Tara Tan from the 2013 batch of SOTA graduates shares with us what her experience in NYU has been like so far!
What was your subject combination in SOTA?
HL Theatre, Lit, History
SL Math, Chinese, Biology
What course are you doing in NYU?
Currently studying liberal arts in the Liberal Studies program!
Do you do any extra-curricular activities?
For now, Muay Thai!
What made you choose to go to NYU?
I chose NYU for its strong programs, openness and connections⌠and also because itâs in one of the most exciting cities in the world! I remember attending a campus tour of the school when I was 16 and I thought it had a pretty good balance of academic and social life, which is something I want out of my college experience.
 What was the application procedure like?
Lots of planning and working-ahead involved. A yearlong process of standardized tests, trying to get good grades, Common App, lots of essay writing⌠Editing⌠Re-writing. Meeting deadlines.Â
How does the workload compare with IB?
I find that in freshman year, itâs not as bad. Same-ish, but not as bad⌠In college we have a lot of free time so itâs about how that time is managed.
Whatâs the school culture like in comparison to SOTA?
At SOTA, I felt like everyone knew one another. We were a really tight-knit batch, close to our teachers too. NYU on the other hand is a huge, so forging deep relationships and establishing that same sense of community isnât the easiest thing. Like SOTA, students at NYU complain about the school, but at the same time thereâs still a lot of love and pride for it.
I really like how diverse NYUâs student body is. Itâs different from SOTA. There are artists, there are business students, there aspiring doctors etc⌠Oh my goodness, for example, I have never hung around so many aspiring doctors in my life. Itâs really interesting to listen in on their conversations and understand their goals, and even things like their vocabulary, their choice of words. Itâs refreshing, especially coming from an arts background. Thereâs just so much diversity here, culturally too. Overall, people here are very independent and friendly.
I find that in a big school like this, youâre really pushed to put yourself out there. Only then can you maybe get involved in something that interests you, and through that, meet like-minded people that you can befriend. In America, you kind of have to be a go-getter.
How is the accommodation and cost of living where you are?
I live in a dorm by Union Square. Itâs a two-bedroom suite setting, so four girls in total, including me, all together. Itâs pretty nice â thereâs a kitchen, bathroom and common area that we share. I like my location, but itâs the furthest freshman dorm from campus so walking to class can sometimes be painful.
Cost of living is definitely higher here compared to in Singapore. NYC is generally a pretty expensive city. Taking the subway is expensive. Dining out can be expensive. Plus⌠tipping. Ah.
I love student deals and discounts :)
Whatâs the social scene like in NYU? Do you think any particular group of people would feel marginalized or uncomfortable here?
Iâd say the social scene here is pretty happening. There are things like frat parties, but also chill nights with friends in someoneâs dorm room with good music, and maybe some drinks. Thereâs definitely a space for everyone.
There are also days when I just stay in and donât socialize all that much haha. Once in a while, I think everyone has those days, maybe some more than others. I feel that itâs important to be comfortable with yourself, and not feel the need to place yourself in an uncomfortable situation just to fit in or whatever. Be active and put yourself out there. Â But taking breathers and enjoying your own space/company is fine too. Haha kind of cheesy but honestly just be true to you and everything will be okay.
As an international student, I found it hard to adjust to American culture at first. In fact, itâs still a work in progress â I find myself learning more things about American school culture, popular culture, politics, slangs etc as I go along ⌠but itâs refreshing! I love introducing American slang to my Singaporean friends when I go back during break lol
Whatâs a typical day for you in college?
I have arranged my schedule in such a way that I start late (around 11 am) and enjoy a three-day weekend (Fridays off!).
On a typical day, I go to class, have lunch at one of the dining halls, sometimes I go back to my dorm before going to my next class, more class, come back, âexerciseâ, go to the dining hall or cook depending on my mood, âstudyâ, sleep.
Whatâs your favourite memory from being in college?
I have a lot. But just chilling with friends in a dorm room with good music. Pizza on the table. 2 am. So âcollegeâ haha. Or just exploring the city with friends, thatâs really fun!
Have there been any more unpleasant experiences in college?
Leaving home and coming to a foreign country is tough, but itâs a very valuable experience that teaches you so much about yourself. You really learn to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for yourself.
I sometimes get pangs of homesickness and really miss my friends and family back home.
But hands down, my most unpleasant experience of college thus far is having to reconcile and deal with my horrifying weight gain.
Any last bits of advice or stories you want to share?
Be true to yourself and respect yourself. Put yourself out there, be open and have fun!
****
We've come to the end of Tara's interview about NYU! We are in the midst of contacting a few more of the Alumni studying in different parts of the world to share their university experiences but do drop us a message on Tumblr to let us know if there is a particular region you would like to hear from and we will do our best to interview someone from there! Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr for updates when we post!
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Amelia Fong, Chen Luyi and Natasha Yeo from the batch of 2013 are currently in Washington University, Yale and Boston University respectively. Over Thanksgiving break, they took the time to share with us a little about their experiences in college over the past four months via skype!Â
It's a long interview so get comfortable before you start reading!
What made you choose your university?Â
N: I chose BU because the education programme is very good, especially for what Iâm doing. Because we have an in house childcare centre! So itâs like an education lab where they run different methods and stuff on the children. It sounds really sketchy but [laughs] itâs actually really cool because you get to observe and you get to participate which is what I want to do. And⌠oh! Iâm thinking of doing an anthropology or psychology minor and BU is good in psych so thatâs why⌠BU!
L: I chose Yale because⌠uhâŚ
A: Because itâs Yale [laughs]
L: I chose Yale because⌠I think it has a very well rounded curriculum. Honestly though, I think it has the best college experience if youâre looking for that kind of thing. Like, campus life! Because itâs in a very⌠sketchy city so a lot of people donât go out of campus so a lot of people stay on campus and if you really want that campus experience I think Yale gives you that! And thatâs what I wanted for my college experience at least! And⌠also because itâs Yale. [laughs]
A: And they chose you! I based my uni choices a lot on SOTA. Because I liked how we did our art form and were still able to do very rigorous academic subjects. Washington U does liberal arts so Iâm double majoring in arts and sciences and in an arts subject. Even in a normal semester I take so many classes out of the requirements for art and architecture. Itâs also not in the city and I figured I wanted an environment that was not what I grew up in!Â
What was the application procedure like?
N: I think the application procedure for all of the universities were kind of the sameâŚ
L: Tiring!
A: Common App! Except for Wash U! Wash U has no supplementary questions so just Common App!
N: So yeah we applied to a whole bunch of schools, so you have to do a bunch of essays for all of them.
L: For context, you do one essay for your Common App that is sent to all the universities that you apply to but each university has their own questions.
A: Except for Wash U! [laughs]
L: So you could send a 1000 word essay for your Common App but then you have to send another like⌠2000 words for each school!
A: To put into context⌠Columbia had like 8 extra questions!
L: Columbia asked like trick questions! They were like âWhatâs your favourite book? Whatâs your favourite event that youâve attended? If you could go back in history, what event would you visit?â Itâs very very strangeâŚ
N: Itâs very very psychoanalytical, youâre not supposed to give â you canât just say âOh I read the New York Timesâ because theyâd be like âYeah sure.â You really have to be as out there as possible.
A: So yeah some of the Common App essays you read are quite ridiculous and itâs not a style of writing that youâre used to, coming from Singapore and SOTA.
L: Start early! Thatâs what weâre saying!
A: Yeah, I donât know about you but I started my applications in DecemberâŚ
L: I submitted my Yale application one day before the deadlines ⌠donât do that!
Do you do any extra-curricular activities?
 N: Iâm in Dance!
L: Dance!
A: Iâm in this thing called Design for America, so every semester you pick a problem within your community and as a group you try to find a solution! So it emphasizes design thinking and actual implementation of the things you come up with. So for example this semester weâre looking at food deserts in St. Louis â so St. Louis is a really bad city, so we have [laughs] really really rich areas next to really impoverished areas, like they donât have access to healthy food. And Iâm in Art Council that like plans exhibitions and Student Government!
L: Weâre pretty much doing like similar things to what we did in SOTA.
A: Yeah, kind of! But itâs different in the context of America la!
How does the workload compare with IB?Â
N: Okay we talked about this last night⌠if anyone tells you that university is easier than IBâŚ
All: Itâs a lie!
A: Itâs like IB multiplied by 2 every week!
L: Itâs also because youâre only taking four classes⌠okay four or five classes but, although you donât have classes till like 8pm or whatever, the amount of readings and the work load is intense. So youâre always studying.
A: Okay uni has a lot of freedom â you can not turn up for class, not do the homework and not do the reading. And it also has no structure, itâs very fluid, you can decide what to do with your time so thatâs the main challenge of it. There was one time when I went almost two weeks without attending any of my calculus lectures because they were my first lessons on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I was just too tired from Architecture. And then I bombed that test⌠but you can drop that test so itâs okay [laughs].
L: Yeah you have a lot of freedom in that sense â you can just not put in the effort and your workload can be very easy but then youâre screwed when it comes to tests.
A: Choices too, when you choose what classes you want to sign up for, you can tell how busy youâre going to be. Like next semester I have a relatively more relaxed semester because I know I want more time for co-curricular activities.
L: Yeah you just have to plan it. Because you could choose four classes and it could be the easiest four classes and you have a super light workload but you could also choose four classes that are super heavy and then you die [laughs]. Die mentally.
A: Like cry on the inside.
N: Itâs really what you want to make it, they give you the freedom and you have to make the best of it!
Whatâs the school culture like in comparison to SOTA?Â
N: For me, BU is huge and so itâs different in the sense that you donât know everyone like you do in SOTA. Which, personally, I donât love. But the good thing about having a huge school is that because itâs a research university you get a lot of resources. And there are a lot of opportunities, which is good. But culture wise itâs different because youâre living in a â
L: In a different culture [laughs].
A: Also keep in mind that if you were in a different city in America, there would already be large differences in culture.
L: Like if you were on the East Coast versus the West Coast, youâre going to have super different school cultures! So we canât speak for the whole of the states in terms of school culture.
A: In the Midwest theyâre really big on hospitality, like taking time to have conversations with people so theyâre a bit more like âHeyâŚâ and theyâre a bit more open.
L: Yale is like, if I have a conversation with you, how intellectual are you, can you challenge me in this way, you know what I mean? So itâs all very different, it depends on what school youâre from.
N: Itâs different la! Especially if youâre overseas.
A: I mean, when you apply the school doesnât expect you to be aware of all these subtle cultural differences? But in a way the school really chooses you. Like the admission officers are very acute at determining if you would be a good fit in the school. Like through looking at what you want to study and all.
L: Honestly, weâve been here for what⌠four months? And I think I still get cultural shocks now and then. So it really takes awhile. SOTAâs a bubble.
A: Yeah it is. Oh also, I find it very friendly. Like the social circles are very permeable, as a freshman. Like you can make a lot of friends everywhere.
N: Yeah you make a lot of friends but honestly ⌠close friends are very difficult.
A: Like in SOTA you spend a lot of time with people so obviously you get to forge these deep relationships. Like for me my closest friends are from architecture just because I spend a ridiculous amount of time in the studio.
L: Also, as like an American culture thing, people are very friendly but most of the time on a very superficial level.
A: Yeah like you walk on campus and you can say hi to like 30,000 people who you know them by their name but you wouldnât necessarily go out with them.
N: School culture is also like⌠on the weekdays you study very hard and on the weekends you â
All: Party very hard. [laugh]
A: Basically on Fridays, Saturdays, people just let loose, like you go back to your room at 1 or 3 am but then you wake up by 12 noon and just jump back into your work.
N: You make it sound so scary!
A: No la! Honestly we enjoy college very much!
L: Yes come to the states!
How is the accommodation and cost of living where you are?
L: At Yale, one semester of housing is 7K.
A: Iâm in the cheapest housing and one semester is like 9K. In general, the US is more expensive than the UK. And for me, in my third year Iâm probably going to move off campus and then itâll be much cheaper. Itâll be about $200 per month for rent, including utilities. You wonât get like meal plans and all but most people, like for me, would move off because they donât want to stay in a dorm.
L: In a dorm, you would have a resident advisor. Itâs more⌠restrictive.
A: So there are more rules as to what you can do like you canât be obnoxiously loud and you canât throw a party in your room, that kind of thing.
L: Or like âif we find you with alcohol weâre going to pour it outâ.
A: Okay itâs not just like alcohol and parties but dorm life is very pampered, itâs like youâre living in a hotel.
N: Okay uhhh⌠so Iâm paying 9000 dollars for my residence⌠also because my room is really nice.
L: Okay so Tasha stays in like a house in a historic district in Boston. So she stays in a Brownstone House.
N: Whereas they stay in a big dorm kind of thing.
L: Amelia stays in a big dorm! Yale has these residential colleges which are kind of like your houses in Primary School.
N: But I suggest that when you come as a freshman, you stay in a dorm first because itâs more social!
A: Yeah I stay in a dorm and itâs a very social environment â people just leave their doors open and my whole floor is very close. Iâm not there a lot because Iâm not in my room a lot but weâre a very supportive community. Like it was somebodyâs birthday and we taped their door shut to say happy birthday and surprise them and had a Dance Dare kind of thing! Itâs these kind of small things that really make your college experience!
N: Yeah, then after that move to a nicer place!
A: Yeah and by then you would know what you want and who you want to stay with!
N: Oh cost of living! Hmm⌠transport. Transport will kill you. You basically pay about 3 SGD and itâs a flat rate so even if itâs one stop itâs 3 SGD. Food is higher as well. So you donât get the cheap hawker meals you have in Singapore, you get more expensive and not as nice food basically.
L: New Haven is⌠not a big city or a nice city. But cost of living⌠hmm itâll be higher just because I go into the city a lot. Okay so basically if you choose to come to New Haven or any of the non-city colleges, you will want to go into the cities a lot to get stuff. Iâm very near to New York and Boston a lot and thatâs expensive.
A: But I mean I know people in Wash U who have never been into the City of St. Louis but⌠donât do that. Like you can really easily just stay within your bubble but it really doesnât stretch you and thatâs why I go out more. Cost of living is generally higher but you could reduce those expenses because you are paying for meal plans, paying for housing. You could also steal stuff from your cafeteria! Like for me, I always steal honey.
N: Oh but in BU they already charge you for stealing. Like they know youâre going to steal stuff so they charge you a flat fee to compensate for that because they know people who steal so itâs like âI might as well just stealâ. Itâs a vicious cycle [laughs].
Detailed housing and tuition fees can be found here: Washington University, Yale, Boston UniversityÂ
Whatâs the social scene like? Do you think any particular group of people would feel marginalized or uncomfortable in your university?
N: Social scene... itâs hard to say because, for my school, itâs really big. BU has a lot of Asians so⌠for me, I only hang out with Asians [laughs]. I think people who donât put themselves out there would feel uncomfortable. So if you donât go for any events at all or you donât bother to join any clubs or dance groups or whatever, then you would be a little bit more lonely. For me, my group of friends come from the things I bother going out of my comfort zone for. But I mean they stick so itâs worth it!
L: Social scene at Yale⌠I think because people study very hard, they also party very hard. So thereâs always something to do. When I say party I donât mean drinking, or going out to clubs, just hanging out! Because a lot of people throw parties in their suites and you can just go there and drink Orange Juice. Like I hardly drink in Yale and thereâs no problem with that. You would think that someone who doesnât party and doesnât drink would feel uncomfortable in the university setting, especially because people are so liberal and all but honestly itâs not true. Thereâs always a space for everyone!
A: I think the whole âspace for everyoneâ thing is very true. No matter what you do, itâs always about finding a niche in your community. For example my roommateâs only friends are her boyfriend and the people on her floor. If that were me, Iâd be really sad but sheâs perfectly fine with that! She doesnât go out; she just chills in her room and watches stuff. So itâs really about what you want to make of the experience. Understandably, itâs going to take time to build relationships and find out where your place is, especially as a foreign student. For a lot of the American kids, they have a very clear idea of what they want the college experience to be for them.
L: Yeah, for a lot of them itâll be like âOh my god Iâm finally out of high school, I can have as much sex as I want, I can drink as much as I wantâ, so theyâll come with a certain mindset but itâs completely fine if you donât share that mindset. Like, itâs really really fine. In most schools I would find itâs like that.
A: And I guess because Wash U is like in the middle of North America, most of my friends are White. Like all my friends are White. So Iâm the one Asian kid in this giant group of White boys and girls. You think itâs difficult at first but after awhile you realize that you guys just click.
L: If you let yourself think that you will be marginalized or uncomfortable then you will be so just stop going to the parties where you feel uncomfortable, donât put yourself in those situations and youâll be fine!
Whatâs a typical day for you in college?Â
N: Hmm⌠school and then Iâll go back and either study or nap. Then Skype, Dinner, Dance and study!
L: I start really late⌠right now my classes all start at about 11 am and end at about 2 pm. I am so lucky. I sleep in till 10.30 am everyday. So thatâs why you have to be very smart about choosing your classes â some people have classes that start at 9 am, or 8 am.
A: Like me?
L: Why would you do that to yourself?
A: I didnât choose it!
L: So yeah usually my classes end at about 2 pm and then I study all the way until dinner and if finals or midterms are coming up then I study after dinner as well.
A: Yeah so when you register for your classes a big factor is really timing. Like next semester is winter and waking up at 9 am is really â
L: And location!
A: Yeah waking up for class thatâs one mile away when itâs 9 am is really shitty. So this semester my classes are really bad. Monday and Wednesday they go from 9 am to 7.30 pm. And I have two studios back to back.
L: If youâre choosing to do science⌠donât [laughs].
A: No la! You can do science but know that itâs going to be very difficult. Like labs are so difficult. Like for me I just strive to have a meal outside of the studio everyday. Then after that itâs just like⌠be in studio, be in studio and then go for club meeting, and then be in studio.
N: Yeah itâs important to make friends also because when youâre studying so much, especially in very stressful periods, and then youâre like âHey, want to go to the library together?â then at least you have friends you can do that with!
A: Yeah, you carve out time just to be with people, like be with friends and be social. Like the studio sounds very sad but itâs actually a very social environment because Iâm never there alone. Iâm always with at least 10 other people and weâre all really good friends. When itâs 3 am and we have to do an all-nighter, we just play club music and weâre like âGuys, we can get through this!â. So for me, thatâs like the SOTA vibe.
Whatâs your favourite memory from being in college?
N: For me would be with my dance team. So in dance competitions, when youâre together and you go through everything together, from rehearsals to performing. Also eating with my friends. Thatâs my favourite memory!
L: Because Yale has a lot of resources â thatâs the great thing about being in a very big school, or a school with a lot of endowment because you have access to a lot of resources. What Yale has is a rare books and manuscripts library. One of my classes was a freshman seminar on the significance of American Slavery. So we all met at the library and we leafed through archives from the 1800s on slavery. So one of my favourite memories was probably when we looked at the emancipation proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, like the actual document. And the pen he used to sign it and all. Youâre actually touching it without gloves or anything, youâre just leafing through it like you would a book but itâs a newspaper from 1790⌠you know what I mean? So those moments make you very appreciative of where you are.
A: Iâm in the studio a lot and there was one Friday night where we had to finish something so we didnât go out. But my section, which is the equivalent of a small group inside my class of architecture friends, we left the studio at 3 am to go get food and go back to sleep for the night. So if you go to the cafeteria at 3 am after a Friday night youâll obviously see a lot of drunk people because theyâre coming back from parties and there we are with our bag packs like âWeâve been in the studio for 8 hours straight!â. And people were just like âHey where have you guys been?â and we just go âWeâve been in the studio!â. Which makes it sound like being in the studio was this amazing party but really we were just there working on our desks. So when we finally got our food we constructed cityscapes with all of our utensils, which was really lame but yeah [laughs]. It was 3 am! And we were going crazy! My friend looked like he was drunk but he really wasnât⌠he was like drunk on architecture or something. It was a fun night.Â
Have there been any more unpleasant experiences in college?Â
A: I havenât cried in college!
L: Iâve cried so many times! So when they tell you IB is easier, itâs not true!
A: Itâs not true, I cry on the inside, I donât actually cry.
L: I cry on the inside and the outside [laughs].
A: There was this period of time where I didnât know whether I really enjoyed college. It was before I suddenly loved it a lot. It was just like âWhat am I doing here?â. It wasnât the community or anything. Itâs just that when you leave for college, you leave everything youâve known for your whole life for something thatâs like completely new. So you expect something thatâs completely new to have the same meaning that something you left behind did. But obviously itâs not going to be like that. Youâre in a foreign city and these are people who are not going to be as close as your previous friends. So having to reconcile that before I made super good friends was tough.
L: Yeah I think the initial period is really tough. Like I said, when you come to the states, everyone seems so friendly but it doesnât mean they want to have a meal with you. So you feel like youâre making a lot of acquaintances but not friends and thatâs always very difficult. On a Friday night or when school ends so early, what are you going to do, who are you going to call, do you have peopleâs numbers? You know what I mean? So when you have those moments itâs very difficult, until you find a core group of friends you want to hang out with itâs always very tough.
A: Like the first few weeks when you end up just hanging with these people because you havenât made new friends so far, itâs really painful.
L: Itâs so painful! Because they are like so basic!
All: [laugh]
N: For me, Iâve been to like parties and stuff and I really didnât enjoy myself⌠probably coupled with homesickness and all. So I think feeling extremely out of place and struggling to find your balance, what you like to do, who you like to hang out with, thatâs difficult.
L: Also, you will want to try out a lot of things to see what you like and what you donât like but after awhile itâs really not a big deal. Everyoneâs like âoh my god, letâs go partyâ, and after the first time you realize that you really donât like it but you try to force yourself to go along because you think thatâs where youâll make friends but after awhile â
A: You just figure out what you want to do, how you like to spend your Friday and Saturday nights and all. Like in America people like to go to frat parties and these are honestly the most disgusting places ever.
L: Yeah if youâre going to go to a frat party, buy a pair of really gross second hand shoes and wear them to frats because they are disgusting. Thereâs like a layer of beer and you can feel your sole just sticking to the floor.
Any last bits of advice or stories you want to share?
A: Weâve been here for such a short time but it feels like our whole life is here already. Like we canât imagine the Singapore experience. I just think itâs a very different experience!
N: I think one thing about university is just get yourself out there, and do fun stuff with your friends as well! So travel, like weâre in New York, having Thanksgiving dinner and that sort of thing. Itâs fun to go explore the area youâre around, the different cities.
A: Especially when you make friends from different cities and you can crash with them and see their different lifestyles. So be adventurous!Â
***
And we've come to the end of our interview! Thank you very much Amelia, Luyi and Natasha! We will be putting up a few more articles about College experiences soon so do check Loop Online regularly for them! Follow us on twitter or tumblr for updates when we post!
The world is abuzz with the sound of alarms and attacks from above. It is September 1939, and Germany is invading Poland. It is the month that marks the start of the arduous and horrific WWII, of which the long-lasting effects and the strength of the survivors of the war still run strong in our minds today.
We today, as students, are aware of the events of WWII through our History classes. We examine the cause and effect of this war from various perspectives, honing our skills in our critical perception of history. Taking a step back from the academic, let us examine the war from the literary perspective, and let us go beyond the textbook, to read the stories and meet the characters that lived during this time of great tension and turmoil.
Here are the links to four different reviews of books that focus on the war within the European stage:
The Book Thief
HHhH
Brodeck's Report
All The Light We Cannot See
Let us know if you decided to pick up the books and tell us what you thought of them!
Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks (there are thousands of locks in the museum). When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, every house, every manhole, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.
Doerr's gorgeous combination of soaring imagination with observation is electric. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. Ten years in the writing, All the Light We Cannot See is his most ambitious and dazzling work.
ReviewÂ
Anthony Doerrâs skill with words and world-building flowed so beautifully and it felt so alive- here have an excerpt:
âRadio: it ties a million ears to a single mouth. Out of loudspeakers all around Zollverein, the staccato voice of the Reich grows like some imperturbable tree; its subjects lean toward its branches as if toward the lips of God. And when God stops whispering, they become desperate for someone who can put things right.â
I am irrelevant.
Admittedly, the novel focuses far more on world-building and the growing up of our protagonists rather than the bulk of the action following their meeting. While depriving us of some schmoozin between characters, the above works well in letting us understand the frenzy building to the outbreak of war. Doerr conveys the underlying tension and the uneasy calm before the break of WWII deftly. Wernerâs ambitions to leave the orphanage, his determination, his decisions of inaction against violence to the weak. Marie Laureâ difficulties as she tries to navigate the increasing panic without the ability to evaluate peopleâs faces against the words they speak to her. All these and more gives us fresh perspectives into how the war was seen (or heard) from the eyes of those who grow up within it and their experiences beyond the span of the war itself. I leave you with this parting excerpt:
âIt was hard to live through the early 1940s in France and not have the war be the center from which the rest of your life spiraled. Marie-Laure still cannot wear shoes that are too large, or smell a boiled turnip, without experiencing revulsion. Neither can she listen to lists of names. Soccer team rosters, citations at the end of journals, introductions at faculty meetings â always they seem to her some vestige of the prison lists that never contained her fatherâs name.âÂ
Author Philippe ClaudelÂ
Published 1 May 2010 [English Translation]
BlurbÂ
Forced into a brutal concentration camp during a great war, Brodeck returns to his village at the warâs end and takes up his old job of writing reports for a governmental bureau. One day a stranger comes to live in the village. His odd manner and habits arouse suspicions: His speech is formal, he takes long, solitary walks, and although he is unfailingly friendly and polite, he reveals nothing about himself. When the stranger produces drawings of the village and its inhabitants that are both unflattering and insightful, the villagers murder him. The authorities who witnessed the killing tell Brodeck to write a report that is essentially a whitewash of the incident.
As Brodeck writes the official account, he sets down his version of the truth in a separate, parallel narrative. In measured, evocative prose, he weaves into the story of the stranger his own painful history and the dark secrets the villagers have fiercely kept hidden.
Review
Fellow IB Lit Studentsâ love it or hate it, Brodeckâs Report is a novel that manages to accurately convey the herd mentality that we so often see happen within the war, and highlight the fact that history is very much what a community chooses to remember. Claudelâs words (and the strength of his translator), are hardly ever weighed down by over-elaborate word structures, making it a clear and great read.
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Author Laurent Binet
Published 24 April 2012 [English Translation]
Blurb
We are in Prague, in 1942. Two men have been enlisted to kill the head of the Gestapo. This is Operation Anthropoid: two Czechoslovakian parachutists sent by London plan to assassinate Reinhard Heydrichâhead of the Nazi secret services, 'the hangman of Prague', 'the blond beast', 'the most dangerous man in the Third Reich'.
Heydrich works for Hitler's most powerful henchman, Heinrich Himmler, but in the SS they say 'HHhH': 'Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich'âHimmler's brain is called Heydrich.
All the characters in HHhH existed then or still exist now. All the events depicted are true. But alongside the nerve-shredding story of the preparations for the attack runs another story: when you are writing about real people, how do you resist the temptation to make things up?
HHhH is a panorama of the Third Reich told through the life of one outstandingly brutal man, a story of unbearable heroism and loyalty, revenge and betrayal. It is improbably entertaining and electrifyingly modern. It is a moving, tense, and shattering work of fiction.
Review
First, a disclaimer. The novel is a fictional interpretation of Operation Anthropoid. Translation: Donât use these for your History IAs, folks. Exhibit A:Â âThis scene is not really useful, and on top of that I practically made it up. I donât think Iâm going to keep it.â
While facts do exist, creative license has taken the wheel. The conversations, the emotions, are all fictional accounts. But does this take away from the novel? Not at all. By reinterpreting the events, these characters, stale on the pages of textbooks, become more human. The novel sucks you in with its political something somethings, the anxiety of our heroes as they operate with the burden and knowledge that they hold their countryâs hope, the light moments between the characters. It keeps you hanging on every sentence with the underlying tension: How on earth will the assassination succeed?
âI can imagine what it must have meantâespecially to Colonel Moravec, head of the Czech secret servicesâthe idea of assassinating ObergruppenfĂźhrer Heydrich: Interim Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, Hangman of his people, Butcher of Prague... and also head of the German secret services, thus in some ways his opposite number. Yes. If youâre going to do something, do it properly. Why not Heydrich?â
The novel is narrated from the point of view of the author. We follow him as he alternates, between chapters recounting the events of the operation, and chapters recounting his museum visits and authorly woes. At times pathetically funny, and others just plain olâ engaging, you feel as if you are just beside the author as he researches and discovers the history behind the assassination, making us feel more connected to the plot. With the strength of such a novel, readers absorb the details and the causes behind Operation Anthropoid and the reign of Heydrich with great ease and empathy.
âThe dead are dead, and it makes no difference to them whether I pay homage to their deeds. But for us, the living, it does mean something. Memory is of no use to be remembered, only to those who remember. We build ourselves with memory, and we console ourselves with memory.â Â
Author Markus ZusackÂ
Published 8 September 2007
Blurb
HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH.
It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.
ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES.
Review
Here is another important fact: You will need a box of tissues.
Narrated by the omnipresent and world-weary Death, this novel is packed with Lieselâs interactions and exploits with her friends as she grows into her childhood, mixed with the growing menace of the Nazi regime present in the background.
â***A SMALL PIECE OF TRUTH*** I do not carry a sickle or scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold. And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on me from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror while I continue.â
We see the questions, opinions and reactions of a child experience the during then worsening economic conditions, book burnings and anti-semitism in powerful force.
It happened in a small town of Hitlerâs heartland.
The flow of more suffering was pumped nicely out, and a small piece of it had now arrived.
Jews were being marched through the outskirts of Munich, and one teenage girl somehow did the unthinkable and made her way through to walk with them. When the soldiers pulled her away and threw her to the ground, she stood up again. She continued.
The morning was warm. Another beautiful day for a parade.
Gripping, with a captivating cast of characters, Zusack skillfully presents to us the Second World War from the civilian eyes and civilian perspectives.
Interview with Pale Division's Willabelle Ong
by Russell Chong, G3
Not many people can claim that they have been featured in international publications such as the New York Times or Teen Vogue, but then again, Australian-based Willabelle Ong is not your average Joe. At only 20, the blogger has garnered an astonishing 80,000 followers on photo-sharing site Instagram and over 10,000 likes on Facebook. Her lifestyle and fashion blog Pale Division that gets over 400,000 hits per month is where her work takes place, as she shares pictures that represent her own personal style.
Amidst her busy schedule balancing life both as a student in the University of Western Australia and writer behind Pale Division, Willabelle has kindly agreed to speak to us, about her life as a blogger.
L: Hello, Willabelle! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us! Please tell us more about yourself, before we proceed further.
W: When I was twelve, I wanted to be a fashion designer. No one would tell me otherwise. Growing up, however, I realized piecing together different style pieces was my favorite part of the outfit process. So in truth, Pale Division was a late-night decision to share my musings and inspirations online.
Since then, I have gone on to create editorial content for a diverse clientele â from Gucci, SK-II and Longines, to Canon, Swarovski, and Sony. Fashion is flexible at the best of times, so when I am not suffocating from university work, I am freelancing as a writer, stylist and photographer â and covering trips around the world. I do all this because I love it, and I feel incredibly blessed to have a part in such an exciting line of work.
L: Can you tell us more about Pale Division, and what inspired you to start it?
W: Pale Division was initally launched to document my personal style and showcase daily visuals from my life. In fact, it was a short-term goal; I had no idea the site would evolve into its own brand â and of course, Iâm extremely thankful it did.Â
L: How would you describe your own personal sense of style?
W: My style is streamlined with an emphasis on elegant tailoring and classic pieces, though I tend to play things up with bold colors, feminine prints and different textures. For off-duty days, I always reach for a structured jacket regardless of season.
L: Who are your main inspirations when it comes to fashion? Does your personal style derive from any other influences?
W: Anna Dello Russo for her lavish, straight off the runway outfits. More is more!
L: Where do you tend to buy your clothes, and why?
W: Thereâs no specific site or place I always go back to â I buy whatever I fancy whenever and wherever! Â
L: What do you splurge the most on?
W: Food! Not going to lie. I live to eat.
L: Have you ever received criticisms or hateful remarks about you, or your blog? How do you handle these attacking critics?
W: Occasionally, but I choose to focus on all the love and encouragement I receive instead. I definitely welcome constructive criticism though.
L: What were the some of the greatest and worst experiences youâve had in your career to date?
W: It is the most humbling thing in the world when someone comes up in person and tells me they love what I do. Also, Vanessa Hudgens did insist my site was âinspirational and radâ, and that I had dope style. You can imagine how incredibly overwhelmed I was on that particular day â and still am. Other wonderful experiences would include personally meeting and interviewing down-to-earth celebrities like Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and Simon Baker, as well as covering events and trips across Europe and Asia as an international influencer. As for awful experiences, Iâd like to think Iâve never had one. Just develop from the negatives.Â
L: How do you ever strike a balance between blogging and your studies?
W: By staying organized with a planned schedule, managing my time effectively and setting priorities. Itâs also important to know when to stop, take a break to recharge, and come back with fresh ideas.Â
L: Thank you so much for your time, Willabelle and we hope to catch up with you soon!
"Since 2010, The 24 Hour Races have engaged more than 1,500,000 youths in the fight against modern-day slavery, and raised more than USD 300,000 for grassroots charities in the process."
A Landmark Year
To celebrate the 5th year of The 24 Hour Raceâs success in Hong Kong and Singapore, we have expanded to Kuala Lumpur. From 9am November 15th to 9am November 16th, more than 1000 student runners in 3 cities, together with more than 150,000 of their families, colleagues, friends will come together for the 24 Hour Race. Awareness and conversations on the mitigation and prevention of modern-day slavery will be initiated, and more than USD 350,000 will be donated to our beneficiary charities which do grassroots prevention and rehabilitation work in Nepal, Northern India and Malaysia.
The 24 Hour Race
A youth for youth event, the 24 Hour Races are endurance relay style races. Whilst fundraising, each team will represent their school to run for 24 hours at a landmark venue. The race brings together 20-30 local and international secondary schools in each city in the fight against modern-day slavery. Each school submits teams of 7-9 runners to participate in the races. Hong Kongâs 24 Hour Race 2014 will be held at Lugard Road on The Peak, Singaporeâs inside the Gardens By The Bay, and Kuala Lumpur's at Taman Bukit Jalil. Supplementing race day are the events in the 2 months leading up to the race, including on-campus information sessions, flash-mobs, design and awareness campaigns, concerts, social media campaigns etc, either in collaboration with different cities or partner NGOs.
We Want You!
Calling local and international school students interested in leading your school's team at the 24 Hour Races this year. As a Team Leader, you will be recruiting, leading and motivating your own team of runners and will also get the chance to work with your respective cityâs Organising Committee on fundraising for the event.
Sign up to be a team leader, first aid volunteer, or race marshall!
Deadlines for HK & KL:Â September 15; Deadline for SG:Â September 22
Possibly one of the greatest explorers of our time, Sir Ernest Shackleton was one of the first men to ever explore the mysterious lands of Antarctica in the early 20th Century (1900s). He led three British Teams on different expeditions to Antarctica, reaching the furthest point North on the Earth's magnetic compass. This was no easy feat, especially in an age where it took approximately 30 days to travel from Europe to America via the Trans-Atlantic Shipping Route. He finally died at the age of 48 after a life of  great adventure.Â
While the students did not travel to the Antarctic (quite the opposite actually), the SOTA Shackleton Expedition aimed to capture the spirit of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his expeditions: the thrill of the adventure, being a responsible leader and some good old-fashioned teamwork. The expedition is planned annually for the Year 5 students and last yearâs group headed towards the Anambas Archipelago. Traveling around the Anambas Archipelago, the group kayaked through miles of open sea, steered schooners (thatâs a ship) and scaled a mountain known as âMoon Rockâ.
In the movie Cast Away, there is a scene where the protagonist picks up a birthday card. On it, someone wrote, âThe most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itselfâ. While this is a fictional movie (with Tom Hanks), it doesnât make the quote itself any less true. Sometimes we forget how big the world is, or how small we really are. The truth of the bigger world is what drives every explorer. It is what drove men like Sir Ernest Shackleton to leave the comfort of his warm home on the thin chance that he may even reach the Antarctic. It is what inspired this group of SOTA students to kayak, sail and climb the distances that they did. It is a mixture of teamwork, responsibility, and the courage to step into unknown territory. And this is a spirit that humans should never forget.
This yearâs Year 5s, we wish you all the best and do share your experiences with us when you get back!
By Khym Fong
Poem by Almira FaridÂ
Realising that when you are out on the open sea,
And when that moment makes you feel so small,
Instead of battling and conquering the winds and the rain and the choppy seas,
To stop and think that maybe,
Just maybe,
You are not as big as you thought you were in the grand scheme of things,
And while that may seem intimidating,
You realise that it is indeed an incredible honour
To be able to sit in a kayak or at the bow of a ship in the middle of the sea
And watch the colours of the sunset flood the sky,
And to be a part of the natural beauty of this world.
All photos by: Amrita Sridhar
All sketches by: Kong Yin Ying
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I think I stare at blank documents so often that itâs starting to become a kind of accidental pastime.
I donât mean to, but the amount of writing that I have to do can sometimes be so daunting that I end up not writing anything at all. I just open Word or Pages and end up staring hopelessly at the blinking cursor, like a signal to some race that keeps giving me a second chance at starting.
Aaaaand, now! No, wait, now! Okay. Now?
When I was a lot younger (not that it was that long ago), I was definitely as unsure about what I wanted to do in the future as I am now. The only difference was that I wasnât so aware of the future; it didnât matter as much. The future was probably like two days from the present to me. Of course I had a vague idea of where I was going in life â or rather, where I would like to go. Primary, secondary, JC, university, I mean, you know, before SOTA. So I went through my days with a rough idea of my goals, but definitely a lot more carefree.
I donât think the increase in inertia is something that comes with age, per se. Itâs just something that tends to come with certain experiences and expectations that are set too high. If I think about it, the much younger, much less intelligent, but definitely much more energetic me probably cared about other peoplesâ opinions of my work about 0% of the time. This isnât to say that you should totally disregard other peoplesâ opinions of you and/or your works (which is a mistake a lot of people can make); you should always be trying to improve yourself and what you put out there. But the younger me was creating works and writing with the intention of just that, of just doing. The younger me had the ability to see the work for what it was. Present me tends to care a lot about what the work says about me. This isnât necessarily bad, but it can lead to a lot of standstills in the process. Sometimes I end up caring way too much about the implications of the work that I forget about the work itself.
Does that make sense? I donât know. But I guess what Iâm trying to say is that the next time you open up Word or Pages or your sketchbook or find yourself at the start of a new creative journey, donât be afraid to just start.
Are you interested in doing Arts Based Service Learning? Come join the Gotong-Royong Arts Fund! Applications close 25th June 2014 so do apply soon! More info in the link!
So I guess I appreciate how people are always going on about challenging society's perception of beauty. But what I think everyone needs is a Blind Date. I'm talking to all my myopic friends out there. Just for one day, take off your spectacles and contacts and embrace the world semi-blind! This will rid you of any prejudice you think you hold against peoples' appearances. Revolutionary right? To think the answer to all your prejudice-problems was right under your nose (or should I say on your nose, resting on your bridge).Â
I myself discovered this when I had a contact malfunction and unintentionally had to go a day half-blind. Not only did everyone look the same to me, I myself felt more confident because I couldn't pick up on any social cues or didn't feel insecure about any weird faces people were giving me in response to my obnoxious talking.
Try it.Â
(LOOP online will not be held responsible for any injuries obtained during said suggested activity)
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