This trip is
very fruitful. Through this trip, I’ve learnt plenty of new knowledge from the
locals in China! On the first day, we reached China at 4pm and took a 4 hour
bus ride to Suzhou. It took so long mainly because of the traffic. In China,
traffic jams area very common despite the large amount of land they have. It
may sound ironic but traffic jams in China can last way longer than the traffic
jams in Singapore. Nevertheless, we still managed to reach the restaurant at
8pm safely. That dinner was very interested and fun as it was the first time we
tried Suzhou’s dishes together as a class. As we eat, we gave our opinions on
the dishes. They were all delicious. The following days, we followed the
itinerary plan and visited many tourist attractions such as, the Science and
Technology Museum, Suzhou Industrial Park and many many more!
So why I
chose to go on this trip? I chose to go on this trip because it is the first
time I get to travel with my classmates to one of the biggest country in the
world that is 2,383 miles away from Singapore. It is a good opportunity for me
to be independent and I knew that I would have lots of fun with my classmates
while we are in China. Next, I also have plenty of doubts I want to clarify.
There are a lot of stereotypes made by us Singaporeans about Chinese citizens.
I wanted to know whether those stereotypes I have are right. Some of my doubts
area like “Are Chinese students that hardworking? Is life in China tough?” So
going to China is definitely a solution to that. Before going on this trip,
I’ve made a decision that I would make the most out of this trip to grow and
learn mentally. I wanted to be more independent and I wanted to improve in
academics. Going to China, I could learn from the students how they study, I could
also observe my surroundings and take down all the doubts I have do that I
could clarify these questions with the guide. During the trip, as we walk down
the streets of Shan tong Street and Guan qian Street, I saw many different
types of fruits I’ve never seen before. I saw the very red and small fruit that
looks really bright and cute. I assumed that it would taste really sweet and
was tempted to buy it but unfortunately, I don’t really trust the cleanliness
of the shop. However, these fruits made me curious about the local fruits in
China thus, I asked the guide and turns out the guide told us so many fruits
that it is hard to remember. Moreover, the guide introduced the name of the
fruits in Chinese so it is quite hard to search it online. Even though I did
not catch what she said about some local fruits that are only available in
china, I’ve heard that the locals eat different fruits in different seasons.
For example, it is currently going to be summer in China and days are getting
hotter so right now it would be best for them to eat watermelons. Watermelons
are cooling fruits that help to cool down your body so during the summer, the
Chinese would usually eat watermelons. Basically, wanted to learn about Chinese
locals’ everyday lives, especially the students because I am a student too so I
can learn a lot from them.
Next, I
remembered walking on this street as we are walking back to the bus. Along the
way, I saw this woman sitting down and holding a bowl on her hand. She is
rubbing her feet continuously and
begging for money at the same time. My first though was, “She is just
another beggar” but as she rubbed her feet, that action caught my eye and I saw
something on her feet. It was a green patch as if her foot is rotting. I was so
disgusted that that sight might actually scar me and I could not get that image
out of my mind. However, I admired her perseverance. Even though it was very
painful, she pressed on and continued begging on the streets as that is the
only thing she could do. She can’t walk thus there is no way she could find a
proper job. Looking at her condition, it would get worse in a short period of
time without treatment. She probably endured and continued begging commoners
for a few 元 just to allow her to be able to pay for medical bills. From
that sight onwards, I wondered how long she have to sit there until she could
afford medical bills. I feel strongly towards her determination.
One thing
I’ve learnt during this trip that taught me more than what could be achieved in
class is how to sew silk. At first, I thought that the silk factory is a place
for people to see how silk is made from silk worm as it is called a factory but
it was completely different. In the silk factory, there are many beautiful art
sewed by professionals. From what I’ve heard from the guide, it was said that a
small silk painting would take 6 months to be done and a large silk painting
would take 2 years some even more! This made me very curious as looking at
those paintings, it looked easy and could be done fast. Luckily, they allowed
us to try sewing silk. After trying, it was indeed hard. I was amazed at how
people could stare at it for hours and hours every day for months or even
years. It is bad for the eye. Moreover, this experience really helped me gain an
insight on how to sew silk and this could never be achieved in class.
A fact that
I’ve learnt during this trip that has impacted me the most is that in the
world, there are many poor people that needed education. Without education,
they would not have a good future. I’ve seen many beggars on the streets of
china and they are all trying very hard to make a living out of it. Even though
money isn’t everything, money is still the foundation of a good life. Hence,
this made me appreciate education even more.
This trip
would affect me in my thinking in future. I’ve learnt that education is
important as I would not want to end up on the streets. After this trip, I
would strive to be a better person. I strive to improve my grades. I will try
not to procrastinate so much and just finish my homework. Whenever I feel tired
of all the work given in school, I will always think of what has the trip to
China taught me so as to motivate myself to focus on the work given. In the
long term, I hope that what I’ve done to improve my grades really work and I
really hope to be able to go overseas to study as I love the western culture. I
might not be able to do it now as migrating is impossible for me thus, I hope
that my results will take me there.
Most
importantly, I would like to bring back a newfound respect for Chinese culture
to Singapore. I want the people around me to appreciate the Chinese culture
more as I feel that some people look down on them as they might turn out to be
rude. However, this trip taught me that not everyone in china is like that. For
example, my buddy’s parents. They were so kind and friendly towards Jaymie and
I that I felt so welcomed. Hence, I want my family to respect them more too!
In China, I would like to learn noe about their lifestyles, hobbies, and whether are they phone addicts like us. Firstly, their lifestyles. I've heard many people say China students are very hardworking, they work until 12 am everyday, sleep, wake up, go to school and the cycle repeats. To me, this sounds very torturing and I don't think I can last that long if I was a student in China. Hence, this time, I would like to learn about their everyday life, comparing their answers to the little things I've heard from different people. Secondly, I would like to learn what are their hobbies. Personally, I like to play sports and my life is probably not as hectic as theirs so I am able to put aside time for having fun and just having meaningful time with my family. My stereotypical thinking of them is that they like to read books or play chinese chess. To be honest, I find it boring to do those stuff so it would be good to change my mindset. Perhaps, when I am in China, my stereotypical thinking will change. Lastly, as we all know singapore is getting more and more developed. Most of us have mobile phones with extremely addictive games or YouTube. I am aware that China baned YouTube so I would like to learn what they actually like to use in their phones. They probably do not even use their phones as often compared to us but we are teenagers and usually, it is normal for us to use our phones. These are the things that I would like to know more about when I go to China.
Happiness VS Poverty
It's no doubt that China's happiness index is higher than Singapore's. Most people in China are more positive than Singaporeans. Even though chinese are poor compared to singaporeans they are more optimistic. Whatever hardships they faced, they always face it with positivity unlike Singaporeans, we are always stress and frustrated and think that nothing can be done to solve problems. Another reason to why happiness is not created through poverty is because since chinese are poor, they work hard to achieve what they want. On the other hand, Singaporeans have almost everything, that's why they take what they have for granted and never ever cherish what they have this is why we are always hungry for more even though we already have more than most people in China.
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Chingay Reflection.
The chingay performance was spectacular! Firstly, let me briefly describe what is chingay all about. Chingay is a national event. This national event is also the largest street performance and float parade in Asia. The main purpose of this extravaganza is to epitomize the dynamism of Singapore's vibrant and multicultural society.
As the performance is about to start, i could tell that most of us are excited yet curious. Curious because most of us had never watch a live Chingay performance before, much less knowing about it. We are eager to see how the performance is going to be like! To be honest, I am quite disappointed in the emcees as they are not taking this rehearsal seriously. Their attire is a bit inappropriate and both of them are holding a script. This make the opening of the performance kind of casual. However, it is impressive that there's this platform hanging down. The drummers must have felt uncomfortable as they are leaning off the sides. Furthermore, they have to drum when they are at that position.
Next, the floats started to come. It is colourful, bright and gigantic! It seems so fun and cool, I just want to be up there. One segment that caught my eye is the straw fire dragon. The straw fire dragon has little fire here and there on its body. When I saw that, I instantly thought about what's would happen if they made a mistake and accidentally drop the dragon? The dragon is definitely very heavy. I admire the strength of those dragon dancers, they really go through many trainings, be it training for the choreography or for their physical strength.
Lastly, the finale! The music that is played sounded really good and also the singers have a really nice voice. This is the part where all the performers come out together as the singers sing songs. Furthermore, there's fireworks! I noticed that some performers have a deflated balloon. Perhaps, the material got damaged and the air came out. This is also the quite unprofessional.
In conclusion, performance and performers are amazing. I thank them for putting in their time and effort for this important performance. They are really hardworking. I hope that one day, I got the chance to come back and watch this Chingay performance again.
平凡中的不平凡
This is a storage room hidden behind a mirror. I think it relates well to the title "平凡中的不平凡" as when visitors come to my house, they would not know that there would be a hidden storeroom behind the mirror. They probably just look at the mirror for a second and forget about it straight away. The storeroom is really extraordinary as who would have thought about covering the outside of the storeroom with mirrors when designing the interior design of their house. Not only can the storeroom store stuff, but also it could be use as a hiding spot while playing hide and seek, or when one is really mad and needed some 'alone time' to cool down. It is very useful and extraordinary in the ordinary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My name is Rachel Woon Qi Hui and I was born in a hospital. I really like playing sports as it makes me feel accomplished everytime I win a game or a race. Sports could really bond me and my friends together and after 3 years enduring those tough trainings together, my track mates and I became really close friends. Besides sports, I also like hanging out with my friends and families as it is like taking a break off studying. Sometimes studying could be stressful because the topics we learnt are very confusing so it's good to take a break. The one thing that disappoints me is that me and my primary school's best friends don't get the chance to meet up often so as time passes, our relationship aren't as strong as before. I hope that I could find some more time to meet up with them soon. As for my family, I have an older brother which isn't as sporty as me but he is more hardworking. Usually, I'm really playful so I don't concentrate as well as him on work.
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