Easter Retreat - Chicago

The visit to Chicago started disastrously. Most of you will be familiar with the “luggage fiasco” by now from earlier posts and comments I have made. I finally received my luggage at Chin Siong’s doorstep 3 days after I arrived in Chicago. Besides this however, the visit didn’t start off too well as I arrived in the midst of a very busy week for Mr Goh, who is preparing for his final thesis. In typical dramatic fashion, the first memorable event that happened when we met was me spilling his iced milk tea all over the seat of his newly bought Mitsubishi Sports Car (yes, Mr Goh drives a hip white sports car which has automatic seatbelts once you sit within. However, he has to manually open both car doors since the remote controls are not working.)

Perhaps the visit to Chicago can be categorized into 3 sections, the first being I going for lessons in the University with Chin Siong, the second being the lunch and dinners I had with a couple of friends, and thirdly, my viewing of the Singapore Students Association’s elections in the University. In sharp contrast to many friends of mine who go around crashing university classes in Singapore, UK, US etc, I myself have never experienced a lecture outside of Cardiff. It was quite an experience to sit inside a public policy lecture and economics lecture in the U of C. What stood out for the former was the huge amount of student participation in the lecture. Apparently, students are graded somewhat according to their participation. I think this produces the occasional smart and useful comment. Nothing stood out from the economics lecture which was on futures and bonds, because I did not understand a thing what was going on. Overall though, it is quite similar to what I experience in Cardiff.

Shawn Loh, my LPTE junior is in U of C reading economics too, and so is Hsin Yao, my Police OCT squad mate. Also in the university reading chemistry is Ghee Chuan, my RI Sec 1 and 2 classmate, and Fabian, my fellow Firefly Scholar. There are a few couple of people I met, ex-RI or HCJC students, during the elections for their students association. In all, there are about 60 Singaporeans in Chicago. While there are more Singaporeans in Cornell, I never met them all at a single event, even Hwa Chong Night in London saw students from all over the UK, not from a single school. Seeing so many people from Singapore, from all periods of my life, in Chicago really makes me realize how many Singaporeans each year go overseas to study. The elections for the office of President saw quite a heated debate on what should the purpose of a Singapore Association be, to serve and benefit the Singaporeans, or to introduce the country and its culture to students of other nationalities in the University. For a small group of 60, I didn’t really like the bureaucracy of it all. I think for small groups, I do not see the need for official posts; it really should just be Singaporeans coming together as friends doing the things they like and keeping each other company. Coming from a university where there are no Singaporeans, I think I really feel that. I do not really see the point of overseas Singapore Student Associations being run like some form of Government or hierarchy; maybe it provides good exposure for working life, or maybe it makes CVs look good, but it definitely fails the test of efficiency, and solidarity if people feel forced into something they wouldn’t otherwise do if not for the mere fact that they were Singaporeans. But it does not really bother me; I like good old Cardiff where Singapore is Foo!

While I mentioned earlier that Chin Siong was busy, it was quite obvious to me that he literally struggled within himself to allocate time for me, to drive me around for meals and etc, and for that, I thank him much! In the past, I would have been quite disappointed when I perceived what to be an unequal balance in friendships or relationships, but maybe the past year or so has taught me that people are different, and instead of imposing your standards on others, why not appreciate what they have already done for you! It was great meeting Shawn who I’ve known since he was 10, he’s really grown up and has his ideas and principles, but I’m glad he hasn’t lost the boy in him. That’s priceless! Hsin Yao and his girlfriend Jingli also brought me out for lunch at McCormick seafood restaurant, it was fun discussing our Barrack days, and having a good laugh about good ol’Dominic and our gruesome kayaking experience in OBS.

Finally, the city of Chicago. Due to time constraints, I could only make a real rushed tour of the Downtown, going down the Magnificent Mile, the Chicago River, and the Millennium Park, briefly popping into the Art Institute of New York. Basically, this was really to see the different architectures of Chicago, which houses many landmark architectural works, including the Sears Tower, John Hancock Building, and a whole range of Modern, Postmodern skyscrapers. The Mile is considered one of the world’s best boulevards and I went on it for a feel of what it was like, even though I had no time to venture into the countless buildings. Besides the architecture, what was quite interesting was the railway line running through downtown, admist the tall buildings. Millennium Park is unique because of its focus of Art over Nature. Subsequent photographs will showcase what I saw.

This was written in Minneapolis- St Paul Intl Airport where I am on transit to my flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a wonderful airport, with possibly the best array of retail and food outlets within the check-in/ transit area. And there are stores showcasing the wolves, grizzly bears and moose of Minnesota, which makes me really feel like visiting Minnesota! Perhaps, I will get to see these in Calgary though!

Till Calgary,
Cexiang
13 April 2007