I am an ethnographer at heart and committed to qualitative research methodologies. In terms of disciplinary grounding, my work cuts across multiple disciplines from sociology, anthropology, history and area studies, which has enriched my approach to learning, researching and teaching. The Department of Sociology at NUS is special to me for several reasons. This is where I was exposed, first as an undergraduate and then a master’s student, to the disciplines of sociology and anthropology and to a group of inspiring teachers. This is also now a place where I practice my craft – teaching and undertaking sociological and anthropological research – with great personal satisfaction. The dual disciplinary grounding, which lies at the core of my intellectual inheritance, has enriched my training as an ethnographer and enabled me to draw on the strengths of both fields of study.