"Oh, Southeast Asian Studies - Vietnamese to be exact."

Back in those days where FASS students chose 3 subjects in our first year and then later major in 2 out of these 3, it is customary when you meet a fellow FASS student for the first time to inquire about what his subjects are. And when it is obvious that the two of you share one of these majors (let's say you are in the same lecture or tutorial for an advanced class which only majors of that subject take), the inquiry process becomes easier because you only have to ask what is the other subject that he is majoring in.

When my potential project mate (when you sit next to someone for the first tutorial of the term, there is a good chance that you will end up doing a project with him. The amount of strategy involved in getting into a good project group deserves a dedicated separate post) said the above to me, I could barely contain my horror. (I have become far better at containing my horror after teaching for six years) Southeast Asian Studies? Yes I know this department existed - I saw it in the faculty handbook - but you mean there are actually people who major in it? They are like, only marginally better than the South Asian Studies (a new department set up when I was in first year - and after four years I don't think I met anyone who was from South Asian studies)?

I am rather ashamed that I used to have such a patronizing view towards Southeast Asia. I suspect many Singaporeans share this mentality. From young, we have all heard relatives or friends telling us horror stories of the level of civility and the state of hygiene in our neighbouring countries. And finally when your parents bring you there for the first time you get to experience it for yourself. Interesting countries and cultures, for sure, for undeniably DIFFERENT from Singapore. And by different, we usually mean INFERIOR.

I started backpacking in 2005 - and it should come as no surprise to anyone who knew me that my first destination was Japan. Followed by China, UK(London, Stonehenge, Cambridge, Bath), France (more or less just Paris), more of Japan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, more of Japan, Turkey, and then some more of Japan. The distance between your backpacking destination and your home is directly proportional to the amount of bragging rights and street cred that you get. My first (only?) backpacking buddy whom I charged headlong into Japan with was hopelessly obsessed with Southeast Asia - having done a number of YEP (Has this term been made totally oblivious by the term OCIP?) - having visited Myanmar and Laos (of course, Thailand and Vietnam too, without saying, but there is a significant difference in exotic level). I might have made some dismissive comments back then, something along the lines of - "Southeast Asia? Sure, when I am old and cannot tahan long plane rides anymore I will go travelling in Southeast Asia."

For some reason I cannot remember, I went to Cambodia with him in Dec 2009. The fact that the Angkor Wat, a UNESCO site,  is found within its confines, makes this a country deserving of consideration, even if I still wasn't particularly inclined towards Southeast Asia. I won't say that the Cambodia trip drastically transformed my view of Southeast Asia, but it certainly planted a seed in me, especially the fact that I knew next to nothing about how the Khmer Rouge (of course I have HEARD about it, I am a GP CHER you know. But it felt like something as mythical and enigmatic as the Southeast Asian Department in FASS in the year 2001) came about despite Cambodia being barely two hours away from Singapore.

And then I began to encounter more and more Southeast Asian Scholars. Of course 07S02 had many Malaysian and Indonesian scholars and it has never escaped me that they were relatively more well-informed than the Singaporean students. The influx of ASEAN scholars with the announcement of the new SAJC Hall, together with SSP/HSP classes and the greater number of 4H2 students, suddenly made the ASEAN students even more prominent. Then I taught 11S18, 11S17 and 12S18, and began to come into much closer contact with them, especially my 34th AHOF and the other Thai scholars. The seed planted in me during the Cambodian trip began to grow. And finally I made my way to Bangkok and Ayutthaya in Thailand, and then Hanoi, Halong and Sapa in Northern Vietnam.

Although I would love to proclaim that I am not as pragmatic-minded as my fellow countrymen, I have to admit that my choice of course for my Masters program was one which was underlined by such worldly concerns. I want to do something I am interested in (languages and cultures) but yet provides me with a decent opportunity to line my bank account. Hey, I was about to leave a stable well-paying job into an unknown universe fraught with uncertainty, don't judge me! On hindsight, I will definitely have taken a MA degree in Southeast Asian studies instead of Translation Studies (even though I do not regret doing this - it has been an eye-opening course which broadened my perspectives significantly too), but thankfully the fact that I am in an institution like SOAS allowed me to pursue my new found interest.

I audited classes in Southeast Asian Literature and Cultural Sociology. I got my hands on the reading list for the Postcolonial Southeast Asian Film classes which clashed with my compulsory Translation classes. I took Vietnamese at the Language Centre (Oh yes - there were enough students for the second part of the course to continue thankfully - starting next week!), continued my skype Thai lessons, and borrowed all kinds of books about Southeast Asia from the amazing library that SOAS has. And next week onwards I will have a real Cikgu teaching me Malay, and learning Chinese from me in return, both of which I am very excited about.

So what is it about Southeast Asia that has captured my undivided attention? That will be in another post, and hopefully this time it will not stay as a draft for more than a week. =p