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!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
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!)
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
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
Monday, June 4, 2007
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
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
Saturday, June 2, 2007
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.
(=
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-
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 (((:
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
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