As for my modules, this was a pretty busy month. For my marketing class, I had my group presentation as well as my individual assignment due. Our group assignment was on H&M Conscious, the sustainable line for the H&M brand. We had to present on the macro-environmental factors, impact on the environment, customers and segments, the 4Ps, and promotion recommendations. Working with my group, I had a wonderful time collaborating, we had amazing teamwork and I was so proud of our end result. Our teacher loved it that she even gave us an A+ for our grade. Sure it was just one group project but this was one that meant a lot to me as I had learned so much from the project. Not only about the company but the work ethic of some of the students at NUS. They really showed me what it meant to go over the top (one of my group mates made an example PR box which was AMAZING 🤯). Aside from my marketing class, I also had a group presentation for my Asian Business Environments class. This was a little more nerve racking since there was a mandatory Q&A session for class participation points. Seeing some of the other presentations and Q&A prior, I questioned myself if I was ready for the challenge. We presented regarding Samsung's business impact on the South Korean economy. Ultimately, everything went well and our professor was very pleased with our group as well, given that we had a challenge of not having one of our members present as they had gone back home. With the alterations that have been made to our modules, I am still very grateful that I have been able to still learn and even give group presentations in person, providing me with the full experience.
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Our everyday life outside of class was pretty normal. My friends and I still got to go out together and dine in at restaurants. We were fortunate to even be able to travel to Malaysia and Taiwan during this month. Being able to explore these two countries really allowed me to further expand my global perspective. Although I had been to Malaysia once previously when I was a child with my family, visiting with my friends was a new experience. Aside from the aspect that I was traveling with my friends, I got to see how different life was like from Singapore. In comparison, Malaysia is less developed, except from their main city areas. With the cost of living also lower than Singapore, everything was relatively cheap to us as well. Even though we don't understand Malaysian, many of them spoke English, which was really helpful for us. As for Taiwan, it was a complete new experience. The first obstacle my friends and I faced was the language barrier. I do have a conversational understanding of Mandarin through learning in class but a real life application is definitely different. There is English written throughout the city and there are people who speak English but the real challenge was at night markets. As most of the stall owners only speak Chinese, Anna, Cel, and I combined our skills in order to communicate with them. Being in Taiwan really made me appreciate the time I have taken to learn Chinese as I had a wonderful time being able to hold small conversations with those we met at the night markets. Although they were short conversations, it was wonderful to share with them where we were from and why we were in Taiwan. Upon coming back from the trip, I told myself that I would love to go back one day and further experience Taiwan, whether it is with my friends or family.
The first couple of weeks were also stressful because of the uncertainty in my classes. Like I mentioned in the course registration portion, my classes were not set until the end of the second week. I was so used to having the freedom of selecting my own schedule, having to appeal and wait for approval by the university registrar honestly gave me some level of anxiety. Ultimately, I was able to finalize my 4 modules for the semester Principles of Marketing (MKT1705X), Asian Business Environments (BSP2011), Programming for Business Analytics (DAO2702), and History and Popular Culture (Hy2260). As classes began, another adjustment I had to get used was having class for either 1 hour 40 minutes or 2 hour 40 minutes. Being used to 1 hour 15 min classes, these classes felt very long. However, I appreciated how the lecturers are really engaged in the topic, making it easier to pay attention in class (although not going to lie there were moments that made me want to drift off). As for the students themselves, it is definitely a different environment than I have experienced before, especially in tutorials. If class participation is ANY part of your grade, you will HAVE to speak up. At first there were times when I questioned myself whether what I was thinking would be "smart enough" or relevant to the discussion at hand. However, after a short while, you overcome the momentary fear and voice your opinions because in the end, you loose out on the chances you don't take (especially when everyone else in the class wants those participation points).
In addition to getting used to my modules, I also had some adapting in my personal life to do. After living away from my parents for a month, I have further learned what the meaning of independent living is and being accountable for myself. I was very fortunate to make new friends as well as have my friends from Hawaii to keep myself and each other in check, whether it was our modules or every day life as we all adjusted to our new lives. One interesting/shocking thing I want to share is the trust everyone has of their belongings. All of us were surprised when we saw that some local students would leave their backpacks filled with their personal belongings such as laptops on seats at dining areas to chope (Singaporean term for saving a seat) their area as they went to buy food. Coming from the US, I always learned to never leave your belongings in public areas because it will more often than not get stolen. Seeing this will certainly take some time to get used to but it is nice to see that everyone is respectful/trusting of each other. |
kelsFrom traveling to tips, I hope to share my experiences with you all and motivate you to explore your kuriosities :) Archives
October 2021
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