livin' on a prayer

I’m halfway through exchange!! (actually a little more than half) and there have been several “FAQs” that people here and at home ask me so I thought I’d answer them as a form of an update.

1.             How’s Singapore?

Pretty good. I’ve settled in pretty well so it’s feeling more and more like home which is good and bad. Good because I’m enjoying it a lot more and having better conversations with people since I’ve been around for longer. Also because I know where I’m going and what I’m doing a bit better now haha.

Bad because it means I’m going through the motions of life and it’s a little mundane (?) which I kind of like because routine (yay!) but also the novelty has worn off and I feel like I might as well be home

To be short, I am thoroughly enjoying my time but I am also quite ready to go home

2.             Where are you from?

This gets asked a lot more often than I expected. But it makes sense, sort of. I have a Chinese face, Vietnamese last name and an Australian passport and accent. Everyone from classmates to taxi drivers will ask me the question and it takes a while for me to explain it. Often it’s because the person thought I was a local but then this strange accent comes out of my mouth and then they are confused. The next question is usually: Where are your parents from? And the answer to this, my friends, is not simple either. I usually end up explaining that my parents were born in Vietnam but are Chinese.

However, another confusion appears: I cannot speak Chinese (Mandarin). This has led to many confused encounters while I order food and the server asks me a question in Mandarin and is then confused and frustrated when it takes everyone a few to seconds realise that I don’t understand. This has slowly become less common as I’m starting to understand the typical questions people ask (do you want a carry bag?)

In all honesty though, it’s been an interesting journey to examine my ethnic identity and how it interacts with my national identity. Coupled with the fact that I’m taking a course on Chinese diaspora (Chinese overseas), I’m learning a lot about who I am (racially) and where I came from I suppose. This is interestingly most noticeable in food. Some of the original Chinese migrants to Singapore were Teochew and my Dad is also from there so I’m seeing some similarities in the foods that a served (minor similarities but similarities nonetheless).

I feel although this is a hot topic at the moment with the #thisis2016 issues going on. I think it is a distinctly different discussion when in an Asian context such as Singapore where a large majority of people are actually Chinese. I don’t think it is racism (like it is in the US and Australia) as much as it is a lack of exposure to foreign-born Chinese. However, I am often lost for words seeing as many students identify as Singaporean despite being ethnically Chinese and yet find it strange that I am Australian with a Chinese face. I thought that explaining my Vietnamese last name would be less complicated here seeing as the majority of people don’t have typical Chinese last names either. But alas.

I’ve also seen the reverse of this situation. After a night out in Malaysia, a bunch of Malaysian guys were speaking in Mandarin making comments about my friend: “these Americans who can’t speak Mandarin” to which she replied “I can speak actually”, in perfect Mandarin. While it wasn’t me, I think this highlights the strange ‘in-between’ that Asian-Americans/Asian-Australians deal with: not being quite Chinese but not being quite American/Australian either.

I’m not sure I really engaged with Chinese-Australian identity much since it didn’t really bother me much, most of the people I engage with at home are also ABCs after all. However, since I’ve been here I’ve been questioning it more: what does it mean to be an “ABC”?

3.             Is the course content harder?

Personally, I don’t think it is though I’ve heard other exchange students in different courses say that it is much harder. Finance, I find, isn’t too different – perhaps because it’s a standardized degree??

4.             Have you picked up any Singlish?

No lah (lol)

I suppose?? If you ask me to say a phrase in Singlish I probably could but I don’t naturally speak with a Singaporean accent unfortunately.

HOWEVER, I sometimes catch myself thinking in Singlish accent but saying it with an Australian accent. Sometimes I use Singlish grammar haha. For example, the other day, my Mum asked me something and I was meant to say “it depends on where you go” but I ended up saying “where you go it depends”. So there you go.

5.             What is the food like?

Cheap!!!! It’s amazing. Meals are around $5 on average and drinks are $1. I eat a mix of both local and global food. Sometimes I feel bad for eating Western food but then I realise that at home I’m not confined by a particular food either so I shouldn’t be here.

I’ve come to really appreciate the multiculturalism of Australia. It’s pretty hard to find good food that isn’t local around here…really craving some El Jannahs….mmmm…

6.             Who are your friends? Exchange or local students?

I’m thankful to have a pretty good mix of both. In classes I am often with exchange students except for this one class when we have to sit in allocated groups – I really get along with my group of local students it’s good fun

Making friends with exchange students is awesome because I get to learn about cultures other than my own and discuss global issues from different perspectives.

In the same way, making friends with local students is fun too! Not only do I get to learn about their culture, I live within it too! There is only so much you can learn from the internet or even by walking around by yourself. My local friends have told me about all the best places to get food (of course) and more recently, church culture and current issues within it.

One of the great things about church community is that I get to interact with people from all walks of life! I’m not only making friends with local students but also local workers and parents. 

I’ve been here long enough to get banter from people now as well…which is good I guess apart from getting roasted all the time...

7.             How is CU different from CBS?

It’s smaller. That’s about all that is different. CU is small but faithful in evangelism and in building up Christians. It’s all encompassed in their 4 Es. Evangelism, Edification, Equipping and Exporting. Not too different from “Proclaiming the crucified Christ as Lord of all, we evangelise, teach and train university students, sending them to serve the Lord in Australia and the world, all to the glory of God”.

People are always coming along to MYC and TBTs telling us “you guys are SO blessed to be in Sydney and in CBS. So gospel-rich and such quality teaching.” I always kind of nodded at this and was like kk whatever but it was only when I came to Singapore that I came to appreciate CBS. Like I said, CU is faithful and fantastic in what they do but the sheer scale of CBS allows for much more gospel work.

I realized this in a training week (kind of like CORE training) for reading the Bible evangelistically (like Uncover) when I was giving feedback to another student about the 5 Rs method and reflected on my own experience reading Uncover with a non-Christian friend in 2015. My staff worker then said “ahh so God sent Sarah to Singapore to help us out with these things” (something along those lines). I think he was half joking with me but it really encouraged me to know that the things I learnt at CBS in the week-in-week-out teachings that lead to me reading Uncover with a friend could be a blessing somewhere else. EVERYTHING THEY TOLD US ABOUT US BEING BLESSED IS TRUE Y’ALL.

Thanks again to people who keep up with me while I’m away (praise God for technology right??) I’ll be saving up screenshots from video calls for later use hhaha (kidding) (maybe). I really appreciate that you still think of me even though you don’t see me around anymore J

Do you like my title hahaha it’s because I’m “halfway there” :’) I'm also quite literally livin' on a prayer since I'm only really alive because God sustains me ;)