OELP day 7 — Qian Wei

We woke up at 4.30am today. I felt a wave of sadness wash over me as i realised we would be leaving Taipei soon, and our OELP trip would be ending. 

I really have benefitted from this trip. Not only have i learnt about the Taiwanese culture, i have learnt to step out of my comfort zone, learnt to be independent and many other things. However, to me, the best part of the trip was the bonding between our class. 

Our class was not exactly what someone would call bonded before the trip, but we faced so many things together during the trip. When we needed help at night, we could just call friends from nearby hotel rooms over. Just like when i was feeling afraid of being alone when Ruo Qing went to the doctor, Laetitia and Tegan just accompanied me in my room. During mealtimes, we would also help each other finish up food, and make each other laugh in between mouthfuls of food. Seven people were sick during the trip, and i was one of the seven. I was touched as many of my classmates took care of me, and cheered me up when i wasn't feeling well. I was constantly reminded to drink more water and to check my temperature by my friends. Once, Ming Han and Ruo Qing even helped me to sponge my forehead as i was having a fever. My friends constantly had to run to the 7-11 near our hotel after a long day spent outdoors to purchase boxes of Kool Fever. Eating cup noodles at night and chionging our reflections until around 2am is also a fond memory. Besides, the nights spent practising for our performances would never be forgotten. The area where we practised was at times way too cold or way too hot as the aircon was not working. We might've all been tired, but we stood by each other and supported each other through the nights. The hotel room doorbell always frightened us, as it was the sound of birds chirping, and we would constantly scare each other by pressing on others' doorbells haha. There were also hotel telephone prank calls that we exchanged, and laughter that we shared.

I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip, as it made me see my classmates' true nice personalities (haha this is mushy but yeah). :') besides, it was nice making new friends from a different place on the map,  trying out food from another country and learning about another country's culture. OELP would always be a memory engraved in my heart, which i will never forget.