On integration
Now that I’ve started to update this blog again, I’ve noticed visitor counts increase rapidly over the past few months. I feel a bit guilty for letting the blog die in the first few months of Stanford- but I was really busy getting used to the new life here.
A drawing my friend made of me
On hindsight I should have documented the process of fitting into a new culture, for the benefit of those who will go through the same process in the future- and also for myself. Getting used to American culture, from the perspective of one who has been raised in a very conservative family, was down beneath all of it was a momentous struggle of clashing identities. I recall describing to my best friend that it was akin to “being a China scholar” in Singapore*.
I am still discovering who I am, as one who straddles both cultures. Part of me remains forever Singaporean, but another part of me is increasingly shaping to be a global citizen, aware (and oft wary) of the world.
I’ve decided I’ll update this blog once every three days (or whenever something interesting happens- I reckon my life generates one interesting thing every 3 days). Lets see how long this resolution lasts… 
(* Students from China who study in Singaporean high schools, and are oft derided by for their inability to fit into Singaporean culture. I however observed that they adapt to the new foreign culture (i.e. American) better and faster than most overseas Singaporeans…)
