Outgoing Exchange Students

My SEP Experience

Goh Shu Shang
Faculty of Science
SEP to Cornell University, USA

I went for my exchange to Cornell University and it was definitely one of the most interesting phases of my life. The experience of being away from home was completely unlike campus life at NUS. Firstly, I was like a thousand over miles away from sunny Singapore. Secondly, I couldn't go home whenever I wanted (flying halfway around the world is quite expensive!).

I arrived in Cornell right smack in the middle of winter. The bitter cold (as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius!) was really unbearable at times – what's worse was that there was no place to escape to (unlike sunny Singapore ). The warmest place would perhaps be my room (with a pathetic small pipe as the heater). Initially, the sudden change in environment coupled with my bout of winter rash (I would advise you to slap on generous amounts of moisturizer!!!) made me really homesick.

Bleak as I just made it seem, things improved as the days passed. As my body adjusted to the cold weather, I began to enjoy what sunny Singapore does not offer. It was a really novel experience to trudge through snow on my way to school. I also found it interesting to experience what it is like to wear a parka, trench coat, and sweaters to class (because nobody does this in Singapore !). On top of that, I took up skiing classes, which I really enjoyed (I would recommend taking up thrilling snow sports e.g. snowboarding and skiing).

Despite the fact that Cornell is in New York State, it is really not as city-like as one may think. It is a good four hours away from Manhattan ( New York City ), and you can't expect to see malls lining the streets in Ithaca (where Cornell is situated). Ithaca is a small, peaceful, and friendly city (I think ‘town' would be a better description). This quiet, laid-back community is a great get-away from the hustle and bustle of city life (that's one of the reasons why I chose Cornell). The Cornellian community is a friendly and scholarly community. I love the classic and cozy libraries, of which I am most awed by Andrew Dickson White room in Uris library. And yes, there are cafés in the school libraries! Perhaps it's the American way of school life, but I was rather taken aback by the Cornell professors when they told us to address them by their first names. I don't think such a scenario would ever happen in Singapore, where we're taught from a young age to address teachers by their last names.