Tham Jun Han

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I’m a self-proclaimed professional kaypoh. I love connecting people with resources or other people in my network, and designing experiences that enable people to think critically and open up new conversations about the world around them. I spend a lot of my free time participating in puzzlehunts — puzzle contests with no instructions given (figuring out the instructions is part of the puzzle!).

What are your strengths? Any hidden talents?

Knowing a little bit of everything, and finding the answer very quickly to anything I don’t know. I’m always up for a challenge to find very obscure information on the Internet.

I speak two dialects - Cantonese and Hokkien. I was incredibly happy when an auntie in Hong Kong said she couldn’t tell I was a foreigner from my Cantonese (of course, I think she was being very polite.)

Favourite moment being part of the Friendzone team?

Putting together our first neighbourhood gathering in a pavilion at Marine Parade! We spent a lot of time booking the venue, doing ground publicity, and decorating the place. I was quite anxious about whether young adults like myself would be interested to meet other neighbours in the area over a chat. I was pleasantly surprised that around 20 folks turned up!

Biggest nightmare?

I had a recurring childhood dream about being hunted down by a piece of sliced cheese that had arms, legs, and a chopper in its hand. I still think about it sometimes these days, and hope I would never have to see it again. That never stopped me from loving all kinds of cheese though!

What’s one quirky thing about you?

I say “welcome” to replace greetings in almost every context. It started in university when I was welcoming people to project meetings, and somehow it stuck with me. It can be very strange, especially when I’m at someone else’s place and I say “welcome” to them, but it helps me reduce my own awkwardness in new social settings :)