This is what I sent to IDA. Sounds a little corny but who cares?

IDA Silicon Valley Trip 2007 Reflections

From the moment I stepped out of the plane onto US soil, I’ve began to experience a whole new side of life that I’ve not been able to in my sheltered life in Singapore. Some of them I have anticipated through my readings and so I have not. Not wanting to sound exaggerating, even though these new experiences are not life changing per se, they have opened up my eyes bigger.

Security Threats are Very Real

One of the first and last things I noticed when I entered San Francisco International Airport was the tightened security; it was visibly tighter than Singapore’s security. The tireless efforts to track the identities of visitors through photo taking and the meticulous checking of checked in baggage when we left from Los Angeles International Airport clearly showed this.

This really strikes home the point that security threats in the form of terrorism are very real. We have been living under a dome sheltered from the outside world thanks to our efficient government’s handling of previous terrorism threats. While I am not blaming the government for doing a good job, I think that Singaporeans are rather complacent with their lives. This is perhaps videos of terrorism threats can be found at the screens of every MRT stations in Singapore.

American Culture

Though I do not claim that I know a lot ,I have read and learnt much about the American Culture through websites and books: their friendliness and their eating culture just to name a couple. Reading and experiencing the culture are two different experiences and it was certainly fulfilling for me to have had the chance to experience a minute portion of their culture through this trip.
The Americans seem to be able to strike a conversation with just about anyone – even strangers. When walking into any shops in America, one can be sure that he will be greeted by one of the staff. Even when making payments, the cashier can strike up conversations with the customer. These are just a couple of numerous instances to prove the point.

This led me to reflect on the service standards in Singapore. We have been lamenting about the poor service standards in Singapore the longest time and despite the efforts of the government to promote better service quality, we have yet to see much progress. I was a little amused a while ago when the government launched the “Million Smiles Campaign” in anticipation of the IMF World Bank meeting in Singapore. There have even been comments that our smiles looked “fake”.

While I am not advocating, in any way, that the American Culture is superior, the primary reason for the lack of warmth in service in Singapore is probably due to the basis of our Asian Culture. The Confucius’ teachings of not talking unless necessary have deeply influenced Asian culture and this is hard to change overnight. We will need to do a lot more work to improve on this.
I have also observed that there seem to be a larger breadth of doing crazy thing to tread around with in America. They seem to do all sorts of crazy pranks on each other, most notably among rival schools such as UC Berkeley and Stanford. If such things were to happen in Singapore, the persons involved would have been crucified and frowned upon by the general society.

Necessary Skills for the 21st Century

The various presentations given by the Infocomm companies such as Oracle, Cisco Systems and Adobe has further affirmed my understanding that to excel and be successful in the 21st Century, in the Infocomm industry or otherwise, it takes more than just a degree or a string of school achievements.

The “human network” emphasized by Cisco really struck me as the most important element. We need to be able to keep a wide circle of relations for both social and pragmatic reasons. We need to forge new friendships and keep old ones. Through this trip, I have managed to make new friends with similar interests from other schools that I would not have had a chance to meet. Existing friendships were also strengthened as we grew closer to each other.

Communication is the next vital skill required. To be able to communicate well to convey messages and ideas is essential. I watched with envy as the various presenters presented their case with no lack of confidence. I remember the various presentations I have made in the past and I was nowhere near the tip of their skills. I still have a lot of work to do to improve on my presentation skills.

Being Outspoken

Singaporean students tend to be more passive during class than their counterparts elsewhere. It seems like we usually don’t dare to speak up or are afraid of saying the wrong things. This happened during the trips when there were question and answer sessions. It was a little embarrassing during several sessions when almost no questions were raised. I was guilty of not speaking up too. There is still a lot to be done. Perhaps being forced to speak up more during classes should help make us less passive.

Future Plans

I am planning and hoping to be able to obtain a scholarship and have a college education in the United States. I want to be able to experience a different lifestyle away from home in the last years of my education and be able to grow more independent.
The visit to the various universities on this trip has further made me interested in going to the US for future studies. The environments of the universities are significantly different from Singapore and the testimonials of the Singaporean students studying there have further affirmed my plans.

However, at the same time, the trip has prompted me to work even harder to achieve this goal. The anecdotes of said Singaporean students have given me a general idea on the difficulty and competiveness in getting into these top-tiered universities.

On the Future of the Infocomm Industry

The various presentations by a few of the core Infocomm companies have made me really excited about the future of the Infocomm Industry. From the innovative new software coming from Adobe to the hypothetical networked world presented by Cisco (“We have built the internet; it’s now your turn to bring it to greater heights.”) and finally to the evolution of computer processing presented by Intel, the future of the infocomm industry looks bright. Though I won’t be joining the legions of computer scientists and programmers in the industry, I would be more than willing to play my part in the area of computer hardware as an engineer.

Conclusion

I have thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Silicon Valley. Despite the upcoming exams after the trip, we have managed to slot in study times during long period of travelling, albeit with arguable success, and this didn’t affect the enjoyment of the trip in any manner. In spite of my initial reluctance to embark on the trip due to said exams, I have not regretted the decision in any manner. The experiences gained during the trip cannot be bought by money or by good grades.

Tags: US Silicon Valley 2007