Some of my thoughts on our two weeks of exploring Singapore.
Category Archives: Reflections
Reflections that are responding to assessment task 1C.
Dont cry because its over, smile because it happened
“Don’t CRY because its over, SMILE because it happened!” (Unknown, n.d.)
I know what your thinking… doesn’t he normally start off with a Dr Seuss quote? Some of you may even be thinking ‘that is a Dr Seuss 
quote…’ but heres the thing, it’s not. In fact he never wrote this at all. It has simply been associated with him due to the fact it sounds like something he would write, an assumption. My old man used to tell me that you should never ‘assume’ anything. His reasoning for this was that ‘it makes an ass out of you and me‘ and in my experience these words have held true.
Assuming that you know how other people think, what they want, how they will react. That your plan is flawless or even the assumption that because you know all of these things.. nothing could go wrong. Your being an ass, and you are wrong, but we all do it.
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Bounded By Land, Bonded By Culture
Singapore! Wow – what a proud and resilient country. It doesn’t take long to see the multiculturalism everywhere you look. Singaporean, Malayan, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and the list goes on. I was quickly swept up into a whirlwind of new knowledge and relationships, particularly over such a short period of time. Simply by walking through a Hawkers Centre or a local market you can see everyone working together in sync. The importance of relationships with others cannot be overstated. Yet, I found myself wondering how is this possible? How is a society so culturally differing function and communicate so effectively? Then it hit me. There seems to be a tacit willingness to make it work. The first barrier they faced was language and because of this there seems to be a universal adoption of english for the majority of people. It allows relationships with others to firstly exist and secondly flourish. I know if this wasn’t the case I would have encountered many more issues as I travelled.
Who am I?
One day long ago,
Is where it all began.
Far away in Otago,
I laughed and played and ran.
I swam in the creek,
and rode on my horse.
I played with my friends,
Hiding amongst the gorse.
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success!
Over my time here spent in Singapore, I can’t help but notice how much new knowledge, relationships and connections I have gained over such a short amount of time.
I have meet new people, visited different places, gained a wealth of knowledge about myself, others, nature and the culture of Singapore. But none of this could of happened without the support and guidance of others. How I see it is that when you gather a groups of people from around the world who both share such passion for the Outdoor Environment and the Outdoor Education outcomes, something magical happens. We begin to grow and flourish our ideas together to make something wonderful happen.
We may be small in size, but we are large in character
The fact that Singapore stretches a tiny 42km across and 20km from top to bottom may appear like a limiting factor in terms of utilising the environment as a platform to build a stronger mentality, but you would be wrong! From what I have seen Singapore has high values in regards to developing a strong and resilient society. They understand the significance of developing self and how crucial the character traits are in directing the country into the future. However, in saying this you may wonder how they aim to achieve this? Surely it doesn’t just occur on it’s own?
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Sharing Ideas and Knowledge…The Heart of Outdoor Education
As a collective, the Federation University groups’ views and perceptions about outdoor education – it’s context and its value – are basically on the same wavelength. Going through four years of a university degree and being surrounded by a group of like minded people has not only furthered my knowledge and understanding of OE, but I also feel that it may have caused me to become narrow minded, in the sense of believing that everyone who is involved in outdoor education, regardless of where they are in the world, followed the same beliefs that I did.
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‘Generation Y-Fi’ & ‘Quality over Quantity?’
Singapore – You have done it again!!! Two weeks of learning is beginning to really sink in and more specifically my awareness of the potential negative influences of technology to the interpersonal skills of the next generation. Additionally, I’m exploring the ideas surrounding Singapore’s key Outdoor Education outcomes and whether they are achieving fewer outcomes but in a more effective way.
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“Cleaning from the heart or from the wallet?”
Nature is experienced in many different ways around Singapore. It comes in many forms; natural, secondary re-growth, and human-made.
These natural spaces attract people. Humans leave footprints and rubbish. Singapore has a reputation for cleanliness in every area of the city. But are the Singaporeans cleaning from their hearts or from their wallets?
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Connecting through ICT
Never in my life have I been more aware of how technology dependent we are. Sure, I knew that technology dependence is something that all developed nations are dealing with and that it is just as big in Melbourne or Sydney, but for some reason I have noticed it here. Maybe it is due to the hundreds of people I have seen engaged by their devices on the SMRT, or even the ones that attempt to walk around while watching their favourite shows (Yes that’s you lady who ran into me on the escalator)! Or perhaps it is due to the fact that the majority of our transport around the city has been zipping around in a fast, automatic subway. Whatever the reason, I have noticed, and I can’t help but wonder the potential for Information Communication Technology to increase the potential for development of others in Outdoor Education.