Final Reflection on Learning

The course was a very fun and interesting one...learning about things that I never really figured would matter in communication. Mainly, when and how to be more formal and do things the..."proper" way. This became evident in pretty much all the things I did...interviews...projects....and even in writing letters. I tended to be very informal in everything and I guess knowing a way to both "be myself" while still keeping it formal would definitely help. Eventually I kind of got better after the peer teaching and that massacre of an interview (those who were there knows >.>) Overall, the experience I got and skill I learned would definitely help me in future presentations and projects when I need to do even more and harder things.

I got to know a lot more people in my first semester here. The class was real friendly and somehow accepted my quirkiness (I guess? =D) Either way, this made it all the more fun since everyone was real chatty and gave their opinions openly on many different topics. I got to hear many interesting stories about many different things like culture, life, society and all that. These are things that are good to know since you never know when you might be accidentally insulting someone...or purposely..hehe...

When it came to the projects and presentations, my group pretty much got them done as well as we could considering how little time each of us had. We covered for each other when we were free and the others were doing exams and stuff. When we couldn't meet, we used the internet and settled things from there. We pretty much did things real efficiently. Course, most of this was because my group-mates were really good (considering they all pretty much did this before) and they did what work that they could. And for that, I am grateful....if you read a previous post of mine regarding my experience with projects....you'd get why...hehe...So yea...thanks Isabel, Jin Yuan and Yu Xin!

In the end...I'd say I'm a bit sad that it all ended so quickly...but in any case...I had an awesome run with the class and to that I'd say "GG".....and not the bad sort either..hehe...

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

Being practically a foreigner in Singapore...you could say that everyday pretty much equals intercultural interaction. Still, I have been here quite a while and have had to learn the sort of basic language types as well as traditions that need to be respected. In essence, experience is a very important aspect when it comes to intercultural behavior.

By language, I mean that for some reason people seem to mistake me for either a Malay or a Chinese. Local Malays and Chinese often tend to assume either and speak to me in the respective language.

 Malay, I studied in school previously so it is not really that much of a problem unless they speak far too quickly for my rudimentary knowledge to understand. Usually its fine though, school actually helped me in life for once O.o.

Chinese, on the other hand, I had to sort of understand on an experience basis, as well as trial and error. I sort of know what words mean like say...I don't know how to say it....but...lets just say Chinese words for "where", "how to go" and maybe "don't want" or "want". These are words I often get asked since many people tend to communicate with me for directions and the like. From there, I sort of just go with what they are saying and help them accordingly. Another bit I often end up with is with counting money. That, I actually went out to learn. Things like "dollar" would be "mao" or sth like that....and 1 to 10, would be like "I er san si...." (I have no idea how to write in dat dere pinyin). 

So yea....language is a very big part of intercultural behavior, especially if you know little about the culture. When I first came here like 11 years ago, I'd say things like taking off your shoes when entering someone else's house and seeing people burning josssticks were very new and unusual to me. Eventually I learned it was a common thing and sort of learned to follow up and not be completely surprised when people do them here.

Overall, I would say Singapore has many different cultures in it and is a very interesting place in that sense, and is a place where you can see inter-culture everywhere =3

Application Letter Critique

Job Advert

If you are bright, self-motivated and believe that you can contribute, a career with CAAS may be just what you are looking for. You will be rewarded with competitive remuneration and benefits. And, throughout your career, enjoy opportunities and training designed for your professional and personal development.
Undergraduate Internship Programme
Job Reference:
Post Date: 28 Aug 12
As an outstanding individual with a strong academic and leadership track record, you may be looking to launch your career with the dynamic civil aviation industry. The CAAS Undergraduate Internship Programme is an excellent opportunity for you to get a career headstart.

We welcome outstanding undergraduates from all disciplines of study (except Medicine and Dentistry) to apply to us. Priority will be given to 3rd and 4th year students.

The internship will last for a minimum duration of 12 weeks. Candidates who are able to commit for a longer duration may indicate in their application. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to meet us for an interview. Successful candidates will be assigned to one of the divisions and undertake project(s) under the mentorship and guidance of our experienced senior officers.

Your application should be accompanied by a cover letter indicating your preferred division(s) at CAAS and the exact dates that you are able to commit for the internship.



September 14 2012

John Immanuel Santos Caleon
Hougang Avenue X #XX-XXX Blk XXX
Singapore XXXXXX

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
60 Airport Boulevard
4th Storey, Terminal 2
Singapore Changi Airport
Singapore 819643

Dear CAAS internship personnel,

I am currently a year 3 undergraduate studying Mechanical Engineering at NUS. I sincerely wish that you would consider taking me in for the Undergraduate Internship Programme, in the Air Transport Division.

I really hope to get this internship as I intend to be an airline pilot as my career of choice. I have ridden on an airplane many times and have always wanted to be the one flying it. This is my dream and I am certainly going to do my very best to fulfill it. The programme’s links and relation to the SIA make it a perfect programme for me to undertake while studying in the university.

I have been doing very well in my studies and CCA so I think I would definitely be able to handle an internship for at least 14 weeks. My CAP’s have been relatively  high at around 4.3 so far and the squash team has been winning quite a few varsity tournaments.

In addition,  my studies in Engineering also involve the use of much logic and critical thinking, as well as good instinct and intuition, ensuring that my skills would be sufficient to learn and do the best I can during the internship. I have even been taking modules related to Aeronautical Engineering like Aerodynamics and Propulsion, most of which would likely be very relevant to this line of industry. Also, the various projects I have done often involved working with a team. I usually worked as project lead and so far, my projects have received high marks and were done well before the due date.

Overall, I believe that I would do very well for this programme and am very excited to have the opportunity to take it on. If you would like to talk to me or schedule an interview, please call me at 9XXXXXXX. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,


John Caleon

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

My story involves me helping a friend of mine out with her project. Let's call her Legendary Girl A. I basically did the drawings and illustrations for some parts of her arts and design project. Usually another friend of mine, Raz, would be helping us as well, giving his ideas and planning meetings and stuff. The project took about 3-4 weeks and she gave me quite a lot of drawings to do. I found it rather fun and interesting since I was putting my hobby to the test and learning a bunch of things about drawing along the way. As such, I pretty much enjoyed myself, especially since this project was done during my holidays before going into NUS when I didn't really have any specific "job" to do.

The one problem I had with Legendary Girl A was that when we had to meet, she was either terribly late or did not show up at all. This was really very irritating to me since I was drawing stuff, meaning I needed her to tell me exactly how she wanted the illustrations drawn. Being told over the phone or text messages was not enough since she often had a lot of requirements in her project that I needed to see to follow. Her late-coming meant I wasted quite a lot of time waiting when I could have been finishing up the project. Other times it meant that I had to re-do some parts since she told me instructions that I found vague, realizing only later how exactly to do the drawing when she explained it in person.

She does realize that her late-coming was an actual problem. Her explanation or excuse, however you choose to interpret it, was that she had a lot of other projects to do and she could not find the ability to manage her time properly such that she got to places on time. She also mentioned that she was causing herself problems since she would end up pushing her project deadlines because of it. I was not really convinced but I never really told her how very annoyed I was with the late-coming thing, though I considered it a lot as she continued with her...habit.

Still, Legendary Girl A was often not around for me to even complain to, so I often ranted to my friend Raz about her late-coming. At some point, when Legendary Girl A was late again and only Raz and I were there, I got pissed so Raz kind of told her over the phone about our situation when he called to ask where she was. A few moments later, she called me and apologized profusely, to which I mentioned the fact that she was late so many times in the past and I got ticked off then too. She continued apologizing, promising to treat me to something later on after the project was over as well as saying that she would not be late any more.

Regardless, I continue to work with her on her project for another week or so, finishing it up. She still gets late, though not as late as before so I guess she kind of upheld her end? Never got that treat from her though >.>

What do you think could I have done better? Should I have said something waaay earlier? Personally perhaps and not through someone else? (Sure, in this case I didnt really tell Raz to do anything but I could have easily stopped him so essentially I told Legendary Girl A through him.) Also, was her reason actually sufficient for being late? I wonder then as I wonder now if things could have been done differently for everyone's benefit.

*P.S. Legendary Girl A is a nod to Lucky Star, though this girl has nothing in common with her, just sounded awesome to use =3*

Effective Communication Skills

Well, from what I can see...I think the course pretty much teaches us the basics of "work language". This, I figure, is essentially how to talk and communicate such that you avoid conflict and misunderstanding at work, as well as allowing you to present yourself well so that you can move up the ranks at your workplace. It also appears to involve knowing how to do reports and projects properly.

For me, I would say that it is a useful skill since it's something that I would need and currently do not have at all. For example, should I be sending an email to my boss, I have no idea what is the proper way of phrasing things. I know this from experience since I worked a little part-time before university, involving transcribing videos of lab classes at NTU. When it came to the point where I was done with my work and was to send the files to the teacher-in-charge, I felt uneasy and unsure on what message to attach to the file. My message pretty much amounted to: "Well, here are the files, thank you". From reading some of these Professional communication stuff, I'd say that wasn't very good...er...professionally.

Of course, the module is not just about files and paperwork but actual talking. I can talk to people well enough (my time in the class will probably test that theory) but when it comes to work I am unsure. At my NTU job (since that really was my only job...ever..) I was unsure how to approach the teachers that I needed to talk to. It is true I just kind of walked up and said what I needed, but removing that anxiety would be something that could come from experience which is basically part of the module itself.

Summing up, I dont know how to talk professionally and the module will do just that.