Lesson 1: POVERTY IN SINGAPORE
In today's lesson, I learnt that we should not judge a book by its cover and not be so judge mental about things.
In today's lesson, I learnt that we should not judge a book by its cover and not be so judge mental about things.
When the teacher showed the class these two photos, my first thoughts towards the man was that he did not deserve any sympathy as he was wearing layers of coats and a sports shoe. Since he was able to afford all these necessities, he should be able to keep himself from starving. He also looks well fed, so even if he was jobless, he would be able to find a job to gain income. When I saw the woman with a child, I pitied her as she was alone with her child, out in the streets begging for money. I felt that the woman deserved some sympathy and that she was such a strong woman to be able to persevere and take care of her child even though she could have easily gave her child away. However, when the teacher told us that the man lost his home during a war and that the woman belonged to the syndicates, I felt very ashamed to judge the man on a quick note without asking myself what happened to him to make him to go out on the streets and beg after knowing his plight. However, this new information towards the woman will not change my choice of donating money to her as I believe that if she does not meet a certain requirement, she will be punished.
All in all, this lesson has definitely taught me a lesson to not judge things so quickly, but to think deeper with each item I see.
Lesson 2 : GLOBALISATION
Globalization, as of the Wikipedia definition, is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.
MODERNIZATION VS WESTERNIZATION
In my opinion, "globalization" is not the same as "westernization". Modernization is to keep up with the world around us now, while westernization is the influence of the western culture, to include the western style into our everyday lives. Therefore, there is a major difference in "modernization" and "westernization".
Although most teenagers are following the western styles like the dress code now, I still disagree that westernization is modernization. Different people have different points of view - some may think that the chinese culture is much better than the western culture, while some thinks the other way round. A country can be very modernized but it doesn't follow the western culture or style. For example, Saudi Arabia has very good technology but their culture is strictly Islamic.
ICON IN SINGAPORE
Personally, I think that the most iconic location in Singapore is the Merlion.
Contrary to the popular belief that the merlion is adapted from a myth from the prince Sang Nila Utama that founded Temasek, merlions do not feature in any local folklore or myths in Singapore. Instead, it was once used as the logo for the tourism board in Singapore, which proves that it is worthy to be an icon for Singapore.
Globalization, as of the Wikipedia definition, is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology.
MODERNIZATION VS WESTERNIZATION
In my opinion, "globalization" is not the same as "westernization". Modernization is to keep up with the world around us now, while westernization is the influence of the western culture, to include the western style into our everyday lives. Therefore, there is a major difference in "modernization" and "westernization".
Although most teenagers are following the western styles like the dress code now, I still disagree that westernization is modernization. Different people have different points of view - some may think that the chinese culture is much better than the western culture, while some thinks the other way round. A country can be very modernized but it doesn't follow the western culture or style. For example, Saudi Arabia has very good technology but their culture is strictly Islamic.
ICON IN SINGAPORE
Personally, I think that the most iconic location in Singapore is the Merlion.
· Basic Information about the Merlion
The name ‘Merlion’ combines “mer” meaning “sea” and “lion”. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name – Singapura – meaning Lion City.
· Why I think the Merlion is most suitable to be Singapore’s icon
Whenever the merlion is mentioned, I would always relate it back to Singapore. This structure signifies our roots – from where Singapore started from till where it is today in the world. All our forefathers efforts to transform Singapore from a filthy fishing village to a first world country now are seen through our daily lives.Contrary to the popular belief that the merlion is adapted from a myth from the prince Sang Nila Utama that founded Temasek, merlions do not feature in any local folklore or myths in Singapore. Instead, it was once used as the logo for the tourism board in Singapore, which proves that it is worthy to be an icon for Singapore.
It is also used in many souvenirs for foreigners to buy and bring it home. From the many pictures, posters, souvenirs etc. of the merlion, it would be reasonable to say that the merlion is a suitable icon for Singapore.
In my opinion, there is a need to have a national icon. Why? National icons unite people by creating a representation of the nation’s people, values, goals, or history.
With that, I personally feel that the Merlion would be a suitable national icon for Singapore. The name ‘Merlion’ combines “mer” meaning “sea” and “lion”. The fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, “sea town” in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name – Singapura – meaning Lion City, coming from a myth of Prince Sang Nila Utama.
Sang Nila Utama was a prince of Palembang, and he wanted to find a suitable place for a new city. He decided to visit the islands off the coast of Palembang, South Sumatra. He went to a nearby island of Riau Islands on a hunting trip. He found a huge rock and when he stood on top of the rock, he looked across the sea and saw another island with a white sandy beach which had the appearance of a white sheet of cloth. He was told by his chief minister that it was the island of Temasek. He then decided to visit Temasek. He landed at the mouth of the present-day Singapore River and went inland to hunt wild animals and saw a strange animal with an orange body, black head and a white neck breast moving with great speed, disappearing into the jungle. His chief minister told him that it was a lion. Sang NilaUtama was pleased with this as he believed it to be a sign of good fortune coming his way. Thus, he decided to build his new city in Temasek and renamed this city Singapura. Singa is a Malay word for lion while Pura means "town" in Sanskrit. The name thus means the "Lion City".
Almost everyone in Singapore has heard of the Merlion and its myth behind it. It was once used as the logo for the tourism board in Singapore, which proves that it is worthy to be an icon for Singapore. Since it was the logo for the tourism board in Singapore, many foreign countries already know of the Merlion. It would not be a foreign-looking icon of Singapore to many countries, which makes it easier for other countries to recognize Singapore through the Merlion, if it becomes our national icon.
Some may argue that if we use the Merlion as our national icon, we would be using a structure created based on a myth to represent Singapore. However, after research, I found out that contrary to the popular belief that the Merlion is adapted from a myth, the Merlion does not feature in any local folklore or myths in Singapore.
As I mentioned earlier, the fish body of the Merlion represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, “sea town” in Javanese. If the Merlion becomes our national icon, it will not only serve as a national icon for Singapore, but also teaches the future generations about our forefathers’ efforts to transform Singapore from a mere fishing village to where it stands today in the world.
During our class discussion on which landmark, name, or place should be used as the nation’s icon, some groups considered the Changi Airport and Vanda Miss Joaquim as the national icon. I would not use the Changi Airport as the national icon because although it has many impressive achievements such as 6 consecutive times of the Best Airport in Asia Pacific, 4 consecutive times of the Best Airport in the world etc., the Changi Airport is not representative of Singapore. It is, instead, representative of Singapore’s quality service. I would not use Vanda Miss Joaquim as the national icon. It was chosen on 15 April 1981 as the national flower for its resilience and year round blooming quality, as well as to represent Singapore's uniqueness. Despite the fact that it represents Singapore’s hybrid culture, I would not use the national flower as Singapore’s icon since it is already used as the national flower.
Having a national icon would build a national identity as whichis a person's identity and sense of belonging to a nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's status. Singaporeans will start to view each other as “we”, not as an individual. People will start to treat the Merlion with more respect and feel a sense of belonging to Singapore.
OELP TRIP
OELP TRIP
HANGZHOU
Hangzhou is one of the most renowned and prosperous cities
of China, well known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake as
the most well known location. Hangzhou can be called “Paradise on Earth”,
“Cultural State”, “Home of Silk”, “Tea Capital” and “Town of Fish and Rice”.
DAY 1
We went to Dragon Tea Well Plantation, West Lake Cruise and
the Yue Fei Mausoleum in HangZhou after taking the Bullet Train from ShangHai
Pudong International Airport.
This was the first time taking a bullet train, so I was very
excited. It was comfortable and spacious. The ride was an hour and a half long.
I felt that having a bullet train would benefit the people in China since it is
cheaper than the airplane and faster than the bus, which makes it fairly
convenient for those who want to travel to different places in China. This
would also boost economy in China since it would attract more tourists.
Next, we went to the Dragon Well Tea Plantation, where we
learnt about the basic culture behind drinking the tea, as well as the benefits
from drinking it. A basic courtesy would be when someone serves tea, you could
use 2 fingers and tap on the table twice to thank the server. Drinking the tea helps
one to slim down and get rid of oil from the body. It also helps one prevent
cancer.
Following that, we went to the West Lake Cruise, where we
were greeted by a beautiful scenery. I was looking forward to this visiting
this place since many people who went there complimented on the scenery there. The
tour guide mentioned that the West Lake is generally “divided” into 4, 3 of
which are mountains and greenery while the remaining 1 of 4 of the West Lake
surroundings were high rise buildings. It was a little hazy there too. The high
rise buildings and the haze made the area look a little dull, but the pagodas
and the greenery made up for them.
Lastly, we visited the Yue Fe Mausoleum, where the Chinese
built this mausoleum in memory of the great national hero, Yue Fei. He was
commander of the Song armies in the 12th century. He is well known
for the 4 Chinese characters on his back, 精忠报国, which means Utmost,
Loyalty, Serve and Nation. There, facing Yue Fei’s tomb, there are 4 iron
sculptures of the 4 people who caused Yue Fei’s death. The people of China
wanted them to atone for their crime forever, therefore they are kneeling in
front of the tomb of Yue Fei.
REFLECTION
Introducing the High Speed Rail project in Singapore and
Malaysia.
East – exciting about
the new speed rail project?
Convenient,
comfortbale, cheaper than airplane and faster than the bus. It will attract
more tourists to take the bullet train and boost Singapore’s economy. It will
also improve the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore.
West – worrisome
about the idea?
Take up a lot of land,
expensive, may cause dispute between countries, cost and supplies of materials
North – need to know
for the idea to work out?
How many people are
willing to take the train (worth it)? How will it affect people’s lives in
Jurong East? Capacity of trains? Any alternatives to this transportation (if it
breaks down?)
South – stance on
choosing Jurong East over Tuas or Marina Bay area as the site for the terminus?
Jurong East. Nearer to
Malaysia (than Marina Bay) à shorter railway tracks
(save space in Singapore) & more people in JE than in Tuas à
more people will take.
Dragon Tea Well
Plantation
See – How do you see
the drinking of Chinese tea as a culture and art?
The act of drinking
tea has been going on for many years. It has many benefits to the body such as
the eyes, stomach, and gastric. It also has an art to it when the tea lady
poured hot water into our cups in a very unique way. We tap 2 fingers twice on
the table to show our appreciation to the server.
Think – Do you think
the drinking of tea as culture and an art will ever catch up on in Singapore?
No. Since Singapore is
a multi-racial country, not many people will come to appreciate the drinking of
Chinese Tea since there are many other traditional drinks of other races. Also,
to properly savour the taste of the drink, there needs to be peace and
calmness, which could be quite difficult in the stress-filled and hectic lives
of Singaporeans.
Wonder – Have you
ever wondered about the difference in the way tea is consumed in the 2
countries?
Not really. I only
noticed the difference when I see Chinese in restaurants drinking tea in a very
solemn manner, while Singaporeans drink it like any other drink that they
consume. After the trip to the Plantation, I realised that the Chinese respect
the drink whenever they drink in a way.
DAY2
We went to the Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Museum, China
National Silk Museum, Chenghuang Pagoda, Song Dynasty City and watched a Song
Dynasty Performance.
At the Southern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Museum, we saw many
delicate chinaware treasures from past dynasties on display. We learnt about
the history of the ceramics, as well as the social, political and economic
development of the establishments of the kilns from the Southern Song Dynasty.
It was a refreshing experience for me.
Next, we went to the China National Silk Museum, the world’s
largest silk museum. Built in 1992, the museum is dedicated to the long and
prestigious heritage of Silk in China. We learnt the important facts of silk
making, and the different products used by different dynasties. This museum
showcases the history and culture on silk.
Following that, we went to the ChengHuang Pagoda, where we
tasted a dessert on the top level of the pagoda. At the top of the pagoda, we
were greeted by the breathtaking scenery, despite the fact that it was a little
hazy. We enjoyed a Chinese dessert accompanied by a few pieces of music played
with traditional Chinese instruments. It was very calm and peaceful, unlike the
hustle and bustle we experience in Singapore. We could see the entire beautiful
West Lake. The quiet and scenic location made it one of the most memorable
parts of the trip.
Our last stop was at the
Song Dynasty City, where we watched a Song Dynasty performance, titled 千古情. The performance represented different parts
of China’s history. The dance and stage lighting were impressive, which makes
it no doubt to be named as one of a “must-see” show in your life.
REFLECTION
PRESERVATION OF THE HOME OF OUR FOUNDING FATHER
MR. LEE KUAN YEW.
POV: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, son of the late First
Prime Minister (Mr. Lee Kuan Yew)
Taking the POV of PM
Lee, I would want the government not to preserve the house of my father, late
Mr Lee. I would want my father’s decisions to be respected. Also, I do not wish
to have my privacy invaded. If really necessary, there could be a replica of
the house built.
POV: URA, government body that decides which
building is to be conserved.
Taking the POV of a
representative from the URA, I would not want the building to be preserved.
Taking into consideration Mr Lee’s will and the land that could be redeveloped
into something else, I support the fact that Mr Lee’s house should not be
preserved.
POV: Tourist Promotion Board (TPB)
Taking the POV of a
representative from the TPB, I would want the building to be conserved. It
could be used to promote tourism in our country, and boost our country’s
economy. It could also serve as an educational purpose to the students. There
would not be a concern that future Singapore generations would forget about the
contributions Mr Lee made to Singapore, as the founding father of Singapore, if
it would be preserved and open to the public.
POV: Public (people of Singapore)
Taking the POV of a
Singapore citizen, I would not want the building to be preserved. I would want
Mr Lee’s will and decision to be respected. Although I understand that by
keeping the house would have benefits to the country (financial and educational
purposes), I still would not want the building to be preserved since there
could be alternatives for the future generations to learn about Mr Lee and his
great contributions. After all, the house was his property and he should be
able to make the decision whether to have his house preserved or not.
DAY3
YANGZHOU
YangZhou is a
prefecture level city in central Jiangsu province in the People’s Republic of
China. It is located on the northern back of the Yangtze River. It is one of
the wealthiest historical city in China, known at various periods for its great
merchant families, poets, painters, and scholars.
We visited the Geyuan Garden, Shouxi Lake, Chinese paper
cutting museum and a bookstore.
Firstly, we visited the Geyuan Garden. The tour guide
introduced us to the history of this house. At that time, bamboo could
represent one’s social status. There were many different types of bamboos in
the garden. It was a very amazing sight since it was well decorated. One could
experience 4 seasons that was illustrated by vivid rocks. Spring was
represented by a picture of bamboo and rock. Summer was represented by the
steel-grey Taihu stone. Autumn was represented by the Huangshan stone. Winter
was represented by Xuan stone. The owner’s love for bamboos and belief that
bamboos were persistent, modest, straightforward and loyal made him buy over
the land and rebuild the garden as his area for retreat.
Next, we visited the Shouxi Lake. The Shouxi Lake has a few
pagodas and bridges. There were many tourists there, which made the area very
lively. About 200 years ago, Emperor Qianlong came to this place and he built a
white pagoda made of salt. There, I was suddenly reminded of the Singapore
River, because the Singapore River has rich history and is a tourist site.
Following that, we went to the Chinese Paper Cutting Museum.
There, we saw many different types of Chinese Paper Cuttings. We had a chance
to experience paper cutting. It was extremely hard but a good experience.
Although we were given a template to follow, I was not able to cut the design
properly. I learnt that the art of Chinese Paper Cutting requires a lot of
patience and details.
REFLECTION
SEE THINK AND WONDER
SEE – What do you see are some iconic buildings that
define Hangzhou, Yangzhou or Shanghai? What are they famous for? Why would they
be considered iconic?
HangZhou’s West Lake
and ChengHuang Pagoda.
West Lake à
legend on 2 snake ladies
ChengHuang Pagoda à
dessert and scenic view.
YangZhou’s宋城
and 个园.
宋城 à performance at宋城
on the history on Song Dynasty
个园 à rich history and
diversity of plants
THINK – What do you think would be considered as iconic
in Singapore? Would it be the Esplanade, The Pinnacle, The Merlion, City-Hall,
Art Science museum, the Singapore Flyer or Marina Bay Sands, or the Botanic
Gardens? What could be considered to be iconic about these buildings? Why do
you think the building you chosen is iconic? What would you describe as an
iconic building to your buddy in Hangzhou?
The Merlion. The
Merlion is made up of the lion and fish, which represents Temasek (where Sang
Nila Utama saw a lion) and Singapore as a fishing village originally
respectively.
The Merlion connects
Singaporeans to the roots of Singapore’s history, which makes Singaporeans not
to forget about the hard work and sacrifices made by our forefathers in order
for Singapore to advance to where she is today. Also, the Merlion is globally
recognised as Singapore’s icon as it is seen on souvenirs and posters etc..
Lastly, it is unique to Singapore, therefore I think that the Merlion should be
Singapore’s icon.
WONDER – Have you ever wondered what the role iconic
buildings play in a country? Why do every country have some iconic buildings?
Should it be related to history, culture, identity of the people or should it
be related to what the country stands for? Or should it be related to the
values that the country stands for? What do you consider as important in the
choice of an iconic building for Singapore?
History, Value, and it
is easily identified as an identity of the citizens and for foreigners to
recognise it as a country.
DAY4
We went to the Ye Chun Chai Sei (冶春茶社早茶) for breakfast, followed by a visit to the Block Printing Musuem DIY paper making and Block printing, the Volkswagen factory visit, the bookstore (which we did not have enough time to visit yesterday), and lastly, Dongquanmen History Street (东关街).
The breakfast at Ye Chun Chai Sei (冶春茶社早茶) was traditional-Chinese style. We learnt many names of different types of Chinese dishes available. At first, we thought that the Chinese dianxin was the only food that was for breakfast, so we ate our fill. However, when we finished the dianxin, the waitresses served rice, soup and noodles. We were very shocked. The tour guide later explained that it was the Chinese’ traditional way of having their breakfast : drinking tea > having some dianxin > rice / soup/ noodles.
This simple breakfast taught me yet again another interesting culture and tradition of China.
After that, we went to the Block Printing Museum, where we saw a beautifully crafted vase. The guide told us that it was one of the most precious vase in china, because there were only 3 of them left. They are found in YangZhou, BeiJing’s Summer Palace and in Paris. This vase, famous for its deep blue colour, was used to contain white wine. It was manufactured 700 years ago by the Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty. This type of material is not found anymore, which adds to its value.
Vases in the museum were not perfect at all. There were cracks all over them. The guide from the museum told us that the last emperor could not support all the servants, so they started to steal the vases (that were only meant for the emperor). The French also raided the Summer Palace but threw the piece of vase that is currently found in the Summer Palace. The dragon designs on vases were made up of different animals. The Dragon was the most important since the Chinese worshipped the dragon.
After the trip to this museum, I learnt about the Chinese beliefs and their achievements, as well as history from another dynasty of the long history of China.
After that, we went to the Volkswagen factory, where they showed us the process of making cars. There were many interesting (but huge) machines used in the process. [there are no photos because were not allowed to bring our electronic devices into the factory.]
This trip had me realise the importance of every minute detail in the process of the making a car. As long as a small component of the car was not done well, it could be very dangerous driving this car. We should not take any parts (to a task) very lightly for it may be the very crucial point for the task the success!
We had an hour of free-and-easy time at the XinHua bookstore where there were many different varieties of stationery, story books, sports equipment etc.. it was somewhat similar to bookstores in Singapore, except that the books available in the XinHua bookstore was limited to Chinese language books while in Singapore, you can find books in both English and Chinese.
I was not expected to find anything related to Singapore in this bookstore, but guess what? I found books related to the late Mr. Lee, which showed that he was a world-wide respected leader. I felt very proud of Mr. Lee and of course, Singapore, because news from the little red dot could impact lives of many in the WORLD. I hope that after reading the books, more people would be influenced and inspired by him.
DAY5
Today was the day that everyone was looking forward most for the trip! We went to 扬大附中 for our School Immersion experience. We stayed there for their entire school day before going to the Lushi Old Mansion for dinner. After dinner, we went to a supermarket at the basement of our hotel.
My first impression on the school is that it was HUGE. There were many facilities for the students to use. We went to the conference room where the principal and 徐老师 addressed us. We were warmly welcomed by our buddies. After our performances. After we settled down, we met our buddies for the first time. At first, I thought that it would be awkward since my buddy and I did not get in contact until two days before my departure to China. However, my buddy was very welcoming. Together, we learnt how to do Chinese painting and Chinese calligraphy. When I looked around, I saw the calligraphy work done by the students in扬大附中 and I was very ashamed of my calligraphy work. Later, I learnt that the students had to attend a Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Painting lesson twice a week in primary school and once a week in secondary school. To add on, they were proactive by doing extra practice at home by themselves because they had great interest and appreciated the art of their culture. I think that we should learn from them in this aspect so that our traditions would not fade away because of the constant changing society in the westerners’ style. We also learnt how to tie a Chinese knot and answered some questions about Chinese festivals. From the “Question and Answer” session, there was a distinct difference between the students from RVHS and students from 扬大附中 – Lastly, there was a live performance of the different traditional Chinese instruments. From these sessions, I could feel the enthusiastic attitudes from the Chinese students from the way they fought to have the chance to answer those questions posed to them. They were not embarrassed when they got the answer wrong, but instead they asked around for an explanation to why his or her answer was wrong. They were very eager when they automatically volunteered for a try to use the Chinese traditional instruments. This was a learning point for us because through answering more questions in a discussion, we could learn from each other and from our mistakes.
However, I think the education system in China should learn from Singapore in terms of letting the students have more personal experiences rather than learning from the net or from books. When I asked my buddy if she had been to any iconic places in YangZhou with her school, she looked at me weirdly and replied with “Do you guys do that? We just learn about them from documentaries, books and get pictures from the net! Anyways, going on a journey is expensive because the school doesn’t subsidize the cost…” I feel that having learning journeys with school is very interesting and should be inculcated in the education system of China since it has many benefits. The experience from of going to that place personally would increase the learning opportunities and helps students have a better understanding about the place. There would also have a self evaluated comparison between the pictures they see on the internet and what they see in real life. By subsidizing the fees for the trips using school funds, students would also have a more eager attitude towards going on a learning journey.
Following that, we had a lunch break. Their canteen was a few levels and a variety of food was laid in front of us. After having our fill, we went back up to the conference room and had a compulsory 1 hour sleep time. I was very surprised upon hearing that because I didn’t expect them such a schedule. After the one hour nap, I felt very refreshed and was more focused compared to when I was in school around this time. Therefore, I find this very useful and hope that RV would learn this from them and let us have a short nap time to make us more alert. However, this would mean longer school hours.
After that, we were allowed to have free time with our buddies. My buddy took me to their math lesson that lasted for 2 hours! The corridors had motivational quotes and some reminders on cleanliness. There was a mini “carpark” for the students to park their bicycles in, since YangZhou encouraged cycling and even had a road specially catered for cyclists!
The classroom was surprisingly small for a class of around 40 students. The students were allowed to choose where they seated. I expected them to talk since they were seated with their friends but they were more focused on the lesson than talking to their friends. To be honest, I think that they had more discipline than those in Singapore.
They had a blackboard in their class, which I found it amusing because of the small chalk that kept slipping off the teacher’s hands (but he refused to change to another one). The dust from the chalk was also making him sneeze a lot, and marks were still left on the board even though the teacher kept cleaning them. So, I prefer having a whiteboard in class rather than a blackboard.
They were extremely attentive despite the weather that made me feel sleepy. Also, it was around 4pm, so I was expecting them to look sleepy, but none of them did. Instead, they were still answering the questions posed for them and they also cleared their doubts straight away.
From the long day, we bade goodbye and went to the Lushi Old Mansion to eat dinner.
The Lushi Old Mansion had a very traditional setting, which we enjoyed while having dinner.
We went to the Ye Chun Chai Sei (冶春茶社早茶) for breakfast, followed by a visit to the Block Printing Musuem DIY paper making and Block printing, the Volkswagen factory visit, the bookstore (which we did not have enough time to visit yesterday), and lastly, Dongquanmen History Street (东关街).
The breakfast at Ye Chun Chai Sei (冶春茶社早茶) was traditional-Chinese style. We learnt many names of different types of Chinese dishes available. At first, we thought that the Chinese dianxin was the only food that was for breakfast, so we ate our fill. However, when we finished the dianxin, the waitresses served rice, soup and noodles. We were very shocked. The tour guide later explained that it was the Chinese’ traditional way of having their breakfast : drinking tea > having some dianxin > rice / soup/ noodles.
This simple breakfast taught me yet again another interesting culture and tradition of China.
After that, we went to the Block Printing Museum, where we saw a beautifully crafted vase. The guide told us that it was one of the most precious vase in china, because there were only 3 of them left. They are found in YangZhou, BeiJing’s Summer Palace and in Paris. This vase, famous for its deep blue colour, was used to contain white wine. It was manufactured 700 years ago by the Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty. This type of material is not found anymore, which adds to its value.
Vases in the museum were not perfect at all. There were cracks all over them. The guide from the museum told us that the last emperor could not support all the servants, so they started to steal the vases (that were only meant for the emperor). The French also raided the Summer Palace but threw the piece of vase that is currently found in the Summer Palace. The dragon designs on vases were made up of different animals. The Dragon was the most important since the Chinese worshipped the dragon.
After the trip to this museum, I learnt about the Chinese beliefs and their achievements, as well as history from another dynasty of the long history of China.
After that, we went to the Volkswagen factory, where they showed us the process of making cars. There were many interesting (but huge) machines used in the process. [there are no photos because were not allowed to bring our electronic devices into the factory.]
This trip had me realise the importance of every minute detail in the process of the making a car. As long as a small component of the car was not done well, it could be very dangerous driving this car. We should not take any parts (to a task) very lightly for it may be the very crucial point for the task the success!
We had an hour of free-and-easy time at the XinHua bookstore where there were many different varieties of stationery, story books, sports equipment etc.. it was somewhat similar to bookstores in Singapore, except that the books available in the XinHua bookstore was limited to Chinese language books while in Singapore, you can find books in both English and Chinese.
I was not expected to find anything related to Singapore in this bookstore, but guess what? I found books related to the late Mr. Lee, which showed that he was a world-wide respected leader. I felt very proud of Mr. Lee and of course, Singapore, because news from the little red dot could impact lives of many in the WORLD. I hope that after reading the books, more people would be influenced and inspired by him.
DAY5
Today was the day that everyone was looking forward most for the trip! We went to 扬大附中 for our School Immersion experience. We stayed there for their entire school day before going to the Lushi Old Mansion for dinner. After dinner, we went to a supermarket at the basement of our hotel.
My first impression on the school is that it was HUGE. There were many facilities for the students to use. We went to the conference room where the principal and 徐老师 addressed us. We were warmly welcomed by our buddies. After our performances. After we settled down, we met our buddies for the first time. At first, I thought that it would be awkward since my buddy and I did not get in contact until two days before my departure to China. However, my buddy was very welcoming. Together, we learnt how to do Chinese painting and Chinese calligraphy. When I looked around, I saw the calligraphy work done by the students in扬大附中 and I was very ashamed of my calligraphy work. Later, I learnt that the students had to attend a Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese Painting lesson twice a week in primary school and once a week in secondary school. To add on, they were proactive by doing extra practice at home by themselves because they had great interest and appreciated the art of their culture. I think that we should learn from them in this aspect so that our traditions would not fade away because of the constant changing society in the westerners’ style. We also learnt how to tie a Chinese knot and answered some questions about Chinese festivals. From the “Question and Answer” session, there was a distinct difference between the students from RVHS and students from 扬大附中 – Lastly, there was a live performance of the different traditional Chinese instruments. From these sessions, I could feel the enthusiastic attitudes from the Chinese students from the way they fought to have the chance to answer those questions posed to them. They were not embarrassed when they got the answer wrong, but instead they asked around for an explanation to why his or her answer was wrong. They were very eager when they automatically volunteered for a try to use the Chinese traditional instruments. This was a learning point for us because through answering more questions in a discussion, we could learn from each other and from our mistakes.
However, I think the education system in China should learn from Singapore in terms of letting the students have more personal experiences rather than learning from the net or from books. When I asked my buddy if she had been to any iconic places in YangZhou with her school, she looked at me weirdly and replied with “Do you guys do that? We just learn about them from documentaries, books and get pictures from the net! Anyways, going on a journey is expensive because the school doesn’t subsidize the cost…” I feel that having learning journeys with school is very interesting and should be inculcated in the education system of China since it has many benefits. The experience from of going to that place personally would increase the learning opportunities and helps students have a better understanding about the place. There would also have a self evaluated comparison between the pictures they see on the internet and what they see in real life. By subsidizing the fees for the trips using school funds, students would also have a more eager attitude towards going on a learning journey.
Following that, we had a lunch break. Their canteen was a few levels and a variety of food was laid in front of us. After having our fill, we went back up to the conference room and had a compulsory 1 hour sleep time. I was very surprised upon hearing that because I didn’t expect them such a schedule. After the one hour nap, I felt very refreshed and was more focused compared to when I was in school around this time. Therefore, I find this very useful and hope that RV would learn this from them and let us have a short nap time to make us more alert. However, this would mean longer school hours.
After that, we were allowed to have free time with our buddies. My buddy took me to their math lesson that lasted for 2 hours! The corridors had motivational quotes and some reminders on cleanliness. There was a mini “carpark” for the students to park their bicycles in, since YangZhou encouraged cycling and even had a road specially catered for cyclists!
The classroom was surprisingly small for a class of around 40 students. The students were allowed to choose where they seated. I expected them to talk since they were seated with their friends but they were more focused on the lesson than talking to their friends. To be honest, I think that they had more discipline than those in Singapore.
They had a blackboard in their class, which I found it amusing because of the small chalk that kept slipping off the teacher’s hands (but he refused to change to another one). The dust from the chalk was also making him sneeze a lot, and marks were still left on the board even though the teacher kept cleaning them. So, I prefer having a whiteboard in class rather than a blackboard.
They were extremely attentive despite the weather that made me feel sleepy. Also, it was around 4pm, so I was expecting them to look sleepy, but none of them did. Instead, they were still answering the questions posed for them and they also cleared their doubts straight away.
From the long day, we bade goodbye and went to the Lushi Old Mansion to eat dinner.
The Lushi Old Mansion had a very traditional setting, which we enjoyed while having dinner.
REFLECTION
CONNECT, EXTEND, CHALLENGE.
Connect: List down 1-3 things that related to what you have
observed and experienced in the school that connects with our own educational
experiences in school.
1.
They
attend lessons on the culture and tradition of China (RV Lit)
2.
6
years of school and have the same subjects as us except CID
3.
Student
hostel
Extend: List down 1-3 things that you have observed and
experienced in the school that extends your own learning experiences or ideas
about education in Singapore or your host country.
1.
They
have lots of homework, so much that they don’t have free time to go overseas
and do what they like. (In Singapore, we can cope with the homework load and
have some spare time to go on trips and do what we like)
2.
Signs
to promote toilet cleanliness; boards with motivational quotes to encourage
students. (shows that they care a lot about their healthcare and wellbeing of
the students)
3.
Focus
on culture and tradition of their own country à
explains why their traditions don’t fade
Challenge: List down 1-3 things that you think would be a
challenge in our preparation of the workforce in of tomorrow through the
emphasis on Skills for the future.
1.
Not
enough young people to carry out the plan.
2.
The
younger generation might have a change in mind set and might not support the plan.
3.
Some
people might not agree with the program.
DAY6
SHANGHAI
Shanghai is the most populous city in China. It is in
eastern China. It has become a global city, exerting influence over finance,
commerce, fashion, technology and culture. It is described as the “showpiece”
of the booming economy of mainland China.
Firstly, we went to our buddy’s house for half a day. From
there, I observed that although my buddy’s house is a little small as compared
to the apartments in Singapore, they are still very satisfied and they make
sure that the visitors would feel warm and welcomed. They are neat and
organized. To save money, they bathe with cold water and don’t use the air
conditioner and the fan since the weather there is naturally cold. Also, one
very interesting thing I realised during my visit is that my buddy’s parents
have this rule to keep the Wi-Fi off until a certain time in the night where
they are allowed to use their gadgets for an hour or so. I was shocked since I
would definitely object to this arrangement if my parents propose this.
However, the benefits of this arrangement would be that they would be
self-reliant and more focused on their homework or revision, and they would be
more sociable.
Next, we went to Shanghai, where we visited the renowned “The
Bund”. The view there was a little like Singapore’s, since the buildings had
beautiful lighting and there was a river. It was definitely a big difference
from YangZhou and HangZhou.
Next, we had free time at Nanjing Road. At first, I was
expecting Nanjing Road to be like Chinatown, but it turned out to be
Orchard-like, with many branded shops and goods for sale. My friends and I went
to try some local street food before window shopping. I noticed that the shops
sold winter clothes for a very low price, but sold summer clothes for a very
high and unreasonable price. The tour guide told us that it was because winter
was nearing, so in order to attract customers, they sold more winter clothes
for a cheap price. I could feel the difference between Shanghai and the two
cities I had been to for the past few days, since Shanghai was far more
advanced (like technology) as compared to Yangzhou and Hangzhou.
REFLECTION
THINK, PUZZLES, EXPLORE.
Think: Write down what and why you think whether
Singapore considered an expensive city compared to Shanghai or Hangzhou.
I think that Singapore
is considered as a more expensive city than Shanghai and Hangzhou. Singapore is
mostly developed, but in Shanghai and Hangzhou, some places are more developed
than the others. Goods in Singapore are also more expensive than those in the
two cities too.
Puzzles: What are some issues that puzzles you regarding
the cost of living in Shanghai and Hangzhou or Yangzhou or Singapore?
Why is there such a
great difference in cost of living in Shanghai and Hangzhou and Yangzhou when
they are in the same country?
Explore: what else would you like to explore with regard
to the cost of living between the two cities to help you decide which is
considered as the more expensive city Asia?
Prices of apartments,
daily necessities etc.
A Chinese poem about YangZhou:
人人尽说江南好，
游人只合江南老。
春水碧雨天，
画船听雨眠。
垆边人似月，
皓腕凝霜雪。
未老莫还乡，
还乡须断肠。
游人只合江南老。
春水碧雨天，
画船听雨眠。
垆边人似月，
皓腕凝霜雪。
未老莫还乡，
还乡须断肠。
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