This summer, I was given the opportunity to go to Singapore and Malaysia for the Honors trip with the class of 2020. From shooting a blowdart to eating noodles for less than 1 USD, encapsulating everything I have done into 500-600 words is a bit rough, so I’ve tried to narrow it down to specific highlights.
I believe that one of the biggest highlights of the trip for me was the Iban Longhouse experience. Perhaps some of my peers may disagree, but it was entering a whole new world. Some of the things that we take for granted such as running hot water and internet connection weren’t available. Yet, the longhouse residents seemed happy and content with their daily lives. We were also given a chance to bathe in the river, and while it may not be the cleanest environment, it gets the job done especially in such a humid climate like Southeast Asia.
Later, I learned that there was actually a conflict that occurred between the people in the community, which was why there was a brick wall separating the families in the longhouse. It was also why certain children did not come into the particular section of the longhouse and did not receive the toys that we brought for them. It was pretty depressing, trying to understand the pain that the children must have felt when we were playing with brand new toys with the other children while they had so sit outside because of the conflicts that their parents were having with the chief.
I believe that this conflict, while sad, was a very important experience for the class, as it demonstrated to us the often harsh realities of life. As the mission of the Honors Program is to expand one’s worldview, I believe that we must see both the good and the bad to strengthen our ideas of the world. Personally, going to Southeast Asia was incredibly beneficial as it broadened my worldview. For example, the heat and humidity of Southeast Asia and their impact upon the cultures we visited made the world seem so much more complex to me. The trip just enabled me to see past myself and made me wonder how moving forward I can help people who have less resources than I do. Hopefully, it made my peers feel the same way.
Another “highlight” of the trip for me was when I lost my wallet. I lost it around the end of week one and it was horrible because not only did I lose any purchasing power with no money or credit cards for the trip, I also lost a picture of my dad and I from a trip we took to Legoland when I was 12 years old. It was heartwarming how the other members of the class rallied around me to buy me food, loan me money, etc. What started out as a horrible experience ended up opening my eyes to the compassion that exists within my cohort.
All in all, I think that the Honors trip is an integral part of the Honors Program. Without the trip, students wouldn’t experience such a transformed worldview that, hopefully, will continue to expand throughout their lives.
–Eric Han, Class of 2020
