Miss Koh's Reflections on the trip

Shall attempt to write down my thoughts about the trip before it fades off.

This is one Service learning trip which i did not diligently write down my reflections. Like i told some of my students, maybe it is because some of the things that i see do not have that much of an impact on me anymore since this is my third trip. However, there were moments that i really would want to remember.

We went to 4 primary schools this time, which is another kind of experience as we get to see that different schools react differently to our teams. We've seen rich schools, poor schools, heartwarming schools to schools who treated us as if we are giving them so much trouble. It is definitely a good experience for us as we get to realise that to us we might be thinking that we are there to teach and give, but not every school actually appreciates that and some might even question our meaning of going there.

Wan Lv Qing Primary, Xiao Jie Primary, Yang Liu Primary and Lu Chong Primary. Four different schools, four different experience. However for me, i had the chance to interact with the students most at Wan Lv Qing Primary. This is the school that i went last year and this is the school that made me feel the most welcomed. The principal and teachers went all out to help us and make us feel comfortable. I am glad we went back again as this part of the trip i feel actually made the students feel more attached to the local students.

I will always remember how i tried talking to a group of primary one students from the window. It was then when they start warming up with us, it was from then that our students dared to go forward to interact with the children. I guess i made a right move. I will also remember how the primary one students were screaming from their classroom to ask me to teach them.

I will also remember the experience of gathering firewood. None of us would think that we will need to climb up to the mountains to CHOP firewood. We all thought it was just a trek somewhere to pick up firewood, but we were all wrong. It was then when we realise how useless we are. Two primary five students were attached to one of us and they had to carry their heavy tools up as well as to pull or push us up the mountains when we are struggling to climb up the mountain. I think was the most useless one, i did nothing but sit there, take pictures. haha. they even made a walking stick for me to go down the mountains easily. It was then i got to know Pinxian and Jiahui, two lovely girls who treated me like a queen. It was also then when i realised that they actually remembered desiree and felicia who taught them last year. I was really glad to hear from them that, even though more than 10 teams have been to the school, our team last year made the greatest impact on them and they really love our team.

I guess it was the close interaction i had with them that made me feel so attached to them at the end of our short stay in Wan Lv Qing. I nearly teared when they waved goodbye, i nearly teared when they asked me to stay, i nearly teared when ping xian stayed a corner to watch me leave.
For the subsequent schools, i feel that i should give my students more chance to interact with the school children. Thus i took a back seat and tried not to be so involved in the lessons. Cos i really hope that my students can have the same experience as i had, enjoying the time with those children and feeling a sense of attachment to them when they leave. This is one of the best takeaways for anyone who come on such trips, the feeling of wanting to come back to the village as we know that someone in a place far away, there are people who actually remembered you for what you have done for them.

Lu Chong Primary was probably a challenge for the team when the teachers do not seem to be so welcoming and the students there seem to be rather rowdy. I was not there on the first day, but from what i hear from my students, it seems that most are not enjoying their lessons, especially the P6 class. I took on the challenge to visit the P6 class the next day and i guess it was a good chance for me to break into the class when i managed to make small talks with some of their class girls during their break. They first were rather shy and did not answer my questions. However, i continued trying and i guess the ice was broken when they shared my love for music. They wanted to sing with me but the bell rang and they ran into their classroom. Though the interaction was short, but i guess it was sufficient. I went on to visit other classes and when i came back to P6 class again, i stood outside the classroom to watch them. A boy (who apparently challenged one of my students yesterday) decided to play a trick on me by clapping right in front of my face. He was glad to see my shocked face. However, the girl sitting beside him (one of those who i interacted with during break), told him that I am actually a teacher. Now it was his turn to have a shocked look! haha. However, I was impressed by him when he instantly stood up to say "Sorry", it was then that i feel that this class is actually not too bad, they are probably just craving for attention. Something which their teachers probably have not been giving them and thus their kind of actions to get it from our students. Thus, at the later part of the day, when i realise that my students are having a hard time to get their attention, i decided to go in to takeover the lesson. It was probably a random chat with the class, ending with some riddles which they actually loved. I enjoyed the lesson when they actually responded to me. (something which i took more than 2 weeks to achieve in CCSS) Guess no student is too hard to handle, we just need lots of patience and time to gain their trust and to make them comfortable in communicating with you.

Weather this time was bad as it can be very cold on one day and very hot in the afternoons. This has thus affected our road project very much. In the end, the students only spend 3 mornings on the road. Though many felt that they could have done more, i personally felt that they have contributed to the road even before they went to kunming by raising funds for the projects. The trip up to the rural part of the village and the fields was an eye opener and it was the trip that convinced me that our money is put into good use. No cars not to say trucks could get into the fields without our money. Many crops would have gone to waste if there won't proper roads. To us, S$5000 might be a small amount. To them, it will definitely change their lives. And maybe that's why I always felt that for a service learning trip, the service we are giving them is not the actual manual work that we are providing, but the donations that we are giving and the attention from the local govt that the school and village gets from working with us.

Like i told my students, I feel that this team is the most successful Service Learning Project which i ever organised as i feel that Learning has been properly planned for the team and that the team is very comfortable in sharing their thoughts as they know the importance of sharing. Many thoughts have been put into planning for their learning journey. I am also glad that my fellow colleagues were so supportive of the concept and they went all out to help me put my passion for service learning into actions. Without their support and understanding, I would never be successful in executing such plans. As for the students, I am really glad that the 2 saturdays we spent before the trip helped them to understand the importance of learning during the trip and that planned learning could actually help them to maximise their learning during the trip. I see the growth in them as they come to realise the importance of asking questions and the benefits of sharing within the group. I am excited when I see them discussing about their projects, and that different ideas are exchanged during the discussions. I am relieved when i feel that they don't see the project as a burden, but something they really want to complete and be proud of at the end of the trip.

The project itself might not have made a great impact on me, but the bond i share with the students definitely have convinced me that this is something I would want to continue on in future. All 25 of them are great people, special in their own ways and everyone of them has touched me in one way or another in the 14 days I spent with them. It has also proved to me that satisfaction do come in teaching but it definitely takes a long while before we see it. All hard work was worth it when I see them enjoying the trip, it's worth it when I see them bonding together as a team, it's worth it when I see them feeling upset when the programmes are not going as well (cos they care), it's worth it when I hear the song that they wrote for the teachers, it's worth it when I hear them learning my song and singing it wherever they are, it's worth it when they take my scoldings gracefully and we can still talk as friends the next moment, it's worth it when I see people helping out in washing when it's not their duty, it's worth it when I hear everyone thanking each other for the dinner cooked, it's worth it when students bother to say sorry when they make me angry, it's worth it when students do not want to see me stressed up, it's really all worth it.

To my darling students, members of the YELL team:
You are definitely a team I would remember. Though you are not my first team, but all your little actions have left a great impression on me. There were moments when I am really touched by all of you, especially the time when you all came in to sing for me. I was not feeling very well then but your little action actually made me want to be strong and continue this journey with you all. I do hope that this journey would be one that you will never forget and that you will continue to serve the community in your own ways.

sorry for this super late post. fistly during the ACM outing i learnt a lot and had a great time. It amazed me that how ppl can have diff views on different matters and it was interesting to see their questions that they generated during the sessions. also another thing that i learn from it is that sometimes ppl tend to overlook tiny details which may actually convey a lot of msg..so it made me more meticulous when viewing things so that i wun miss out any information. Basically it was an enjoyable day.

Next was bout going to Haig girls to get tthem to draw cards. This was a very interesting experience and i had a great time there. My group of ppl were very adorable and lively..this whole event was very meaningful and the kids were very enthusiastic bout participating in the event..btw i like junping's group a lot. The girls in her group very sweet and nice to me!!haha..this two events were really fun and i had a great time!

Jesalyn

Yeechuin's reflections

STUPID BLOGGER ATE UP MY POST LIKE DONT KNOW HOW MANY TIMEs! urgh! i should be like the laest of all =X aaahh hate blogger!

Anyway, yes today's reflection. Hm iit turned out to be a rather memorable way to celebrate the school holiday after all...Today went to ACM and well, i would really say it's a good experience/trip because i really got to see things in a different perspective, compared to the last time i went there alone. Like how Buddhism, Islam developed in China, how things like ideology has shaped China ever since it started out 5000years ago. It became really fascinating and i would definitely want to come down here again to further explore other areas. It's really like a book, everytime u read it, you'll get more things, especially things u have not noticed before!Plus, the different perspectives different people brought up also too shed light on the capacity for us to learn from one another. Haha, by the way, i really do think my group's been really fun and interesting to work and hang out with!

The day started with the Big S, Small L activity. I chose Big S Big L eventually because i think i would like to maximise my capabilities of servicing even though i do realise our limitations as a service provider to the village/villagers. As this is not so much about size, i believe it;s more on proportion. I would really like service to be as much as learn because i feel the learning i take back can allow me to further build on the service aspect. Hence my stand is on that of maximizing potential to serve and learn. It's been a really enriching, eye-opening and educational day i supposed? Haha, i would'nt really mind going to the museum again really! (:

Cheers
Yee Chuin

p.s. one day we should just really boycot blogger and change to some other blog provider.

Charmaine's ACM reflections

HAHA, and suddenly BOO! Charmaine is the latest of all!
Sorry. =(

Well, I've learnt a lot on the day itself. Firstly, those activities organised in school made me think twice about our purpose of the trip, especially during the SL,sL,Sl,sl event. The yes,no,maybe made me think about many things I wouldn't have thought about, and it also broadens my knowledge of what exactly is happening currently. It allows me to once again, get to know the other personalities in the team and get to understand them.

I won't forget what Mr Cheng said : " Instead of we being a help to them, we may be more of a hindrance".

The photo taking practice was really interesting, as I've learn to constantly keep a lookout for things that may seem interesting.

The ACM trip taught me a lot about the world and the different cultures. In fact, I've gain many new knowledge about many general things. I will never forget what "Halal" really means. This trip is something really refreshing and thought provoking, never did I expect a museum trip to be really engaging. Probably, this time I went there with a purpose, and an open mind.

Thus, I would like to end with a few words...
A open mind, absorbs many things!
( I hope it is not, DUH)

Yijie's reflection (HGS)

I must say that the activities at the Haig Girls' School today was REALLY REALLY fun.

We started out making the learning cards and it was really a huge success as the girls there are really talented and creative. In addition, the briefing allowed them to have a clear idea of what they are suppose to do. However, there are some overlapping of the fruits as the girls chose to draw some of the more simpler ones.

Next, we move on to doing the nursery rhymes. It was also a huge success as everyone played a part in one way or another such as giving ideas and drawing it out. Everyone's talent is being maximised.

I think splitting up the girls into small groups is really effective in engaging and communicating with them. Our group is really bonded and we even exchanged msn and stuff. Haha. I am super amazed that everyone in the primary 6 cohort knew one another it is quite a small group and I think thats very cool.

I also enjoyed the part when we took the group photo and that we sang nursery rhymes with the girls over there. The teachers there are also very enthusiastic.

However, I am surprised that some of the girls that is in my group didn't bring colouring materials as they wasnt informed.

All in all, I feel that the school really puts in a lot of efforts in grooming the girls and that they also try their best to develop their creativity. The whole school and most of the classrooms are filled and decorated with all sorts of art work.

I really hope that can have further collaboration with this school in future projects or even with other schools.

racheline's reflection (HGS)

the HGS trip has been a wonderful experience for me.

i had to find a way to interact with the students which was rather challenging, as the girls in my group were rather quiet. however, after further communication, they became livelier and talked more. other than that, i realised that most of the students can draw really well and possess artistic talent. it was rather easy to get the girls into groups and start their doing the learning cards, as they were more organized then i expected. Although they tend to get distracted easily, they were still able to get their work done. From the making of the learning cards to the writing of nursery thymes, i found out that the students are indeed very creative .

i took many pictures during the tour around the school, which gave me some idea on how to decorate the classrooms in yunnan and the possible activities that we could carry out.

Adele's reflections

Everybody seems to be saying sorry for being the latest to post their reflections, but i think no one will be later than me!! really sorry!!

The activities that i enjoyed the most for the day is the s-l thing and the photo taking session. The trip to ACM was rather an educational one too as i've learnt more about China and Islam.

I chose s-L to represent my attitude towards this trip as i feel that the impact that we will make in the lives of the people in Yunnan will not be as great as the impact that they make in our lives. Being in the village for 10 days will indeed be a great experience for us, city dwellers. As we will be interacting with the villagers in their country, there will be alot for us to learn and also a great exposure for us too. Also, given all the preparation work and learning sessions that we have gone through before the trip, we have learnt much from it already.

Through the s-l activity and the yes, no maybe activity, i've learnt the different people have different perspectives on different issues, and there is no absolute right or wrong answers sometimes. I realised that it is important to be open to other's perspectives as we will gain more insights on the issues discussed. Also, this will allow us to be able to work better with one another after we understand the different attitudes and perspectives that we carry with us. I enjoyed the activities very much!!!

The photo taking session was yet another bonding session for our group, Chengmistry!!! Through this session, i've learnt more about my groupmates. I've also learnt the a picture really says a thousand words... Within a photograph, there is so much to tell. I think that this session is also quite a good practice of our photography skills. This will be really useful when we are in Yunnan too. But there are moments that were rather embarrassing as passers-by were staring at us because we were taking photographs..

The trip to ACM was very educational, but i didn't really enjoy this part of the day's activities as much as the others. Maybe because i've been there before... Nonetheless, choosing an artefact that can bring out the the adjective that we have chosen was quite a challenge to me. By asking questions, i've learnt to think in depth and thus, posing intelligent questions.

All in all, today's activities were fun and involves lots of learning too!(s-L!!) i am feeling more and more attached to the team!!! hahas... Looking forward to the next meeting...

Reflection on the ACM trip-yu ang

through the trip, i have learnt many things. First of which is the Service and Contribution debate, I get to know how everyone feel about the trip in terms of how we can serve and learn during our trip and their explaination from their perspective. This give me the chance to have a varied view of the purpose of the trip. Secondly, I have learnt to take notice of the surrounding through the photo-taking session, I used to ignore what is happening around me and when I looked around today, i found many interesting and touching moments. I never liked taking photgraphs too, because i used to think it as fake and shallow. However, after today I feel that some shots really capture moments of joy, giving me the chance to relive the memory in years to come.
-yu ang
15Oct2007

Jacquelyn's reflection...

haha you guys are not the latest... I am. Nearly forgot about it. All thanks to PW which has kept all of us so so busy I guessed. But as the saying goes "Better late than never"... Hahax!

(S, L) is my coordinate for the discussion on service learning. Personally, I feel that service is as important as learning in this entire project that we are embarking on. Although (s, L) mentioned that our service may not be as much as they expect out from us, on our side we will try our best to maximize the service that we can offer to the people at Yunnan. Of course, learning must take place along the way or else the trip would be a futile one.

Haha finally there is you guys here to share the “折磨” that I have been through for the past few months of photography sessionSsss… We were given time to go round taking pictures according to the project that our group has discussed in the previous meeting. It is yet another photography taking session that I have been through umpteen times. However, this time is different because I am able to share my point of views with my group mates when taking a good photograph. Although, the process may be similar, but the feeling is different because along the way I still picked up new ideas injected by my group member, yu ang. Many of us are trying to feel what he is trying to say when he said just 很放的去 take a photograph. Anyway, it has been a great photog session.

Finally, the ACM tour has been very enriching. Although this is already my 3rd time to the ACM, I admit that the previous times I did not learn as much as I did this time around. I am amazed by how the Muslims made use of astrolable, a tool used to tell the direction of Mecca from where they were living. This is truly amazing because even without advanced technology nowadays, Muslims in the past were still able to tell the direction of Mecca with the help of the astrolable. In addition, they are so creative to use their Islamic words to draw animals and show life in their words that they write.

An interesting fact to share! Do you know even Muslims know calligraphy? Chinese make use of Chinese brushes to do their calligraphy while the Muslims uses reed pens to write their calligraphy words. All in all I think the trip has indeed been an enriching one for me.

Denise's Reflection

Right.. This reflection is overdue. Thank god its not an assignment which is to be graded.. *phew* So, like always, another day has passed. And as usual I've learned new things...

The day started out with the s-l, S-l, s-L, S-L sharing. Initially, the teachers nearly gave me quite scare as they hinted to us that they wanted a debate-style sharing. (I absolutely detest debates!) But luckily, it didn't really turn out to be one. From here, i got to know the members better: attitude wise, and character wise. This little sharing session also comforted me in a sense that at least i wasn't the only one who thought that we as amateurs building the road would be more of a hindrance than help to the people there. This thought of course leads to more questions which may trigger problems and doubts between both parties.

Next up was the introduction on the different layers of a photo which of course is similar to all objects. We were being taught to read beneath the surface and not just look and appreciate the object's physical properties. The practical portion of this activity is probably one my favorite throughout this day. Snapping pictures of people being happy/contented is not as easy as it seems. Apparently, stealth, fast reaction and flexibility is much required. Basically, much skill is needed.

The picture i took was suppose to compromise of a man smiling happily at his wife. Yet, due to my lack of skill, he noticed me and the picture turned out to be one compromising of a shock man, thus leading me to chose the word hilarious as an adjective of my picture therefore leading to the biggest problem and challenge for the day - to find an artifact in ACM which can relate to the word hilarious.

Great i thought.. I'm so dead...

So in the end, after much struggle, i managed to find a trick cup/bowl, one that is unable to be filled more than 3/4 full due to a hole somewhere which i can't locate, to relate to the word hilarious. Lucky.

Overall, it has been a very fruitful and fun day with the additional exposure to Islam and Buddhism, and espically with the job in finding an artifact which can relate and represent the word hilarious.

yijie's reflection

sorry for this very very late post..really sorry..

At first i thought we would be spending the whole day at the museum and i was like what are we going to do there? However..thanks to the teachers who have put in their effort to plan this special holiday for us..i think i really benefitted a lot..

We started with the S-L game. To me, I believe that service and learning is equally important. However, after the discussion, I realise that it may be related to how much we can actually give and take as well. Learning is something that will stay with us for a lifetime and our service may seem small due to the duration of our trip.

I enjoyed the photo-taking activity most. I learnt not to just look at things from the surface but am forced to look into deeper meaning. Good photos also come by chance and it is not something that we can plan ahead. in addition, a photo does not reflect truth if our presence has had effects on the photo taken.

At the ACM, I got to learnt things that i never knew of. It was an enriching experience that set me into thinking questions about an object. We have to keep questioning ourselves in order to get to know more.

I am sure that we will be able to get as much learning from our trip to Yunnan..=)

pinqi's reflection

hello..ok..here's my rather short translation of my reflection cos my reflection is in chinese..hehe..

this hari raya holiday was a rather fruitful one, coincidentally learning much about the muslim culture(which is significant in the SEA) and also participating in activities carefully planned by our dear teachers that aid our thinking process very much.(no sarcasm intended). oh ya, MS KOH!!can i borrow the "bamboo" book too?

my favourite activity:the photo taking cum understanding activity. Though i still feel that taking photo is an activity which requires some luck, i learnt that we must pay attention to details within a photo (and yes, a picture says a thousand words). Well, i'm definitely very proud of the works of CHENGMISTRY. let's practice more and go yunnan and take better photos k!((:

next, the activities that i found interesting: the S-L, yes-no-maybe quiz. Well, at first it may sound like a really normal activity, but after the short discussions, i thought that the whole thinking process is really cool, and got all of us thinking. It shows to us that even though we have the same goals(supposedly), we have different perspective. Not only that, we can learn alot from other's perspective as well, as long as we listen.

ok.this don't look very short either..the full version can be purchased at only $19.90. pre-requisite: read chinese!

jkjk..ok.cya!

pq(:

racheline's reflection

The session ytd was fun! although i hated the fact that we had to wake up early in the morning and go to schl, i must say that it was worth it.

i think the most enjoyable part of the day was the trip to the museum as i have really learnt alot from it. I guess as we grow older, we will also grow to appreciate things. i've been to the museum before, but i don't recall having learnt anything. but yesterday was a totally different experience for me, as i actually managed to learn new stuffs. i like the the part on the muslim's traditions especially, which is so super fascinating and interesting. i'll make sure i go there again some day and learn more!

At first, it was not an easy task when we had to look for stuffs that matched our description in the museum. but after a while, i realised that i had to look deeper, and try to search for a meaning.

it was interesting to hear the different perspectives that people have abt certain stuff, which we might not have thought of. and i belive this has exposed me to the different mindsets of people which i've never encountered before.

Priscilla's Reflections

I realised I have never written a reflection here before, so here goes my reflections for the monday meeting cum 'excursion'.

I went to school reluctantly because I was lacking of sleep. But the activities were rather interesting. The 'S-L' and 'Yes, No, Maybe' activities got me thinking about things i have never thought of before. Even the question about planting trees got me thinking about my purpose, and what i really want to gain from it. We all have the same aim, but our perspective of our purpose there seems different.

The photo-taking activity was really enjoyable and enriching. Due to our original theme, we had to choose an occupation to touch on. CHENGMISTRY originally started out to take the photos of the bus uncles at the interchange. But as we walked around, we changed our theme to construction workers. It was rather unexpected for me, but i learnt to be more observant to our surroundings. i also learnt through the whole photo-taking activity that when we look more deeply into different photos, we can acquire different perspective from the same photo. The activity has also got me interested in capturing different emotions and messages in photos.

I didn think much of the ACM trip. I thought it would be a normal musuem visit, but it turned out otherwise. The displays there were interactive and interesting. I learned more about islam, something that is rather close to our daily life. I also learnt to ask questions about the things we see.

I am looking forward to more events so i can bond even more with CHENGMISTRY and the whole team too! (:

PickYee's reflections

Alright today is another long yet fruitful day for me=) First of all, i shall not deny the fact that I was feeling a bit sian in the morning because its a holiday and we have to meet so early...BUT I am really glad that I turned up because its really fun and most importantly, I learnt a lot of things today!

Hmm...first of all, I think both "S-L" and "Yes, No, Maybe" activities were rather interesting. Not only did the questions trigger my brain to think, it was also interesting to see how each of us try to defend our point of view/stand(Just like a debate)Although there wasn't an absolute to each of the question, I feel that there is a lot you can learn just by listening to what others got to say=)

Oh yea.I enjoyed the photo-taking activity too because I've learnt more about photo-taking. For example, Ms Koh said something about our presence being able to affect the outcome of the photo. I thought what she said was quite interesting because that has never cross my mind. Not only that, through this activity, I come to realize that there are many times when Im not observant enough such as not being able to see the little details in a photograph adn sometimes, these little details just tell you so much more.

Lastly, the ACM trip!!Yea.I enjoyed that trip very much as I learnt so much more about Muslim and China. Hahax. One funny thing was that Jiahe always thought that Mecca is in Indonesia(wow...) until today when Mr Cheng told him its in Middle-East.Ok I shall not laugh at people because I do have lots of things that I do not know until TODAY.One such example would be that there is actually no specific way of building a mosque!And another would be the meaning of halal!It means "permitted".Not just a word related to food.

So...Im really looking forward to the next meeting=)BUT arrgh I've got PW on the day we're going to Haig Girl's!!means I will have to wait till after OP before I get to attend the next meeting...RAR.

Syeyuet's reflections

HI Sye Yuet!!

It has been very fruitful today learning that we are not any more superior compared to the people from Yunnan and our trip is about service learning which we learn along the way and we need a proactive mentality and total willingness to contribute! As Ms Koh says- Reciprocity and Reflections!!!

After doing the test on Singapore, boy, we hardly know about our own country!! I guess its time we got hit the books again and learn more about Yunnan and Singapore to be part of the two way exchange!

For our porject for ACM, i hope it will be a success and i think our idea is a hit! This project is a whole new idea and and i think YO! will make it a sucess!! RIGHT??!!!

Gentle reminder: Collect for $ is the wed after our trip to ACM!

Syeyuet~

woonyee's reflection

no worries...i'm around and have not posted my reflections as well.. i've been thinking hard about what to write since i was not around for the morning activity. although i did not go through the process of brainstorming about the definition about service learning and CIP, learnt more about the difference through the presentation by the different groups. before this, i never knew the difference between the two. now, i see that difference and understand the purpose behind service learning.

subsequently, yeechuin gave her presentation on the condition in Yunnan. all along i thought that i might die there. but after her detailed explanation, i finally have a feeling that it would turn out to be a safe - :P - and interesting trip.

after that we moved on to brainstorm on the project that we want to carry out. after the initial stage of discussion, we realised that the 3 different groups had almost identical ideas. we continued to go further into the life of the coordinator that we will be meeting in Yunnan. through the process, i know more about the members in the group and their thoughts and ideas.

initially, when i knew that there would be meeting on saturday, i was quite ____(dont know what to say). but now, after going through what the teachers had planned for us, i feel that it is really beneficial and we had learnt a lot from it!

hongyu's reflection

Oops. it seems like i am the last to post my reflection here. am i? I'm so sorry because i was too occupied worrying about whether I'll get promoted or not.

Okay, now back to my reflection. We had a bonding session on Sat, Oct 6. Everyone came (yeah!). Finally we had a full attendance. so let's maintain it this way, people!

Basically on that day, i was quite tired throughout the whole session. Sorry YO! mates. I promise I'll be more enthusiastic during our next activity. I look forward to get to know my group mates more.

The teachers gave us quizzes. After glancing through all the questions, I realised I am super not prepared for the trip. I guess I have to do more research before going to yunnan to prevent awkward situations from happening. I am about to read up on their culture, their festivals etc.

During that day's lunch, I learnt another interesting fact about Yu Ang. He is a 大胃王 too.

I suggest we should have another cooking competition again since not many people had turned

up for the previous one.

After the session, I am more clear of what we're going to do there. Building roads may not be a big project compared to building a school. However, the impact maybe bigger. We're actually going to help the whole village and not just the students.

Also, I realised I just want to go there for fun initially (probably about 75%). Now that I realised service learning is a two way thing. I am glad i have realised it early or else this trip will be wasted.

YO! which is my group is going to capture happiness for the ACM project. Happiness doesn't mean just smiley faces. The concept is good (thanks to yu ang), however it'll be quite hard to capture that exact moment. So i guess we need to start practising. Before that, let's hope ACM will approve our idea. If she or he doesn't, we still have 2 other backup plans.

Lastly, we ended our session by taking group photos.

Here's YO! group photo:

Amanda's Reflection

The first activity was a little sharing session on more of ourselves. From which I managed to learn some interesting facts about the others like Francis enjoys poetry, Yu Ang loves soccer, Mr Cheng is a devoted Christian, etc. I hope that you people had learnt something about me through this session too.

After which we did some individual quizzes and group discussion to give us a taster on what could happen on the trip. It was only till then that I realised how unprepared I was for the trip, I cant even express my explanation clearly in Chinese. Oops! Also, as a team, we realised that we were not steered in the right direction, that is our current focus should not simply be having fun with the children there and building the road, there are other equally important things like planning, doing background research, trying to understand the problems of the people there, etc. I felt kind of ashamed that all this while I have been so self-centered and have been only researching up on the dangers (parasites especially!!!) of Yunnan and neglect researching on other more relevant aspects. Thus I have decided to go back and conduct a wider research.

Next was group lunch at the hawker centre opposite the school. I spend some time interacting more with some of my group mates and our teacher, Ms Fong. Nevertheless, I thought that it would have been better if we were all at 1 table instead of being segregated into 2 tables.

After lunch, we did a comparison of CIP vs Service learning. This has certainly clarified my purpose of embarking on this overseas outreach and taught me it is I who will be benefiting the most from it. From now onwards I shall attempt to take on a positive outlook and bring with me an open mind instead of worrying about the conditions and environment there. I must make sure that this trip has impacted my life and that I have learnt the most from it.

Yeechuin's presentation on why we chose that village was rather touching. Seeing what the past teams have done and all those photos was also inspiring.

The day ended off with a group discussion on possible topics for the photo essay. Besides the occasional burst of enthusiasm from Yu Ang, the mood was rather down and sianed. I guess it is probably because of the heavy lunch earlier and that we had to wake up early that day. We fumbled, stumbled and met with road blocks along the discussion but fortunately, Ms Fong was there to guide us and we finally settled on Yu Ang's idea on Happiness. Hopefully the lady at the ACM will accept it!

I am also hoping that the I can bond with my team more in the upcoming activities. No more le. (: Byebye!

Gavin's Reflection

Reflection on 06.10.07 Saturday 9am-5pm

Spirits: Abit high, amazingly din't fall asleep.
Biggest return: Skills on asking questions

-Definitely a long day, learnt about questions that i wouldn't have otherwise asked.
-It is the process of learning to ask questions and to question questions that is probably more important than asking questions.
-And that service learning and OCIP does have certain significant differences, but it is in the end, that the participants' mentality during the process that really matters and defines what the end result really can be.
-Different questions that I would love to ask about Yunnan
--> Religion
--> Minorities
--> Lifestyles
--> Habits/ things that defines the population
--> The rich VS poor even within the village

Task: To do research on Singapore so as to better answer some questions the Chinese may pose to us.
Sidenote: Are we the ones that are helping them or are they the ones helping us? A question that a teacher just recently posted to me, that whether overseas outreach participants are in fact "helping" people or are in a way generating jealousy and/or dependency?
*just a sidenote that we should/may be considering*

-The impact?
- And importantly, that we are in no way "superior" to anyone anywhere and that we are certainly in no position to view ourselves as 'helping' them, but rather treat it as a service.

Other pieces of information
--> 2 schools of population 200 and 270 in a village of 95% muslims.
--> Goal: building a road and to pave a possible trade route through the road
--> Project group: Forever 18
--> Project task: Photo essay

JiaHe’s Reflection

Alright here it is. Sorry for the late post as I’ve some hard time trying to find the username and password for this account. So basically, 6 Oct was another bonding session that we have for our OCIP Yunnan. In CHENGMISTRY, it was non-stop laughter for me but at the same time, there are a few learning points from this session.

Before this session, I’ve always felt that we are superior. Though most of us would deny this, subconsciously we have been feeling so since we started doing CIP in primary schools. And because of this mindset, it has resulted in us focusing too much on the children over at Yunnan. Furthermore, before getting to know the outline of our activity, I was hoping that we will be building structures like school and hostel as it would leave a greater impact on the children’s life. However, we can’t deny that it would certainly more effective and efficient if we just send 20 workers over to Yunnan! And when I heard of the money for us as compared to that donated to the Yunnan kids, I realize that the things that we’re learning from this trip would far exceed the amount that we will be helping them.

With YC’s presentation, it made it clearly of what are we doing over there at Yunnan and told us that we will be building roads. Though it would not have an impact as great as building a school, I am convinced that we are there to learn from them and we are not superior to them in any way at all. We are certainly of equal status.

06.10.07 Reflections

Reflections are quite personal so though i really wrote quite a bit on my book, i'm not sure how much of it can be typed out here.

well today we got to know each other better through a simple game and a picture and of course more bonding time. there were also quite a few brainstorming sessions where we were made to think how much we knew about Singapore, about Yunnan and our purpose of this trip. it's only then that i realised that we didn't really focus on their needs, and definitely our focus was too much on the kids.

Most of us do think that "we are going to Yunnan to make a difference in their lives, but most likely we are going to be the one who would have changed at the end of our trip". When i heard that we are going to build a road of stones and pebbles and the amount of money spent on us instead of being donated to them, it felt like this whole thing is for the sake of us and not for them. It makes me wonder exactly how much are we helping.

Well we ended the session with a discussion on a photoessay that our group would be doing on the Muslim culture in Yunnan, though that means we have to bring a camera and i'm not sure if my camera is working that well afterall. ha.

junping.

Jerome's Reflection >:)

HElLO! its Jerome here. I'm one of the lucky 9 chosen to post my reflections for the service-learning session on 6th october.
Definitely, it was a really wonderful bonding and learning session today. I had buckets full of fun with my group and I feel that we definitely have lots of CHENGMISTRY! xD

"In serving you, I wish to learn from you" a very enlightening quote indeed. This was my greatest take-away that day. During the sessions today, I had the self-realisation that in taking part in this outreach project, by going out to help the people in yunnan, I'm equal to them all. I'm no superior being from them and I have a lot to learn from them.It is important that I constantly remind myself to stick to this mindset of equality and not stray from it. Only then can I be humble enough to learn from this journey.

Truthfully, I did'nt expect to learn much from today. I'm amazed at how much I've benifited from the session today. So much more, SO unthinkable what and how 14 days in yunnan will do to my whole perspective of life. I'm sure it'll change. In what way? We'll see >:)

Zong Yao's Reflection

HELLO! this is zong yao, ONCE AGAIN!
Here's my reflection for today,6th October 2007.
-------------------------------------------
Today,most of my doubts regarding the trip were cleared,doubts like why the collaboration witht eh Asian Civilisation Museum, or why we switched from building a hostel to building a road.Of course, i was VERY convinced ( FYI,this is not sarcasm (; )

It's a day packed with lots of brainstorming - and i mean A LOT.Our teachers made us generate many questions about the trip, which eventually made me realise that i need to maximise my learning there so as to make the trip a more fruitful one.Also,my initial perception of the term OCIP sort of changed because of the intensive discussion we had.

OH!We had to bring an object that represents us.So i brought a mirror which my SA friend gave me during Valentine's Day.So i said that i am a very self-conscious person so and so forth.HENCE, I AM VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO SHOPPING AT AWESOME KUNMING, in additon to the work we have to do =)

OH!By the way,there were some changes to the groupings : as in, initially we always meet in our Programmes,Fund raising,Logistics group ; but now, we are going to meet in groups.My group has the name of Forever 18 because Miss Koh is always and forever 18 years old => Well, i'm very pleased with my group members cos we are able to click very well.Absolutely zilch communication problems.

-Some project details -
The county we will be visiting will be 95% Muslims which actually redefines our action plan.We have to consider several things before implementing them as we gotta bear in mind their customs and restrictons.OH! Miss Koh also explained to us the difference between a province,county and village, which i thought is kinda cool.

Despite the change in culture. There is -sadly- no change to the living environment. Guessed it?
YES IM TALKING ABOUT THE TOILET.
I'M VERY SURE THERE'LL BE LOTSA DRAMA BOUT IT =)

Today's meeting actually increased my interest for thr trip and my heart is itching to go to Yunnan.Let's all hope i'll be able to go for the trip despite my poor results =)


Regards, ZONG YAO!

Syeyuet's reflection

After our rough attempt to whip up a meal or rather trying to, it has dawned on me that we need to do something about our cooking skills or suffer terribly in the cold with less than appetising food.

So, the next day, for my family's Sunday lunch, i cooked bean sprouts (again) and egg with onion (under my mum's watchful eye of course). I will be trying to learn how to cook from my along the way when she cooks lunch on sundays. I think we should all too! Who knows, we might able to whip up a feast in Yunnan!

For the bridge challenge, it was obvious that one group was more on the creative side and the other more on the pragmatic side. I think it will be so cool when we worked together. Think we will be unbeatable!!

Hey Jia YOu people! Lets go cookinG!

Charmaine's reflections!! =D

We had a bonding session on 2ndJune , Saturday. WOW! It was an experience. We had 2 main activities played, although they were only about 12 people who attended (we hoped they would be more), the session was unforgettable.

We had to pen a letter to a future "US", when we would read it after our trip. With time contraints, I wrote what I feel without stopping to re-read to check if i was making sense. I'm looking forward to the day when we will read the letter again. I've a strong feeling it would be something really personal and overwhelming.

For the games, we were splitted into 2 groups.

FIRST activity.
Using newspaper, create a bridge which could hold a filled 500ml bottle. Our group first started on one idea, but as we built the bridge, new ideas came up. No later, our initial plan was scrapped and we had a new idea! With everyone of us taking on different roles to complement each other, we managed to built a really long bridge which looked like a horse, with one end looking like an olympic torch. It's hard to describe the structure but I dare say we BELIVED in our structure and were CONFIDENT of it!

SECOND activity
With everyone of us contributing only a dollar, with the teachers paying $2. we have to get our own food from opposite school and cook them. The 2 groups decided to work together and combine forces. On the way to the market, we had a discussion if we should eat noodles or rice, although there were conflicting views, we all managed to come to an agreement within a short time. There are times when we have to give and take, and all of us have no qualms about it.

Bargaining was something we knew we had to do when buying ingredients, and being thickskinned is a plus point. We split up and allocate tasks to save time.

When we reached school, we had a fun time cooking and laughing at each other's cooking methods. Eventually, we had a full lunch!

What I've learnt from this is that, the 12 of us can work together pretty well, and give good suggestions. Not only that, I feel we have bonded during this session and this will definitely be one of those events we look back after the trip and laugh over it. (SALTY EGGS!)

Jacquelyn's reflection

That day was our very first bonding session we had after having several meetings before that. Though the number of people was small, we really had a great time together with just that few of us. However, I will still hope that the next time when we carry out such bonding sessions, there will be more people coming to join us as a whole and united team.

My views on the 2 activities planned by out teachers...

I feel that the first activity, building of a bridge, focussed more on our teamwork. We have to come to a consensus within the short period of time and the structure to fulfil certain requirements set by mr cheng. Initially, most of us thought that it was impossible for us to make our bridge stand and still have to hold a filled water bottle. But nothing stopped us from letting our creativity and confidence flow within us. Our group drafted our structure on apiece of paper before carrying out the actual building of our bridge. Halfway through the building, we realised that the initially planned model could not stand well, luckily we were fast enough to switch our plan to another structure. Although we carried on with a lot of uncertainties, we still believed that we can do it. And eventually our structure is completed with great efforts put in by the whole group. Phew, it manages to hold the bottle for 10 seconds... Yes! We did it!

2nd Activity: Cooking lunch!
It sounds so fun isn't it? Indeed we have fun buying ingredients and cooking together. That was a test of how we work together to prepare edible lunch for the whole team. And most importantly we must also learn how to slah prices when we are at Yunnan. HaHax! The lunch turned out to be quite decent despite it being the first time we worked together to cook a meal. And for some of us this may be the first time we actually get involved in cooking a meal that does not comprise of maggi noodles only. First meal with the team was a memorable and happy one but i'm sure there are more happy meals that we are ready to share with one another.

Everyone had a fun filled day and I have learnt the importance of teamwork, give and take when we comes to making decisions, and giving what we have to others and sharing knowledge and fun with one another. Hope to have more of these activities when time comes...

-jacquelyn

Jia Xiang's reflection

jia xiang here to update his reflection on the bonding session held on saturday 2nd june..

yea.. not many attended this bonding session.. i hope more [ or all! =) ] attend bonding session next tym.. coz i think we did realli spent some time bonding together..? yup. its quite successful.. quite, unexpected for me as it turns out to be better than what i thought it will be lik.. =)

so after the discussion of some fund raising ideas, we had to write a letter to ourseleves? well.. yea i had some difficulties writing the letter.. basically coz i nid more time to think thru and we're onli given 15-20mins -.- .. hahaa but..the letter helps. somehow. will i rmb what i write after the trip.? gosh if i nv rmb wrongly we need to read out our letters after the trip which is soo.. abit shy. hahaa

hmm so next we got the newspaper game!
we're suppose to build a 90cm tall 120cm wide bridge with newspapers..
and it is supposed to withstand the weight of 500ml bottle for 10secs..
so.. yupp our grp discuss how to build the bridge..
err.. in the beginning, i wasnt really able to picture the "bridge" that my grp members said..
so i was abit blur at that moment.. so i jus rolled up the newspapers as told..
however sometime later i think we came up with something creative!
yess.. its a long long long bridge with a "olympic head" (abv 90 cm) .. well i don't know how to describe it..but somehow.. we manage to complete our task.. within the time limit.. meet all the measurements requirements.. and able to withstand the weight of 500ml bottle for more than 10 secs..
the other grp succeed too! yupp =D
somehow i feel that.. there will be alot of challenges ahead.. but.. no matter what it comes.. we will manage it.. somehow... by hook or by crook!!

so after that we're suppose to cook our lunch!
yes.. everyone contributed 1 dollar each.. teachers contributed 2 dollars each.. we're suppose to buy those ingredients.. what kind of lunch is this?
okay yess. it seems quite impossible.. but in the end i guessed we stuffed those food into our stomach.. i din realise the money tt we had could get us.. quite alot of food.?
yess.. simple lunch.. but its not simple at all.

i guessed all of us enjoyed had fun that day? looking forward for the next one...

-jiaxiang

Yijie's reflection

Yesterday, though not many attended the overseas outreach meeting, we really had a lot of fun. All of us were divided into 2 groups.

Before the first official activity, we had to write a letter to ourselves stating the things that we hope to achieve at the end of the trip. I really hope that after the trip, as we look back something that we had written 5 months ago, we can really feel a sense of satisfaction.

The first activity was to construct a bridge which was supposed to meet the minimum requirement of the length and height of a study bench. Next, it would have to withstand the weight of a filled 500ml bottle for 10 seconds. It seemed quite an impossible task at first as we were only provided with newspaper and a roll of scotch tape. However, as we proceed on, things got easier when we pictured the end product in our head and started working on it. As materials that we had were diminishing, we did small changes here and there and even added some creative juices into our bridge.

The next bonding activity was to cook up a lunch for our team mates as well as the teachers. The budget for each group was $7. In the end, the 2 groups decided to merge and we proceeded on to buy our required stuffs at the market opposite the school. We had so much fun bargaining, frying and cooking up the lunch all by ourselves.

Other than having fun, what I think the teachers wanted us to learn is to make full use of the resources that we had and try to think out of the box. The conditions in Yunnan will be similar-with limited resources. Thus, we need to learn how to make use of the circumstances and get what we want.

The sharing session at the very last put me into thinking. Yes, it may seem that the 10 of us seem united and bonded but there are still 17 members who are not able to attend. We really need to bring them in, get them to join in as well so that the 27 of us can really benefit what the teachers had planned for us.

(=

Junping's reflection

today's the first day i went for OCIP meeting and though it was the first time i met most of them... i really had a lot of fun. was relatively early today and when amanda and i got to the benches under the trc we thought today's session would only have four to five people. but soon more people came and we started the fund raising meeting with 12 people and our two teachers-in-charge.

took quite some time for us to settle the fund raising events before we started on our first activity. building a bridge with newspaper and scotchtape and our group ended up with a bridge that looks like a horse on a sledge with a tail. while the other group did a real tall one that looked more like a bridge.

the next activity was to make our own lunch which we actually was supposed to do that in two groups but we ended up just combining our resources and thankfully the yong tau foo stall opposite did not close i guess. didn't know that 14 dollars could buy that much. it was a filling and meaningful lunch. because we cooked for ourselves.. other than the extra salt and the extra oil. and it was filling at least.

all these activities make me look forward to our next meeting.
junping-

Amanda's reflection

Amanda's reflection on outreach bonding session
Today can be considered eventful as we finished a number of activities. Firstly, we managed to discuss some of the fund raising ideas, which is..... good and now i shall move on the main point.

The first game about building the bridge with newspapers, I must admit that I had reservations about the possibility of building the structure that fit the requirements. I mean, 0.9m high and 1.2m long, plus it has to be free standing and be able to withstand 500g, creating it must be an engineering feat that is only reserved for brillant engineers-to-be to achieve. It doesnt help much that I am not a physics student.

However, as the activity progresses and seeing the enthusiasm of my other group members, I started to stop being so skeptical and did whatever I could to materalise the plans. There were problems and doubts about the plan along the way but we manage to constantly improvise. After rolling stacks of newspapers and taping rolls of newspapers, the moment of truth was when we did a trial test. We released our grip on the newspapers and….. not only did the bridge stood, the water bottle stood pompously at the center of it and there was just this sense of self-accomplishment that drowned me. We did it, we did it. It was something out from nothing. The feeling of completing something that I thought was near-impossible was simply magnificent. The most meaningful takeaway from this activity is that no matter what the goal is, easy or hard, we must always attempt to reach it with our best efforts and no less.

Hoho, now I shall ramble on to the second activity about lunch. $1 to provide each person lunch, now that’s an activity I have not participate in before. I guess it was a really good move for the two teams to work together to achieve synergy rather than be competing against each other. So we were off to a good start by being able to share ideas and come up with the best to stuff everyone with food. There was a substantial amount of debating in the beginning but when we were at the food market, everything went on smoothly and systematically.

“We will get the yong tao foo”
“We will get the eggs and vegetables”
“ We will get the rice”

I was responsible for the rice and somehow we struck gold on our first store. With Jacquelyn’s marvellous bargaining the price for each packet of rich was cut from 50 cents to 30 cents (: Another point I picked up is the necessity to do away with self consciousness and daringly ask for a lower price or for free stuff. Hahas. Anyway, like different cells that make up a multi-cellular organism, division of labour does wonders, allowing the task to proceed efficiently and also leaving us with extra cash.

Back to school and cooking. I hardly cook; in fact I have always been afraid of hot oil in pans. So I did whatever I could contribute, pluck the beansprouts, wash the utensils, peel onions, prepare the table and crowd around the brave souls frying and marvel. I guess in Yunnan, I will have to face my enemy- the hot oil, so I guess I had better start loitering around the kitchen to watch my maid cooking. Once again like the first activity, we accomplished the challenge, despite everyone (am I right to assume this) being a greenhorn at cooking. Kudos to all of us for managing to work together to come up with lunch - yummy, tasty and filling lunch. From this activity, I learnt about the importance of working as a team to achieve a common goal.

Oh wells, that’s the end of today’s activity. I must conclude that it is fulfilling and we have certainly gotten to know one another better (((:

Amanda