Oelp Reflection- Emma

Reflection

Why do you choose to go on this trip? 

What do you hope to learn from this trip? 

What decisions were made differently in the trip and has a different result in the end? 

I chose to go on this trip because this was planned by the school and I am sure that the school has organized this trip to broaden our knowledge and insight. I wanted to understand China’s culture and wished to have a deeper knowledge of China’s history, maybe even speak like the student’s there and be able to hold a conversation with them. To also learn more about China’s living standards and experience new learning opportunities during our trip. Another point is to let us appreciate Singapore as it is by comparing Singapore to China as we have higher living standards, to be appreciative that we are living in the city and able to live comfortably and also to be proud to be a Singaporean. During the trip it consists of a school exchange programme and it would be a great bonding session with my class during the programme. Hopefully we would will have a stronger sense of teamwork through our performances that we have been practicing and preparing painstakingly for the past few months. Also I believe that we would learn to work as a class and participate as a whole when we go for different activities during the exchange programme.

I hope to learn new abilities and have a really fun time there. Also to sightsee many new China exhibits were I have never been before. Interaction with the Chinese students may also improve our Chinese Language. I also want to be more independent and have a better understanding of responsibility during this trip as I need to take extra care of my belongings and myself. As this trip is with the school and without my family, we must be extra careful in guiding ourselves properly and listening attentively to instructions of our teachers and tour guides to avoid getting lost or injured. Even if I dislike the food I must be understanding and respectful and try to accommodate to them as we are still the guest and they are the host. We must show appreciation to them and consume what they cook. CID lessons should be related to this trip and Paul’s Wheel also needs to be used to think and reflect when we are completing the tasks assigned to us. We should apply our critical thinking skills and constantly ask ourselves questions and reflect on what we have learnt during that day of activities.

What I found different was that I thought our whole class would be visiting the same class, where our buddies will be guiding us along the lessons by explaining our queries to us. However, we were all assigned to different classes and had to sat individually with a group of Chinese students. We were all separated and it was nerve-wracking as it was hard to understand what the teacher was saying during the lesson and you could not consult any of your classmates. Then again the Chinese students were really helpful and they helped me in every way possible, making it comfortable to approach them if I had any questions. This definitely helped me boost my confidence. In normal lessons in school, it is always a difficult task for me to raise my hand and answer questions as I am always afraid to share my opinion thinking that it is always wrong, however, the China students convinced me to answer what I felt was correct and they demonstrated to me by shouting out a wrong answer to the teacher, no one mocked them and instead applauded them for the courage. I tried answering the question and got it right as the China students had given me the answer beforehand. I believe if I was not assigned to the China group individually, I would not be able to experience this opportunity of answering the question as I would probably be pushing the answer away to my other classmates.

What is one situation you come across that you feel strongly about?

What is one person that you had seen that taught you more than what could be achieved in class? 

What is one fact that you had learnt during this trip that impacted you the most?

What I felt strongly about is the performance of the Tarzan and Jane by our class facils and some other volunteers. When the music was first played, I could hear snickers and laughter erupt within the audience, it was understandable, as I am sure they are not used to these kind of music and sound effects. However it got worse and some of the students at the front row were starting to point and comment on the dancers, I knew this as I was sitting amongst them. I am sure all these movements and gestures would be very obvious to the performers. But they were not affected by this at all and continued to dance and sway confidently. There was also a part where the music skipped a beat and it repeated, but they still performed on without anyone noticing it, that was how fast and well prepared they were to improvise that one part. In the end, they were still given a big round of applause from the China students, and also our peers. I feel that this is a great learning opportunity for us, as we are constantly influenced by what others think, which clouds our judgement, causing us to perform badly. However, our few classmates were not affected and continued to dance confidently with precise hand movements following the beat. This is what I feel strongly about, and I would like to learn from them.

The person that I believe taught me more than what could be achieved in class is Class 8-32 chairperson. He was a really confident and righteous leader, who had a sense of responsibility and teamwork. When we first entered the class, we were assigned to different tables which consisted of groups of four. From then on, we listened to his welcoming speech in Chinese made by the Class Chairperson and took a glance of the many cute drawings that they had drawn on the blackboard to welcome us. I was assigned to the same group of the chairperson and throughout the whole lesson, he was really active and constantly participated in discussions during the lesson. His vibrant energy is what I think brought his team and him to success. During the session where they had to talk to us, he was the friendliest and constantly conversed with me. Although I was very nervous at the time, but I think it was him that helped me overcome that barrier and I soon started conversing with them as if they were my peers. Overall the school exchange programme was a fruitful one and I believe that we should all learn from the class chairperson and inherit his qualities for he has showed me something that is more than it could be achieved in class.

I learnt a fact that we should do our best in everything that we do, and even if we did not get a good score or good outcome, we know that we have tried our best and it is good enough. For example, when the China students were performing, they are doing almost the same thing, as the theme was being patriotic to their country, China. During the various performances, I noticed that many of the performers had prepared the same item, but they just performed it differently. Therefore in the end, many of them had different scores. Some were higher, and some were lower. What I saw was that they were not even upset over who scored higher, they cheered and hugged each other. As from what I saw, they all performed a really interesting performance and I believed they all did their best. From reciting the words flawlessly to instrument playing, I am sure that they did prepared and rehearsed painstakingly for months and months. Therefore, I learnt for a fact that we should always do our best and if our best is not up to our expectations, we should continue striving forward and work hard.

How would this trip affect your future behaviors and attitudes?

What are some long term changes you hope will take place? 

What did you learn in this trip that you can bring back to Singapore?

I think this trip will benefit me in many ways. I have learnt more life lessons during this trip. Firstly, through the guidance of our three teachers and tour guides, we have become more independent and have a better sense of responsibility during our stay there. We take care of our self regularly and take care of each other too. When our classmates were feeling sick and unwell, we all played a part in helping them feel comfortable by accommodating to their needs. We also have a better sense of awareness during the trip. For example, during the hike of Huang Shan, many of us were equipped with rubber soles which made it hard for us to walk or climb up the steep part of the mountains. There was a period of time where we had to climb to the top of the mountain, however it was very difficult as we had little help and it was dangerous as we may fall instantly if we made the wrong move or step. Although the view up there was great, many of us decided not to climb up there to prevent ourself from getting injured or even worse. I find that this was a good learning opportunity as I was one of the people in the group who chose not to climb up. I was not influenced my classmates who were gushing about the view and instead though about my safety. I found my act to be sensible and that is what I lack. Throughout this trip, I realised that I had not only grew in knowledge, I also grew as a person.

Also through the many attractions in different parts of China, we have all gained much knowledge of their culture and history. We stood there and listened avidly as the tour guides explained about that attraction and the history of how that place came about. I am sure that I will put those information to good use if anyone asks me about China.  China is developing rapidly and in the future, we may have to work with them for business deals and business related co-operations. It will be to our advantage to gather information about China when we are still young as I am sure those information will be instilled in our minds. By doing so, we may have common topics when conversing with them, to enable ourselves with a successful partnership. While we are still young, this can still be to our advantage as we are bound to meet China transfer students in our life, by knowing their culture and history, we can have a fruitful friendship and have a wider circle of friends too.

During the trip, we visited many ancient villages and I learnt a valuable lesson there. In one of the villages, there was a big Chinese maobi painting of the word 孝, which meant filial piety. According to tour guide, the maobi painting depicted a monkey and a boy bowing down to his parents, the monkey is being abusive to his parents but the boy is being respectful to the parents. The top of the character looks like a man profile’s on the right side (one who follows the right way is a man), and the opposite side looks like a monkey’s profile. What I learnt that can be brought back to Singapore is that we should show respect and filial piety to our parents. Our parents have given this life to us, and we should learn to cherish it by constantly respecting and abiding by our parents ways. Even if we dislike the rules they set for us, we must accept them as they are doing this for our own good. We must also do well in our studies to make them proud and spend quality time with them no matter how busy we get in the future. This is how we show them filial piety and what we should do to fulfill our part of their children.