Reflections on OELP- Day 5&6

For the fifth day of the trip, we went to Suzhou to visit the silk factory there. I felt that it was very interesting to see how silk was made such as the life cycle of the silkworm and the curing process of silk till the production of it. It was fun to see and touch the silkworm to feel that they are soft and squishy, which was totally not what I expected it to be, like tough and rigid. The tour guide also shared that it is very important to be careful not to touch the tip of its tail, as it is very dangerous for the silkworm and can even cause death. I feel that it was significant for us to visit the silk factory as Suzhou is the silk capital of China, thus with the silk factory, it can be preserved.

Next , we proceeded to Shanghai for some free time at a shopping mall which sells fake goods. I did not buy anything as I felt that it was not worth the money for goods that may have defects, or spoil within a few days. Later in the evening, we went to the oriental pearl TV tower where I am very excited about. It was a great place for sightseeing and there was a tallest level of 351m, however it was not the tallest tower in Shanghai. The weather was rainy when we went so there was mist and fog surrounding buildings, so we could not see the buildings very well. Nonetheless, the view was still spectacular from such a great height even with the fog.

On the sixth day, we went to Gongyi Xintiandi for a workshop to paint a face/mask. I learnt that we could not just use any colour to paint the mask. Colours to be avoided are blue and yellow, and the best colour to use is red, and the beard should be painted black in colour. Next, we visited the French concession to observe the design of the building, and it was all very English, unlike other buildings in China. The reason why is that the French had rented a patch of land from China, and it happens to be in Shanghai. Then we went to the book store and Nanjing road for some free time, and I must say I really enjoyed myself during this trip for the things I have learnt, and cleared any misconceptions I had about China before the trip.

Reflections on OELP- Day 3&4

On the third day of the trip, we went to Nanjing Bo Le School for the second day of the school immersion programme. We had the chance to sit through a lesson in class with our buddies. The lesson I sat through was Geography, and the teacher got students to introduce their own countries briefly, such as travel attractions, food, geography on the word map etc. There are many observations I made:

-Students are able to voice out answers, or their own opinion

-Both students and teachers are very encouraging 

-Able to see that no students are distracted 

-Teacher very spontaneous, he rarely stops 

So how are they different from us?

There was not once that the students did not volunteer, apart from being called on by the teacher. This shows that they have great passion for learning. Sometimes, when a student gets a question wrong, I observed that the teacher will not frown or directly tell the students that he/she is wrong, but instead let the student try again, and then explain the answer. Thus, I found that it was very encouraging for students. 

However in RV, there are many times that the teacher have to wait for a few moments before someone eventually volunteers. I would actually prefer to study in Nanjing Bo Le School as of it's learning environment and the attitude of the teachers and students.

Next, we went to Nanjing museum and I felt that it was very interesting to see the artifacts of China, especially the ones during the Qing dynasty, as we studied the history of it during history classes. Another exciting point is that we got to see real dinosaur bones too!

On day 4, we went to the Nanjing massacre memorial hall. There was dim lighting in the museum for the atmosphere is solemn and respectful. Before the trip, my seniors who went before kept telling me how scary it was, and that people were crying after the visit so I thought that it was going to be very gory, but it was not as bad as I expected it to be as pictures were in black and white. To me, it was not that scary or too extreme but it was definitely very sad. I felt that the museum is more biased towards the Chinese people, who were the victims, so I felt that the museum would not be the same if it was to be built in Japan. When it is built in Japan, it would affect people's attitude towards the Japanese, and make them seem less cruel.

Reflections on OELP- Day 1&2

Before the trip, I was expecting it to be a fun and enriching one as we could travel to China physically to learn about their culture, heritage, cost of living, and their way of life. We boarded the plane SQ830 and departed for Shanghai. On the plane, the service provided was commendable as the air stewardess provided warm face towels for passengers to freshen up for the flight. In comparison to other budget airlines, they do not provide such services. Next, it was coincidentally my classmates birthday so the crew members prepared a whole birthday cake for him, sang him a birthday song, and even gave him gifts. It sure was unexpected to me, and I thought that it was very thoughtful of them to prepare a cake specially for him. This shows that they had checked each and every passenger's birthday, or maybe if the information is correct, and thus, I feel that they do take a lot of pride and effort in their work. Therefore, it is because of all these that have contributed to Singapore airlines to be one of the world's best airline.

After landing in Shanghai, we had to take a train to Nanjing. Being on a bullet train for the first time, I was feeling pretty excited, but quite nervous at the same time. Turns out, it wasn't as scary as I expected it to be, it was like riding on a MRT train. However, there was something that affected my impression of the train service. We were too slow to get on so the staff rushed us to board the train. It was understandable as they wanted to be on time and there were others waiting for us too, but we were being shouted at, so I felt that it wasn't very pleasant.

The next morning, we went off to Nanjing BoLe School for the school immersion programme. As expected, both staff and students alike were very friendly and all smiles. While interacting with our buddies, it is awkward at times as sometimes we could not understand each other, so we just laugh it off. 

A few observations I made:

-Their desks are a lot smaller than ours

-Good use of technology (Touch screen projector), convenient for teacher and students to scroll through presentation etc.

-Toilets were very different, there were 2 platforms that we had to stand on, there was a pipe for flushing as well (Group flushing system), instead of individual flushing system

Heritage preservation: To keep or not to keep

The monument that I have chosen to preserve is the Merlion. Many Singaporeans will think of the Merlion as an icon of Singapore, and so do I. I feel that this is a special monument as it links back to the history of Singapore, and how Singapore was founded. There are just too many stories behind it to tell. If the government has made a decision not to preserve the Merlion, I would strongly disagree with their decision. It would leave most Singaporeans baffled at their decision, as I feel that it truly represents Singapore. Another thing is that after it is destroyed, future generations will be unable to understand what a "Merlion" means to them. Sure, there will still be the Internet and Google, but nothing beats the experience of personally visiting the Merlion in real life.

Reflection using 3-2-1 method: Economy-Aging population

In my opinion, I have gained many new insights from this CID lesson. 

The first thing that I have found out is that I did not know that Singapore had a 2-child policy in the first place as I have always heard the government encouraging Singaporeans to have more children. However, the 2-child policy turned out to be too successful that which, the government had to tell more people to have more children, because of our aging population.

Secondly, regarding the 1-child policy in China, I found out the many reasons behind it. There were not enough teachers for so many students if each citizen of China had more than 1 child. This is when the supply is low, and the demand is high.

Lastly, I found out about the 'generation pyramid' or rather, an inverted one. As of China's 1-child policy, the child will have to provide for his parents, and his grandparents which totals up to 6 people. Therefore, in today's day and age, China have changed their perspective from their decision to establish the 1-child policy, so they are now allowing citizens to have more than 1 child.

The 2 perceptions that I have gained is that I have changed my perception of China's 1-child policy, as initially, I thought that China wanted to reduce their population size so they had planned for this decision, but after this lesson, I found out that this was not the case at all. Next, another perception that I have gained is I understood why both countries--China and Singapore wanted to plan the different policies.

Last but not least, the 1 question that I have is that when the government encourages people to have more children instead of just 2, then how will their parents be able to provide for so many children, is the government just considering the fact of our aging population?

Assessment 1: Reflection On Chingay Parade

Not too long ago, the whole cohort of Year 2s went to watch the Chingay parade, and I was one of them. Thus, I would like to take this time to reflect on my personal experience at Chingay. 

Firstly, I think that the purpose of Chingay 2016 is that it is held as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations, and that because Singapore bans firecrackers, the loud atmosphere of Chingay will hopefully make people feel like the sprit of celebrating Chinese New Year, with its lights and loud noises. However, besides this, the more important purpose is that many people of all walks of life, regardless of race, language or religion, will come together to perform, which is why I feel is the most crucial part of Chingay to me.

Over the years, Chingay underwent many transformations. In the very first Chingay, it is mostly described as a Hokkien Chinese tradition, held in conjunction with religious festivals. Most, if not all of the performers were Chinese then, but today, Chingay is multi cultural and people from other races are welcomed to perform as well. In my opinion, personally, I feel that this changed as Singapore wanted to promote racial harmony, and that many other Singaporeans could learn about other races and their culture. 

I feel that the organizers have definitely fulfilled the purpose of Chingay. Every year, when I watch the Chingay parade, I will see many different Singaporeans from different races coming together to perform, and it is no longer the only-Chinese Chingay parade in the earlier years. The Chingay we see today is very colorful, with bright lights, especially the costumes that performers wear, it is just a spectacular sight to see! As compared to the earlier Chingay, the costumes today are much more vibrant and colorful, not forgetting bright LED lights going along with it.

Costumes from the 1980s:

(Source: https://thelongnwindingroad.wordpress.com/tag/history-of-chingay-in-singapore/)

Costumes today:

As you can see, even the design of the costumes emphasizes on the importance of racial harmony in Singapore.

This was a fruitful learning trip, as I got to learn and compare the different Chingay parades over the years and how it had changed and improved with each passing year. I also felt the enthusiasm of each and every participant volunteer, waving and greeting us as we walked by the stadium. Therefore, it was with everyone's hard work, that this Chingay parade was a success!

Eunice:Poverty and Happiness

CID poverty and happiness 

Poverty and happiness. Does being wealthy make you happy? Does being poor means that you are unhappy? How are they related? In my opinion, I do feel that the poor will suffer more than the rich, though the rich may make a regular day seem very dull. The poor are controlled from many activities that the rich can do, even something simple as buying a proper meal. Thus, the poor do feel greater sadness than the rich. 

However, when one has money, he will tend to want more, so it boils down to one thing-greed. Some people that I know strongly believe that money won't buy you happiness, but in today's time, the way that the society has developed, everyone will have the perception that money would and can buy one happiness. However, if one has so much money, I feel that he may start to lose his priorities in life, such as health, family, relationships, all because of wealth. Therefore, being rich does not mean that we could be happy.

Eunice: RV60 Reflections

CID Reflections on RV60

The biggest event everyone has been waiting for... The school's diamond jubilee-Rv60. I could still remember the very first day when everyone was informed about this event, everyone was wondering was we were here, assembling by the field, under the scorching heat of the sun. There were murmurs amongst students, many of which I could vaguely hear "Why do we have to do this?" "It's so hot!" "I want to go into the shade!" Of course, I also shared the thoughts of them, reluctant and irritated. For 3 months, we had to practice our moves, rehearse where we should run, willingly or unwillingly, we did not have a choice.

As we practiced, time went by and the big day was finally here. Somehow everyone was very relaxed, playing games or chatting at the holding area, but I could tell that the teachers felt otherwise. I could tell from their faces that they had many questions forming in their minds, wondering if the whole event will go well as planned, especially with the education minister with us, there was twice the stress. However, the wushu students cheered, "3 cheers for 教练, 3 cheers for 老师!" I don't know if it was the reflection  of the light but I could see that the teachers' eyes were glistening. It was time to perform, as I saw the RV60 balloon floating in the air, it really hit me that this was the last time, the last time we can do our moves, the last time we can stand together as a whole and perform together. This was the time. We ran out with pride onto the vast field, with our (oversized) shirt fluttering against the wind. Soon, it was time for the finale, it was a spectacular sight, with 《青春彼岸》and 《立化情》playing at the background. We returned to the canteen, and I could see my seniors hugging each other, saying "It's over". I couldn't help but smile, it feels so surreal that our hard work had finally paid off. 

After the event was over, I felt that we, students should not be so self centered to only think about ourselves and our discomfort. Have we ever spared a thought about our teachers? Our coaches, who have spent the time and effort to choreograph our moves, and to make things easier for us. It was thanks to everyone, that the event was a success. Although the alumni would only see the surface of this event, in this case, it is us the performers but I would say it is everyone's effort, especially the backstage crew. Through this event, I could say it made me even more prouder to be a RVian!

平凡中的不平凡-Eunice

CID Photo Activity:

This was a photo I took during March of last year. It shows our nation's and school flag flying at half mast, as our founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed on. This was very different from the usual singing of the national anthem, with both flags flying high. There was a deep sense of forlornness in the air as students and staff alike grieved for Mr Lee. I found that it was very extraordinary from my regular school life to see the different way that the national anthem was held. I don't want to think about this, but will I ever get to see a flag flying at half mast again? I may not be schooling anymore when that time comes. I chose this picture because I could tell the difference with the school, the usual hustle and bustle of the school is replaced by quiet sadness. However, it was this time that reminded me of how fortunate I am to live in Singapore, as well as to educate us, the younger generation, of how much the pioneers of Singapore had managed to build Singapore to be such a beautiful, busy city it is now. Besides this, there are also many things that the school did which is different from my regular school life, such as setting up booths to show us students about the great things that Mr Lee did, and also during lesson time, my teachers would take some time to tell us how they felt about this incident. I remember that I could tell our year mistress was very upset over this, everyone's sprit was pretty much broken. However, this encouraged us to pick ourselves up from where we fell, and strive for the better, and in this case, making Singapore a better nation together.

Self intro-Eunice

My name is Eunice Teo and I'm from class 2J. Let me tell you a little more about myself. My favorite subject in school is Science as I think we live in a scientific world, and science can be used to prove many things, it also has been used to uncover many mysteries. My least favorite subject is history as I feel it can be very mundane and boring at times. Anyways, let's talk about what I like to do outside of school. I do appreciate school holidays as I get to spend more time with my friends and family. One fun fact about me is that I don't enjoy watching movies, probably because I don't like the darkness of the theatre. Embarking on to CID 2, I suppose most students would look forward to the OELP trip, but I think otherwise. Well, I don't especially enjoy traveling and being apart from my family, I understand my friends and teachers will be there, but I still feel uncertain about going overseas. However, I still hope CID 2 will bring lots of fun for me and my class.