xanier in wuhan! :)

2009-10-14T06:31:00.001-07:00

- Moving on to the next phase of life -

the end.

xanier!

Day 42 - Goodbye.

2009-10-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

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!

Day 40 - Shopping around Yellow Crane Tower.

2009-10-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-08T06:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

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!

Day 30 - IS Lesson + Assignment 2 Presentation

2009-09-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Woke up for IS lesson at 9am by Mr Dean again. Today’s lesson was on Taoism & Buddhism. As I listened, I multi tasked to perfect our assignment 2 powerpoint slides which we will be having presentation on it later on.

Buddhism.

After lessons, we had lunch and continued with our assignment 2 back at the hostel.

Presentation Time!

Another assignment down! Now we are left with one last assignment to go. So we headed back to our room to chill for awhile before I changed into my running attire. And off I went to run at my usual river again~

Headed out for dinner after that! Went out for a short walk to relax before we get our brains filled with our final assignment 3.

Reflections:

The contribution of an individual be it big or small makes a great difference in any group work. without proper communication and sharing of information within the group itself, nothing turns out perfect. Everyone will be doing and trying to perfect their own parts which does not benefit the entire team. This is called the SILO EFFECT in BPE terms. So we have to have synergy in order for the project to be successful!

xanier!

Day 29 - Final lecture + Interaction Night + HAPPY BIRTHYDAY MISS GLORIAAAAAA :)

2009-09-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

BLACK OUT!!! Slept till 4am + and it was too hot so I woke up. Only to realise that there was another black out again.

Picture taken in my room.

Wanted to return to sleep but the mosquitos was attacking me mercilessly. So woke my room mates up and went downstairs to ask the auntie to help us recharge our electricity. But this time was not only our room, it was the ENTIRE UNIVERSITY. Ridiculous eh? Imagine Ngee Ann Poly having a total black out.

Hmmph~

So went to lecture at 2pm with my laptop without battery forgetting that the black out occurred throughtout the whole campus. So we had lecture and test using pen and paper.

This was the LAST LECTURE FOR THIS TRIPPPPPP!!! And we will be officially free of lectures after todayyyy heheheeh!!!

Electricity was back at 3pm! =)

After lessons, went back to the hostel before heading out for early dinner today as we would be having an interaction night with the China student leaders at 6.30pm.

At our table.

We played games and had some performances by our very own Ngee Ann students! CLAPS TO ALL PERFORMERS! GOOD JOB! =)

Balloon bursting game!

Pass the water game.

Ended around 9pm and had a group photo taking.

MDE group photo with the china SLs.

After that, we went back to our hostel to prepare the celebration for another september baby. GLORIAAA!!!

As usual, had some cake smearing craze after singing her birthday song. Some played while me and some others went back to our room to continue on our assignment 2.

Reflections:

Supposedly the interaction night was the highlight for today. But for me, the black out was the main highlight of my day. Who in the world would even think that the WHOLE CAMPUS would black out all at one time. And the worst thing was, there was no back up electricity. Did the campus really black out or were they trying to save electricity?

In the middle of the night when I went downstairs to find the auntie, she told me ‘oh, the whole school black out so just go back to sleep.’Being in a country with a ‘not so advanced technology’, meeting with such situation was common.

Our bunk had also blacked out several times due to insufficient electricity. So it also means that our computer always shuts off while in the midst of doing our work. So we people in Singapore should appreciate that our government is providing us with stable eletricity which does not cut off as and when they like it.

For every place there is also back up electricity which activates once the main power has been cut off. Stable electricity is crucial to sustain the economy of a nation. Once there is any threats of electric power shortfalls, no countries would invest in that nation as they are uncertain when there would be one day that their manufacturing line would stop thus incurring large losses.

xanier!

Day 28- Chap 8 + Industrial Visit.

2009-09-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

As usual woke up early to have my breakfast before heading off for lessons at 10am. Today is our LAST SECOND CHAPTER! YEAAA!! HEHEH! Had lecture on chapter 8 followed by the usual quiz. After lesson, went back to the hostel to put our things down before going for lunch.

Afterwhich, we met up with the LSCT students and headed off for our industrial visit. Todays visit was to a pharmaceutical company. It was quite a short tour around the perimeters of the company.

Entrance of the company.

In order to protect the confidentiality of the company, photos could only be taken at limited areas and we were also not allowed into many sections of their company.

Precaution Labels.

Rushed back to hostel after the visit to start on our assignment 2 which will be due 2 days later.

Haish~

Reflections:

Every country have their own main sectors of industry to sustain the economy of their own nation. Emphasis would definitely be given to that sector in order to have an edge over other countries. Without giving the right emphasis or identifying the potential sector, the country would not be able to prosper so quickly and to accelerate the growth of their economy.

xanier!

Day 26-27: 武当山

2009-09-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

武当山 would be the final weekend excursion trip for us before we officially end our OIP trip. And this was also the longest ride. A total of 7 HOURS!!! All of us were looking forward to our lunch as throughout the whole 7 hours, all we had were just biscuits. Reached at around 1 pm, had our lunch before heading out for some historic site visits.

Yin Yang.

Most of the places that we went to were temples which portrays the past and history of Wudang. It is a Taoist holy ground thus temples are everywhere.

Adriannnn!

Visit to the temple.

Tea Appreciation session.

1st Try.

2nd Try.

The visits ended around 6 pm and we checked into our hotel. The weather was also extremely cold compared to our hostel. We were already shivering without the hotel room air con on.

Our Room for the next 2 nights.

Took a night stroll with some of them before heading back to our hotel room to watch our long lost Television =D Had a nice sleep due to the super cold weather. Slept early to make sure I had enough energy for the physically challenging Wudang mountain climb tomorrow!

Day 27 – Huff & Puff

Had breakfast at 6 in the morning. Tried to fill my tummy so I have sufficient energy to conquer the mountain later. Everyone gathered at the starting point of Wudang mountain trekking area. Initially, everyone were all walking close to one another, but at the middle part of the climbing session, space started to form in between each person. And slowly, some were walking in front, in the middle and some right at the back. I was walking at the front! =X hehe!

They do this for a living. And looking at their tired faces, it was really heartaching.

The steps seemed never ending.

It was really physically demanding because we were climbing flight of steps one after another. By the time I reached the peak of the mountain, my legs were numbed. Slowly, people started coming in groups and you could see the wide smile on their faces. The sense of accomplishment!

The time I completed this challenge.

Stayed on for awhile before we head back down the mountain using cable cars.

Cable Cars.

And our weekend trip ended with us taking the long bus ride back to hostel again. Arrived in school at around 9.30pm.

SLEEPY!

Reflection:

Strangers turn to friends in times of hardship. Initially I was walking with my group of MDE people. But slowly when things gets tougher and gaps start to form between people, I was walking alone. For quite a distance I was self motivating myself to endure and to just continue walking. And at one point I met 3 other students from the other divisons. Initially we didn’t communicate but after walking for awhile, all of us opened up. Waited for each other before conquering another flight of steps and we also motivated each other along the way. Finally, we reached the peak together. That’s how friendships are formed. There is always a fine line between stranger and friend. Sometimes such things just require a small action for it to happen. Teenagers nowadays are too soft spoken and hesitant when it comes to opening up to strangers. In my future work life, I have learnt not to hold back when forming interrelationships with new colleagues or customers as friends do help to bring you further in life be it in a negative or positive way.

xanier!

Day 25 – 3rd IS Lesson (Business Etiquette)

2009-09-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

I shall proclaim that this IS lesson was the most useful and interesting one compared to the previous 2 that was EXTREMELY informative but uninteresting. I was looking forward to this IS which taught us some global business etiquette and mainly their China method of business dealings. All this knowledge and interpersonal skills would really pose as a great help to us if we ever had to work in China.

Computer Lab.

Nice one! haha! Straightforward way to get students to pay attention.

Lecturer for the day.

The teaching method was also more interactive than the other 2 which uses more of the 2 senses, our eyes & ears.

Lecture Slides.

We were each sitting in front of a monitor which is controlled by the lecturer and thus we each had a copy of the powerpoint slides. This eased the trouble of students having to stick our heads out to look at the screen in front of the classroom (which is what we had always been doing).

So after IS lesson, we headed to the canteen for lunch and back to our hostel for a short rest and back to lessons at 2pm with Mr Loh. Evening run followed by dinner and I’m back to the hostel again~

So here we are packing our bags for 2 day 1 night Wudang Mountain trip tomorrow!

Reflections:

Different teaching methods certainly affects the learning ability of a student. By using active teaching techniques, it helped me maintain my attention to the lesson that was going on. I was able to absorb most of the contents that was taught due to having the powerpoint slides right in front of me, thus allowing me to follow through the class smoothly.

Throughout the years, our government has been trying to come up with new learning & teaching methods in order to bring up the education level in Singapore and to remain competitive in the education sector. From the past rigid way to the present flexible way of learning (learner-centred-learning).

Our government has indeed done a great job in maintaining the education level of Singapore and I believe there would be more to come with the new generation of younger teachers slowly taking over the responsibility of maintaining Singapore’s education system.

xanier!

Day 24 - Lessons

2009-09-24T06:05:00.000-07:00

Nothing special happened today. As usual went for my morning run at 11pm. And went for lecture on chapter 5 and had quiz 5. 5 more chapters to go! Should be able to finish BPE by next week =))

After lessons went for my second run of the day at 5.30pm. Not sure if was it due to the drop in my fitness level or the bad weather, I had a little difficulty in breathing for both runs. Hmm… Was quite hazy. But never mind shall push harder tomorrow!

Dinner after run was Canteen 2 馄饨! Never get tired of eating this and today my dear bunk mate, shun qing praise the auntie that her soup base was tasty and… she got more 馄饨 than me! -.- shall praise her tomorrow to get more too heheh! =X

We were told that there was a freshmen performance at the admin block and we are cordially invited to attend. So after our dinner, we decided to take a look. The staging, back drop, size of the event was so grand that I think our ngee ann stage is not even half of it. This event actually shows how much they recognise and welcome their freshmen into the school. The number of audience was so much that from far, they look like an army of ants. It was almost impossible for us to squeeze all the way in. Thus, we only manage to catch a small glimpse of the performance before heading out of school to get my daily ‘dosage’ of bananas!

Night view of WUST Admin block.

Huge group of spectators.

Reflection:

Due to their large population of students, performance and events are greatly supported by other school mates. Unlike Ngee Ann Poly or other schools in Singapore, it is quite difficult to even get your friend to purchase your performance ticket and take the time off to see your final performance. Support is hard to get. Is it due to the high standard of living in singapore that parents are telling their children not to spend money unneccesarily on such stuffs?

Was quite shocked to see the huge number of audience that turned up for just a freshmen performance. I think you would only see this number of audience only for music concert by big super stars. Is it a culture difference whereby our pace of living is different? R

easons that Singapore students will not attend such performance: “I rather spend time playing my computer games”, “no, I have too much work to complete”. A few of my peers over here said the same thing when I asked them if they wanted to watch the performance. And they told me they would have not enough time to finish their assignment if they went for the performance. I think it all voice down to our pace of living that has etched the mindset of “don’t spend time unnecessarily on such stuffs”.

I personally will just purchase the ticket from my friend as a form of support but would only turn up for the performance if I really had the time or had nothing to do. Many of such mindsets that teenagers now possess is mainly due to influence from our parents and the society. ‘Studies is the most important’.

xanier!

Day 23 – Outward Bound.

2009-09-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

Gathered early at 8am for our Outward Bound activities. Everyone was quite excited about the activities which we will be doing. Some were don in track pants others in shorts. It has been some time since we did such activities. Since the day we graduated from secondary school, we had not been in touch with such activities.

Our first activity was to create our group theme/flag/costume! Followed by a short skit and finally our 1st activity: ROCK CLIMBING! They gave us 2 of the more difficult ones and sadly none was able to reach the top! But it’s ok because we tried our best!

Clan Flag!

Group Discussion

Master Piece of our hardwork!

Group Photo with Mr Loh.

After 2 hours break: we went back again this time for a simple game of ‘trust fall’ & high elements.

Trust fall really tested our teamwork and the level of trust we had in them. It was quite a pity that not all of us had a chance to try it. Even though I had played this for several times, but each time when I fell backwards, that ‘feeling’ never fails to come. Indescribable. Apologise to those who got injured while supporting me!

Trust Fall.

High element: Another challenge to me. Actually it was just a simple one which requires us to jump from one plank to another. The distance looked so far from below but when I was up there, it looked even further!!! Hesitated for a moment before I decided to take the leap. Was telling myself: you are already up here and you can’t possibly turn back or just stand here forever, so just jump. Wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

High Element.

And this marks the end of our OBS activities.

Group Photo.

Strangely, although today was not as vigorous as I thought it would be, but I was mentally drained. My body was telling me to continue working but my mental was shutting me off. Thus, decided to go with my mind and lights off at 10.45pm (the earliest I slept since day 1).

Reflection:

Such activities never fail to bond people together. If the activities that we participated were even more vigorous and taxing, I believe the level of bonding would be even stronger. When one is thrown into a situation where your fear is tested, the true character of an individual would show. For example some of my teammates backed out even before giving it a try while some others knew they had fear of heights but with the support of other teammates they decided to give it a try to conquer their fear. And I’m proud of those who accomplished something by the end of this student activity.

Once again, I successfully challenged myself but mentally drained. Got to train up my mental!

Mind over body.

xanier!

Day 22 – Coca-Cola Factory! Sizzle sizzle~~

2009-09-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Around noon time, we gathered and set off for our Coca Cola factory visit! Was quite excited about it because I will be witnessing the process of Coca Cola creation! The drink which we had been consuming since young. Around 45 minutes bus ride before reaching. The weather was scorching hot! Weather in Wuhan is so inconsistent.

The previous 2 days was extremely cold and today it is extremely hot. People better take care and drink lots of water =)

Entrance of the Factory.

Superstars.

Ok, so before going into the factory, we were asked to remove all labels besides those which has coca cola name on it on our water bottles. What’s the reason? Hmm… tell me the answer if you know it.

Next, we were brought to a viewing area to have a bird’s eye view of their production line. From washing of the glass bottles till the packing and final distribution of it. Was quite different from what I had expected. Wanted to see and experience more by being physically closer to their production line to have a better view of it.

One of the processes (Mixing)

Exit.

But it’s ok, at least I saw a little of what I had been consuming for the past 18 years. Haha! This factory visit was quite a short one. I suppose they didn’t want to divulge too much of coca cola’s manufacturing secrets to people!

Headed back to school after that and back to the hostel to blog again~

Reflections:

Felt lucky that Singapore isn’t using glass bottles for our current canned drinks. I think it is quite unhygienic to reuse the bottles. Although it might be more environmental friendly but in terms of hygiene I would prefer drinking from cans. It would be quite interesting if I am able to visit the coca cola factory in Singapore after I’m back. I have 100% confidence that it would be totally different from what I see here in China. In terms of hygiene, efficiency, working environment etc. It would be an interesting comparison to be made.

xanier!

Day 21 – Another lesson of IS.

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

IS Lesson at 9AM. The night before this IS lesson, we were told to be punctual, no slippers and BEHAVE yourselves during lesson! Because…. We are taught by the Dean (something like principal) of this Foreign Language School.

Traditional Thoughts.

History of China.

Lesson today was on Confucianism. Another extremely informative yet ‘keeping awake’ session. The slides were so wordy, Mr Dean was teaching in English so he had to pause -> think through -> form sentences -> say it out.

So the whole pace of the lesson was somewhat slower than usual. He was trying to teach us the whole history of Confucianism within 3 hours… besides teaching us on Confucianism, he actually discussed with us about a feudalism or democratic society.

As a citizen of China himself and a Dean, he actually said something which made me think through for quite awhile. He said that China and Singapore students are very different in terms of the freedom of speech and the impact students’ feedback has to the school. And he thinks the China way of teaching and learning is not good. More would be discussed under my reflection section =)

After lesson, some went to the city to shop while I headed back to the hostel to do some work.

Reflections:

Talking about how the dean actually voiced his opinions on the teaching and learning method of China made me wonder if is he not able to change the mindset and direction of the school or because he thinks that it is impossible to change it. For the very first time, I actually hear negative comments coming out from the well known proud China citizen. China Chinese citizen are well known for how proud they are about their own country. China uses a one way communication while Singapore utilizes a 2 way approach. Be it in government - citizens’ relationship or narrowing down the scope to teacher - students’ relationship. Since the kingdom eras till now, the mindset of feudalism has not really been eliminated. I believe it has already been etched in the minds of China citizens from generation to generation. It would be an extremely challenging task which can only be done by the leader of China.

xanier!

3 Gorges ( Day 18-20)

2009-09-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

-DAY 18-

Have been logging on to Npal with hope that results would be out a few hours before 9am. And YES! Finally at my last try at around 5.45am, I saw my results. Disappointing. A warning for me to push even harder for my next semester.

FOCUS.

Gathered at 6.30am. Due to the long bus ride which we would need to be taking, approx 5-6 hours, thus we had to meet real early to make sure that we will reach our destination on time. Many of us took this time to catch some sleep which we sacrificed for doing our blogging and assignment 1 the night before.

After bumping on the bus for quite some time, it was finally LUNCH time! Came to a city named ‘Yi Chang’ at around 12pm and went to a restaurant for lunch. I must say, this lunch is the best I had ever eaten since the first day in Wuhan. It is the only restaurant that sells STEAMED egg, non-oily vegetables and in overall a more healthy range of food.

Lunch Place.

Steamed Vegetables.

After lunch, another hour of bus ride before we reach 3 gorges. Went around the area using their own tour buses. Moving from one location to another and taking a few more pictures before we head out to 截流纪念园. It was just a simple park with not much in it. After which, we were off again to fill our growling tummies!

Admission Ticket.

Picture at the Park.

Group Photo.

And here comes the real thing! After having our dinner, we are all up and ready to head for the jetty where we will be boarding our cruise. We will be sleeping on the cruise for 2 nights!!! The ticketing area was quite crowded with people and of course smoke-filled.
Waited for quite long before we can actually board the cruise.

Cruise.

The rooms on board was ‘wonderful’. With plenty of smoking, gambling, half naked china men just directly opposite our rooms. Due to our ladies safety, some of us swapped rooms with the guys so that we would have an equal number of guys and girls to protect each other! =))
My room-mate for the next 2 nights is ANYU!!! AGAINNN =DDDD

Meddled with the things in the room for awhile, bathed and settled down straight after that to watch our long lost TELEVISION!!! HAHA!

-DAY 19-

MY DOOR WAS NEARLY BANGED DOWN AT 6AM IN THE MORNING. Our first morning on the cruise. Their morning call was so ‘unique’. At 6am, our tourist went to every door and banged on it till someone went to open the door. They literally bang till the whole door was vibrating and it was not once but 5 times until we made our way down for breakfast. Irritating? Yes, but an effective method to wake tourist up. HAHA! Ok, so we went down for breakfast and a huge discovery! Just one night and we have reached Chongqing, a town which is located quite a distance outside Hubei.

After our breakfast, we alighted at 白帝城 for a short sightseeing.

This is an ancient city which holds a long history and due to the many poems which was specially written for this place, it is also named as the ‘city of poem’.

After walking around for sometime, we headed back to our cruise for lunch followed by free and easy!

Standing at the top of the mountain!

Couldn’t stand the beauty of the mountains just right in outside my window, so we decided to sit on the latch of the cruise to fully enjoy the nice wind and scenic view.

My Legs. Haha!

Roy Fishing!

Headed up to the top deck for an even better view and back to our room again to enjoy the peaceful sea view and breeze. This was a nice time for us to catch back on our sleep since the last week we were all crazily ‘chionging’ our assignments.

Jump Shot at the upper deck.

ME!!!

Anyu's Bed.

Scenery outside our window.

Long nice sleep…

In the afternoon we took another small passenger boat to 神农溪. The journey took almost an hour. So our main objective of going there was to experience river rafting by the locals.

Admission Ticket.

Morning farming was their main occupation and after which afternoon they would take up the job of rafting the boat as their part time job. All the rowers were averagely 40 years old and above but their body is definitely made of steel!

As a rower myself, it was already hard having 20 people pulling their own weight but for these uncles, they only had 5 rowers to a boat and there were 21 of us. This was heartaching. On every pull of their paddle, we can see how strenous this was on the aged bodies of the men.

Strenous.

I would rather exchange positions with them and take over their job while they sit in the raft enjoying the scenery. As what our tour guide told us, in a few decades time, we would not be seeing all this boat men anymore as their standard of living would have increased with their children all pursuing studies or jobs overseas.

Pulling 20+ of us.

The experience of the rafting session was marvellous. Boarded back onto our cruise at around 6pm for our dinner. And it was free and easy again. We were told that our cruise would pass through the water elevator at around 11pm.

Excited!

We would be passing through a total of 5 gates. The process of all 5 would be the same, thus if we were to view all 5 gates it would be from 11pm-5am the next morning. We were told to just view one. It was really a once in a life time experience which I hope that everyone out there would be able to go through. After watching the first 2 gates, I went back to sleep. But at 3.30am & 4.30am, I woke up unknowingly and just nice they were going through other processes which I bet not all were able to see it as they were all sound asleep! WHAHAHA!

Passing Through!

Big Gate.

We went down.

This was how close we were to the wall outside our window.

-DAY 20-

6.30am -> went for breakfast -> back to bunk for final packing of bags -> left the cruise at around 8am. It was raining heavily. Boarded our bus and we were told to grab some snacks on the nearby supermarket as there might be jam due to the heavy rain, thus we would not be stopping over for lunch. And we are back in WUST at about 2pm.
End of the once in the life time experience.

Reflections:

After spending 2 nights on the boat, we had a chance to experience the lifestyle of others and see how simple some of their lifes are. Simple yet fulfilling. I think it is because of their lifestyle thus even until the age of 60+ they are still so healthy. The elderly of singapore is really having a much higher standard of living compared to those over here. It is a right decision for the government to extend the retirement age of Singaporeans so that the elderlys would still lead a fulfilling life and to keep themselves active. By doing so, it helps to keep our citizens healthy.

xanier!

Written Test (Day 17 - 17 Sept)

2009-09-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

Although it is an open book test, but the content is so much that I don’t even know where to start with. Had written down a list of what is covered in each topic so that it can ease my searching. Hope it helps! So we had our test in the afternoon. Ngee Ann Poly common test booklet!

Test Booklet.

Although the test was open book, answers could not really be found in the notes. That’s the style of Ngee Ann Poly lecturers. Haha! They conduct open book test for us but with answers that are not found in the notes. SMART.

So for this test, it is more on understanding of your work and a bit of common sense. There were quite a number of questions and each question we had tons of words to write. Many of us couldn’t finish writing till the very last minute! Hope we can all do well for this test!

Finally, one heavy weightage test down! Got to reward myself again with a RUN! =DDD Ran with An Yu and Alvin around campus and back on the track after that with the others. After the run, we went out for dinner.

Wanted something simple, but some of them wanted to introduce the restaurant which they went the other time to us so we went. The food was super not nice. Seriously. All the food is either fried or still fried!

And one funny thing happened.

ME: “Er, do you’ll have something steamed?”

Waitress: “Steamed??? Er… no all our food here is either fried or stir fried.”

Which restaurant doesn’t sell steamed dishes in Singapore!

I was stunned for a moment when she told me that.

In my mind I was thinking “WHAT?! NO STEAMED DISHES IN SUCH A BIG RESTAURANT!” but no matter what, we still ordered our food. And it all came out either super oily or have some weird taste which smells like 臭豆腐.

Haha! In the end, all of us left the restaurant with no more than half filled tummy.

Conclusion: NEVER GOING BACK THERE AGAIN!

Restaurant.

Group Photo at the restaurant.

Reflections:

Singaporeans are health conscious. Government’s effort on promoting a healthy lifestyle which incurred a great deal of money spent on health education programmes have indeed paid off. In Singapore, we can see people jogging at any place suitable, be it the parks, along the canals etc. Exercising locations are built specially by the government and can be found everywhere in Singapore but it is almost impossible to find it here in China.

It is either the road is very rocky or it is just not suitable for running. At around 5-6pm which is the time when most people get off from work, this is the time that the park is also gathered with working adults, kids. We can say it is almost any age group. In the early dawn, elderly gather at the park to do Taiji, meditation exercises etc.

From this, we can see that majority of the Singaporeans are exercising as long as time is able to be taken off from their hectic schedule.

Some personal experiences that clearly shows the difference between the level of health consciousness between Singapore and China:

1) It is very difficult to find food labels with nutrition information on their food products here in China. For the first 1 week when I was here, I was trying to find food products with nutritional factors printed on it, but it was so limited that only those foods that can be found in countries like Singapore & Malaysia has it.

2) There is no ‘healthier choice symbol’ on the food package!!! In Singapore, the symbol is what I always depend on for the choice of food which goes into my tummy!

3) In Singapore, eateries that utilizes the least oil but still able to whip up a good dish would attract tons of people. But in china, eateries that use little oil is one in a million!
The government had indeed put in a lot of effort to benefit the health of us citizens. Be grateful that we have such government that helps citizens to think about our health aspects. I think that I have been taking all these measures taken by our government for granted, thus when I am here in Wuhan, I find it really difficult for me to find food products which are healthy. Besides healthy food that can be found off the shelves in supermarkets in singapore, I miss my mum’s home cooked food!!!!!!! Because it was always ‘custom-made’ to my request haha! Steamed vegetables, chicken breast etc. this will never be found in Wuhan.

xanier!

IS + 1st Presentation! ( Day 16 - 16 Sept)

2009-09-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

IS Lesson at 9AM.
Lesson was on Chinese traditional wedding customs and Feng Shui. The lecturer was the first since I came here to use the headphones to conduct lessons. Interesting but the headphones were so dusty that I didn’t really want to put it on. The lecturer conducted his lessons by talking through his own headphones and we can also ask him questions by talking through our own headphones too.

Lecturer for the day.

It is a good way to let students focus more on the lesson rather than the surrounding sounds. But the disadvantage is that students will tend to get bored very easily especially if the voice of the lecturer is monotonous. It will feel like listening to a monotonous radio?

Yea so I would still prefer Singapore’s way of teaching which is pure vocal! =) More interactive and engaging.

After IS, an hour short break for us to touch up on our final slides for presentation. Many were still preparing at the very last minute.

Think that we had been enjoying too much for the previous week, resulting us not being able to complete our work on time =X got to manage our time wisely for the next assignment which is coming up already!

Had lecture 5 and test 5 before our presentation of BPE Assignment 1. My group was all quite nervous for the presentation because we will be presenting in front of people that we had never presented to before. Haha! But we still did a good job =))

Presentation Time:

My Group.

Me!

Reflection:

I can see that China is trying to keep up with the advanced technology by implementing ‘special’ learning methods which is to use head phones to conduct lessons. But I really wonder if students of WUST really think that headphones are a better way of learning than traditional teaching method. Maybe the money spent on installing these headphones could be better utilized in another way which would benefit the students even more. Hmmph… maybe surveys could be conducted to understand what the students really need. That is what Ngee Ann Poly does! This method allows students to voice out their needs and let them have a sense of ownership for their school. I think that creating and encouraging a sense of ownership is lacking from China schools. I seldom see activities that are conducted by students or student surveys etc.

Clark Moustakas:

“The individual increasingly comes to know who he is through the stand he takes when he expresses his ideas, values, beliefs, and convictions, and through the declaration and ownership of his feelings.”

(Having a sense of ownership changes the level of responsibility a person feels. Pride and benevolence are huge motivators. So when an individual/group expresses a sense of “we did this” and willing to share, the school benefits. More freedom should be given to students here so that they can enjoy and get involved in their school life in a more personal manner.)

xanier!

Interaction with China Students (Day 15 - 15th Sept)

2009-09-15T18:34:00.000-07:00

PLUCK TANGERINES! YEA!!!

A special day off for all of us today! Each division lecturer actually gave us a day off today just to let us attend activities which were specially arranged by the China student leaders.

So the activity for today is…. PLUCK TANGERINES! School buses were specially catered for us and we set off at about 1.30pm. Weather was just nice for such activities =) We were transported to a tangerine farm which was located about 30minutes bus ride from our school.

Greennn Tangerines!

The farm didn’t really look like what I had expected. It was all green in colour instead of the usual orange oranges. Haha! I ate quite a number of it which were all freshly plucked from the tree.

Group Photo.

After having a big feast of tangerines, we headed back to our campus in anticipation of the BBQ at night!

Made our way to the place and we were all quite fascinated by how the pits actually looked so different from BBQ pits found in Singapore’s East Coast Park. It seemed more like those tribal style BBQ with people sitting around the fire and cooking their food.

Special BBQ Pits.

The guys had quite a hard time starting up the fire because there was no fire starters and our only alternative was to gather dry leaves & twigs to start a fire. The china students were quite NPCC, Scouts, Girl Guides etc. etc. started to pop out. Haha! Test of our outdoor survival skills.

Reflections:

For the previous 2 nights, I had been in touch with the China student leaders together with the other 2 divisions in charge to plan this event. They came over to our hostel to discuss with us on the timing, dates and what to bring etc.

This was quite a good exposure for me to try working with other people rather than just my usual group of society members or other Ngee Ann student leaders. It was a good opportunity to understand their organizational skills and how they displayed their leadership. Quite interesting to be able to learn how foreign students deal with things differently from us.

There were some language barriers which made our communication a little difficult. When we tried speaking to them in chinese, they found it hard to understand our type of chinese but when we tried conversing using english, we had to talk at a very slow pace so that they can catch each sentence. So it became that there was a mixture of both english and chinese so that both parties would understand what each other is talking about. Haha! Not bad that both parties are trying hard to accept each others lingo.

In Singapore, we are too used to conversing with each other through the virtual world eg. MSN, Skype etc. and the common sentence we normally say to each other “see you in msn tonight, we shall discuss and settle it there”. Most of our stuffs are discuss through all these internet widget which we cannot conveniently find it here in China.

Lets see for example the china student leaders would rather come straight to our hostel to discuss stuffs with us instead of taking our email and discuss through MSN.

The advantage is that face to face communication would reduce the chances of miscommunication. But the disadvantage about this would be that efficiency of work is not up to standard. I had to sms them one night before the actual event to enquire about the details once more & to reconfirm if the outing was still on because there was no news after our last meeting. And instead of telling me all these through the net or text messages, 2 Student leaders came down specially just to tell me a piece of information. Is it really necessary?

If I was in Singapore, I believe that we would have settled this on the night of the meeting and not drag till one day before the event to reconfirm again. Maybe many might say that Singapore students are very lazy, but I would see this as the convenience which internet has brought to us. And how much is the virtual world influencing our lifestyle.

Unknown:

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

(True? YES! If the China student leaders were to be as frequent a user of internet widgets as Singapore students and understand the convenience of internet, I believe that they wouldn’t even bother coming down personally to our hostel just to relate a piece of information to us. Not that we are lazy, it is just the time saved can be better utilised in other areas of your life! Hmmph… think about it! )

xanier!

Day 14 – Happy Birthday BUNK MATE! (Shunnnn Qingggg)

2009-09-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHUN QING!

HAHA! A ‘not very surprising’ surprise for bunk mate Shun Qing at 12AM last night. Tried to lure her out of our room while others rushed in to hide. Ok we were successful in luring her out but were caught in action while everyone was rushing into our room and she was already making her way back. So this means she saw everything. But never mind, we still sang her a birthday song before going off to sleep.

Lecture & quiz 4 today.

Now, having quizzes after every lecture is like a routine for us. It felt weird and stressful initially but it has now become like a daily homework to do after lectures. Good!

Proceeded to canteen 3 for lunch. It was the first time having lunch there. Not bad I would say. Had 鸡蛋面. It was a bowl of soup noodles with fried egg on top of it. Tasty! Had 1 hour break so we went back to our hostel for a quick nap before heading back to class for Flexsim mock test followed by the real test.

Canteen 3.

Test.

Thank god the test was still manageable because I seriously knew nuts about it till last night. After the test, Mr Loh gave us assignment 2. =.= We cannot seem to finish our assignments. Workload is overwhelming!

Finally, 1 test down and so to reward myself, I’m off to the track for a run! Running helps to release stress =))

Proven by: Xanier & My Father! Haha!

Reflection:

Time management is the key to success! For the previous few days, I was so overloaded with work that I know I was too stressed out. Was quite agitated when I couldn’t complete my work or when I didn’t catch enough sleep. Due to the lack of sleep, my mental wasn’t at its best. Just had to tell myself that the week is coming to an end and everything would be over very soon. Give your best and no regrets after that.

Knowing that this is just the first test & presentation since the day we arrived in Wuhan, I have learnt much through this lesson that time management is really very crucial. 2 more assignments & test to go before we can really enjoy ourselves.

Studying overseas on your own is really a matter of self discipline. If you are not able to convince yourself to study, then no one would be able to do so. Self discipline. Self independence.

Peter F. Drucker:

“Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.”

(Everyone is learning about time management. It isn’t about the hard skills but the soft skills of how good you can fully manage your time. STUDY HARD. PLAY HARD. TRAIN HARD.)

xanier!

Han Kou (Day 13 - Sept 13th)

2009-09-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

OUTING!

8.30 am we gathered and made out way to 汉口江滩.

汉口江滩

A total resemblance of Marina Barrage, just that Marina Barrage is so much nicer and cleaner compared to this. We were given about 30-45 minutes to tour around.

Group Photo.

Saw many people selling kites there and we discovered this uncle who was releasing a SUPER DUPER LONG KITE. Which you see no end to it! Interesting eh! =)

So LONGGGG!

After this short tour, we were given quite long hours to shop around 江汉路步行商业街.

江汉路步行商业街

Had lunch at 永和豆浆. Ate 鲁肉饭 and drank a cup of 黑豆浆.

鲁肉饭

After which, we went to shop around and released that the prices were not much different from Singapore and there was nothing much for us to stay on.

Thus, I and An Yu decided to head for the wholesale centre which sells a large variety of stuffs. No one expect us walked such a long distance just to catch a view of how their wholesale centre looks like. But it was a good experience because we actually caught a glimpse of their lifestyle and how different the wholesale centre looks like compared to those in Thailand.

Their Houses.

Rather disappointed actually, because there was nothing much that suits us. Most of it was necessities and clothing which were not of very good quality.

Ladies out there: those online shops which states that their clothes are all imported from korea, DO NOT BELIEVE IT. I saw plenty of those clothing here in Wuhan’s wholesale centre.

After a long long walk back to our meeting place, we saw the THICK layer of dust which was covering our feet.

DUST.

Rested our tired legs for a while before heading back to our meeting place where we boarded our bus back and bid our sweet tour guide, Ms Lei Jing farewell. She was really sweet because before she left, she gave us her number and told us if we needed her help to find our way around Wuhan, we can just give her a call. HOW NICEEE!

And our day ended with most of us visiting poor Jun Ru in the school’s hospital due to her high fever and bad stomach. Most of us actually wanted to visit her but were told to go back to our hostel as the hospital room is too small to accommodate too many people. And all I heard about her condition was that she was put on drip.

Reflection:

Thanks to having a nice company today who is none other than An Yu! I somewhat felt that I had fulfilled a small portion of my backpack travelling dream (although today I was using a sling bag). Both of us separated ourselves from the group and went on to venture for the wholesale centre. Navigating our way around the place which we were totally unfamiliar with, thus resulting in us walking up and down the same road twice after we realize we were walking in the wrong direction.

And on the way, we bought food from road side stalls, looking at how they bargain with each other etc. made us really immense into the life of Wuhan citizens. Oh and we were trying to act as if we were one of the locals there so that people will not con us, but by not knowing how to cross their crazy roads with cars coming straight to you although it was green man had totally disclosed our identity as “TOURIST”. HAHA!

One important point: if you want to act like a local, never run when you cross the road. Stroll across even though you know there are cars coming directly into you because that is what the locals do! O.O and never trust their green man as it is represents nothing to the drivers.

Lastly for JunRu’s incident, a lecturer had told me before to never fall sick in China because whatever illness you have, you will be put on drip. Never really thought that the medical sector in China would be so backdated. They didn’t diagnose on what was the main cause of her illness and no oral medicine was even given before she was placed on drip. So they think that drip is the medicine to all sickness luh?

Was quite pissed off when I kept hearing that Junru was given packets and packets of drip one after the other after her condition became worse. They know that the glucose drip wasn’t helping, so what for you keep poking needles into her body and trying to flood her with glucose. Seriously, china should put 101% of their emphasis in future on their medical sector so as to save their citizens from glucose over dosage.

I just think that, if they do not have the ability to diagnose a patient’s condition, just say it honestly so that we still have time to search for better alternatives and not put a patient’s life at risk. There are still plenty of improvements to be made to the infrastructure and facilities here in China.

Hippocrates, father of western medicine:

“I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”

(Wonder if doctors in China really took their doctor’s oath seriously or just pledge against it for the sake of becoming a doctor. They should take their work more seriously, treating each and every patient with passion and the right attitude. Much more needs to be done before the medical sector of China would thrive.)

xanier!

Day 12 – East Lake/Hubei Museum/ Yellow Crane Tower.

2009-09-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

BREAKKKK!!! =D

Finally a weekend break for us to have a little tour around and to take a breather off the hectic workload.

Gathered at the admin block at 7.15am and set off after that. Our new tour guide is called Lei Jing.

After approx 1 hour bus ride, we arrived at the Hubei Provincial Museum but only to get the news that it only opens at 9am daily and so we were way to early.

Our tour guide decided to change the itinery a little by bringing us to a nearby park called East Lake (东湖). Walked around the park for around 2 hours or so. Didn’t think that it was much of a tourist attraction as it felt like our Bedok Reservoir to me, with the only difference that there is PLENTY of humongous lotus leafs floating on the lake.

Entrance.

Nice Lake.

Oh anyway we saw this elderly man playing one player tennis! At first when we didn’t notice that the tennis ball was attached to a string, we all thought he had some super power to bring the ball back to himself. He was counted as very strong and fit for an elderly of his age.

Keep up the good work uncle! =D

After leaving the park, we headed for the Museum. Huge. Due to some really priceless 国宝 in the museum, the security was very tight. We even had to go through a security check and scan before we can get into the place.

Museum.

Big Bells.

Finally after waiting for so long…. LUNCH TIME!!! I was starving ok! We went to 首义园小吃街 for lunch. It is known as a snack street thus there was PLENTY of food there =) But the troublesome thing is that we need to use a lunch card for our purchases. Had beef meat wrap, pancake, 汤包 and Mango Ice blended. DELICIOUS! Finally felt that I really tasted the food here, rather than those oily ones outside our hostel.

首义园

Yellow Crane Tower.

In the Tower!

After lunch we went to the Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼). Actually I didn’t even think that in my whole life time I would be able to step into this place which I had only read about it in Secondary School Chinese textbook. Was quite excited about walking up this tower! Climbed this tower which has 9 floors with An Yu! =) On every level, there was a small section that gives us a little more understanding of what the tower was about.

After the tower, we went to grab some nice souvenirs for our family and friends! The gifts which I bought were reasonably priced and very nice too! =D

Reflections:

After the trip to the museum, I was actually quite disappointed as there was no attractive factor in it compared to Singapore’s Museum. The artifacts were quite attractive at first but as we went round the museum, we realized that the pictures which we were taking were almost similar and there was no further description of the item besides the name of it. We were thinking that they were just trying to fill up the empty space and trying to make their museum look huge. But they should take into consideration that after the first stretch of looking, viewers get bored out and lose interest in what they are looking.

In a positive manner I would say that they were trying to show us all the artifacts which they have discovered. They want the world to know how great these artifacts are, but they didn’t know that we learn through our eyes when visiting a museum. Thus, showing us everything which has similar appearance and description would only let us leave the museum with tons of questions. I would say it did not bring out the culture of the olden days and I still do not understand the history.

Singapore museum would try their very best to make us understand whatever they want to bring out to us. And of course more consideration and effort will be placed in selection of the artifacts for display etc.

Bernard Grasset:
“To love is to stop comparing.”

(Indeed I should stop comparing China with Singapore. I should try to accept China with a positive mindset and to accept what they offer. Continuous comparing brings me nowhere. But isn’t this what humans always do? To compare and contrast.)

xanier!

12 AM – Day 10 / First IS lesson – 9AM – Day 11

2009-09-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINGYUUUU!!!

One of the many September babies in our trip. Our dear Mingyu was so worried that we would do something to him at 12 AM and so he did not even bathe! We was planning to give him a surprise only on the evening of his birthday. But since he was HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS of us, we have decided to present him with our custom made ‘cake’.

So at 12 AM, we went to knock on his room door. Some guys even had to pull him out of his bed so that we can start our celebration. We sang him birthday song followed by the ‘presenting’ of his cake.

Everyone went back to sleep after that. Thanks all who helped in cleaning up =))

First IS lesson – 9AM – Day 11

Everyone got up early for our first IS lesson since we got to Wuhan. We had combined lecture with another division due to our small group size. After settling down, our female lecturer introduced herself. She spoke quite fluent English with slangs like the Americans.

Before starting the lesson, she showed us an introduction video for Olympics 2009. Purpose was to welcome us to Wuhan. After the entire introduction, she went through with us the history, food specialties and nice tourist attractions. A lot of storytelling was done to make us understand the history of China and the famous people among all this stories.

I had such a hard time keeping myself awake for this IS lesson. Many were either falling asleep or are already asleep. Her lesson had to much information inflow till we couldn’t catch much more after 1 1/2 hours. Lesson was from 9am-12pm! Trying to keep ourselves awake, people starts camwhoring. Half way through the lecture, she was teaching about the famous events in China, and one of them includes DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL! =D

History of dragon boat: Qu Yuan committed suicide due to wrong accusation. To save Qu Yuan from fishes from eating his body and evil spirits by beating the drums and splashing water with their paddles. Searching for his body using boats became a traditional event called ‘dragon boat festival’. It is seen as a form of commemoration of Qu Yuan’s sacrifice.

After the IS lesson, we took a group picture with her as this is her first and final lesson with us.
At around 5.30pm, all of us went to the track to prepare Mingyu & Shun qing’s birthday celebration. We told them that we are going there to play some ball games. Mr Loh joined us for the celebration too! Some of the guys went out to get the 2 birthday cakes and when they reached, we tried to distract the 2 of them while we prepare the cakes.

After which, we sang birthday song for them. They were stunned for a moment but still smiled after knowing that this celebration was specially made for them. =) And as usual, we played the same game after every celebration. CAKE FIGHT!

Singing Song.

21 Guns.

Cake Fight!

So, the day ended off with everyone cleaning themselves up and headed out for dinner.

Reflection:

Planning for a birthday celebration isn’t easy nor would I say it is extremely difficult. But without the help of others, I believe the birthday celebration wouldn’t turn out as nice and fun. For 1 person to plan events would be possible, but with discussion and sharing sessions with others would provide you with a wide variety of ideas to choose from. Different people have different thinking which is what could help to bring out the best of the event. I personally prefer doing everything by myself, but from past experiences, being able to delegate work well is what helps bring the event to an even higher stage. No one person is able to handle everything by him/herself. We all need assistance from people around you in order to get you further in life.

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.)

xanier!

Birthday Bash. Reb! (Day 9 – Sept 9th)

2009-09-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBECCAAAAA!!!

Ok so today is Miss Rebecca’s birthday! And we had a BIGGGG BIRTHDAY BASH for her yesterday night in the hostel. We bought her a MEGA HUGE cake. (Reasons for being mega huge: it is mainly coated with 90% of cream and 10% of sponge cake). Oh we witnessed the whole process of the cake making by the pastry master. He was super skillful with his designing of the cake with the cream and colour gel. It was quite an eye opener because you seldom see the whole process of cake making in Singapore.

So at around 12.15am, we knocked on her room door. After she was out, we sang her a birthday song! All OIP mates were involved. Awwww…. How sweet~~~

Touched face.

Rebbb!

Group Shot.

Yesterday night, many of us were totally exhausted but we persevered till 12.15am just for the birthday bash! Are you touched Miss Rebecca? =D

Right after the cutting of the cake, a CAKE FIGHT occurred!

Finally after everyone was sparkling clean, we took a group shot.

--------------After 5 Hours of Sleep--------------

COLD & ICY.

2nd BPE lesson – 9am

Dragging myself out of the bed was such a difficult task. =X Had too many late nights and I have been in ‘deadly’ mode since the last few days. I need to find time to replenish my sleep! Ok so as usual, got ourselves ready and left for lessons.

The weather today was much colder than yesterday. Wind was very strong and some of us were don with windbreakers etc. This was what made us seemed alien to the China students because all of them were dressed in just T-shirt & Jeans. But never mind about that as long as the weather remains cold and windy for the next few weeks =))

All of us were wearing ‘break-the-wind’ jackets even in the classroom because the window was WIDE open. (& we closed it after a few hours).

Today, Mr Loh went through chapter 2 of BPE followed by quiz 2.

Quiz Paper.

After lessons, lunch in campus Canteen 2.

We went to the 2nd level canteen today and due to the enclosed area, the canteen was filled with oily smog. The oil stench was also terrible. As usual students were all crowding in front of the stalls with no queues.

Settled at a beef noodle stall.

PISSED OFF SESSION.

I actually waited for >20 minutes for just a bowl of noodles while others who ordered later than me had already taken their food and were eating happily. Started to lose my cool when I actually asked the lady who took my order where was my noodle and she just return my question with “ errr… 你刚才叫什么?’ I repeated my order and waited again. Waiting…waiting...waiting… a lot of food were served but none was mine. I seriously flared up. You know china people likes to talk super loudly and the loudest one would always get the order first, thus I walked up to the woman who was cooking and raised my voice. “我的好了没有？！我等很久了你知道吗？！”

None of us understand what she was talking about because of her strong accent. And at last my food came, I somewhat scolded her and walked away. And behind she was scolding me too. So whatever! (*Personal experience, thus some emotional factor was placed in it to express my anger.)

Shun qing met with the same experience as me but because she was too soft spoken, she got scolded instead. (observation: in china, never be soft-spoken. The loudest one will always be the one who win the quarrel. Trust me.)

Going back to our hostel, we suddenly decided to do some ‘room makeover’. Eshlyn mopped the floor, I tidied up the wires and labelled it to prevent tangling and shun qing helped around and took care of our luggages which was placed outside our room. Didn’t know that our room would feel really like our home after it was tidied and clean up. :))) it was really very cosy and warm. Previously, we had to wear our slippers to move around in the room. But now we can walk barefooted even to the cement floor toilet! =D It was our combined effort! Thanks esh and shun for making me feel like home.

A final trio photo in our sparking clean room!

Reflection:

After the birthday bash which was specially created for Rebecca, I realized that friends do matter a lot in our lives. If no one were to take the initiative to plan her birthday, she would be just celebrating her birthday overseas alone. Many a times, things only require some initiative to be taken to make it happen.

For the incident which happened in the school canteen, I really hope that they change this culture of not having a systematic queuing system and not adopt the ‘the loudest one win’ culture. Comparing Singapore’s service and service over here in Wuhan, there is really nothing to complain about service provided in Singapore. We even have campaigns such as GEMS or organizations such as CASE to deal with bad service issue. But over here, there is no such thing as ‘customer is always the biggest’. They wouldn’t mind losing you as a customer which I don’t know why also. And because they don’t have organizations such as CASE to deal with bad service issue, thus this explains why service in China is so bad. So Singaporeans out there: stop complaining about bad service issues or post images or videos on STOMP for bad service. I bet your expectation of a good service will drop drastically after you have experienced it here and returned to Singapore. In the mean time, before they decide to turn systematic and learn the meaning of queuing up, I shall blend in and absorb their culture by talking loudly, not queuing up and talk LOUDER to the people here.

Victor Frankl:
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

(Thus, I as an individual alone would not be able to influence the culture of China. By acknowledging this fact, I have no choice but to challenge myself to change to compromise the situation and habits of China citizens. Your level of adaption when you are alone overseas plays a very important part in how fast you are able to accept the culture of the country, be it positive or negative.)

xanier!

1st Quiz after 8 days in Wuhan. (Day 8 - Sept 8th)

2009-09-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

~~Cool breeze kissed our cheeks.~~

Today’s morning breeze was fantastic when we went down early in the morning to hang our clothings. :)))

The first time when I reached Wuhan that I experienced nice cooling weather. To be exact it was quite chilly. But I like it! =)

Our morning session IS lesson was cancelled because our China lecturer was on Medical leave. Thus, our first lesson would start at 2PM! But still, I woke up around 7.30am to complete my Flexsim tutorial and to continue on my blogging for you people out there who are reading - hope you are enjoying it so far =))

Had my whole grain bread for breakfast which I bought yesterday night at the bakery shop located in our campus. DELICIOUS!!! =D Singapore sells one loaf of Whole grain bread for approx $6 but it only cost 4.50 RMB (less than $1) here! Shall take that as my staple diet from today onwards. =X The most healthy food which can be found in Wuhan.

Whole grain bread =)

A group of us went for lunch at around 1 PM in the school canteen. Tried 热干面 which our dear Daniel said that it was veryyyy nice. Looks appealing? But…… I didn’t really find it very delicious. The gravy tasted like peanut butter + chilli oil on noodles. My tummy was burning after that. Don’t think I will eat it anymore haha!

After lunch, we went back to our hostel to pick up our bags and off we went for lessons.

Today was the first day that we experienced such cool weather. And after opening the windows in our classroom, WOOSH~ look at An Yu’s hair!

An Yu's hair is flying~~~

Camwhores!

But thanks to the nice weather we were able to study better compared to yesterday. Realized that the weather change is quite drastic. Hope the weather remains cool.

After Mr Loh’s chapter 1 lecture, we took our very first quiz in Wuhan.

Mr Loh making sure we did not talk during the quiz.

Quiz 1

Afterwhich, we had to complete tutorial 1 of Flexsim. I shall not deny the fact that guys are really better in technical stuffs compared to ladies. All the guys completed the tutorial before us.

Ladies are all in the classroom while all the guys were standing outside waiting for us to finish our work. -.-

5.45PM: Went for 2.4km run at WUST track for the first time while the others went to do their own exercises too. We are getting healthier each day =D

2 Bunk mates who went to run too! =)))

Reflection:

Perseverance & determination is the key to success! Actually I was super lazy to go for a run today. But thanks to the others who were so persistant and enthusiastic about exercising, i decided to not think about it and JUST RUN ONLY.

Oh and today was also WUST new intake of freshmen. We thought that university students would not need parents to accompany on the first day of school. But weirdly, most of them had their parents beside them. We normally only see this in primary, secondary and polytechnics but not NTU/NUS. I thought China students were supposedly much more independent than us but surprisingly this was not the case. They even need parents to accompany them for the first day of university. So you people out there should stop calling Singaporean Teenagers as 温室里的小花 (flowers in the greenhouse) which means we are well protected from harsh conditions. Because in Singapore, those foreign students that you see are like what the china students over here see us as. We are thrown into a new environment and we have no choice but to be independent and in this way, many of us actually mature much faster. Uncertainty of the environment indeed forces a person to change and adapt to it.

John Finley:

“Maturity of mind is the capacity to endure uncertainty.”

(Indeed no one likes uncertainty in life. It puts one in a disadvantage position whereby you don’t know what to expect thus no beforehand preparation can be done. But it is this factor which shows your maturity level. The way you deal with uncertainty would show your maturity level. It is either you face it and welcome it with a positive mindset or you become lost and worried not knowing what to do and keep guessing on what would happen next. A mature and immature mind.)

xanier!

Day 5-6 - 绿林

2009-09-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Our very first weekend trip out of school. This time we will be heading for 绿林 and staying over for 2 days 1 night. The bus ride took about 4 hours before we reached the restaurant for lunch.
And next, it was river rafting!

Shun Qing was my partner for river rafting. Was expecting something more challenging and rocky compared to what we went through. It was more for couples whereby you glide through those small rocks and paddle your way through the river. We rafted for about 3 hours.

We were told to take a shower before heading to the next location. And to my GREAT SHOCK when I walked into the bathing area… the ladies were all NAKED! Cubicles with no doors and it felt really really uncomfortable. But what to do, I need a shower. So….. it’s up to your imagination. Some girls didn’t dare to bath in the open, thus they just changed out of their dirty clothings.

The next location we went to was a waterfall which was very famous in 绿林. Snapped a lot of photos because the scenery was just breathtaking.

Everything ended at around 6pm and we headed back to the restaurant for dinner. Rooms were allocated and my room mate for the night was GLORIA! =)

The rooms were not bad. After settling down, we went to watch their local performance. Quite entertaining and there was even a campfire.

Day 6

Woke up at 6am for morning run with Roy! Was quite an exciting run haha! Because we actually went to explore the different areas which no one went to. At first we ran without our camera, but the scenery was very beautiful and I don’t know how to explain it in words. A picture speaks a 1000 words =) So after running, we rushed back to my room to get my camera and we went back to the same place to capture some nice pictures.

After that, I took a quick shower and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast. Today, we would be visiting the ancient lulin south army camp. It holds great significance and long history. It was located 850m above sea level.

And this was the first time I rode a horse and it carried me through the grasses somemore!!! Was a memorable experience which I hope my family was there to experience it too! =))

At about lunch time, we went back to the restaurant to take our final lunch before we board the bus that brings us back to school. Since it was the first time we were out of hostel, most of them were complaining that they missed their rooms and beds. Haah!

Reflection:

Reckless driving. This was the first time that I didn’t know when I might lose my life due to the way the driver manouvered his way through the traffic. Making sharp turns, going against the flow of traffic, driving like there was no brake down the steep mountains etc. We were all appalled by how he drove. Every minute, you could hear his horn because he was trying to get people out of his way. And he was driving at an extremly high speed. I felt relived that I was able to return back to my campus safely. As what my friend said, he couldn’t be so lucky each time. How many times would he be able to avoid oncoming vehicles and to not fall off the edge of the mountains when he was going at such high speed. All I could say was, he was playing with fire. This is another part of their culture. The art of driving. All of the drivers do the same thing. I’m happy that there is tight control of the traffic in singapore. Reckless driving would not be forgiven.

xanier!

1st Lesson + Orientation. (Day 7 – Sept 7th)

2009-09-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Extreme Heat Stroke!

Slept at 4am last night doing up my assignments. But strangely this morning I was still the first to wake up! Hehe. Woke my 2 roommates up after I finished bathing. All of us packed our bags for our first lesson today before setting off for lesson which is located at the other end of the campus.

The weather was crazily blazing hot early in the morning. Just standing still could even generate sweat, moreover we will be climbing up and down the slope for quite a distance. A small bus is provided but none of us took it as it is really SMALL and by the time we reach the top I think our lessons would have already been past by half. So, all of us decided to make our way up to the classroom by walking. By the time we reach our class, we were all sweating profusely. Cleaning ourselves up with tons of tissue paper.

After settling down:

A view of my classroom. See the ladies are sooo attentive! Unlike the guys =X

My class guys are always camera ready eh? Haha!

Lecturer: Mr Joseph Loh~

The first lesson of BPE (Business Process Engineering), we were taught by Mr Joseph Loh the basic usage of Flexsim. Half way through the lecture, Mr Loh had to write notes on the board. But they were still using chalk board.

"I only did this when I was small!"

So he got stunned for a moment before picking up his chalk! Haha =D and this he said: I only did this when I was small. HAHA! So, we were taught how to drag or pull objects around using this software, and forming the most ideal flow of process. After which we were ask to attempt Tutorial 1 which is a step by step tutorial. Must be handed up tomorrow!

My first half way done Flexsim model :)

Was getting real hungry after lessons because NO BREAKFAST = NO ENERGY! Made our way back to hostel to put our stuffs down before heading off to Wanton Stall again for our healthy lunch. 5 RMB for a tummy filling lunch. Went to the super market with some of them after that to stock up their ‘snack bar corner’ in their hostel room.

See how bonded we are now. The whole group of us hogged the Wonton shop!

Pretty Ladies =)

My '吉祥馄饨面' (felt like eating flour because the noodles were too thick =x)

Mini Sprite found in the super market.

1.45 PM:

Campus orientation again. But this time, they will be bringing us to 2 main schools which is the Information Engineering School & School of Life Science.

Information Engineering School:

Dusty chairs are found everywhere in campus. Even in our classroom. (NP's chair is wayyyy better ok! hah)

Seriously, the weather so hot that everyone was vying just to stand in front of the air-con!

School of Life Science:
The school tour ended around 4.30 PM. And we made our way back to our hostel.

Mannequins

Operation Table.

Dislocated jaw? =X

Muscles. Give me that abs!

Yangtze river located near our campus.

2 Jump Shots!

6.30 PM:

A large group of us gathered together for PT (Physical Training) : ) did some running and sprints. Believe many felt a sense of satisfaction because they completed everything and of course burned some fats from the oily stuffs which we consumed during the past week. 36 more PTs to go my dear friends =D

Beautiful legs on the way my friends! =)

(I said Warm down & someone asked me "warm down? isn't it cool down" HAHAHA! )

Group Cheer YO!

Night jump shot.

P.S: Sorry if I was too fierce hehe! ><

Group Photo! See their muscles coming out?! HAHA!

After which I am now sitting here back to being a couch potato, doing my blog post!

Reflection:

If we were to compare the Ngee Ann Poly’s campus and the campus here, in terms of space of course WUST is so much bigger. But in terms of other factors such as facilities, classrooms and distance to travel from point to point, NGEE ANN POLY IS THE BEST! From the pictures I believe you are able to see for yourself how old the classrooms are. They are also poorly maintained.

Another interesting observation is that, today when we were running round the campus, we attracted many weird looks and comments. I did realize that no one runs in the campus except us, but why is this so? They seemed so shocked and fascinated to see us running round the campus in sports attire. Does this show that China people don’t exercise? But strangely, if they do not exercise how do the ladies over here maintain their body figure in tip top condition??? Since day 1, we do not doubt that the ladies here have extremely good figure but we seldom see one that possess athletic features. Most of them were fair, slim and the ladies here NEVER fail to carry an umbrella with them wherever they walk. Interesting eh? But we can actually conclude that China people really don’t exercise especially the ladies.

Through today, we can actually know the importance of adapting to the environment in order for you to be fully immersed in their culture.

Finally, through today’s PT I believe many would feel that even simple exercises such as running could let you ‘feel’ your teammates more through the support to one another. Believe you all will fully understand the meaning of this after 1 ½ months of PT :) ‘when you first joined it is for yourself as an individual, but after a few months it is for your teammates & the team’. Do not give up till you know you have given your all and would end with no regrets. Looking forward to more PT sessions with all of you =)) REST WELL!

ps. drink lots of water.

NPDB:
‘Tough Times don’t last, Tough Man do’.

(Remember in times when you feel like giving up, remind yourself with this sentence. No one person is born a tough man. Experiencing each tough times and pressing on till the end would eventually sculpt a Tough Man in times to come. Believe in yourself and it is not a matter of whether you can or cannot. It is whether you want or don’t want to give the extra effort for that extra mile.)

xanier!

Orientation+ Free and Easy! (Day 4 – Sept 4th)

2009-09-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

----------HOT---------

So today, it was mainly just orientation around the school. Met up with the students from the other divisions at the void deck of our hostel before setting off together for the orientation. We were mainly led by a China lecturer who showed us where our classroom was located.

WUST Admin Block. (a littleeee bigger than NP's admin block 1 ya? =X)

South Campus which is located directly opposite our Foreign Language School.

Our dear Mr Loh enjoying the strong breeze.

Inside our Foreign Language School.

Our Classroom.

Inspirational quotes.

Female toilet with toilet doors no taller than 1.4M. Hmmph...

Some interesting pictures:

What is an English Salon??? (o.o)

A short orientation and it was free and easy time for us again. =)

Came out of the school and we decided to take our classic JUMP SHOTS ONCE AGAIN!

Walked around the campus taking pictures everywhere. This was our first tour around the school. So we were actually acting like tourist. Taking pictures at every single place.

A little garden along the way which allows us to have a bird's eye view of the school.

Here's a little mischieve happening in the garden:

Group shot! =)

Jarold! 不要做傻事!

We did not stop Jarold in time. (Nice lag time due to professional photographer -me)

Roy doing 'i-dont-know-what' =X

1st Year students have to go through a compulsory military training. (similar to our S & W)

Went in the library to have a look, but we could not even find a single book because the library had small little sections at each level. But none of it was for browsing of books. So we just loitered around for awhile before leaving the place.

While we were standing outside of the library, we saw this poor man carrying 3 heavy stacks of books behind his back. Most of us found this view quite heart wrenching because in Singapore, we will never see people using manual labor till this state. When I walked past him while he was making his way up to the library, I could really see his cramped up face and sweat dripping profusely down his forehead. Couldn’t they use an invention named as a ‘trolley’? I wonder how much would he earned by carrying books up and down the library. When we took a look into his delivery truck, there was nearly close to 9 to 10 stacks of books. I think this is more to abusing than using manual labor.

After our own little tour around school, we headed for lunch. And and and we managed to discover a stall selling Wonton Noodles that are much less oily than all the food outside. It was quite nice =)

Green Bean drink. (it was very thick in texture and felt like you were drinking green bean soup).

白菜鲜肉馄饨

Never forget dumpling with the best companion… VINEGAR!

We just had to take photo of this dirty looking chopsticks. All of their utensils were all covered with a layer of black coating.

Chestnut!
After lunch, while walking back to our campus I spotted chestnuts. Decided to purchase a pack. The size of their chestnuts are so huge compared to Singapore’s chestnuts. One more nice factor would be that China’s chestnuts, the shells had been cracked open for you already. Ease of convenience.

Reflection

China people really earn through blood, sweat and tears. Due to their massive population, many were left unemployed or not suited for the job. Thus, many such as this uncle are left unemployed. In worst case scenario, they had to be hired for manual labour.
Although it is only the 4th day of our OIP trip, but I can feel that we are slowly forming strong bonds among each other. We started out in cliques of our own and we are now gradually becoming one whole OIP clique. Soft-spoken ones are starting to open up and more outgoing ones are pulling each individual together as one. That is how friendships are formed. With no family members to depend on overseas, friends are now becoming an important part of our lives. Without them, I believe that we would not be able to enjoy the trip fully. It just needs one party to take the initiative to open up and start talking before the other party would slowly be influenced and open up too. Do you call this the joy of forming friendships? Maybe it is =)
Friends are an integral part of a joyful life!

Albert Schweitzer:
‘In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.’

(Cherish your friends like how you cherish your love ones. Because they will be the one holding your hands and walking through the time of your life together with you and vice versa.)

xanier!

City Shopping (Day 3 - Sept 3rd)

2009-09-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

SHOPPING! :)

For today, it will be shopping, shopping and moreee shopping in the city!

Before we setting off in the morning, our dear Miss Eshlyn started doing her laundry. She was quite happy doing it though. So anyone who is interested to hire a happy maid please call: 123456789 =DDD

Next on, we gathered at the bus stop outside our campus and took Bus 903. (Up up and away to the cityyyy)!

All I can say is, WHERE IS MY SBS BUSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! I MISS YOUUUUU!!!!

The bus was super duper cramped, crowded and stuffy. They do not have the EZ-Link card service, so we had to actually pay our 2RMB coins to a lady who will be walking up and down the bus collecting bus fares from each of us. She would give us our ticket slip in exchange of our money. After collecting, her job would be to stand in the middle of the bus and kept shouting: 有没有人要下车啊? Plus her voice was super sharp and loud. Approx 30 Minutes ride.

Ticket Slip.

The bus ride was very bumpy and the bus driver likes to step on the brake every now and then. Everyone was finding for a pole to grab onto. And I realized how ‘well-maintained’ their facilities are. But what to do, we still had to grab on to the one end attached pole for balance.

Broken Pole! O.O

Bus.

Bus Chair.

Group Shots outside the shopping mall.

JUMPPP!!!

Inside the shopping mall.

Something nice.

After walking around for awhile, we decided to find a place to settle down for our lunch. Compared prices among a lot of flyers that were given to us, and finally found a one that is cheapppp. Name: 天天见
LUNCH TIME! =D

See the layer of oil? Oil seems FOC in Wuhan.

After lunch, we had nothing much to shop because the prices there were almost similar to Singapore and it was just a normal shopping centre that does not have much unique items which could attract us. So, they decided to get a new haircut! Hair salons there were plentiful. All were beautifully furnished and we had a hard time selecting which one should not produce not-up-to-standard haircut.

Shop Name: YES I DO.

Shun Qing & Alvin: Haircut + Straighten.
Me, Roy & Eshlyn: Wash Hair + Blow.

I can say that their service is SUPERB. The square area of the hair salon was MEGA HUGE compared to Singapore’s salon. They had approx 20 hairdressers, 20 apprentices & 6 Counter staffs.

The layout of their salon was so appealing to ladies as it looked very princess like with dim shades of yellow & gold with dangling shiny stones at the window. And the tables and chairs were black. Classic I would say. Though they had plenty of customers and you had to wait, but while waiting their staffs ensured that you are well-taken care of. Informing you every minute that it will soon be your turn, and apologizing for the wait.

While washing of hair, their staff will strike a conversation with you to keep you entertained, unlike Singapore. That was my longest hair washing session with all the talking. Haha. After that, the staff would follow you around and keep you company till you get a seat for blowing dry of hair. After handing you over, the hairdresser is another one who will talk to you and keep you entertained throughout the whole session.

Service: EXCELLENT! (The only shop in Wuhan that has excellent service that wins Singapore).

Before

After

After their hair cut, we were left with an hour for some last minute shopping. And we walked into this hidden food area which was deeppp inside the shopping mall. Foods there was quite unique and are all those food which you would see on China Drama shows. How special~~~ =D tried a few different food.

红豆chua冰

Beef Balls

Finally, ending our shopping trip at 6PM. Once again, the bus was packed like sardines. But all of us managed to get up the same bus using some special strategy and tactics. =D

PACKED LIKE SARDINESS!

Reflection:
Comparing the hair cut services of Singapore to China, Singapore really lose out by a lot. From the behavior and attitude of how they serve their customers, we can see their passion for their work, to bring the best out to you and ensure that you walk out their door satisfied and with a smile on your face. Although those in white were hairdressers while those in black were just apprentices who helped to wash, colour and straighten hair, they still treated their work seriously. This is one attitude that the younger generation in Singapore should learn. To always take your work seriously no matter how small it is.
A little effort goes a long way.
Talking about the facilities on the bus, shouldn’t they at least change the metal bars? I realized that China people like to do things without thinking through the consequences. It may sound harsh, but in many incidents which I experienced, I am left with no less harsher words to describe them. They like to wait for something to happen before something is done, instead of preventing it.
Overall, passion is what brings an individual far in life. Never live your life without a passion or goal. Only with these would your life be fruitful and fulfilling.

T. Alan Armstrong:
If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, let it become you and you will find great things happen for you, to you and because of you.

(Many teenagers in Singapore gains passion fast & loses them even faster. Passion is something which keeps me going and is a form of mental support within me. I do hope that teenagers out there would be able to discover your true passion, stick to it and achieve something out of it. You will never regret sacrificing just to keep your passion burning.)

xanier!

Project Rescue (Day 2 - Sept 2nd)

2009-09-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Waking up to our first morning in Wuhan,
And...

Me saving 1st Victim

Shun Qing saving 2nd Victim.

We had a bonding session with our toilet.

9.30 AM (Non-Shitted)
Victim 1: Clairol Herbal Essence (Pink)
Rescue Time: 30 Minutes

11.30 AM (After 2 Person shitted)
Victim 2: Elseve (Red)
Rescue Time: 15 Minutes (Well Trained professionals after 1st rescue)
Rescue Team: Xanier, Shun Qing, Eshlyn
Rescue Equipments: 2 Sticks (taken from 1st level of hostel, owner:unknown =x)
Our Rescue Video =D

Hi Singaporeans, how lucky are we? Toilet BOWLS everywhere in Singapore and toilet HOLES everywhere in Wuhan. Plus the holes of the toilet are not suited for toilet paper to be thrown in or else it would chock up the whole flushing system.We were considering if we should purchase a piece of wooden plank to cover up the hole when it is not in use. Didn't the person who constructed this toilet HOLE even thought of how inconvenient would it be for people to use?

After 'Project Rescue' comes SHOPPING & EXPLORATION!

A little shot of our hostel.

The laundry shop next to our hostel.

Initially, we wanted to send our clothes for washing every week to the laundry shop. But after looking at the condition it was in, we decided to hand wash all our clothes. Tiring? But I rather get tired than to have my clothes return with a few holes on it and some weird smell.

Canteen also next to our hostel.

Next, we proceeded to the canteen which was packed with students buying their breakfast. It was nothing like canteens in Ngee Ann Poly whereby students are queued up systematically waiting for their turn. The students were all pushing each other in order to reach the front where by there was a wide selection of dishes to select from. Each student was with a bowl and moving to the respective stations for different variety of food. One interesting observation which we discovered was, ALL the students were walking to their classrooms and eating at the same time. Who in Ngee Ann Poly walks to Blk 50 while eating bento set on the way???

FREEE AND EASYYYY~~~
Ok, so today is one free day for us to purchase all our necessary groceries and personal necessities.Oh and also to explore the area our hostel. Never had I treat marketing as such an important task. We walked a few streets away from our hostel in search of our super market and for some exploration adventure!

A shopping list was really generated!

Next, we proceeded to the canteen which was packed with students buying their breakfast. It was nothing like canteens in Ngee Ann Poly whereby students are queued up systematically waiting for their turn. The students were all pushing each other in order to reach the front where by there was a wide selection of dishes to select from. Each student was with a bowl and moving to the respective stations for different variety of food. One interesting observation which we discovered was, ALL the students were walking to their classrooms and eating at the same time. Who in Ngee Ann Poly walks to Blk 50 while eating bento set on the way???

Following on, we proceeded out of campus.

Discovered anything about this street?

There is no green and red man. You are suppose to look at the traffic lights for vehicles to determine when would be the right time to cross the road. As we were first timers here, we just followed Mr Loh blindly, but half way through I realised there was no green man and cars started coming towards us. =.= a good experience eh? You are suppose to look right, look left and cross (left-hand drive). I still don’t understand, is it so expensive to fit a traffic light for pedestrians than to put our lives at risk?

Seldom see this longggg trailers travelling on our roads in Singapore as stringent permission and license is needed before this long vehicle can travel on our road. But this trailers is actually a common sight in Wuhan. Lashings for the cargo is also not done apprioriately with strong and durable shrink wrap or ropes. It is simply bundled together using normal thick ropes and wooden planks at the side to keep it together. Personally I feel that more safety aspects should be observed for such long trailers as it is most prone to accidents such as toppling over, unbalance weight distribution etc. In Singapore,movement of such vehicles on the road must be approved by LTA (Land Transport Authority) before they can travel on the road.

FIERCE SIOL!

Poor Zhang Shao Han, JJ Lin and Jay. Advertisement posters are everywhere in Wuhan. We seldom see this in Singapore right? Even if we do, the colours of our advertisement posters would be kept in tip top condition for a pleasant view.

Another 2 types of road transportation.

Bicycle with cart.

Motorcycle with cart.

A small 'shop' located in a small alley at the corner of the road. Is it a shop anyway? No signboards, no tables only one menu board. 1 Chef and her assistant was located inside the small alley which have limited walking space.Walls covered with black soot due to constant cooking in the non-ventilated small area. Looks extremely turn off but strangely, many locals still buy from them. Before setting up the stall, didn’t they thought of hazards which would occur for eg. Fire, gas explosion due to no air circulation etc. how can this small alley even be used as a cooking area?

I shall try it one day when I think that having a stomachache is fine. =D

Honda Odyssey as a Police Car?

Hah, I still trust Singapore's Subaru WRX police car.

In search of our lunch,

we chanced upon this food street which sells plenty of stuffs!

The condition of the stores were quite terrible. I think even the paint of their walls is covered with a layer of oil and soot. The oil smell was very strong too. This should be due to constant re using of the oil after many times.

We decided to move on further down the road in search of something more pleasing to our 5 senses.

And we came to this small stall that had mini tables and chairs. We found it quite unique so settled in. Plus, we had not tried the traditional 麻辣火锅 before so this shall be the first time we try it. I think people walking past would think that we were crazy because we were the only ones eating steamboat in the early afternoon. Although many china people had came over to open up 麻辣火锅 franchise stalls, but I still prefer eating it right at the place of its origin. More ‘Feel’. Prices were counted by the number of sticks which we had consumed. Would say that it was really worth the money as our total final cost was 25RMB and each person only had to pay $1++ Singapore dollars for a tummy filling lunch =)) 麻辣火锅 in Singapore would cost $20++ per person. A $19 dollars difference! Their 麻辣does not make your lips go red and be in search of water which is what Singapore’s chili taste like. Instead, it numbs your tongue and gives you a very weird feeling. Very different compared to Singapore.

Some exercises after our lunch!

JUMP SHOTS! =D

While we were walking back the street, we witnessed this brutal murdering of Mr Frog!

Sun got too scorching hot. Even Roy is holding an umbrella!!! Anyway that is mine. So… I was in the sunnn
=((

After walking for quite awhile, we discovered another small lane filled with special eateries.

Mango Ice.

Glass Tub for putting the soup in it.

I found this quite funny. a ',' followed by a '!'.

汤包 (VERY DELICIOUS =D)
the soup in it really flows in your mouth. The good point is, it was piping HOT! =0

Went into a school nearby the food street to take a look.

JUMP SHOTS AGAIN =D

After exploring for too long, we realised that our main purpose of coming out was to purchase necessities and groceries. So, we went back to the super market which we saw previously while walking here. Spent almost 4-5 hours in the super mart just to make sure that everything was bought. Buying the cheapest for EVERYTHING. HAHA! Singaporean spirit eh? =D

The guys bought a toilet bowl seat for their hostel. So now whose the weak one here. Male or Female? HUH HUH??? Because they were complaining about the squatting that it was tiring blah blah blah. Train leg muscles dudes! How to go army like that?! =X

Plenty of bottled mineral water for stocking up in our hostel.

Final group shot before we are off to bed! =D

Reflections:

Singaporeans are more particular on hygiene compared to China people. Their flushing system is nothing compared to ours, which is able to provide us with clean and instant drinking water straight from the tap. Do appreciate the effort of our government in providing us with clean and filtered water from every corner of Singapore. Where can you ever find a country which allows you to drink straight from the tap without fear of stomachache?
And seriously, did the inventor of this toilet HOLE even thought of the convenience of users? Today was the first time in my life that I had to squat so long till I’m done with my business. And when I wanted to stand up, I actually had to find a wall to support me up because my legs went numb after squatting for so long. Zzz… We are lucky that there are very few toilet holes in Singapore.
And after experiencing their canteens, what I learnt was. ‘Don’t push, don’t eat’. If you were afraid of pushing your way to the front to collect your food, then you can actually forget about having breakfast, lunch or dinner. Was the culture of pushing inculcated in them since young? Were they taught by their parents that cutting queue was a right thing to do? Singapore’s education had taught us well and inculcated all the right values in us through the subject of ‘moral education’. Our parents too taught us the right thing of not pushing and to queue up for your turn.
Next, the grocery shopping made us realize how dependant we were on our parents back in Singapore. For the very first time, buying groceries became something so important that the 3 of us had to sit down together and plan out exactly what is to be purchased, what was our budget and how necessary is each item mentioned by each of us. This trip forced us to understand every bit of ourselves, from our daily habit to our strengths and weaknesses. I believe that there is more to come in future within this 1 ½ months. I will discover my true inner and outer self!
Our government was really willing to invest plenty of money just to bring the country to its best condition. Providing us with all the facilities and maintaining them in tip-top condition. By not having traffic lights for pedestrians in Singapore, will you not start to wonder where did all the money that was supposedly used for setting up facilities for the citizens went to? Embezzled by the government? Or were they really short cashed to even set up a simple infrastructure such as traffic lights?
Long trailers were seen everywhere on the roads, with no safety precautions taken into considerations. Cargoes were tied loosely, there were no traffic police escorts to clear roads for them, there were not even width, length or height limitations. LTA I LOVE YOU! You saved the life of many Singaporeans. =)
Posters were pasted at every corner that has empty space. No advertisement fees, no booking of advertisement places etc. Advertisement posters are very well taken care of in Singapore.
Hygiene is still a very big issue in China. Roadside stalls are everywhere. Plus the cleanliness of the stores are a very big problem in the hygiene problem. With walls coated with a layer of oil, dust, soot etc. How does hygiene be emphasized?
In conclusion, Singapore government is really willing to spend on infrastructures that could benefit the citizens. Our life has been made real easy because of these entire basic infrastructures that had been built up bit by bit till the Singapore now which has transformed into a beautiful metropolitan area. And lastly, much more emphasize should be placed on hygiene in China before any changes should be made.

Shaquille:
“Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly.”

(If China is able to change the habit of pushing around, cutting of queues etc. and all eateries to keep their environment clean by emphasizing most on their hygiene, I believe that China will soon be just 1 step away from excellence. It is the inculcating of the habit and constant reminders of what is right & wrong).

xanier!
End.

Pre-Trip Meeting.

2009-09-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

First. (Day 1-Sept 1st)

2009-09-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

FIRST.

First Time I’m travelling out of singapore without the company of my family.
First Overseas Trip.
First Time I’m Skipping 30 Trainings in a row.
First Day of our Wuhan Trip

After getting ready and all set to go, I bid my house goodbye and made my way to Terminal 1, Row 12 arriving at 5.15am in the morning. Parents were there to send me off with a couple of friends who surprised me by turning up after telling me that they would not be able to send me off.

Touched.

Thank you all for making the effort and sacrificing your sleep just to send me off. Really appreciate it.

Looking around, I see many parents standing together with their child. Talking to them and giving them their last words of advice since many of us are first timers for travelling along for such a long duration. I believe although many parents told their child how good an experience this trip would be, but from the look of their eyes, they are actually the ones that do not bear to let us go. Finally, the time has come to bid farewell. Family and friends gathered around and made me really DO NOT wish to go for this trip. Giving my parents the last hug, tears just came welling up in my eyes uncontrollably. Tried hard to hold it back but the feeling is just hard to suppress. Waved them goodbye and quicken my pace to cross the check point before I really could not bear to leave them. Taking the first step into a 1 and a ½ months journey of independency. Gathered myself together and we boarded the China Southern Airlines which brought us to Guang Zhou for transit.

By comparing the service provided by Singapore Airlines and China Southern airline, I can proudly say that there is NOTHING to compare. Singapore Airlines is no doubt the best airline. To justify my stand, I would state a few incidents. Firstly, the plane was filled with a weird stench which accompanied us throughout the whole journey, but it was still bearable. Next, we waited for almost 30minutes to an hour before the plane took off. And drinks were not provided right after the plane was in a safe state. We were all dying of thirst. So after more than half way through the journey, finally the drinks were served. And in less than 15 minutes, the food came along. So what was the use of serving drinks only 15 minutes before giving us lunch when drinks were provided during lunch again? Next, a good image was not portrayed due to their ‘black faces’ when serving us. The last incident would be that the male steward actually asked my malay friend if she wanted PORK or fish for lunch. She stunned for awhile before requesting for fish. Then a female stewardess came along and started scolding the male steward in front of everyone about not knowing that my friend was supposed to receive halal food. Professional? I believe Singapore Airlines was providing service which was totally the opposite of what I had mentioned above. Proud to be a Singaporean =)

In Guang Zhou Airport.

Finally after 3-4hours of plane ride, we landed in Guang Zhou. With ample of free time, we decided to take our lunch in the airport. Walking around in search of a place to settle down, we discovered a China ‘Guardian pharmacy’. But strangely, it is named as ‘ Mannings’. Hmmph… the logic behind this name?

Mannings???

So we went in search of the cheapest eating place which we could find because the prices were all quite unbelievable. At last we still decided to settle our tired legs at a restaurant which looks the best among all but with prices that are almost similar to the other eateries. When we wanted to place our orders, all of us did not know how to call the waitress because from the experience of the previous batch, we are not suppose to call them as 小姐 (xiao jie)as it means hostess which is what we usually use in Singapore’s restaurant. So we tried all ways and means to attract their attention by waving our hands in the air, bobbing our heads up and down trying to have eye contact with any waitress. And finally, one came over to take our orders.

What I ordered were: 手打面(40 RMB) & 菊花茶 (15 RMB each).

Food critic:
Noodles were not even the standard of our Singapore’s Instant Maggie Noodle. It was bland and tasteless with only a scoop of olive as flavoring.

手打面

Chrysanthemum tea was horrendous. All of us were complaining that it tasted weird with a taste of melted rubber.

菊花茶

Final Conclusion:
Service- =(
Food- =(
Total money paid- 55 RMB ($11.58)

We were actually paying the price of what Singapore’s Crystal Jade Restaurant is charging, but the food quality is incomparable. No wonder we were told to bring our own lunch for transit rather than to spend our money on the food in the airport.

NOT WORTH IT!

Oh before boarding the second plane, we discovered this while we were in the toilet, behind the cubicle door.

Before entering the boarding area, we were supposed to throw all our liquid stuffs into this bin. Think Singapore should have a special bin for this purpose at the boarding area for our convenience.

WUHAN!!!
Landed in Wuhan at around 8.00-9.00 pm. Some night views of Wuhan while we were taking the 1 and a half hour bus ride to our hostel.

Taxis in Wuhan have electronic messages placed at the back of their car for purposes such as advertisements, reminding cars behind to watch out and not tail gate etc. Although it is another form of media advertisement or creating awareness, I would not like to see it on Singapore taxis as it is too flashy and a major distraction to drivers on the road. I still prefer Singapore taxis which are kept simple and clean.

Wuhan Taxis.

First Supper.

Our first supper in WUST.
It was extremely sumptuous but due to my tiredness from the long plane and bus rides, I was thinking of the bed in my hostel. All the dishes were very spicy and oily with only a plate of white cabbage which was stir fried, non-spicy, and very oily. 99% of all the dishes were all pork parts. Pork blood, pork fats, pork meat, popcorn pork (chicken in Singapore), pork lungs etc etc. Whatever you can think of.

Getting prepared to get fat in the next 1 ½ months? Faints.
Health conscious Singaporeans will not complain about the little oil placed in dishes such as Char Kway Teow after you see the thick layer of shiny liquid on the dishes here in Wuhan.

Room 330

Our hostel room! Insects infested I would say. And their houseflies are MEGA BIG! (Quoted from Eshlyn =x) Did a quick clean up and off to BED! =DDD

Oh before ending off, here’s a picture of our ‘Nice’ looking toilet =S

Reflections:

Services provided by Singapore and China cannot be compared. Because Singapore's services are way better than China. Today, we had little encounters which teaches us to understand their behaviour, culture & lingo more. I see more to come in the next 1 and a half months and I will fully understand how things works over here, embracing any short comings with a positive mindset.

XANIER!