So, as I announced yesterday, I have another memory with Shannon Andrew to share with you. Just a little side note before getting started: I know that I haven't written something about every Young Ambassador out there. This is of course in absolutely no way because I prefer some over others. It's just that with some guys, there was this one incident sticking out so I felt like writing about it.
I would like to use the second memory with Shannon to discuss a topic in its larger sense: On, I think it was, our last day in Singapore, we had a big feedback round with Pak Sing, the CCEO (Chief Culture and Education Officer). He asked us to give him some impressions and recommendations for the final CEP to be done in August. We were sitting around a long table in the impressive SYOGOC headquarter in Singapore and one after the other gave feedback.
As you might guess from my blog, most people were really pleased with the proposed CEP activities. However, there was one point criticized by several of us: Some of the CEP learning activities (i.e. career planning, nutrition, balancing your life...) deemed too immature to us. So we suggested to rethink them and make them more appropriate to a target group consisting of 14-18 year olds. The overall tenor was: Those activities will be too boring for the youngsters.When it was Shannon's turn, be started out, like everyone else, by thanking the organizers for the awesome week we were allowed to spent in Singapore. However, next he stated something that made me think:
"I think the athletes and us, we should be happy and glad that we have the chance to be here in Singapore. For many people from my country, this is the first time ever they board a plane and visit such a big city. I think we should be much more grateful that we can make an experience like that."
In addition, the next day, Shannon took a subway to Chinatown...for the first time in his life! As you can see, this story puts many things into a whole different perspective. For me, it's nothing special to go to a big city (Well, Vienna) and I take the subway day in day out. Also, flying to another country, despite being the exception rather than the rule, is not much of a deal nowadays. So I'm very happy that stories like Shannon's put things in the right perspective. Of course having a CEP program with so many exciting activities is great. However, I think at the end of the day, we should already consider ourselves fortunate and very lucky to be given the chance to go to Singapore and meet with so many diverse people in the first place.
In addition, the next day, Shannon took a subway to Chinatown...for the first time in his life! As you can see, this story puts many things into a whole different perspective. For me, it's nothing special to go to a big city (Well, Vienna) and I take the subway day in day out. Also, flying to another country, despite being the exception rather than the rule, is not much of a deal nowadays. So I'm very happy that stories like Shannon's put things in the right perspective. Of course having a CEP program with so many exciting activities is great. However, I think at the end of the day, we should already consider ourselves fortunate and very lucky to be given the chance to go to Singapore and meet with so many diverse people in the first place.
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