Two Homes

Transcribing Jia Jia’s interview was a good learning experience for me. Having a second hearing on our conversations revealed a few things to me:

1) It is never easy to be plucked from your homeland to a new environment. It is already difficult for an adult, what more a child

2) Having to own two homes can be confusing for a child, especially when both hold fond memories during a child’s important growing up years.

Our globalised world has indeed changed things. While it may now be easier to trek around the globe and find a new home, globalisation brings with it a new set of social concerns that need to be pondered over. Many of the students and graduates we have interviewed seem to display a strong love for their homeland, but find Singapore hard to leave. Singapore has become an important aspect of their lives, having been the place where they build childhood memories, find love and a prospective home for the future as well.

Their journey in Singapore has impacted them considerably. If we continue to bring in PRC scholars and Chinese students into our schools and universities, Singaporeans must be aware that the Chinese (and I’m sure for other foreigners as well) also find their stay in Singapore meaningful for the reasons stated above. We share our homes with others who also feel some form of attachment to Singapore, even if some say Singapore is just a plateau of convenience for them to reach their goals.

Jia Jia’s interview emphasised the experience of a student coming to another country to study while still being young and impressionable. While coming to Singapore much earlier than her SM1 & SM3 counterparts, she has developed a better understanding of Singapore and to a certain extend, has developed a Singaporean identity.

Though still claiming to be “patriotic”, she mentioned how her Chinese has “deteriorated” (perhaps she lost her accent), her “oil baron” dad encouraging her to apply for Singapore Citizenship because he “didn’t think (she) would be able to adapt to the culture back home”, since she would not have a network or “guan xi” (something I never knew about the Chinese) to survive her career in China and having a Singaporean boyfriend, proving that her stay in Singapore during her important growing up years has resulted in her attaching sentiments of attachment to Singapore.

In a sense, coming here at such a young age has chipped off some of her Chinese identity, though not totally. At some point of her interview, I was amazed at how she could remember details of her primary school days despite having left China almost 15 years ago, such as the activities she did during her Communist Youth days. While she professes her love for China deeply, I couldn’t help but think that some parts of her would never forget Singapore, especially those related to her youth and her education.

I wonder if her memories of Singapore would be just as vivid when she leaves the Little Red Dot one day, if she eventually does in the end, as it was with her memories of China.

Next up, I will talk about our interview with Guo. Like Jia Jia, Guo came at a very young age, when he was still in Primary School. I find their experiences similar…

- (Na)Bila