Now that ES2007 has drawn to an end, I'd admit that I've never regret taking it. Experiencing a project module for the first time has helped me realize the importance of communication skills, team-work and simply being confident. Working with peers much older than me is intimidating at first, but knowing them better really open things up and I've learnt to work and connect with them. A definite eye-opener for future project modules.

Looking back at our group presentation, I felt that all of us performed well, transitioning from each speaker fluently and having equal opportunities to answer questions. And though we lacked the resources to have ample practice (why must tutorial rooms be locked on weekends!?), we still managed to pull through as a whole. One thing I felt we could have improve though was having more connection between the audience and us. L ike addressing each audience specifically and making them fee l important during our presentation.

And as our project says, "Practice Makes Perfect", I wouldn't say I perfected my oral presentation skills yet, but I did improve compared to my previous attempt. I made sure that I wasn't constantly shifting about and cutting down on those "ummm"s and "aaahhh"s would make my speech more fluent. Those distracting hand gestures I had previously had to go too. Honestly, I never knew that presentation skills have so many aspects to take note of.

However, my speech didn't go exactly fluent either. Because I memorised my script, I began faltering at the end of it, struggling to remember the last few lines. Looking at some of the other groups, I was impressed by their style of presenting. I felt I could have done better in placing more emphasis in important words or sentences, and having the right pauses.

Hopefully I'll be able to hone my presentation skills by the end of my 4 years, and I won't end up like this :P

A big thank you to Ms Goh, who has constantly guided us, and also the encouragements you gave me when I didn't start off the module so well. My group mates, Eric, Halim and Chaoyi who made this journey possible. This experience has been joyful and invaluable for me. see you guys around in school :)

Animal Culture

It was about 2 years ago when my family visited my sister in Germany.
Roaming the streets of Austria, I could instantly tell them apart from the streets of Singapore. The sight of big dogs along with their owners were a common sight. Not only on streets, but almost anywhere-- restaurants, trains, stores. In some cases, there were unleashed. Yet amazingly, these seemingly frightening animals never made any sound and simply followed and obeyed their masters. Stray animals were also barely seen around.

When my family visited my brother-in-law's place, I met Suma, a hunting dog. His family members told us he was walked at least 3 times a day and they made sure his health was checked monthly. Furthermore, owners had to be trained for at least 3 months before they were licensed to own a pet.

Curious, I asked why Germans were so animal-loving. Their answer was simply because of their responsibility to own them. Sadly, this isn't the case for most Singaporeans. Judging from my observations, I would suppose that most Singaporeans do not respect animals as much as Germans do. Many Singaporeans own pets because their cuteness and petite-size appeal to them. And as there is no sentiment towards the responsibility of keeping animals, many owners grow tired of taking care of their pets after some time.

From this experience, I realized that even the treatment of animals does differentiate a country's culture!

Oh anyway, I happened to come across this funny video from Friends which illustrates about other intercultural differences. Thought I could share this. :D Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLg_opZIv3M

Hello!
Here's the link to the job application I wrote on:
http://www.singaporeinternship.com/internships/dbs-banking-internship


333 East Coast Road
#05-10
Singapore 429101

13 February 2011

DBS Bank
6 Shenton Way, DBS Building Tower One
Singapore 068809

Dear officer-in-charge,

I refer to your recruitment offer and am highly interested in being part of your team during May—August 2011. I am currently a Year One student from National University of Singapore, pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I am confident that I will be of great service to the company.

My interest in business has led me to choose this job. I am currently taking several business-related modules for my first year as I am planning to minor in business studies in my upcoming academic years.

My A levels’ and first semester results, as disclosed in my CV, are good. I have also participated in several school events especially in the area of sports. My numerous achievements in track and field and cross country events throughout my Junior College years, have shown my active CCA records. In my first semester, I have already participated in several sports events. I have also played the role as vice-captain in inter-faculty game which has given me the opportunity to lead others. The rigours in trainings have greatly enhanced my leadership qualities and team-building abilities. I am also part of a committee which is currently planning events for freshmen’s orientation. I have gained better communication skills as it demands highly of interaction with team mates and freshmen. These experiences will prove valuable as they are applicable in business meetings or doing business projects.

I am confident that my experiences and interest in this job area will contribute to this leading and dynamic bank despite my age. I hope I can be given an opportunity to work in this company.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Koh Jia Ai

96184731
Koh_jia_ai@hotmail.com

Wrong Queue, Wrong Time.

Before University started, I worked at the theme park in Universal Studios Singapore as a park operator. I do remember one incident that led to a quarrel between me and a collegue.

The ride, "Revenge of the Mummy", which I was working in, had two specific queue lines. The first queue was passengers who wanted to sit in groups, while the other was for single riders.
However, there was this day that the queue ropes got mixed up. This meant some people who wanted to sit in groups ended up in the 'single rider' queue. That day, a collegue and I were given the duty to assign the passengers to their seat.
So when I told these passengers that they came up the wrong queue, they were surprised and protested that it was not their fault. I felt they were right, and wanted to let them into the ride. However, my collegue thought otherwise. He told the customers that they had to leave the queue and re-queue in the group-queue (which meant another extra 20 minutes to queue). Halfway while he was explaining to the customers, I interrupted and told him that we should let them through.
My collegue was furious after what I did, and let me have my way. After that, he complained to my head about it, and told me that, "Rules were rules", hence it was my fault that I chose to let them in.
Have I really done my collegue wrong? What should I have done instead?

Whew

Well, I guess my peer teaching group is finally done with our first assignment. And I would say it would not have been possible if not because of my great team mates, Ho Zong and Kar Liang. :) It is definitely intimidating working with people much older than me. But I've learnt pretty much too.

Comparing my maturity level with theirs, I've realized that I've to start acting more like an adult. Ever since the first day I stepped into NUS, I had a real culture shock. People were mugging hard on the first day already, and the school system was so independent. I could blame it on MOE, which is always making sure students follow their system over the years. But I've decided that hopefully I will take up more responsibility and more control over my next few years in NUS.

Judging by my performance on today's presentation, I was a little disappointed with it. Though some comments were a tad bit harsh, but I guess I'm definitely still learning, and I'm striving to do better for the next one. :D

Why Effective Communication is Important To Me

Communication is part of everyone's daily life. Hence, it is essential for us, social beings, to do so effectively. In my opinion, communication is a crucial part in defining a person. In one's daily life, communication means dealing with a conflict, motivating a team, expressing your opinion and understanding others’ opinion. To us students, it would define our working lives, our social lives and future. Hence, losing effectiveness in these areas could have drastic effects.

Facebook and Twitter have become part of our vocabulary. They help bring everyone a step closer to understanding each other better. Our world is getting increasingly globalized, but yet there is common miscommunication between us. And miscommunication could lead to torn relationships between us.

I would admit that I have faced several communication breakdowns between friends and family. One such would be religious differences that cause such breakdown. I remember simply saying “Merry Christmas” to a Muslim friend was a mistake. Luckily she did not take it to heart, but explained to me the reason. Two words itself could cause a misunderstanding between people. Therefore, I feel it is essential that bridging any miscommunication unintended could make or break a person’s first impression of you.

I have also come to learn that effective communication also does not just mean expressing yourself well, but more importantly, listening. The me in the past, always wanted people to hear my opinions but yet I have realized that listening to people’s feelings and opinions help me to understand them better and build greater friendships. It is important that we show interest in people’s opinions – even though sometimes I fail to do so myself!

In conclusion, I feel that effective communication is important to me because it partly defines who I am – my relationship with family and friends and future!