Journeys
Prior to the pandemic, TLE brought students from Singapore to Australia, China, Vietnam and the Philippines in order to enlarge their views and help them understand how to navigate this world better. Amazingly, during the pandemic (2020-2022), we did the same through ZOOM classes. It was difficult to keep the students engaged to put it mildly, no matter how many puzzles and games were embedded. And even if they were interested, there is no replicating the experience of actually being in a foreign land, surrounded by foreign tongues and cultures. To engage all our senses, to make us fully aware and alive and growing, it is essential to actually travel.
“The old tales of China tell us that all things may grow and change. A stone may become a plant. A plant may become an animal. An animal may become a human. A human may become a god.
Just so, a snake may become a woman. And we are told of one who did.”
- Aaron Shepard, Lady White Snake: A Take from Chinese Opera
HANGZHOU, SUZHOU, SHANGHAI
We began our travels into China before it really opened up to the world. It was 2001 and there was a chaos of activity everywhere. But yes, there was method to the madness. This incredible energy and hope needed to be harnessed but there were plenty who were willing and up to the task to take the reins. Having been stuck with government managed systems for decades upon decades, the local Chinese had to rely on entrepreneurs the world over, especially returning overseas Chinese, to help bring them into the 21st century. The speed at which this happened was unbelievable.
And thus, it was not hard for us to see the emergence of the "Student Entrepreneur" in China as early as 2014 as social & market trends pointed to a convergence of a highly educated & open young population with means (thanks to the one child policy), advanced payment technology (WeChat Pay & Alipay) & opportunity (C2C, Gaming, etc). And so in that year's programme for JC students, we cautioned the continued dismissal of the lumbering giant:
A mere 10 years ago (2004), China’s universities were simply paying “catch up” to its Western counterparts. Having socially and economically hibernated from the 1970’s through to the 1990’s, the country obviously lagged behind in systems, content, programs and innovations. But within the last 4 years (2010), a noticeable shift has occurred over China’s top and mid-level universities. Instead of the usual fare, highly robust and dynamic curriculums have been introduced. Student bodies have more diversity and cross- collaboration than ever before. Most importantly, instead of solely focusing on academic research, industry partnerships and university driven incubators and licensing, students (often with the support of teachers, parents and peers) are taking real risks and choosing to strike out on their own. Many have touted this as an unexpected phenomenon, independence and frame of mind.
But is this true? After all, how well do we really know China outside of our own preconceived notions and what others tell us? How can we look at China’s cultural roots honestly so we are better able to foretell its future? And dare we add, how can we in turn look at our own selves better so we can see where we are headed?
"To fall down, you manage alone, but it takes friendly hands to get up."
- Yiddish proverb
HONGKONG
Running alongside the rows of shops filled with all sorts of brand name goods from all over the world sit tenement housing for Hong Kong’s “cubicle dwellers”. They are the estimated 100,000 people (out of 7.155 million) who can only afford 40 square feet (3.72 sqm) of space to call their own in land scarce and overpopulated Hong Kong. Everyday they wake up on their beds and literally within their arms reach is everything they own, including the food they have to prepare in their make-shift “kitchen”. Some have the luxury of windows and high ceilings to make it more bearable. But often, as these are more expensive to rent, 2 or 3 people would have to share the space.
In a land filled with millionaires who can jet-set around the world and where economic opportunities are plentiful, what has caused these groups of people to fall behind? Who else is in trouble? Why should their problems & personal failures matter to us? Why do we need to extend a helping hand?
In this short programme, visited with social entrepreneurs & changemakers who had not only identified key problems in current society but had come up with ways to change the system, to spread the solution and persuade entire sectors to change directions towards a better future for everyone. We learned how they worked with teams of diverse abilities, how they oriented their thinking to solution finding (especially when it came to funding) & how they fostered innovation in neglected sectors of society. We also looked at how geography and history shapes societies and that these, along with cultural beliefs and practices, always have to be taken into account when arriving at solutions. Lastly, and most importantly, we learned how to look at our uncertain world with the hopeful and helpful heart of a friend.
“The wisdom of bridges comes from the fact that they know both sides, they know both shores!”
- Mehmet Murat Ildan
(Turkish playwright)
MANILA, LAGUNA, ANTIPOLO
Although our first brush with a country is often its urban landscapes or its government’s activities, the heart of every nation does not lie there. Instead it lives in the books, the music, the film, and the arts where people can express their most deep seated emotions, intellectual connections, hopes and dreams.
To learn about a culture, therefore, requires much more than simply arriving and visiting. It requires having an open mind, personal reflection, and a desire to accept, engage with, and learn from a people whose values, language and images that form their thinking are very different from our own.
Thus, TLE's programmes in the Philippines will always look at the core of Modern Philippine history, literature, arts, film and music so students can see for themselves how these collectively inform Filipino culture. They will see these by immersing themselves directly into the lives of local students and groups (such as crafts, tradesmen, social enterprises) to gain a much deeper and fuller understanding of what it means to be Filipino, and consequently, what it means to be Singaporean.
Sometimes we think such short exchanges or visits between students can only achieve modest results, if any. But as Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “A mind stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” So in these simple communions we arrange where students are able to share a meal, play a game, work on a simple project, help one another, and extend compassion, is our hope of being part of a continuing peace and friendship among nations.