Singaporeans & Germans...

Independence and optimism are some of the cultural difference between Singaporeans and the Germans. When I was in Germany during this June for an immersion trip, my German friend told me that he was asked to leave home when he was 18 years old. I was quite surprised, although I remembered hearing of such practice before. Back then, I was quite skeptical about it, and felt that it should not be true. In Singapore, most children will not ever leave their parents' house until the day they are married. This is partly due to the Housing policy by Housing and Development Board (HDB) which only allows newly-wed couples or singles who are thirty-five years old and above to purchase a new flat. Thus, this policy limits people to rent as an alternative which maybe rather costly. However, even if such policy does not exist, I believe Singaporeans' parents will not encourage such practice. Most parents are observed to be protective over their children and would prefer keeping them by their side, even after their children have gotten married. Such practice is rather interesting and bold as it throws the teenagers into deep sea and forces them to be independent.

When I was in Germany, it was during the World Cup Season. The Germans were aggressively supporting their team in the World Cup. When the German team won, the whole street will be full of cheers and celebrations, and that was how we inferred the outcome of a match without watching. However, there was a match that the Germans lost, and we misinterpreted that they won. The street was still very lively and the Germans were singing and cheering, which leads us to think that they won. When a German approached us during our meal, we asked about their winning score. Surprisingly, they told us that they had lost. This left us puzzled, because, if it was back in Singapore, and the supporting team was to lose, we will definitely be acting the other way round. I guess I can only conclude as, the Germans are very optimistic people

My application letter (2nd draft)

Lynette Tay Wan Qing

Blk 123 ABC

#20-123

Singapore 123456

nettetay@gmail.com

1st September 2010

Regional Sales Center of

Electronics Component Manufacturer

Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to express my interest to work as a Sales Executive in your company, as advertised in the Straits Time, Recruit section on 1st September 2010. I am a fresh graduate from National University of Singapore with a Bachelor Degree in Science (Physics). I would like to begin my career as a Sales Executive in your company.

Working as a Sales Executive in an Electronics Component Manufacturing company, it would be fulfilling and challenging. It will provide many opportunities to work with various customers while applying the skill of communication. Moreover, being a physicist, it will be interesting and challenging to make use of my theoretical knowledge onto the sales of Electronics Component. It will allow a different perspective in promoting of the products. You will note that from my enclosed resume, many of my working experiences and positions in my extracurricular demostrate good interpersonal skill and great learning ability. This is evident in my role as the head of my class committee, who has a good reputation among my peers and teachers. Moreover, it reflects an independent worker who is capable to work efficiently and sets high expectations for herself. I am confident that I am able to excel as a Sales Executive in your organization and carry out my responsibilites with great pleasure.

A letter and a resume can tell you only so much about my motivation and qualifications. I will contact you in the next few days to see if you require any additional information and arrange an interview to share more about myself.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely,

Lynette Tay Wan Qing

Enclosure:Resume