LEP Scholarship Interview

"If you were to choose an animal to describe you, what would it be?"

Never did this type of question cross my mind when I was preparing for this interview.

I mean, what has this question got to do with a scholarship that is to be awarded to students who study Chinese Literature?

At that moment, I feel like I am contesting for the prestigious title of "Miss Universe 2006".

"Dog," I replied, "because I am a loyal and faithful person, just like my passion towards the Chinese language."

Immediately after I said that, somehow an impulse was generated from nowhere and was transmitted by some sensory neurone to the relay neurone then to the hypothalamus in my brain. The hypothalamus then detected this impulse and generated another impulse down the motor neurone to stimulate the erector muscles under my skin to contract so that the hair on my skin would be erected.

In short, goosebumps were raised.

No doubt that i am truly passionate about the language, I find my answer too mushy for my own liking, ironically.

Anyways, I think I screwed up my interview.

Not because of this sole question that stumped me for a couple of seconds, but the fact that 2 of the panel expressed their concern over my decision of not choosing to study at China universities should I be given an opportunity to study overseas.

I voiced out my thoughts about studying at China, that the environment there (not just physical, but also social) is not ideal for my tertiary education, that the "culture gap" between Singapore and China is far too wide.

One of the panel, to my utter horror, "reprimanded" me by saying that, "we take in students to go through this [Chinese Language Elective]programme, so that they can be well-versed in the Chinese language, history and culture so that they are able to work at China with the Chinese, and yet you are telling that there is such a "gap"? Did you watch "Sisy's World News" (《文茜的世界周报》)? Don't you know that China is now making a trenmendous economic progress?"

To put it nicely, I beg to differ. To be more straightforward, I totally disagree with your point and I think that such a viewpoint should not even be considered at all!

I mean, why do we have to learn the Chinese language just because China's making a huge econmic development? So that we can trade with the mainland Chinese and negotiate and discuss terms with them? Why must people be so pragmatic? Why must they tie the learning of a foreign language to business opportunities?

In any case, I am not venturing into business while I step into adulthood.

It's just appalling to hear adults around me, be it my Chinese teachers, parents, government representatives, and even this official from the Ministry of Education, to have this thought that "we must learn the Chinese language so that we can trade with them in future."

That's a way too naive and simplistic approach for us to develop our economic ties with China.

It just shows the ugly, pragmatic and pathetic side of us money-minded fellows, who are desperately dependent on other countries for own our survival.

So, what's next? India is rising, let's now all rush to the nearest tuition centre and start learning Hindi?

And oh, Africa will rise next. So let's start learning Swahili?

There is a purpose why English is being declared as the universal language.

Back to my point, so why can't we just innocently fall in love with the Chinese language? I choose to offer this subject simply because of my passion towards it, and not because I wanna earn big bucks at China twenty years down the road.

I have this burning passion, but those in the workforce feels that I should bepragmatic instead of being passionate.

It's like getting married. People get married because they are in love. Shortgun marriages aside, seldom do people get married because they want to have babies. They ain't sex slaves or reproductive machinese afterall. You hardly see people getting married without falling in love just to reproduce.

You may rebutt that some of our parents, or our grandparents did not choose their marriages, but instead their marriage was pre-determined by their parents. Despite that, they still manage to love each other and live through the marriage with their life.

I won't call that develop the love after marriage. I'd call it "getting used to it".

What I am trying is to say is, not everything we do are for a pragmatic reason. Many a times, we do such things out of our passion. They call it "impulse".

It's a feeling that comes from the bottom of our heart. The truest and most honest feeling without frills.

I guess at the end of the day, the Minstry probably just wants to generate a bunch of pragmatic and hypocritical students who would deceive themselves for pragmatic reasons.

Poor souls.