Elliott Tan Chen Liang

Class of 2017
Majoring in Political Science

The Old Jaffa clock tower in the middle of the ancient port city of Jaffa

Imagine my surprise to discover I was the only SMU student headed to Israel for my semester on exchange! Luckily for me my family had decided to travel with me and we attempted to see the entire Holy Land in one week. We walked the streets of Tel Aviv, toured the old city of Jerusalem and roamed the Negev Desert. Out of curiosity I even tasted the Dead Sea, which I found was less salty than sharply metallic. The lifeguard, however, gave me a funny look afterwards. My favourite place by far was that of Jaffa, the ancient port city overlooking the Tel Aviv coastline.

The Interdisciplinary Centre

Outside the Raphael Recanti International School, IDC Herzliya​​​​​​​

My host university, the Interdisciplinary Centre, was in the sleepy town of Herzliya, which was north of Tel Aviv. A big reason for me wanting to come to Israel was to take classes on the Middle East and they did not disappoint. The History of the Modern Middle East class went back a few more centuries than I was expecting to the Ottoman Empire. Civil Wars and Ethnic Conflict taught me the complexities of counter-insurgency operations. I even attended entrepreneurship classes like Strategic Entrepreneurship in Hi-Tech. Israel’s reputation as the “Start-Up Nation” is well founded and I saw first-hand how culture played a huge role. Israelis constantly question established paradigms and are much more open towards novel business propositions. Letting go of typical Singaporean hesitance might actually prove beneficial to the cultivation of a national entrepreneurial spirit.

My Roommate

I am pretty bad with names, and this led to a funny story on exchange. My flatmate and I had left without exchanging contacts, but I did remember him saying: “My name is Barak, like the President.” So I figured he meant Ehud Barak the President. Due to miscommunication, I ended up living in the apartment alone for a while, before finding him again in school. “Where have you been?” I asked. He told me he had stayed elsewhere, but found the note I left on the door. With a grin he said, “Yeah, you left a note for Ehud. Who the heck is Ehud?” As it turned out, his name was Barak, similar to Barack Obama. Thankfully, we got along very well after that humorous incident.

Touring the Middle East

The most interesting side-trip I took was a tour of the Palestinian West Bank to Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem. I was unsure to expect, thinking I would literally find a war-zone. They turned out to be surprisingly pleasant towns full of friendly people. Unlike what we see on the media, I saw Palestinians having their morning coffee, selling their wares and going about their daily lives. The separation barrier stood as a sobering reminder of the conflict, erected during an era of suicide bombings. More damaging than the physical separation barriers was the segregation of Israeli society from Palestinian society, making empathy for the other side much more difficult.

Learning about Myself

I think that being on exchange teaches you more about yourself than any other comparable experience offered by SMU. You learn more about yourself and often get surprised by what you are capable of when you are left on your own, especially with regard to travelling and meeting people. Discovering a country like Israel for yourself will definitely make you more open minded as your experiences will challenge your beliefs and assumptions about issues such as the viability of National Service for females.

Useful Advice

As a Singaporean, the coffee here is very weak. I brought Old Town White Coffee packets to supplement myself. The money-changers don’t accept SG dollars here, so bring US dollars. The only mobile provider I know that takes foreign credit cards is GOLAN Telecom at the Seven Stars Mall, Herzliya. Everything does shut down on the Sabbath, so remember to plan ahead. You can head out in a cab, but there is no food available except in the Muslim areas. Lastly, it does get colder in the winter (around 15°C).