Tassapon Sutthidetkul

After completed my secondary school years, I was heading to Australia for university. This time I was excited to embark on a journey to be in a new place again. My life felt like an adventure. I was lucky to get to explore the different parts of the world and learn new cultures. I felt like there was so much to learn about people. It added to a new perspective; it made me see things the way I wouldn’t have if I were to grow up in one place. I didn’t know what Australia was going to be like, but I wasn’t afraid. I was ready. I knew that what I learnt in Singapore had taught me enough to be able to adapt into another culture.

I became open to world beyond what I had already experienced.

I visited Melbourne before university started. Being a typical tourist, I tried taking photos with different landmarks and spectacular buildings. I mostly asked my dad to take them for me, but so often, there would be local Australians offering help to take photos, without having been asked. I found that surprising at first. Throughout the day, we walked to places around the city, mostly asking for directions after being lost a few times. Then I realised, I could ask anyone on the streets for help without being turned down. The locals would even walk us to the places themselves or they would explain till we understood our ways before leaving us to go ourselves.

There were people from many different nationalities on the streets everywhere. There were streets full of Italian restaurants, all nationalities of Asian cuisines you could possibly think of, Greek and Indian food were also decent choices, brunch and dining places for local, French, fusion, and other dishes. It was as if the whole city had invited people from all over the world to be there. It certainly wasn’t what I had expected.

Bachelor of Arts 

I registered as a student in Bachelor of Arts, University of Melbourne. The major and minor I took were intriguing. I learnt analytical concepts and theories about the cinema, television, music, social media which associated with identity and gender as well as journalism and marketing communications. The classes were run with interesting conversation; discussion among tutors and peers. Every opinion was counted, everyone had a voice and was encouraged to express what they thought. There was no right or wrong answer, just different angles of perspectives.

As what one of my tutors used to say, “Ideas lead to multiple ideas and they keep multiplying.” I learnt to express my thoughts and form ideas, which led to new ideas and analytical thinking of a topic. I learnt to consider all grounds and possibilities, and not be biased against one source of information or even an aspect of a topic. Learning became so enjoyable, I laughed together with my tutors and peers. It was fun and felt wonderful to be original and creative. It was also intriguing to learn what people had to say.

The manner over a cup of coffee

Melbourne had a very casual thing where people simply went to grab a cup of coffee, sat down, sometimes walked, and talked. Living in Melbourne made me realise that a little happiness actually came in a paper cup. I was walking around in the city with a local friend one day, we saw a cafe, decided on the spot to just go in and had coffee. We settled ourselves down, started chatting away and what came as a little surprise was that my friend simply just put his phone away. It was apparently rude to look at your phone or texting while engaging in a conversation with another person.

It was a common etiquette to show respect to another human being. There, coffee talk was where we had meaningful human-to-human interaction, no distractions. Sometimes, you picked up a lot just by having good conversation with people.

Saving the environment

Being in Melbourne, I admired how kind and selfless people were. I was doing my own grocery shopping in Woolworths, a general store, where you could find anything you needed in your home. I was asked by a cashier if I wanted to purchase a $2 green shopping bag, in place of getting free plastic bags to help with global warming. I looked around and was astounded to see almost every local Australian carrying the green bag. I decided to get one, and I was contented with myself to do something even so little to help save the environment.

What I also found out later was that even the free plastic bags were biodegradable in Australia. I recalled the time at the airport where the immigration wouldn’t allow you to pass through if you were to bring in fruits to the country and that’s because the chemicals that were used on them might affect the environment. The take-away coffee cups were also biodegradable. I was grateful for just how people were so concerned with the environment. It was a big deal and it was important.

Street talents and creativity

Walking along the streets in the city, it was a likely chance that you randomly met so many talented people who performed on the streets to entertain the people that walked around. Some of them were actually well-known. Music and art were for everyone, It wasn’t restricted. It was that culture that made the city lively. I could take a tram and got off in a suburb and found antique and vintage shops along the whole street. Amazing art sculptures were prominent to the city. You could see art and creativity everywhere and they came in many forms.

The gratitude

Having lived in Melbourne, I discovered my appreciation in many things. I loved art and creativity and freedom; to express both. It taught me to reinvent myself, especially in my thinking. I wanted to look at things in a spectrum, not confining my thoughts. I learnt to respect everything for its nature, whether it’s people or environment. It taught me a culture where nothing was supposed to be taken for granted. I learnt to embrace and appreciate differences because they counted, and it was that that brought awareness to what really matter in life; to be human; to be kind; to be selfless.

 

Image sources:

http://wecareonlineclasses.com/wp-content/uploads/box-300×225.jpg

http://www.australia.com/content/australia/en/places/vic/fed-square/jcr:content/hero/image.adapt.1663.medium.jpg

http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/sites/newsroom.melbourne.edu/files/styles/content_width_x2/public/pictures/news/main_images/Open%20Day.jpg?itok=-MaFmmog

http://www.melbournegirl.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Melbourne-Coffee.jpg

http://inside.capitaland.com/images/static/stories/articles/2014/11/nov14_02_escape.jpg?sfvrsn=2

 

 

When I was 15, my parents took the decision to send me for higher education in Singapore, and later, Australia. They anticipated English to be an integral part of my future and they wanted me to open up to the world. They wanted me to learn to be on my own and through the experience of not having them around. They hoped that I would be taught in things they couldn’t educate me themselves. They knew that it would be useful for my life in future and if anything happened to them, this would be my lifetime support. Education was a form of a heritage my parents passed down to me.

When I knew I was going to be studying in Singapore, I was nervous and excited all at the same time. I was looking forward to be in a new place, yet I didn’t know what to expect. Part of me wanted to be meeting people from different country, making new friends and being exposed in a different environment. Another part of me was afraid that I might not like the place or I might not fit in. I wasn’t exactly prepared for what was going to come but I thought to myself that it was all about trying, experiencing and learning something new.

I wanted to be able to express my myself and define who I am and I wanted a chance to really grow up and be independent. Being away from my family would help me do that. I knew it was a big change but I thought to embrace it and somehow try to make the best out of it the way I could in case it didn’t turn out well.

A big part of me wanted to be making my own decisions. I wanted to learn my own mistakes. I wanted to experience life through my own eyes. I wanted to experience all of it.

Life in Singapore

I stayed with a Singaporean family of two kids, a daughter and a son, throughout five years. My host family took in Thai students who went for primary and secondary education in Singapore under their care, all girls. The daughter was enrolled in secondary school the same time as me. I must admit there was a big cultural difference between the host family and me. Everything was contradicted in my views. Everything was different. My whole environment had changed. I felt estranged to… honestly, everything around me.

The only thing I could be grateful for was that I had six other housemates who I could still relate to. It made me less homesick. I felt that because having them around I found it much easier to adjust.

Some of my housemates went there when they were even younger than me. They were like sisters to me. They knew exactly what I was going through being new to the place, they were in my shoes. It helped a lot with everything.

One of the few things I picked up from my housemates before officially going to the school was Singlish. At that point I realised that Singaporeans actually spoke Singlish, rather than English. Singlish was a mix of English and Chinese and Malay slangs.

I learnt a few words I found interesting. “Alamak,” read as ah-la-mak, means “oh my god!” and “Guai” means “good girl” it can also be used for a guy with same the word. Apart from those two, the most common one I heard all the time was “Wa-lao eh,” it was an expression for “What the heck!” I found it entertaining and hilarious to find myself speaking in this new language.

In school, Singlish turned out to be the easiest way to get along with my Singaporean classmates. Language, as I became aware of, was how people related themselves to others; a common ground; specific to a culture. It gave that sense of belonging to them because it showed that I was willing to embrace their language and culture, being just like another Singaporean so to say. I didn’t really have problems studying in school in terms of academic performance, but pressure were still everywhere. I could feel it all of the time and it was really stressful to just be there.

Competitiveness

There were high expectations for students to do well academically. It was like I was constantly pushed by some unseen force to keep going and doing better and better, no break. I was devastated because of that. It made me feel vaguely distant and disconnected to the place. I certainly didn’t anticipate my teenage life to be in so much pressure. This was the biggest problem I had while staying in Singapore. I wanted to know how to enjoy while I still could being in secondary school… instead of working.

Singaporeans were generally really competitive with their studies, although I must say not all my friends were the studious type but for those who were, yearned to be at the top. It was like you had to be better than anyone else to survive and it turned out to be more like ‘surviving’ than living a life. Somehow people had that mentality to be selfish with their knowledge. It was something people couldn’t open up to share because if they did then they wouldn’t be topping the scores. As it turned out, no one was really helping anyone but themselves. It was depressing. It grew into people’s mentality of everything and for that everyone was on their own and for themselves only.

Nonetheless, there was a good thing I noticed and admired Singaporeans for. Apart from being tough, they were also fair and worked hard for their own achievement. They wouldn’t take advantage of you, especially with money – it was something people earned and Singaporeans had their pride for that, too. If I was having lunch or dinner with my friends they wouldn’t accept that I paid more or less while sharing the bill. You paid for what you ate and that’s that. They wouldn’t take your money and they expected you to give the same respect – that wasn’t just the respect for others; for yourself as well. On the other hand, if you managed to get through to them and treat them something, they would remember it and be genuinely appreciative because in Singapore, no one had to do it and when someone did that for you, it was a true generosity.

In Singapore, you were recognised by your effort and hard work. I learnt that if I wanted to accomplish something in life, I simply just had to go for it. It got rid of my fear for failure or should I say I had tolerance for it. I didn’t mind failing the first few times as long as I no longer failed in the end. That mentality grew in me, I didn’t even know since when, but I liked to work hard for the things I wanted to accomplish. I did not want to go through shortcuts or wanted others to work for me, I wanted to do it myself. It’s like if you had a belief that you can do it, you would just do it.

I felt that I learnt so much more going through the hard work myself because I didn’t just accomplish something out of that, I also learnt to understand my own strength and potentials along with improving myself. With that mentality, I came to believe that I was capable of anything. Everytime, I felt that my life was difficult and that I was going through a hard time, I knew that I would make it through. It was almost like I just had to be patient and things would work out. It made a difference when you knew your own strength and became aware of it and believing in it. Being in Singapore, I didn’t want to wait and rely on others to pick up when I fell, I wanted to be the one strong enough to pick myself up. I wanted to be that person I could rely on before even wanting to rely on other people.

 

Image sources:

http://www.provenway.org/news/new-perspective/

http://www.mihaelaivanova.com/

http://poachedimages.s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Surviving-A-Competitive-Lead-Generation-Campaign-in-Singapore.jpg

http://images.fromupnorth.com/124/5040a7479b2ec.jpg