oelp day 3 - Ruo Qing

yay so today was the third day of our Taipei trip ((almost half over)) :(( but, i really enjoyed today more than the past two days hehe. we went to jianguo high school, 2 memorial halls and ximending !!(:

it was a brand new experience for me at jianguo and i learnt a lot from the students ((哥哥们 LOL)) there. being a girl, i obviously didn't have a chance to study ((more of interact)) at a boys school before. the students there were really welcoming and before we arrived, they were already waiting for our arrival. also, they were nice and helped us out as much as possible. for example, trying their best to make us feel comfortable in the new environment. i was really impressed with the performances they prepared ((orchestra, juggling, beatbox and magic!!))

 although the juggling team made a few mistakes here and there but they kept trying and i could see that they really tried their best, and as humans, making mistakes is unavoidable. from them, i learnt to always try my best and expect something from myself instead of cutting myself slack. although i might know that it will not work out in the end, but courage is  doing what i think should be done. and in this case, they know that they should try their best to put up a good performance, and so they did not give up after just one or two tries, even if failing the trick onstage is really embarrassing. i feel that having courage is really important. instead of being shy and afraid to make mistakes in life, we should always try and try and try again, even if it will mean getting yourself in an embarrassing situation. however, their friends showed them support by clapping for them and cheering them on, motivating us to do the same. although our cheers did not magically make the trick work out, but i think that it at least ensured the performers that we were not laughing/looking down at them because they failed the trick. somehow, this actions by the jianguo students reminds me of our RV spirit. when there is sports carnival, we will always cheer each other on, by cheering the 'goodjob' cheer for our opponent. I think that this school spirit is actually present in every school, but it takes the students to show how much their love for their school and schoolmates is. and, this was absolutely present in jianguo.

another fun part of going to jianguo is going on the school tour with our "guide"/ buddy. I thought that i would be very awkward with my buddy at first ((because i was alone)), but he was really kind and friendly. he introduced the school to me and my friends ((we joined groups eventually hahah)) patiently and although we were really clueless about where to go, he just suggested certain places and brought us there to visit the places. he asked us questions and made us feel really comfortable around him, and made us laugh because of his jokes too hahaha. all of the student ambassadors were friendly and they even made sure to consider our opinions when they wanted treat us to shaved ice ((which is something like Singapore's ice kachang)). oh and we also performed a dance to payphone and sang our very own 立化情 to them. the jianguo students were really nice that they joined in when we swayed our bodies to the beat and soon, we started kicking our legs to the music to hahaha. i feel that they have successfully made me feel welcomed in jianguo, and i really enjoyed my morning there !! I can't wait to go again tomorrow, but knowing that it will be a different group of students being our buddies, it was a little sad as we all bade our farewells *cries* before we left the school.

 i was amazed that in such a short period of time, we could all bond so well, and be so appreciative of each other's company. however, i sincerely hope that this friendship will last and we will still contact each other through other means ((like social networking sites or messages hehehe)) because it isn't everyday that we get to have a ((or more)) overseas friends !

after leaving jianguo, we went for dim sum as lunch !!! we were all in love with the xiaolongbao hahaha 💕

after lunch, we went to chiang kai shek memorial hall, where i saw the change of guards for the first time.

 it was solemn and it was relatively quiet despite the large number of people there. the guards were very synchronised in their steps and i could not find any difference in their movements at all. in my opinion, they must have trained very hard so as to be this synchronised. also, they must have had a hard time guarding the statue because they could not laugh or smile, and had to stand very still without even fidgeting. although i thought that the 15min ceremony was boring as it was too long, but i really appreciate the effort put in by the guards so as to show respect to chiang kai shek. if i was one of the guards ((well I'm obviously not 178cm so i can't be one)), i would probably be complaining about  the hardships i have to go through, and would be really unwilling to do the job. however, i learnt that the ceremony is to show respect to chiang kai shek who is an important figure in Taiwan's history. now, i feel that although chiang kai shek should receive the amount of respect he duly deserves, but they should probably reduce the time of the change of guards ceremony as it gets really boring and also tough for the guards.

next, we went to sun yat sen memorial hall where we saw the change of guards again, but this time, showing respect to sun yan set ((taiwan's 国父)) instead of chiang kai shek. we learnt more about sun yat sen's life too before we left for dinner at ximending.

the dinner was way better than the previous two nights ((maybe because as a Cantonese, i prefer Cantonese food hehehe)) ! XD

we had free time at ximending and my friends and i went shopping in a group. we did not learn anything important, just that we should compare prices and buy stuff only if the price is reasonable. we should not spend money without any thoughts but should really consider of it is worth the money.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because we will be heading back to jianguo for immersion and this time round, we are going to attend lessons with them hehe. im really curious about how the students in such a prestiges school study? hope that tomorrow will be amazing and that i will be able to understand the lessons and that i won't be awkward with my buddy for tomorrow hehehe.

OELP day 6 - Daven (27)

My temperature in the morning was 38.7 degrees celcius and I was told to rest in my hotel room after breakfast until we left the hotel. We then headed to the Confucius Temple. Many of us had already fallen sick and so, some of them stayed in the bus. My temperature dropped a little, and I decided to go along with the class. It was raining heavily, so we walked around the temple with umbrellas. 

The huge wall we saw in the temple had a picture of a dragon, which was seen as an auspicious animal by the people, in the body of a horse, with each leg carrying 'meaningful' items such as a scroll, a bottle (壶), a tusk with the word '王' on it and a jade. These items each have their meaning of why they were in the picture, for example, the scroll signifies education. 

Also, it is believed that the left hand was more auspicious than the right, so in this picture, a soldier is holding his weapon in his left hand to fight. 

Afterwards, we watched a 4D movie about the Confucius temple and its history. Every year on September 28, a ceremony with traditional music and stylish dancing is held at the temple in honour of Confucius, on his birthday. There were effects such as smoke being sprayed off from our seats and we totally enjoyed it. I also learnt that the Taipei Confucius Temple was built in 1879 during the Qing Dynasty when Taipei was established as the capital of Taiwan. When Japan occupied Taiwan as a colonial state, the temple was demolished. It was later rebuilt in 1930, to preserve the teachings of Confucius. I could not doze off in during the movie because of the effects such as air being blown at my calves from the bottom of my seat. Also, a strong gush of wind was blown against my face and my face felt watery! There was a part of the movie whereby there were 3 children going back to the past to receive the teachings of Confucius. 

The visit taught me to be an upright and righteous person, and by learning some of Confucius' teachings, it taught me how to appreciate learning and education more. For example, '学无止境' means that there is no end to studying, and even to match up to Confucius' level of education is almost an impossible task, so we must out in our best to learn, as there is always more ahead for us to learn and discover. 

When we left, we stopped by a pastry shop whereby I bought sun cakes and pineapple tarts. I could not try them as I was sick and had persistent coughing... 

The next stop was Jinguashi, whereby there is a lot of gold displayed there. I did not go in because I was not feeling well, so as some of my classmates. We rested outside the museum. However, I asked Ming Han to help me take photographs of the gold in the museum. There were fine gold and even sponge gold where they were dug out from underground. 

We then went to Chufen Old Street to buy some food to eat and also, to bring back to Singapore. Mr Chng and Ming Han, the first aider, accompanied me because I was not quite feeling well and also there was nowhere to rest. I bought some tea, cakes and souvenirs for my family and relatives back in Singapore. Chufen Old Street was a very long street high up in the high hills and we were at the same level as the low lying clouds. We then headed for dinner after 'shopping' at Chufen Old Street.

After dinner, my temperature had not dropped and we were flying off the next day. The teachers brought me and 2 other girls who were also sick, Xin Yi and Sze Min, to see a doctor and we took the medicine. 

I slept early again... Hoping that I would recover in time for tomorrow's flight back home. We had to wake up at 4.30am for the 10am flight so we all had to sleep early. 

I really want to thank my friends who have taken care of me while I was sick, especially Shi Rong because he took care of me the whole day, and also Ming Han and Wen Hao who were BRILLIANT first aiders. I feel that the way they took care of me could be part of my process of recovery (haha), and so I really want to thank them. From this, I can see that between friends, such friendship can be forged by helping or caring for each other. I hope that in the future, I can also help them out. :D 

OELP day 5 - Daven (27)

After breakfast, our class went to Wulai Elementary School. The school was in the hills and we had to travel up the road in a zigzag manner in order to get up to the school. When we arrived at their school, we saw children and teenagers whose ages are ranged from 7-19. We were welcomed by a group of 19 year old girls from Wulai Elementary School (not boys because they were out of school for a competition). We sat in the sharing room and we were assigned buddies, 2 students to 1 buddy. However, since we sat in tables of 6 (2 buddies and 4 RVHS students), we were group according to the table arrangement. My table had Ming Han, Shi Rong, Yi De and me. Their school uniform was yellow but it did not look like a uniform, but a PE attire. It was quite plain and dirty, which made some of us think that they came from poor family backgrounds. 

Firstly, we attended the lesson of the language of 泰雅族 (Atayal), which was one of the tribes in Taiwan and their language was their 母语. We learnt some numbers and animal names in their language, such as numbers from 1-6 and animals such as the flying bat, boar and monkey. Also, we learnt how to say 'how are you?', which was 'lokah su-ga' in their language, and the reply was 'lokah saku', which meant 'I'm fine' in English. We had many opportunities to interact with our buddies because we kept on forgetting their translations and had to ask our buddies, which gave us the opportunity to interact and talk to them. We were also given the task to find pictures of animals around the school in groups (table group), and then we were supposed to say how many of which kind of animals we found their pictures of, in the language of Atayal people. 

The second class was Art lesson, whereby we had papers given to us with insects imprinted on them. I got the 'bee' on my paper and we had to decorate it and also, write some words for our buddies. I drew a sunflower around the bee and coloured it, while I wrote that to my buddy that it was a rare opportunity for me to go to Wulai to experience their education and I hope that I can learn new things and also hope to be friends. 

We then had lunch, which was beef noodle. Since some of us could not eat beef, including me, we ate vegetarian food instead. After that, we had our PE lesson, which was playing basketball. It rained shortly after we started to learn how to dribble the ball and we had to stop the lesson. However, we saw their skillful students who shot and dribbled the ball with extreme speed and also, they were VERY ACCURATE with their shooting. 

After the PE lesson, we bade farewell to the students and teachers of Wulai Elementary School and exchanged gifts. We then headed to the Atayal Museum to learn about the culture of the Atayals. 

From there, I learnt that there are now 16 tribal groups in Taiwan, increased by 2 from 14 in 2013. These people live in houses of 100-200m, made of wood or bamboo. 

A watchtower is also built at the entrance of each Atayal village, and male guards were posted to keep watch in the tower at night, always alert for any attack. Also, I can see that the competition between each tribe can be great, as they have watchtowers to keep a lookout for enemies and also, there might be a lack of food and space in the forests, so they must compete with other tribes in the forest. Moreover, men in the tribal groups have to learn how to set up traps to hunt for animals and also, know how to shoot an arrow using a bow to kill animals. I did not know that men in a tribal group must have quite a few skills, just to get married. Without these skills, no woman would want to marry them. Knowing these, I would not want to be one of those people, who have to survive such harsh conditions to live, even just to marry someone. This made me learn how to appreciate my life in Singapore, where I have food and lodging provided for me everyday. 

We then went to Raohe Night Market. We separated into small groups and walked along the street in Raohe Night Market, whereby there were shops all lined up on both sides of the street. We were given NT300 (S$12+) for our dinner, which was for us to eat our dinner by ourselves at Raohe Night Market. There were SO MUCH FOOD and many varieties of food at there. However, because I had a sore throat and kept on coughing, I had to refrain from eating some types of food, such as fried food. I could only eat ham, corn and potato... :( 

Since we had to assemble at 8pm and the time then was 7pm, my group, Ming Han,  Shirong and Wen Hao decided to find our tour guide. We found him and he brought us to the nearby Macdonald's to eat. I could only eat the fish burger and could not eat the French fries, and while looking at the others busy gobbling them up, I started to feel a little 'jealous'... (haha) 

We then went back to the hotel, where we did our reflections. I took my temperature at night and it was 37.3 degree celcius... One of the teachers, Mr Chng, advised me to sleep early and I did not finish up the reflections, so I left it for me to complete in Singapore... 

Reflections: 

After visiting the Atayal Museum, I learnt about the way of life of the tribal people. Men had to learn how to shoot and kill an animal with a bow, and also leant how to set up traps to trap them. Without these skills, they would die due to lack of food and moreover, they would not get to marry any woman because a woman in the same tribe would want to have a skilful husband who can hunt and provide for her. 

I learnt to appreciate my life in Singapore, with plenty of food and clothing for me, and a warm and cosy home, unlike the forest. Even though there is so much stress in Singapore, whereby we have to study, I feel that it is a rare opportunity to study, in the point of view of those people living in the forests. Studying can help to improve ourselves, in character and knowledge. I learnt how to appreciate the chance to study, the abundance of food and clothing provided for me and also, the comfortable conditions I am living in today. Compared to the tribal members living in the forests, my life is far from poor. No matter how stressed am I, or how small my bedroom is, I will learn to cherish them... 

Reflections: Day 4 27/5/14 -Jing Xue

Today is the second they we went to JianGuo High School. After breakfast, we headed there and gathered at the seminar room for a short briefing. We are introduced to the school's history through a short clip. We were then grouped into groups to go into different classes to attend the lessons in JianGuo high school. I was assigned to follow class 126, and my buddy was Kuo Kuang-Cheng. First, we introduced ourselves and they walked us to the Geography room for geography lesson. On the way, my buddy bought me 'chicken chop', it was awesome!

For our geography lesson, our teacher taught us astronomy: how to use a telescope. I realized that teachers in Taiwan use chinese as their basic language to teach, except for English. I was rather confused because I've never attend geography lessons taught in chinese before. The students there were rather rowdy and playful with the absence of the teacher as they ran about and even played 'scissors, paper, stone' Still, I got the gist of how to use a telescope.

Next, we headed back to classroom to have our lunch. Out lunch was a lunchbox, containing chicken and vegetables. It was awesome (especially the chicken). Our beverage was milk tea, a popular drink in Taiwan. It is during lunch break where FREEDOM was largely expressed. They were allowed to eat in class, and some of them (and us) played card games, which are against the rule. Students also played ball in classrooms (wow). It was a rather loud and messy sight. After all, it's a boy's school. The unfinished food are supposed to be discarded in a dirty pail, while the container is to be thrown away in a bin. So in total, there are two bins in the class. They are fully filled but nobody discarded the trash yet. The lockers are located at the back of the classroom. The top of the lockers were rather messy, as they were filled with junk papers, books, and even basketballs.

Next is the foreign language class. I followed my buddy who took german as this subject. I've been waiting for this since morning as I was excited to learn a new foreign language. When the teacher entered the classroom, I was expecting the class to greet the teacher but it is their school culture that greeting is not necessary. By right, the teacher wanted to teach advanced german, but when they knew that we are new to this language, she decided to teach the basics, just for our own learning needs (what a great teacher!). The lesson was very fun and interesting, The teacher thought us forms of greetings in german, like good morning in german is Guten Morgan. Good afternoon is Guten Tag. Goodbye is Ciao. The alphabets are pronounced differently in German. The students are talking among themselves, but they do also participate in the lesson. Some of them are sleeping and daydreaming. I was expecting the teacher to scold and punish the class, but to my surprise, she did not and continued to teach the class.

It was English lesson up next. The teaching style for English here are almost the same as in River Valley. They teach English Literature, where the story they study was Frankenstein. We are divided into five groups: Frankenstein, Lawyer for Frankenstein, Monster, Lawyer of Monster and the jury/judge. Frankenstein was a story of a scientist, who accidentally made a monster in a failed experiment. He was forced to promise the monster to make him a new wife, or else he will get killed. He promised, but later killed the monster's wife after the creation. Angered, the monster killed Frankenstein's brother for revenge. The class is supposed to debate who was guilty for murder, Frankenstein of the murder. My team took position as lawyer of Frankenstein, where we defended Frankenstein. After a long and funny debate, the jury and judge put the monster as guilty and Frankenstein as not guilty. Our group won!

During this English lesson, I realized that the class was very noisy and people will start to shout at the opposing teams. The teacher stood there and did nothing, not even bothering to quieten down the excited class. This was JianGuo's culture for freedom.

Spending half the day in JianGuo was tiring. I gave my gift to my buddy, and he gave me a small JianGuo High School bag in return. We bid our last farewell and left JianGuo...

Today's trip let me see deeper inside the learning culture in JianGuo. They were granted freedom in doing what they want, hence some of their actions may be ugly, but the teachers couldn't do much, because there is no rule implemented saying that no sleeping or eating or playing in class is not allowed. This freedom was a grant too big. If they were given too much freedom, they are free to do anything they want in class, and can choose not to pay attention in class. It is being very disrespectful and is neglecting the chinese culture, because the chinese see respect very seriously. Rules can at least be implemented in class to keep order.

I think that River Valley should have freedom, but not as much freedom as JianGuo, because I think that that will deteriorate one's attitude to learn. Learning shouldn't be too free and learning should be taken more seriously. Also, comparing the JianGuo students to RVians, I feel that RVians are more civilized,while the students on JianGuo are rather playful and rowdy. The 16 year olds in JianGuo seemed much more playful and overactive than the year 4s in River Valley. This is the result of receiving too much freedom.

Next stop is the Martyr's Shrine, where the chinese commemorate the dead soldiers that contribute a lot in wars. The scenery was cool, but there was nothing there we could do but watch the soldiers change shifts and take guard roles. This time, it was the navy that took guard (dark blue. Sky Blue is air force). 

We left for dinner, where we ate usual chinese food. Yum...I love chinese food! :P

At night we indulged ourselves in books in Eslite Bookstore, a five-storey gigantic bookstore. Inside sells books from many different types of genres like mysteries, fantasies, fiction, non-fiction and etc.. The wide variety of books made me go WOW! We browsed through some books we never see before. Owen and I went to the forth floor to explore, and we came across a scientific shop that sells many different types of science toys and Taiwan souvenirs. We touched and played the science toys and we had lots of fun, especially with the very kind shopkeeper following us all along. Owen bought four items, and I bought one Taiwan lego-like model of The Grand Hotel plus a magnetic keychain for my brother (hope he loves it). After spending 1.5 hours in that bookstore, we headed back to the hotel...

Day 4 was the most fruitful day among the other days so far, because I really learnt a lot of the learning culture in Taiwan, and the contrast in education between Taiwan and Singapore.

Day 5, I await you! Wulai here I come!

OELP day 4 - Daven (27)

After breakfast, we went to Jianguo High School again. Since we arrived at the school early, we were brought to the seminar room to watch a short clip of the school's history. After that, we were divided into 3 different groups to attend classes with their Year 1s, who were 16 years old. I went to class 127 with Ruo Qing, Shi Wen. Yan Tong, Juen Lin, Jing Qing, Shi Rong, Wen Hao and Ming Han. Mrs Tan Geok Lian followed us along. The students wore home clothing and the teacher explained that since they sweat a lot while playing during their free time, the school allowed them to wear home clothes in class. 

The first class was Chinese Literature, whereby they studied a person named 孔乙己 in a story, written by 鲁迅, a famous Chinese author. However, it was not the lesson that interests me. It was the students who were sleeping, using phones and laptops, doing homework of another subject and chit-chatting, DURING THE LESSON WHEN THE TEACHER IS TALKING!! I was quite appalled to see that, but what made me shocked is that the teacher did not bother to punish these students! Some of them even forgot to bring their textbook and the teacher did not even bother! They were not even paying attention to the teacher, which was disrespectful, and they also ate in class during the lesson! :O Since I sat at the back of the class with my buddy, I could see the whole class and I noticed all these actions -- made by students from a top school in Taiwan! Also, my buddy was sitting on my right, so I could ask him questions in class. He said that the school allowed them to do that... Which was part of the 'freedom' that the school gave them. Also, the student on my left slept for the whole lesson. 

The second lesson was similar to that of the CCE lessons in RVHS. The teacher talked about 'kinship' and the importance of it, for example, she said a statement that could be right to everybody: we only learn to cherish our family only when they are gone... The same students continued their 'unexpected' behaviour. The student on my left continued sleeping...

Following that, lunch was served. We could eat in the class and lunch was served in a lunchbox, with a big chicken and some vegetables with tofu. Bubble tea was also given to us and we totally enjoyed the meal! It was awesome! The school did not have a proper canteen and the students were allowed to consume their lunch in their classrooms. However, the 2 dustbins in class were full, but the students did not bother to clear them but instead put their food packets beside them! Maybe it is because it is a boys' school and they do not have any sense of cleanliness... (Haha) 

We then went to our buddy's foreign language class, and my buddy was in the Japanese language class. I could not understand most of the lesson because it was in Japanese, with some Chinese translations. My buddy had another lesson during our lunch break, so he ate his lunch in the Japanese class and I did not think that he paid close attention to the lesson. 

We then went to the music lesson whereby the teacher cancelled the test that was supposed to be on that day, just to accommodate us. We played the drum  such as the djembe and we played it according to the melody and beat, which made the song sound nice. The same student mentioned earlier continued sleeping. What made me surprised was that we knew which lesson to go to even thoughts he was sleeping, and he was on time! However, I did not encourage this behaviour as it was disrespectful to the teacher. 

After that, we exchanged souvenirs with our buddies and took pictures with them. After that, we went to the sharing room to share some of our thoughts and also, ask questions about their school. I found out that the school allowed students to change into their home clothes in school, because they would always have exercises such as playing sports and they would get sweaty. After the sharing, we had to leave. Just like yesterday, we were reluctant to leave... But we had to and we bade farewell to them. 

My reflections on Jianguo High School: 

The actions of the students such as sleeping in class made me feel that they did not respect the teacher, and also, they gave us a bad impression of themselves. Part of 'freedom' that the school gave the students was to do anything in class, except heavy mistakes that break rules such as wearing slippers to class or gambling with cards. However, to me, I think that such freedom given to the students can be beneficial to them whereby they can learn to be responsible and take ownership of their studies and learning, such as deciding on whether to pay attention in class. Also, when they did not score well in examinations, they can learn to be matured to change their learning style, such as paying more attention in class. However, these actions may backfire. The students go to school to study, but if they do not pay attention in class, they would not gain more knowledge and information, so they might not appreciate schooling. Their learning attitude can worsen as when their academic results drop, they would feel sad and might affect their studying attitude. Their character might also worsen as they would not learn how to respect... They would not also learn that studying can have a huge impact in their future working lives. 

If 'freedom' was introduced to RVHS, I would not recommend too much freedom but instead, continue to pay attention in class and abide the rules. I feel that the purpose of learning and studying is to improve ourselves, in terms of character and knowledge. I prefer to be rule-abiding, rather than being 'free', because overtime, rules would become good habits that students have in the future and also let them know how to differentiate from right and wrong. 

Sadly, we had to leave Jianguo High School. Goodbye, buddy! Thanks for everything that you helped me with! 

After that, our class went to the Martyrs' Shrine. We witnessed another change of guards (navy soldiers -- dark blue uniforms) but sadly, we could not go in because the place was closing after their operating hours. So, there was no guided tour and we did not learn anything new there... 

We then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where we ate another 'typical' dinner consisting of fish, vegetables and chicken. 

We then proceeded to the Eslite Bookstore. The bookstore had 5 levels with 2 basements but most of the books were at level 2 and 3, while the rest of the levels had bags and accessories, including stationery. I bought a book titled 'Catch Me If You Can'. Also, I went to a Science store selling products related to Science. I bought an 'electric' ball with electricity from the 'heart' of the ball going around the ball and when a finger touches the ball, the electricity will immediately go to the point of the surface of the ball where the finger was. It was cool and fascinating. I wanted to praise the shopkeeper for following me and assisting me for buying items and she was very friendly and kept on smiling. She was helpful and kind and was not lazy to help me in any ways, such as getting the items I wanted to have a look at. 

Today was a fruitful day where I spent about S$50-S$60. I loved the things I bought, especially the 'electric' ball and also, I learnt many things from Jianguo High School, such as the cultural and educational difference in Taiwan and Singapore. 

I look forward to tomorrow, whereby we would be visiting Wulai Elementary School!! 

oelp day 2 - Ruo Qing

second day of Taipei trip was really tiring for me and i couldn't stay awake and thus i slept on the bus hahaha. we went to 2 museums today, and also to shifen !!(:

at the national palace museum, we finally saw the "jadeite cabbage" and "meat shaped stone" artefact, which had been mentioned so many times in class ! we also went around to see the other exhibits and learnt about china/Taiwan's history. however, the most important lesson I learnt today, is that we have to obey instructions. before we went in the museum, the tour guide and our teachers have repeatedly told us to keep our phones away as photography is not allowed in the museum. however, one of my classmates decided to take pictures when no one was looking and he/she ((hahaha)) thought that he/she would not be caught. but, there was a security guard in each exhibit room and towards the end of our journey in the museum, he/she got caught by the guard for taking pictures. the guard called for the security but after talking to the classmate and the teacher, the guard allowed my classmate to get away with just a stern warning ((luckily)). this incident taught me that doing things without thinking of the consequences that might follow is very reckless and we might land ourselves into deep trouble. i think that when we go to public places, we should even more learn to be responsible for our own actions so that we do not leave a bad impression on others. thus, i will make sure to listen to teachers' instructions for the next few days so that i do not tarnish our school's reputation, after witnessing this incident.

next, we walked to the shung ye museum of aborigines. we were all really tired and thirsty as we left our bag in the bus and did not have our bottles with us. thus, we sat down when we had the chance to and to be honest, now that i reflect on my actions, I feel that we were being a little disrespectful to our guide. she was explaining the differences of the aborigines to us, and yet we were complaining and not really listening just because we were tired. i feel that we should be more sensitive to the feelings of others, just like in this case, when the teacher is talking, they would feel bad if we all do not listen or look very restless. on a positive note, i learnt a lot about the aborigines in Taipei, which i did not have much knowledge about at first. the cultures of each tribe is different and there is vast difference between our lives and their lives. the aborigines do not have modern technology like us and they live like how we did in the past, before industrialisation took place. although they are lacking in a way, that their standard of living is lower than ours, but there are still some learning points from them. the men of the tribes usually have to learn to hunt from the tender age of 9-10 and they can only rely on themselves to hunt for the food for their family. or else, they might just starve if they cannot hunt. they have to face wild boars, black bears and more, so in my opinion, they are really brave and independent. this made me reflect on our lives on Singapore. we are really blessed that at the age of 9, we are receiving proper education and do not have to depend on our own abilities for food. most of us are sheltered with the care and love from our parents since young and thus even if we are not spoilt kids, but there are always times that we do not wish to step out of our comfort zone and try something new, especially when we regard the thing as dangerous. but, the aborigines have no choice but to do things at they might not wish to do, and learn to rely on no one but themselves at such a young age ((10-11)). therefore, i think that we have to learn from the aborigines to be more independent since young, and to be more open to trying things that may seem dangerous.

our lunch was really scrumptious and it was better than yesterday's dinner :D

we also went to shifen and it was the most interesting part of today's itinerary for me hehehe. we wrote our wishes on the sky lantern and released it successfully ! next we had free time and we walked around in groups, buying souvenirs for our family and friends and also bought FOOD ((milk tea and Taiwan sausages)) 💕

 hahaha we didn't learn much here and just walked around like tourists, but we somehow had a first hand experience of a part of Taiwan's culture.

i really enjoyed today although it was tiring ((because we only had 5hours of sleep)). however, i am more excited for tomorrow as we are going to jianguo for immersion and also to ximending at night !! hehehe let's hope tomorrow will be better and everyone of us will behave better ((we did improve from yesterday overall)) XD

OELP day 3 - Daven (27)

After breakfast, we headed straight to Jianguo High School. At first, I thought that it would not be an interesting visit because I thought that We would be attending lessons. However, we were warmly welcomed with many students standing at the foyer waving hands at us. They were so tall that we did not believe that they were 14 years old, but in fact, they were 17-18 years old.  

The students there spoke Chinese as their first language. They brought us into a sharing room whereby they introduced their school to us and also, their main teacher-in-charge of the visit gave us a speech regarding about how honoured they were to have us visit their school. Also, Mr Chng delivered his speech, whereby he mentioned that the main aim of this visit is to learn about the different cultures that Taiwan or Singapore has. It was also a rare cultural exchange for us. They made us feel totally at home whereby they had tea bags and hot water prepared for us on the table, which shows how hospitable they were. 

Following that, the 'Double-D's (Danny and Derek) made a presentation about their school, such as about their academic results and the background of their school. Their school was indeed a good school in Taiwan as they aced in the their studies, with most of them going to top universities nationwide and even worldwide. They won many competitions internationally such as the Mathematics and Science Olympiad. They focused on the theme 'FREEDOM', where they could go out of school for lunch, wear home shirts to school and they can make use of the school resources freely to improve their studies, whereby they are trusted to make use of them wisely and effectively. Their school also had clubs such as beat boxing and 'circus' clubs, whereby they can learn to do tricks and even dance. The students made use of the trust and freedom given to them to ace in their academic areas and also, they could create a stress-free environment for themselves. 

After that, we went down to the foyer, whereby they had performances by the string ensemble, band (flutes) and the 'circus' club. The string ensemble, consisting of the violin and the double base, played brilliantly and also, the students playing the flute made the song so lively that we were immersed in it, and even when a teacher called me, I did not hear her. 

The students from Jianguo High School brought 1-2 students each for a tour around the school campus. My buddy, Danny, brought me and Jing Qing around the school campus. Jing Qing was very quiet and so, I shared jokes with Danny and he too, laughed with me, which made our conversation very lively, he introduced us to the new buildings built in the school such as the building for science courses, which had 6 floors. Also, the library had 2 levels, whereby students can hold a 'meeting' which each other in a room in the second level, without people interrupting or disturbing them. There were also many books available, both in English and Chinese. I also found out that their lessons were mostly in Chinese, except English lessons. These made it interesting as they learnt Mathematics and Science in Chinese, which was quite impossible to me. Danny was also helpful as he helped me throw away a plastic cup, without me even asking for his help! 

We then went back to the sharing room, whereby the students there showed us some magic and even thought us how to do them, which made us FASCINATED! :D I would have never taught of those tricks as they were quite unique, such as card tricks which ended in having the cards of 'welcome to Taiwan', and we were totally amazed!! There were also rubber band tricks such as trying to get a rubber band across from one palm to another of another person without using fingers to move it. This requires some twisting and tying of rubber bands around our hands, which was complicated, but it left us in disbelief. 

After that, we showed them our performance -- Dance. We danced according to the song 'Payphone' and the students of Jianguo High School enjoyed it and said that we were professional dancers!! :D Following the dance, we sang 立化情, the song of our school composed by some of our seniors. We started off by putting our arms around one another's shoulders, but the students from Jianguo High School joined in and we started kicking our legs in the directions we swayed. This made the song livelier and much more enjoyable, which made us feel a lot more comfortable with the students there. The students also said that the song was touching and some of them cried... 

Much to our surprise, they treated us to 'shaved ice' when we arrived back at the sharing room, which was one of Taiwan's famous desert, which was similar to that of Singapore's 'ice-kachang'. We enjoyed it totally, as it had much more ingredients than that in Singapore, such as having 汤圆 together with the desert. 

Sadly, we had to leave Jianguo High School. I took a photograph with my buddy, Danny, and gave him a gift, which made him smile so widely that I laughed. We were reluctant to leave, but together with them, we had memorable experiences with Taiwanese students and we loved the time spent there. 

We then ate our lunch, which was DIM SUM!! Yummy! 

After that, we went to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall. Luckily, we saw the exchange of guards and it was an eye-catching but solemn ceremony. The guards marched with loud sounds of their stamping on the ground and also, they threw their guns, which was incredible! I took a 15 minute-video of it too! :D I would definitely show that to my family back in Singapore! After the change if guards, there would be one person to tidy up the guards' attire, because the guards were not able to move. The guards were actually land soldiers, because they wore green uniforms. I was fascinated with their movements as they were synchronized and did not make any mistakes, and they did not move  A SINGLE BIT, which was quite impressive! We went on for a tour around the memorial hall, with a tour guide describing the facts to us. The people watching were also very quiet, which shows that they respected their national leader and even had guards to 'guard' them. The gate in front of the memorial hall was 16 metres tall and 12 metres wide, which was made of copper. Also, there were 89 steps that led to the memorial hall, which showed that Chiang Kai Sehk died at the age of 89. The memorial hall was opened in 1975, which made me feel appalled because of the 'age' of this memorial hall. In the memorial hall, there was a bronze statue of Chiang Kai Shek. Behind it were the 3 ideals, Nationalism, Democracy and Socialism, that Sun Yat Sen had wanted to implant in the society, which was passed down to Taiwan when the Kuomintang Party, founded by Sun Yat Sen, escaped to Taiwan from China after the loss of the Chinese Civil War. The memorial hall occupied 250 square metres, whereby there was a map that showed the view of the memorial hall, whereby the ratio of the map to the actual size was 1:300. 

We then went to Sun Yat Sen's memorial hall, whereby there was a statue of 5.8 metres and weighed 16.7 tons. It was opened from 1972. Sun Yat Sen was well known for his involvement and leadership in the 1911 Chinese Revolution, which led to the founding of the Kuomintang Party. The structure was based on Chinese culture and also, we witnessed another change of guards. 

I feel that what the Taiwanese do to pay respect to their national leaders can be admired because they thought of the well-being of the citizens, the country, and without them, the country would not be what it is today. Sadly, we do not have such a ceremony of changing of guards in a Singapore for Mr Lim Bo Seng, whereby he had his memorial hall, which was not as grand as Chiang Kai Shek's and Sun Yat Sen's. However, we do have that at Istana, the home of the Singapore President. I think that we must do more to respect and thank Mr Lim Bo Seng for his contributions and commitment to Singapore. We should be thankful to our national leaders, as explained in the Chinese phrase '饮水思源'. 

We had our dinner after that. It was, again, delicious, just like the previous days. 

Lastly, we went to Ximending. We were allowed to shop for 1 hour and 30 minutes, whereby we had to meet at 8.30pm. For the first 1 hour, I did not know what to buy, because they were all not up to my expectations... :D Finally, I bought a toy Pooh bear and a toy dog for my younger sister. I also wanted to buy a cap for myself, but after a long time of search, I gave up on it... It was somewhat like Orchard Road in Singapore, just that it was a little messier with many small stalls outside shops... 

We went back to the hotel and SURPRISINGLY, we could do our reflections the next morning because we could set off late and could use the extra time to do the reflections! :D We then rehearsed our performance (skit) for the next day and then we went to sleep... zzz

Thoughts: (reflections) 

The students at Jianguo High School made use of the trust of the school to give them the resources to use freely and they used them wisely, whereby they improved their studies and aced in their academic areas. They did very well in their examinations and competitions and did the school proud. I feel that they were very matured because they did not waste the resources provided by the school and also did not disappoint the school by scoring well in their academic areas. 

From this, I can learn that when we are given the trust and resources to improve our academic results and personal character, we should make use of them wisely. We also can learn how to make decisions on how to put the resources provided by the school to good use, which can improve our decision-making skills. It's the correct mindset and the correct thinking which drives students to work hard to improve themselves, and so I think that we should really learn to make decisions to improve ourselves with the resources that the school provides us with, just like in RVHS, when we can make use of opportunities provided by the school, such as the use of the iPad, which we should use them wisely to improve our studies. 

Reflections: Day 3 26/5/14 -Jing Xue

Morning after breakfast, we went straight to JianGuo High School, also known as CK high school.

At first, my first thought is, it will be boring there because what we will be doing there is to just attend lessons, that's all. However, we were warmly welcomed by the students in JianGuo, as they waved and smiled at us upon our arrival.

We were first brought into the sharing room, where they introduced us to their school.

First, the school's representative teacher made a speech, stating that he was honoured to welcome River Valley into JianGuo High School. Next, Mr Chng gave a speech saying that it was a rare opportunity to have a cultural exchange event in JianGuo. Next, two students, gicknamed the 'Double-Ds' ( Danny and Derek ), introduced their school lifestyles to us. Hm...it was a rather interesting presentation because their really confident and funny in the presentation. What makes the school unique is the FREEDOM given to the school. The students were allowed to wear their home shirts (only shirts) to school. Also, they are given 1 hour lunch period where they can go out and it with their friends outside school. Their co-curriculum programs are rather unique, because they offer special programs like magic clubs, beatboxing clubs and even juggling clubs ( nice right? ). This school is rather carefree and the environment in the school is not as stressed as i thought. The school has taken part in many international competitions, and they have won a lot of reputation. The   school oftenly send their students to participate on Olympiad competitions, whereby the students did outstandingly. This school, is good! It provides an anti-stress environment, but yet the students there did well academically.

Then, we went down to the podium and watch an awestucking performance by the string ensemble, flutes and juggling club. The music played by the music clubs made me mesmerized. The performance by the jugglers was in fact the BEST! Although many of them failed to catch thew juggling items, they still persist on and did not give up until they succeed in doing so. We applauded them and gave them support. This teaches me that whatever we do, we shall never give up halfway and should always persists on no matter how hard it is, like juggling.

We also watched an amazing performance from the beatbox club.

After the many performances, we were put into groups where we tour the school. My buddies were Peter and Thomas. Owen and Shi Wen were my group members. My buddies were AWESOME, they were so heartwarming and friendly we soon became friends immediately, and even added each other on Facebook! Through the tour, I found out that JianZhong is a relatively huge school, much bigger than River Valley. The students there enjoy playing ball games especially volleyball and basketball. There is one very special culture of Jianzhong, that is, during break times, the students will climb over the locked back gate to get outside and get the food they want from the vendor just outside the school (#YOLO!). A pretty cool culture right? The students buy their food from the canteen and bring it up to class and eat, not usually what we always do in River Valley. My buddies told me about the history behind the school- It was built in 1902 by the Japanese, and it was made up of bricks. It is a form of culture to let the building still be made out of bricks. 

Their library is almost as big as River Valley's. One unique thing River Valley lacks in the library is the usage of computers. In River Valley, we can only use the computers to do projects and print papers. But in JianGuo, students can watch dramas and movies on computers. This emphasizes the point of freedom in JianGuo. I hope River Valley can implement this too!

When we were brought to the field, our buddies told us that JianGuo only held morning assemblies twice a week. And in the occasion where it rains, the morning assembly will be canceled. I still supported the idea of having morning assemblies every weekday in River Valley, as we can sing the national anthem regularly and recite the pledge, 

After the tour, we performed in front of the JianGuo students by dancing and singing 立化情. They danced along and sand along too!!

After the performance, we went back into the sharing room and had shaved ice, a cuisine unique in Taiwan. It is shaved ice added into a bowl of liquid, similar to 清汤. It was delicious and relaxing, due to the hot weather that almost melted me. It was like adding ice-kacang into 清汤！My friends and I had a good chat with the ambassadors, and we laughed till we couldn't eat no more! They are really very friendly...

For lunch, we ate 小笼包 and other buns. Xiaolongbaos are traditional cuisines not only in Taiwan, but also in China as well.

With full bellies, Owen, Shi Wen and I presented our gifts to Peter and Thomas. I prepared a keychain with Singapore landmarks on it and postcards. They seem delighted to receive our gifts. Before we said our last goodbyes, we took a group photo, and we left JianGuo, still thinking about how much fun we had there..,

The experience In JianGuo let me realise that Taiwanese were actually very sociable and friendly.

Our next destination is Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. There, they showcased the lifestyle Chiang Kai Shek lived in. I learnt more about his family members, documents he wrote, the clothes he wore and even the cars (two cars) he drove. 

Location feature: The whole Memorial place was an astounding 250 square meters. Huge right? In the memorial hall, we can see that the hall is very grand, especially the ceiling, decorated to match the chinese culture ( have part of Taiwan flag on it ). It must be like that because Taiwanese regarded Chiang Kai Shek as a hero. The yellow human-like feature on the roof shows that human are heaven are united as one. There are 89 steps up to the memorial hall, because Chiang Kai Shek died on the age if 89, on 5th April 1975, 11.50pm. The statue of Chiang Kai Shek is made out of bronze. 

I found out that Chiang Kai Shek drive two cars. His official state car is a Cadillac Limousine. When Chiang Kai Shek passed away, his son, Ching-kuo, took over his position. Now, what made Chiang Kai Shek president of China? It was the fact that he was a well-trained military leader that lead to many victories. He received a "five-star rank", highest rank in military of China. 

What actually made this trip special is the shift exchange between soldiers. Two soldiers are supposed to guard the statue of Chiang Kai Shek for an hour, and change shift after an hour. The whole process lasted for almost 15 minutes and it was pretty cool! Their march was very synchronized. Everyday, soldiers from the Army, navy and air force have to change shifts for their duty. Today, we saw the Army take duty. 

Our next location is Sun Yat Sen's Memorial Hall. The hall was almost similar to Chiang Kai Shek's Memorial Hall. The architecture was also based on Chinese culture, and we witnessed the changing of shifts again. The whole hall was 30.4 meters high and the whole place is 30 square meters. The statue itself weighs 16.7 tons! We were guided through the whole memorial hall and I learnt that Sun Yat Sen's original name was 孙日心. Also, I've learnt the lifestyles that Sun Yat Sen lived.

After that, we went for dinner. We ate Chinese food, and we laughed a lot with Mr Chng and Yi Meng's sick jokes! HAHAHA!

Later, we went shopping in Ximending, I famous market in Taipei. It was so huge me, Owen and Yi Meng almost got lost! I see shops there that Singapore doesn't have. I see food Singapore don't offer. I realised that the shopkeepers in Taiwan are very friendly, because whenever I go into a shop, they will serve us sweetly. I bought an Iron Man model for souvenir! ^^

To see all the weird stuff my friends bought, it made me smile. We really enjoyed going to Ximending, because it reminded me of Chinatown in Singapore. They share really close resemblence, except that Ximending is mostly for the locals and Chinatown is mostly for foreigners (seeing what items they sell).

The educational component in JianGuo really impressed me. In an anti-stress environment, with freedom to do what they want, their academic results are still one of the best. This shows that, actually, we can live in such environment but give our best. It's not about what how much homework we do, but how the school instill the correct learning attitude to the students. If Singapore teachers could do that, it would be magnificent. 

Countries like Finland, are rated the smartest country in the world, with Singapore being second or third. Finland also implement an anti stress education environment, but yet they can do so well in their studies. It's the mindset, not how much we study.

With that, we went back to the hotel and rehearsed our performance, once again. Later, we went back into our room and rest, awaiting for a new day to begin tomorrow...

Reflections: Day 2 25/5/14 -Jing Xue

Today was a very tiring day. We visited museums, which I found it rather interesting to see the ancient artifacts from Taiwan, or even from China!

First, we woke up very early in the morning. With sleepy eyes and sleepy brains, we got ready and had our breakfast.

Feedback: The breakfast was acceptable. However, I feel that there can be a wider range of food for us to choose, as some of us didn't know what to eat for breakfast. 

After breakfast, we took the coach to the National Palace Museum. At first, this is one place where I am excited to visit throughout the whole OELP. However, I was dampened when I figured that taking photographs in the museum is forbidden. Aw...I was planning to take some photos for souvenirs! It was a long wait before we can enter the museum. While we wait, my group facilitator explained that all the artifacts here are the most valuable in China.

What shines in this museum is the Jadeite Cabbage and the Jadeite Meat. Frankly, the meat looks decent, however it isn't as real as i thought. The Jadeite Cabbage was the one that left me awestruck. It looked so real I thought I heard my stomach grumbled. It was professionally carved into a shape of a cabbage, with appropriate colours added onto it. On top of the cabbage were two neatly carved insects. They were a grasshopper plus a praying mantis.

These ornaments, the Jadeite Cabbage and meat shaped stone, was Taiwan's treasure because it was originally from China. Chiang Kai Shek, having escaped to Taiwan after Kuomintange lost to Chinese Communist Party in The Chinese Civil War, brought along these two treasures from China to Taiwan. So, it's so precious the Chinese were angry at Taiwan for taking the two treasures! (Hahaha)

There are also several ornaments such as ancient plates, ancient wine bottles, and even an ancient container to store tobacco leaves! ( for smelling, sort of like smoking or smelling opium ). These items are mostly made up of porcelain, a material common in chinese goods and copper. So, copper rusts. How do we prevent the rusts to contaminate what's inside the bottles and plates? People from the past use a special substance to remove the rusts on them. 

To add on, there are also a variety of calligraphy and traditional artworks. We are introduced to 甲骨文, a traditional and ancient chinese characters. The artworks are specifically made to specify every detail on the artpiece, and every detail has a hidden meaning, e.g. Rowing a boat refers to a relaxing day.

These things are very precious as they store traditional values. Upon seeing these ancient ornaments, we would be reminded of the traditional Taiwan, since people nowadays seem to forget about the tradition and follow the modern world. They should be stored for as long as possible to instill some traditional mindset upon some of the people.

After the museum visit, we went to another museum again! It's called the  Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. There, we learnt the lifestyle and culture of the different tribal groups in Taiwan. We learnt what use for crockery, what they use as weapons, their costumes and etc..All of their appliances are made from man-made material such as clay, where they mold the shape of a certain object by hand. Also, we enjoyed a short clip that taught us the evolution of a tribal citizen to a modernized citizen. 

Just when we taught that the day couldn't be any more tired and exciting, we went to Shih-fen Old Street. Shih-fen is located in the mountainous regions, outside of Taipei. The temperature there is usually 2 degrees celsius below the temperature on land. There, we did two fun things--Releasing of Sky lantern and shopping! By the time we reached Shih-fen, the weather is pretty bad. It started raining badly...However, the weather changed for the better.

I was filled with excitement, because I've never release a sky lantern before. We were given brushes, where we wrote our wishes on the four sides of the lantern. I wrote, "增肥“ plus "身体健康”. I hope that my family could live a healthy lifestyle. With that, we went onto the train track and released our lantern! It rose up into the sky...may my wishes come true!

After lantern releasing, we went shopping around Shih-fen and roamed the area. I bought two small keychains as souvenir. Later, me and my friends also went to buy peanut icecream, which was a unique snack in Taiwan. It was finger-licking AWESOME! The sun is setting quick. By 5pm, we went back into the bus...

We went for dinner at evening. The food they served were almost the same as the other dishes served the previous day. It was delicious! ^^

It was a tiring day, but we put in additional effort to prepare for our performance to our trip tomorrow to JianGuo High School. I'm excited to see the educational culture here in Taiwan. Taipei day 3, here i come!

Today, I learnt a valuable lesson: 饮水思源. It is important that we treasure the tradition too. Traditions teach us cultures from the past-How people live their lives, what they eat, what they do, what are the trends in the past? We must thank the traditions, because without traditions, there will not be today. 

Without traditions, there will be no meaning in life. What we will be doing is just following the modern trend, having no idea about the past. Traditions make our lives interesting, and we should never part away from traditions. Who knows, one day Iphone will be a traditional device? Who knows, maybe 100 years later, computers don't exist anymore. Traditions are often forgotten. We forgot how to cherish those traditions because we want to follow the trend. Who here still celebrate chinese wedding traditionally? Probably nobody anymore. Hence, we shall always remember and cherish the traditions.

OELP day 2 - Daven (27)

Today, I felt very tired because I had only 5 hours and 30 minutes of sleep, when I did reflections for yesterday until about 12.30am and woke at 6am. We had breakfast at 6.30. The breakfast had less variety and honestly, I disliked some of the food there, such as broccoli and the milk was very bland. In the end, I only ate bread with ham, broccoli and chicken. 

After breakfast, we headed for the National Palace Museum. Sadly, we could not take pictures inside the museum and we could only look at them, without bringing back any pictures for memories... Except for the outside view of it: 

We saw many ancient artifacts (from China in the past), such as plates, copper bowls weapons and calligraphy etc. It was a pity as we saw the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped stone and could not take pictures of it, because it was an eye-catching and priceless treasure. However, I learnt many interesting facts about the ornaments, for example, what the wine bottles and teapots were carved for and also, what materials they were made of. Most of them were made of copper as it was relatively easy to carve on and many teapots and wine bottles had shapes of dragons carved on them, as it is known that in the past, many people loved the dragon as it brought prosperity and showed majesty. Also, there were words carved on them, in the ancient Chinese words called 甲骨文. The porcelain ornaments were mostly plates, teapots and wine bottles, which were white in colour. Out of all the ornaments I saw at the museum, I was fascinated with the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped stone. These precious ornaments were brought into Taiwan by Chiang Kai Shek when he escaped from China with the Kuomintang Party, after their loss to the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War. China was very angry with Taiwan for not returning what belonged to them. These two ornaments looked really real and also, they were made of jade, which made them priceless treasures, which explains why China had so desperately wanted to retrieve them from Taiwan. The Meat-shaped stone had different layers and it was somewhat called 'braised pork' by the people there. I think that the brown layer at the top of the stone made it look like a braised pork, and the meat looked soft, even though the ornament itself was hard. The Jadeite Cabbage was made of green jade, however, not the entire jade was green and therefore, there were some white patches in the Jadeite Cabbage. There were also a katydid and a locus camouflaged on the Jadeite Cabbage, which depicts that the Jadeite Cabbage was so real that even insects flew to them. They attracted the attention of many Chinese people, who looked it as as though they were theirs but they could not get hold of it... HAHA! 

Next, we went to Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. The tour guide, Miss Zhang (张老师), spoke so softly and quickly that I could not catch what she was saying and also, did not have the chance to ask questions. We learnt the culture and lifestyle of the different tribal groups in Taiwan, such as their weapons, costumes and crockery. Most of their appliances that they use were man-made, such as using clay and rope to make weapons, or use clay to mould objects such as pots. We also watched a video about how a tribal member of the past 'evolved' to a modern citizen, such as how cloth was weaved in the past to now, how cloth can be made from machines. We were very tired and so, we could not understand or listen to what the tour guide was saying throughout the visit... However, we learnt that even without modern day technology, we can still survive with these skills from the Chinese ancestors. We must not depend or rely on these machinery and equipment too much and must learn some manual skills to make or operate something. 

I thought that the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines was the last destination, but according to the itenary, we still had to go to Shih-fen Old Street! Luckily for us, we were able to sleep before reaching Shih-fen Old Street, which took about 1 hour! :D I SLEPT SO WELL!! However, due to the fact that one of the CID tasks that groups were supposed to complete was to take a photo of someone sleeping with their mouth open, AND I GOT CAUGHT!! :( 

Fortunately, the trip to Shih-fen Old Street was quite enjoyable whereby we let lanterns into the air, with our wishes written on it. It was a fun-filled experience because I did not release such lanterns before in Singapore, whereby it is prohibited by law. The lantern had a fire burning at the 'foot' of the lantern, releasing hot air into the lantern which carries it up into the sky, hoping that the gods above can see our wishes and make them come true. 

We also went shopping for souvenirs and food, whereby I tried a peanut ice cream! It was delicious! But it made me extremely thirsty despite the cold ice cream... Also, there were shopkeepers basically shouting to promote their products, which made the street lively. Unlike Orchard Road in Singapore, whereby we only hear the customers voices because all the shopkeepers do is just to give out brochures and flyers! I feel that Singaporeans must try to be more outspoken, and maybe proactive... 

We had a sumptuous dinner which made us feel recharged after another 1 hour journey back to Taipei with traffic jams, which delayed us for about 10 minutes. We sat in our OELP groups again and together with my room mate, Jing Xue, we sat with our group mates (from Group 2) and Group 1, together with teachers. 

After that, we went back to our hotel, whereby we did our reflections and also, practiced our performance for tomorrow's educational exchange with Jianguo High School. We also took a photograph with the tour guide and the bus driver with another group (the bittersweet), which was one of the tasks needed to be completed for CID. 

It was another tiring day but I felt that I could get a taste of what Taiwan is like... And here are my reflections: 

I feel that I have learnt that we need to treasure and know our traditions well. Traditions and cultures tell us about the way of life people live, such as the food they eat, the houses they live in, how they work and how they move about (stay in the same place or move around like nomads). Without traditions in the past, people might be living different today and there would be no meaning of living today, because what is the point of following a modern way of life without knowing what our ancestors have left for us? For example, farming may be looked down upon because it requires hard work and the profit is very little. But what if all u have now was just land with soil? Without money and technology? Without traditions, there would be no 'starting point' for the development of technology, which we use daily... 

We have to learn and cherish our traditions because they may help us to pull through difficulties in harsh conditions, just like how people in the past had gone through with the traditional ways when they were much poorer back then. Traditions have many benefits, that's why countries have museums to preserve them, and we must learn to cherish them... 

Reflections: Day 1 24/5/14 -Jing Xue

Today, we went to Taiwan, Taipei! Hooray! ^^ Our flight on CI752 landed on Taoyuan Airport, and from there, we traveled into the city. As we travel, we sight several agricultural farms, which left me thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if Singapore were tonhave such farms too?" Too bad, Singapore is way too small to afford such big space for agriculture.

After a 40 minutes ride on the coach, we finally arrived Taipei 101. I never expected it to be so tall! It stood like a proud building, over looking the whole Taipei, or even Taiwan, like the country's father.mMr David, bought tickets for us. The queue is appalling long, and we were worried that we couldn't view all the things on the 89th level on time.

Soon, it's our turn. 

The lift up was as fast as sonic. To reach the 89th level, simply enter the lift, press the 89 button, and you will travel up like a rocket. Within 37 seconds, you will reach there! Wow!! It's fast isn't it? I hope my house has such lift, hehehe. We were given time to explore the 89th level, and were given 'phones' to listen and know more about Taipei 101, and Taipei. I was so excited to view the scenery! The time waiting was worthwile, because the scenery is indeed maginificent. We overlooked the whole Taipei city, seeing beautiful lights shining below us like little stars! So beautiful!

I didn't expect to see models made out of Jade. There are models carved as dragons, corals, horses, etc.

Soon, we left Taipei 101 and went for dinner!

Everyone was starving. We gulfed in the food, and the food was finger licking goooooood! I ate much, enjoyed much, and love much the food.

With a full belly, we strolled to 7-11 to buy some stuff. I bought bubble gum!!

With tired minds, we went to our hotel, RF pretty hotel, which honestly, isn't that pretty. We were much disppointed at the hotel...

After a night debried, we went back to our hotel rooms, and did our CID and OELP reflections! (This)

It was a tiring day, but very, very fun-filled day today! ^^

Imagine if I were a tour guide, guiding a group of rather noisy and fidgety tour group, I will feel rather upset and unhappy because my tour group isn't paying much attention to me. I feel that as a tour guide, I should deserve some respect from my tour group, and I will be saddened if they aren't paying attention to my talk. Today, my class has been rather talkative due to some excitement, so we got scolded from our teachers. In the future, we will do better by respecting the tour guide and our teachers by giving attention. Students should just keep quiet and listen attentively in order to absorb all of the information.

Red. I choose red for today's colour. Today is the first time I've ever been to Taiwan, so I'm pretty excited for this trip to learn the new cultures and to visit Taipei 101. To add one, red represents the anger in our teachers when they scolded us for being so incooperative...they were rather unhappy about our performance. Sorry Teachers!

I would choose a smiley face as my symbol. Today is the start of my OELP journey and the starting point where I learn more about Taiwan culture, hence, Im excited and overjoyed! ^^

No doubt, the image of the day is Taipei 101, the third tallest building in the world! The breathtaking scenery at the 89th floor left me awestruck! Taipei 101 will no doubt be in my memory forever for its prideful feature!

Awestrucking! Boastful! Cool! Deep-thinking! Ecstatic! Fun-filled! Today's trip to Taipei 101 is awestrucking and is something worthy to boast! (YAY)!

Its a rare experience to travel overseas with my friends, although I will miss my family...However, it is a fun journey where I can really understand more about Taiwan's culture!

Today's experience can be summed up into a cup of Coca-Cola! The fizziness represents the excitement inside me, and it gets me excited to learn even more about the culture in Taiwan! Its both exciting and meaningful, isn't it?

On the first day, I saw a tall standing building, Taipei 101, mouth licking food, and lastly an ugly side of our class. I learnt that building such a tall building is actually possible, even with the presence of frequent earthquakes. Also, I've learnt that we should always respect the speaker at all times in order to absorb maximum information. Most importantly, I've learnt to be more initiative to ask questions that left us pondering to the tour guide to gain more knowledge, letting this be a more meaningful trip!^^

Summary:

-Today, we visited Taipei 101. It was fruitful experience, where I learnt the artifect's history and value to Taipei.

-Today, I learnt to show more respect to the speaker. Only one conversation at a time! This helps us to absorb us more information, making this a more meaningful OELP!

-Today, was an exciting day!! (FRUITFUL TOO! ^^)

Awaiting for tomorrow!! Good night!!