What inspired you to travel abroad?
When I was 18, I volunteered at a school event where kids from 82 different countries came to compete for a physics competition. I was in charge of Team Iran and made responsible for chaperoning five Iranian teenagers around Singapore for ten days.
The experience was very memorable, and it made me wonder why I had not learned anything much about the Middle East in school. It felt like a systemic gap in the Singapore national curricula, and I wanted to understand why that gap was there.
Choon Hwee and Professor of Archaeology Helga Seeden.
Why did you choose to study in the Middle East?
Speaking as a Singaporean, I think it is important to study in the Middle East because living and learning in the Middle East offers a perspective on the world that is not often heard about in Singapore. This perspective differs greatly from how mainstream education in Singapore teaches students about the world, which molds how we might understand Singapore’s place in the world.
Speaking as a citizen of the world, I think it is important to study in the Middle East because many myths, stereotypes, and half-truths about the region have become normalised in mainstream media and news. By spending some time in the region, studying in its institutions, learning from indigenous scholars and alongside local students, we may learn to be able to distinguish reality from representation, and hopefully help to combat harmful stereotypes about the region and its peoples.
What was your favorite part about Beirut?
I loved the people, the food, the kindness.
What made your experience abroad extraordinary?
The people of Lebanon, and especially at the American University of Beirut's Department of History and Archaeology, made my experience extraordinary. AUB professors were passionate about their work and also cared for their students beyond the classroom.
I benefited from the wealth of resources stored in Jafet library, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in land surveys led by archaeology professors in the Bekaa Valley. But I did not only learn from my professors—I also learned from other talented Lebanese students at AUB, especially my cohort mates in the History MA program, Tamara Maatouk and Hratch Kestenian.
Debates that began in seminars often continued outside the classroom, and the different perspectives we shared with each other, having grown up in different parts of the world, enlarged and also, I believe, added nuance to our worldviews.
Tamara and I even made a short film about our department, which won a prize in a university-wide film competition. We continue to have those debates today. The spirit of learning and curiosity that began at AUB still resides in us years after graduation.
How did the university support you throughout your program?
The faculty at the Department of History and Archaeology at AUB were like family. They were not only teachers in the classroom, they are also mentors for life.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?
Being accepted as part of the family by the Department of History and Archaeology at AUB had the greatest impact on me. Professors in the department were more than just teachers in the classroom—they are also lifelong mentors who keep in touch with students long after they have graduated.
Since graduating in 2014, I have returned to visit my professors and the university every year until the pandemic struck. Before getting married, I even brought my then-fiance (now-husband) to meet my professors and friends in Lebanon. We also attended my professor’s 80th birthday party during that trip, and celebrated that milestone with her and her loved ones.
Choon Hwee with her advisor John Meloy at Helga Seeden's 80th birthday party.
Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.
I would go to classes, then come back to the dormitory and cook my meals at the shared kitchen. Sometimes, I would go to Malek al-Foul to buy hummus (5000LBP/3USD at the time) which would come with vegetables and bread and I would eat that for about 2-3 days. On weekends I might go to a bar for a drink; Captain’s Cabin was a favorite hangout.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?
During my free time, I enjoyed getting to know my professors and classmates at the American University of Beirut. Tamara Maatouk, one of my best friends in the world, was my classmate in the MA program in History at AUB.
During our free time, we strolled along the Corniche and talked about films, songs, and poetry. She was a filmmaker and editor before entering academia, and she shared many of her experiences filming in Lebanon and Syria with me.
The professors in the department also enjoyed telling us stories from their childhood and their experiences during the civil war with us. Professor Samir Seikaly would have his daily tea routine near the kettle, and as the water gurgled noisily, a group of us students would gather round to hear him recall an anecdote or two. Soon, other professors would emerge from their respective offices to join our crowd, and some of them would even contribute other details they remembered. I miss those days.
What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?
I stayed in Kerr Hall, which is a dormitory for women within the campus of the American University of Beirut. I believe that this dormitory has since been repurposed for other uses. I loved living in Kerr Hall, which had a view of the Mediterranean, and which offered subsidised rates for students.
I made friends with other women living in Kerr Hall, and chatted with them as we cooked communally over the one common stove in the dormitory block. We also sometimes went out for meals together, or did grocery shopping together.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
Every future participant should ideally have some understanding of AUB’s history before their program begins. The Department of History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut (AUB) is home to prominent historians and archaeologists whose works have greatly contributed to our understanding of the region.
This department was also one of the few departments to remain open for classes during the Lebanese Civil War. More broadly, the institution of the university itself holds an important place in the history of Lebanon and the Middle East.
What advice do you have for future students at AUB?
In terms of general advice, I would suggest that prospective students keep their hearts open to new ways of seeing the world, and to be slow to judge. It is normal to have unpleasant encounters when travelling in a foreign country, not just countries in the Middle East, and I would advise international students to be slow to anger and to give the benefit of the doubt to others.
Try, also, to respect the implicit rules of local society, many of which may not be apparent in the beginning. Sometimes we might not fully understand why certain things are done in certain ways that may initially appear illogical to us, and that is okay. Take care of yourself and your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Choon Hwee on AUB's beautiful campus.
What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is?
In my view, the biggest benefit of travelling abroad is learning new ways of seeing the world. Travelling abroad with a healthy dose of self-doubt allows us to step outside ourselves and become more empathetic to others’ experiences, challenges, and lives.
At a time of political polarization, economic inequality, and social tensions, such empathy is needed for better mutual understanding and for healing. I hope that when the pandemic passes, future generations of students will be able to travel abroad.
Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?
Looking back, those two years I spent in Beirut were a very precious and formative period of my growth as a scholar and as a person. I deepened my historical knowledge about the Middle East, improved my grasp of the Arabic language, and, as I was living away from my family and friends in Singapore, I also learned to be more emotionally independent. Until the pandemic struck, I returned to visit my professors and friends annually––I may have graduated from the American University of Beirut in 2014, but I have not left.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel, for me, means stepping outside of ourselves to see the world in a new way.
It means accepting that one’s own perspective is not the only perspective, and that other perspectives are valid as well. It means having a healthy dose of self-doubt to accept that the norms and values which we grew up with might not be universally shared, and that that is okay. Meaningful travel means behaving respectfully to others, and it means having empathy for others.
