Preparing for Yr 4
I've got exactly 6 days before Year 4 starts. Well, given that 3 of those days will be spent on Pulau Ubin, I technically have 3 days before the new sem. It's so daunting, but it challenges me as well and I know that the next 6 months will be a time of intense growth as a person, as a social worker and as a student. It may or may not be the last year that I am a student.
I'm glad that some things have been settled, although not all. I'm so glad for yesterday, and how miraculously my thesis topic got settled just like that. Some of you may know how I approached Dr T-Sim to be my supervisor, but was honestly quite scared off by him. I really wanted to know a more complete picture, so i approached Dr Nair for a chat. :) I must say, she really made me want to do a thesis! But wanting to do a thesis is merely 10% of it all, still gotta come up with topic la, formulate research qn la, etc. Tough. The previous topics I had been thinking about, maids and parent-child relationships, as well as video-game addictions, really didn't attract me that much.
I must thank God for the things that happened yesterday, that made me eventually choose the topic I settled on with Dr Choo. I arranged to go down to the IT Co-op yesterday to send my computer for formatting. While I was there waiting for my turn, this lady appeared with a wireless card and a keyboard to ask me how those things fitted into her computer. It turned out that the technician attending to her was Malay, and it was TOTALLY chicken and duck talk. In the end, I had to turn translator for her. I found out that she had just landed in Singapore the previous night from China, and found out that her laptop couldn't go online (both for hardware and software issues), and she was basically really desperate to go online and send an email home or sth. I literally saw her face light up and this mega grin on her face, when eventually the technician helped her to go online (using HIS password cos she hadn't matriculated yet).
And so I left IT Co-op with Cindy, feeling nice that I had helped someone but at the same time feeling quite sad and burdened by the difficulties of these people. I mean, I had been feeling this burden ever since I met Scarlet and Melanie in NZ last year. After that, I had breakfast with Cindy, and we went for our SW Deptmental Seminar. And guess what, the seminar was on the acculturation and integration of South Asians in UK, by this British-Indian professor. :) It really interested me!
So eventually, when I settled down to talk to Dr Nair, I raised this as a potential topic for my thesis, one thing led to another, I knocked on Dr Choo's door, we had a brief chat, she gave me a preliminary reading list, and voila!
I think my topic will sound something like: 'Social support systems for Mainland Chinese students studying in tertiary institutions in Singapore'.
So yes. I think I've got my thesis topic sorted out, many more things to handle before school starts. I'm glad!
I'm glad that some things have been settled, although not all. I'm so glad for yesterday, and how miraculously my thesis topic got settled just like that. Some of you may know how I approached Dr T-Sim to be my supervisor, but was honestly quite scared off by him. I really wanted to know a more complete picture, so i approached Dr Nair for a chat. :) I must say, she really made me want to do a thesis! But wanting to do a thesis is merely 10% of it all, still gotta come up with topic la, formulate research qn la, etc. Tough. The previous topics I had been thinking about, maids and parent-child relationships, as well as video-game addictions, really didn't attract me that much.
I must thank God for the things that happened yesterday, that made me eventually choose the topic I settled on with Dr Choo. I arranged to go down to the IT Co-op yesterday to send my computer for formatting. While I was there waiting for my turn, this lady appeared with a wireless card and a keyboard to ask me how those things fitted into her computer. It turned out that the technician attending to her was Malay, and it was TOTALLY chicken and duck talk. In the end, I had to turn translator for her. I found out that she had just landed in Singapore the previous night from China, and found out that her laptop couldn't go online (both for hardware and software issues), and she was basically really desperate to go online and send an email home or sth. I literally saw her face light up and this mega grin on her face, when eventually the technician helped her to go online (using HIS password cos she hadn't matriculated yet).
And so I left IT Co-op with Cindy, feeling nice that I had helped someone but at the same time feeling quite sad and burdened by the difficulties of these people. I mean, I had been feeling this burden ever since I met Scarlet and Melanie in NZ last year. After that, I had breakfast with Cindy, and we went for our SW Deptmental Seminar. And guess what, the seminar was on the acculturation and integration of South Asians in UK, by this British-Indian professor. :) It really interested me!
So eventually, when I settled down to talk to Dr Nair, I raised this as a potential topic for my thesis, one thing led to another, I knocked on Dr Choo's door, we had a brief chat, she gave me a preliminary reading list, and voila!
I think my topic will sound something like: 'Social support systems for Mainland Chinese students studying in tertiary institutions in Singapore'.
So yes. I think I've got my thesis topic sorted out, many more things to handle before school starts. I'm glad!
liren! i'm so happy for you! US, i mean. let's chiong and die together. hahaha :P
That... is an interesting thesis. Especially considering the mental attitudes most Singaporeans seem to have towards such Chinese students.