Jessica Chou

I wanted to experience something outside of the world I knew at Berkeley. I chose Singapore because it is a global, cosmopolitan city in Southeast Asia, a part of the world I've never explored before. It is also English and Mandarin-speaking, and has courses in my major that ensures I can still stay on track for graduation.

I'd wake up in Eusoff Hall, a residential hall on campus, and get dressed and ready for the day. I'd eat breakfast, sometimes from the dining hall within the dormitory, and then head out to class! For lunch, the canteens on campus are delicious and there are a ton of options to choose from. On days with no class, I'd head to U-Town with some friends to study, or go off campus to explore the city. For dinner, I'd come back to Eusoff dining hall or grab something outside and finish off the day chilling with friends in hall.

I took an architecture studio class, a geography course, and a real estate course. The studio course was a lot more technical and rigorous than the ones I'd experienced at Berkeley and pushed me to really hone my craft, technical, and presentation skills. The geography course was interesting because it approached topics I'd learned about in Berkeley through a unique Singaporean lens. My favorite was the real estate class because it introduced me to urban planning, land use principles, and real estate policies in Singapore that has led me to write my senior thesis about Singapore and related ideas.

I learned that the world is big, but sometimes, it can be small too. In many ways, study abroad has widened my horizons in a million ways but also shown me that the world isn’t all that big and scary, that it’s only a flight, a train, a bus, a car ride and hello away. There’s something so exciting to know that I did it by myself: travel and study abroad in a foreign country where I knew no one, met a ton of people, made lifetime friends, and carved out a space and role for me in a new city. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.

It's hard to pinpoint one most meaningful aspect of my time abroad, but I would say the people, the places, and most importantly, what exchange symbolized to me: a period of utmost freedom, independence, exploration, discovery, growth, and openness.

Part of me is going to miss the people: exchange friends, classmates, hall friends, NUS friends, kind grab drivers, hawker uncles, everyone who’s helped make this experience so personal; and the places where it all happened: Eusoff residential hall, colorful shophouses, bus stations, MRT stations, random cafes, Marina Bay, parks, restaurants, clubs, bars, past midnight shenanigans in who know where, friends homes, museums, downtown, in transit, in a grab, on planes, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and everywhere in between.

But it’s the feelings I felt, the attitude towards life, the knowledge that I’m here to have learn, explore, have fun, meet new people, experience new things that was the most impactful. In a place halfway across the world from home, I've grown to love a newfound, albeit temporary home.

Just go for it! You won't regret it.