I think the best thing about being in CS is meeting people. Basically, you get all sorts of people, ranging from the sentimentalist to the idealist and down right to the pragmatist. It’s probably too narrow to fit each person solely into a stereotype, as 101 has taught us, but basically they serve as a good gauge and a starting point for knowing how to deal with a person.
Let’s take exchange for example. Basically, there are some people who can’t wait to go home, and there are people who’d rather wait than to go home. Wait, wait, don’t jump to conclusions. It’s a matter of perceptions and priorities again. For some they like the serenity of the new environment that they have been pushed into, and for some, the comfort of home is just so irresistible. Comfort not only entailing one’s house, but the whole home country that we’ve been so familiar and grew to love and take comfort in.
So basically, I’m like one of those, chilling out at a local Toast Box (thank God for Toast Box), needing my daily dose of kopi-o, immersing myself in the hollow papers and watching people carry out meetings, sharing canards with one another, and whining about tired feets. The occasional stroll around town aimlessly and dropping by my favourite riverside jaunt every now makes me happy too. Kayaking in that kallang drain, seriously, which country can match the convenience of taking a public bus to go kayaking? Basically, I just enjoy my island life on the sunny dot, complete with the security, convenience and cosiness, even if it means that some other things (like the hand-leading politics and some pathetic souls herded like sheep) are way too screwed up in their own rights.
Don’t get me wrong. I love this place at Elon, but being detached altogether and having to restart the entire social ecology process all over again is just too painful to bear. I’m way past the age of meeting a horde of new people, especially when they are significantly different on all counts. The readjustment of social standings – race, language, nationality – made me painfully aware of my surroundings, when I actually prefer to live in blissful ignorance in the safety of my own country. I am not advocating a life of ignorance and self-centered thinking, because being aware of such differences puts one in a global perspective, and realizing that our world doesn’t end at the Woodlands Checkpoint nor Changi Airport. This, is one thing that i’m thankful for being in Singapore. The classic joke of how many (or how few) Americans can actually pin US on a world map.
With all that has been said, basically, I can’t wait to get home, back to my kopi-o at Toast Box, my steamboat with Jason and the rest, my mj and banters with Samuel and gang, and at the end of the day, the intricate design of the Singaporean neighbourhood that I’ve grown up in and acquaint myself so dearly with. I’m counting down!
(P.S. Some time ago, I was rapped for using the word ‘basically’ way too often. =))
