Mohamed Faizal, one of our Executive Committee members, spent the past year pursuing his postgraduate studies at Harvard Law School. Given our ample persuasion skills (i.e. us putting a metaphoric gun to his head and asking him to write up something about his adventures in the United States) in requesting that he pen his adventures in the United States, he writes to us from Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard Yard (and the author) in winter
I’m sitting here by the bedroom window in my apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It’s a rainy evening, my last evening here in the United States before I return to Singapore. I’m penning this blog post in large part because it’s always a good habit to crystallize one’s thoughts on such a unique experience in print before they fade into the recesses of memory but more importantly, because doing so allows me to procrastinate from finding a solution to the insufferable problem of developing a viable strategy to fit the barang-barang that I’ve accumulated over the preceding twelve months into two tiny suitcases.
My time in the United States over the past year has proven to be enjoyable and fulfilling on a few different fronts. From an academic viewpoint, I’ve been fortunate to have been able to hone my understanding of the intricate and complex interplay between law, social and economic policy through exposure to the wide variety of viewpoints held by the different constituents in class that draws upon the diverse student body’s multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary experiences. By having my assumptions questioned on a daily basis through such cross-fermentation of ideas as well as vigorous debates in class, I found myself learning through the process of unlearning: disabusing my mind of commonly-held assumptions, stereotypes, and viewpoints, and in the process, deepening my appreciation for the rule of law and its central role in modern-day society.
Harvard Law School Library – the largest academic law library in the world
The past year has been a historical one for the United States for a myriad of reasons, and I am fortunate to be here at a time of continuous flux, for it has afforded me countless opportunities to broaden my education outside the confines of class: whether be it the opportunity to obtain a first-hand appreciation of the American electoral process (and experience the painful process of watching faculty member after faculty member go on leave from the Law School to take up appointments in the Obama administration!), or the opportunity to intimately understand and make sense of the economic crisis at ground zero (i.e. Wall Street), it would be fair to say that the experiences that I received out of class have been just as educational and enriching as the intellectual stimulation provided through academic classes at the Law School. Short trips to a wide variety of different parts of the North-East of the United States, in particular to neighboring states such as Rhode Island, New York and Washington, have also allowed me to sate my wanderlust.
New York, New York!
On a personal level, I’ve had the opportunity to work, and become close friends, with people from a wide variety of countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, China, India and the Philippines, to name a few countries, fostering bonds that I am confident will persist long after my time here in the United States. Through these friendships, I have come to be able to better appreciate the unique intricacies and beauty of a variety of cultures and, as quid pro quo, have afforded them a chance to sample Singaporean culture and way of life. Of course, such international friendships have another (ancillary, though equally wonderful) benefit – that of being able to have an excuse to visit breathtaking parts of the world in future: I’ve already been invited for three weddings in two different continents over the upcoming months, and have been blessed with numerous open invitations to visit many other fellow students in their home countries.
Acclimatization to life here has thankfully been without significant challenges, with the presence of a large and tight-knit Singaporean community making the transition relatively easy. Being introduced to the relatively large Malay-Muslim Singaporean and Malaysian community in Boston to celebrate Hari Raya, in particular, was a real treat. The warm and welcoming atmosphere at the Singapore-Malaysia Hari Raya party reminded me of the convivial and hospitable atmosphere of the numerous Iftars get-togethers I would otherwise have attended if I were back home in Singapore. The get-together was very much appreciated for another reason: after a few months of Western fare (and the consumption of not-too-palatably-cooked-food, by yours truly), the array of scrumptious Singapore and Malaysian food in the dining hall in which the celebrations were held were truly a feast for eyes and the palate! It was also immensely comforting to be able to use and hear the Malay language in full flow all around me during the gathering.
MIT’s Frank Gehry designed building
Although I’ve enjoyed my time here, that’s not to say there haven’t been things in Singapore that I have missed. Having been located outside Singapore’s jurisdictional boundaries these past twelve months, the wonders of modern technology like E-mail and the Internet are such that it continues to be relatively easy to be plugged in on developments, both at work as well and in MClub. From the perspective of being an MClub volunteer, one thing, however, has definitely changed over the course of the past twelve months: whilst in Singapore, it was always extremely easy for me to take for granted the wonderful people I’ve grown accustomed to sharing my Friday evenings (Executive Committee meetings) and Saturday afternoons (YMC sessions) with. Having suddenly found myself some 15,000 km away from home, I’ve come to sorely miss, and appreciate, not only their hard work and dedication, but the wonderful personalities of the volunteers and secretarial staff that form the core of the organization that I’ve gotten to know and love during the course of this journey. For that reason, although this journey has been an amazing one, the best part of this journey remains one that is yet to be taken: coming back and, hopefully, using the knowledge that I’ve been able to gain here both in my day-to-day work as a Legal Service Officer and as a volunteer with MClub!
Mohamed Faizal has, since writing this post, returned to active service as a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers. He is grateful to the Singapore Legal Service (the Legal Service Commission Scholarship) as well as Mr David Worth and White & Case (the Kathryn Aguirre Worth Memorial Scholarship) for the opportunity to pursue his postgraduate studies at Harvard Law School. All opinions contained herein are his own and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Attorney-General’s Chambers or the Singapore Legal Service.