Initially, I chose to go to the trip because I thought it would be fun to be able to go overseas with my classmates and be able to bond with them better. However, through the CID2 lessons before the trip, I began to have the desire to learn more about China as I have never been there before. I thought it would be an eye-opening experience to be able to observe and learn more about China personally and I decided to step out of my comfort zone and take every opportunity in China to learn more about their culture and their lifestyle. Also, China is economically successful and hence is a large influence to the global market. With deeper knowledge of China, Singapore can work with China to achieve a common goal through communications such as our interaction with Nanjing Bo Le School. Having classmates who are from China themselves, I was even more curious and eager to know more about China’s education system and to be able to make new friends with the students there. A stereotyped student from China, as what I have heard, is someone who participates actively in class and never fails to raise their hand to ask questions in class. I wanted to see for myself if the stereotype was true and wanted to have the chance to ask the students there about their usual lifestyle so I could compare their lifestyle with a typical Singaporean’s.
One situation that had a large impact on me was how willing the students were to interact with all of us. As we were introduced to our buddy, my buddy warmly welcomed me and was very patient in explaining what was happening in a video we were shown. Then when we had to split up to go to the different classrooms to have some bonding time, the students in my buddy’s class were very eager to talk to us and know more about us, and the teachers personally went to each of us to say hello. What impressed me was that they had prepared performances for us even without the prompt of the teachers. They were very eager and took the initiative to participate with us in the game they had planned too. If it was our class, we would probably be very awkward with the foreign students visiting us. One other thing I noticed was that they did not have cliques and the teachers made sure that they include everybody in their lessons so that everybody has a chance to learn. I have learnt more about taking initiative from them and I found much to learn from them, such as acceptance and humility.
Three people that had taught me more than what could be achieved in class was Isabelle, Gee Kwok and Zi Qian. On Day 3, when Gee Kwok and Zi Qian was late and did not arrive at the assigned area on time, she assured Mr Chua that she would bear full responsibility as the IC of the day by doing 400 push ups by herself. This was the other situation that was memorable. In class, we are unable to show much of our leadership skills but through this learning journey, Isabelle was able to show that she had good leadership qualities. She was responsible and did not blame the two even though they were the one who were late. However, after I heard from Gee Kwok that he and Zi Qian were not feeling well, I felt that they could not be blamed entirely as well, as no one would expect that they would be unwell. Also, I felt that they were sincerely guilty as they had volunteered to do the 400 push ups in place of Isabelle. This initiative to take her place requires courage and I thought that this would be something that we won’t be able to experience in the classroom. In the end, the class decided to do the 400 push ups together and we were able to complete the push ups together easily when we split the number of push ups between the 31 classmates. This was a good way to showcase our teamwork as a class and class responsibility. I felt that our class was still bonded as one despite all the hardship and arguments among each other.
When we visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall on Day 4, one fact that impacted me the most was that the Japanese government still did not to admit to the crime of the massacre, as heard from Mr Chua. This led me to think about many questions. One question I thought of was if the Japanese were still guilty of the crime. In the museum, we saw the testimonies of the Japanese soldiers that they felt very sorry for their actions and hoped that the future generations would not repeat such a crime, so was the government at fault or the Japanese soldiers for committing the crime? One other question that was discussed during our debrief about the museum was if the perspectives of the museum were fair. We thought that the Chinese might feel hate towards the Japanese, but the people who started the museum were Chinese themselves and could have edited some facts and bribe to gain testimonies that can prove that the Japanese were wrong. The Japanese could find it unfair as their side of the story was not heard and tourists might use this museum’s facts against them without a neutral story. The Japanese might feel guilty for their past actions and would make sure such a thing would not happen again, but some might feel proud of how they could dominate over the Chinese would not admit to the crime. Tourists who do not have thorough knowledge would obviously pity the Chinese. With so many questions in mind, this museum still leaves me pondering about the actions of the Japanese government and a reminder to keep a neutral state of thought when visiting such places and in such situations.
This trip has truly been memorable for me and I have learnt much from it and it has changed me slightly. I have learnt to be more appreciative of whatever I have, and to take more initiative in anything I have done. Through this journey, I have learnt to be more attentive and aware of my surroundings and the needs of my peers, and to be able to understand more about the culture of the Chinese in China. I have learnt to appreciate the cultures, lifestyles and the differences between Singapore and China. After comparing China and Singapore, I finally understand why foreigners that I have talked to speak highly of this little red dot and I think that my pride to be a Singaporean is growing more and more. I have also learnt to be more careful before jumping into conclusions and to be more responsible. This trip, lastly, has allowed me to see another side of the teachers I rarely interact with and had aided me to be able to interact with my class better. I believe that after the next 6 months of lessons together, I would miss this class and the memories we have shared together dearly, and I think my classmates would say the same as we promote to Year 3 next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment