OELP Overall Reflection (Sent to Teacher IC)

I chose to go on this trip because I had never been to China and I wanted to gain more experience from places outside of Singapore. Initially, I heard a lot about China from a lot of people, and was actually very shocked to hear about their living conditions, because the things that I heard were all very negative, such as bad hygiene and weird variety of food. I started to become very worried and hesitated about actually going there. However, after much consideration, I still decided to go, because I realized that seeing was definitely going to be better than just hearing what others have to say about that country. I started to do some research on China on the Internet and soon I was very interested to know how a place closer to the countryside and further away from the city would be like, since I would not get such an experience from always staying in Singapore, because unlike our small country, China is huge in comparison and therefore I definitely expect it to be very different. I was also very keen in going on this trip after I had made up my mind because I wanted to know how different China actually was compared to what I always thought it would be. I wanted to be exposed to the differences and similarities in our culture, tradition and everyday life between China and Singapore, and hoped to know more about China in return. I decided that if I was going to go on this trip, I would want to make use of my time properly and learn as much as I can so that I would remember and share my knowledge with others when I get back, as well as reflect and think about what can be done further even when I am in Singapore. Not only that, I also decided that I would find a proper time to enjoy myself, and at appropriate times settle down so that I can study and learn what I probably cannot in Singapore. Lastly, I also decided that I was going to learn how to be much more independent than I was then. This meant that I wanted to be more independent when it came to learning, taking care of myself and others, and also be more self-disciplined. In the process, I also wanted to be able to learn other very important values that I had yet to grasp, such as teamwork, friendship, and respect, as well as independence. From this trip, I believed that I would be able to gain a lot more knowledge and understand more about China and their economy, especially in Anhui.  I also hope to know more about their culture, and expose myself more to their tradition, background, or even the food they eat and the way they talk. In fact, I very excited to go to China because Anhui was a place I had never heard of before, and was therefore very interested in the kind of traditions and cultures that they have over there. Personally, I believe that this is a good chance for us to go out as a class, since it is going to be our last year together, and I would thus like to cherish the remaining time I have with my friends, and to go through thick and thin and survive such a unique experience together as 2F.

One situation I came across that I felt strongly about was during the day I had to attend classes in Shou Chun High School. It was the first time I met all of the students in Class 13, and as much as I was excited to see them, I was at the same time, very nervous because I was afraid that it would be difficult getting along with them. They were having Chinese lessons during that period, and I was assigned to sit in a group. For a moment it really felt very awkward because I did not know if I should start introducing myself first or just keep quiet. So, I just decided to pay attention in class and see what happens next. Throughout the whole lesson, I could see the people in my group looking at me, and had the intention of starting a conversation with me, but whenever I smiled at them, they would look away immediately. I was getting very worried because I did not know what to do. Just then, the girl sitting beside me passed me a note that said, “What is your name?” in neat handwriting and I was indeed very surprised that she would actually take the effort to try and know me. I was very happy, and decided to just tell her. That was when she realized that I could speak Chinese. She was so delighted; she attempted to hug me to show her kindness but refrained from doing so when she saw the teacher looking at us. Soon, the whole group knew that I could speak their language and they soon stopped holding back. Some of them even tried to talk to me in English so that they could practice speaking it. I felt a sense of warmth because of the great and cute welcome that they gave me. I realized that I was not the only shy and nervous one; they were all very shy and did not know how to approach me either. I believe that this is the one situation that I felt most strongly about because I realized that they were actually very nice and friendly, and I was very glad that I managed to make so many new friends, even though we just met each other. I was really very excited when they were all talking to me because they were so interested in Singapore and our culture, and I was also very interested in their background and environment. We managed to talk a lot about ourselves and learning environment during the short break that we had in between the periods. They were very relaxed around me and I could really feel the warm feeling when I was with them. It was not as awkward as I initially thought it would be and I was really glad that we managed to get the conversation going. I guess what made me feel strongly about it was really how I made friends over there just within a short period of time. One person that I had seen that taught me more than what could be achieved in class is Mrs Lee, one of the teachers in charge of our class. She was a very responsible and firm teacher, who would ensure the safety of the students and put us before anyone else, especially when some of our students had fallen sick during the trip. She would stay behind and take care of the students instead of following us to enjoy our activities, and stay beside them until they are feeling better. I find that she is very responsible and at the same time very caring because she wants us to learn to our fullest instead of wasting our time in China and would also take care of us when we really need her help and company. Mrs Lee is very responsible as well and would never fail to make sure that all the students are present and that none are missing when we reach a certain place. I believe that all these cannot be taught or fully achieved in class, and I find that she is a very good example to lead by. That is why I Mrs Lee is someone that I had seen that taught me more than what could be achieved in class. One fact that I had learnt during the trip that impacted me the most was the reason why the school does not have doors and mirrors in the toilets. The difference between the toilets in the schools in China and Singapore is that the toilets in China lack doors and mirrors. It was soon explained by our teachers that that is because the school does not want their students to waste too much time in the toilets by looking at themselves in the mirror or taking their own time in the cubicles. As much as it did seem a little weird and things were a little hard to do when nature was calling, I realized that it was actually a very effective way of preventing students from spending too much of their time in the toilets instead of listening and paying attention in class. This definitely impacted me the most because the idea was very fresh in my mind and it was the first time I had heard of such a thing in my life, since all the toilets in Singapore had doors and mirrors, and people usually spend a lot of time in it. It was therefore something that impacted me the most, as I know feel that something should be done in Singapore to prevent too much time from being wasted.

Through this trip, I have learnt about the importance of communication and how languages really play a big part in our lives. I seldom appreciate it in Singapore when I have to speak and learn proper Chinese because I did not find it to be anywhere necessary in the future. However, after going to this trip, I realized that that it obviously untrue because China is and will continue to be a place for good and effective business, and communication. In order to catch up with this, I found out that Chinese has to be something that I treasure here back in Singapore, in order to help myself with talking to others in proper and fluent Chinese in the future. This trip would affect my future behaviors and attitudes and I will continue training my communication skills here so that I can speak better Chinese and converse with other people easily in the mere future. Some long term changes I hope would take place would be how I can continue and make an effort in perfecting my Chinese so that I can communicate with more people using this language in the future. This may even be helpful and effective in strengthening bonds with others and can be useful during my work next time. I hope that I will be able to better appreciate the importance of communication especially in different countries and continue to strive harder and study Chinese to help me in the future. Not only that, I also hope that other Singaporeans can also understand such an importance in learning Chinese and not give up on that language just because they think it is irrelevant. I hope that people can converse more in Chinese rather than always speaking in English as this can help train our communication skills in our Mother Tongue. I learnt in this trip that we should better appreciate what the government in Singapore has done for us, especially in terms of hygiene, whereby Singapore is a very clean and hygienic environment. As mentioned before, we are given the privilege of enjoying good and clean toilets. Not only that, we also have the luxury of enjoying clean streets and proper housing. I think that that is something I learnt that I can bring back to Singapore because I realized that I took a lot of things for granted when I was in Singapore and ignored the fact that Singapore is really very clean and green especially because of the people who took the effort to clean our country and keep it safe and hygienic. This was something that I learnt in the trip that I could bring back to Singapore while I was in China as it was something that I noticed only when I did not have it.