- Moving on to the next phase of life -

the end.

xanier!

Day 42 - Goodbye.

Woke up at 5.30 am to put fireworks! And we woke everyone up! The last crazy thing we did before leaving Wuhan. It was exciting! This was the first time I played with such fireworks. You know those kind you see during national day?! The huge fireworks!

Lighting the fireworks!

After putting fireworks, we had Chee Cheong Fan for breakfast for our very last time.

Chee Cheong Fan Wife & Husband.

Wanted to take picture of the river which I ran at almost everyday but there was no time. It’s ok, it will always remember it in my heart.

Back at the hostel, we did some last minute packing and cleared the rubbish from our room.
At 9am, I bid Room 330 goodbye. =’(

My overflowing luggage.

Thank you very much Chong Sian for helping me carry my mega heavy luggage down! =D

Waiting for our bus to come.

Headed for the airport and waited for almost an hour before boarding the plane.

Wuhan Airport.

At Guangzhou airport, we waited for another 2 hours before taking our last plane home!!!

Last group photo at the boarding gate! Singaporeeeee!!!


Mr Erwinnn.


Mr Edyyy.


Another Camwhore Moment together =))

We arrived way ahead of schedule and once the plane landed, we clapped and some were with grinning faces while some were sad.

And finally, I took the first step into Changi Airport!!! Picked up my phone and gave my parents a call.

Soon after, I met up with them and as I walked out of the arrival gate, I saw a lot of families each waiting in anticipation for their child to walk out of that door.

My parents and brother came! Expected myself to tear but I didn’t. Guessed it’s because I was too happy and excited to be back in Singapore!

Once I walked out of the airport, I took a deep breath of the clean air and walked with ease not fearing that I would step on spits or holes on the floor.

Goodbye Wuhan.

I’m Home.

Reflection:

Unbelievable once again.

42 days away from home.

At this time when I am typing my final reflection, I am tearing. Don’t know why, but yes tears are welling up in my eyes.

I miss those days where I can have a hearty laugh when I’m too stressed out by assignments.

It wasn’t easy for me to take the first step out into a whole new expedition on my own 42 days ago.

Letting go of my teammates who had went through 30 trainings without me.

Leaving my family for 42 days.

Leaving my comfort zone to lead 42 days of my life with 20 strangers which now has became friends that I would keep close to my heart. And our trip leader Mr Loh who was also missing his wife dearly.

From my quote in day 10:
Henry Ford:

"Coming together is the Beginning, Keeping together is Progress, Working together is Success."

(We once started out as strangers, next to acquaintances, progressing on to buddies and now taking one big step out as consultants. I’m waiting for that day when I can proudly say that YOU have become my dearest friend, someone who has been through all with me.)

Now I can proudly say that today is the day that 20 of YOU have become my dearest friend, someone who has been through all with me. Thick and thin. Without you all, this trip would not be as fruitful and as memorable it is to me. I will keep these memories close to my heart.

If I didn’t sign up for this OIP as the 3rd batch, 21 of us would not have met each other. We would not have fostered this strong bond which I believe it will never ever break.

This trip first posed as a challenge to me to let go of my habitual lifestyle, my teammates, my cca, my family. But if I didn’t take up this challenge, I would not have fulfilled much of my dreams or do things which I will not have done it in Singapore.

It brought me out of my comfort zone but eventually it helped me to expand my perimeters of my comfort zone to an even larger area.

In the past, a 4 days camp was torturing enough for me to think of my family. But after this trip, camp is nothing. I have survived 1 and a ½ months all alone in a faraway country.

This trip was extremely fruitful as it taught me life lessons and lifeskills which could aid me in my future endeavours.

I would never forget what was taught during lectures, my personal experiences, friendships formed and many other things which I could not plainly write down in words.

21 Guns. 42 Days.

This journey has ended and today marks the end of it.
Remember to gather ourselves up and prepare for the next phase of life in less than a week.
This journey might have ended but this is just part and parcel of our life.
There is still more to come.

Move On.

Love,
Xanier

Day 41 - Final Shopping.

Went to Grand Ocean for the very last time. This time me and Shun qing went together. We took the public bus from school. Left at around 10 plus so that we have sufficient time to buy all the necessary gifts for our family and friends. Last minute shopping is no fun at all. We were rushing through all the shops in search of suitable gifts. Our legs nearly broke ok! So after shopping, we took a cab back to school.

Had Chee Cheong Fan for dinner!!! Finally after not eating for almost 9 days because it was closed during golden week, we got to eat it for our last dinner!

After dinner, we wanted to fire fireworks at around 12am in the campus but was unsuccessful. Firstly, it was drizzling and secondly, we were actually not allowed to play fireworks within campus. So while we head back to our hostel, we surprised our october baby, CHIN KUANG!!! Celebrated his birthday with a cake in the open area and it was freezing cold. Took a group photo and headed back to turn in for the night.

Group Shot with Bday Boy! =))

Reflection:

Unbelievable. I couldn’t believe that this was my last dinner, this will be the last time I’m seeing this flight of steps up to our classroom. Last time last time…. Time really past too fast. Feels like there is still a week or so before heading back but no, tomorrow will be the day. I would be sleeping on my bed tomorrow night. I would not have anymore Chee Cheong Fan in future. The feeling was very weird. Mixed feeling I would say. Maybe I would feel more of it tomorrow when we are really heading back. Turned in for the night, and this will be the last time I’m sleeping on this bed.

xanier!

xanier!

Day 40 - Shopping around Yellow Crane Tower.

So today, we met early and head out to the area around Yellow Crane Tower for lunch and shopping while others went to Grand Ocean.

The street that we shopped on was called Wuchang’s 解放路. We were introduced to this place as part of the tourist shopping belt. Decided to head down and take a look at it.

After reaching, we had lunch at 首义园小吃街.

Previously when we first came here, we only had less than an hour to try the food. But this time, we had plenty of time to slowly take our lunch.

xiao long baos again~

Straight after lunch, we headed to the shopping area. But to my dissapointment, there was only a handful of shops which does not even suit us. The transportation fee was quite expensive thus some of us was quite sad that it was not as what we expected.

But still we didn’t give up. Decided to go in search of better shopping streets. Thus, we walked around and navigated our way from one street to another. And YES! We found a whole stretch of shopping stores.

Due to the farewell dinner at 6pm, we had to end our shopping at around 4.30pm so we had sufficient time to travel back to school. This time, we took another van which brought us to the wrong campus and they seriously didn’t know where they were heading to. We were quite worried. Luckily he manage to find his way back and we were just in time for the farewell dinner.
Our farewell dinner was side by side with the wedding banquet. So it was quite weird.

Farewell dinner with wedding beside us.

Photo with Dr Tan! =D

Reflection:

During the farewell dinner, the China student leaders gave us a copy of our group photo with best wishes written to us. Was quite surprised that they actually prepared a group gift for us. On our side, we also gave Singapore souvenirs to each of the student leaders to express our appreciation for their hard work. After dinner, another China student leader Liu Li came down specially to give me a small gift. Was quite touched. Through this, I can see that friends to them are very valuable. They will not hold back when showing care and concern to friends. Unlike singapore teenagers who are less mature, a little action such as a simple hug could lead to immature fiery comments and so because of this, we seldom show affection to our friends and would not open up as easily to strangers. This is one thing which we can learn from them. The way they treat people.

xanier!

Day 39 - Assignment 3 Presentation

Today’s presentation was challenging. Due to the different culture and style of presenting in the different courses, our presentation method was not accepted by Mr Loh. We were not able to give him what he wanted at the first try.

Went back to our seats, discussed what we were going to say and we went for the 2nd time. This time, Mr loh said that it was better than the 1st one.

But still I don’t think it was up to our standard. The last assignment did not really end off on a good note.

But still at the end of the lessons, I was so EXCITED!!! Because finally everything was OVERRR!
Went back to our hostel to work on a little bit more of our assignment 3 report and my group went out for our very first group dinner!!!

My 3 musketeers.

Ming Yu, Erwin, Alvin!

Alvin.

The restaurant.

Our dishes!

This was one of the best meals I ever had in Wuhan. The dishes were delicioussss =)

Reflection:

In a blink of an eye, it was already the last presentation for us and less than a week, we will be heading back for Singapore. I could see that all of us felt a sense of relieve at the end of the presentation. We have given all our effort and went through sleepness nights to complete all our assignments. Be it good or bad, we have finally completed this module. And finally it was time for us to go CRAZYYYYYY!!! =D now we are only left with the blogging and final report to be done and we are officially free of workload! =))

As what I had said, today’s presentation indeed posed as a challenge to me and my group mates. We were stunned by how Mr Loh commented on us and somewhat felt lost and didn’t know what was the required criteria etc. I don’t deny that we did not have sufficient preparation the day before, thus such quality work was given.

We were giving more than was needed. Quality but not quantity. This is what we learnt today. For future projects, I would keep this in mind and make sure that sufficient preparation is done before any presentation.

Today was a good lesson learnt.

xanier!

Day 38 - 老鼠街

After knowing that presentation was cancelled today, everyone went crazy! Everyone was rushing to the toilet to get ready for our shopping spree again, but this time at a new street. Went out at around 12 plus and off we go.

After reaching, we entered this shopping mall “chicony” which is a total replica of our Takashimaya/Paragon.

Chicony.

Doesn't this look like Taka?

Went to the basement for lunch at ‘Ajisen Ramen’ which costed only half the price of Singapore’s.

My spicy beef noodles.

After filling up our tummies, we went out of the shopping mall to look for cheap items. Walked on for quite long and it was all IT stuffs. The whole area was like 4 Sim Lim Squares surrounding you. Tried to find the small street that our driver said that there was plenty of clothings and yes after walking for quite some time, we found the street.

Shopped for awhile before heading for our dinner at KFC! Tried their egg tarts =D

Delicious but OILY Egg Tart!

My burger for the day~

Headed for ‘mouse’street (老鼠街) after that.

Cabbed back to our hostel and turned in for the night =))

Reflections:

After 38 days in Wuhan, we are left with only 3 days before heading back for Singapore. And so, we are trying to cover all major shopping areas in Wuhan. Without the supervision and advice from our parents, most of us seemed to be spending not within our means which includes buying unnecessary stuffs just because it is cheap. Some of them have started to withdraw excess money because they have spent more than their actual savings. In the past, we were all too reliant on our parents to help manage our finances. And spending was not a problem because whenever we need money, we just have to reach out to them. After leaving alone for quite some time, managing my own finances has became part of my daily life. Before buying any thing, consider if it is an impulse buy or you really like that item. I have picked up many life skills unknowingly through my daily life. And this would definitely make me a better person in time to come.

xanier!

Day 37 - FLEXSIM

All of us stayed in to complete our assignment 3 which was super torturing to us. Because flexsim is so difficult! Had to come up with the model and prepare our presentation the very next day.

Woke up early in the morning to freshen myself up. Had breakfast and off I start on assignment 3.

You could see people running up and down the corridor of our hostel trying to get help and asking each other how to go about doing it. Everyone was so stressed up and finally MR LOH TO THE RESCUE! Haha! Some of them contacted him and asked if he could come down and help us with the assignment.

Thank you Mr Loh! =)

At around noon time, I went down to the bakery shop to grab some bread and a corn for lunch. Most of the shops were still closed due to the golden week.

Back in our rooms, some of the guys who had already completed their flexsim model came over to lend us a helping hand. I must confess that guys are way better in this kind of software compared to girls. Most of us were cracking our heads but still nothing came out.

And so thanks to the guys who helped, we were able to get a solution at around 6.30pm! YEAAA!!! FINALLY!!!

Some of the guys went to grand ocean for dinner and shopping while I stayed back in the hostel to finish up the report and presentation materials so that we have more time for ourselves tomorrow. Had corn and bread for dinner again =))

Worked on the report for sometime and decided to stop for the day. Took a breather by having a nice laughing session with some of my group mates! =)))

Reflection:

Without the help of my friends, I believe I wouldn’t have been able to get a solution so quickly. In our school life, we are still able to depend on our friends to help us through our school work etc. But come to think of it, when we are out in the working life, it is almost impossible for us to depend on our colleagues to help us through our work and to help us get promotions etc. At this age of 18, we must slowly start to grow up and mature through every learning process. Once you are out in the working world, there are tons of different variety of people which you would meet. That is where interrelationship skills comes in. In the working industry, everything speaks of realisticity. No one would help you like how your classmates do. As we grow older, our thinkings mature and of course inevitably, we think a lot before we decide whether to lend a helping hand. You think of the benefits and disadvantages before helping. Thus, appreciate school life & friends now before reality hits you soon.

xanier!

Day 36 - Grand Ocean

Today was allocated as the shopping day!!! Went for a run at 12.30 pm, returned back to hostel for a quick bath before the 10 of us headed for Grand Ocean. Reached at around 2 plus and we went for lunch. Afterwhich, me and anyu went separate ways with the guys and went in search for our stuffs. Was shopping for my own stuff and mainly for my family, relatives & friends. This was the first time that I felt shopping was such a chore.

Had to consider what items to purchase, the value of each, party to receive it, suitability & the main consideration was I WASN’T LEFT WITH MUCH GOLD! Headache, headache! Went around the whole shopping centre from 3pm – 8pm and still didn’t manage to get all my gifts.

Need to take some time off from the next few days to get it again~

And dinner today was MACDONALDS! Had not been eating macs for quite some time in singapore but since I’m here, I shall break my restrictions for once! Hehe. Had a pork burger which tasted so-so. Nothing special about it thus, I still prefer singapore’s macs. Oh and over here, there is chocolate apple pie & yam taro pie. Something special and it tasted nice too =)

My Pork Burger.

Headed back to our hostel and turned in for the night.

Reflections:

Managing your own finance is very important especially when you are overseas alone. As we grow older,our own finances would not longer be handled by our parents. This would also be the time whereby we have to learn how to handle it and use it wisely by categorizing between our needs and wants. Most of the time, many of us would just convert RMB to $ and say that the item is very cheap. But what they didn’t know is by accumulating up all these small amounts, it actually sums up to a huge amount and by the time you realise that, your money have already been used up. Remember that we are spending our parents hard earned money!

xanier!

Day 35 - Self made MDE OUTING!

Woke up early in the morning to prepare for our own self organised MDE OUTING to the Theme Park and Shopping at Hankou! Booked the bus ourselves and had our previous tour guide to bring us to those places. Bus ride was about an hour or so and everyone fell asleep as soon as we got up.

At the place where we alighted, we discovered that their KFC does delivery using bicycles. Thus, their delivery perimeters were quite restricted.

As we headed towards the theme park, we passed by their local hospital (something like Changi General Hospital) but honestly, the standard cannot even be compared to our CGH. We saw patients lying on their beds being placed outside of the MRI room which means they were left on the road while waiting for their turn to take MRI. Was quite shocked at the standard of their hospital. And it was no surprise why epidemic diseases such as H1N1 could spread like wild fire across the whole nation. Because they threw their medical waste just at any corner they could find. And pedestrians like us were walking past it.

At the park, we saw how the elderlys over here lead their daily lifestyle. It was quite interesting because you seldom see this in singapore. Some of them were playing chinese chess, some singing songs and playing Tai Ji etc. It was totally like how you would see it in those Hong Kong dramas.

Entrance to the park.

Calligraphy using water.

After a short walk, we finally reached the theme park. Only went for the roller coaster ride and the mirror maze.

Rollercoaster ride!

Random Shot.

Group shot in the theme park.

Next, we took the MRT service to Hankou for our shopping spree! Their ticket was in the form of a coin and we tap the coin instead of using a card.

Coin tapping system.

At Hankou, we went separate ways to shop for our individual stuffs before gathering back at the meeting point at around 6pm.

After meeting up, we took a boat to the other side of Hankou to have our dinner at the food street before boarding our school bus back to campus!

Reached school around 9.30pm and went back to our hostel for a clean up bath before continuing on our assignment 3 again.

Reflection:

After today’s shopping spree, I realised the benefits of bargaining and learnt some negotiating skills. Thanks to Roy who told me to slash the price by half once you start bargaining, I managed to help anyu get her bag at 60 RMB which cost 120 RMB initially. That was how ridiculous the marked up price was. I believe I could get it at an even lower price. But never mind, it was a good try for the first time. Previously, I only dared to bargain by +-5 RMB. But after today, bargaining is no more a challenge for me! And actually I feel a sense of satisfaction when I successfully reduced it to my desired price. So bargaining and negotiating skills is a must have in our future work life especially when working in China. I believe I would feel weird not being able to bargain back in Singapore. And if you were to bargain, they would ask you to find other shops haha! A great difference in culture.

xanier!

Day 34 - Rest

Nothing happened much today. It was just another Sunday. Slept longer than usual because I can’t seem to replenish my sleep and was very sleepy. We stayed in our hostel to finish up our assignment 2 report which will be due tmr and also did some blogging and assignment 3. At around 5 plus internet got cut off and I realised it was the whole level of our hostel. Because we only paid for 4 weeks of internet connection, thus it got cut off. Afterwhich, they went to pay for another 2 weeks in order for us to continue using it. And this was a sign for me to go for my evening run since there was nothing for me to do without internet connection =)

Reflection:

Just a day off, staying in my room relaxing helps to freshen up my body. I longed for such days which you can just wake up, not bother about everything and just slack throughout the whole day. Just make sure that you push even harder the very next day when reality hits you again. Waking you up and telling you to move on with life.

xanier!

Day 33 - SHOPPING + Red Hair!

With our lecture ending at chapter 10, we are officially free of lessons! And so today, me and some others went to grand ocean for some shopping and to get a new hairstyle =))

Grand Ocean!

Prepared and left at around noon time. Settled our lunch at a Steak House over at Grand Ocean. The price was very reasonable and the standard of the food was also not bad. Compared to Jack’s Place which cost about $30+ it cost only 42 RMB there which is $8++! Hehe!

My beef steak. Deliciousss =))

After lunch, we decided to do something to our hair. Went to the hair salon which our other group mates went to. I was ‘dared’ to straighten my hair, which I eventually did and I also dyed my hair for the very FIRST TIME IN 18 YEARS! =DD costed around $60 for both straightening and dying. The process took almost the whole day (3-4 hours).

And by the time I finished, it was already 5-6pm. Some of the others also permed, dyed and had a hair cut.

Went for some quick shopping before heading down to Pizza Hut to settle our dinner. It was another sumptous meal! I’m declaring bankrupt soon! Haha!

Pizza Hut

While waiting for our van to come, we took some beautiful night view of the city area.

Back at the hostel, everyone was SHOCKED by the colour of my hair. HAHAHAHAH!!! So after bathing, crapped with some of my group mates before turning in for the night. =)

Reflections:

For the very first time in 18 years, I did so much transformation to my hair. I fulfilled another personal dream which is to dye my hair red! Felt that through this trip, I had actually fulfilled quite a number of my own dreams which I didn’t expect. Living alone overseas allow us to really have the freedom of doing things which we like and complete some personal crazy dreams which we would not have done so back in Singapore due to the restrictions from our parents. But there is still a limit to our own freedom and it all speaks about self discipline. Some ‘dares’ can be accepted while some should be rejected. Don’t be affected by peer pressure. Have a mindset of your own and not get affected by what others tell you. And all in all, I was glad that I took up this ‘dare’ to straighten my hair! =D

xanier!

Day 32 - Final Written Test

Had our very last and final written test 2 for our BPE Module!!! YEAAA =DDD

Test Paper & Answer Booklet.

It took around 1 ½ hours and as usual, everyone was scribbling as quickly as possible because there was too much to write. Haha!

So after test, went back to our hostel to put our things down before some of us headed out to the fishball restaurant to give ourselves a hearty treat! =) a form of reward for our effort on the past few assignments and tests.

After lunch, we went back to our hostel to chill for the day~~~

And I went for my evening run alone at the river.

Reflection:

Sometimes a little quiet day off for myself allows me to think through and reflect on my recent happenings or to resolve some problems. Slowing down my own pace of living let me appreciate my surroundings. Having an evening run alone at the quiet river allows me to think through the objectives and purpose of coming for this trip, and also to understand some problems which occurred recently. Many a times when people meet with troubles, they tend to turn to their friends and family for advise. But sometimes, analyzing things personally first would put yourself at a better position to understand your own problem.

xanier!

Day 31 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHINA! 60 Years.

10/01/09

Today marks another age of China’s long history. And thanks to their national day, we had one off day too! For Singapore’s national day, we only have 1 day public holiday. Whereas for china, they have something called the ‘Golden Week’ whereby they have 8 days of public holidays. And this is the period where most of the students head back to their home sweet home.

And today was the day where most of us slept till late morning to replenish our long lost sleep due to assignments etc. Went for a morning jog after waking up and realised that the campus was 鸦雀无声 (not even a single sound). All the students were out of campus.

After my run, I went back to my room to watch a little of China’s national day performance on the net. It was magnificent and a MEGA huge event compared to Singapore’s national day performance. The number of performers in singapore was maybe only 1/3 or even lesser compared to those in China.

Reflection:

Through today’s national day parade, I believe all of us can see how proud the China Citizens are of their own nation. National day holds great significance to their nation as compared to how teenagers in singapore view national day as. While watching their parade, I started missing my homeland. I thought of how Singapore provided us with clean environment, always ready to drink tap water, the food which I always eat, the high security of singapore which does not require me to carry my bag in front when I out shopping in town, etc. I really miss home. Had flash backs of our life in Singapore before we headed for wuhan. I am more than happy and proud to be a Singaporean. Cherish that my fellow people. =)

We, the citizens of Singaporepledge ourselves as one united people,regardless of race, language or religion,to build a democratic society,based on justice and equality,so as to achieve happiness, prosperity andprogress for our nation.

xanier!