Sharing Is Caring

Living with one extra person in a hall room, under the temporary sharing scheme, has brought many hall residents closer.

By Ng Jian Yang, Sheena Tan

Two’s company and three’s just right.

Housing shortage at NTU has turned many students to the temporary-sharing scheme, under which the Office of Housing & Auxiliary Services allows for one additional occupant per room. With as many as three to a room, students under the scheme get to live on campus, save on rental, help a friend out, and even form lasting relationships through living together in cramped quarters.

About 380 students have taken up residence as temporary sharers so far this year, said Mr Jimmy Lee, Chief Housing & Auxiliary Services Officer. “Almost all applications are approved as long as the authorised hall residents give their consent,” he added.

Temporary sharers pay S$40 a month, excluding miscellaneous charges such as administrative fees. Some sharers split the rent with the main occupants, helping to lower costs for everyone. Sharing, in particular, helps students who may have to otherwise pay for expensive off-campus housing.

Khoshimov Bekhzod, 20, a third-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS), said he took in a friend from Kazakhstan as a temporary sharer for this reason. “It feels good knowing that I can benefit someone — even if only in small ways. Maybe someone else will help me next time too,” the Uzbekistani said.

For Klaryssa Augustine, 20, having an extra person in a double room has led to space constraints: everything from her desk space to closet space has been halved.

Despite this, the second-year student from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences said that the inconvenience pales in comparison to “having to see my friend (a temporary sharer) travel to school from her home in Punggol every day.”

Getting to know you

Justin Ee knew he would be the odd one out. After all, his roommates do everything together — they take the same classes, eat the same meals, and they have similar bath times and toilet breaks. They even look alike.

Not surprising, since they are identical twins.

But Justin is happy with his living arrangement, simply because there are perks to the twins being so close to each other. Unlike most temporary sharers who have no furniture, Justin gets his own table and wardrobe. The 22-year-old also has space to fit his bed in the room.

This is because the twins prefer to study together at one table, join their beds, and share one wardrobe.

Wayne and Shawn Ng, 22, both second-year students from the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, did not mind having another roommate one bit at all.

“The space was going to waste anyway,” said Wayne. “We were using it to store our textbooks and model figurines.”

For Justin, the practicality of staying on campus, which made it convenient for him to travel to his many early morning classes, was not the only reason for wanting a space in hall. His friendship with the twins was the key factor.

The trio, who first met during the Hall of Residence 15 freshmen orientation camp last year, are as thick as thieves. Shawn described his brother and himself as “fun, crazy, and spontaneous” people. And Justin was a natural fit.

“If I couldn’t stay with them, I would probably not have stayed in hall,” said Justin, a second-year SPMS student.

And living together has also become more enjoyable with Justin around. “He is also hardworking,” Wayne said, “which motivates the two of us to improve.”

Shawn added: “He is like our mother, and he plays the caring, nagging role.”

In response,  Justin quipped: “They are terrified of lizards and insects. They once used a baseball bat to chase a moth out of the room.”

LIVING QUARTERS: Twin brothers Shawn (left) and Wayne (right) enjoy the company of Justin (centre), their temporary sharer and friend.
PHOTO: LIM MU YAO

Like a happy family

Forming family-like bonds is not unique.

After a long day at school, roommates Jasmine Chan, 21, Cindy Chan, 20, and Yvonne Koh, 21, make the effort to greet each other with a cheerful “welcome home” when they return to their hall room.

Both Cindy and  Yvonne share a mutual friend in Jasmine. They met her in polytechnic and secondary school respectively. Koh, the temporary sharer, applied to the scheme with the intention of rooming with her close friend.

Jasmine said her roommates are just like family to her. They share everything from food to detergent. They even take the initiative to help each other with household chores such as laundry.

In this family, Cindy is described as the “baby sister” and Jasmine and Koh take special care to look out for her. Koh said: “Cindy’s the only one who hangs her clothes out overnight, and there were times when it rained and we had to help take in her clothes while she was sleeping.”

Besides helping each other out, the trio also has to learn to live with less walking space in the room. The main inconvenience for them is the non-foldable mattress Koh uses.

Jasmine said: “Yvonne is okay with us stepping on her mattress, and even though we try not to, sometimes there is no choice.”

Staying together has helped the three girls forge a tight-knit friendship where they share their problems with each other through heart-to-heart talks. “They’re like my sisters; it’s just the feeling they give me. They’re comfortable to be around, and they’re people I can share my thoughts with,” Koh said.

Cindy added: “We’re basically like a happy family.”

Coping with homesickness

Such close-knit friendships bonds are necessary, because homesickness can strike out of the blue.

For Pham Nguyen Thanh Tam, 21, her most recent brush with familial longing came just before the start of the new semester. After returning to NTU from Vietnam, she became listless and unhappy. The final-year student from the Nanyang Business School even stopped eating for the first few days back here.

Her sudden change in behaviour alarmed temporary sharer Yong Kah Ping, 27.

Yong moved into the room in August this year. At that time, she had not gotten her own room, and living off-campus was too expensive. The room was shared by another foreign student from China.

Yong, who is Malaysian, empathised with Pham’s homesickness because she had grappled with the same issue before. She was at an initial loss on how best to comfort her roommate.

“I could see her suffering, but I couldn’t really do anything to help,” she said.

The two are classmates, and attend church together.

Yong noticed that Pham loved sweet stuff, and so she bought sugary treats to lift her spirits. She also spent time talking to and encouraging Pham.

“I would tell her that things would get better soon, and assure her that I was there for her,” she said.

It only took about four days before Pham was back to her usual bubbly self, Yong said.

Yong has since moved out into her own room in a neighbouring block. But a part of her misses the days she spent living with Pham.

“It is too quiet here now.”