Biodata

My name is Chua Mui Peng and I am currently a second year statistic major student in National University of Singapore. I strongly believe that numbers make a difference in people’s life and thus chosen a career path that is associated with numbers. From my course, I hope to acquire good analytical skills so that I can make sense of the numbers in datasets and provide others with the relevant information.

Prior to NUS, I attended Meridian Junior College where I was given a chance to display my leadership skills. I participated in Learning Agora 2005 which is organized by Meridian Junior College. In this event, I was appointed as the co-leader and I had to work with the team members to come up with creative products to be sold to the public.

After my A level studies, I took up several administrative job where I was exposed to different sets of data and tasked to compile, sort and analyze the data. The jobs have equipped me with skills for documentation using Microsoft Offices. In addition, I was also given the opportunity to liaise with other companies which in turn strengthen my communication skills. Through these jobs, I have developed skills to work as a team as well as proper time management.

Furthermore, I also have strong affinity with music. I was a member of Chinese Orchestra for consecutive 6 years from secondary to junior college. I immersed myself wholeheartedly in all the club activities and thus, I was selected to represent the school in the prestigious Singapore Youth Festival Central Judging (SYF) and clinched a Silver award.

Soon, I will be embarking on the next chapter of my life, and I hope to make use of the skills that I have learnt previously in my future endeavors.

A picture speaks a thousand words

If you happen to see this advertisement in the MRT, do you know what message is the company trying to convey? It may be thought as rather provoking, and many may misunderstood the actual meaning of it.





When the words are accompanied by a photo of the burger, I am sure everyone would understand the meaning of it, and the actual message that the company is trying to get across to the consumers.

I believe, everyone has heard about the phrase “a picture speaks a thousand words”. Therefore, words itself are definitely not enough to convey message across to the other party. Visual aid is an important aspect in communication and it helps to reduce miscommunication between both parties.

I had this experience, where I had a miscommunication with my one of my close friend, and resulted in a cold war. Another close friend of mine understood the whole situation and drew a picture to help to clear the misunderstandings towards my friend. Below is the scenario which had occurred.

Scene 1: I (MP) was not in good mood that day and hence, I did not talk too much that day. My close friend Van, thought that I was angry with her and so, she did not dare to speak to me. The cold war begins …


Scene 2: Van went to find another friend called Ting, but she looks more troubled. Therefore, Van did not dare to bother her much too.


Scene 3: Van had no choice but to look for the next best alternative who was KT. Van had told him about a secret of mine, which I had told her specifically to keep it from KT. KT promised to keep it a secret.



Scene 4: The next day, KT came and laughed at me about my secret. I felt betrayed by Van and hence, more misunderstandings arise between us.

Scene 5: KT who is an insensitive guy still do not understand what did he do wrongly. He laughed at me and ask me question about that secret Van had told him. He thought it was just a normal question. I felt more insulted and more miscommunications arise.

Scene 6: A humorous ending asking me to forgive Van.

After looking at the drawings, I laughed and forgive Van. Before receiving, the drawings, my only thought was how Van had betrayed my trust, and I did not want to give her a chance to explain herself as I was too angry with her.
However, with the drawings, it certainly helps to brighten up one’s mood, and aid in clearing the misunderstandings.

Therefore, if you ever make someone angry, I think the best solution would be to draw some interesting drawings that would cheer up the person. For example, if someone is angry with you for being late for appointment, maybe you can show him/her the picture below.

Do you agree with me that the use of picture is an effective communication tools?

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

A photo taken with Aiko at my house

I believe many of you are aware that the Japanese are rich in culture and their perception towards courtesy are different from ours. When I was in Primary 4, I had this interaction with a Japanese exchange student called Aiko. She was assigned to stay at my place for a couple of days. However, my family and I were ignorant about their culture and thus, resulted in much embarrassment.

When Japanese drink their soup, they drink it loudly to show the chef that they enjoyed the soup and the soup is delicious. There was this incident when my whole family was eating together with Aiko and she drank her soup very loudly. We were shocked by her behavior, and thought that she was unhappy with my mother’s cooking and hence, made the noise sarcastically. After the dinner, I explained to Aiko about the Chinese culture, that eating loudly is regarded as rudeness, and would affect others mood in eating. She then told me about their Japanese culture too, and the both of us laughing at our ignorance towards each other culture. She apologized to my family the next day, and in the subsequent dinner, she did not make her usual sound when drinking her soup.

During Aiko’s stay in our house, I learnt more about the Japanese culture. For example, the Japanese are not supposed to wear shoes inside the house as it will appear to be rude to the owner. Hence, before interacting with foreigners, I believe we should learnt more about their culture first so that we will not result in embarrassment, or even conflicts in worse cases.