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19th Oct '91 • Lefty • Libra
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Friday, January 4, 2013

Culminating the 4 months exchange in the States

Can't believed its almost a week since I left the States back to Singapore, and I'm missing the U.S already! How ironic it is when I'm complaining how much I wanted to be back home so badly while I'm in the States, and now I'm actually missing it there in the U.S. I'm still experiencing the culture shock back here and I'm trying to adapt back as much as I could. Nonetheless, I'm really thankful and glad for the safety I have had back here in SG. You can't imagine the shock and fear I encountered while I'm in the States.

The four and a half months did indeed passed by in the wink of an eye, and everything really did seem so surreal. Nonetheless, all these didn't comes in easy. I can still vividly remember all the cumbersome and tedious procedures I've to go through, culminating a whole year of preparation for this exchange programme - from the initial application to the interview process, to the module mappings to the official application to the partner university, and also in getting all the administrative work done. i.e. obtaining my U.S Visa, finding my accommodation, etc... It still seem incredulous for me to believe all of these had actually materialized, especially in getting my first choice partner university when there is such tough competition. I am glad that I had gone and fought for what I wanted back then, even though there were times when I wanted to withdraw my application after realizing the tough competition in SEP back then. I would not forget all those who had given me the support back then, and not letting my inferiority complex overwhelm me :)

Still deeply etched in my mind's eye, the days leading up to the departure for the States had really been a whole roller-coaster ride. The initial excitement which I have had suddenly took a change as I began to feel the whole sadness of having to leave everything behind back home in SG - especially all those whom you love and care for as well as your friends. Saying goodbye is never an easy task...
I am glad that I managed to stay strong on the day I left (17th August 2012), and not crying in front of my family & friends even though I was especially upset that day. I still remembered myself hugging my bolster before I left home, knowing I would not be in this comfort zone for the next 4 months plus. However, I eventually succumbed to my weakness and teared on the plane on the way to Tokyo-Japan. I felt really sad at that point of time knowing I'd be on my own for the next few months, and feeling unsure of what my exchange in the States would bring me. After all, it is thousands of miles away from Singapore, and this was the first time I would be away from home for the longest.

Unfortunately, the start of my exchange journey had not been very smooth-sailing and pleasant. I still could not forget the horrid 21 hours layover I had to go through in New York, and was chased out of the airport at night because it was not opened 24 hours. The people there were not very friendly and pleasant either, and it really dampened my mood even before reaching my final destination in Chapel Hill. Things did not turn out any better upon reaching campus - felt so lost and had so much of a problem getting a U.S phone number and getting my devices connected to the campus wifi. It was a break down in communication for me, and it really annoyed me so much that I have so much problems to even communicate to someone. I'm really so thankful for the 3G network I have here back home and the convenience it brings, especially when I have such limited internet access in the States and always getting cut off.

Forgetting the negativities, the people in UNC Chapel Hill were really nice and amiable, in contrast to the shock I had back in New York. I still remembered I was greeted warmly by my suitemates when I first checked into my room; albeit feeling a bit scared at the same time too. After all, I have never had a proper conversation with Americans before I step foot into the States back then. The 4 months in Chapel Hill had been very pleasant I must say, everyone's really so friendly. i.e. if you were to walk in to any store, you would be greeted with a smile and "Hi how are you" without fail.
Nonetheless, I am glad that I've very nice suitemates and room-mate too. They are always inviting me over for a movie night or even their church events. My room-mate Nisa is a very nice lady too, where she is always making/buying me new and nice food for me to try. I'm already missing all those nights watching Bones and Awkward together with her :( I'm really glad our path crossed, and hopefully someday; sometime; somewhere, we would all meet again...

Life overseas had been really busy, but it was definitely a fulfilling one. Apart from school work, I have to deal with managing my finance for trips, planning for trips, doing laundry, etc... These were things which I realized I only have myself to depend on. In addition, school life in UNC-Chapel Hill is really vigorous; where I have assignments due every single week, and with each modules having as much as 3 midterms and 4 class tests!!! I could not imagine myself being so busy with school when I am just an exchange student; but afterall I believe in giving all my best in whatever I do. I could not believe that Chemistry courses are also the hardest course in the university, and everyone were shock that I actually took 4 Chemistry classes when the norm is just 2 Chemistry classes in the university. On top of that, I'm also overloading my workload with a total of 6 modules; I can't imagine how I actually deal with it back then.

All in all, the 4 months spent in UNC-Chapel Hill had really been a great and pleasant one, and I really learnt what should be expected from an exchange programme. Living in the school hostel made me experience what a campus life is really like, and also to get in close proximity to the Americans and learn about their culture and way of life. Many of them does not even know where Singapore is, and my room mate even asked me if it does snow here in Singapore. And because the United States is just so big, many of them did not actually travel out of the U.S and to even travel within the U.S. Some of my suitemates were even saying that I've actually covered more of the places in the States than they do!
On the other hand, I am really in awe of the Americans in their enthusiasm in what they do. I still remembered how the U.S Presidential election was such a big thing there, with all the excitement my room mate and suitemates have when the results were out; when in Singapore most of us were just politically apathetic. Also, the Americans were not afraid of saying the wrong things or making mistakes, which is something I ought to learn from. They were not afraid of asking questions in classes, where I would be too shy and afraid of asking stupid/irrelevant questions that I always ended up keeping the questions to myself. All of them were so actively engaged in class that the lecturer does not even have to probe students to answer questions. Can you imagine that the Americans does not even use their cell phones during class????

Indeed, the 4 months in the States had really been an eye-opener, and I have so much to learn from - from the culture and way of life in the American society, to being an independent self, and not forgetting to explore the big world out there, which is something I had always wanted to do so. From New York to Washington D.C to North Carolina to South Carolina to Tennessee to Florida and Chicago in the East Coast; and from Los Angeles to Nevada and to San Francisco in the West Coast. These were things that I would not be able to do so without this exchange, and of course the lessons learnt and the memories would be deeply etched in my mind's eye :)

I can't believe all of these had come to its closure; but nonetheless all these will remain as an indelible part of the milestone in my life.

the great escape .
Profile CLARE LIM :) 19th Oct '91 • Lefty • Libra Water Polo (: Exits Allan Brenda Cai Ling Carmen Catherine Ernest Shawn Shufen Wei shan Ying Lin Archives October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 January 2013 Credits ©Glamouresque.	Friday, January 4, 2013 Culminating the 4 months exchange in the States Can't believed its almost a week since I left the States back to Singapore, and I'm missing the U.S already! How ironic it is when I'm complaining how much I wanted to be back home so badly while I'm in the States, and now I'm actually missing it there in the U.S. I'm still experiencing the culture shock back here and I'm trying to adapt back as much as I could. Nonetheless, I'm really thankful and glad for the safety I have had back here in SG. You can't imagine the shock and fear I encountered while I'm in the States. The four and a half months did indeed passed by in the wink of an eye, and everything really did seem so surreal. Nonetheless, all these didn't comes in easy. I can still vividly remember all the cumbersome and tedious procedures I've to go through, culminating a whole year of preparation for this exchange programme - from the initial application to the interview process, to the module mappings to the official application to the partner university, and also in getting all the administrative work done. i.e. obtaining my U.S Visa, finding my accommodation, etc... It still seem incredulous for me to believe all of these had actually materialized, especially in getting my first choice partner university when there is such tough competition. I am glad that I had gone and fought for what I wanted back then, even though there were times when I wanted to withdraw my application after realizing the tough competition in SEP back then. I would not forget all those who had given me the support back then, and not letting my inferiority complex overwhelm me :) Still deeply etched in my mind's eye, the days leading up to the departure for the States had really been a whole roller-coaster ride. The initial excitement which I have had suddenly took a change as I began to feel the whole sadness of having to leave everything behind back home in SG - especially all those whom you love and care for as well as your friends. Saying goodbye is never an easy task... I am glad that I managed to stay strong on the day I left (17th August 2012), and not crying in front of my family & friends even though I was especially upset that day. I still remembered myself hugging my bolster before I left home, knowing I would not be in this comfort zone for the next 4 months plus. However, I eventually succumbed to my weakness and teared on the plane on the way to Tokyo-Japan. I felt really sad at that point of time knowing I'd be on my own for the next few months, and feeling unsure of what my exchange in the States would bring me. After all, it is thousands of miles away from Singapore, and this was the first time I would be away from home for the longest. Unfortunately, the start of my exchange journey had not been very smooth-sailing and pleasant. I still could not forget the horrid 21 hours layover I had to go through in New York, and was chased out of the airport at night because it was not opened 24 hours. The people there were not very friendly and pleasant either, and it really dampened my mood even before reaching my final destination in Chapel Hill. Things did not turn out any better upon reaching campus - felt so lost and had so much of a problem getting a U.S phone number and getting my devices connected to the campus wifi. It was a break down in communication for me, and it really annoyed me so much that I have so much problems to even communicate to someone. I'm really so thankful for the 3G network I have here back home and the convenience it brings, especially when I have such limited internet access in the States and always getting cut off. Forgetting the negativities, the people in UNC Chapel Hill were really nice and amiable, in contrast to the shock I had back in New York. I still remembered I was greeted warmly by my suitemates when I first checked into my room; albeit feeling a bit scared at the same time too. After all, I have never had a proper conversation with Americans before I step foot into the States back then. The 4 months in Chapel Hill had been very pleasant I must say, everyone's really so friendly. i.e. if you were to walk in to any store, you would be greeted with a smile and "Hi how are you" without fail. Nonetheless, I am glad that I've very nice suitemates and room-mate too. They are always inviting me over for a movie night or even their church events. My room-mate Nisa is a very nice lady too, where she is always making/buying me new and nice food for me to try. I'm already missing all those nights watching Bones and Awkward together with her :( I'm really glad our path crossed, and hopefully someday; sometime; somewhere, we would all meet again... Life overseas had been really busy, but it was definitely a fulfilling one. Apart from school work, I have to deal with managing my finance for trips, planning for trips, doing laundry, etc... These were things which I realized I only have myself to depend on. In addition, school life in UNC-Chapel Hill is really vigorous; where I have assignments due every single week, and with each modules having as much as 3 midterms and 4 class tests!!! I could not imagine myself being so busy with school when I am just an exchange student; but afterall I believe in giving all my best in whatever I do. I could not believe that Chemistry courses are also the hardest course in the university, and everyone were shock that I actually took 4 Chemistry classes when the norm is just 2 Chemistry classes in the university. On top of that, I'm also overloading my workload with a total of 6 modules; I can't imagine how I actually deal with it back then. All in all, the 4 months spent in UNC-Chapel Hill had really been a great and pleasant one, and I really learnt what should be expected from an exchange programme. Living in the school hostel made me experience what a campus life is really like, and also to get in close proximity to the Americans and learn about their culture and way of life. Many of them does not even know where Singapore is, and my room mate even asked me if it does snow here in Singapore. And because the United States is just so big, many of them did not actually travel out of the U.S and to even travel within the U.S. Some of my suitemates were even saying that I've actually covered more of the places in the States than they do! On the other hand, I am really in awe of the Americans in their enthusiasm in what they do. I still remembered how the U.S Presidential election was such a big thing there, with all the excitement my room mate and suitemates have when the results were out; when in Singapore most of us were just politically apathetic. Also, the Americans were not afraid of saying the wrong things or making mistakes, which is something I ought to learn from. They were not afraid of asking questions in classes, where I would be too shy and afraid of asking stupid/irrelevant questions that I always ended up keeping the questions to myself. All of them were so actively engaged in class that the lecturer does not even have to probe students to answer questions. Can you imagine that the Americans does not even use their cell phones during class???? Indeed, the 4 months in the States had really been an eye-opener, and I have so much to learn from - from the culture and way of life in the American society, to being an independent self, and not forgetting to explore the big world out there, which is something I had always wanted to do so. From New York to Washington D.C to North Carolina to South Carolina to Tennessee to Florida and Chicago in the East Coast; and from Los Angeles to Nevada and to San Francisco in the West Coast. These were things that I would not be able to do so without this exchange, and of course the lessons learnt and the memories would be deeply etched in my mind's eye :) I can't believe all of these had come to its closure; but nonetheless all these will remain as an indelible part of the milestone in my life.