8/11 - Oxford
15/11 - Brighton
30/11 - Cambridge
6/12 - Birmingham
13-14/12 - Oslo
21/12-2/1 - Spain + Portugal
Not bad, not bad.
Monday, 24 November 2014
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Alcohol woes
So I got drunk for the first time (Kevin you're not the only one).
[Evidently, I'm more compelled to talk about this than those Oxford/Brighton day trips hahaha.]
What happened was that I saw no point in trying to do work after coming back from Brighton at 11+pm on Saturday, and the Beit ppl were having a movie/drinking session, so I decided to join in. I've always wanted to try other kinds of alcohol (apart from beer/cider), and why not since it's cheaper here.
Oh what an experience. Three glasses of vodka+pepsi/fruit juice in and I wasn't feeling anything, so I asked for a fourth helping. No warning sia - I leaned back and felt the bubbles rise sickeningly, eyeing the pile of plastic bags on the table. Somewhere around the part where the 那些年 song started playing, I asked for a bag and promptly proceeded to puke in it. Some of it got onto the floor, but my experienced drinking mates cleaned it up efficiently and effectively. [I was also sober enough to help by then.]
Learning points:
The night ended for me at around 2.30am, where I had to fight to stay awake as I brushed my teeth. And then at 7am I was up again and off to climb.
[Evidently, I'm more compelled to talk about this than those Oxford/Brighton day trips hahaha.]
What happened was that I saw no point in trying to do work after coming back from Brighton at 11+pm on Saturday, and the Beit ppl were having a movie/drinking session, so I decided to join in. I've always wanted to try other kinds of alcohol (apart from beer/cider), and why not since it's cheaper here.
Oh what an experience. Three glasses of vodka+pepsi/fruit juice in and I wasn't feeling anything, so I asked for a fourth helping. No warning sia - I leaned back and felt the bubbles rise sickeningly, eyeing the pile of plastic bags on the table. Somewhere around the part where the 那些年 song started playing, I asked for a bag and promptly proceeded to puke in it. Some of it got onto the floor, but my experienced drinking mates cleaned it up efficiently and effectively. [I was also sober enough to help by then.]
Learning points:
- Don't drink too fast. That's how I usually take my water/milk/hot choc and now I know it's dangerous to treat alcohol the same way.
- I'm not the noisy kind - would've prob drifted off to sleep if I'd closed my eyes.
- Puking = immediate sobriety. I'm guessing the next morning would've had been a lot worse if I'd forced the drink to stay down. Dun need say climb la, get off bed also cannot.
- Rather than feeling enjoyable effects, I get physically affected in a horrible way (even though I was completely fine mentally). Like that drink for whaaaatttt?
The night ended for me at around 2.30am, where I had to fight to stay awake as I brushed my teeth. And then at 7am I was up again and off to climb.
Saturday, 8 November 2014
Lessons from Climbing
Today's session left me with quite a few thoughts, so I thought I'd share.
There is a technique in climbing known as the drop-knee. It involves "twisting" the leg so that the knee points downwards after a foot placement and does wonders in stabilisation, prior to making the next move. I have been taught this technique and have used it before. Yet, I don't know how to use it. What this means is that I have been taught a method which can possibly be used as a solution, but I make use of it only when someone has hinted or shown me the answer. In other words, I don't know how to apply what I've learnt.
Two particular routes (or problems) I was attempting proved this. In both cases, I read the problem and planned the moves in my head, until I came to a particular sequence that, no matter how I imagined, seemed impossible to do. I knew I would be too short to do whatever I'd thought of, and I was right - kept falling at those points. Then, I happened to watch other girls climb the same problems, and in both of my "impossible" situations, they employed a drop-knee and completed the routes flawlessly. My thoughts spelled out at that point would have gone smth like "Oh WOW, nice move. Dammit I should've known." It's like the drop-knee wasn't in my library of solutions, so even though I was physically able to do it and complete the problem in the end, I couldn't have planned it out in the first place. Thinking back, I've used it countless times, but I realise it's because ppl specifically said that it needed to be used or because I've seen the beta.
This brought to light a huge flaw in my way of learning and depth of understanding. Engineering and climbing how different? There is a problem and you read it and decide what method of solution to apply, and more often than I should be comfortable with, I come back after discussions thinking "I should've thought of that." Application requires understanding and practice (without looking at the solutions) helps. Obviously an area I have to buck up on in both school and climbing.
Lesson #1 - Even though I can do smth, it's only when I can identify where and how to apply it that I've truly mastered it.
Today I made a new friend in the climbing gym. A and myself were trying the drop-knee problem again and again and she was attempting the same problem. Inevitably, we started giving each other pointers on footwork and body positioning. (She was the one who first did the drop-knee on that problem.) Eventually, we all managed to complete the route, but more important was the conversation that developed throughout all those tries. It started from the mutual intention to progress further on the route, then to the climbing background/how often do you climb, and by the end of the day, we were chatting like long-time friends as we walked to the bus stop together. Best thing was, we only exchanged names at that time.
That's smth I love about this sport, everyone and anyone can want to help each other. And that's great, because it's difficult to spot mistakes and alternatives when you're on the wall - it's a better view from the outside than when you're staring intensely at the next hold. Competitors or random strangers can become friends. Different school, different team, different nationality and all - hardly matters.
Lesson #2 - There is a common goal. If we don't have to or choose to compete, we can all get further together.
[I think applicability is limited in the rat race though.]
Lesson #3 - It can be really easy to make friends if we all know how to start communicating.
Speaking about competing, I think I will join the first comp available when I get back [heck whatever lessons I have on that Friday]. I need to start on a training plan though, right now I've just about gained back enough ability to enjoy climbing again. And I intend to simply enjoy for a while longer xD
But really, I'm glad that I've been improving. The boulder routes have been changed once since I started climbing at Westway, and this new set is awesome. So far, every time I visit I've been able to do some routes that I wasn't able to do the previous times - a sure sign of improvement! It's unlike a few weeks back, where every time I came I was unable to do any more than I'd previously done.
I think I still prefer to climb with others. [The only time I climbed in Derby I climbed alone and it was totally depressing, both in terms of my performance and the atmosphere.] Aside from the help and encouragement, and live demo, I can tag my performance to those of others. Someone whose standard I should match, someone whose skill level I should aim to reach in the near future, and someone whose rapid improvement I can be inspired from. But it's not a matter of competing against them. It's not about "losing" every time other ppl do better than me, but realising how I can use their examples and learn to do as well as them. There's like a continual competition with myself, always wanting to be better than I used to be.
Lesson #4 - External influences govern improvement to significant extents, but without my own drive, there will be no improvement at all.
K la, enlightened. Time to sleep.
There is a technique in climbing known as the drop-knee. It involves "twisting" the leg so that the knee points downwards after a foot placement and does wonders in stabilisation, prior to making the next move. I have been taught this technique and have used it before. Yet, I don't know how to use it. What this means is that I have been taught a method which can possibly be used as a solution, but I make use of it only when someone has hinted or shown me the answer. In other words, I don't know how to apply what I've learnt.
Two particular routes (or problems) I was attempting proved this. In both cases, I read the problem and planned the moves in my head, until I came to a particular sequence that, no matter how I imagined, seemed impossible to do. I knew I would be too short to do whatever I'd thought of, and I was right - kept falling at those points. Then, I happened to watch other girls climb the same problems, and in both of my "impossible" situations, they employed a drop-knee and completed the routes flawlessly. My thoughts spelled out at that point would have gone smth like "Oh WOW, nice move. Dammit I should've known." It's like the drop-knee wasn't in my library of solutions, so even though I was physically able to do it and complete the problem in the end, I couldn't have planned it out in the first place. Thinking back, I've used it countless times, but I realise it's because ppl specifically said that it needed to be used or because I've seen the beta.
This brought to light a huge flaw in my way of learning and depth of understanding. Engineering and climbing how different? There is a problem and you read it and decide what method of solution to apply, and more often than I should be comfortable with, I come back after discussions thinking "I should've thought of that." Application requires understanding and practice (without looking at the solutions) helps. Obviously an area I have to buck up on in both school and climbing.
Lesson #1 - Even though I can do smth, it's only when I can identify where and how to apply it that I've truly mastered it.
Today I made a new friend in the climbing gym. A and myself were trying the drop-knee problem again and again and she was attempting the same problem. Inevitably, we started giving each other pointers on footwork and body positioning. (She was the one who first did the drop-knee on that problem.) Eventually, we all managed to complete the route, but more important was the conversation that developed throughout all those tries. It started from the mutual intention to progress further on the route, then to the climbing background/how often do you climb, and by the end of the day, we were chatting like long-time friends as we walked to the bus stop together. Best thing was, we only exchanged names at that time.
That's smth I love about this sport, everyone and anyone can want to help each other. And that's great, because it's difficult to spot mistakes and alternatives when you're on the wall - it's a better view from the outside than when you're staring intensely at the next hold. Competitors or random strangers can become friends. Different school, different team, different nationality and all - hardly matters.
Lesson #2 - There is a common goal. If we don't have to or choose to compete, we can all get further together.
[I think applicability is limited in the rat race though.]
Lesson #3 - It can be really easy to make friends if we all know how to start communicating.
Speaking about competing, I think I will join the first comp available when I get back [heck whatever lessons I have on that Friday]. I need to start on a training plan though, right now I've just about gained back enough ability to enjoy climbing again. And I intend to simply enjoy for a while longer xD
But really, I'm glad that I've been improving. The boulder routes have been changed once since I started climbing at Westway, and this new set is awesome. So far, every time I visit I've been able to do some routes that I wasn't able to do the previous times - a sure sign of improvement! It's unlike a few weeks back, where every time I came I was unable to do any more than I'd previously done.
I think I still prefer to climb with others. [The only time I climbed in Derby I climbed alone and it was totally depressing, both in terms of my performance and the atmosphere.] Aside from the help and encouragement, and live demo, I can tag my performance to those of others. Someone whose standard I should match, someone whose skill level I should aim to reach in the near future, and someone whose rapid improvement I can be inspired from. But it's not a matter of competing against them. It's not about "losing" every time other ppl do better than me, but realising how I can use their examples and learn to do as well as them. There's like a continual competition with myself, always wanting to be better than I used to be.
Lesson #4 - External influences govern improvement to significant extents, but without my own drive, there will be no improvement at all.
K la, enlightened. Time to sleep.
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Climbing Outdoors in the UK - ICMC Freshers Trip 2014
(Fri - Sun, 24th - 26th Oct)
If you've seen my bloody hand on FB/instagram, here's the reason. I spent the last weekend scrambling up and over grit stone in the Peak District with ICMC. I kinda jumped at the chance to climb natural rock again, and it was nth short of fun (though painful)! [Grit stone is what it sounds like - gritty, like super coarse sandpaper, and hence the subsequent damage. It's different from the limestone (I think?) in Batu/Krabi. Those weren't that rough but I haven't forgotten their sharp edges.]
But superficial injury fortunately wasn't the main highlight of my experience, which was nth like any previous climbing trips I've been on. The weather was crazy. Mildly wet + cold + super windy = not v comfortable conditions for doing any sort of outdoor activity, but I guess that's part of the package - you climb outdoors in the cold, wet and windy, or not at all. I piled on layers to climb and my harness (sized for t-shirt and tights) had to be adjusted almost to the max. My feet didn't hurt when I wore my climbing shoes too! Then I tried to wiggle my toes and realised they had fallen asleep in the cold.
The climbs
On Sat we went to an area called Stanage, more specifically, The Plantation. First time bouldering outdoors! Although I spent half the day bouldering, and the other half hiding from the wind. We picked some easy routes for starters and managed to complete them (and take some photos on top of the boulder hahaha) and I felt quite warm and ready to climb some more. Then the weather decided to be nasty and deal us strong winds with intermittent rain. The cold makes it v difficult to start climbing coz the fingers get all numb and raw, but climbing is the only way to keep warm enough to continue. I have concluded that our low level of activity this day was coz bouldering meant we were always close to the ground. Higher chance of sitting and resting and in the end feeling too cold to get back on the rocks. But I still blame the weather :/
Not the same with high walling. You're kept on the move finding routes to do and when you're belaying/tied in you're committed to climb. Which was why I found the next day much more fruitful.
A senior told us that top-roping is frowned upon in the UK. Sometimes it's coz top-roping is a "safer option" that makes routes a lot less intimidating, and hence accessible to more people. The more people go on the rocks, the more it wears down. But mostly it's coz top-roping is seen as cheating, like not true completion of a route. Here, sport or trad climbing is the way to go.
I spent the second day seconding [ha] in Burbage North. In some ways, it was top-roping except with the extra element of cleaning (taking off) trad gear the first climber placed for protection. Mostly, trad climbers do routes easier than what they can do indoors coz of the inherent danger. The routes I did were simple (in trad grade mostly V diff), but I still struggled coz of a few reasons: (1) The weather (2) most of the climbs were cracks which I haven't experienced much of i.e. spent a lot of time experimenting and feeling around (3) I sometimes quite chicken, so I spent a lot of time testing before committing. And I was on top-rope!
Nevertheless, it was a good day of inching up the rock, squeezing my hands/arms/whole body into cracks and whaling/belly-flopping over the top. Did a total of four routes that day, which doesn't sound a lot. But I was grouped with 2 seniors and on each route all of us would climb to the top before coiling the rope and walking down an easier path, which took time. Trad climbers use 2 "half" ropes in leading up, and they set up a top-rope system when they get to the top so two people get to second up after them. [Sounds pretty garbled, but I did my best to summarise haha.] I also learnt to lead belay with two ropes - there are differences to normal lead belaying.
This was also the day I got most of my scrapes and cuts and bloody fingers. I spent a lot of time feeling inside cracks for purchase and pretty much sanded my fingers and knuckles down without realising it. When you're climbing you're psyched and don't feel the pain, and then get a shock at the top. I got my first bloody flapper here, and it wasn't a small amount of blood >.< I was reluctant to wipe it off on my clothes and I didn't want to leave bloodstains on the rope. So I tried to wipe it off on a rock before asking for a passing senior for tape. My hands are pretty sore now to be honest.
Everything else
We were packed into 3 mini-buses along with sooo much equipment to get to the peaks and stayed in a village hall while we were there, a short drive away from the crags. There was heating which was awesome and mats to put our sleeping bags on, but no showers (not needed anyway coz it was too cold to perspire).
I don't think I slept properly at all those 2 nights. 2 cans of beer didn't help one bit.
Food was great! The seniors got up early (earlier than 6.30am) to make bfast on both days for everyone - effort (Y). Also got to try ICMC chilli, and help making it (there is a special ingredient)! Cooking for 45 ppl is crazy, but an efficient supply chain always helps. The uncooked food (almost all sains basic xD) came in piles and we literally spent a few hours chopping and cooking. I wasn't hungry anymore by the time I got to eat, but it was fun to help out :) Unfortunately, I didn't get to take part in the sock game (an ICMC tradition where 2 ppl try to pull each other's sock off while suspended from the ceiling in their harnesses) :( Idea for UMC to consider so I can play? Hahaha.
So ended my first outdoor climbing experience in the UK. The weather made such a huge impact and I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. I think it's still more comfortable to climb in the tropics, drenched in sweat over numb fingers and toes any day! Maybe if the wind just calmed down for a moment, it would have been really pleasant weather. But still, it was great fun :) Let's see if I have the time to join any more outdoor trips before I leave.
If you've seen my bloody hand on FB/instagram, here's the reason. I spent the last weekend scrambling up and over grit stone in the Peak District with ICMC. I kinda jumped at the chance to climb natural rock again, and it was nth short of fun (though painful)! [Grit stone is what it sounds like - gritty, like super coarse sandpaper, and hence the subsequent damage. It's different from the limestone (I think?) in Batu/Krabi. Those weren't that rough but I haven't forgotten their sharp edges.]
 |
| Sun before we hardly saw it again |
But superficial injury fortunately wasn't the main highlight of my experience, which was nth like any previous climbing trips I've been on. The weather was crazy. Mildly wet + cold + super windy = not v comfortable conditions for doing any sort of outdoor activity, but I guess that's part of the package - you climb outdoors in the cold, wet and windy, or not at all. I piled on layers to climb and my harness (sized for t-shirt and tights) had to be adjusted almost to the max. My feet didn't hurt when I wore my climbing shoes too! Then I tried to wiggle my toes and realised they had fallen asleep in the cold.
The climbs
 |
| The first boulder with some easy routes |
 |
| Completed my first ever natural boulder problem! |
 |
| The first route I seconded (inside the cavity) |
A senior told us that top-roping is frowned upon in the UK. Sometimes it's coz top-roping is a "safer option" that makes routes a lot less intimidating, and hence accessible to more people. The more people go on the rocks, the more it wears down. But mostly it's coz top-roping is seen as cheating, like not true completion of a route. Here, sport or trad climbing is the way to go.
 |
| If you look carefully, you can see 2 ropes |
Nevertheless, it was a good day of inching up the rock, squeezing my hands/arms/whole body into cracks and whaling/belly-flopping over the top. Did a total of four routes that day, which doesn't sound a lot. But I was grouped with 2 seniors and on each route all of us would climb to the top before coiling the rope and walking down an easier path, which took time. Trad climbers use 2 "half" ropes in leading up, and they set up a top-rope system when they get to the top so two people get to second up after them. [Sounds pretty garbled, but I did my best to summarise haha.] I also learnt to lead belay with two ropes - there are differences to normal lead belaying.
 |
| All cracks. There is an extra rope here from a previous climb btw. |
 |
| The worst is under the tape. Semi-healed as of 28/10 |
Everything else
We were packed into 3 mini-buses along with sooo much equipment to get to the peaks and stayed in a village hall while we were there, a short drive away from the crags. There was heating which was awesome and mats to put our sleeping bags on, but no showers (not needed anyway coz it was too cold to perspire).
 | |
| Packed with mats. Warm up in the mini-bus climbing over stuff. |
 |
| Hole in the wall for food. |
Food was great! The seniors got up early (earlier than 6.30am) to make bfast on both days for everyone - effort (Y). Also got to try ICMC chilli, and help making it (there is a special ingredient)! Cooking for 45 ppl is crazy, but an efficient supply chain always helps. The uncooked food (almost all sains basic xD) came in piles and we literally spent a few hours chopping and cooking. I wasn't hungry anymore by the time I got to eat, but it was fun to help out :) Unfortunately, I didn't get to take part in the sock game (an ICMC tradition where 2 ppl try to pull each other's sock off while suspended from the ceiling in their harnesses) :( Idea for UMC to consider so I can play? Hahaha.
 |
| Ever seen this much garlic at once? |
 |
| ICMC chilli! No, it's not the chilli we know, but it was nice :) |
 |
| The peaks are brown now. It's definitely colder. |
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Onslaught of Events
Random mish-mash summary of what I've been up to/what has happened since coming to London on the night of 30th Sept 2014.
The "more of us" finally arrived and it was great catching up again. We may all have been from different cliques in SG but this group seems to have "upgraded" a notch in closeness (or at least that's what I feel at the moment). Now that sch has started, we have been separated into our different fields, but in the first 1.5 weeks we were this herd of lost sheep roaming around the place, going for events together and choosing not to go for others, also together.
And for the first time, I have known utter irresponsibility. I guess it wouldn't have been the first time, but when I give my trust, it takes multiple disappointments before I cannot forgive again. So yes, there is an unpleasant person in question, and this person has failed to do many things, including giving basic respect to others. One should treat others like one wants to be treated, so basically, and sadly, this person deserves no respect from anyone at all.
I've started climbing again!!! Properly!!! So I've joined Imperial College Mountaineering Club (ICMC) and the plan is to climb 2-3 times a week for as long as I can. Made friends with some SG people, and this will be my climbing family until I go back to UMC. [I think we tend to gravitate towards ppl from our own country. 90% of my new friends are like from SG.] After 4 months of nearly-no climbing in Derby, I've regressed a lot. In my first two sessions I spent a lot of time on the mat coz I couldn't do much with my unconditioned fingers and unseasoned feet. And it was really quite painful. But coming back is still faster than learning from scratch i.e. noticeable improvement which is always nice. I should get a training plan from somewhere if I still want to compete next year, although the fingerboards are placed damn high up (~2m). And there's always cake on Wed sessions, baked by the club seniors :P
Went for my hall boat party on the night of 12th Sept. Was quite a cool event, with everyone dressed in formal. Winter coat activated for the first time as well, as it rained the whole night (from when we left hall till we were walking back) and it was quite cold. There was a short respite during the boat journey that allowed us to go to the upper deck and watch the riverside lights of London go past. Most of the SG group (Singaporeans really tend to clump together hahaha) are not party/drinking people, so we spent the night having our own brand of fun i.e. guessing-games. I think anyone else would've thought we were the most boring bunch ever, but whatever, I was quite happy doing whatever I was doing ^^.
I recently finished reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite authors. It is a children's book, but I recommend it to anyone of any age, because it's really not v difficult to enjoy a story about adventures in the course of growing up (in a graveyard). The episodic nature of the book also makes it great for those who don't read regularly, like I read it on my phone whenever I'm bored or alone.
Still meaning to write a post on the post-internship road trip. But that's still quite a few days in the making.
Other random news includes multiple shopping trips for groceries/necessities, mingling with freshers (some of them 3 years younger than me), and going for free food, and more free food. J and I crashed a mass BBQ meant for another hall (they didn't check and there was so much food anyway). Students are attracted to free food like bees to honey. Droves and droves of bees which know how to queue. I've always associated queuing with SG, but like many things, the queues seem so much bigger here. Lastly, I seem to have become semi-used to the British keyboard and sometimes find myself trying to key in a double quotation mark on my laptop using the @ key.
The "more of us" finally arrived and it was great catching up again. We may all have been from different cliques in SG but this group seems to have "upgraded" a notch in closeness (or at least that's what I feel at the moment). Now that sch has started, we have been separated into our different fields, but in the first 1.5 weeks we were this herd of lost sheep roaming around the place, going for events together and choosing not to go for others, also together.
And for the first time, I have known utter irresponsibility. I guess it wouldn't have been the first time, but when I give my trust, it takes multiple disappointments before I cannot forgive again. So yes, there is an unpleasant person in question, and this person has failed to do many things, including giving basic respect to others. One should treat others like one wants to be treated, so basically, and sadly, this person deserves no respect from anyone at all.
I've started climbing again!!! Properly!!! So I've joined Imperial College Mountaineering Club (ICMC) and the plan is to climb 2-3 times a week for as long as I can. Made friends with some SG people, and this will be my climbing family until I go back to UMC. [I think we tend to gravitate towards ppl from our own country. 90% of my new friends are like from SG.] After 4 months of nearly-no climbing in Derby, I've regressed a lot. In my first two sessions I spent a lot of time on the mat coz I couldn't do much with my unconditioned fingers and unseasoned feet. And it was really quite painful. But coming back is still faster than learning from scratch i.e. noticeable improvement which is always nice. I should get a training plan from somewhere if I still want to compete next year, although the fingerboards are placed damn high up (~2m). And there's always cake on Wed sessions, baked by the club seniors :P
Went for my hall boat party on the night of 12th Sept. Was quite a cool event, with everyone dressed in formal. Winter coat activated for the first time as well, as it rained the whole night (from when we left hall till we were walking back) and it was quite cold. There was a short respite during the boat journey that allowed us to go to the upper deck and watch the riverside lights of London go past. Most of the SG group (Singaporeans really tend to clump together hahaha) are not party/drinking people, so we spent the night having our own brand of fun i.e. guessing-games. I think anyone else would've thought we were the most boring bunch ever, but whatever, I was quite happy doing whatever I was doing ^^.
I recently finished reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite authors. It is a children's book, but I recommend it to anyone of any age, because it's really not v difficult to enjoy a story about adventures in the course of growing up (in a graveyard). The episodic nature of the book also makes it great for those who don't read regularly, like I read it on my phone whenever I'm bored or alone.
Still meaning to write a post on the post-internship road trip. But that's still quite a few days in the making.
Other random news includes multiple shopping trips for groceries/necessities, mingling with freshers (some of them 3 years younger than me), and going for free food, and more free food. J and I crashed a mass BBQ meant for another hall (they didn't check and there was so much food anyway). Students are attracted to free food like bees to honey. Droves and droves of bees which know how to queue. I've always associated queuing with SG, but like many things, the queues seem so much bigger here. Lastly, I seem to have become semi-used to the British keyboard and sometimes find myself trying to key in a double quotation mark on my laptop using the @ key.
Thursday, 9 October 2014
The Internship
This is soooo overdue, what with the moving into hall, the walking all over London, and the late nights listening to others party = where got time to blog. But before I talk about our road trip and moving to London and everything else, I still gotta talk about The Internship.
I have been
very fortunate to land the internship with RR. It's a well-known company (even if many people
still associate it with the cars), but I think I’ve gained so much more than
just a significant name to put in my resume from my time in Derby. So many things - where to start? I’m gonna
kope the template from Carina’s blog and use it here, so go over and read her experiences as well!
Socializing
Learning more about them
"I think you did incredibly well in a very strange environment"
Being a foreigner (not a tourist) was a whole new experience for me. In the beginning, getting used to their culture meant realizing the differences in behaviours and actions, and then emulating them. Sometimes, it's simple e.g. the British don't leave their teaspoons in their coffee/tea mugs and during a meeting, I quickly saw that my kopitiam style was the odd one out. Other differences run deeper, and it is important sometimes to conform. One good e.g. is that they take recycling (as part of Health, Safety & Environment) V SERIOUSLY, and a telling-off from the cleaner is one of the milder consequences of non-conformance.
There is no need to become a fake ang moh (for Asians), but learning their culture is a must, and it's interesting too! I had fun asking and learning stuff from my supervisor. Sometimes it feels (from the amount of things I don't know), like I'm five again, and asking all those random questions out of curiosity. These are conversation topics to avoid awkward silence anyway, and I really wanted to know how come pubs could run out of food by "dinner" at 6pm. "Dinner" doesn't always refer to the evening meal here btw, just take note. Many names of things and places are not pronounced phonetically either, like we learnt in school (go look up how Greenwich is pronounced - it's not what you think!!!), so listening helps!
Making
friends
There’s a
stark difference in work culture as compared to SG that makes this possible. Most of the
time back home, you don’t feel the same approachability with superiors even if
they’re kind to you. There's always a sort of divide even between colleagues of the same level. Just an e.g., I'm not too sure I'd feel comfortable playing badminton with any direct superior in SG. Things are more chill here (relative to what we're used to), which is good for making friends! Even though it's mostly the young people in the office that we hung out with outside of work, doing what young people do, we do interact with older colleagues as well. And now even though we've left, there will always be this magic thing called FB.
Getting
involved in peoples’ lives
Sounds like
learning to become a kaypo, but I don’t mean it that way. I’ve posted some
snippets on what we’ve been up to outside of work before, and (besides the
weekend trips) most of these have been because of invitations and initiations
by colleagues. Or sometimes by us actually. The point is, when you're an intern in a foreign country, you should NOT get caught up in work alone, and simply aim to be intern of the year or smth. Working hard will earn you recognition, but the best experiences come from personal interactions with the people there, your supervisors and colleagues.
I've been rapper dancing, tried church bell-ringing, and seen apple trees for the first time (along with many many other plants you won't find in sunny Singapore). This is so much more than I could've learnt from a desk and this all comes because others have let us into their lives, and in the process made our lives colourful.
Telling them more about us
I love it when conversations about culture are two-way streets, coz it's always awesome when someone is interested in learning more about the tiny island I call home.
[They may not like salted-egg yolk or durian sweets (kinda expected lol), but being game enough to try (multiple times just to be sure) is good enough!]
I've been rapper dancing, tried church bell-ringing, and seen apple trees for the first time (along with many many other plants you won't find in sunny Singapore). This is so much more than I could've learnt from a desk and this all comes because others have let us into their lives, and in the process made our lives colourful.
Telling them more about us
I love it when conversations about culture are two-way streets, coz it's always awesome when someone is interested in learning more about the tiny island I call home.
[They may not like salted-egg yolk or durian sweets (kinda expected lol), but being game enough to try (multiple times just to be sure) is good enough!]
Work
Google - My Best Friend
Couldn't do
without Google, esp since I had to learn Excel VBA from scratch i.e. office
internet down = cannot do work. My work included creating a sort of interface
in Excel and obviously, there was the need to make sure people use it
correctly. This means think of a solution, Google and copy code from help forums and
hope it works. About 80% of the time it didn’t, which was damn irritating.
But eventually, I went from not knowing how to read whatever I was copying to
writing bits of my own code. Achievement unlocked!
In other, less hectic times, Google maps was useful for planning weekend trips ;)
Freedom
I got plenty of this at work as far as I was concerned, and not (not always at least) because my sup was too busy to care
about me. It's nice to not have to have someone check on you at every set interval or have to constantly report your progress, esp when progress is erratic. It takes a lot of pressure off and it's great to know that I'm trusted to deliver, which motivates me to keep up my standards. Win-win situation right? Which leads me to my next point.
Tidbits for the future
Little thoughts and experiences don't count for much officially, but I rmb those well. Having met many different situations and interacted with people from all over the place due to my super-broad scope, I have seen quite a lot of things for an intern. I have seen positions which I can see my future self in, or see myself totally avoiding. I have seen behaviours to emulate, and also to abstain from. I have been thrown faaaaar outside my comfort zone, but could always come back to my team for guidance, a team I was comfortable with, and which most importantly, treated me as one of them.
I think when I graduate, all these experiences will come back and count in how I treat people (interns included haha) and also the path I choose. The culture in SG is different from here, and the bosses back home work differently, so not everything I've experienced will apply. I think in relative sense, working in SG will always feel more restricted and rigid, simply because Asians are like that. Whatever the case, these are memories to be treasured.
Tidbits for the future
Little thoughts and experiences don't count for much officially, but I rmb those well. Having met many different situations and interacted with people from all over the place due to my super-broad scope, I have seen quite a lot of things for an intern. I have seen positions which I can see my future self in, or see myself totally avoiding. I have seen behaviours to emulate, and also to abstain from. I have been thrown faaaaar outside my comfort zone, but could always come back to my team for guidance, a team I was comfortable with, and which most importantly, treated me as one of them.
I think when I graduate, all these experiences will come back and count in how I treat people (interns included haha) and also the path I choose. The culture in SG is different from here, and the bosses back home work differently, so not everything I've experienced will apply. I think in relative sense, working in SG will always feel more restricted and rigid, simply because Asians are like that. Whatever the case, these are memories to be treasured.
Level
up!
What happens when your supervisor goes away on two weeks of holiday (extremely common here) and you have to cover some of his duties? And this happens over a crucial period and involves many stakeholders. AND you're still kind of wet behind the ears, still in need of guidance. Steel yourself and move forward.
I rmb remarking to J smth like "I really hope I survive the next two weeks". Turns out I didn't just survive, but went on to have some of the most enjoyable and fruitful days in my term. I'm timid by nature and, I'm not sure if this is obvious, but it's smth I have to consciously counter. In those two weeks esp, I had to 敢敢来 a lot, so that I could support rather than burden my team. Struggle is a good thing (in occasional doses) because that's one of the fastest ways to learn. In the end, I think I'm simply not so scared anymore. Which is why if I had any level up experience, it's this. :)
What happens when your supervisor goes away on two weeks of holiday (extremely common here) and you have to cover some of his duties? And this happens over a crucial period and involves many stakeholders. AND you're still kind of wet behind the ears, still in need of guidance. Steel yourself and move forward.
I rmb remarking to J smth like "I really hope I survive the next two weeks". Turns out I didn't just survive, but went on to have some of the most enjoyable and fruitful days in my term. I'm timid by nature and, I'm not sure if this is obvious, but it's smth I have to consciously counter. In those two weeks esp, I had to 敢敢来 a lot, so that I could support rather than burden my team. Struggle is a good thing (in occasional doses) because that's one of the fastest ways to learn. In the end, I think I'm simply not so scared anymore. Which is why if I had any level up experience, it's this. :)
Life
Speaking a language that we know no one else in the office understands
Yes,
Mandarin. Nice to embrace our roots in a foreign place by openly commenting on
random stuff happening around us. It’s kinda like talking behind someone’s back
in front of them but we weren’t being rude, I promise! xD Just little comments
on what others are having for lunch that kind, for our own
entertainment purposes hahaha. It's lucky that we came here where everyone speaks English and we didn't have to grapple with our problems in another language (at the beginning siao liao). And I wouldn't have known before this, but it's tiring to keep speaking proper English with a suppressed SG accent. [According to a new ang moh friend I made, Singaporeans speak in a way that "curves in weird places", which is totally true hahaha!] So among the three of us, we always had a lovely time speaking the language(s) we're used to.
Out exploring!
Frankly, there's not much to do in Derby. [Funny thing is many people tell me this, but some do get defensive when I say so. Guess we're all like that, try saying SG is boring in front of me xD] An hour's driving radius encompasses many beautiful places to visit and hence, our car was put to really good use ^^. I haven't blogged about all of these trips (either due to laziness or anti-climatic experiences), but I think you've got a gist of what we've been up to! I can never get enough of the UK countryside, and I suck at long inclined walks, but the views are ALWAYS more than worth it.
We were at the top of Mam Tor saying that our photos are starting to look repetitive. Always the same rolling greenery with the same overcast sky as a backdrop. I'm no pro photographer. I have no way of making the photos look like what I actually see, let alone capture what I actually feel. It's always just me in the same purple windbreaker. Here, my descriptive abilities fail me, and all I can say is that it's always different.
Those 15 weeks have been a blast. To my school mates, never pass up a chance to intern overseas, I think I've proven my point here. Thank you RR for having us! See you Derby, and all the places we've been, I won't be forgetting anytime soon. And thank you as well, if you've read this post till the end :)
Frankly, there's not much to do in Derby. [Funny thing is many people tell me this, but some do get defensive when I say so. Guess we're all like that, try saying SG is boring in front of me xD] An hour's driving radius encompasses many beautiful places to visit and hence, our car was put to really good use ^^. I haven't blogged about all of these trips (either due to laziness or anti-climatic experiences), but I think you've got a gist of what we've been up to! I can never get enough of the UK countryside, and I suck at long inclined walks, but the views are ALWAYS more than worth it.
We were at the top of Mam Tor saying that our photos are starting to look repetitive. Always the same rolling greenery with the same overcast sky as a backdrop. I'm no pro photographer. I have no way of making the photos look like what I actually see, let alone capture what I actually feel. It's always just me in the same purple windbreaker. Here, my descriptive abilities fail me, and all I can say is that it's always different.
Those 15 weeks have been a blast. To my school mates, never pass up a chance to intern overseas, I think I've proven my point here. Thank you RR for having us! See you Derby, and all the places we've been, I won't be forgetting anytime soon. And thank you as well, if you've read this post till the end :)
Sunday, 5 October 2014
Moved to London!
The mess.
The room as I found it.
The car as we bought it (not really, but kind of).
The new room! (in a mess!)
[Will start PM-ing my new address in a bit]
It's goodbye Derby, for now.
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