ are fulfilled and people seek to obtain more ‘wants’, often to the extent that it becomes excessive/compulsive, maybe even an obsession. It’s a materialistic society. I guess I would truly be content living here, except that I would prefer if my family were to come as well. I wonder how I would fare when I go back home, whether this time in the uk would change the way I behave, interact with people etc. It’s a scary thought. I don’t want to be too critical of people, but these things really get to me. Sigh… but I really thank God for showing me new dimensions, blessing me with the opportunity to travel and interact with people from different backgrounds."

It's amazing how much insight i gained from this experience here in the uk, out of singapore. i totally agree with my mentor, "I have tried to teach my students something like that, but it needs one to experience life outside Singapore to understand/believe it. Life in Lancaster is slower, London is more hectic but not in the way Singapore is. I never understood fully the purpose of tremendous drive and activity in Singapore. It would be well if the quality of life were to improve or change, but it is mostly more of the same. Instead of 1 car, 2 cars etc. but no qualitative change, only quantitative changes. Students are similar, always rushing to study, but not to understand."

It's depressing indeed.

*Recommended Reading:
- The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
(#1 Best Seller - New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly)