Reflection Paper

Two years ago, I received an email that would forever change the way I view this group of people commonly stereotyped as “terrorists”. Nanyang Technological University's Muslim Society (NTUMS) had planned an expedition to Aceh, Indonesia as part of their community project to aid the victims of the 2004 killer tsunami. The president of Red Cross Singapore, who supported this expedition, required them to include non-Muslims in the expedition to promote cultural understanding and to open up this opportunity for people outside the NTU Muslim Community. Realizing that this is a very rare opportunity to pass up, I immediately voiced out my interest and was very fortunate to have been included. The following is a very raw account of what happened which I wrote right after I got back from the life-altering trip:

"My two weeks in Aceh is the highlight of my summer, and is probably the best two consecutive weeks of my life so far. But honestly, for the first two days of my stay there, I was already dying to go home. EVERYTHING IS JUST SO DIFFERENT. I was the only non-Singaporean in our team, and I was the only non-Muslim everywhere we went. Even in the language department, I was the only one that differed. My so-called conversation with the locals could rarely get past "Nama saya Korinna. Um, nama? (while pointing to the person I'm talking to)". That's my attempt at saying my name in Bahasa Indonesia and trying to ask the other party's name.

As if the language barrier is not enough, it is even compounded by my having to adapt to a different culture and living conditions. Every house or building I go to, I must remove my footwear even if the floor is quite muddy; and I must cover up (read: long pants and long-sleeved top plus tudong, the Muslim headgear for girls) even if the place is as tropical as it can be and it feels sticky and humid. And let's not fail to mention the prison food; the battalion of mosquitoes; the rusty water if there is any; the regular blackouts; the cold, hard floor to sleep in and the subsequent back aches; and worst of all, I stunk a lot that time. I vividly remember asking God 25,000 times for those first two days what the heck I was doing there, and asking Him to please take me back home...and imagining being in a chopper going back to Singapore ahead of the group...haha. I sms-ed Ivy my woes and I also sms-ed Kuya Martin for strength and clarification because my newfound Muslim friends and I were having a friendly discussion about our respective faiths.

…I foresee that a bulk of my subsequent posts will still be about my Aceh trip. BECAUSE OF THOSE KIDS. And my amazing team mates who gave me a very warm welcome in their group despite our differences. (Oh, suddenly I remember this adage about not seeing eye-to-eye but working hand-in-hand. Just fitting.)

They shall be in my heart forever."

This experience had been my first real-life lesson regarding diversity. The word “diversity” means many things to different people. We see diversity as “all the ways we differ and are the same.” This concept encompasses, but is not limited to, human differences with regard to race, ethnicity, gender, culture, and physical ability. However, habitual ways of thinking about diversity brings about stereotyping others, having prejudice, and exercising discrimination because differences are usually magnified rather than the similarities.

Through this experience, I learned how to reframe diversity. I have analyzed the process