I come from a wealth Chinese family which my father is a businessman. Currently, I am studying foundation in computing and technology programme at Asia Pacific University and I plan to continue my degree in Cyber security course. My favourite subject is Mathematic because I love solving complicated problem that involve calculation. I have great passion for poetry and video games. These things can make me relax when I stress. I am a quick witted people and I am good in strategic planning. My favourite quote that always motivate me is: when you fail, everything you said is just excuses by Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok. It inspires me that whenever you fail, do not explain why you fail, everyone will think it is an excuse. What you should do is fix the problem.
Goal Setting
My short-term goal that I want to achieve by the end of semester 1 is to learn a new language which is France. It is not a top goal for me, but it is important for me to accomplish because I really love the culture about French and I wish I could further my study at French. Other than that, it is also important for me to increase my opportunity to being employed because nowadays globalization is very common in every company. It increases my chances in company which I can get promoted too. If unfortunately, I fail to understand and can talk with France by the end of the semester, I might attend the class again but it’s wasted of money too.
The new task that I had develop is I enrolled to France language class at every Wednesday. I had also developed a new habit which I bought a lot of France novel and exercise book to be read and revise. These habit and task are important for me because I can learn the language from the teacher in class more directly and I can speak more fluent in France without any mispronounce. In additional, I can be more understand in France with these novel and exercise and learn about their grammar, their phrase and their writing skill. These habit and task are associated with a milestone of my goal because for me to learn a new language is to start from the basic, read more book and encourage myself to speak more in public.
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In addition, my long-term goal that I want to achieve by the end of my study in APU is I want to get 3.5 and above for Cumulative Grade point average (CGPA) in the whole study in APU. It is my top goal for this year and the three following year. Firstly, if I get 3.5 and above I can maintain my scholarship every year. Second, If I get a high CGPA by the end of my foundation I could easily apply the course I want which is cyber security without any doubt. If I fail to get 3.5 and above for CGPA I might not get to maintain my scholarship and it will become a burden for my family which they need to pay more money for me which I do not want to see this happen because I know my father was working very hard to pay for the university tuition fee and I do not want to be a burden for him.
The milestone that I need to accomplish is I need to do more revision and be more hardworking in my study. In order to achieve this, I have established new habit which I will take 3 hours in weekend to revise and recap the syllabus every week. This is important for me because I will not forget the important things that lecturer teach. Moreover, I need to put more effort in revision so I created a new task which I had set a target which I need to finish 10 question everyday according to the module because practice make perfect. With more practice and exercise I can understand more and I can identify my weakness. Last but not least, these habit and task are associated with my milestone to accomplish my goal.
Moreover, my social goal that I want to achieve is I want to improve my photo shooting skill and become a professional photographer. It is my top goal for this year because it is my dream. I have a dream which I want to go to every country in the world and capture everyone’s smile. It is my top goal for this year and the entire years. Firstly, it is important for me to accomplish is because it is my dream. In addition, I can become a part time professional photographer to earn more side income that can solve my financial issues.
In my opinion, there is no way for me to fail to accomplish this goal unless I give up halfway. The milestone that I need to accomplish before I reach my goal is I need to let my photography teacher satisfy with the photo that I shoot. In order to accomplish this goal, I had established new habits and task. The new habits that I establish is I start to be more conscious on detail and when I walk around I like to take picture even a little flower beside the road with my phone. Obviously, these habits can improve my photo shooting skill. Other than that, a good photographer requires a good observation on small detail. The new task that I established is I free up two hour every week to go for photo shooting at different places. These habit and task are associated with a milestone of this goal because practice make perfect.
Summary
In my opinion, I think I have achieved all my three goals until 50%. For my short-term goal which is to learn new language I have attended 7 French language classes and I can start to talk in French with some basic language which I can greet, introduce myself and I can use some simple French word. For my long term goal which is to get CGPA 3.5 and above I get a good result in every test and I am confident to answer all the questions in the examination. For the social goal which is to improve my photo shooting skill I have attended 5 classes of photography and I can take a good portrait picture and scenery picture now. I have changed a lot through this process.
For example, I became more confident when try to communicate with people in any languages. In addition, I make more friends because I am capable to communicate with many persons. Moreover, I gain a healthier weight due to photo shooting because I need to walk more in order to get beautiful scenery. Sometimes I need to climb to the high place to take a picture. The habits and tasks really helped me a lot in achieving my goal. For example, reading France novel help me to improve my language skill in writing. The positive things that I have learn in the process of keeping track of my goals is I should not give up halfway easily and be hardworking chasing your dream. The most important that I learn is to have your feet on the ground and be patience in achieving the goals.
Reflection
I am grate that my strength actually helps me in achieving my goals and develop myself. I had utilized my strengths which are can concentrate for a long time and quick learner in order to boost my study. These helps me a lot in revision which I am capable to focus 2 and 3 hours when I was doing revision for my examination. In addition, as a quick learner, it actually helps a lot when I was learning a new language. Moreover, as a sharp-witted, I can react more quickly in photo shooting that can helps me to take a precious picture in a second. In order to improve my weaknesses, I set a limitation time for each of my task which I need to finish it in 2 hours so that I would not procrastinate the task.
In addition, I seek for psychology doctor to get advices from professional to improve my claustrophobia and my acrophobia. Currently I am trying therapy to eliminate these two weaknesses. I am also grateful when I have an open minded family that let me do anything I can and I make use of this opportunity to learn new things. For example, my parents are willing to let me go language class to learn France but mostly is because they have a stable income. On the other hand, acrophobia brings a lot of threats to me which my family forced to move our home from apartment to terrace house. Secondly, sometimes it lead to a problem which I could not take a picture from high place because I was too scared to stand at the mountain but I maintain to handle them with the help from my friends that keep calming me down.
Firstly, I managed to spend my time according to my plan but things do not go as planned. I forced to substitute my photo shooting time, reading time and gaming time to finish my assignment because the due date to submit the assignment is near. I choose to eliminate these because it is not important and not urgent to do comparing to the assignment. Most of the time, I use my leisure time to complete my hobby. For example. I like to read book and go to a new scenery for photo shooting.
I like to read mystery and detective book which my favourite book is the collection of Sherlock Holmes. Other than that, I like to spend my leisure time to play some video game in order to take a break from stressful assignment and homework. In my opinion, I can manage my time better in a way I can decrease my sleeping time which I can sleep from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. because I think I can finish more task with extended two hours. In addition, I can reduce my gaming time every week from 4 hours to 2 hours. I think I can spend more time on things that benefit me which is revision and reading book because it can enlarge my knowledge that can help in my study too. In my opinion, I think I need to set a time limit for each task. For example, I should set a limit for my homework I need to finish it within 2 hours.
Intercultural Communication
Japan is an island country in East Asia located in the Pacific Ocean. I choose Japan culture for a comparison with my own culture which is Malaysian because Japan have many interesting cultures and they are very prioritized in Politeness in communication. Firstly, we as Malaysian avoid using our left hand to eat, shake hand and receive things from peoples while there is no problem for a Japanese to use left hand. It is because for Muslim, it is considered rude to use left hand because left hand is dirty and right hand is honourable. In addition, according to kwintessential.co.uk (2005), Malaysian rarely reject people directly. Instead of saying no, they might say I will try my best to see what I can do.
On the other hand, Japanese speak more directly and they tend to reject people in a direct way. Moreover, Malaysian strictly prohibit to cross their leg in front of elder because it considered very rude and very disrespectful. In contrast, crossing the leg for Japanese is considered very casual. Furthermore, psychical contact in conversation considered very normal for Malaysian. Malaysian tend to shake hand when meeting with others but most of the time they shake their hand with the member of the same gender but not for different gender. On the other hand, Japanese mainly shake their hand and combined with bow for a formal business meeting only. They usually keep distance with people while communicate and not doing psychical contact with people because they think it is weird and they do not want to share germs with other peoples. They usually replace every psychical contact with bow especially toward those who are older or superior to you. For your information, according to Why Are There No Trash Bins Here?―How to Handle Your Garbage (2018) in Japan there are few trash bins on the street and they need to carry their rubbish together with them. Even there are no trash bins, Japan is still the cleanest country among the world.
In contrast, we can easily spot a trash bin nearby but unfortunately Malaysian like to throw rubbish on the street but not inside trash bins. However, there are some similar custom for both of the culture. For example, we do not gesture when pointing and eating while walking on the street is also needing to avoid for us. Moreover, Japanese tend to avoid answering phone in public especially on the trains and buses. People in the transportation are using their time to rest and need a quiet environment after a long duration of working, they tend to remain silent in the public transportation. In Japan, privacy is very important for them, people tend to keep themselves to themselves and stay in their comfort zone.
They are not interested to listen to other people’s messages or matters. Eventually, if a person is having a conflict with someone, they would expect no one to interfere nor to try to intervene them. Due to Japanese are very polite, they always address other with san and sama that have the same meaning with Mr. and Mrs. Somehow, there are some more formal way to address people which are sensei, senpai, kun and chan. These are very important and we must choose the correct use of tittle to avoid misunderstanding. Meanwhile, Malaysian tend to address people with aunty and uncle in a informal way. Regarding to table manner of both cultures, it is not rude to pay a bill without giving a tip to a waiter. In fact, as identified by James (2013) in Japan there is considered rude if you give the tip to a waiter, by then you should put the tip inside a seal envelope and give it to the waiter.
Furthermore, it is rude to make noise while eating in Japan but there are few remarkable exceptions for it. For example, when eating Japanese noodles like soba, udon, ramen, you are allowed to make slurping sound when you eat. Other than that, you are also allowed to make noise when you drink a cup of tea at the end of tea ceremony to show your concern with the service. In addition, there are a few taboos and myth that are not allowed to do in Japan. For example, you should take off your shoes when entering other house due to Japanese have developed the custom of eating meal sitting on tatami mats instead of chairs. Furthermore, having the name written in other colour beside red is remain critical due to red colour is for many bad things. For example, red colour is for dead people, battle, criminals and bankrupt.
There are some sociable taboos which we should avoid to send the money of 20000 yen or the figure as the multiple of 2 dues to Japanese people trust that these numbers will bring bad luck to marriage. You should also avoid to have a peek in to the kitchen of the hosts when visiting a friends’ homes in Japan. When you visit a sick person, do not bring camellia or white and yellow flower as Japanese people regret to receive it because that is the symbol of the Japan royal family. There are also taboos in sending letters. You should not send a letter with double envelope which means double disasters and if you are sending a love letters, you should not place a postage stamp upside down which mean the breaks up.
Furthermore, there are some unique festivals that celebrate in Japan. For example, Gion Matsuri which is the most famous festival in Japan that was celebrated more than 1000 years. There is also one festival that attract many tourists to go Japan which is Cherry Blossom season. Last but not least, as identified by kyoto kimino rental (2019) Japanese have a lot of traditional costume and the most famous costume is kimino which is the national costume of Japan. Other from kimino, there are a lot of costume like furisode, komon, tomesode, susohiki. In conclusion, Japanese people have a lot of positive values that are good for us to learn. For example, their politeness, cleanness, and punctuality are very important to be immerse in everyone. It is remaining critical to learn and understand other cultures because we can get their positive value from it. Not only this, we can also reduce racial and ethnic division. Furthermore, we can prevent from accidentally harass people by not understanding their culture.
Self-evaluation
In conclusion, when I was making this portfolio, I found out that I have gained a lot of positive values throughout this process. For example, I never think about how to analyse my strength and weakness before. After I finish chapter 3 which is swot analyse, I found out that I have a lot of weaknesses that I need to improve in order to develop myself. I had also found out some ways to utilize my strength in achieving my goals. Furthermore, I am quite surprise that I manage to follow my timetable in that week to finish all my tasks.
The timetable helped me a lot in time management and I think that is the best way to manage my time seems I can finish all my tasks without any procrastinated. This also helped me to become more punctual. Previously, I have no idea about how to achieving my goal but with the help of the goal setting, I developed the new tasks and habits to boost up my progress to achieve my goals. In addition, I gained a lot of knowledge about the cultures in Japan that are good for me to learn and I am totally understand why it is important to learn about other cultures.
