YOU CAME TO SINGAPORE AT 13. WHY DID YOUR PARENTS DECIDE TO SEND YOU HERE?
My parents didn’t plan to send me to Singapore at such a young age. They wanted to send me somewhere like the UK after my A-levels.
My father met up with his friend and that friend’s son, who at that time, was already planning to come to Singapore. They talked for 30 minutes, just 30 minutes! And he decided to send me here. He listened to his friend’s recommendation of Singapore and made that decision really quick.
I’m still good friends with the son, and he came to support me at the finals.
WHAT WAS THE TOUGHEST THING YOU HAD TO DO WHEN YOU MOVED HERE ALONE?
To not let my parents worry about me. That was hard. Whenever I got sick, if it wasn’t too serious, I wouldn’t tell them. I also needed to make sure I was eating well, and check in with them whenever I was going to be home late.
YOU HAD TO BE VERY INDEPENDENT AT A YOUNG AGE. DID YOU GET INTO ANY TROUBLE WITHOUT YOUR PARENTS KNOWING?
I definitely had a lot of freedom, and when I was in secondary school, I would sometimes tell them I was back home when I was actually still out or hanging out at my friend’s place. They would reply “Okay, sleep early” and I would be like “Yay!”. Other than that, I didn’t really get into any trouble.
YOU LIVE IN SEMBAWANG NOW, BUT YOU USED TO ATTEND SECONDARY SCHOOL IN THE EAST. WHY NOT RENT SOME PLACE NEARER TO SCHOOL?
I was from Ping Yi Secondary which later merged with Bedok Green Secondary School, and I used to live in that area. I moved to Sembawang four months ago, and I’m renting a room. I have three roommates, a dog and a cat at my new place.
I wanted to move away from Bedok because I was bored living in that area, and I wanted to check out another neighbourhood. That’s also one of the reasons I chose to go to Nanyang Poly. But now… I’m starting to think that the east side is really the best side ‘cause there’s nothing much in Sembawang also!
HOW WAS YOUR MANDARIN WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO SINGAPORE?
My Mandarin was pretty bad. You know how Hong Kong people will speak Mandarin with a strong accent, right? It’s harder to understand.
In Singapore, my roommates are mostly from China and I talk to them every day. I still have the [Hong Kong] accent but I think I’ve gotten slightly better.
WE UNDERSTAND YOU JUST FINE!
Thank you. I think I’ve managed to learn quite a bit from them so it’s time to practise my English now.
My parents wanted me to attend junior college, but I failed my English ‘O’ level exam. I didn’t really want to go to JC as well. I wanted to try business or early childhood education, but because I didn’t pass English, the next best option was IT.
I’ve come to realise that IT is also quite fun. I learned the coding languages, but I only studied for four months then deferred a semester for Star Search, and I forgot everything. Fair enough, right?
