After struggling with the surveys for one and a half months, I finally ended it last Sunday with the help of mb and qh. I'm shy and and I can't speak well so I really hated the whole process. However, towards the end, I found myself getting better and better at it. My supervisor is right, it can be trained. My surveying experience at various locations in Singapore is described below:
My first attempt was at the Registry of Marriage on the eve of New Year's Eve. I got chased away after loitering there for 30mins. My total respondents for that day was a miserable 5. I was very discouraged and demoralized.
Second attempt was at Jurong East MRT. I got 5 also.
Third attempt, I was lucky. It was the first time I got more than 5! It was one of the first few days SMRT was issuing the new ez-link card. So there was a long Q at the MRT station and that was how I managed to get 12. I was pleased with my performance.
I decided to visit a showflat to get home buyers. I went to one at Hillview, closest to where I'm staying. There was nobody at the showflat. I walked in and there were 2 guys behind the counter. I stood there for like 40 seconds before they heard me calling. They were playing on their DS lite. I got 0 for that day.
One day, I was fortunate to have mb and rs to help me. Mb drove us to showflats around Kovan and Bishan. Lady Luck was by our side. We met some kind people. It was a breakthrough, we got a total of 32.
The next day, rs and I went to Nova 48/88. It was damn ulu, located on a hill. I think we're the only ones who climbed up there on foot. Super tiring. Previously, mb and rs were the ones who approached the staff bcos I was too scared. That day, I went up to talk to the agent myself. Agent Auntie Sally asked me whether I'm in Year 1. She said I look "sixteen-ish". Total count that day was 21 in 2 hours. Ended the day with the famous Loy Kee chicken rice at Balestier Road.
Subsequently, I went to Boon Lay and HarborFront MRT stations. I took lesser time to reach my target of getting 10 surveys done everyday.
The last ditch attempt was yesterday. The most interesting. I got mb and qh to help me at Potong Pasir estate, door-to-door. I've never been to Potong Pasir. The lifts are now extinct in our PAP HDB estates. Another interesting fact about Potong Pasir is, there are no Malays. Even the hawker centres do not have Malay stalls. Sometimes we ended up listening to residents' grievances. There was one who was sold away when young, had a tough life and received no education. A geography graduate, now retired and been to many places around the world. An old lady who studied at Cambridge and the war disrupted her studies. A victim of the DBS highnotes who couldn't sleep and was afraid of telling his son. I realised I've improved when I grabbed the opportunity to secure 2 responses at Mac Donalds while we were taking a break after visiting 150 households.
We ended the day watching an insane woman lying on a Singapore flag on the corridor, repeating "Zou seh, lap sap cong!" (早死! 垃圾虫!) Surprisingly, the household staying beside her did not tick Friendly Neighbours as an important attribute. Mb and I were freaked out man.
No more surveys for the rest of my life I hope. I fell short of my target by a little but it is alright. Acknowledgements will be posted another day.
Yaks I saw in Sichuan
