Yee Chuin's Reflections

Hey there! This is yee chuin’s reflections and im sorry it’s kinda like the last one because my internet couldn’t work yesterday night but anyway, it’s been a really great journey and experience for me. Well what more could I say? I never had an experience that touched and impacted me so much, be it mentally, emotionally or physically, it has been WOW. I never expected myself to actually learn and grow so much, and one thing for sure, I would definitely participate in another ocip/service learning trip if I have the opportunity to. Although this might not be the greatest and most significant event that has happened to me, I am thankful for it because I know I have become a stronger and better person.

You might think that after 14 days of (mega) spicy food, cold weather, no parents/family, no yummy western food/pastries, I might just collapsed and die and not survive through (initially I thought so too) but hey I realised sometimes a change is good! And yeah after reading like nearly everyone’s reflections, I wouldn’t really want to repeat a lot of the things. I guess I’ll just start off with the one thing/event that I remembered the most and it’s always the first thing that I tell people. Haha, well yeah I have been to China and I totally understand how the toilets are so I seemed to be more prepared to deal with the toilets there. But what struck me more was not the toilet but my first experience using the toilet in the village. Guess what? Ohmygoodness, all the children were crowding at the entrance and staring at me, waiting for me the pee! I can still feel the eyes on me even now as I am typing this! But of course I couldn’t pee, somehow my urine had all disappeared! I mean imagine whole bunch of people looking and staring at you as you answer the nature’s call! It’s actually kind of cute when I think about it, though scary of course. While all those bigger events like cutting woods did impact me and they all formed part of the beautiful memories of this trip, for me, it’s a lot of the little little things that really impacted me a lot, like the way they(the children) talk to me, the small little actions they do, the little acts of kindess from team mates etc. Sometimes when you’re in ‘reality’, the pace of life is so fast that you seldom have the chance to really slow down or stop whatever you are doing and appreciate all the things around you. I just felt that I have taken so many things for granted that when I went there, I just somehow felt kind of ashamed of myself. For one, even a simple smile, a hand gesture, a warm greeting, can totally brighten your morning. A simple ‘thank you’ to show your appreciation can mean so so much. Ahaha, even just paying attention to the teacher in front of the classroom, can make him/her happy (I hope so :p)! It’s like, ive never thought about such things before! Apart from that, I have to admit, at home I’m always cooped up inside my room doing my work that sometimes I neglect my parents/family. When I went there, I see them so close-knitted, even though the parents are always out in the fields/at work and the children so filial, it made me feel like they’re so amazing. It has never dawned upon me that I actually need my family out there; ive never missed them so much in my entire life. It’s somehow like I am starting to realise that, family, really is important. I;ve managed to slow down the pace of my life and really find out what is important to me, which I thought made me feel really good because for once, I get to enjoy and really enjoy myself and whatever I am doing. And this is one of my biggest takeaway from the trip (: the skill of appreciating the things around me made this trip ever so important to me, it’s like a journey of self-discovery. Well, I could go on and on and on, but I guess I’ll write the most important thing ive learnt from this trip. I really do cherish the bonds formed and I really thank all of them out there who really have made such a significant impact in my life. I LOVE OCIP YUNNAN TEAM (: