Chin Hwee’s Reflection

After the 2 times of cancellation and postponement of trip due to unforeseen circumstances, we finally managed to go on the trip to Balai last Saturday for our long-prepared service-learning project. Even though it is a mere 1-day trip, I wouldn't say that I have learnt anything from it because what I learnt were bits and pieces of things that I gained by observing the happenings around when I was there.

The bus journey was a meaningful one for me as I looked out the window to watch the people, the things around. I observed how simple the people in Indonesia live their lives- for instance, how they find joy in entertaining themselves by playing around in the bushes by the sea, how little children walk long distances everyday just to attend school because the most common and affordable mode of transport is by foot. Many things I saw set me into deeper thoughts, which i can’t really put into words now. But what I can say is that in a backward country like Indonesia, a less developed country as compared to Singapore, people lead a very simple and easy life although they may not be as educated as us. On the other hand, we Singaporeans often take for granted the comfortable and convenient way of life we have.

At the village school, proper facilities were lacking but education goes on. Therefore, we have to be thankful for the proper school system we have back in Singapore. Nevertheless, I felt welcomed by the little kids, especially when we started to get ready for lunch. There were some of the children who quickly and kindly unstacked the chairs and helped us in arranging them orderly. Later on, they even helped to stack up the chairs when we were clearing up for games after the lessons by the other team. Indeed, we had problems controlling the kids during the 1h of games because of communication barrier. We had a hard time explaining to them what each game was about, instructing them what to go and it was extremely difficult to get them to settle down/quieten down. But after that I thought, maybe that is a learning process for us as we challenge ourselves to manage situations. When circumstances call for it, we have no way to escape, but instead accept whatever that is being thrown to us and learn to handle it ourselves.

I would not deny that the 1½h of free time we had to work on our photo essay was the most enriching part of the trip because my group not only got to wander around to see things but we were very fortunate to meet this 16-year-old teenager who was so nice to share with us about her family, her life and even warmly welcomed us into her hut. Although we couldn’t understand anything that she said, we were fortunate to have Ms Azyanti translating to us what the girl said. By asking her questions, we actually found out that how the villagers lead their everyday life, how much they depend on fishing for survival etc. However, what struck me most was that when we asked her what she usually does everyday, she mentioned that she spend her day doing nothing! I feel very sad for her because her routined lifestyle is all about watching television, playing with her turtle and sit by the door watching the sea, which I thought is rather meaningless. That was when I suddenly felt that perhaps the hectic lifestyle and work we have in Singapore are what make our lives more fulfilling. So I learn that maybe we should stop complaining about the tons and loads of stuffs that we have to do everytime.

Furthermore, it dawned on me about how the complexities of life in we people have made us pampered and have too high expectations of lifestyle and also entertainment. We seem to crave for the newest phone, the best food, the most excellent results and very often unappreciative of the many things around us. By looking at how people in Balai lead their everyday life and stay in such a run-down fishing village where tides go high just before their huts, I learn to be more thankful of the things, the people around me, definitely the concrete life.

In short, very trip gives a different experience. This short trip to Balai has certainly been an exposure, a learning experience for me.