The Little Things That Make Me Canadian

I had a great conversation with someone last night who spent 6 years in Canada going to school and was really able to identify with some of those Canadian quirks/stereotypes that we have. Couple this with a chat about the same topic with another friend the other night, I have to say there are some things I really miss right now!

• People holding doors open in front of you. I can't count the number of times I expected someone to look behind and see me right there and hold the door for just a second longer. The worst ones are the ones that open the door just a bit, then slip in, essentially closing the door on you. 
• Getting a thank you for holding doors open for others
• Smiling at people in the hall/elevator/street and getting one in return. I mostly get strange looks back. Or, none at all. 
• "Sorry!" 
• The excitement of the first dusting of snow on the mountains 
• Toques and scarves
• The signs in the bathrooms telling people how to avoid Influenza (sorry, but the handwashing here I've observed is pitiful or non-existent. Gross, I know. The country looks mightly clean on the surface, but some personal habits need some work on!)
• Fall apples
• My bike and golf clubs
• Awesome hugs 

I really couldn't have had a more Canadian convo last night - we talked about mountains, Montreal smoked meat, poutine, Banff, snow, politeness (we are almost too polite to a fault!), and Russell Peters. The last one came about because he's of Indian descent. Myself, being Chinese, was thinking about instances where you'll find the two races interact with each other (my context was Vancouver). We concluded it would be close to 'nil, maybe except at a Russell Peters show.

I've also observed people here are very risk-adverse. I thought I was, but they are even more so! It could be because from the time they grow up, rules define their world. You can't do this, you can't do that. You can do this, but this is the exact way you must do it. Even directions to the Ministry of Manpower (I hate that gender discriminating name!) on their website have photos documenting every turn you need to take to reach their office. Getting lost, is not an option - because they don't let you, and people don't want to. Then again, I guess you can consider it amazing customer service?

Anyhow, going for a wander at Pulau Ubin this Saturday. Stay tuned for more!

The Challenges of a Singaporean Volunteer

This past weekend I was a "crew member" for the Nike We Run SG 2012 event. I saw first hand the challenges of being an on-the-ground volunteer at arguably the most popular running event in SG and compared it to what I was used to. At the same time, I asked seasoned volunteers what they thought of the experience so I could get a sense of what was normal and what wasn't. I'm also sending an e-mail to the organizers in hope I can understand some of the rationale behind their scheduling and practices. 

We were assigned a letter and were told that we would be told our areas on the day of the event. So, checking in at 11:50 pm as requested (and me, being early I arrived 30 minutes prior to) the expectation was that we would be put to work right away. I was given my t-shirt, and was told to return at 1:45 am only when I asked. What? 2 hours later? What am I supposed to do? "Change into your t-shirt." Hmm... so I asked around later on and was told the group that manages the volunteers for a few of the major events in the city always does this. Check in really early, then hurry up and wait. I chose to sleep on the concrete floor near the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Some others starting to sing acapella, others were dancing. Many were watching movies on their iPads. Lucky the rain had stopped! 

My recommendation would be having smaller check-in groups and having staggered pick-up/start times. With all the people power that was present, shifts could have started later into the night and engaged us more. I suppose that may be difficult given that public transport is not available in the middle of the night - but a solution must exist! For example, have a smaller crew start at midnight so there's more to do for fewer of us, then bringing in additional volunteers just prior to the race. 

Once we arrived at our work site, we were told we needed to check our bags.Through the communication given to us prior to the event in an e-mail and PDF'd PowerPoint briefing, we were all under the impression we would be able to keep a small bag with us through the event. When we were told we would have to place our personal belongings into garbage bags, which would then be transported to some unknown location, many of us felt horrified being forced to leave valuables in the bag we could not carry around with us. That horror came true when some of my fellow volunteers did not receive their bags in a timely fashion at the end of the event and were essentially "lost" for quite some time. If we were told ahead of time we would need to check our bags in, many of us would have worn clothing with more pockets, or chosen to bring less with us. I got the feeling that this was not normal. 


For the length of the shift, I was engaged for very little time. After being given 2 hours to change and checking back in at 1:45am, we waited for another hour before we were finally told what we were going to do and going to our assigned places was very inefficient. So it was about 3:00 am when we finally started to get moving, and that was short lived. By 3:30am, we were finished ripping the bunches of bananas apart and were waiting for more instruction. 30 minutes later, we got the go ahead to arrange water on the tables. 30 minutes later, we were done. Then we were told we had some time to "rest". When it's the middle of the night and we're all exhausted, we don't want to be told that we're useless for some undetermined amount of time and that we have to find some place to rest. Many of us, once again, ended up on the floor. 

None for us. 

The lack of hydration for volunteers was appalling.I don't know if it was different for other groups, but for us we were only provided one juice box over the course of 11 hours. Many volunteers had brought water bottles with them, but left them in the bags that were checked. They either did not drink anything, or had to purchase it from the 7-11 at Marina Bay Sands. The little group I was with were rebels and we kept our water bottles with us. Water is a basic necessity and there should be no limits on how much we need. Please have additional water supplied for volunteers. It's a really unpleasant feeling if volunteers feel they must "sneak" the water that's in front of them or risk dehydration and perhaps worse consequences. 

Our area leader had a hard time accepting feedback. While she was telling us how to set up the table very very specifically, I felt it was not applied consistently as all the tables had different set-ups in the end. I appreciate that she probably has a lot of race experience, but so did some of the volunteers who were working that night. At the same time, she was probably struggling with the lack of instruction from higher up. I watched one group frustratingly try to explain a more logical way of setting up the canned drinks with no progress. If there was in fact a way the tables should have been set up, a visual diagram given to the area leader with the specifics, and perhaps copy at each table, would have eliminated the confusion. 

The volunteers I worked with were such troopers. When I asked what they do about situations where they feel stuck like this, they simply said "suck it up, do as your told (to cover your own butt), and hope for the best". This is where I have a personal struggle with being in an Asian culture and just complying with the instructions given. The western influence in my personality and beliefs really stick out here sometimes as I was taught to question and challenge the status quo while in the western world I think I can be perceived as quite complacent. 

During the race, things were fine - but that table set up was impractical and in the end everyone just did whatever needed to be done to get the refreshments out. Go teamwork! 

Now to the check-out process. After the race was over, we waited about an hour before we received instructions on how to receive our entitlements. Then, once we arrived we had to wait another 45 minutes. Again, a waste of time. Being tired, hungry, and dehydrated, all we wanted to do was leave, but we didn't know where our bags were. On top of that, the queue to get our entitlement was extremely long as they didn't have as many tables open as when we had the t-shirt pick-up. So going back to the bag-check in, that's a decision the organizers should make well ahead of time and provide a proper bag check with tags. Then, those bags that were "lost" in between dropping them off at our work sites and the check-in/check-out area would not have been misplaced. It was a lot of unnecessary stress and worry.

A lot of volunteers were disappointed by the non-Nike branded cotton shirts. We do cotton in Canada a lot, but judging from the people I talked to, this was a big step down from most other events they have volunteered for where they got polo or moisture wicking t-shirts. 

Where I was placed.

So while the experience could have been better for volunteers, I do think that the experience for the runners was great. However, I really believe that the experience should be great for all so that involvement in sport and volunteerism extends beyond completing requirements for school. Part of the entitlements for volunteers was $25 ... I didn't get to ask how important that was to some. This event also confirmed for me that I need to volunteer at events that have a greater cause - whether it's raising awareness or fundraising. This one was just one, large, giant, corporate marketing machine (props to you Nike, for having that following). 

Side note - going back to my post about missing the Canadian things ... I definitely noticed a lot fewer "thank yous" than back home, when athletes were handed their refreshments. Also less smiles in general. These different norms are quite interesting! 

Around the Big Island on Two Tanks of Gas – Day 2: Volcanoes National Park

My wishlist.

After a somewhat noisy night in Hilo, I set out in the morning to Volcanoes National Park. An enjoyable winding drive through some small highways (as most of the island is connected by) took me to a larger highway, then to the parking lot of the Visitor's Centre. I presented my wishlist to the park ranger and planned my route. First stop, setting up camp in Namakanipaio Campground. As of October 1^st, they started charging for this campground, but still a great deal for camping just under 1km away from the glowing Halema`umau Crater. Pretty amazing.

Steam vent.

The first drive I did was the Crater Rim Drive. Unfortunately it’s really short now as the VOG (volcanic smog) has closed most of the drive. I made stops at the Steam Vents, Sulphur Bank, as well as the lookout at the Jaggar Museum. The last point is the closest you can get to Halema`umau at the moment.  After that, I was caught in some rain so I ate my first poke of the trip in the car, then went towards Chain of Craters road to do the Kilauea Iki hike.

This hike was one of my favourite parts of the park. For a gal who really likes rocks (I minored in Geology in Uni), this experience was just unreal! There is nothing like it that I have experienced before. Descending through lush rainforest, I got to the main part of the hike where I got to walk across the crater floor on the solidified lava lake of Kilauea Iki. There are still steam vents releasing heat from the rocks deep down below. I personally felt so connected to Mother Earth while I was in the crater and gained a whole new level of respect for the power she holds.

I'm at the edge of a crater! I couldn't get over how cool that was.

Quite literally, the end of the road.

So after that empowering experience, what else could top it? Well, the views and landscapes of driving Chain of Craters road. From seeing the most amazing rainbow ever, to the views of turquoise blue ocean waters juxtaposed against the greenish volcano slopes interrupted by old lava flows, my breath was taken away. I drove all the way down to the ocean waters, did some more walking and hiking where fairly recent lava flows cut off the road and also to a site where there were remnants of ancient petroglyphs carved into rock.

As the sunset, I drove back up the winding road and went straight back to Halema`umau Crater where once again, I connected with Mother Nature as I watched the glow of molten lava light up the current vent. If it weren’t so “cold” (it was maybe 15-ish degrees; I’m such a wuss now) I would have just sat there watching the glow. Instead, I drove back to the campsite, slowly cooked some canned soup over a gel flame thing while it started to rain and get a little breezy. Nothing could take away the fact I was camping on a volcano though! 

Most amazing rainbow I have ever seen in my life. This photo does not do it justice!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

Just a short one tonight. It's my 2nd Thanksgiving in a row away from home and it's put me in a very reminiscent mood. I cooked some chicken tonight after locating a can of cranberry sauce (which isn't too hard to find here, yay!) and a can pumpkin pie mix. As I admired my Thanksgiving creation, I couldn't help but think of the warmth of a family Thanksgiving dinner and all the smells associated with assortment of food our family has when we all get together.

I thought I had blogged about my last Thanksgiving and if I did, the post escapes me. I think I did something very similar - managed to locate a can of cranberry sauce in Colombo and cooked some chicken. :)  Here's to hoping that I can do the same for Christmas in Hong Kong this year (yes, I'm spending Christmas in Hong Kong!).

Tonight, I also sat at my computer browsing through the Facebook posts from a year ago. It's hard to believe that a year ago I had just returned to Colombo after a month abroad visiting India with a friend, wandering London, conquering Ireland, attending and working at the Isle of Man Commonwealth Youth Games, and learning at midterm in Cayman. Now I sit in Singapore, knowing that I have a plan that only goes as far as the beginning of January 2013.

Conquering Ireland! Not really, just being a dork in The Burren,  Ireland.

I'm a person who plans a lot - if you saw the spreadsheet that I had on my trip in 2007, and also last month for Hawaii, you might think I'm a little too detail-oriented. This past week in learning from two of the most amazing people I know, I really recognized that I could be a bit more spontaneous. I'm starting to think I've started this journey to do exactly that and for once in my life, not have every little step planned out. It's a little scary, but I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Speaking of this past week, I was humbled by how hard it is to facilitate rather than teach. I've been able to stand up in front of people and tell them what to do and present information, but I have never experienced what I did this week which was facilitating a participatory training session. It is incredible, that when you are specific with your instructions, the information and knowledge you can draw out of a group of people without telling them exactly what you are looking for can be so powerful. And, to be able to help them synthesize all their thoughts was such an incredible feeling. It was really hard though, and well outside my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to start exploring more about facilitation and getting opportunities to practice these techniques.

So maybe this post wasn't so short after all. =P Happy Turkey Day, Canada. I am thankful that I can do what I love and it's given me the opportunity to travel, live, and learn around the world.