By Emily Ni (20S03C), Rachel Leong (20A01A), Megan Soh (20A01B), and Mah Xiao Yu (20A01B)
These interviews were first featured, in shorter form, in our special Teachers’ Day 2019 Print Edition. Here are the full interviews.
NAME: MR GERALD CHOO
DEPARTMENT: SCIENCE (CHEMISTRY)
Chemistry, Japanese, and baking? These three endeavours may seem disparate, but Mr Choo enjoys them all.
When did you start learning Japanese and what made you decide to start learning it?
I started when I was 13, when I was given the option to do Japanese for the O Levels. It was the Japanese boom during my era, and I wanted to watch dramas without the subtitles! I’m not a “weeaboo” or an “otaku” though—I’m not a huge anime or subculture fan.
Why did you decide to go to Tokyo for university (when English is not the medium of instruction)?
Well, there were two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to maintain my Japanese skills even after the A Levels. Furthermore, it was exciting to be in the capital of the country, and Tokyo also offered a new perspective compared to the traditional United Kingdom/United States route. My time spent there was brilliant—I don’t regret it.
What kind of challenges did you face in Japan?
The language was hard and technical but became easier after about one or two years. In fact, after my first math lecture in university, I came out of the theatre and broke down. I had to call one of my friends, who told me to snap out of it since I was already there. Thinking back, I’m still really grateful for that friend.
The cultural differences were also hard to get used to. Singapore is an individualistic society, but in Japan there is a sense of the group above the self. I struggled with this notion because I wanted to assimilate into the culture but also retain my own identity, and I had to deal with some instances where I was expected to conform.
There was also subtle racism—or xenophobia—because I was a foreigner. This could be because Japan is very racially homogeneous. After this, I was more aware of how minorities in Singapore feel, though I cannot say I understand completely due to the different context and experiences.
A little bird told me you were good at technical things for Raffles Players—where and how did you pick that up?
I learnt much of it from an ex-student in 2016. She was really good at building things, and I picked up some skills from working with her. Other than that, I think it’s just instinct, probably from tinkering with gadgets in my childhood. I was very curious as a child—I was fascinated by lightbulbs, and I would take apart the three-pin plugs and put them back together, hoping no exploding happened [nervous laughter].
What are your hobbies outside of school?
I like to bake, and I cook too. This was largely influenced by my mother, and I make a really good New York cheesecake, banana bread, and carrot cake (not the Chinese kind). Sadly, I don’t really do it nowadays because it makes me fat [laughs] Okay, not because of that, but I haven’t had the time to bake. I’m a firm believer that if you want to do something well, it must be done with the heart.
NAME: DR SALLY NG
DEPARTMENT: SCIENCE (CHEMISTRY)
Dr Ng appreciates the little things that we often take for granted.
How was life different in your homeland? Do you think living there has shaped your perspectives in Singapore and vice versa?
Life back in Jakarta was a lot more restrictive and inconvenient. As far as I could remember, it’s unsafe to do a lot of things on your own, for example: taking public transport, going out alone, etc. Coming from Jakarta made me appreciate a lot of “usual” practices in Singapore, such as commuting anywhere on your own, leaving your belongings unattended to chope seats, etc. One can only do such things if it’s safe enough to do so, I suppose.
Was it hard to adapt to Singaporean culture? What were some of the struggles you faced and memorable experiences you had here?
Personally, I found that I [had] no issue assimilating into Singapore and Singaporean culture. I speak Mandarin fluently, so I had it easier than many of my friends who [couldn’t] speak Mandarin. I do, though, find it hard to speak English—I took a good three months to be able to converse in English. In Indonesia, I [learned] everything in Indonesian. One funny experience [I had] was when I was attending [an] organic chemistry lesson and the lecturer said “potassium”. I couldn’t locate it in the [periodic] table because there’s no such element in [the] Indonesian language. In Indonesia, we [call] “potassium” differently. It’s “kalium”, which starts with the letter “k”. But [everything] went okay eventually. Now if you ask me to talk about chemistry in [the] Indonesian language, I don’t think I can anymore!
Do you visit your homeland often? Do you miss it?
Not really. I go back to Jakarta occasionally, but only for events. I do miss my friends and the food, but perhaps not the place. My experience in Jakarta hasn’t been a pleasant one. [I] was in Jakarta during the racial riot[s] in 1998. Since then, I told myself that I’d leave the country for good one day.
Do you have any interesting hobbies?
I used to be a competitive figure skater till the age of 15. I still love skating, but I don’t really do it anymore. Getting old!
Is there any hobby you would like to pick up?
Knitting or cooking maybe?
Please tell us more about your doctorate.
To be very honest, I didn’t set out to do a PhD degree. At that time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do after [my] undergraduate studies, and my final year project supervisor convinced me to do graduate studies in organic chemistry, particularly gold chemistry (organogold chemistry), as he thinks that I have the potential. So I did. Looking back, I am glad that I did my postgraduate degree because it was then that I found my passion in teaching. I mentored numerous undergraduate and master’s degree students, [and] taught as a teaching assistant in university, both in tutorials and in the lab. Through that, I finally [knew] what I wanted to do in life.
