woaho Im so happy to know that Im actually not the last person to blog!!Im the 2nd last. (yea I know that's not much of a difference but still..haha) Wonder who is the last?? Anyway not that I don't want to blog but my stupid computer at home gave up on me, that's why Im now at TJC hub blogging. Oh well, anyway I shall start my reflections soon and since most people have already said what I want to say, I shall keep this reflections short and sweet=)
There are MANY MANY things that made this trip to Yunnan really enjoyable, enriching and certainly unforgetable but I shall pick 2 and share more about them.
1. The CHILDREN=)
First of all I must say that they are different from the kids in Singapore. Generally I mean. One BIG BIG difference would be their attitude towards studies! 9 out of 10 kids you ask would say that studying is the thing they enjoy most in school!!WOW. Even I don't say that. I really felt so guilty and embarrased since I am blessed with such conducive studying environment. Another thing that impressed me most is their giving and thoughtful heart. Sometimes when we go shopping in Singapore, you see kids whining and throwing a big tantrum just because their parents wouldn't buy them the sweets that they want. However in Yunnan, its totally different. There was this little girl who gave me a chewing gum on our way up to the mountain and when I gave her a mentos the next day, she actually rejected it and to the extent of running away (REALLY RUN!) from me. Another boy actually hid under the table because I insisted of giving him the sweet! My goodness. Its just a sweet. I was shocked and very very much TOUCHED by them. Not only that, the same girl who gave me the chewing gum helped me alot on the way up the mountain to collect dried woods. Despite her really minute size, she actually PULLED me and PUSHED my butt up the mountain when I got really tired. I really felt so ashamed. I mean she is so much younger than me so shouldn't I be the one helping her? Not only that, she knew that it was my first time going up the mountain to collect woods, so she just gave me a tiny bundle of wood to carry down the mountain whereas hers was a really really big bunch! On the way down when I saw her backview or rather part of her head and her feet (Because the bundle of woods practically covered her), my heart simply melts. She is just so sweet and thoughtful=)
2. TOILETS!!( or rather HOLES )
YES the toilets!! My goodness. You can never imagine how they look like till you see it for yourself. Before the trip, I had a look at the photo of the toilet there and I thought its just a toilet with no flushing system. But woaho! When I went into the toilet at the hospital, I almost puke. You can smell the stench 5 metres away. I am not exaggerating . And it was like there were no doors so you see each other's butts and everything else. It was so awkward. The one at the village was worse. There were no doors, no lights, no concrete cement, just PLANKS and FLIES!So you squat in between two planks and get rid of whatever you need to=) Initially I thought I was going to constipate and not survive, probably get kidney stones for holding my bladder for too long but surprisingly, I did not. From here, I learnt that sometimes you just adapt to the surrounding without realising it=) That's part of human's ability I guess, or rather this toilet experience had allowed me to discover another of my strength-rather good adaptability=)
Alright is it short enough? haha hmm I shall stop here since I think its not that short, in fact its rather long. And if I were given 10 or 20 pages to write down my experince in Yunnan I am sure they would all be fully filled. There are many other things I experience which just cannot be expressed in words but for all I know, what I have experienced will always be with me till the day i die or till I get senile 40-50 years down the road...
Monday, January 14, 2008
Adele's final reflections
Well, our yunnan experience have marked an end officially. We’ve lived it and I’m sure we all loved it. After 9 months of preparation and also, the trip itself, I guess it time to think back of my first reasons to join the team. I joined because I want to serve, I’ve got a passion for community service, and I know that it will be a fantastic learning experience.
Before… After…
Before the pre-trip camps, I dreaded the meetings. I felt that it was so boring and we were so slow in deciding on minute details. After the trip and intensive camps, I want to have OCIP meetings and I want to see everyone in the team together.(I looked forward to the last meeting that we had!!!)
Before the trip, I thought that we will just be passers-by of the lives of the people that we will meet due to the short time that we will spend with them. After the trip, I realised that we did not just meet the locals, but we touched their lives. For me, the experience in Lu Cong was a very meaningful one. I realised that I can be an important person in the lives of the children as they learnt to say “thank you”, “sorry” and learn to queue up. These may be simple phrases to us, but to them, it is manners learnt.
Before the trip, I thought that the road building project(work at the project site) is going to be one of most important projects in Yunnan. After working at the project site, I realised that the manual labour that we provided was so insignificant. We were not needed to be there to help with the roads, the villagers can do a better job! BUT. The money that we contributed was the crucial contribution to the road project on our part.
Before the trip, I was on my way to Yunnan with 20 strangers (excluding those whom I knew before the project), after the trip, I forged great bonds with 27 people, got to make new friends and know the old ones better.
My Firsts
Upon reflection, I realised that though this is not my first overseas outreach, I experienced lots of other ‘first’s during the 14 days.
It was my first attempt to prepare a meal for 28. My first time to go into the mountains to gather firewood. My first time not bathing for three days. My first time doing business in toilets with such poor hygiene(esp the one in wan lv qing). The first time I really thought about the events that happened throughout my life and shared with 27 people(during LJ). The first time people actually asked for my autograph(at xiao jie).
The Memorable Parts
The visits to the schools was definitely the most memorable part of the trip. At Wan Lv Qing, i regretted that I wasn’t as proactive and did not build up close relations with the students there. However, the P6 class was definitely the best class in terms of discipline. At Yang Liu, I saw the poor conditions of the classrooms and it was an eye opener for me. At Xiao Jie, the kids there brought me the most joy and fun. I will never forget their enthusiasm and the chicken dance and songs that we sang together. At Lu Cong, I’ve learnt to interact with kids that were more rowdy and I would say that it was the most challenging class. However, it was the class which gave me a great sense of satisfaction.
The discussions that we had were memorable. I love the feeling of being able to share comfortably to the team my opinions and ideas.
The fateful night is one of the ‘highlights’ of the trip. Though we feared, though we were worried, I enjoyed the encouragements and love we showed for each other and I think that it was what pulled us through the night. That night really pulled our team closer together!
Dan shu was a source of entertainment too! At the expense of Miss Koh. But I really feel that he has brought us much joy on the trip…
Takebacks
I’ve learnt so much from the project…
Firstly, I’ve learnt that overseas outreach projects may create dependency and I should not show favourism towards any of the kids, even if I think that they are very cute!! I’ve learnt that sustainability of a project is very important too.
The life of a coordinator is tough, lonely and requires sacrifices, but they are very important and will make great impacts on the lives of people that they help. I really admire Zhao Bing and his passion to serve. His story motivated me!
Learning Journey was yet another event which I’ve learnt a lot from. I’ve learnt to listen to others and also to reflect on my own life.
I realised that we should not pity the people that we are helping because their living conditions are so bad, as compared to us. Because to them, their life is not hard. They grew up in such conditions and they have learnt things that we don’t. We should not pity them because I know our trip there to teach them will improve their lives, in one way or another.
In conclusion, I feel that the trip has impacted me, but not to the extent that it has a dramatic change in me I’ve learnt a great deal though… One thing for sure is that my attitude towards community service projects will never be the same, because I’m doing a service learning project, not a community involvement project!
Last but not least, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the yell team! You guys made this trip a really memorable one for me! To the teachers: Thanks for taking me through this enriching learning experience!
Before… After…
Before the pre-trip camps, I dreaded the meetings. I felt that it was so boring and we were so slow in deciding on minute details. After the trip and intensive camps, I want to have OCIP meetings and I want to see everyone in the team together.(I looked forward to the last meeting that we had!!!)
Before the trip, I thought that we will just be passers-by of the lives of the people that we will meet due to the short time that we will spend with them. After the trip, I realised that we did not just meet the locals, but we touched their lives. For me, the experience in Lu Cong was a very meaningful one. I realised that I can be an important person in the lives of the children as they learnt to say “thank you”, “sorry” and learn to queue up. These may be simple phrases to us, but to them, it is manners learnt.
Before the trip, I thought that the road building project(work at the project site) is going to be one of most important projects in Yunnan. After working at the project site, I realised that the manual labour that we provided was so insignificant. We were not needed to be there to help with the roads, the villagers can do a better job! BUT. The money that we contributed was the crucial contribution to the road project on our part.
Before the trip, I was on my way to Yunnan with 20 strangers (excluding those whom I knew before the project), after the trip, I forged great bonds with 27 people, got to make new friends and know the old ones better.
My Firsts
Upon reflection, I realised that though this is not my first overseas outreach, I experienced lots of other ‘first’s during the 14 days.
It was my first attempt to prepare a meal for 28. My first time to go into the mountains to gather firewood. My first time not bathing for three days. My first time doing business in toilets with such poor hygiene(esp the one in wan lv qing). The first time I really thought about the events that happened throughout my life and shared with 27 people(during LJ). The first time people actually asked for my autograph(at xiao jie).
The Memorable Parts
The visits to the schools was definitely the most memorable part of the trip. At Wan Lv Qing, i regretted that I wasn’t as proactive and did not build up close relations with the students there. However, the P6 class was definitely the best class in terms of discipline. At Yang Liu, I saw the poor conditions of the classrooms and it was an eye opener for me. At Xiao Jie, the kids there brought me the most joy and fun. I will never forget their enthusiasm and the chicken dance and songs that we sang together. At Lu Cong, I’ve learnt to interact with kids that were more rowdy and I would say that it was the most challenging class. However, it was the class which gave me a great sense of satisfaction.
The discussions that we had were memorable. I love the feeling of being able to share comfortably to the team my opinions and ideas.
The fateful night is one of the ‘highlights’ of the trip. Though we feared, though we were worried, I enjoyed the encouragements and love we showed for each other and I think that it was what pulled us through the night. That night really pulled our team closer together!
Dan shu was a source of entertainment too! At the expense of Miss Koh. But I really feel that he has brought us much joy on the trip…
Takebacks
I’ve learnt so much from the project…
Firstly, I’ve learnt that overseas outreach projects may create dependency and I should not show favourism towards any of the kids, even if I think that they are very cute!! I’ve learnt that sustainability of a project is very important too.
The life of a coordinator is tough, lonely and requires sacrifices, but they are very important and will make great impacts on the lives of people that they help. I really admire Zhao Bing and his passion to serve. His story motivated me!
Learning Journey was yet another event which I’ve learnt a lot from. I’ve learnt to listen to others and also to reflect on my own life.
I realised that we should not pity the people that we are helping because their living conditions are so bad, as compared to us. Because to them, their life is not hard. They grew up in such conditions and they have learnt things that we don’t. We should not pity them because I know our trip there to teach them will improve their lives, in one way or another.
In conclusion, I feel that the trip has impacted me, but not to the extent that it has a dramatic change in me I’ve learnt a great deal though… One thing for sure is that my attitude towards community service projects will never be the same, because I’m doing a service learning project, not a community involvement project!
Last but not least, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the yell team! You guys made this trip a really memorable one for me! To the teachers: Thanks for taking me through this enriching learning experience!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Sye Yuet's Reflection in the mirror....
I soaked in the sights of the hills and farmland, the sounds of children's innocent chatter, the chilly wind that blows and the starry nights.
Two weeks later, i was siting at Changi Airport waiting for Daddy to fetch me. I looked at the early morning sky ahead.
I came back humbled. Going out to the open and experiencing the lives of rural villages, i realised that i have been so ignorant of what i have been reading in textbooks. I never knew what "no proper sanitation" meant really, how "poor water quality" was. I thought i knew what they were, as an academic, yes. As a person, i was ignorant to what they truly meant until i saw it right in front of my eyes. I came back keener on what is written in textbooks, humbled that there are so much more things i dont know, and should know.
In case you were wondering, I was the girl who lapsed into a cold on one of the nights and was zipped to the hospital at night. Yes, its me....
In the midst of the cold night, i felt the warmth from my group mates as they tried their best to keep me warm with layers of clothing and packs of heat-pac. They were the sole motivation for me to get well as fast as i could.
I remembered that i was asked what my weakness was during the interview. I said i had little trust in others and maybe with this trip, i can build on having more confidence in friends. And indeed, that faithful night taught me that yes, there are people out there who care for me and will go out to help me in any and every way they could. They were the ones who gave me the confidence and taught me what unity is.
I enjoy the pre-trip preparations even thought it meant waking up early on a Saturday morning. It was during the trip that I met the team, got to know them better and discovered our strengths. I love the team as we are open to discussions and everyone participates actively in sharing our opinions. Everyone is comfortable with different ideas and keen to learn what others are thinking. I think a team can really work together when we can agree to disagree. And for that, i think our team accomplished it.
I will always remember this trip, the people and the days. Definitely.
Two weeks later, i was siting at Changi Airport waiting for Daddy to fetch me. I looked at the early morning sky ahead.
I came back humbled. Going out to the open and experiencing the lives of rural villages, i realised that i have been so ignorant of what i have been reading in textbooks. I never knew what "no proper sanitation" meant really, how "poor water quality" was. I thought i knew what they were, as an academic, yes. As a person, i was ignorant to what they truly meant until i saw it right in front of my eyes. I came back keener on what is written in textbooks, humbled that there are so much more things i dont know, and should know.
In case you were wondering, I was the girl who lapsed into a cold on one of the nights and was zipped to the hospital at night. Yes, its me....
In the midst of the cold night, i felt the warmth from my group mates as they tried their best to keep me warm with layers of clothing and packs of heat-pac. They were the sole motivation for me to get well as fast as i could.
I remembered that i was asked what my weakness was during the interview. I said i had little trust in others and maybe with this trip, i can build on having more confidence in friends. And indeed, that faithful night taught me that yes, there are people out there who care for me and will go out to help me in any and every way they could. They were the ones who gave me the confidence and taught me what unity is.
I enjoy the pre-trip preparations even thought it meant waking up early on a Saturday morning. It was during the trip that I met the team, got to know them better and discovered our strengths. I love the team as we are open to discussions and everyone participates actively in sharing our opinions. Everyone is comfortable with different ideas and keen to learn what others are thinking. I think a team can really work together when we can agree to disagree. And for that, i think our team accomplished it.
I will always remember this trip, the people and the days. Definitely.
Reflections (It's Raining-.-*)
To me, this trip to Yunnan is really fun and meaningful.
Since young, I was fascinated by the sceneries and culture of Yunnan. I always dreamed of myself going “西双版纳” and dressing up like a girl from the minority group. When I heard about the overseas outreach program to Yunnan, I jumped at the chance and signed up. Luckily I got in, but the joy of being able to go to my dream place was soon replaced by the dreariness of having to go for an OCIP meeting every Thursday afternoon. I have to stay in school for a few extra hours every Thursday to discuss some issues again and again. This is something very different from what I expected and just like a few others: I thought the meetings were really boring and time-wasting. This feeling goes on until a Saturday meeting where we learned so much more about “Service Learning” and where we started to discuss about our projects. I never know that there are so many things behind the word “service” and we can actually maximize our learning experience simply by that. It is kind of amazing to me. Later that day, we went out to take photos on different topics. Through the photos taken, I understand more about other OCIP members’ perspectives on things and it was very meaningful. Discussing about our projects in some meetings later, I made friends with my group members and I started to like this whole thing. I did not regard it as time-wasting anymore.
The journey in Yunnan is the most exciting part to me. The conversations with the villagers and the school kids are invaluable. The life journeys are super cool! The road-building is tiring but fruitful somehow. Even eating the food we cooked is a pleasure. At the same, I’m sure my Bridge skills has improved a lot =_=#. The three days in Yunnan is fun too. “Stone Forest” is cool, with all those stones with different shapes and stories. 冰糖葫芦 are nice and the “我们是韩国人” joke is unforgettable. I really like my buddy, my teammates and the three teachers. During my November holidays in China, I wrote Chinese“日志” about my trip on my blog, all my friends read it and… They want to go there too! =v=
Now as I think back about the whole OCIP thing, I think it is fruitful and enriching. I learned a lot from the meetings and made friends with my fellow members. Through this trip, I fulfilled my dreams and achieved something I can never achieve if I go to Yunnan on a family trip. I felt that I have touched lives and I was touched too. In future, I would jump at other opportunities like this one without hesitation.
Xiayu
Since young, I was fascinated by the sceneries and culture of Yunnan. I always dreamed of myself going “西双版纳” and dressing up like a girl from the minority group. When I heard about the overseas outreach program to Yunnan, I jumped at the chance and signed up. Luckily I got in, but the joy of being able to go to my dream place was soon replaced by the dreariness of having to go for an OCIP meeting every Thursday afternoon. I have to stay in school for a few extra hours every Thursday to discuss some issues again and again. This is something very different from what I expected and just like a few others: I thought the meetings were really boring and time-wasting. This feeling goes on until a Saturday meeting where we learned so much more about “Service Learning” and where we started to discuss about our projects. I never know that there are so many things behind the word “service” and we can actually maximize our learning experience simply by that. It is kind of amazing to me. Later that day, we went out to take photos on different topics. Through the photos taken, I understand more about other OCIP members’ perspectives on things and it was very meaningful. Discussing about our projects in some meetings later, I made friends with my group members and I started to like this whole thing. I did not regard it as time-wasting anymore.
The journey in Yunnan is the most exciting part to me. The conversations with the villagers and the school kids are invaluable. The life journeys are super cool! The road-building is tiring but fruitful somehow. Even eating the food we cooked is a pleasure. At the same, I’m sure my Bridge skills has improved a lot =_=#. The three days in Yunnan is fun too. “Stone Forest” is cool, with all those stones with different shapes and stories. 冰糖葫芦 are nice and the “我们是韩国人” joke is unforgettable. I really like my buddy, my teammates and the three teachers. During my November holidays in China, I wrote Chinese“日志” about my trip on my blog, all my friends read it and… They want to go there too! =v=
Now as I think back about the whole OCIP thing, I think it is fruitful and enriching. I learned a lot from the meetings and made friends with my fellow members. Through this trip, I fulfilled my dreams and achieved something I can never achieve if I go to Yunnan on a family trip. I felt that I have touched lives and I was touched too. In future, I would jump at other opportunities like this one without hesitation.
Xiayu
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 (:
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 (:
hongyu's final reflection
Pre-trip
Pre-trip activities were meaningful. Thank you teachers for spending time to plan them! You all have done a great job!
Though there were many meetings, looking back, I think it’s all worth it because the sessions made me clear of what to expect for the trip and as well as the purpose of the trip.
Before the S-L discussion, it never crossed my mind to think of the differences.
Trip
Travelling in China takes a long time, way longer than travelling from East to West in Singapore. We can spend 3-4 hours travelling on highway and that means 3-4 hours of sleep.
This trip somehow turned into an educational trip for me. Because of my stomachache, I have only been to the worksite once. And that time we were merely doing simple work. Therefore, most of the work that I have done is to teach and play with the students in the 4 primary schools. Their attitude towards learning makes it easier and fun to teach them! They are very enthusiastic students and are very willing to learn. Despite the harsh conditions such as no electricity at home for the Miao zhu students, they will finish their homework before the sky turns dark everyday. It makes me reflect on my attitude towards learning and also to appreciate my parents more. I am also inspired to be a teacher, probably a pre-school teacher. However, will Singapore students be as eager as them?
I enjoyed the firewood gathering session. It was my first time chopping branches using the chopper. It was really hard. You need to aim the same place and hit it with all your might before you actually chopped the firewood into half whereas the kids there seems to have no problem. It just seems so easy for them. Well, I am a noob compared to them. My two buddies were super thoughtful. We had a formation. I must be in the middle so that one leads the way and the other stay behind just in case I slipped and fell. They insisted carrying the firewood and chopper down the mountain. I really must thank them for doing so because I am sliding down the slope most of the time. They even made a walking stick! Of course, I didn’t use it. Instead I gave to someone else whom I think needs it more. HAHA.
I hoped that their lives would be better but after much thinking, maybe they are contented with their current lifestyle. Even if they are not, I realize it’s really up to the individuals whether they want to work hard and change their life. Other people can provide help in terms of building facilities, improving the school environment. But ultimately, there is a limit to what we can do and it takes time to change people’s lifestyle or habits.
Post-trip
I started off not knowing most of the team and the teachers, through the time that we’ve spent together, now I have more friends in TJ. Thank you everyone in YO! and other team members for making this trip a memorable one!
Stay in touch, okay!!
Pre-trip activities were meaningful. Thank you teachers for spending time to plan them! You all have done a great job!
Though there were many meetings, looking back, I think it’s all worth it because the sessions made me clear of what to expect for the trip and as well as the purpose of the trip.
Before the S-L discussion, it never crossed my mind to think of the differences.
Trip
Travelling in China takes a long time, way longer than travelling from East to West in Singapore. We can spend 3-4 hours travelling on highway and that means 3-4 hours of sleep.
This trip somehow turned into an educational trip for me. Because of my stomachache, I have only been to the worksite once. And that time we were merely doing simple work. Therefore, most of the work that I have done is to teach and play with the students in the 4 primary schools. Their attitude towards learning makes it easier and fun to teach them! They are very enthusiastic students and are very willing to learn. Despite the harsh conditions such as no electricity at home for the Miao zhu students, they will finish their homework before the sky turns dark everyday. It makes me reflect on my attitude towards learning and also to appreciate my parents more. I am also inspired to be a teacher, probably a pre-school teacher. However, will Singapore students be as eager as them?
I enjoyed the firewood gathering session. It was my first time chopping branches using the chopper. It was really hard. You need to aim the same place and hit it with all your might before you actually chopped the firewood into half whereas the kids there seems to have no problem. It just seems so easy for them. Well, I am a noob compared to them. My two buddies were super thoughtful. We had a formation. I must be in the middle so that one leads the way and the other stay behind just in case I slipped and fell. They insisted carrying the firewood and chopper down the mountain. I really must thank them for doing so because I am sliding down the slope most of the time. They even made a walking stick! Of course, I didn’t use it. Instead I gave to someone else whom I think needs it more. HAHA.
I hoped that their lives would be better but after much thinking, maybe they are contented with their current lifestyle. Even if they are not, I realize it’s really up to the individuals whether they want to work hard and change their life. Other people can provide help in terms of building facilities, improving the school environment. But ultimately, there is a limit to what we can do and it takes time to change people’s lifestyle or habits.
Post-trip
I started off not knowing most of the team and the teachers, through the time that we’ve spent together, now I have more friends in TJ. Thank you everyone in YO! and other team members for making this trip a memorable one!
Stay in touch, okay!!
Jerene’s Reflections for 2007 TJ Yunnan OCIP Trip (131107 – 271107)
Right now, as I attempt to trace back till the very first day Project YELL began, it felt like it has been such a long journey for me, and to some extent, a surprisingly rewarding one for me, especially during the trip itself, which posed as a turning point for me.
I will touch slightly on the pre-trip events, which I skipped like 50% of the meetings and activities due to my lack of commitment and high level of disinterest. Basically at that particular episode of the journey, because my mentality and attitude were poor, I couldn’t actually recall any meetings or activities which I felt were interesting or helpful. Yeah, quite bad but oh well, that really isn’t the main point.
Then time seemed to zoom by again, and before I knew it, we had already reached the Kunming Airport in Yunnan, China. In the beginning of the trip, it felt tremendously challenging for me to step out of my comfort zone and adapt to the communal living (in Wan Lv Qing Primary School), especially the ‘toilet’ there. I remembered myself nearly to tears when I first saw the state of the toilet there, not feeling sad for the people there, but immensely regretful that I actually signed on for this. But I was indeed surprised by myself, that after 1-2 days, I actually grew used to doing my business there! And amusing or what, the frequent toilet trips created many chances for me to interact with the other girls of the team, who mostly were strangers to me initially, and eventually, friendships were formed.
In fact, the visit to the Da Po Village was a meaningful eye-opener for a brat like me who doesn’t understand what hard life and poverty literally mean. The trip to the wet market, the visits to the villagers’ huts (and even helping them carry out daily chores of e.g., plucking off dried corns), gathering of firewood together with the children of Wan Lv Qing Primary School, and through the short conversations with them (that they had to take 3 hours to reach school by foot!), provided me with numerous new insights and broadened my perspectives about my life. Moreover, the very simple, yet sincere expressions the adults and children gave (esp. the letters the kids furiously, continuously wrote for us before we left), kind of changed the very skeptical mindset of mine originally.
Then came the ‘crisis’ which happened in the midst of the trip, where a handful of us became sickly, and when there was a particular night when we had to ‘evacuate’ the seemingly uninhabitable ‘hostel’ to a hotel (where I thought the facilities were really good). Throughout the entire frenzy, I was left in a mild state of shock as such a predicament never ever did come across my mind. But that particular night was unforgettable and the unique experience really got me thinking about how things flow can never be within our means and control, and we always have to be mentally-prepared, learn to be quick-thinking, spontaneous, and more essentially, composed and emotionally strong in moments of uncertainty and tension.
The few schools that we actually visited, regardless of them being one-stop, over a few days or involving naughty and disrespectful students, to me, generally there was a common point – that we had to do very minute and apparently effortless things to us to bring genuine smiles and laughter across the children faces. And because I could somehow share their happiness, it actually made me recollect past perceptions of myself being very insignificant and useless in the world (of smarty pants and realistic and competitive people), completely untrue. Because to the kids, I have become an important source of joy, so simple, yet so wholeheartedly, so touching.
Another important lessons gained is never to judge people by appearances, which I have an extremely high tendency to since eons ago. Undeniably, which seriously astounded me, there are people within the team who are genuine, giving and always putting-people-before-self, namely a few, whom till now, I am grateful for. And as I learnt to open up to the rest of the girls mainly, to befriend without guarding against them, or to be exact, without bearing any forms of 戒心, I realized myself being able to infused into their social circle more easily, and that being with them can too, be really enjoyable (and unlike what I thought of to be of different frequency). I guess at the end of everything, it really has to do with the manipulation of my way of thinking and the attitude I choose to carry with me. Quite a life-changing value I learnt I must say, as it kind of convinced myself to put down my guard against people, and learn to be accept them less conditionally.
Yups, project YELL (sounds odd) has been the most life-transformational experience for me, and I am really glad to have made another new 20+ friends, whilst growing closer to existing ones like Yeechuin. I am darn glad I didn’t quit halfway, but have persevered till now and have gained thus much, and grown as a person. Yeah, we will go back again as facilitators again right right right??? :D
I will touch slightly on the pre-trip events, which I skipped like 50% of the meetings and activities due to my lack of commitment and high level of disinterest. Basically at that particular episode of the journey, because my mentality and attitude were poor, I couldn’t actually recall any meetings or activities which I felt were interesting or helpful. Yeah, quite bad but oh well, that really isn’t the main point.
Then time seemed to zoom by again, and before I knew it, we had already reached the Kunming Airport in Yunnan, China. In the beginning of the trip, it felt tremendously challenging for me to step out of my comfort zone and adapt to the communal living (in Wan Lv Qing Primary School), especially the ‘toilet’ there. I remembered myself nearly to tears when I first saw the state of the toilet there, not feeling sad for the people there, but immensely regretful that I actually signed on for this. But I was indeed surprised by myself, that after 1-2 days, I actually grew used to doing my business there! And amusing or what, the frequent toilet trips created many chances for me to interact with the other girls of the team, who mostly were strangers to me initially, and eventually, friendships were formed.
In fact, the visit to the Da Po Village was a meaningful eye-opener for a brat like me who doesn’t understand what hard life and poverty literally mean. The trip to the wet market, the visits to the villagers’ huts (and even helping them carry out daily chores of e.g., plucking off dried corns), gathering of firewood together with the children of Wan Lv Qing Primary School, and through the short conversations with them (that they had to take 3 hours to reach school by foot!), provided me with numerous new insights and broadened my perspectives about my life. Moreover, the very simple, yet sincere expressions the adults and children gave (esp. the letters the kids furiously, continuously wrote for us before we left), kind of changed the very skeptical mindset of mine originally.
Then came the ‘crisis’ which happened in the midst of the trip, where a handful of us became sickly, and when there was a particular night when we had to ‘evacuate’ the seemingly uninhabitable ‘hostel’ to a hotel (where I thought the facilities were really good). Throughout the entire frenzy, I was left in a mild state of shock as such a predicament never ever did come across my mind. But that particular night was unforgettable and the unique experience really got me thinking about how things flow can never be within our means and control, and we always have to be mentally-prepared, learn to be quick-thinking, spontaneous, and more essentially, composed and emotionally strong in moments of uncertainty and tension.
The few schools that we actually visited, regardless of them being one-stop, over a few days or involving naughty and disrespectful students, to me, generally there was a common point – that we had to do very minute and apparently effortless things to us to bring genuine smiles and laughter across the children faces. And because I could somehow share their happiness, it actually made me recollect past perceptions of myself being very insignificant and useless in the world (of smarty pants and realistic and competitive people), completely untrue. Because to the kids, I have become an important source of joy, so simple, yet so wholeheartedly, so touching.
Another important lessons gained is never to judge people by appearances, which I have an extremely high tendency to since eons ago. Undeniably, which seriously astounded me, there are people within the team who are genuine, giving and always putting-people-before-self, namely a few, whom till now, I am grateful for. And as I learnt to open up to the rest of the girls mainly, to befriend without guarding against them, or to be exact, without bearing any forms of 戒心, I realized myself being able to infused into their social circle more easily, and that being with them can too, be really enjoyable (and unlike what I thought of to be of different frequency). I guess at the end of everything, it really has to do with the manipulation of my way of thinking and the attitude I choose to carry with me. Quite a life-changing value I learnt I must say, as it kind of convinced myself to put down my guard against people, and learn to be accept them less conditionally.
Yups, project YELL (sounds odd) has been the most life-transformational experience for me, and I am really glad to have made another new 20+ friends, whilst growing closer to existing ones like Yeechuin. I am darn glad I didn’t quit halfway, but have persevered till now and have gained thus much, and grown as a person. Yeah, we will go back again as facilitators again right right right??? :D
final reflection-racheline
i realised the time of blogger is wrong! anw, i shall post my reflections up before 2359.
This had been an amazing trip which has somehow cultivated my interest in doing more to help the ones that really need our help. I really had fun playing and interacting with the children, although at times it was tiring and i was on the verge of losing my voice. i was being allocated to teach the primary ones, a bunch of innocent and adorable kids who didn't realise the fact that we were leaving despite telling them repeatedly. they're not exposed to the harshness of reality yet, or perhaps they're jus too young. but that's not the point. To those who are in the upper primary, how has our existence into their lives affected them?we came and we left. i wonder if it is more of a boon or a bane. will they be envious of what we have, or will it inspire them to work harder to attain what we have? it dawned upon me that most of them do not have the opportunity to choose, no matter how hard they work, they'll still be stucked in the poverty cycle. but who knows, there may be miracles ( for the minority). therefore, i feel that no matter how our presence has affected their lives ( be it positively or negatively), we should continue reaching out to them, to inform them of the presence of the world that is beyond their reach at this point of time, to try to help them to reach out to the impossible in one way or another because ----every action/effort counts.
It's sad to realise that not everyone appreciate our presence there, that sometimes it's hard to force people to like us or even accept us. We've stepped into their territories and they may not like it. They may find us a disruption into their lives. That's what i felt when i was in lu chong. We were complainning about the school after the first day ended, and after that night, i questioned my purpose of going to yunnan. i badly wanted to share with them all that i know of. i thought i shouldn't complain anymore no matter how bad the condition is. it's natural tendecy for them to reject strangers like us. we can only try our best to make them more receptive towards us, and really try our very best. we've got what they don't have, and we should be more generous to share with them all that we have.
The mountain climbing experience and walking on the fields gave me a deeper understanding of their daily lives. Most of us live in the luxury of being pampered by computer games, television and whatsoever, but they have to do climb the mountains to look for tree branches once a week.it's their way of life, and they told me that they're used to it... it saddened me.
This trip has allowed me to learn alot, to experience the activities that i will never get to experience if i've not gone on this trip, to know more of the world outside my comfort zone which i may not ever know of, but most importantly, it has instill a passion in me to serve with all i can. i believe that the less fortunate are born to be serve, and the privilleged are born to serve.
racheline
This had been an amazing trip which has somehow cultivated my interest in doing more to help the ones that really need our help. I really had fun playing and interacting with the children, although at times it was tiring and i was on the verge of losing my voice. i was being allocated to teach the primary ones, a bunch of innocent and adorable kids who didn't realise the fact that we were leaving despite telling them repeatedly. they're not exposed to the harshness of reality yet, or perhaps they're jus too young. but that's not the point. To those who are in the upper primary, how has our existence into their lives affected them?we came and we left. i wonder if it is more of a boon or a bane. will they be envious of what we have, or will it inspire them to work harder to attain what we have? it dawned upon me that most of them do not have the opportunity to choose, no matter how hard they work, they'll still be stucked in the poverty cycle. but who knows, there may be miracles ( for the minority). therefore, i feel that no matter how our presence has affected their lives ( be it positively or negatively), we should continue reaching out to them, to inform them of the presence of the world that is beyond their reach at this point of time, to try to help them to reach out to the impossible in one way or another because ----every action/effort counts.
It's sad to realise that not everyone appreciate our presence there, that sometimes it's hard to force people to like us or even accept us. We've stepped into their territories and they may not like it. They may find us a disruption into their lives. That's what i felt when i was in lu chong. We were complainning about the school after the first day ended, and after that night, i questioned my purpose of going to yunnan. i badly wanted to share with them all that i know of. i thought i shouldn't complain anymore no matter how bad the condition is. it's natural tendecy for them to reject strangers like us. we can only try our best to make them more receptive towards us, and really try our very best. we've got what they don't have, and we should be more generous to share with them all that we have.
The mountain climbing experience and walking on the fields gave me a deeper understanding of their daily lives. Most of us live in the luxury of being pampered by computer games, television and whatsoever, but they have to do climb the mountains to look for tree branches once a week.it's their way of life, and they told me that they're used to it... it saddened me.
This trip has allowed me to learn alot, to experience the activities that i will never get to experience if i've not gone on this trip, to know more of the world outside my comfort zone which i may not ever know of, but most importantly, it has instill a passion in me to serve with all i can. i believe that the less fortunate are born to be serve, and the privilleged are born to serve.
racheline
Reflection
To start off, I want to begin with my reasons for joining the team. Since young, I was influenced by my dad to be caring about the less fortunate people. Thus, I always enjoyed serving the community in any way that I may be of help to. Moreover, I have longed to participate in school based overseas trips. Stories related to me by friends that had experienced such activities never failed to amaze me. It had soon become a dream of mine, a dream I told myself that I must fulfill. Thus, when I came into TJ and heard about the Overseas Outreach Program, I grabbed on to the chance and went for the interview.
The pre-trip was demanding, we are supposed to come up with several fund-raising events to boost our budget for the trip. We held meetings after meetings that are held late in the afternoon that drains most of our energies away. However, the events are fruitful, not only in terms of funds we raised, but the experience we reaped through the event and more importantly, at least to me, the budding friendships among us. For example, the Sports Carnival brought me a little bit closer to Gavin and the Overnight Movie Screening allowed me to know Hong Yu and the gang of three( Miss Koh, Miss/ Mrs. Fong and Mr. Cheng) better.
Although we had 8 months of meetings together, I am not fully aware of who my trip-mates are, until the sudden rush of activities like ACM trip, “Day-Camps” and Haig Girls event do I really get to know the entire squad. However, till then, we were still more or less strangers to each other. I was beginning to worry that the trip would not bring me the joy that I had heard from seniors and what I have imagined. I was really scared that we will continue to be strangers even when we are in China. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Unlike my other companions, I had a rollercoaster ride for my preparations for the trip. My mom and I had applied for Singapore Citizenship in March, but the application was only granted in November!! And I still have to go through loads of paperwork! I was actually scheduled to have my Singapore passport in December! That was crazy, so I rang up the ministry and “had a good chat” with the person in charge. And he decided to push forward my official “getting” of my passport. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Then I was asked to hand in my confirmation slip together with my particulars 3 days before the departure date and was expected to get my passport on the exact date of departure. And OMG!!!!!! You know what? My mom had forgotten to hand in the confirmation slip on 3 days ago!!!(Now you know where I got my absent mindedness from?) So we pleaded the person in charge to do a double quick procedure for me. And 1 hours later, Woala I got my Singapore passport and another 6 hours later I was at the airport. From this incident, I wonders why a procedure that takes just 1 hour requires 2 weeks to process (which is the time required for normal applications, my 3 days one is already express liao) in Singapore.(raise eye-brown)
The trip itself is a magical one. We took a China Eastern flight to Kun Ming, and that was the worst flight I had ever taken; the air-condition was a total screw-up, so warm that it suffocates and the seats are just too cramp to be comfortable. Somehow I fell asleep, its 2am after all.
Firstly, our time with the students in the schools. The students are wonderful people, and the teachers in most of the schools are really welcoming and warm to us. Indeed, the locals WANT to improve their standards of living. The students do know that the only way out of poverty is perhaps good, proper education. That is why they are very hardworking and studious. When asked what their favourite past time is, the common answer is STUDYING. That is really amazing especially for most of us Singaporean students who find learning a real chore. Yet, their progress in education could be hampered by the lack of infrastructure. That is where foreign aid is really required and there is a severe need in transfer of technology. I also realised that there is still many pressing discrimination in Yunnan. The preference of boys over girls and boy dominance is prevalent there. They see no fault in a boy pushing a girl or taking over her territories for games. Secondly, they also discriminate against left-handers. While this may seem trival on its own, it speak about liberty and equality. Being a left hander, i noticed when i started writing, the students started giggling and laughing at me. Later i realised that they were all forced to use their right hands from young. So you can never find a left hander there. You are considered stupid to be using your left hand. Another distressing issue is their lack of teamwork. The students we work with are very much self-centered. They do not understand the whole concept of teamplay and how it could actually reap greater effectiveness in self-improvement. Our activities with them usually rotated about teamplay. Lastly, it is sad that most of the students were not very courtous. Minding their Ps and Qs was a huge problem. Perhaps one of the greatest impact we left with them is to clear the place of rubbish wherever we went and also to say the simple "thank you"s. Other than that, the students are an adorable buch, fun loving and simple people.Next, the road building project. Well, i guess many felt that we were not helping out much in that anyway. What we did, one worker there could have done perhaps 10x better. However, i've learnt that it is not how much we do there or how well its done that matters, our very presence, our donated sum of money, brings attention of the china government to the village. That is what's important. Sustainability. We want the government to take notice. To step forward and help their own people. Building of that road in xun dian is especially important to the villagers there especially in terms of trading. Before, only horses are able to pass through the roads. Many crops grown in the fertile soils inland are wasted and left to whilt in the cold winter season. A huge economic waste and very much a pity, especially when there is a current shortage of food in the world.
However, no matter how much their individualistic and competitiveness scare me, I must really say I’m respect their drive and determination. No matter how poor their studying conditions are, they strive to give their best in studies – studying in the morning before the teacher come, staying back straight after class to finish their homework and no late coming or any sort when they have to WALK an average time of 1.5 hours to reach their school. Don’t these things make us feel guilty? We have air-conditioned classrooms with brand new tables and chairs; we have qualified teachers and high tech equipments to facilitate our study; we have a good transport system that can take us around S’pore in an hour or so. But yet, we complain, we grumble that school sucks; we moan at the amount of homework that we have; we give excuses and whine at how early we have to get up for school when all it takes is barely 30 mins to reach school. I’m sure many feel the same as I do – that this trip certainly made us feel how lucky and fortunate we are to be here in S’pore. And hopefully, we can use this as a motivation to study harder and put in more effort by doing tutorials and listening in lectures =S
Now that the trip is over and we are all back in S’pore, I believe those 14 days will never be forgotten. I thought it was going to be a very very very long journey on the first day and was wondering how I’m going to survive. But time flies, like we always say, and for some funny reasons, I sort of wish to stay over there where there’s no stress, no worries and away from all realities. Its my life, i lived it and i loved it
-Yu Ang
The pre-trip was demanding, we are supposed to come up with several fund-raising events to boost our budget for the trip. We held meetings after meetings that are held late in the afternoon that drains most of our energies away. However, the events are fruitful, not only in terms of funds we raised, but the experience we reaped through the event and more importantly, at least to me, the budding friendships among us. For example, the Sports Carnival brought me a little bit closer to Gavin and the Overnight Movie Screening allowed me to know Hong Yu and the gang of three( Miss Koh, Miss/ Mrs. Fong and Mr. Cheng) better.
Although we had 8 months of meetings together, I am not fully aware of who my trip-mates are, until the sudden rush of activities like ACM trip, “Day-Camps” and Haig Girls event do I really get to know the entire squad. However, till then, we were still more or less strangers to each other. I was beginning to worry that the trip would not bring me the joy that I had heard from seniors and what I have imagined. I was really scared that we will continue to be strangers even when we are in China. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Unlike my other companions, I had a rollercoaster ride for my preparations for the trip. My mom and I had applied for Singapore Citizenship in March, but the application was only granted in November!! And I still have to go through loads of paperwork! I was actually scheduled to have my Singapore passport in December! That was crazy, so I rang up the ministry and “had a good chat” with the person in charge. And he decided to push forward my official “getting” of my passport. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Then I was asked to hand in my confirmation slip together with my particulars 3 days before the departure date and was expected to get my passport on the exact date of departure. And OMG!!!!!! You know what? My mom had forgotten to hand in the confirmation slip on 3 days ago!!!(Now you know where I got my absent mindedness from?) So we pleaded the person in charge to do a double quick procedure for me. And 1 hours later, Woala I got my Singapore passport and another 6 hours later I was at the airport. From this incident, I wonders why a procedure that takes just 1 hour requires 2 weeks to process (which is the time required for normal applications, my 3 days one is already express liao) in Singapore.(raise eye-brown)
The trip itself is a magical one. We took a China Eastern flight to Kun Ming, and that was the worst flight I had ever taken; the air-condition was a total screw-up, so warm that it suffocates and the seats are just too cramp to be comfortable. Somehow I fell asleep, its 2am after all.
Firstly, our time with the students in the schools. The students are wonderful people, and the teachers in most of the schools are really welcoming and warm to us. Indeed, the locals WANT to improve their standards of living. The students do know that the only way out of poverty is perhaps good, proper education. That is why they are very hardworking and studious. When asked what their favourite past time is, the common answer is STUDYING. That is really amazing especially for most of us Singaporean students who find learning a real chore. Yet, their progress in education could be hampered by the lack of infrastructure. That is where foreign aid is really required and there is a severe need in transfer of technology. I also realised that there is still many pressing discrimination in Yunnan. The preference of boys over girls and boy dominance is prevalent there. They see no fault in a boy pushing a girl or taking over her territories for games. Secondly, they also discriminate against left-handers. While this may seem trival on its own, it speak about liberty and equality. Being a left hander, i noticed when i started writing, the students started giggling and laughing at me. Later i realised that they were all forced to use their right hands from young. So you can never find a left hander there. You are considered stupid to be using your left hand. Another distressing issue is their lack of teamwork. The students we work with are very much self-centered. They do not understand the whole concept of teamplay and how it could actually reap greater effectiveness in self-improvement. Our activities with them usually rotated about teamplay. Lastly, it is sad that most of the students were not very courtous. Minding their Ps and Qs was a huge problem. Perhaps one of the greatest impact we left with them is to clear the place of rubbish wherever we went and also to say the simple "thank you"s. Other than that, the students are an adorable buch, fun loving and simple people.Next, the road building project. Well, i guess many felt that we were not helping out much in that anyway. What we did, one worker there could have done perhaps 10x better. However, i've learnt that it is not how much we do there or how well its done that matters, our very presence, our donated sum of money, brings attention of the china government to the village. That is what's important. Sustainability. We want the government to take notice. To step forward and help their own people. Building of that road in xun dian is especially important to the villagers there especially in terms of trading. Before, only horses are able to pass through the roads. Many crops grown in the fertile soils inland are wasted and left to whilt in the cold winter season. A huge economic waste and very much a pity, especially when there is a current shortage of food in the world.
However, no matter how much their individualistic and competitiveness scare me, I must really say I’m respect their drive and determination. No matter how poor their studying conditions are, they strive to give their best in studies – studying in the morning before the teacher come, staying back straight after class to finish their homework and no late coming or any sort when they have to WALK an average time of 1.5 hours to reach their school. Don’t these things make us feel guilty? We have air-conditioned classrooms with brand new tables and chairs; we have qualified teachers and high tech equipments to facilitate our study; we have a good transport system that can take us around S’pore in an hour or so. But yet, we complain, we grumble that school sucks; we moan at the amount of homework that we have; we give excuses and whine at how early we have to get up for school when all it takes is barely 30 mins to reach school. I’m sure many feel the same as I do – that this trip certainly made us feel how lucky and fortunate we are to be here in S’pore. And hopefully, we can use this as a motivation to study harder and put in more effort by doing tutorials and listening in lectures =S
Now that the trip is over and we are all back in S’pore, I believe those 14 days will never be forgotten. I thought it was going to be a very very very long journey on the first day and was wondering how I’m going to survive. But time flies, like we always say, and for some funny reasons, I sort of wish to stay over there where there’s no stress, no worries and away from all realities. Its my life, i lived it and i loved it
-Yu Ang
charmaine's final reflection.
It has never dawn upon me that one day, all the "crazy" meetings will come to an end, no more weekly Saturday meetings, no more of Ms Koh's chasing for documents, no more of fund raising events, no more brainstorming and no more anticipation. Yet, it happen.
To me, this trip was indeed inspiring and at the same time, emotionally trying. As I looked back on how I survived on this trip, I cry. But i cry not because I find joy in overcoming all the tough physical challenges, I cry because I release, I managed to survived through all those emotional toils in a faraway land, no one to confide in.
Do those living conditions caused me to feel grateful of my living in Singapore? Not yet. Indeed, unlike others, the impact of the conditions did not shock me. Instead, it was the children that made a change in me.
Why can't it be like that?
Why can't I do something about it?
Why?
Throughout the trip, one thing stayed on my mind, the children. I have learned that some things cannot be changed, it is just the way it is. As I taught the many classes from the many schools, there is definitely one GREAT PROBLEM I see in them, that is, individualism. There is no sense of teamwork. Much as team bonding help them to work together, there is still this tinge of instinct which tells me that, they are together, because of themselves, they still care only about their survival. How I wished this could change.
But it would not, It is their society. The society forced them to be independent, to fight for oneself, much as it is good, it is bad too. Take the analogy that was talked during our trip, even if we build a much cleaner and better toilet, they would be dirtied by the children in "wan lu qing" primary school, because, cleanliness is not emphasized.
Yes, and one thing I'm glad this trip has brought me, would be that I am further assured that children are my directions in life. Teaching, it brought me joy, frustration and tiredness, YET, I will never fail to look forward to stepping into the classroom, staring at those faces.
Dear children, You reached inside me, I hope I had reached into yours.
You are forever, my promise.
I love physically challenging and adventurous things, so all those trekking and climbing brought fulfillment to my life.
The main gist of how the trip has affected me would actually be the team, the people. And myself, I kept evaluating myself, so much, I detest my actions.
I discovered that:
Friends stop to help when they pass by you
but strangers don't.
Good friends make a detour just to help you
but friends don't.
I am thankful for the relationships I have forged in this team but some things will never change.
- Charmaine is attached to the team, yet at the same time distanced. -
L.J was an interesting event to see how things will eventually be in future. I got to understand people's life better yet at the same time, realized that things will never change, things are fixed, and I am flying.
My 'final' entry is one filled of random thoughts about this trip, thoughts that are not model-answers, thoughts that are not about the same old things, they are just thoughts that occupied my mind 3/4 of the time in yunnan.
to end off,
Will this reflection entry be my final?
my guess is as good as yours.
To me, this trip was indeed inspiring and at the same time, emotionally trying. As I looked back on how I survived on this trip, I cry. But i cry not because I find joy in overcoming all the tough physical challenges, I cry because I release, I managed to survived through all those emotional toils in a faraway land, no one to confide in.
Do those living conditions caused me to feel grateful of my living in Singapore? Not yet. Indeed, unlike others, the impact of the conditions did not shock me. Instead, it was the children that made a change in me.
Why can't it be like that?
Why can't I do something about it?
Why?
Throughout the trip, one thing stayed on my mind, the children. I have learned that some things cannot be changed, it is just the way it is. As I taught the many classes from the many schools, there is definitely one GREAT PROBLEM I see in them, that is, individualism. There is no sense of teamwork. Much as team bonding help them to work together, there is still this tinge of instinct which tells me that, they are together, because of themselves, they still care only about their survival. How I wished this could change.
But it would not, It is their society. The society forced them to be independent, to fight for oneself, much as it is good, it is bad too. Take the analogy that was talked during our trip, even if we build a much cleaner and better toilet, they would be dirtied by the children in "wan lu qing" primary school, because, cleanliness is not emphasized.
Yes, and one thing I'm glad this trip has brought me, would be that I am further assured that children are my directions in life. Teaching, it brought me joy, frustration and tiredness, YET, I will never fail to look forward to stepping into the classroom, staring at those faces.
Dear children, You reached inside me, I hope I had reached into yours.
You are forever, my promise.
I love physically challenging and adventurous things, so all those trekking and climbing brought fulfillment to my life.
The main gist of how the trip has affected me would actually be the team, the people. And myself, I kept evaluating myself, so much, I detest my actions.
I discovered that:
Friends stop to help when they pass by you
but strangers don't.
Good friends make a detour just to help you
but friends don't.
I am thankful for the relationships I have forged in this team but some things will never change.
- Charmaine is attached to the team, yet at the same time distanced. -
L.J was an interesting event to see how things will eventually be in future. I got to understand people's life better yet at the same time, realized that things will never change, things are fixed, and I am flying.
My 'final' entry is one filled of random thoughts about this trip, thoughts that are not model-answers, thoughts that are not about the same old things, they are just thoughts that occupied my mind 3/4 of the time in yunnan.
to end off,
Will this reflection entry be my final?
my guess is as good as yours.
ZONG YAO'S - REFLECTIONS,FINALE!
Initially when i began attending the weekly OCIP meetings, i wasn't so enthusiastic and passionate about the trip, because i thought that the administrative work would have somewhat made the trip unattractive and not worth the effort.
As weeks passed, i realised that all the meetings and fundraising projects have nullified the negative feelings i had at the start , and i am certain it's the common goal we have that brought us together.
Nevertheless, nothing can be as good and exciteing as the trip itself.A dream come true for me as i had always wanted to take part in OCIP since Secondary 1. All the exposure, cultural and environmental adaptations i have to take can be overwhelming at times, but that was what i yearn for.
And not to forget the lessons we had with the yunna primary school kids.IT's the best opportunity for us to practise our Mandarin ( ha-ha) andto feel how it is like being a teacher.Altogether we went to 3 different schools.
And each school has it's own unique culture. We had ti adapt to each of them because we had to complete our task which was to educate them.
At the end of the 12th Day. I felt very satisfied with myself for being able to endure through the harsh differences in culture and climate.However, i was saddened by the fact that it may be my last time being here to help them.And i had this eagerness to stay behind for the rest of life ( just because the simplicity of life in the rural region is so enticing).
Not only have i gained much insights from a different world, i've learnt much more about my team members - about their lives , their interests and dislikes. I learnt much more about myself and the period of 2 weeks was one that i did many of my own reflections.
All in all, i am certain the TJ OCIP trip is the stepping stone to a whole lot more of OCIP trips i am going to embark on for the rest of my life.And who knows, maybe when i'm old, i may move over to Yunnan where i can 'reconcile' with my lost-simplicty! =)
As weeks passed, i realised that all the meetings and fundraising projects have nullified the negative feelings i had at the start , and i am certain it's the common goal we have that brought us together.
Nevertheless, nothing can be as good and exciteing as the trip itself.A dream come true for me as i had always wanted to take part in OCIP since Secondary 1. All the exposure, cultural and environmental adaptations i have to take can be overwhelming at times, but that was what i yearn for.
And not to forget the lessons we had with the yunna primary school kids.IT's the best opportunity for us to practise our Mandarin ( ha-ha) andto feel how it is like being a teacher.Altogether we went to 3 different schools.
And each school has it's own unique culture. We had ti adapt to each of them because we had to complete our task which was to educate them.
At the end of the 12th Day. I felt very satisfied with myself for being able to endure through the harsh differences in culture and climate.However, i was saddened by the fact that it may be my last time being here to help them.And i had this eagerness to stay behind for the rest of life ( just because the simplicity of life in the rural region is so enticing).
Not only have i gained much insights from a different world, i've learnt much more about my team members - about their lives , their interests and dislikes. I learnt much more about myself and the period of 2 weeks was one that i did many of my own reflections.
All in all, i am certain the TJ OCIP trip is the stepping stone to a whole lot more of OCIP trips i am going to embark on for the rest of my life.And who knows, maybe when i'm old, i may move over to Yunnan where i can 'reconcile' with my lost-simplicty! =)
woonyee is yelling!
OK. After looking at all the posts before i start, i'm getting stress up now, why is everyone publishing books and biography?? Maybe everyone is really touched and 有感而发...
Pre-trip
To be honest, I used to dread thursday afternoons, because of ocip meetings. i end 2 periods before 5.30pm, and the meetings usually wouldnt end before 7pm. and most importantly, the process is a long and tiring one. we would go through rounds and rounds of discussions just to decide on what drinks to sell etc. i hate going through all these and in some sense, wasting all my time. in addition, i would have to meet and interact with some weird weird people whom i dont know and not comfortable with working together. i do question why i did sign up in the first place and began to regret, i just wanted to get over and done with it. BUT, the TURNING POINT came. it was the first of several saturday meetings we have in school. through the process of talking, discussing in same groups did i start to feel that it might not be such a horrible trip after all. We fight for our own interpretations of statement, and through these, i began to know more about the people and their thoughts and mindset. i get to know how different they are from me and how similar we are at times. as the departure day approaches, we got closer and closer together. we spent hours packing the stationery from haig girls and dividing the things to bring yunnan. it was then that i felt that everyone in the team is actually contributing, putting all our luggage limits together to maximise the amount of things we can bring over :P.
THE JOURNEY
Before we left singapore changi airport, i was still a bit hesitant about making the first step to talk to the other people. i saw some people gathering at the meeting point, but still walked away to my friends, pretending that i didnt see anything. when i knew that amanda, jumping and i wouldnt be sitting together in that 4-5hours flight, i was upset. but, in that few hours, i found out that there are also many interesting people i can talk to! i've been to china, and seen some of the bad and dirty part of china, thus, i wasnt in for some culture shock or anything when i reach yunnan. see the children for the first time at wan lu qing school woke me from the coming-with-my-family feeling i had. i realised that this time round, i have to actually interact and play with chilren -something that i'm totally not familiar with. as the day pass, i got closer to the children and to the people in the team. everyone told me that i would learn a lot from such a trip and come back a differnt person. but i felt otherwise. i wouldnt say that i've learnt a lot and changed dramatically. i choose to say that through the trip, i see a lot, observe the way of live, livelihood, lifestyle of the people there. maybe through that these i manage to gain an insight to life. i really feel for the people there and hoped that their lives would be better. but thinking about it again and again, i realise that sometimes in life its just like-that. there is a limit to what i or even zhao bing and company can do for the people there. a lifestyle change in something that takes time. no amount of time, effort or labour can help them, and that is their way of life.only with time can there be any change to their current lifestyle. maybe to them, nothing is wrong or bad. (just like how the wan lu qing aunty burnt plastic bags without any hesitant). that would be my greatest takeback. learning that everything in life has its own time. through the various "life journey" sessions, i know more and more about the different individuals in our team. everyone have their own story and the things that they deem important in in life. like what the teachers say at the beginning, "you will meet the team the first thing you wake up and see them seconds before sleep and chances that you might even see them in your dreams." i really did end up dreaming of the team at night...i found out that everyone in the team is wonderful, bringing joy and the teachers are brilliant, taking good care of us.
Ending
i still did dream of the team after the trip, back in my comfortable lovely bed. there would never be a trip like this trip to yunnan. it was a trip to see and look at how the villagers live and spend their lives. and chengmistry is great! we had a difficult time stalking zhao bing and talking to him but it was all worthwhile i guess :P. thankyou everyone for bringing such lovely memories for me. it was all you people that made this such an enjoyable trip for me and encouraged me to pull through. together we can strive to work together to help more people!
28hearts bonded as 1. YELL!
Pre-trip
To be honest, I used to dread thursday afternoons, because of ocip meetings. i end 2 periods before 5.30pm, and the meetings usually wouldnt end before 7pm. and most importantly, the process is a long and tiring one. we would go through rounds and rounds of discussions just to decide on what drinks to sell etc. i hate going through all these and in some sense, wasting all my time. in addition, i would have to meet and interact with some weird weird people whom i dont know and not comfortable with working together. i do question why i did sign up in the first place and began to regret, i just wanted to get over and done with it. BUT, the TURNING POINT came. it was the first of several saturday meetings we have in school. through the process of talking, discussing in same groups did i start to feel that it might not be such a horrible trip after all. We fight for our own interpretations of statement, and through these, i began to know more about the people and their thoughts and mindset. i get to know how different they are from me and how similar we are at times. as the departure day approaches, we got closer and closer together. we spent hours packing the stationery from haig girls and dividing the things to bring yunnan. it was then that i felt that everyone in the team is actually contributing, putting all our luggage limits together to maximise the amount of things we can bring over :P.
THE JOURNEY
Before we left singapore changi airport, i was still a bit hesitant about making the first step to talk to the other people. i saw some people gathering at the meeting point, but still walked away to my friends, pretending that i didnt see anything. when i knew that amanda, jumping and i wouldnt be sitting together in that 4-5hours flight, i was upset. but, in that few hours, i found out that there are also many interesting people i can talk to! i've been to china, and seen some of the bad and dirty part of china, thus, i wasnt in for some culture shock or anything when i reach yunnan. see the children for the first time at wan lu qing school woke me from the coming-with-my-family feeling i had. i realised that this time round, i have to actually interact and play with chilren -something that i'm totally not familiar with. as the day pass, i got closer to the children and to the people in the team. everyone told me that i would learn a lot from such a trip and come back a differnt person. but i felt otherwise. i wouldnt say that i've learnt a lot and changed dramatically. i choose to say that through the trip, i see a lot, observe the way of live, livelihood, lifestyle of the people there. maybe through that these i manage to gain an insight to life. i really feel for the people there and hoped that their lives would be better. but thinking about it again and again, i realise that sometimes in life its just like-that. there is a limit to what i or even zhao bing and company can do for the people there. a lifestyle change in something that takes time. no amount of time, effort or labour can help them, and that is their way of life.only with time can there be any change to their current lifestyle. maybe to them, nothing is wrong or bad. (just like how the wan lu qing aunty burnt plastic bags without any hesitant). that would be my greatest takeback. learning that everything in life has its own time. through the various "life journey" sessions, i know more and more about the different individuals in our team. everyone have their own story and the things that they deem important in in life. like what the teachers say at the beginning, "you will meet the team the first thing you wake up and see them seconds before sleep and chances that you might even see them in your dreams." i really did end up dreaming of the team at night...i found out that everyone in the team is wonderful, bringing joy and the teachers are brilliant, taking good care of us.
Ending
i still did dream of the team after the trip, back in my comfortable lovely bed. there would never be a trip like this trip to yunnan. it was a trip to see and look at how the villagers live and spend their lives. and chengmistry is great! we had a difficult time stalking zhao bing and talking to him but it was all worthwhile i guess :P. thankyou everyone for bringing such lovely memories for me. it was all you people that made this such an enjoyable trip for me and encouraged me to pull through. together we can strive to work together to help more people!
28hearts bonded as 1. YELL!
reflections after the trip!
This trip has really been an enriching and meaningful trip for me! My initial purpose of participating in this was solely to gain experience and enjoy myself. Service was never one of my main reasons. But after this trip my opinion totally changed, service is actually something so meaningful and fulfiling. Besides this trip made me appreciate what i have now, we are fortunate to have all these material wealth and yet people here are complaining about what they don't have. Its really amazing how people over there can lead such a simple lifestyle yet there are many times happier than the people over here. I remembered there was once when our group had a discussion on whether our appearance over there was a good or bad thing. They say that the people are content with their lives, so why should we let them know what they don't have as compared to other people? Doesn't this just make them unhappy? Perhaps this is true, but somehow i feel that we should open them up and let them know more about the world outside. The decision lies in themsleves.
Another thing i will not forget is the sanitary conditions over there! Especially the toilets! oh my, when i first step into the toilet i was totally gross out and i really wondered why i am here to self torture myself. Back then i so wanted to be home. But as the days went by, we got used to it and in retrospect it wasn't that bad after all.Because of that, i have learnt to be more adaptable to suituations. There are many instances when things might appear very unfavourable, but as long as you look on the bright side, it will somehow turn out well.
Personally, the best take back for me is the friendship fostered over there. We were a group of loose sand as what Ms Koh claimed but after this trip we were a lot more bonded! The company of friends over there was great. Still remembered that night when sye yuet was ill, there were many people who was concerned for here and tried to do anything to help out. and another time was that Ms Koh wasn't feeling well, and guess what? The whole team of us actually tried to cheer her up by singing the song that she composed for us. haha! Ms koh, aren't you touched by what we did? We are such nice kids!! Also, i got to know the teachers better, Mr Chueng is always so funny, Ms Fong is just another bimbo!!haha, and not forgetting Ms koh who is so passionate and dedicated to this trip. In order to attend this trip, i gave up the chance to participate in a climbing competition which was actually a great sacrifice for me because i love climbing. And Ms koh asked me if i ever regret doing so, so here i would like to say i never regretted doing so and in fact i am glad i made this choice. So anyway, all good things have to come to an end and this is the end of such a wonderful trip that i will always remember for life. A great thanks to all OCIP-ians and the 3 great teachers for giving me such a wonderful experience! you all will always be remembered by me!!
dearest jesalyn
Another thing i will not forget is the sanitary conditions over there! Especially the toilets! oh my, when i first step into the toilet i was totally gross out and i really wondered why i am here to self torture myself. Back then i so wanted to be home. But as the days went by, we got used to it and in retrospect it wasn't that bad after all.Because of that, i have learnt to be more adaptable to suituations. There are many instances when things might appear very unfavourable, but as long as you look on the bright side, it will somehow turn out well.
Personally, the best take back for me is the friendship fostered over there. We were a group of loose sand as what Ms Koh claimed but after this trip we were a lot more bonded! The company of friends over there was great. Still remembered that night when sye yuet was ill, there were many people who was concerned for here and tried to do anything to help out. and another time was that Ms Koh wasn't feeling well, and guess what? The whole team of us actually tried to cheer her up by singing the song that she composed for us. haha! Ms koh, aren't you touched by what we did? We are such nice kids!! Also, i got to know the teachers better, Mr Chueng is always so funny, Ms Fong is just another bimbo!!haha, and not forgetting Ms koh who is so passionate and dedicated to this trip. In order to attend this trip, i gave up the chance to participate in a climbing competition which was actually a great sacrifice for me because i love climbing. And Ms koh asked me if i ever regret doing so, so here i would like to say i never regretted doing so and in fact i am glad i made this choice. So anyway, all good things have to come to an end and this is the end of such a wonderful trip that i will always remember for life. A great thanks to all OCIP-ians and the 3 great teachers for giving me such a wonderful experience! you all will always be remembered by me!!
dearest jesalyn
Denise's final reflection
Thinking back, it really has been a hell of a ride.
Being the last to get in, the only TA2, crazy team members, endless brain cracking meetings, fun-filled fund-raising events, photo essay project, "road building", endless competitive basketball games, my Brillant Buddy, 蛋糕 (高老师 plz dont kill me XD), the kids, the schools, the scenery, the games, gathering firewood, the programms, getting sick, the songs, and most importantly, the BEAUTIDUL TOILETS!!! Recalling all these really makes me think how i actually got throught it!
The majority of the pre-trip meetings were mostly to prepare us for the trip to Yunnan. Yet, unlike what i had expected, most of them required A LOT OF MY BRAIN JUICE!!! It so reminded me of Language Arts lessons. >.< Anyhow, despite my depletion of brain juice, I've never regreted going through the Service Learning lessons, the trip to ACM, the Haig Girls Event, Movie Marathorn, Open Hose and the selling of the Jigsaw. Time consuming as it may be, I had gain a lot of experience.
The trip itself was the fun-est part. I can still remember the first bus ride from the airport to our destination on the first day. The first thing we witnessed was the Sun rise. It was beautiful. Conincidental as it may be, the straight road we travelled on seemed to lead to the sun. It immediately gave me the thought of a journey to new insights, discoveries and... ...hope. It further opened up my mind.
The weather there was not as bad as expected. In fact, when i was there, i realised that i had brought too much clothes! Being Yunnan, the scenery there was breath taking. okayy.. thats a little too exaggerated but hell, it was still beautiful. Oh and a little observation, the average driver in Yunnan is equivalent to a Pro-driver in Singapore. Just look at their skill and you'll know it!
If i had to pick a favourite school, it would be Wan lv Qing and the school which students shouted "欢迎! 欢迎! 热烈欢迎!" when we came in. However, if you ask me which school kids I liked the most, it would be all. Though the schools may treat us differently, however, kids are still kids. Once we are being familarized with them, we were able to carry out our programs efficiently. And boy it was fun with the team bonding games, nursery rhyme teaching, english lessons, basketball games, teaching of 7 stones, and balloon sculpturing.
The most memorable experience of the whole trip would be the one on gathering firewood. The kids at Wan Lv Qing were practically flying up and down the mountain! They even helped to pull/push us up! And the way they climb the trees, all I can say is WOW! i still remember, when i "walking" back down the mountain with my firewood, i saw a sight which made my stomach clench.. GAO LAO SHI WAS SLACKING UNDER A TREE!!! okayy.. i wont say slacking.. lets say.. enjoying the role of being an empress dowagers sitting under a shady tree with people serving her while enjoying the beautiful scenery. right.. >.<
Oh yes my buddy.. how can i forget.. MISS FONG!!! I really miss the times where people tease you of being a bimbo.. haha.. oh and though i may suan you, i have never called you a bimbo.. hahaz.. juz wondering if you ever realised.. hahaz.. anyway, hope you enjoy your time in Shanghai with your husband.. but in case you read this, i would like to remind you that WE ALL MISS YOU!!! oh yeah.. did you like the pic i drew for you? XD
Now that everything is over, all I can say is that I really miss Yunnan and the time we, YELL, as a team had spent together. Though i had started out not knowing most of you guys other than one or two, though all those time, strong bonds have been formed and I really hope that these bonds would last through time. The last few days we spent as a team were the ones which really touched me. As most of you guys know, ironically, i fell sick during the R&R period but this news only got out on the last day. Reason being, after 11 days of CIP, I'm sure all of you guys would want to spent your leisure time shopping and stuff, and I didnt like the idea of me being a burden to you guys. But still, the care you guys had for me during the last night really touched me.. really... thank you...
I really hope that we as a team can carry out more events/services/justnameit in the future..
I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU GUYS!!!
~LONG LIVE YUNNAN OCIP '07 a.k.a. YELL!!!~
~dENisE
Being the last to get in, the only TA2, crazy team members, endless brain cracking meetings, fun-filled fund-raising events, photo essay project, "road building", endless competitive basketball games, my Brillant Buddy, 蛋糕 (高老师 plz dont kill me XD), the kids, the schools, the scenery, the games, gathering firewood, the programms, getting sick, the songs, and most importantly, the BEAUTIDUL TOILETS!!! Recalling all these really makes me think how i actually got throught it!
The majority of the pre-trip meetings were mostly to prepare us for the trip to Yunnan. Yet, unlike what i had expected, most of them required A LOT OF MY BRAIN JUICE!!! It so reminded me of Language Arts lessons. >.< Anyhow, despite my depletion of brain juice, I've never regreted going through the Service Learning lessons, the trip to ACM, the Haig Girls Event, Movie Marathorn, Open Hose and the selling of the Jigsaw. Time consuming as it may be, I had gain a lot of experience.
The trip itself was the fun-est part. I can still remember the first bus ride from the airport to our destination on the first day. The first thing we witnessed was the Sun rise. It was beautiful. Conincidental as it may be, the straight road we travelled on seemed to lead to the sun. It immediately gave me the thought of a journey to new insights, discoveries and... ...hope. It further opened up my mind.
The weather there was not as bad as expected. In fact, when i was there, i realised that i had brought too much clothes! Being Yunnan, the scenery there was breath taking. okayy.. thats a little too exaggerated but hell, it was still beautiful. Oh and a little observation, the average driver in Yunnan is equivalent to a Pro-driver in Singapore. Just look at their skill and you'll know it!
If i had to pick a favourite school, it would be Wan lv Qing and the school which students shouted "欢迎! 欢迎! 热烈欢迎!" when we came in. However, if you ask me which school kids I liked the most, it would be all. Though the schools may treat us differently, however, kids are still kids. Once we are being familarized with them, we were able to carry out our programs efficiently. And boy it was fun with the team bonding games, nursery rhyme teaching, english lessons, basketball games, teaching of 7 stones, and balloon sculpturing.
The most memorable experience of the whole trip would be the one on gathering firewood. The kids at Wan Lv Qing were practically flying up and down the mountain! They even helped to pull/push us up! And the way they climb the trees, all I can say is WOW! i still remember, when i "walking" back down the mountain with my firewood, i saw a sight which made my stomach clench.. GAO LAO SHI WAS SLACKING UNDER A TREE!!! okayy.. i wont say slacking.. lets say.. enjoying the role of being an empress dowagers sitting under a shady tree with people serving her while enjoying the beautiful scenery. right.. >.<
Oh yes my buddy.. how can i forget.. MISS FONG!!! I really miss the times where people tease you of being a bimbo.. haha.. oh and though i may suan you, i have never called you a bimbo.. hahaz.. juz wondering if you ever realised.. hahaz.. anyway, hope you enjoy your time in Shanghai with your husband.. but in case you read this, i would like to remind you that WE ALL MISS YOU!!! oh yeah.. did you like the pic i drew for you? XD
Now that everything is over, all I can say is that I really miss Yunnan and the time we, YELL, as a team had spent together. Though i had started out not knowing most of you guys other than one or two, though all those time, strong bonds have been formed and I really hope that these bonds would last through time. The last few days we spent as a team were the ones which really touched me. As most of you guys know, ironically, i fell sick during the R&R period but this news only got out on the last day. Reason being, after 11 days of CIP, I'm sure all of you guys would want to spent your leisure time shopping and stuff, and I didnt like the idea of me being a burden to you guys. But still, the care you guys had for me during the last night really touched me.. really... thank you...
I really hope that we as a team can carry out more events/services/justnameit in the future..
I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU GUYS!!!
~LONG LIVE YUNNAN OCIP '07 a.k.a. YELL!!!~
~dENisE
jerome's final reflection (for now. outreach never ends)
i'm sleepy. woops. sorry. but final reflection's up.
let's start by looking back and recalling why i signed up for this TOO program in the first place. There was that bit of me saying "wow this is gonna be so fun and perfect for my SP!" then there's the part of me which says "i can help save this world(: i can help others" i never had the single inkling that there would be so much learning involved in the process as well.
I got to understand more about the concept of Service Learning (SL). I feel that all the sessions held by the teacher mentors have been really beneficial and enriching. They have helped me develop my mind into one which thinks more deeply, eyes which see beyond the superficial.
Moving on to the time when we actually got going for the fund-raising events. I have to admit, i'm one person who really dislike going round asking my friends to danate. It was a real challenge to me but i feel that it has made me grow stronger in this aspect. I would never do it if i were not fully passionate about this whole project. Especially in selling of the notebooks and jigsaw pieces, it took much courage and thick skin to approach and pester my pals over and over again. Its quite humourous now that i'm recalling it.
Now i shall reflect on the events in Yunnan.
Firstly, our time with the students in the schools. The students are wonderful people, and the teachers in most of the schools are really welcoming and warm to us. Indeed, the locals WANT to improve their standards of living. The students do know that the only way out of poverty is perhaps good, proper education. That is why they are very hardworking and studious. When asked what their favourite past time is, the common answer is STUDYING. That is really amazing especially for most of us Singaporean students who find learning a real chore. Yet, their progress in education could be hampered by the lack of infrastructure. That is where foreign aid is really required and there is a severe need in transfer of technology. I also realised that there is still many pressing discrimination in Yunnan. The preference of boys over girls and boy dominance is prevalent there. They see no fault in a boy pushing a girl or taking over her territories for games. Secondly, they also discriminate against left-handers. While this may seem trival on its own, it speak about liberty and equality. Being a left hander, i noticed when i started writing, the students started giggling and laughing at me. Later i realised that they were all forced to use their right hands from young. So you can never find a left hander there. You are considered stupid to be using your left hand. Another distressing issue is their lack of teamwork. The students we work with are very much self-centered. They do not understand the whole concept of teamplay and how it could actually reap greater effectiveness in self-improvement. Our activities with them usually rotated about teamplay. Lastly, it is sad that most of the students were not very courtous. Minding their Ps and Qs was a huge problem. Perhaps one of the greatest impact we left with them is to clear the place of rubbish wherever we went and also to say the simple "thank you"s. Other than that, the students are an adorable buch, fun loving and simple people.
Next, the road building project. Well, i guess many felt that we were not helping out much in that anyway. What we did, one worker there could have done perhaps 10x better. However, i've learnt that it is not how much we do there or how well its done that matters, our very presence, our donated sum of money, brings attention of the china government to the village. That is what's important. Sustainability. We want the government to take notice. To step forward and help their own people. Building of that road in xun dian is especially important to the villagers there especially in terms of trading. Before, only horses are able to pass through the roads. Many crops grown in the fertile soils inland are wasted and left to whilt in the cold winter season. A huge economic waste and very much a pity, especially when there is a current shortage of food in the world.
Lastly for the trip, my group "chengmistry" did a project based on the life of our project coordinator, Zhao Bin. Through his sharing on his life experiences, i have learnt many things about his job scope and what sustains him. Well, before taking on a project, or deciding which village to help, the very first thing he needs is the support of the village head. The village head have to first WANT to help his own people, taking the initiative to approach zhao bin before anything else. Next comes the sustainability of the project. There is no point and no meaning in conducting a project which would only last a few months and the village regress and die off. They have to finally find their own feet and progress on their own. Finally comes the accessibility and the ability of foreign helpers. Zhao Bin only earns about S$20 a day when there's a group around. It shows that he does not do it for the money, but actually its his passion to help his people. So what actually sustains him is his family's support, his mentor Dr Tan, the feeling that he is important, our happiness and the smiles on the children's and the villagers' face. I am truely inspired by this man. I want to do more to be like him.
I'll end off this set of reflections with some take-aways from this trip.
1. i've understood the delicate balance in life, how some must give so others may recieve; how some fall while others stand strong
2. Learning and Growing takes place anywhere and everywhere. Be it going for a home visit or cooking or simply going to the market. Perhaps i'm learning even by typing all these(:
3. A new motto: Life is meaningful if I make it meaningful. "TOO is beneficial if time if I make it beneficial"
4. All the wonderful friendships i've made and understanding my new found friends better through breaking of ourselves in "Life Journey"
That's all. Y.E.L.L. one of the most amazing experiences in my life.
let's start by looking back and recalling why i signed up for this TOO program in the first place. There was that bit of me saying "wow this is gonna be so fun and perfect for my SP!" then there's the part of me which says "i can help save this world(: i can help others" i never had the single inkling that there would be so much learning involved in the process as well.
I got to understand more about the concept of Service Learning (SL). I feel that all the sessions held by the teacher mentors have been really beneficial and enriching. They have helped me develop my mind into one which thinks more deeply, eyes which see beyond the superficial.
Moving on to the time when we actually got going for the fund-raising events. I have to admit, i'm one person who really dislike going round asking my friends to danate. It was a real challenge to me but i feel that it has made me grow stronger in this aspect. I would never do it if i were not fully passionate about this whole project. Especially in selling of the notebooks and jigsaw pieces, it took much courage and thick skin to approach and pester my pals over and over again. Its quite humourous now that i'm recalling it.
Now i shall reflect on the events in Yunnan.
Firstly, our time with the students in the schools. The students are wonderful people, and the teachers in most of the schools are really welcoming and warm to us. Indeed, the locals WANT to improve their standards of living. The students do know that the only way out of poverty is perhaps good, proper education. That is why they are very hardworking and studious. When asked what their favourite past time is, the common answer is STUDYING. That is really amazing especially for most of us Singaporean students who find learning a real chore. Yet, their progress in education could be hampered by the lack of infrastructure. That is where foreign aid is really required and there is a severe need in transfer of technology. I also realised that there is still many pressing discrimination in Yunnan. The preference of boys over girls and boy dominance is prevalent there. They see no fault in a boy pushing a girl or taking over her territories for games. Secondly, they also discriminate against left-handers. While this may seem trival on its own, it speak about liberty and equality. Being a left hander, i noticed when i started writing, the students started giggling and laughing at me. Later i realised that they were all forced to use their right hands from young. So you can never find a left hander there. You are considered stupid to be using your left hand. Another distressing issue is their lack of teamwork. The students we work with are very much self-centered. They do not understand the whole concept of teamplay and how it could actually reap greater effectiveness in self-improvement. Our activities with them usually rotated about teamplay. Lastly, it is sad that most of the students were not very courtous. Minding their Ps and Qs was a huge problem. Perhaps one of the greatest impact we left with them is to clear the place of rubbish wherever we went and also to say the simple "thank you"s. Other than that, the students are an adorable buch, fun loving and simple people.
Next, the road building project. Well, i guess many felt that we were not helping out much in that anyway. What we did, one worker there could have done perhaps 10x better. However, i've learnt that it is not how much we do there or how well its done that matters, our very presence, our donated sum of money, brings attention of the china government to the village. That is what's important. Sustainability. We want the government to take notice. To step forward and help their own people. Building of that road in xun dian is especially important to the villagers there especially in terms of trading. Before, only horses are able to pass through the roads. Many crops grown in the fertile soils inland are wasted and left to whilt in the cold winter season. A huge economic waste and very much a pity, especially when there is a current shortage of food in the world.
Lastly for the trip, my group "chengmistry" did a project based on the life of our project coordinator, Zhao Bin. Through his sharing on his life experiences, i have learnt many things about his job scope and what sustains him. Well, before taking on a project, or deciding which village to help, the very first thing he needs is the support of the village head. The village head have to first WANT to help his own people, taking the initiative to approach zhao bin before anything else. Next comes the sustainability of the project. There is no point and no meaning in conducting a project which would only last a few months and the village regress and die off. They have to finally find their own feet and progress on their own. Finally comes the accessibility and the ability of foreign helpers. Zhao Bin only earns about S$20 a day when there's a group around. It shows that he does not do it for the money, but actually its his passion to help his people. So what actually sustains him is his family's support, his mentor Dr Tan, the feeling that he is important, our happiness and the smiles on the children's and the villagers' face. I am truely inspired by this man. I want to do more to be like him.
I'll end off this set of reflections with some take-aways from this trip.
1. i've understood the delicate balance in life, how some must give so others may recieve; how some fall while others stand strong
2. Learning and Growing takes place anywhere and everywhere. Be it going for a home visit or cooking or simply going to the market. Perhaps i'm learning even by typing all these(:
3. A new motto: Life is meaningful if I make it meaningful. "TOO is beneficial if time if I make it beneficial"
4. All the wonderful friendships i've made and understanding my new found friends better through breaking of ourselves in "Life Journey"
That's all. Y.E.L.L. one of the most amazing experiences in my life.
Yijie's final reflection(:
I think I would not have been able to do up this final reflection without my journal.
The pre-trip sessions are really important. Without that, I would not have known the true meaning of service learning and would not have as much ownership to the project that I had right now. I think the S-L game left us into thinking a lot.
On the very first day, Wan Lv Qing Primary already left me a very great impression. The Principal, teachers and students really warmly welcomed us and made us feel at home right away. The students were also extremely friendly and helped us moved our luggage to the place that we were staying.
The living conditions were also bad as compared to Singapore. However, I learnt that money is not put in to build a better toilet as it is actually their way of life and we should try to adapt to it. The weather there was also another challenge for us as it fluctuates a lot throughout the day.
The most unforgettable experience I guess would be the mountain climbing to collect firewood. I was with three very helpful girls from the primary four. We went quite high up to chop the firewood and tied them into a bundle. Of course, it was the girls who helped me and I realized that mine was really half compared to theirs. The slope was actually VERY steep. Climbing up was better because we were not carrying anything but the girls were practically pulling me up and I was thinking if I were to slip, we would all fall down together. The way down was so scary and obviously being pulled down by the girls again.
I guess all of us were quite sad to leave the first school as we had already formed a close bond with them through the various activities that we had together. It seems that the children do really remembered what you have done for them. And the question that I do not want to hear was those children asking when we will be back. Deep down we would very much like to go back but it is not up to us to decide as well. If we had the chance to return to this school, I am sure that the children will still remember us no matter what.
It was definitely an experience that we are able to visit four schools for this trip. However, for the road project, I just felt that we were not able to do what we could due to the weather. On the other note, I am glad that our funds were still able to help the village by opening up a road so that they could increase their income and not let the crops gone to waste.
For my group, the photo essay helped us a lot in understanding the preparations behind this whole trip. It was really fun thinking of ways to approach Zhao Bin and discussing the questions that we were to ask him.
Our team is actually one which loves singing and it has really spice up the whole journey. Last but not least, Ms Koh, Ms Fong, Mr Cheng and the rest of the YELL team, thank you so much for your care and support. I could not have made it without you guys. =)
The pre-trip sessions are really important. Without that, I would not have known the true meaning of service learning and would not have as much ownership to the project that I had right now. I think the S-L game left us into thinking a lot.
On the very first day, Wan Lv Qing Primary already left me a very great impression. The Principal, teachers and students really warmly welcomed us and made us feel at home right away. The students were also extremely friendly and helped us moved our luggage to the place that we were staying.
The living conditions were also bad as compared to Singapore. However, I learnt that money is not put in to build a better toilet as it is actually their way of life and we should try to adapt to it. The weather there was also another challenge for us as it fluctuates a lot throughout the day.
The most unforgettable experience I guess would be the mountain climbing to collect firewood. I was with three very helpful girls from the primary four. We went quite high up to chop the firewood and tied them into a bundle. Of course, it was the girls who helped me and I realized that mine was really half compared to theirs. The slope was actually VERY steep. Climbing up was better because we were not carrying anything but the girls were practically pulling me up and I was thinking if I were to slip, we would all fall down together. The way down was so scary and obviously being pulled down by the girls again.
I guess all of us were quite sad to leave the first school as we had already formed a close bond with them through the various activities that we had together. It seems that the children do really remembered what you have done for them. And the question that I do not want to hear was those children asking when we will be back. Deep down we would very much like to go back but it is not up to us to decide as well. If we had the chance to return to this school, I am sure that the children will still remember us no matter what.
It was definitely an experience that we are able to visit four schools for this trip. However, for the road project, I just felt that we were not able to do what we could due to the weather. On the other note, I am glad that our funds were still able to help the village by opening up a road so that they could increase their income and not let the crops gone to waste.
For my group, the photo essay helped us a lot in understanding the preparations behind this whole trip. It was really fun thinking of ways to approach Zhao Bin and discussing the questions that we were to ask him.
Our team is actually one which loves singing and it has really spice up the whole journey. Last but not least, Ms Koh, Ms Fong, Mr Cheng and the rest of the YELL team, thank you so much for your care and support. I could not have made it without you guys. =)
Priscilla's final reflections.
omg. everyone is writing so long reflections..
for me.
pre-trip
i was real excited abt this ocip thing when i first heard about it. so i signed up super eagerly. then came the interview and i thought i screwed it up but i got in so yay.
i didn't think much about all those pre-trip meetings and all. i thought they were just a waste of time at first. but as meetings got more intensive and interactive and all, i found that they were actually quite useful in terms of mental preparation. and through the meetings, i managed to open up more and all too! the fund-raising events were really good bonding sessions too.
actual trip
environment: i was so not looking forward to going on the trip, mainly because of the conditions i've heard about and the images going in my head. but it wasn as bad as everyone thinks it was. All we needed was just tissues and the feng you! haha. and i realise i didn do much "sight-seeing" due to me sleeping most of the time in the bus.
programmes: i think the programme that left the most impression on me was the teaching at the primary schools. esp at wan lu qing. i find that the kids are really different from s'pore kids. i feel more appreciated there. although we faced some difficulties at lu chong, we managed to survive our days there. i've never thought that i would get satisfaction from teaching the kids, as to me, my main aim there was to build the road? haha. then the "road-building" thing was, to me, a lil not meaningful. i didn feel a purpose in clearing the roads. somehow, i felt that we were more of a hindrance. however, i felt the care of everyone in the team, coz we cared of each other and helped one another.
general: i enjoyed the trip to a certain extent only. to me, there was this piece of enjoyment missing in me. i guess a large part of it was due to my mum-sickness. i missed my mum alot and i cried everyday when i called home. so i didn really immerse myself into everything i did. but i would say that i don't regret going on the trip. i made friends. learnt alot of things through every single activity. and i eventually realised that i was never alone through the whole journey.
post-trip
i missed the team, esp the few close friends i made on the trip. i missed the simple life. and the kids. i learnt to enjoy the life i have in s'pore. and of course appreciate my mum more. i do regret not enjoying myself more on the trip, because i know i will never meet as wonderful a team as YELL.
though i am like not in tj and all, i will be back to help if time permits! yay!
yay, i'm done. its short, but its all that i can reflect, because to me, my deepest feelings in deep inside my heart.
for me.
pre-trip
i was real excited abt this ocip thing when i first heard about it. so i signed up super eagerly. then came the interview and i thought i screwed it up but i got in so yay.
i didn't think much about all those pre-trip meetings and all. i thought they were just a waste of time at first. but as meetings got more intensive and interactive and all, i found that they were actually quite useful in terms of mental preparation. and through the meetings, i managed to open up more and all too! the fund-raising events were really good bonding sessions too.
actual trip
environment: i was so not looking forward to going on the trip, mainly because of the conditions i've heard about and the images going in my head. but it wasn as bad as everyone thinks it was. All we needed was just tissues and the feng you! haha. and i realise i didn do much "sight-seeing" due to me sleeping most of the time in the bus.
programmes: i think the programme that left the most impression on me was the teaching at the primary schools. esp at wan lu qing. i find that the kids are really different from s'pore kids. i feel more appreciated there. although we faced some difficulties at lu chong, we managed to survive our days there. i've never thought that i would get satisfaction from teaching the kids, as to me, my main aim there was to build the road? haha. then the "road-building" thing was, to me, a lil not meaningful. i didn feel a purpose in clearing the roads. somehow, i felt that we were more of a hindrance. however, i felt the care of everyone in the team, coz we cared of each other and helped one another.
general: i enjoyed the trip to a certain extent only. to me, there was this piece of enjoyment missing in me. i guess a large part of it was due to my mum-sickness. i missed my mum alot and i cried everyday when i called home. so i didn really immerse myself into everything i did. but i would say that i don't regret going on the trip. i made friends. learnt alot of things through every single activity. and i eventually realised that i was never alone through the whole journey.
post-trip
i missed the team, esp the few close friends i made on the trip. i missed the simple life. and the kids. i learnt to enjoy the life i have in s'pore. and of course appreciate my mum more. i do regret not enjoying myself more on the trip, because i know i will never meet as wonderful a team as YELL.
though i am like not in tj and all, i will be back to help if time permits! yay!
yay, i'm done. its short, but its all that i can reflect, because to me, my deepest feelings in deep inside my heart.
Amanda’s Reflections for YELL
Since the beginning of march, when I signed myself up for the trip, so much has happened – different experiences, different emotions, and of course different people. Somewhat and somehow, the whole journey has come to an end and to think that I find everything slow moving in the beginning. I still remember sitting in a classroom with a sea of unfamiliar faces one evening in April not knowing what to expect from this trip. Despite the uncertainty surrounding it, I took the risk, completed the trip and perhaps have gotten the most I could out of it.
Pre-trip
Though the trip was only 2 weeks but it took a whole 8 months to plan. I must admit that in the beginning I was shocked that the teachers want all of us to be involved in the planning. It was truly something that I didn’t expect. I thought that I am simply just going there to give my all and help the people there (that’s why I was at the big S, small L). Nevertheless through the numerous activities and meetings the teachers painstakingly planned, my perceptions on the trip changed. This trip is not only about the people the people in Yunnan but about me learning too. I still remember being in the fund raising team and those activities we organized – selling drinks, movie marathon, book sales, jigsaw sales. Though these events has been reduced to a few words but the memories of them is still within my mind. To think about it, we have spent so many activities and meetings together even before the trip began.
The Beginning - the HARD time
This 14 or 15 days is an out of the world experience for me as it was my first time visiting China. I still remember the day of the flight, a few friends and I were at the airport and they were teasing about how harsh the conditions in China were. At that time, I was really worried and lots of things were going through my mind and for once I felt a tinge of homesickness though theoretically I was still in Singapore. I boarded the plane, hoping to get it done and over with.
My first impression of China came across as “like any other developing country I been to”. After all, driving on the roads to the village, I was bombarded by the sights of tall buildings, wooden houses, shophouses, roadside stalls, huge trucks and 3-wheeled vehicles that seem familiar to those I had seen in Thailand.
Naturally, that was in the city and town and the big shock came when I stepped foot upon the first village. Firstly the scenery was breath-taking, rows after rows of fields, tall green mountains, sandy roads and mud-brick houses. It was like those documentaries and drama serials I had seen on China but without the stench from the toilet, the bumpiness of the roads, the hidden bugs and the grains of sand constantly whiffing about in the wind.
When we were preparing the rooms, I was shocked to see it infested with ladybugs and flies fluttering around plus crawling about the straw mats. However, nothing can be compared to the shock I gotten from the village toilet. The smell and the flies struck me so badly that I did not even dare to step into it, plus it doesn’t help that there were rumors of maggots sightings by the guys. When I returned to the girl’s room, I finally cried. For the first time, I asked myself “Why am I here?”, “How stupid was I to come here instead of remaining in Singapore?”,etc. For a moment, all my reasons for coming to Yunnan was reduced to nothing, I felt really helpless as I still have 13 more days to go. Thankfully, I remembered that God is with me all the time, whether I am in Singapore or Yunnan and he will be constantly looking out and protecting for me. It was this thought that I managed to settle down and kept me through the whole trip. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it!
The children
We went to 4 different primary schools throughout the trip and we taught in each one of them. Though in the beginning I was apprehensive to approach and interact with the children but I soon realize that they are just like any primary school kid in Singapore. Teaching the children really makes me feel that the whole trip is worthwhile, though maybe naughty and disrespectful at times but the smiles on their faces radiates the purest form of happiness that is absent from the cold world of adults.
Of all the schools we have been, I thought that the experience at Lu Chong Xiao Xue was the most enriching for me. Though the students there are the most mischievous but I can see the change in their attitudes towards us as we came back and taught them the second time. They were more friendly and enthusiastic to us not. It is not that the children and the other schools weren’t but to see such change really showed that we have managed to impact them in some way or another. I felt glad that the team had given the children there an insight of foreign volunteers.
I shall not talk about the wood-cutting trip but it has shown me how to appreciate life more.
The villagers
They are really very nice. Even though they may not be rich but they are certainly friendly. We had received numerous invitations to come to their house for a meal though we do not know each other in a single walk alone. Through the home visit and the 2 dinners we had at the villagers’ house, it showed me their generosity and how big hearted they could be, giving us the best treatment they can. Somehow after the 2 dinners I could not help but feel guilty, wondering how much have these kind villagers spent on preparing such a grand dinner for the 28 of us. I was also envious of their closely knitted community.
-------
Gosh, I dislike writing about such trips. There are so many things, so many feelings deep down and incidents to keep a record of. There are so many scenes flashing through my mind and it is impossible to put all of them down in words.
I shall just conclude now. This trip may not be a smooth sailing one but it has impacted me. It opened my eyes to the world around me and taught me so many things. How a group of us, in a short period of 10 days would leave an everlasting impact on the people there. Also Yunnan has made me appreciate my family and life in Singapore much more. Most importantly, it has shown me how much I have grown and more about myself. This trip has given me the an enormous sense of accomplishment that I could never get out of my academic results.
Thank you Ms Koh, Ms Fong, Mr Cheng and the YELL team for making this trip an unforgettable one for me (:
pinqi's reflection
woohoo~~~super long..i mean i took a very long time to type!!jacq!!i m here...
This reflection is guided by post trip reflection form which is adapted from the youth expedition project reflection form because there is so much that I learnt from this trip and I don’t know where to start.
Right from the very beginning, I joined OCIP with the intention of giving a service. Though I knew I can learn and experience a lot from the trip, my main intention was still to help the community over there. However, my opinion changed slightly after the various discussions we had. I began to understand that there is a limit to what we can do to help, however, everything that we do, observe, hear, touch, feel can have an impact on my own life and we can learn something from almost everything. (why not a service in singapore you might ask, i believe it is very different, and an experience there could enrich me and give me new ideas!and btw.i do service locally too)
One very memorable activity we had before the trip is the well planned open discussions by the teachers: S-L activity, Yes, No, Maybe discussion. These activities opened up my mind and allowed me to rethink about my opinions regarding some issues, for example, what form of service is most necessary for the host community. Also, these activities gave me a chance to understand my team mates better, in terms of their views. Most importantly, I came to understand that although we have the same goal, we might look at things from a different angle and there is really no right or wrong!
Pre-trip was also rather tiring. The darkest time was probably seeing our hard work produce very minimal results. Moreover, the whole team was rather separated and that was worrisome and disappointing. Though I m not sure if I enjoyed that part of the pre-trip at all, I can gladly say that I made a new good friend JACQ! mainly because of the “sai-kang” we did together, and it is worth it(: and I think I can make a good salesgirl for charity, though I do not aspire to be one. Finally, I come to understand that fundraising was a process/ hardship, that we were tasked to go through, it is really not about how much money we can raise as the teachers had applied for sponsorship already. I’m glad we really pulled through as a team during the trip and became a united group of friends.
Honestly, I had a reluctance to go for the trip (though it was not my first trip without my family) and later, a reluctance to come back to Singapore. Upon reaching Yunnan, I became charged up and excitedly await our first task. However, I remember feeling so bored on that day. Besides arranging our sleeping area, exploring the conditions around the school and writing journal, I did not do anything much. In the night, during our group discussion, I then realize that I should have taken the initiative to go down to interact with the kids there. Well, everyone makes mistake, so I decided to change and be more proactive.
One part of the trip which I enjoyed the most is Life Journey (LJ). It gives me great insights to learn from each others’ experiences and also triggered me to reflect on my whole life and some other issues of life too. It is also a great bonding session as I learn to embrace the actions of our team mates and understand them. It feels great when we trusted each other and could pour our hearts to the whole team. This is an activity that I might consider to introduce to my other organizations so that we can become closer too!
The photo essay is one activity which helped me focus better. It zooms in to one specific topic which we are interested to find out about. It gives a sense of purpose, besides just giving a service to the host country. Chengmistry bonded well during the activity, and had not much if not no problems with task allocation like interviewing and taking photos, however, we were struggling and did not know if we should continue on the topic on Zhao Bing or switch to our backup plan. Lucky for our group, we had support of each other and Mr Cheng, we persevered and finished our project successfully. It was really not as easy as taking a photo as we were not professionals and taking photo of a person in an act is like ?!! (I don’t know how to describe that). And quoting from Zhao Bing: “那简直就是偷拍嘛！” yup, professional paparazzi okay!! Record of 2041 photos (my tablet hang when I open that folder lo)
Thinking back about the schools and home visit, I cannot exactly pinpoint the lesson learnt. It was a different experience from the schools in the city. And it was a great chance to learn to deal with different people from different background. However, there are still so many question marks I yet to find an answer about. You’ll see below.
Probably one thing I can say is “ignorance is bliss”, as they are contented and happy with their life. But from another point of view, I think that many of the children deserve a chance to break out of their poverty cycle. Some of them are very bright and really obedient and matured, even at the age of 7. And I think they are deprived of that chance. But then again, what can we do as students from a foreign country? Even if we could give them the chance to study in the city/abroad, is it a good thing? And how many kids can we help? Is visits from us and teaching them simple english enough? Then again, 勿以善小而不为, so it will still make an impact on them, big or small.
Also, the last school which is nearer to the town was like an indication that made me have a hypothesis. They did not really welcome us, unlike the other schools which were more rural. This made me think that not everyone appreciates our help, especially those who already have a taste of the urban life. But should we still help? No matter what, I think that was a lesson learnt definitely, if not for that school, probably we will continue to think that they need/want our help.
One issue that we briefly discussed about is whether we should give them the sweets or not. Of course it is not about the sweets, it is the broader issue about dependency and whether by doing that they will expect the other teams to do the same too. Maybe it is true, as the previous paragraph about the last school states, they take us for granted and do not appreciate us anymore. Maybe that is a wrong signal sent out by us (the foreign teams in general) too.
Another broader issue was the government’s indifference to the development of rural areas. We found out about this only when we talked to Zhao Bing. This made me admire Zhao Bing’s “movement” very much. It is a very noble job that not everyone could undertake. A sheer 100 RMB per day (only when there are teams) is a testimony of his passion towards his job. This is so different from just coming over to do a service learning project for 2 weeks. But it is the indifference of the government that surprised me. Maybe China is too big, and the government does not know where to start? So in a way, the money that we are donating for the road works and all is still important, right?
We only stayed in the schools for three days and the accommodation of the rest of the trip was the hotel. I think it is a blessing in disguise, though we thought it would be a good experience to live in the village (as we would not be able to experience it in Singapore). This is because the team could bond even better in the comfortable environment, like talking till late at night. Also, we are more energized to start work the next morning due to a good night’s sleep. It also made me realized that adaptability and safety is more important and we must 见机行事 and must know how to react quickly to solve or prevent problems.
Well, there is just too much for me to put down in words. Maybe I’ve missed out some things, but I guess the main points are there. And reading other people’s reflection will somehow trigger to think about the other important issues too. And The smaller details like going to the market, cooking, toilet-ing, traveling, road building, dealing with P1 kids, singing, collecting the firewood and plain chatting are all in my sub conscious mind and journal so I would not elaborate.
Finally and finally, thank you to the people reading this, cos’ you’ll probably not understand my incoherence. And most importantly, I cannot thank you enough teachers and team mates of YELL!! I will remember you(:
This reflection is guided by post trip reflection form which is adapted from the youth expedition project reflection form because there is so much that I learnt from this trip and I don’t know where to start.
Right from the very beginning, I joined OCIP with the intention of giving a service. Though I knew I can learn and experience a lot from the trip, my main intention was still to help the community over there. However, my opinion changed slightly after the various discussions we had. I began to understand that there is a limit to what we can do to help, however, everything that we do, observe, hear, touch, feel can have an impact on my own life and we can learn something from almost everything. (why not a service in singapore you might ask, i believe it is very different, and an experience there could enrich me and give me new ideas!and btw.i do service locally too)
One very memorable activity we had before the trip is the well planned open discussions by the teachers: S-L activity, Yes, No, Maybe discussion. These activities opened up my mind and allowed me to rethink about my opinions regarding some issues, for example, what form of service is most necessary for the host community. Also, these activities gave me a chance to understand my team mates better, in terms of their views. Most importantly, I came to understand that although we have the same goal, we might look at things from a different angle and there is really no right or wrong!
Pre-trip was also rather tiring. The darkest time was probably seeing our hard work produce very minimal results. Moreover, the whole team was rather separated and that was worrisome and disappointing. Though I m not sure if I enjoyed that part of the pre-trip at all, I can gladly say that I made a new good friend JACQ! mainly because of the “sai-kang” we did together, and it is worth it(: and I think I can make a good salesgirl for charity, though I do not aspire to be one. Finally, I come to understand that fundraising was a process/ hardship, that we were tasked to go through, it is really not about how much money we can raise as the teachers had applied for sponsorship already. I’m glad we really pulled through as a team during the trip and became a united group of friends.
Honestly, I had a reluctance to go for the trip (though it was not my first trip without my family) and later, a reluctance to come back to Singapore. Upon reaching Yunnan, I became charged up and excitedly await our first task. However, I remember feeling so bored on that day. Besides arranging our sleeping area, exploring the conditions around the school and writing journal, I did not do anything much. In the night, during our group discussion, I then realize that I should have taken the initiative to go down to interact with the kids there. Well, everyone makes mistake, so I decided to change and be more proactive.
One part of the trip which I enjoyed the most is Life Journey (LJ). It gives me great insights to learn from each others’ experiences and also triggered me to reflect on my whole life and some other issues of life too. It is also a great bonding session as I learn to embrace the actions of our team mates and understand them. It feels great when we trusted each other and could pour our hearts to the whole team. This is an activity that I might consider to introduce to my other organizations so that we can become closer too!
The photo essay is one activity which helped me focus better. It zooms in to one specific topic which we are interested to find out about. It gives a sense of purpose, besides just giving a service to the host country. Chengmistry bonded well during the activity, and had not much if not no problems with task allocation like interviewing and taking photos, however, we were struggling and did not know if we should continue on the topic on Zhao Bing or switch to our backup plan. Lucky for our group, we had support of each other and Mr Cheng, we persevered and finished our project successfully. It was really not as easy as taking a photo as we were not professionals and taking photo of a person in an act is like ?!! (I don’t know how to describe that). And quoting from Zhao Bing: “那简直就是偷拍嘛！” yup, professional paparazzi okay!! Record of 2041 photos (my tablet hang when I open that folder lo)
Thinking back about the schools and home visit, I cannot exactly pinpoint the lesson learnt. It was a different experience from the schools in the city. And it was a great chance to learn to deal with different people from different background. However, there are still so many question marks I yet to find an answer about. You’ll see below.
Probably one thing I can say is “ignorance is bliss”, as they are contented and happy with their life. But from another point of view, I think that many of the children deserve a chance to break out of their poverty cycle. Some of them are very bright and really obedient and matured, even at the age of 7. And I think they are deprived of that chance. But then again, what can we do as students from a foreign country? Even if we could give them the chance to study in the city/abroad, is it a good thing? And how many kids can we help? Is visits from us and teaching them simple english enough? Then again, 勿以善小而不为, so it will still make an impact on them, big or small.
Also, the last school which is nearer to the town was like an indication that made me have a hypothesis. They did not really welcome us, unlike the other schools which were more rural. This made me think that not everyone appreciates our help, especially those who already have a taste of the urban life. But should we still help? No matter what, I think that was a lesson learnt definitely, if not for that school, probably we will continue to think that they need/want our help.
One issue that we briefly discussed about is whether we should give them the sweets or not. Of course it is not about the sweets, it is the broader issue about dependency and whether by doing that they will expect the other teams to do the same too. Maybe it is true, as the previous paragraph about the last school states, they take us for granted and do not appreciate us anymore. Maybe that is a wrong signal sent out by us (the foreign teams in general) too.
Another broader issue was the government’s indifference to the development of rural areas. We found out about this only when we talked to Zhao Bing. This made me admire Zhao Bing’s “movement” very much. It is a very noble job that not everyone could undertake. A sheer 100 RMB per day (only when there are teams) is a testimony of his passion towards his job. This is so different from just coming over to do a service learning project for 2 weeks. But it is the indifference of the government that surprised me. Maybe China is too big, and the government does not know where to start? So in a way, the money that we are donating for the road works and all is still important, right?
We only stayed in the schools for three days and the accommodation of the rest of the trip was the hotel. I think it is a blessing in disguise, though we thought it would be a good experience to live in the village (as we would not be able to experience it in Singapore). This is because the team could bond even better in the comfortable environment, like talking till late at night. Also, we are more energized to start work the next morning due to a good night’s sleep. It also made me realized that adaptability and safety is more important and we must 见机行事 and must know how to react quickly to solve or prevent problems.
Well, there is just too much for me to put down in words. Maybe I’ve missed out some things, but I guess the main points are there. And reading other people’s reflection will somehow trigger to think about the other important issues too. And The smaller details like going to the market, cooking, toilet-ing, traveling, road building, dealing with P1 kids, singing, collecting the firewood and plain chatting are all in my sub conscious mind and journal so I would not elaborate.
Finally and finally, thank you to the people reading this, cos’ you’ll probably not understand my incoherence. And most importantly, I cannot thank you enough teachers and team mates of YELL!! I will remember you(:
JiaHe's Final Reflecition
Alright. This is 7.20pm on a Sunday evening and I realized barely 5 have blogged. So I shall now post what I have to say on this final reflection so mine won’t be the latest post which will be read by most people when they come to this blog =S
I must say that my opinion of outreach programmes have changed after joining this OCIP Yunnan team. In the past, when anyone mention about CIP, I would be thinking of things like what they need, what I’ve to do to improve their living condition, ways to help them etc. These thinking, although not intentionally, reflect our mentality towards the people that we are ‘helping’ – They are inferior to us and we people, as the superior ones, are going to help them. Indeed, this is what I felt when I first heard of OCIP as I believe that it is no different from CIP that we had in primary/secondary school. However I slowly got rid of these thinking when we started discussing what exactly is service learning.
Another aspect which had got me thinking quite a lot would be the magnitudes of service and learning and how it should be. Yes, the ideal would definitely be a big-S and a big-L whereby we maximize both service and learning. However, after the trip and doing some reflections, I realize there is a limit to everything, except learning. If we look at the amount of things we can do to help them, be it to improve their living conditions or help them financially, there’s always a limit to the level that we can help. But learning from this experience is different, definitely. We can’t deny the fact that we’ve learnt more than we’ve served and that’s the primary reason why I feel it’s small-S big-L. But we can always improve and someday I hope that we can achieve the ideal: Big-S Big-L.
Alright, enough for the ‘boring’ stuff and on to some experience that I had during the trip. What really scared me was how competitive the children there are. Seriously, if
However, no matter how much their individualistic and competitiveness scare me, I must really say I’m respect their drive and determination. No matter how poor their studying conditions are, they strive to give their best in studies – studying in the morning before the teacher come, staying back straight after class to finish their homework and no late coming or any sort when they have to WALK an average time of 1.5 hours to reach their school. Don’t these things make us feel guilty? We have air-conditioned classrooms with brand new tables and chairs; we have qualified teachers and high tech equipments to facilitate our study; we have a good transport system that can take us around S’pore in an hour or so. But yet, we complain, we grumble that school sucks; we moan at the amount of homework that we have; we give excuses and whine at how early we have to get up for school when all it takes is barely 30 mins to reach school. I’m sure many feel the same as I do – that this trip certainly made us feel how lucky and fortunate we are to be here in S’pore. And hopefully, we can use this as a motivation to study harder and put in more effort by doing tutorials and listening in lectures =S
Now that the trip is over and we are all back in S’pore, I believe those 14 days will never be forgotten. I thought it was going to be a very very very long journey on the first day and was wondering how I’m going to survive. But time flies, like we always say, and for some funny reasons, I sort of wish to stay over there where there’s no stress, no worries and away from all realities. But that’s life and I’ve a friend who always says – Life, is a joke I didn’t get.
-Jia He
Gavin Final Reflection
I happen to read Jia Xiang's reflection right before this post, and i noticed that he has tons of quotes. And I must admit, that they were quite effective cause these quotes are the only thing that i still can remember now (after 10seconds reading). But I wont be "quoting".
As my final reflection, I think that I will be posting one of my First reflections of the trip, instead of a overall reflection, because i believe nobody else will be doing that.
3rd day, 4.45pm. Thursday. 15/11/2007
What we did:
1. Mushroom chicken instant noodles
2. hygiene lessons (teaching)
3. Asked about the students' lives
4. Played marble
5. Lunch, pasta with rice
6. Firewood 'hunting'
7. Basketball
8. Life journal
As usual, I was awoken by the cheerful enthusiastic voices of the primary school students, especially the pre-schoolers who are just having lessons in the room next to ours. For the first time, the girls woke up earlier. On a side note, I woke up with a bad sore throat.
And as usual, I preferred instant noodles to bread and with lots of saturated fats. Reason? It's really taste. Next i had to teach the students about hygiene, which i believe they were not particularly interested in. Most of them don't have the appropiate facilities and more importantly, it's very difficult to change one's culture and way of life.
For my project, I had to probe and analyze the education system in this particular village. And i found out, surprisingly or not, all of the students enjoyed studying. Most of them aspires to be able to study in a secondary school or equivalent, and thereafter enter university (but according to the principal, only a minority population is privileged enough to be able to). The class i was assigned to teach for the whole duration was a primary six class.
Nextly, I played marble with the students. The students kept giving in to me. And finally, I've won. The kids are so accurate with their shots that I'm very much impressed.
For lunch, we had pasta which group Chengmistry prepared for the whole team. It tasted good, but the noodles that they originally planned to prepare, soured. And was fed to the pigs of a very nice lady who helps us all the time for cooking. I had several conversations with her, and i found out that she finds sending her children to school not too expensive (when it should be, giving her circumstances) which I believe is due to the fact that the villagers fully understand the importance of education. Each semester cost 100-200RMB and there are two semesters a year. This lady rears two pigs where one will be slaughtered once a year (to be eaten by the family through the following year) and the other sold for 1000RMB at the village market.
Firewood-hunting was a horrible but probably inspiring experience. The terrain was very bad. We had to climb up high on a steep and slippery mountain, and there were many flies. I was embarrassed to be more of a trouble than help to the two chinese students along with me, and they kept insisting I stay where I was for my own safety (but of course i din't). What touched me most was that they further insisted on carrying my share of the firewood. The rationale they provided was because they understood that it's my first time in the high mountains and thus it might be dangerous for me with a heavy load to descend the mountain. But it was'nt my first time, I had past experiences in trekking from OBM, rockclimbing and et cetera. The students was also very curious about my country, bombarding me with questions about Singapore. I've also noticed that, despite their poor background, they do not gather expensive plants (which they can recognise), be it plants used for traditional chinese medicine or for display. For example, they found this lan hua, a species of flower which can fetch a price of even 1000RMB. When asked why, they told me big issues such as environmental degradation and the love for environment. Their maturity, despite their young age, surprised me alot.
Gavin Loh
As my final reflection, I think that I will be posting one of my First reflections of the trip, instead of a overall reflection, because i believe nobody else will be doing that.
3rd day, 4.45pm. Thursday. 15/11/2007
What we did:
1. Mushroom chicken instant noodles
2. hygiene lessons (teaching)
3. Asked about the students' lives
4. Played marble
5. Lunch, pasta with rice
6. Firewood 'hunting'
7. Basketball
8. Life journal
As usual, I was awoken by the cheerful enthusiastic voices of the primary school students, especially the pre-schoolers who are just having lessons in the room next to ours. For the first time, the girls woke up earlier. On a side note, I woke up with a bad sore throat.
And as usual, I preferred instant noodles to bread and with lots of saturated fats. Reason? It's really taste. Next i had to teach the students about hygiene, which i believe they were not particularly interested in. Most of them don't have the appropiate facilities and more importantly, it's very difficult to change one's culture and way of life.
For my project, I had to probe and analyze the education system in this particular village. And i found out, surprisingly or not, all of the students enjoyed studying. Most of them aspires to be able to study in a secondary school or equivalent, and thereafter enter university (but according to the principal, only a minority population is privileged enough to be able to). The class i was assigned to teach for the whole duration was a primary six class.
Nextly, I played marble with the students. The students kept giving in to me. And finally, I've won. The kids are so accurate with their shots that I'm very much impressed.
For lunch, we had pasta which group Chengmistry prepared for the whole team. It tasted good, but the noodles that they originally planned to prepare, soured. And was fed to the pigs of a very nice lady who helps us all the time for cooking. I had several conversations with her, and i found out that she finds sending her children to school not too expensive (when it should be, giving her circumstances) which I believe is due to the fact that the villagers fully understand the importance of education. Each semester cost 100-200RMB and there are two semesters a year. This lady rears two pigs where one will be slaughtered once a year (to be eaten by the family through the following year) and the other sold for 1000RMB at the village market.
Firewood-hunting was a horrible but probably inspiring experience. The terrain was very bad. We had to climb up high on a steep and slippery mountain, and there were many flies. I was embarrassed to be more of a trouble than help to the two chinese students along with me, and they kept insisting I stay where I was for my own safety (but of course i din't). What touched me most was that they further insisted on carrying my share of the firewood. The rationale they provided was because they understood that it's my first time in the high mountains and thus it might be dangerous for me with a heavy load to descend the mountain. But it was'nt my first time, I had past experiences in trekking from OBM, rockclimbing and et cetera. The students was also very curious about my country, bombarding me with questions about Singapore. I've also noticed that, despite their poor background, they do not gather expensive plants (which they can recognise), be it plants used for traditional chinese medicine or for display. For example, they found this lan hua, a species of flower which can fetch a price of even 1000RMB. When asked why, they told me big issues such as environmental degradation and the love for environment. Their maturity, despite their young age, surprised me alot.
Gavin Loh
Saturday, January 12, 2008
jiaxiang =)
one bigbig afternoon and jiaxiang is here to blog reflection -.- hoho. okay.. it wont be a very long reflection either.. not tt gd with words.. =)
hmm. first of all have to say about the weather.. err, well i survived. before the trip i am little worried tt my permanent injuries and body conditions would sorta hinder the stuffs tt im going to do in yunnan.. but haha it turned out, hoho not bad? =) im not tt gd at adapting after all, so i took first 4 days to adjust to the environment.. and i tot the toilet wasnt tt bad.. except the hospital one.. it's some sort of a housefly nest i guess. hoho im the KING HOUSEFLY dun forget >.< another thing, perhaps i will never get as enthu as the kids in yunnan.. in studies i mean. well i don personally feel xian mu-ing the kids there coz they are so passionate about studying, i jus feel.. hmm at least you all love study. jus feel glad for you all..
and.. i agreed to wad woonyee said during the last ocip meeting on final reflections.. yep, there's really nth we can do, much. they are living there. tts the reality.. in the first village, the da shen who cooked for the Yo! group.. we went her hse to have a chat with her. and i rmbed her saying, tt maybe she will nv be able to step out of here.. at tt moment, i admit my heart really sank. in normal situation i would have rebuke and say, "stop saying you cant, or you will never." perhaps it just sounds meaningful, but there's no meaning to it actually. in reality, there's always a limit to everything that we can do.. i cant do anything at tt moment, i've nothing to give. perhaps prayer, that she will be able to live to the fullest.. and all the best to her children. perhaps you wont want to step out of here, coz you nv know how complicated it is the world out there. or maybe i should say, i will nv know how complicated it is the world in there. you've taught me something - i have limits. but ive learnt something from that too.
"I'll go beyond that, and I will. Not because I must. But because I need to. I don't a have choice."
indeed, somehow i've grown stronger.. stronger than before i went to the trip..
and ofcoz, i bliv most of us will tok about the gathering firewoods experience. hmm. thanks to that little boy. you made me realise im weak after all. not being sacarstic here. weak, depends on how you interpret it.. haha you'll never know what my weak refers to.
"thanks.. and all the best to you in your secondary school.."
i think im going to end my reflections soon. i know it's pathetic. coz its so v short as compared to others. but somehow, those are the most important stuffs that ive learnt from this trip.
"Different mindset... different ways.. different.
All different. "
"Simple, is complicated.
there's nothing that is simple..
if you think it's simple,
you're more complicated that i thought."
"Yu qiang zhe qiang.. That's me. Show me, and I'll show you. "
"No matter.. No matter how hard you try and how hard you fall..
Just fight.
At the most you lost all your energy and collapse..
It's nothing more scary than giving up. "
"I will manage.. somehow..
-jiaxiang "
3.11pm, 13/1/2008
hmm. first of all have to say about the weather.. err, well i survived. before the trip i am little worried tt my permanent injuries and body conditions would sorta hinder the stuffs tt im going to do in yunnan.. but haha it turned out, hoho not bad? =) im not tt gd at adapting after all, so i took first 4 days to adjust to the environment.. and i tot the toilet wasnt tt bad.. except the hospital one.. it's some sort of a housefly nest i guess. hoho im the KING HOUSEFLY dun forget >.< another thing, perhaps i will never get as enthu as the kids in yunnan.. in studies i mean. well i don personally feel xian mu-ing the kids there coz they are so passionate about studying, i jus feel.. hmm at least you all love study. jus feel glad for you all..
and.. i agreed to wad woonyee said during the last ocip meeting on final reflections.. yep, there's really nth we can do, much. they are living there. tts the reality.. in the first village, the da shen who cooked for the Yo! group.. we went her hse to have a chat with her. and i rmbed her saying, tt maybe she will nv be able to step out of here.. at tt moment, i admit my heart really sank. in normal situation i would have rebuke and say, "stop saying you cant, or you will never." perhaps it just sounds meaningful, but there's no meaning to it actually. in reality, there's always a limit to everything that we can do.. i cant do anything at tt moment, i've nothing to give. perhaps prayer, that she will be able to live to the fullest.. and all the best to her children. perhaps you wont want to step out of here, coz you nv know how complicated it is the world out there. or maybe i should say, i will nv know how complicated it is the world in there. you've taught me something - i have limits. but ive learnt something from that too.
"I'll go beyond that, and I will. Not because I must. But because I need to. I don't a have choice."
indeed, somehow i've grown stronger.. stronger than before i went to the trip..
and ofcoz, i bliv most of us will tok about the gathering firewoods experience. hmm. thanks to that little boy. you made me realise im weak after all. not being sacarstic here. weak, depends on how you interpret it.. haha you'll never know what my weak refers to.
"thanks.. and all the best to you in your secondary school.."
i think im going to end my reflections soon. i know it's pathetic. coz its so v short as compared to others. but somehow, those are the most important stuffs that ive learnt from this trip.
"Different mindset... different ways.. different.
All different. "
"Simple, is complicated.
there's nothing that is simple..
if you think it's simple,
you're more complicated that i thought."
"Yu qiang zhe qiang.. That's me. Show me, and I'll show you. "
"No matter.. No matter how hard you try and how hard you fall..
Just fight.
At the most you lost all your energy and collapse..
It's nothing more scary than giving up. "
"I will manage.. somehow..
-jiaxiang "
3.11pm, 13/1/2008
Jacquelyn's FINAL Reflectionsss
Yes, yes I said post by tonight so I shall 以身作则 and blog my also. If I did not guess wrongly you are Pin Qi, right roommate? Tell me if I am wrong.
I must admit that our teachers have done a very great job before the trip in getting the entire team prepared to learn something out from the trip. We were being put into many discussions during pre-trip meetings to discuss on our main purpose for the trip and also not to mention service-learning was one of the hottest debate that our team had.
After several discussions and reflections, I feel that my opinion of service-learning is that it is a form of experiential learning through community service from which we can learn and grow from important educational experience that will contribute to our personal discovery and development. As we are involved in meeting real community needs, community services provides a rich learning environment for us as experiential learning facilitation methods are used to draw out the learning points for us. Although based on the actual evaluation of the trip that I have been through, my stand would be (s, L). Personally, I feel that service-learning places equal emphasis on service and learning. Learning enhances service, service enhances leaning, and we cannot deny the fact that it is a self-perpetuating cycle. Thus, my opinion of (S, L) will still stand even if asked about both importances again.
I feel that the process of thinking and learning have been put in place very well by the teachers for the team as all of us were very comfortable in sharing our thoughts throughout the trip since we dared to voice out our opinions as and when we do not agree to certain issues discussed. Through all these discussions that we had from the start to the end of the trip, it have definitely made us open up our thoughts and give more in depth thinking about the things that we went through.
Next, although many disliked the idea of doing a photo essay suggested initially because is like another dreadful PW, after all grumbling, all of us still work hard to complete it and eventually we began to love it as we get involved with the task at hand. It is not as bad as we have thought; in fact it is much more interesting than PW. With all the efforts put in by all members to contribute to the project, I am very proud to say that we have successfully completed the photo essays and it was very well done for all groups.
This is the 2nd overseas service trip that I have been to, but this is the first that I have diligently written down my reflections for every day that I have experienced in the country. I felt that by doing so, I could recall back most of the things which happened during the trip when I read through my reflection (which is something I enjoy doing) even though the trip might have passed for a long time.
I strongly feel that this trip has really made me appreciate my present life even more and it also taught me to be contented with what I am having now. Although, many of us shared our experiences on the supposedly tough road that we have been through during in our life, I think probably some of our life journey may not seem to be as tough as the children in Yunnan. Many of us are definitely much fortunate as compared to the kids in Yunnan. They live with the simplest life that we can ever imagine it to be.
We went to four primary schools, namely Wan Lv Qing Primary, Yang Liu Primary, Lu Chong Primary and Xiao Jie. Through our interactions with the kids in the first primary school, Wan Lv Qing Primary, we realized that many do not have electricity at home and are forced to study in the dark or used light from the moon if there is a need to do so. However, despite the many difficulties that they may face during studying, nothing stopped their enthusiasm to learn more things from books. Many would go to school willingly as early as 6am in the morning to practice self-study in school since that is the only place where they have excess to electricity. Secondly, many of the students in this primary school told us that they stay very far from school. Many of them have to run for as long as 1 entire hour up and down mountains in order to reach school in time for their self-study lessons since they do not have accessible public transport like we do in Singapore. In Singapore, we complain for having to wake up early to take the bus for about an hour to reach school, however these kids who run for 2 hours every day to reach school did not make any complain at all. These kids have really earned my true respect and admiration for them and I would really hope to learn from them.
Another new thing that I have experienced in this school is going up to the mountain to chop firewood. Having lived I an urban city for the past 17 years, all I have to do is turn the notch on the cooking stove and I will have my fire blazing hot in front of me. However, things were different when we were over at China. We had to start our own fire to cook every meal by burning more and more firewood. And on this special day, 15 Nov 2007 (Thursday) happened to be their chopping of firewood day for the school. All students in the school had to be involved in this activity and since we are at the school, we also accompanied them along in this school activity. We learnt from the students that this is a 3 times a week that that they have to do for the school, but all responded that they were very willing to do this for the school and are very happy being given a chance to serve the school. This is something I was very shocked to hear coming from students as young as 10. Students in the village were very selfless and are very enthusiastic in doing things to help their own school. This is also another great learning point which I have picked up from them through the chopping of firewood.
Along the way up the mountain, we had to cross through small rivers, walk across vegetable fields, walk on mud walls and climb up very steep slope before reaching the top. The route was challenging for urban kids like the 25 of us since this is the first time all of us are doing such things. I remembered very clearly that day I was walking with my group of P4 kids, when come to the part where there is steep slope leading to the mountain top, one boy named Xiao Quan, immediately put out his hand to offer his help to me up the mountain. Suddenly, I felt very very touched at that moment and was filled with admiration for him. Despite being still young at his age, he knows how to care for others and offer his help to me when he knows I needed it the most at that point of time. That one moment was indeed one that I will never forget in this entire trip.
Yang Liu Primary also left a deep impression on me. The studying environment at that particular school was also very terrible as compared to the classrooms that we have in Singapore. Their classrooms were very dark, although there was a light bulb in each class but none was switched on because all were spoilt. Hence, students have to study in dark environments. Besides that, furniture was in very bad conditions in the sense that tables and chairs were toppling. Roof tops were also leaking thus affecting students studying conditions. However, students were also enthusiastically engaged in all lessons and learning still takes place as usual.
Students at Xiao Jie were very welcoming; they cheered all the way upon our arrival and we were warmly welcomed into their classes although they knew that we will only be there having lessons with them for that one day only. Although the students at this school were slightly better off than the previous two schools, they did not show any proud attitude in them and all were as accepting as the previous two schools. The only difference that we received from them is that we sort of have a mini autograph session after our lessons with them. They were rushing to get our names and well wishes written in their small exercise books after lessons. It was indeed a wonderful experience that I have never tried before in my entire life.
The last school, Lu Chong Primary, came as a shock to many of us. Probably, I can say that it is a challenge given to test all of us. This is because we did not receive much support from the school itself and the students at this school was much difficult to deal with as compared to the other three. They were much rowdier especially the P6 class that Gavin, Jesalyn and Yu Ang have taken. They have no respect for our members and were at total defiance. After the first and second day with the students, many of us were full of complaints and did not want to go back to the school on the last day. However, after given time to think what we really want to achieve at the end of it, majority still chose to go back to Lu Chong. Ms Koh, the brave one, decided to take on the challenge on the last day to step into the P6 class to teach at the later part of the day. And yes, she managed to subdue all these little monsters in the P6 class of Lu Chong just like what she has done it in CCSS by making friends with the big boss in the class. The rest of us also learnt to change our teaching methods and attitude towards our individual classes within the short period of 1 day so that it would make our time spent with them slightly better. This is something I have learnt that is to adapt to the environment we are in and not try to change the environment to adapt us and I think all of us did a good job for that.
Home stays during our time at Lu Chong was also one memorable experience for me. That was when we got really close interviews with the adults living in the village. As Lu Chong was a village with majority being Chinese Muslims, we tried to learn more by asking about their common practices and compared their practices to the Muslims in Singapore. Both Muslims from 2 countries shared similar beliefs such as cannot eat pork, celebrate Hari Raya and their poultry have to be brought to a person named “Ah Hong” to pray before consumption. The only 2 differences that they have are it is not compulsory for the Muslims in China to go to the Mosque to pray every on every Fridays, they can do so whenever they feel there is a need. Secondly, the Muslims in China do celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. These are some interesting cultural facts that we have learnt through this trip.
Last but not least, there are also learning points which I have taken back from my team members as well. I learnt to be passionate about giving to others selflessly such as volunteering to help in cooking and washing up although it might not be our group’s turn. I also knew the importance of giving words of encouragement to one another when something has been done well so that others feel that their efforts have been recognized. This can be as simple as saying “Thank You” to the people cooking for that particular meal and giving positive comments about the food and gobble up the negative ones (hahax just joking). Also, 没有局限地分享 of life journey also allowed me to understand each of my members and teachers better, which is something I enjoyed very much. This is because by doing so 我不知不觉又多了几位知心的朋友.
In conclusion, I have indeed learnt a lot from this trip and have not regretted signing up for it until now and will not also in the future. I guess all of us will share this common belief.
Cheers! Jacquelyn Wan :)
I must admit that our teachers have done a very great job before the trip in getting the entire team prepared to learn something out from the trip. We were being put into many discussions during pre-trip meetings to discuss on our main purpose for the trip and also not to mention service-learning was one of the hottest debate that our team had.
After several discussions and reflections, I feel that my opinion of service-learning is that it is a form of experiential learning through community service from which we can learn and grow from important educational experience that will contribute to our personal discovery and development. As we are involved in meeting real community needs, community services provides a rich learning environment for us as experiential learning facilitation methods are used to draw out the learning points for us. Although based on the actual evaluation of the trip that I have been through, my stand would be (s, L). Personally, I feel that service-learning places equal emphasis on service and learning. Learning enhances service, service enhances leaning, and we cannot deny the fact that it is a self-perpetuating cycle. Thus, my opinion of (S, L) will still stand even if asked about both importances again.
I feel that the process of thinking and learning have been put in place very well by the teachers for the team as all of us were very comfortable in sharing our thoughts throughout the trip since we dared to voice out our opinions as and when we do not agree to certain issues discussed. Through all these discussions that we had from the start to the end of the trip, it have definitely made us open up our thoughts and give more in depth thinking about the things that we went through.
Next, although many disliked the idea of doing a photo essay suggested initially because is like another dreadful PW, after all grumbling, all of us still work hard to complete it and eventually we began to love it as we get involved with the task at hand. It is not as bad as we have thought; in fact it is much more interesting than PW. With all the efforts put in by all members to contribute to the project, I am very proud to say that we have successfully completed the photo essays and it was very well done for all groups.
This is the 2nd overseas service trip that I have been to, but this is the first that I have diligently written down my reflections for every day that I have experienced in the country. I felt that by doing so, I could recall back most of the things which happened during the trip when I read through my reflection (which is something I enjoy doing) even though the trip might have passed for a long time.
I strongly feel that this trip has really made me appreciate my present life even more and it also taught me to be contented with what I am having now. Although, many of us shared our experiences on the supposedly tough road that we have been through during in our life, I think probably some of our life journey may not seem to be as tough as the children in Yunnan. Many of us are definitely much fortunate as compared to the kids in Yunnan. They live with the simplest life that we can ever imagine it to be.
We went to four primary schools, namely Wan Lv Qing Primary, Yang Liu Primary, Lu Chong Primary and Xiao Jie. Through our interactions with the kids in the first primary school, Wan Lv Qing Primary, we realized that many do not have electricity at home and are forced to study in the dark or used light from the moon if there is a need to do so. However, despite the many difficulties that they may face during studying, nothing stopped their enthusiasm to learn more things from books. Many would go to school willingly as early as 6am in the morning to practice self-study in school since that is the only place where they have excess to electricity. Secondly, many of the students in this primary school told us that they stay very far from school. Many of them have to run for as long as 1 entire hour up and down mountains in order to reach school in time for their self-study lessons since they do not have accessible public transport like we do in Singapore. In Singapore, we complain for having to wake up early to take the bus for about an hour to reach school, however these kids who run for 2 hours every day to reach school did not make any complain at all. These kids have really earned my true respect and admiration for them and I would really hope to learn from them.
Another new thing that I have experienced in this school is going up to the mountain to chop firewood. Having lived I an urban city for the past 17 years, all I have to do is turn the notch on the cooking stove and I will have my fire blazing hot in front of me. However, things were different when we were over at China. We had to start our own fire to cook every meal by burning more and more firewood. And on this special day, 15 Nov 2007 (Thursday) happened to be their chopping of firewood day for the school. All students in the school had to be involved in this activity and since we are at the school, we also accompanied them along in this school activity. We learnt from the students that this is a 3 times a week that that they have to do for the school, but all responded that they were very willing to do this for the school and are very happy being given a chance to serve the school. This is something I was very shocked to hear coming from students as young as 10. Students in the village were very selfless and are very enthusiastic in doing things to help their own school. This is also another great learning point which I have picked up from them through the chopping of firewood.
Along the way up the mountain, we had to cross through small rivers, walk across vegetable fields, walk on mud walls and climb up very steep slope before reaching the top. The route was challenging for urban kids like the 25 of us since this is the first time all of us are doing such things. I remembered very clearly that day I was walking with my group of P4 kids, when come to the part where there is steep slope leading to the mountain top, one boy named Xiao Quan, immediately put out his hand to offer his help to me up the mountain. Suddenly, I felt very very touched at that moment and was filled with admiration for him. Despite being still young at his age, he knows how to care for others and offer his help to me when he knows I needed it the most at that point of time. That one moment was indeed one that I will never forget in this entire trip.
Yang Liu Primary also left a deep impression on me. The studying environment at that particular school was also very terrible as compared to the classrooms that we have in Singapore. Their classrooms were very dark, although there was a light bulb in each class but none was switched on because all were spoilt. Hence, students have to study in dark environments. Besides that, furniture was in very bad conditions in the sense that tables and chairs were toppling. Roof tops were also leaking thus affecting students studying conditions. However, students were also enthusiastically engaged in all lessons and learning still takes place as usual.
Students at Xiao Jie were very welcoming; they cheered all the way upon our arrival and we were warmly welcomed into their classes although they knew that we will only be there having lessons with them for that one day only. Although the students at this school were slightly better off than the previous two schools, they did not show any proud attitude in them and all were as accepting as the previous two schools. The only difference that we received from them is that we sort of have a mini autograph session after our lessons with them. They were rushing to get our names and well wishes written in their small exercise books after lessons. It was indeed a wonderful experience that I have never tried before in my entire life.
The last school, Lu Chong Primary, came as a shock to many of us. Probably, I can say that it is a challenge given to test all of us. This is because we did not receive much support from the school itself and the students at this school was much difficult to deal with as compared to the other three. They were much rowdier especially the P6 class that Gavin, Jesalyn and Yu Ang have taken. They have no respect for our members and were at total defiance. After the first and second day with the students, many of us were full of complaints and did not want to go back to the school on the last day. However, after given time to think what we really want to achieve at the end of it, majority still chose to go back to Lu Chong. Ms Koh, the brave one, decided to take on the challenge on the last day to step into the P6 class to teach at the later part of the day. And yes, she managed to subdue all these little monsters in the P6 class of Lu Chong just like what she has done it in CCSS by making friends with the big boss in the class. The rest of us also learnt to change our teaching methods and attitude towards our individual classes within the short period of 1 day so that it would make our time spent with them slightly better. This is something I have learnt that is to adapt to the environment we are in and not try to change the environment to adapt us and I think all of us did a good job for that.
Home stays during our time at Lu Chong was also one memorable experience for me. That was when we got really close interviews with the adults living in the village. As Lu Chong was a village with majority being Chinese Muslims, we tried to learn more by asking about their common practices and compared their practices to the Muslims in Singapore. Both Muslims from 2 countries shared similar beliefs such as cannot eat pork, celebrate Hari Raya and their poultry have to be brought to a person named “Ah Hong” to pray before consumption. The only 2 differences that they have are it is not compulsory for the Muslims in China to go to the Mosque to pray every on every Fridays, they can do so whenever they feel there is a need. Secondly, the Muslims in China do celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. These are some interesting cultural facts that we have learnt through this trip.
Last but not least, there are also learning points which I have taken back from my team members as well. I learnt to be passionate about giving to others selflessly such as volunteering to help in cooking and washing up although it might not be our group’s turn. I also knew the importance of giving words of encouragement to one another when something has been done well so that others feel that their efforts have been recognized. This can be as simple as saying “Thank You” to the people cooking for that particular meal and giving positive comments about the food and gobble up the negative ones (hahax just joking). Also, 没有局限地分享 of life journey also allowed me to understand each of my members and teachers better, which is something I enjoyed very much. This is because by doing so 我不知不觉又多了几位知心的朋友.
In conclusion, I have indeed learnt a lot from this trip and have not regretted signing up for it until now and will not also in the future. I guess all of us will share this common belief.
Cheers! Jacquelyn Wan :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)