My first week,
The Orientation camp




The first week was very tough for me because I was not used to the jetlag and and I was directly confronted with a very important culture shock.

Very few Caucasians joined the entire Orientation Camp because most of them thought it was stupid and childish. Well, I came all the way here to see new and different things. So I thought that joining this activity was a good way to start. I was not disappointed in the sense that I saw a lot of things I did not expect at all. I would not say I truly enjoyed myself all the way, but it was a very interesting experience. And I came to meet lots of locals which in itself was worth the entire camp.

The camp lasted for an entire week. We were woken up everyday at around 7am, sometimes earlier, and activities kept going up till midnight or 1am. What was really tough here was that there were activities all the way, and I truly mean ALL THE WAY !!! There was not even one minute of free time where you can enjoy yourself or take some rest for a while.

What surprised me a lot was how childish all the games were. I must say I did not expect that at all. Furthermore, the entire camp was alcohol-free which is totally different from the ones at my university where everybody gets drunk (it is actually the main goal). Also, we had to sing lots of very cute and childish songs which again was very different from all the perverted and alcohol songs I was used to singing.

It was tough because I was confronted within one week to the Asian Group Spirit, and Singapore military style all in one shot. The entire purpose of the camp is to make the juniors part of the Hall Family. For this purpose, lots of games had to be played to enforce term spirit and one of the most intense moment was when we had to learn the Hall Cheers. In my Hall, these cheers are supposed to build the Hall Spirit. The learning process was really tough: All the juniors sat in a square while all the seniors surrounded us. I was expecting another one of those childish songs, but of a sudden, all the seniors started to SHOUT the cheers at us in one synchronized voice. At this moment I thought I was in a cult or something. For the record, here are the lines:


Hall 3 Legion Upside Down
WE ARE THE LEGION AND HALL3'S OUR NAME
IN PRIDE WE STAND TOGETHER
NO ONE CAN MATCH US IN SPIRIT AND FAME
IN STRENGTH WE'RE SET TO CONQUER
WE DO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO
WE LIVE HOW WE WANTED TO LIVE
WE DO WHAT WE PLEASE AS PROUD AS CAN BE
THE LEGION OF HALL3 ! 		ASHES TO ASHES. DUST TO DUST
WE HATE TO BEAT YOU
BUT WE MUST, WE MUST
WHEN YOU'RE UP, YOU'RE UP
WHEN YOU'RE DOWN, YOU'RE DOWN
WHEN YOU'RE UP AGAINST HALL 3
YOU'RE UPSIDE DOWN !


Thunderation
THUNDER, THUNDER, THUNDERATION
WE'RE THE HALL 3 DELEGATION
WHEN WE FIGHT WITH DETERMINATION
WE CREATE A SENSATION !


This was too much for me. My mind totally rejected the idea of singing it. It's not that the lines are that bad, but the way we were supposed to learn it was too much of a dictature. Andrew, an American friend of mine in here, even compared it with the Nazis (of course it is a bit exaggerated but not that much). At this point, I wanted to leave, but I got a strong feeling that by doing so, I would be marginalized for the rest of my stay here. So I stayed there but I could not force myself to open my mouth.

I know it sounded really bad, but overall it was really memorable. We played lots of games all around Singapore - at Sentosa, Orchard Road and so on. We learned a mass dance and this was really fun. When 100 people are dancing to the same choreography and you're actually part of it, it's such a cool feeling. We also went through what they called the "SP Nite" (Secret Pal Night). Every junior was given a nicknameand all these nicknames went by pairs (Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman, Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky and so on...) and nobody knew who was his/her SP. On the last night, there was a big party (still alcohol-free) where all the couples were actually brought together. It was very fun. The seniors had set up a dinner with candles and a show for all the couples to watch and take part in. This also was different from what I had experienced before. At my university, it goes on further, like everybody gets drunk and in the morning, we count how many couples have been formed during the night :)

Anyway, I am very happy I took part in it. But I must still warn the future exchange students that they have to be mentally prepared if they intend to join the orientation camp. What I mean by "mentally prepared" is to be prepared to think "It's just different" and smile about it. It is very easy to fall in the trap of "This sucks, it is so childish, stupid people !!". So relax, have fun and don't worry :)

My friend in here - My parents who came to visit me - My fairy alcoholic tale
Mooncake Festival - The Hello Kitty Craze - Chinese New Year

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