Blog post 4: Intercultural communication

A incident I would like to share regarding my personal experience with intercultural differences was dinner at a Muslim friend's place. I was quite unaware of the dining habits at that time, probably because I was still young and rather ignorant of such affairs. Although it was only much to my embarrassment as my friend's family did not really mind, it occurred to me that we need to appreciate the cultures of the different racial groups, and not to assume that everyone else share the same habits as we do.

I asked for a fork and spoon, without realizing that my friend and his family were eating with their hands. Although my friend's mother stood up to get me the cutlery, I could sense that his father was rather displeased. I quickly apologized for my lack of manners and suggested that I would like to try and learn consume my meals with my hands like them. Well, it has always been my (queer) habit to use my left hand to eat, as I wanted to leave the master hand to handle emergencies like answering phone calls, etc in case they occurred unexpectedly during my meals. I guessed that was the last straw for my mis-doings, as my friend had to quickly tell me off after the dinner that I ought to use my right hand to eat always. Of course there were no hard feelings as I promptly apologized to the parents, who were not angered but yet shared with me a little more insight about Muslim dining habits.

Application letter

Application for internship:
http://ejobcentre.nus.edu.sg/Jobs/jobdesc.asp?type=0&eid=4763291&jid=2212407&did=314&its=0&src=8&itn=

Hi Ms Desy Ang,

I am writing in with regards to the application for the internship position as a Assistant Engineer intern with your company. I am currently in my third year of Civil Engineering, and it would be a utmost opportunity to be able to work in Sunlink Engineering Pte Ltd, as I am keen in the area of project management. As a quick learner and having a similar previous experience while doing my attachment with Works Infrastructure Pte Ltd in polytechnic, I would adapt to the working environment effectively without much orientation.

Project management has always been my interest as it requires more than the academic knowledge we acquire in schools. As a project manager, one has to constantly deal with changing circumstances, and manage the project effectively so that it can be completed duly without incurring extra costs. Having taken core as well as a Higher Level Technical Elective modules in project management in my course, I have been trained to perform work scheduling and resource allocation effectively, which would be advantageous as part of my jobscope requires me to have a hands-on experience on site and in project management.

I have also taken part in various student projects in school, namely the Sports Camp as part of the organising committee. This has also enabled me to apply problem-solving and management skills in order to oversee the execution of the tasks undertaken by my department smoothly. I have also managed to enhance my communication and public relations techniques at the same time, and collectively, i think that these skills would aid me greatly as an intern Assistant Engineer in project management as it is people-oriented.

Hence, once again, I would like to express my keen interest in this internship and hope that I would be considered. Please do contact me at 92700577 should you require any additional information. Thank you very much

Best regards,
Adrian Tan