Collector’s Edition

Introduce yourself!
I’m Anais and I’m a year one Chinese Studies student at the National University of Singapore right now.

Oh wow! You must be quite the bilingual linguist.
No! Well, I’ve been doing Chinese programmes in school since young, and I’ve always felt it was quite cool and is something that I’m better at, so I’m just exploring that right now.

Well, that’s still no mean feat if you ask us! Outside of school, what hobbies do you have?
I have quite a lot of hobbies actually. For one, I like collecting stuff. Not POPMART though—I’m too broke for that! One of my favourite collections is my bouncy ball collection. You know those rubber ones that you get in those old school gashapon machines? Yeah I collect them in Singapore and overseas as well.

Well that’s an unconventional collection! Why bouncy balls?
I don’t know. Personally, I really like round and clear things (laughs), and with these bouncy balls, they’re kind of like a blind box but way cheaper. Plus it’s a childhood memory for me too. I’ve just always liked the aesthetic of it and having lots and lots of them.

Another thing that I collect is plasters (i.e. bandages), and I’ll always have a stash of them in my bag, so if people need one, I can pull them out and be like “which one do you want?” (laughs) In this bag I have dinosaur ones, Sanrio ones, and colourful ones.

We love that! So with plasters, do you just like the aesthetic of them as well?
Well these are fun and functional, and I think it’s really funny when I get to pull them out and give people options. They’re also souvenirs of sort, especially when I get them on my overseas trips.

Well maybe next time we can trade plasters! Apart from collecting, tell us about some of your other hobbies.
I like creating in general, and upcycling. I recently upcycled a beanie into a gift for one of my friends using fabric paint and some simple stitching, making it more unique and adding my own touch to it. Can you tell my love language is gift-giving?

On that note, what’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Maybe not so much the specific gift, but I like when people I don’t really expect a gift from surprises me with one. Like once, one of my classmates bought me a bouncy ball from overseas. We weren’t super close, but she saw it and thought of me, so she got it for me anyway, which is so cute!