My Pre-Trip Reflections
By Ginni :D
I’m always very interested about overseas community service and had looked forward to be able to participate in it. Hence, I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank Ngee Ann for allowing me to participate in it and to thank the teachers for selecting me. THANK YOU! :D
For me, I joined Serve Cambodia without knowing anybody but will the mentality to help the less fortunate over there and to gain multiple experience, life skills and beautiful memories from there. And I’m very glad to be able to know this group of friends from Serve Cambodia. Each and every one of them is unique in their own way and has a character of their own.
Joining the trip as a year 1 is quite intimidating for me as I didn’t know anyone there at first, but slowly, as time passes, things got better. The seniors really taught and helped me in several many things such as computer knowledge, leadership skills, interpersonal skills and etc.
During the bonding camp, we were asked many questions such as “is this trip more of a service or learning”, “what’s the difference between the Cambodian kid and me?”, “what’s the difference charity and transformation?” To be frank, at this point of time, I still dun have a complete answer to these questions. And this worries me, because if I don’t have a answer, why am I going Cambodia? And I hope I’ll be able to answer these questions when I come back from there. But nevertheless, I hope to learn as much as possible from the Cambodian kids and the whole trip itself. They may not be as fortunate as us (we Singaporeans) with e stable government and economy. Poverty over there is prominent.It’s difficult for them to have 3 meals a day, a proper sleeping area, a proper home but yet they are able to carry a smile. Why is it so?
As the trip draws nearer, meetings become more frequent and hence the probability of having conflicts is inevitable. Through these conflicts, all of us grow up. We learnt about the good and bad points of each other. We learnt about each other’s management style. Some may be stubborn, some may be quick-tempered, and some may be the peace-makers while some will just sit back and be the audience.
As much as how I looked forward to the trip, I questioned myself if I’m able to adapt to the environment there. Will I get use to the food over there; will I be able to get use to the culture over there? How adaptable am I? Being born in Singapore, most of us are pampered with the “good things” that we have over here. Will we be able to put the “good things” down and not compare to the Cambodian?
Someone once asked me, “Why am I paying $388 to serve others?” I answered by saying “I don’t pay to serve, but I pay because I’m want to serve”. I want to give a helping hand to those in need over at Cambodia. I want to have a feel of what it is like out of the comfort zone. I want to feel what it is like to live in a third world country.
All in all, I hope that the trip will be enjoyable and fruitful to each and every one of us. The trip ahead may be tired and challenging, but fear not, because we all have each other for support and help. I believe we’ll be able to work as a team and laugh, smile, joke and cry as a team.
By Ginni :D
I’m always very interested about overseas community service and had looked forward to be able to participate in it. Hence, I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank Ngee Ann for allowing me to participate in it and to thank the teachers for selecting me. THANK YOU! :D
For me, I joined Serve Cambodia without knowing anybody but will the mentality to help the less fortunate over there and to gain multiple experience, life skills and beautiful memories from there. And I’m very glad to be able to know this group of friends from Serve Cambodia. Each and every one of them is unique in their own way and has a character of their own.
Joining the trip as a year 1 is quite intimidating for me as I didn’t know anyone there at first, but slowly, as time passes, things got better. The seniors really taught and helped me in several many things such as computer knowledge, leadership skills, interpersonal skills and etc.
During the bonding camp, we were asked many questions such as “is this trip more of a service or learning”, “what’s the difference between the Cambodian kid and me?”, “what’s the difference charity and transformation?” To be frank, at this point of time, I still dun have a complete answer to these questions. And this worries me, because if I don’t have a answer, why am I going Cambodia? And I hope I’ll be able to answer these questions when I come back from there. But nevertheless, I hope to learn as much as possible from the Cambodian kids and the whole trip itself. They may not be as fortunate as us (we Singaporeans) with e stable government and economy. Poverty over there is prominent.It’s difficult for them to have 3 meals a day, a proper sleeping area, a proper home but yet they are able to carry a smile. Why is it so?
As the trip draws nearer, meetings become more frequent and hence the probability of having conflicts is inevitable. Through these conflicts, all of us grow up. We learnt about the good and bad points of each other. We learnt about each other’s management style. Some may be stubborn, some may be quick-tempered, and some may be the peace-makers while some will just sit back and be the audience.
As much as how I looked forward to the trip, I questioned myself if I’m able to adapt to the environment there. Will I get use to the food over there; will I be able to get use to the culture over there? How adaptable am I? Being born in Singapore, most of us are pampered with the “good things” that we have over here. Will we be able to put the “good things” down and not compare to the Cambodian?
Someone once asked me, “Why am I paying $388 to serve others?” I answered by saying “I don’t pay to serve, but I pay because I’m want to serve”. I want to give a helping hand to those in need over at Cambodia. I want to have a feel of what it is like out of the comfort zone. I want to feel what it is like to live in a third world country.
All in all, I hope that the trip will be enjoyable and fruitful to each and every one of us. The trip ahead may be tired and challenging, but fear not, because we all have each other for support and help. I believe we’ll be able to work as a team and laugh, smile, joke and cry as a team.
posted by thedzired at 2:39 am
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