新加坡日記~AIESEC與我
This is an entry by Rick from Taiwan NTLC (National Taiwan University Local Committee), a master exchange student in NTU. Credits to Nicholas Ong, a very nice alumnus who put in the effort to make a good translation!
新加坡日記~AIESEC與我
This is an entry by Rick from Taiwan NTLC (National Taiwan University Local Committee), a master exchange student in NTU.
談到新加坡，首先要追溯我和AIESEC的淵源。第一次接觸發生在2003年AP in Korea，我認識其中幾位新加坡朋友；第二次是在2004年AP in Taiwan，當年的代表團帶了朋友的明信片，我也參觀他們在Global Village的攤位；第三次接觸就是2005年的過境停留，住在當地一位朋友家，並且嚐了一些道地美食；第四次是2006年我去土耳其的過境，不過當時並沒有入關，只有短暫停留。
My relationship with Singapore has to be traced back to my beginnings with AIESEC. My first encounter happened in APXLDS (Korea) back in 2003 where I made a few friends from Singapore. My second encounter is during APXLDS (Taiwan) in 2004. The chief delegate from then brought some postcards from my friends in Singapore. And I had also enjoyed myself at their GV booth. The 3rd encounter was when I stopped by for transit back in 2005. I stayed with a Singaporean friend as well as experienced tasted some local food. My 4th encounter was during a brief transit on my way to Turkey for internship in 2006.
第五次，就是現在，沒想到一待就是四個月。
My 5th, which is now, is a stay of 4 months in Singapore.
這幾年來，我會出國都是因為AIESEC活動或是拜訪AIESEC朋友，這是我第一次用非AIESECer的身分出國，不過還是和它脫離不了關係。
For the past few years, my visits overseas are either related to AIESEC events or visiting AIESEC friends. This is the first time I went overseas due to non-AIESEC reasons, yet, I am still within the influence of AIESEC.
六個月前，當我確定可以到新加坡交換學生時，便輾轉從朋友那邊得到當地AIESEC的聯繫方式，並且詢問了住宿、飲食等生活資訊。當時協助我的人是前任社長Alvin，人非常善良，也提供了很多幫助，重點是他和很多台灣AIESECer很熟，曾經去過幾次，於是談起天來特別有感覺，彷彿就像是一家人。
When I started planning for my student exchange 6 months ago, I obtained the contact details of the local AIESECers from my friends for enquiries on accommodation, food and lifestyle information. Alvin, who was then LCP in NTU, kindly helped me and provided a lot of support. More importantly, he is a good friend to many Taiwan AIESECers and had been to Taiwan for a few times, hence chatting with him seemed akin to chatting with a close family member.
第二位遇到的AIESECer是聞鋒，他來自大陸廣東，在新加坡讀書一段時間了，同時也是資深AIESECer。剛來到新加坡的第一天，他提著床墊，拿著棉被，從宿舍走出來接應我們，這是我對他的第一印象，就像歡迎老朋友一樣。從下車的地方走到我的宿舍還要二十分鐘，我們拖著行李邊走邊聊，聊了不少關於新加坡的事情。
The 2nd AIESECer that I encountered is WenFeng. He is from Canto – China, studying in Singapore for quite a while and is also an experienced AIESECer. The first day I arrived in Singapore, he was carrying mattress and blanket, welcoming us from the hostel. This left me a impression that he is welcoming an old friend. For the next 20 mins walk to the hostel, we pulled along the luggage and chatted along the way, with the conversation resolving quite a bit, around Singapore issues.
第三位遇到的AIESECer是現任社長Wan Xin，她是馬來西亞人，對AIESEC很有理想，也很有抱負。最大的特點就是high，雖然我不知道這是讚美還是…，但是絕對有感染人的力量，用自己的情緒影響周遭的人，也讓其他人感受到愉悅的氣氛。我想他應該是新加坡第一位讀者，因為我特別帶一本書送給南洋分會。
The 3rd AIESECer that I met is WanXin, a Malaysian and the current LCP in NTU. WanXin is one who is filled with dreams and ambition towards AIESEC. And seemed to be always on a “high” state although I don’t know whether that should be a compliment…. But that definitely has powerful effects on people around her. Her mood affects people around her as well as letting others feel a sense of joy. I think she will be my first reader in Singapore as I brought a book as a gift for the LC of NTU.
後來入入續續又遇到不少人，例如：李俊、Ivan、Wei Wei、Trang、Vincent、Aravinda等等，他們都是我在新加坡最早熟識的朋友。
I have met a lot of other people too along the way, e.g. LiJun, Ivan, Weiwe, Trang, Vincent, Aravinda, etc. They are the first group of friends I made in Singapore.
開學第二週，我參觀了校園社團擺攤，南洋理工大學社團之多，大概跟台大有得比。然而，最特別的是，有很多文化為主的社團，例如：舞龍舞獅社、回教社、龍舟社…，或者以國家為主的社團，例如：韓國同鄉會、馬來西亞同鄉會、…等，足以顯示新加坡國際化的一面。
In the second week of school reopening, I went to the NTU CCA fair. NTU has got a lot of clubs and society, comparable to National Taiwan University. Point to note is that there is a lot of cultural clubs such as Lion Dance club, Muslim Society, dragon boat club… or societies that serves different nationalities such as Korean Society, Malaysian club, etc, showing Singapore’s global diversity.
AIESEC也位在眾多攤位之中，很多人都覺得很有興趣，紛紛前來攤位詢問，我也充當外國代言人，讓新生體會到AIESEC與世界的連結。三天宣傳下來，共有三百多人留下資料，經過面試後預計只留五十人，競爭之激烈可想而知。
AIESEC is also among the many booths on display, attracting a lot of attraction and queries. I stood up as a spokesman of international AIESECers, letting the freshmen to understand the AIESEC and its connection with the world. 3 days of promotions, total of at least 300 interested students, yet leaving only 50 AIESEC newies after member interviews – the intense competition between applicants is easily seen.
很多新生問我「What’s AIESEC?」，這個問題我已經被問到不知道多少遍了，但是每次回答都不完全相同，基本上，它和環境心態以及接觸的人事物有關。在台灣的時候，我大多回答「這是一個可以拓展視野、認識世界的地方。」然而在這裡，我就換成「這是一個可以發掘自我、挑戰困難的地方。」這兩個答案對於AIESECer而言有異曲同工之妙，但是對於新生而言就不同，一兩句話並無法代表一切，只有親身體會，才能理解。
A lot of freshmen asked – “What’s AIESEC?” I had lost count of how many times I was posed that question, yet each time, my answer is not entirely the same. Basically, AIESEC is tightly linked to the social environment. When I was in Taiwan, I would usually reply “AIESEC is a place where one could expand his horizon and know the world” Yet, in Singapore, my answer would be “It is a place where one could discover himself and go up against challenges” To AIESECers, these two different answers means the same, yet to freshmen, they are entirely different. Hence to understand AIESEC, one must experience AIESEC.
因此，我非常鼓勵大家參加AIESEC。
As such, I would encourage everyone to join AIESEC.
招生說明會上，新加坡總會前任和前前任會長都出席並且發表演說，我對Sharon的演講特別感興趣，因為她不僅是成功宣傳了AIESEC，也感染了在座每個人。那是一種與生俱來的領袖氣質，也是一場能夠鼓舞人心的演講。Sharon是06~08總會會長，畢業於南洋理工大學，現在整準備參與交換計畫。在他四年AIESEC資歷中，去過十多個國家，認識了來自世界各地的人，甚至一些名不見經傳的國家。
On the Welcome Tea session, the MCP for the past 2 terms - Sharon - gave a speech. I was especially intrigued by her speech, not only because it had successfully promoted AIESEC to the freshmen, but it had influence everyone that is present in the LT. What a display of innate charisma and motivating speech. Sharon is the MCP for 06/07 and 07/08, graduated from NTU and is preparing to go for an AIESEC exchange. Her 4 years in AIESEC brought her to over ten countries, knowing people from all over the world, even from countries one would not have known existed.
一張張的照片都是成長的軌跡，每當與一個人互動，就增長一份知識，在她最後的總結也提到，「我因為參加AIESEC改變了自己，至少它讓我與別人不同，至少它讓我用開闊的心胸面對全世界。」對於新加坡這個已經很國際化的地方，她的演講似乎又更加具有說服力，因為她也是土生土長的新加坡人。
Each photo Sharon shown is a trail of growth, each interaction, each gain in knowledge – and she summarized “I joined AIESEC to change myself. And it has led me to be different. It has led me to embrace the world with an open mind and an open heart” In a globalized city such as Singapore, her words seemed even more convincing - because she’s a Singaporean.
她的故事讓我想起了第一次參加世界大會認識的各國朋友，雖然我們來自不同地方、不同文化，卻相聚在一起，這種緣分可能是上天註定，但是過了五年後還能一見如故，那就是友情的力量。
Her story also reminded me the friends I made in my first International Conference. Coming from different places and culture, yet we are brought together, perhaps by the power of fate. And five years later, if we could still meet up, chat like old friends. It must be the bond of friendship.
佳亮是我最後想要介紹的人，因為她是我認識的第一位新加坡AIESECer，也是到現在還一直有連絡的朋友。她跟我相同年紀，都是同一個時期加入AIESEC，2003年我們在韓國認識，因為都會說中文的關係，感覺特別熟悉，回來以後一直都偶有連繫，但是一直沒有機會見面，直到現在。
JiaLiang is the last person I would like to introduce, because she the first Singaporean AIESECer I knew and whom I have kept in touch. She is of my age and we both joined AIESEC in the same period, knowing each other in 2003 during APXLDS in Korea. Because both of us speak Chinese, that foster a bond of familiarity. After conference, we occasionally contact each other but haven’t had a chance to meet up till now.
上 上週我和她約在中國城見面，朋友多年未見，卻還能夠記得彼此的身形，一下子就認出來了。雖然外表有所改變，人的感覺卻沒有變，見面的當下彷彿時光倒流至五 年前。我們一路參觀、一路聊天，聊了這五年的事，也聊在韓國發生的事，不知不覺就過了一個下午。古人說：「有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎？」這句話最能描述當下 的氣氛。
The week before, we arranged to meet at China Town, friends apart for years, but we could recognize each other in an instance. A difference in our looks, feelings unchanged, and the moment we met seemed to continue where we have left off 5 years ago. Touring the place, we chatted about what had happened in these 5 years as well as memories in Korea. Soon, the afternoon is gone is a flash - like the ancient said “To have friends from afar is happiness, is it not?” This saying aptly describes the mood of the situation
人的一生有多少這樣的機會，又有多少這樣的緣分？無論如何，我們都應該珍惜，也許只是那短短的幾分鐘，誰又知道幾年後又在何處相見呢？AIESECer如此，交換學生也如此。我想當南洋理工大學交換學生各自回去以後，也會有這種感覺。
In one’s life-time, how many such opportunities can one have and how will fate decides. Whatever the chances, we should cherish that short moment in time, because no one will know when that moment will return. It is as such in AIESEC, likewise being an exchange student. I think that as the exchange students from NTU depart, they too will have that same feeling.
Who knows?
Original entry link: http://www.wretch.cc/blog/riverkid/11334964
