Personal reflections (Proposal to suggest improvements to the Singapore’s education) — Liang Shi Wen (09)

Introduction

During our trip to Taipei, we visited two schools there, including Taipei Municipal Jianguo high School, and Wulai Elementary School, a local school for aborigines. Through this experience, we gained more knowledge regarding the differences and similarities between school life in Taipei and in Singapore. Furthermore, we got to know a little about their school syllabus and extracurricular activities through the various lessons and performances they presented. It was also a brilliant opportunity to make new friends and it was truly an enriching and enjoyable experience.

 

Observations of Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School

 

Although Jianguo is one of the top schools in Taiwan, which has the top 1% of the nation’s cohort in their school, surprisingly they emphasised a lot on freedom. This idea of ‘freedom’ is also unique, and many of the RV students were surprised by this as it is almost impossible to find such a system in the schools of Singapore. Their freedom allows students to do whatever they want during school hours, such as engaging in sports and leaving the school to buy food during lunch breaks as well as creating their own clubs. Although it was optional for the students to join clubs, hardly anyone wasn’t in a club and their school alone had more than 80 clubs! However, the most surprising thing was that students were allowed to sleep and eat in class, (although this might depend on the teacher) and they were also not punished for not bringing their textbooks to class. When I questioned this system, my guide answered saying that this was part of their culture, and the school trusted the students to take charge of their own learning.

 

Observations of Wulai Elementary School

 

Wulai is also a rather unique school, as it was a school for aborigines, although they welcomed students from any part of the world. They even had a Caucasian in their midst, although she wasn’t an aborigine. Their school life is also more relaxed compared to the students of Jianguo and RV. They do not have as many subjects, and some of their teaching methods were also hands-on based, and we were lucky to be able to experience their Mother Tongue (Atayal), Art, and PE lessons. During lunchtime, the students were alsoexpected to clear their cutlery and even wash them, and this was common practice for them and a great way of instilling responsibility within those students.

 

Observations of Singapore Schools

 

The students in Singapore experience much more stress, and have stricter school rules and greater demands from both teachers and parents. It is also more difficult to gain approval to set up new CCA's and the choices are also limited when it comes to picking our CCA's. Furthermore, some students do not enjoy their CCA and dread attending their sessions, and this in turn becomes an obligation, unlike the students in Jianguo who attend club activities out of their own willingness. The teachers in Singapore are also very strict when it comes tothe class rules, and the students would never be allowed behave in an unruly way in Singapore schools, especially if there are visitors, as they care greatly about their school reputation. We also have shorter meal breaks that only last for 30 minutes, and most of us have very long school hours due compulsory CCA after school hours and Supplementary/Consultation classes that are required for some students.

 

Improvements to Singapore’s Education

 

In my opinion, a little more freedom and cutting down on the workload would be ideal for Singaporean students in Singapore to truly utilize their talents. Many students in Singapore are experiencing immense amount of stress, due to huge workloads and high expectations.I myself have seen friends who refuse to sleep at night to study in order to fufill expectations and not disappoint the people around him/her, and in turn neglected her health. While such actions might improve their grades, is it worth is to sacrifice your health for this?

 

I feel that extended lunch breaks would be a good thing to learn from these Taiwanese schools, as longer breaks would give student more opportunities to engage in sports, visit the library and revise study materials for the next lesson. Allowing an hour of free time would be extremely beneficial for students to refresh themselves after studying for a long period of time, or even ten minute breaks between each lesson would be great. However, excessive freedom wouldn’t be good as students with less sense of responsibility mightslack more than study, which can also impact their studies and futures negatively.

 

 -Tegan Liang Shi Wen (09)

Reflection By Laetitia Keok Yu Qi (2H)

Proposal to suggest improvements to the Singapore education

Introduction

On our trip to Taipei, Taiwan we were involved in an immersion program with two schools we visited, Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School for 2 days, and Wulai, a local school for half a day. Throughout this entire experience, we gained much knowledge about the many differences and similarities between school life in Taipei, and in Singapore. On top of that, we managed to catch a glimpse of the extra curricular activities they engaged in, and their school syllabus. Furthermore, we made many new friends, and it was truly an enjoyable and enriching program. 

Comparison

Whilst there are a few similarities between both the schools, and schools in Singapore, there are significantly many more differences.

 Firstly, taking Jianguo High School as an example, the atmosphere of the school was significantly more relaxed and less stressful as compared to what we were used to. The students there are given a lot more freedom as compared to the students in Singapore schools; for example, the students are allowed to go outside of school to purchase their lunch, and are even allowed to eat in the classroom whilst students in Singapore are required to consume all food in canteens. On top of that, they have a huge variety of up to 80 clubs which the students join or set up, out of willingness and not out of obligation; they take a lot of responsibility in setting up these clubs and it is very apparent that they enjoy every part of it, unlike in Singapore, where it is harder to gain approval in setting up CCA's and they are given very limited choices in picking their CCA's, in addition, a small group of people in Singapore schools do not enjoy their CCA's and dread going to it. Lastly, the students are trusted to take responsibility for their learning and to develop a good learning attitude. This is clearly displayed when we had a chance to be in their classes, I noticed that a few of the students came in late to the class, some were using their cellphones, and even a few were sleeping. The teacher, however, did not reprimand them and instead ignored such behavious and continued with the lesson, this showed that the students in Jianguo were expected to take charge of their learning as afterall, what they would have learnt would benefit them, and not the teacher. This style of teaching would hone a sense of responsibility in them. In contrast to schools in Singapore, where the teachers are very strict about the class rules, and the students would not have been allowed to behave this way in Singapore schools.  

Next, we have the local school, Wulai. In Wulai, we were exposed to many different classes, ranging from educating the students on their local dialect, to arts and crafts lessons, and even physical education. There, I observed that the atmosphere of the classes were very lively, and the students were all full of zest and energy. Furthermore, they were all very hospitable and welcoming. The students had great rapport with the teachers, and i found that they were able to crack jokes with the teachers, something that would have been very less seen in Singapore schools, where students maintained their distance with the teacher. The sense of initiative and responsibility was also something not to be missed in Wulai. During lunchtime, the students were all expected to clear their cutlery and even wash them, very much unlike the students in Singapore schools, who only were expected to return their cutlery to the respective stalls. Not to mention seeing every single one of them finish all the food on their plates, before taking a second serving, whilst in Singapore, many of us choose to take more than what we can finish, and end up wasting food; this showed that the students were taught, from young, to treasure what they had and to take only what they can finish. Lastly, we took part in their physical education lessons, where we were challenged to a friendly relay race of basketball, of course, we lost but what awed us were the skills of the students there. It was also raining but the students continued playing till they finished the race, I admired their perseverance as a few of us gave up and went under the shelter as it started to rain.

Lastly, both the school had lessons in their curriculum which allowed them to learn different languages/dialect, for example, Jianguo had lessons on Japanese, German etc. while Wulai had lessons for the students to learn the dialect of the aborogines. Singapore schools, however, only allow certain students to be able to learn other languages.

Improvements

Extended Lunch Breaks: Schools in Taiwan give the students an hour to have their lunch, whilst Singapore schools only give students half an hour, or less. I feel that with more time for lunch, students not only have more time to eat, but they may also browse through books in the library, or do some sports, this would also allow them to prepare themselves for the next lesson, and to revise for previous lessons.

2. Opportunities to Learn Different Languages/Dialects: I feel that this would make lessons less dull and would also provide the students with more exposure to different languages. On top of that, the students may also be able to pick up a language that would benefit them in the future.

3. More Ownership in Our Choices: This would allow the students to take charge of our learning and to do what we feel is right, instead of the teacher constantly reminding us. We will understand the importance of learning, and take responsibility in our studies.

4. Balancing Studies and Non Academic Areas: School life in Singapore is often very stressful, and we are given less opportunities to take part in non academic areas such as music lessons, art lessons etc. and more focus is put on academically based subjects. A balance between both aspects would make school life a little less dull, less stressful, and more enjoyable. Afterall, we have to work hard and play hard. As the saying goes “all work and no play made Jack a dull boy”.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS

Chu Fei:
I really enjoyed our trip to Taipei for OELP. Firstly, it was fascinating to get up close to their peoples' culture and learn about Formosa's aboriginal way of life by be it interacting with students Wulai aboriginal school or visiting museums. Secondly, I also learned a lot about modern Taiwan, and their advanced technology which boosted their ever-growing economy. Despite having a fast-paced society like Singapore, Taiwan stays in tact with their traditional ways and beliefs. For example, Taipei 101 building has a total of 8 segments which was believed to be lucky number in Chinese culture. Also, Taiwan has a lot of bustling night markets kept alive unlike Singapore, in which our "Pasar Malam" heritage is slowly fading into obscurity. Thirdly, I got to spend more time with my classmates and bond with them throughout our 7 days together. We also got to make many new friends that we met at both Jian Guo High School and Wulai Aboriginal School during the very enriching student exchange programmes. All in all, I find this OELP trip to be utterly life-fulfilling and has definitely broadened my horizons.

Shi Wen:
In my opinion, the OELP trip to Taiwan has been extremely meaningful and fulfilling. It gave us an opportunity to step out and experience something different from our everyday lives. It was a pity that some of our classmates were unable to come along on this trip, but it was still a wonderful chance we made full use of for our class to bond. For instance, practicing for our various performances such as the skit and dance items for the schools in Taiwan certainly helped us to make new memories and trained our teamwork. This is important as teamwork plays a humongous role in our lives, for many activities can only be carried out successfully with good teamwork and collaboration between people. Several life skills such as independence were also inculcated in us, for during the trip, our parents were no longer there to do everything for us, and we had to take care of ourselves. This would be vital in our lives in the future as we have to be able to do so without depending on others when our parents grow old, and when we go into the working world. This trip also helped us understand new things as well. For example, it was a brand new experience interacting with the students at Wulai Elementary School, as they are aborigines. They all have very rich traditional cultures, but I realized that even they are becoming more modernized, and they are just like you and me. Although we should respect and admire their culture, we must not stereotype them to be less developed or as people who still hunted for food, for it is simply no longer the truth. Furthermore, I realised that there are many different educational systems, and being extremely strict and stiff when it comes to rules may not be the only way to achieve academic excellence, but instead the opposite, freedom might also achieve the same result, as we have witnessed in Jianguo High. In conclusion, I am grateful for being given this opportunity for this OELP trip was very meaningful, filled with many fresh and exciting experiences that taught me many new things.


Laetitia:
Our 7 day OELP Trip to Taiwan was an entirely new experience for me, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Learning about Taiwan's rich history and deep rooted culture was my main takeaway for the entire trip. It was extremely interesting to learn about their customs, ways of life, traditional practices, and the contributions of their historical figures, through visiting museums, watching the change of guards and visiting schools. At the end of our 7 days at Taiwan, I also walked away with a newfound sense of responsibility and independence, given that this was the first time I have spent away from my family for such a long time period, I slowly learnt to do things for myself, without the help of my parents. To add on, I got to know more about my class, as we bonded through various activities, we grew closer by day, cultivating teamwork between ourselves. One of the more fun parts of the trip were the school immersions at both Jianguo High School and Wulai Local school, we learnt about the vast differences between Taiwan's and Singapore education system, and made numerous new friends. To say the least, the Taiwanese's hospitality and kindness really touched my heart, and made my visit to Taiwan so much more enjoyable. Be it the busting streets of the night markets, of the polished tiled floors of the museums, I loved every bit of the trip. This trip has been so memorable and fulfilling, and I am more than grateful to be given this opportunity to visit Taiwan.

Shi Rong:
I think that the OELP trip to Taiwan was very fun and interesting. This was because I got to know more about Taiwan's culture and was also able to bond with my classmates through the many different activities held. Taiwan's culture has a very rich history and an extremely interesting culture, which I had a lot of fun learning about. One obvious contrast from Singapore are the many tribes found in Taiwan, this was truly a new experience because we had never known about tribes before. However, I feel that my favourite part of this entire trip was Taiwan's changing of guards, another aspect Singapore does not have. Taiwan's changing of guards is a sign respect towards the many influential figures in their history. In Singapore, the guards use malay to shout commands. However, in Taiwan, the guards use chinese instead. This is very special as I had never seen and experienced this before. It is an extreme test of discipline as the guards had to stand still on a platform and are not allowed to move for over an hour. Having achieved this difficult feat, I really admire their determination and strong will, as not everyone would be able to stand, unmoving, for such a long period of time. As the days passed, I to got know more about my friends and got closer with them. Even though going to the museums were pretty dry and dull, this trip was a whole new learning experience for me. Hence, I think that the OELP trip to Taiwan is truly a memorable one.

Owen:
For me, I feel that the whole OELP has been very meaningful. Even though some of our classmates were unable to go, the activities we did during the trip bonded us as an entire class. We went through lots of fun together, and took care of the people who fell sick. This trip has taught us many things too, for example, we managed to understand the culture of Taiwanese aborigines better. Understanding the culture of other races and religions, allowed us to learn the importance of respecting different cultures, since Singapore is a multi-racial country, we must learn to respect everyone's culture, so that we can be united and stand together as One Singapore. We also learnt to better manage ourselves, without our parents being around to help us to do things. In other words, we learnt to be more independent. This is one of the life skills that will be crucial for us in the future. When we grow old next time, we have to be independent, so that we are able to take care of our parents and manage our own family, and not depend and rely on others. We also learnt the importance of teamwork. We demonstrated teamwork when we performed the dances and acted out the little skit we had to showcase to the students from Jianguo High School and Wulai Elementary School. Teamwork is important, as without teamwork, the dance and skit we performed would fail terribly, because dancing and performing a skit are mainly group activities which requires the collaboration of different people. In the future, we will find teamwork very important during work, as teamwork usually leads to the success of companies. In conclusion, I think that this OELP trip to Taiwan, Taipei has been very fun and enriching, as it had taught us many things we did not know of before we went for the trip.

OELP DAY 6

CONFUCIUS TEMPLE

In the morning, we went to the Confucius temple to learn more about Confucianism. The temple looked majestic, and was beautifully designed to the style of Ancient Chinese. Inside the temple, there were many ancient carving and paintings, and all of them have Confucianism meanings in them. What amazed us is that there was a 4D theater in the Confucius temple. It was really unique as we rarely get to experience 4D theaters in Singapore. Besides, having a modern 4D theater in an ancient museum is really surprising! We learnt a lot from the visit to the Confucius temple, and we hope we can go there again next time.

GOLD MUSEUM

In the afternoon, we went to the Gold Museum in Jiufen to learn more about old gold mine, such as their history, how to differentiate between real gold and fake gold, how people in the past dug gold, and we also got to see see and touch a huge gold bar. Touching the huge gold made Owen feel very rich, and at that moment  he thought dreamily about all the riches he wanted to get in the future. However, Shi Rong advised him even though Owen could be very rich, he must also be happy, because happiness is very important. Throughout the whole visit at Gold Museum, we enjoyed it a lot. (Wow such Owen Shirong fluff)

JIUFEN OLD STREET

After that, we went to Jiufen old street to do some shopping! IT REMINDED TEGAN SO MUCH OF THE FAMOUS MOVIE SPIRITED AWAY!!! (AND THE TOUR GUIDE SAID JIUFEN WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE MOVIE ) There were all sorts of items on sale like ginger tea, calligraphy brushes, prank toys, caps, clothes and souvenirs. There was one particular shop that left an impression on us as they sold shirts with adorable designs, and what's more, they were hand painted! The prank store we visited was also very fun, (think Harry Potter) and the store owner had great marketing skills. He allowed us to try our some products, and introduced the funniest and most interesting toys to us. For example, there was a fake camera that would shoot water out, a mini toilet bowl that would do the same, and the best was a can of potato chips (that looked very real) that has a huge contraption that would shoot out when you opened it. We definitely had a great laugh! Furthermore, we got our dear medic Ming Han (really) early birthday present — a first aid kit filled with sweets (from sophosca) to express our gratitude for taking care of our sick people on the trip . In all, we had a fantastic night (though the dinner was rather...horrible) at Jiufen, and we definitely want to go back there again!

The toilet bowl is supposed to spray water at you when you lift the cover up. The duck is supposed to shock you when you squeeze both of its wings.

OELP Day 5

WULAI

On Day 5, the first thing we had on our to-do list was to go to Wu Lai Aboriginal School. We were welcomed into the school by fellow smiling students and were led into the hall for a traditional African drum performance. The performance was utterly amazing with a catchy beat, however, to our surprise, one of the student performing started singing in the Atayal language. Her voice was astounding and beautiful to listen to even though we might not understand the meaning behind her words. Soon after, we were given a short introduction to the school and a very interesting Atayal language lesson. We were taught basic numbers, words like "Thank you" or "How are you?" in Atayal and also words that describe animals the Atayal people hunt in the forest of Wu Lai. To test our knowledge, we were sent off a scavenger hunt for pictures of these animals hidden around the school and present them to the teachers in the Atayal language. It was a really fun experience as we got to explore the school and got to bond with the local students. After the scavenger hunt, we got to taste the famous local food of Wu Lai: braised beef with rice (卤牛肉饭）and curry noodles cooked with vegetables and bamboo shoots (竹笋). We were all famishing after the scavenger hunt and dug into the food happily. After lunch, we got onto the arts and craft lesson which we learned made cards for our fellow buddies in Wu Lai and vice versa. We wrote down personal messages and our contact details before weaving colourful yarn thread into the holes made along side the card. We weaved the threads into a diamond design which symbolises good luck in the Atayal culture before decorating the card to our hearts' content. Lastly, we played against the friendly students of Wu Lai in a game of basketball and obviously we lost, despite the fact that we have numerous basketball players in our class. It was still a memorable experience though before we parted with the exchanging of our handmade cards. All in all, We had a really memorable and enriching time with Wu Lai students.

After the immersion program, we went to the Atayal aboriginal museum to learn more about their culture and traditions. We were introduced to their way of life and saw many artefacts that the Atayal people uses in their daily life such as spears, swords, bow and arrow, musical instruments(口簧琴）, cutlery, etc. They were decorated with traditional carvings or adorned with colourful woven cloth handmade out of nettle plants. We were also introduced to the different types of Atayal traditional costume worn by different Atayal tribes in different parts of Taiwan or for special occasions and events. The Atayal people can also be differentiated by their piercing and tattoos marking on their body that were made when one becomes of age or accomplish a task for one to be accepted into the tribe. We also learnt about the hunting methods or the Atayal people and the different building structure used for different buildings built on a specific type of land. After our tour in the museum, we were let to our own devices for an hour to explore the old streets of Wu Lai to purchase souvenir and popular snacks such as Japanese style Mochi (麻糬).

RAO HE NIGHT MARKET

After our trip to Wu Lai, we headed to the highly anticipated Rao He Night Market. Rao He Night Market was bustling with life by the time we arrived and we quickly broke up into separate groups to explore the 600m long street. There were food stalls everywhere of different cuisine: Japanese pancakes and omelettes, seafood barbecue, Thai banana pancake and milk tea and authentic Taiwan snacks. After drooling in queue for our food, we woofed .down our delicious meals and went off to explore the rest of the street. The street also had shops offering trendy clothes and accessories for youngsters at great discounts such as snapbacks, sneakers, printed shirts, pants, denim shorts, etc. Shopping till we drop, we headed back to our hotel hauling shopping bags in our hands.

Wu Lai

  

Diamond symbols on a bridge that represent good luck and ward off bad omens in the Atayal Culture.

Delicious curry noodles with vegetable and bamboo shoots (竹笋）served at Wu Lai Aboriginal School.

Rao He Night Market

GERMANY VS. BRAZIL :\

FIFA World Cup⚽️ in Brazil was amazing 🎉🎊🎉🎊and the most depressing, saddening highlight match to watch was obviously Brazil vs Germany🇩🇪 (T^T). With Neymar Junior and his fractured vertebrae out of the match, it was kind of predictable that Germany would be victorious but to a certain extent. However, to my extreme surprise, Germany crushed Brazil to 7-1. Yup, that's right. SEVEN TO ONE!!!!! It was really hard to watch as the match slip into Germany's hands, breaking the record by scoring three consecutive goals in 76 seconds. But what struck me the most saddening was this old man standing on the sidelines holding a World Cup trophy replica in his arms tightly, with tears in his eyes (obviously a Brazil fan with yellow green jersey and a hat with pinned with badges). He must be a very loyal fan to the Brazil team giving the grief that was practically written all over his face. However, after the match, when I thought he would be shaking fists and pouring curses all the way home, he did something else. Despite the fact that his beloved team lost tragically, he handed his World Cup trophy replica to a young Germany fan with a gracious smile and his lips forming the words "Take it to the final! As you can see, it is not easy, but you deserve it, congratulations!" It was really heartwarming and moving to watch his act of sportsmanship and kindness to that young Germany fan. Of course, you must wondering, who is he? His name is Clovis Acosta Fernandes. 😇 

Chufei

Sad stuff :\

    

OELP DAY 4

JIANGUO MUNICIPAL HIGH SCHOOL

The next day, we headed over to Jianguo for our second day of immersion. We were all extremely excited and were looking forward for it, as we had enjoyed ourselves tremendously the day before. As we drove into the familiar school gates, we could see the smiling faces of the students, already waiting to welcome us into the school, we felt the rush of excitement as we immediately knew it would be another enjoyable day!

We were briefed shortly by a teacher and then headed to our respective classrooms. We were split into three classes, each class set to use different timetables, there was an Earth Science lesson, and the teacher was very nice. He taught us how to operate a telescope and how to use it. The lesson was in Chinese, so most of us did not understand the terms and did not really get the lesson. However, the enthusiasm of the teacher made the lesson really more interesting. There were also English lessons, and the students had a debate session showing the lawsuit between Frankenstein and the monster he created. Even though the students did not use English a lot, they tried their best and were very funny when they spoke. There was also a music lesson, in which we learnt a japanese song, and the teacher even got some of us to demonstrate in front of the entire class. Lastly, a few of us attented the maths lessons, which to our surprise, was easier that what we had expected. All of us also had a chance to attend the foreign language classes for either Japanese, German or French, it was extremely interesting as most of us had not ever attended such classes before. 

 

ESLITE BOOKSTORE

At night, we went to the Eslite bookstore. We heard from the tour guide that it is very famous for the items being sold there, especially its books. When we arrived there, we saw that there were many books alright. But the Chinese books were written in traditional Chinese, and we, being Singaporeans, could only read and understand simplified Chinese, and not traditional Chinese. Therefore, the Chinese books there didn't really suit our taste. There were also English books, but there was a lack of them. There were also manga books, and both Chu Fei and Shi Wen really loved the wide variety of manga books there.

Trip Advisor

HOTEL RF Pretty Hotel (4 Stars)

There are 8 stories, with 8 rooms on each storey. Each room is equipped with beds, neatly made, a television, a table, the bathroom, and if you're lucky, even a fridge, the soft carpeted floor made it comfortable to sit even on the floor. Breakfast is buffet-style, and there is a variety of food choices to choose from, from ham, bread and eggs. The drinks provided during breakfast times are: Milk, orange juice, and soya bean milk. 

Critique: The room was slightly smaller than what we expected, but we at least managed to have enough room to walk around and to conduct discussions in them; the breakfast wasn't up to our expectations, however, the customer service and facilities were good, and the good things far overruled the bad ones! Therefore, we decided to give RF Pretty Hotel 4 Stars!

Taipei 101 (5 Stars)

Feel the rush of excitement as the life speeds up to the top floor in a matter of seconds, with the fastest lift in the world that goes at a speed of 1010m/s, it brings you to the top level of the Taipei 101 in merely 37 seconds. Furthermore, it is built with a huge damper located in the iconic building, to reduce damage done to the building by natural disasters. The damper is made up of 41 thick steel plates, with a diameter of 5.5 metres and a weight of 660 tons. 660 tons, is estimated to be the weight of 132 elephants. The Taipei 101 has mascots too! There are a total of 5 mascots, in the colours green, silver, red, yellow, black. However, the best part of Taipei 101 is definitely the outdoor observatory deck. Over there, the wind is very strong and cooling, and you have a beautiful birds eye view of the entire cityscape.

Critique: Taipei 101 is filled with many visitors from different countries. This made the queues to the entrance, and to the lifts, extremely long, and we waited approximately 45 minutes before we could take the lift. Even though the wait was very long, the view from the top floor of the Taipei 101 is simply exhilarating. Large buildings down below suddenly turned into the size of our fingers! Since buildings in Singapore are relatively short, we have never experienced this before, and so we liked it very much. The wait was definitely worth it. With this new and fun experience, we decided to give Taipei 101 5 Stars!

National Palace Museum (5 stars)

Jadeite cabbage, Meat loaf shaped rock, are the most famous items being viewed in the National Palace Museum. What is it that makes these artifacts from the exhibits so precious? It is the history of these artifacts. Many of these artifacts were brought from China to Taiwan by Chiang Kai Shek, who lost the Chinese Civil War, and brought his riches to Taiwan to escape. They have been intricately carved and designed by the ancient Chinese people, to show the story, background, and of course, history of the ancient Chinese people. On top of the two iconic monuments, the National Palace Museum was also home to many historical weapons, cutlery, and clothes, all to give off the look and feel of the olden day China/Taiwan.

Critique: The National Palace Museum is huge, and even though we didn't manage to see all of the exhibits, we saw most of them and learnt a lot about the history of both China and Taiwan. During the pre-trip PowerPoint slides shown to us, the pictures of the famous Jadeite cabbage were huge, but over there at the National Palace Museum, it did not appear to be too big. In fact, it was just as tall as the foot of a grown man! However, it made sense for the Jadeite cabbage to be built small, as jade is a very rare material. Being small, but beautifully designed, 

the jadeite cabbage was carved with great skill, and really looked like a real cabbage! Other artifacts we saw were: Traditional calligraphy writings and chinese paintings, pots, weapons and many others. The tour guides there were also very good, as he answered our questions with great detail. That was a good learning experience, so we decided to give the National Palace Museum 5 Stars!

Confucius temple (4stars)

The Confucius temple is a temple where scholars went to in the past to pray for good results for their upcoming exams. The scholars believed, that they would be protected, in spirit by a famous teacher from the past, Confucius, to aid them in their exams, however, technology has brought the Confucius temple one step further. There are exhibits to introduce Confucius and exhibits to show traditional dances by people who believe in Confucianism. Furthermore, the Confucius temple has even built a 4D theater, to show visitors videos, to introduce Confucianism and the history of that Confucius temple located in Taipei.

Critique: With ancient and modern elements merged together, the Confucius temple is definitely a place for anyone regardless of race and religion to go to. The Confucius temple gives a deep insight of the history of Confucianism and the founder of Confucianism, Confucius himself. The guide around the temple, a lady in her 50s, was very nice to us, and taught us many facts about the religion of Confucianism. However, to be honest, there were certain parts which were quite dry and dull, but overall, the guide explanation was good. To add on, the 4D theater was really unique, and very less places in Singapore actually have a 4D theater. The 4D theater allowed us to immerse into the visual teaching, and besides, the 4D effects were really good! Therefore, we decided to give the Confucius temple 4 Stars!

Eslite bookstore (3 stars)

The Eslite bookstore is known famously for its books being sold there. Other than books, there are other items such as pens, bags and souvenirs being sold there. There were a huge selection of books, consisting of mainly books written in traditional chinese, a range of japanese comic books, otherwise known as manga, and fewer choices of english books; the non fiction section had travel guides, study books and to our surprise, there even was an area which consisted of music related merchandise, from classical music pieces, to the latest trending songs.

Critique: As Singaporeans, we read simplified chinese, and not traditional chinese. Therefore, it was rather taxing for us to read the books properly. This is one of the facts we didn't like a lot about Eslite bookstore. However, avid manga readers like Shi Wen and Chu Fei were very happy to see the variety of manga books being displayed on the shelves of the bookshelves. As there were fewer english books, Laetitia, was unable to pick out many books which she prefered, as who loved reading english books, as a result, she did not buy many books. Even with the wide variety of books, the books in Eslite bookstore did not really suit our taste in reading, as they were mainly chinese books, we were slightly disappointed, as most of us had expected to spend more at this venue, and thus put off buying things from other places initially, so we decided to give it 3 Stars!

Raohe Night Market (4 Stars)

As the sun goes down, the shops will start to open and lights are turned on— the Raohe Night Market is instantly revived! Raohe Night Market is known famously for the food being sold there. Smelly Tofu, Mountain pig sausage, Milk Tea and Huge Squids that are bigger than a grown up's face are just some of the food being sold there! The entire night market is bustling with life, as tourists from every oart if the world to visit Taiwan's most famous tourist destinations, the night markets. Even the locals did not miss a chance in buying the best foods in Raohe! Even though the shops there are mostly shops selling food, there were also accessory shops that sold items ranging from shoes to shirts! There were many souvenir shops in Raohe Night Market, each uniquely put up. Night Markets are unique to Taiwan, and attracted many people.

Critique: Although Raohe is crowded, the walking paths were big enough for people to walk through. However, what we think that can be improved is that more dustbins should be placed along the walkways of Raohe Night Market, so that people can dispose their rubbish easily. Overall, the food is tasty, especially the Milk Tea, which was absolutely delicious. However, many shops were selling the same items at the same price, keeping the customers in inner turmoil, as they pojdered on whcih stall to purchase from, additionally, we think that the Raohe Night Market was slightly small, and could probably be extended, so that there can be more shops selling different items. In conclusion, we decided to give Raohe Night Market 4 Stars!

Jianguo High School (5 Stars) 

Jianguo High School is a boys' school and one of the top schools in Taiwan. Freedom is emphasized greatly in the school, and students are given a lot of freedom. Joining clubs (similar to CCA in Singapore) after school as a pastime is very common for the students there. Students live in the hostels provided by the school, and buy food from a store located at the ground floor of the school. The students eat in class, as they do not have a place specifically located for them to eat. 

Critique: Students at Jianguo welcomed us warmly when we went there. Even though the students were give freedom, most of the students there could manage their own time and schedule, and knows when to play and when to study. There were some students who played phone games in class and one student even slept in class, but even after the teacher seemed to have saw them, the teacher allowed them to carry on doing so. This explains the freedom given to the students of Jianguo High School. The teachers were friendly too, and interacted with us during the lessons. A learning point we noticed in Jianguo high school is that the boxes used to pack food in is made out of paper, and after having their meals, the students will place the paper packet neatly into a designated area at the back of the class. It seems that the school promotes recycling. This is a point that Singapore schools can learn from, and attempt to adapt to. In conclusion, we decided to give Jianguo High School 5 Stars!

 

OELP DAY 3

JIANGUO HIGH SCHOOL

When we went there, the students happily welcomed us. They waved at us happily and welcomingly as we stepped out of the bus. The students brought us to what they called the Red Brick Area. Over there, they gave us a brief introduction about their school. A funny duo, Darren and Derrick, were the presenters. Their explanation was both funny and engaging, which made it very interesting for us. Even Mr Chua Shi Rong, who found almost everything boring, found the introduction funny and interesting. After that presentation, we were brought downstairs to enjoy a performance by the Jian guo students. There were violin, viola, cello performances, and a circus show. Even though the students were amateurs and failed to do certain tricks successfullly, they did not show signs of giving up, and pesevered. They even got some of us to go up on stage to peform with them, which made us realise that it was not an easy task, but Owen however, mentioned that he "felt like a pro".

After that, some of us went up to stage to present them the dance they learnt before the OELP trip. After the dance, all of us went up to stage and put our hands over each other and sang “立化情”, a song dedicated to our school. The Jianguo students also joined us and put their hands over us, and they even lifted their legs to the rhythm of the song. They encouraged us to follow them and we did the same as what they did. After that, each of us were assigned a buddy, and they brought us around Jianguo high school, introducing it along as they walked. Their school building was very historical and they mentioned that we shouldn't attempt to jump together at the same time for the building would collapse.😂😂😂 Soon, it was time to leave and we were moret han glad to be able to go back the next day. We were touched by the hospitality and sincerity of the students as they not only put in the time and effort to prepare the performances for us, they even treated us to shaved ice. 😍😍😍 

CHIANG KAI SHEK MEMORIAL HALL & SUN YAT SEN MEMORIAL HALL

At the Chiang Kai Shek and Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, we were able to catch a glimpse of the changing of the guards ceremony at both places. It was truly an eye opener, and the discipline of the guards were amazing, seeing how they were able to stand so still for such long periods of time. We also got a better understanding of two very important historical figures in taiwan, Chiang Kai Shek and Sun Yat Sen, there, we learnt about their contributions and sacrifcies for the country. Without them, there wouldn't be the Taiwan we see today. The trips to both museums were truly enriching and we learnt alot there. We were tasked to do the 'Matt Harding Dance' there. We got Mr Chng to help us film it and everyone stared at us like we were crazy. It was pretty embarrassing but at the same time, we were glad to be able to complete the task. 😅😅

[we had a great meal before going to ximending after dinner!!!]

XIMENDING

After dinner, we went to the long awaited XIMENDING!🎉🎉🎉 There were many teenagers there, as the items being sold there is very trendy. For Owen, he bought a plastic chicken that shrilled whenever he squeezed it. The sound when you squeeze the chicken is both annoying and funny, expectedly, we received many prank calls with the chicken shrilling when we returned to the hotel. For Shi Rong, he bought soft toy that was pervertic and too big for him to carry which made him hug it. Why do we say that the soft toy is pervectic? It is because the toy was a baby which had diaper on and when you remove the diaper, it shows the baby's private part. As for Shi Wen and Laetitia we both bought wallets.  

Blog work on chinese economy, Chua Shi Rong

Higher economic growth means that more factories have to be builted. By building more factories, there would be more harmful gases such as greenhouse gases which would polluted the air,causing air pollution to occurs. Which would lead to health problems or even death. By doing so ,china have to choose the right thing to do or the population of china would decrease due to the death cause by the pollution. 

OELP TRIP DAY 2

TAIPEI TRIP SUNDAY 25/5/2014


Today, we went to the National Palace Museum, Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, and Shifen.

NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM
Over there, we saw the Jadeite Cabbage, Meat-shaped Stone, Calligraphy, Chinese Painting, Porcelain vases, and different types of copper containers. The visit to the museum was extremely enriching, and very thought provoking. Although the Jadeite Cabbage and Meat-shaped stone was smaller than what we imagined, it makes us wonder how the craftsmen of those olden times make such masterpieces, while we are unable to produce similar products of higher quality, even when we have more advanced technology now than they had then. Furthermore, we got to learn more about the history and got a clearer picture of how people lived in the past after visiting the exhibits. It was a pity that no photography was allowed in the museum, so we do not have any pictures of it.

SHUNG YE MUSEUM OF FORMOSAN ABORIGINES 

At the museum, we learnt about the different aborigine groups of Taiwan, and viewed various exhibitions of their traditional clothing, weapons, houses, and ceremonies, these led us to better understand their living environment, traditional lifestyles, and culture. Throughout the explanation by the  tour guide, I felt that i understood the aborigines better, and i feel that how they built their houses is very unique, as it serves a purpose. For example, there is one clan that builds their houses partially underground with a small door, so intruders and theives have to bend down low to get into the house, allowing the people in the house to be able to attack them as they would be in a more vulnerable position. We felt that this visit to the museum was very meaningful as we got to have a more in-depth understanding of the history of the aborigines, and even got to view life-sized exhibits.

SHIH FEN 

When we reached Shi Fen, we released sky lanterns and went shopping! The sky was dotted with lanterns of different colours, and as we walked nearer, we could clearly see the lanterns growing smaller as they floated further away, some rose to great heights, while others fell to the ground becoming a pile of ash, needless to say, it was a spectacular sight.  It was difficult to suppress our excitement and even the slight drizzle could not possibly dampen our moods. We selected our lanterns and wrote our heart-felt wishes on them. To get started, we were told to decorate our sky lanterns with our wishes, at first, it sounded like a pretty easy job, but we soon realised that it was more difficult than it sounded, scanning around the area, we realised that most of my classmates had wished for health, and good grades, but besides that, none of us really had anything else to wish for. 

It was then had we realised how blessed we were, we had a roof over our heads, we had a family, we had food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, we were able to get an education. We didnt have to beg for money, we didnt live on the streets. We didn't have to wish for much, we didnt need much, and in between the wishes for health, success and all other things, we didnt need to wish for anything more. 

We were blessed, and as we lit up the lanterns and watched them disappear from our sight, i was reminded of how often we took what we had for granted, even greedy enough to ask for more, we had what many people didnt have, and we should be grateful. We were alive, what more could we possibly wish for? 

After that, we were given free time to look around the old street, and do some shopping!😄💕😄💕 We even "attempted"to take a photo with the "sunset". We were given a task to take a photo that depicts "strength". After much contemplation, Shirong decided to finally comtribute, and demonstrated his amazing (superhuman<---like real) strength by carrying Owen, bridal style. With the romantic lighting from the setting sun, and the sound of the flowing water below us, Shirong went forward to pick Owen up. Left arm on his back, right arm under his knee, Shi Rong lifted Owen up gently with his eyes sparkling. Owen's expression brightened, smile as wide as his face. (They then pledged to each other, "在天愿作比翼鸟，在地愿为连理枝。"<---wow romatic much) We then noticed a sign saying "平安幸福”. Conincidence? We think not.😏👬❤️💍💏💪

                            

[after another delicious dinner, we headed back to the restaurant]

Taipei OELP Trip Day 1 (24/5/14)

TAIPEI TRIP SATURDAY 24/4/2014

Today, after our plane arrived at Taoyuan airport, we were introduced to our tour guide, David 叔叔. He welcomed us warmly. After that, we went to the famous Taipei 101, and checked into our hotel, RF Pretty Hotel, after a scrumptous dinner. 

TAIPEI 101

When we visited Taipei 101, we were treated to a beautiful bird's eye view of the Taipei cityscape. Taipei 101 is a very tall building, with a super fast lift that goes at 1010m/min, and has a super big wind damper which is 5.5m tall and 660 tons. The damper is officially known as "tuned mass dampers" and is the only damper in the world that is open to public view! It is made up for 41 thick steel plates, as high as 5 floors, has a diameter of 5.5 metres and it weighs 660 tons, which is as heavy as 132 big elephants. The ball is suspended by eight very strong steel cables, and each cable is woven of more than 2000 strands of steel! Supporting the ball, there are 16 big hydraulic viscous dampers-8 are slanted, 8 are level. The damper reduces swaying to the Taipei 101 buidling by 40%! That's amazing! It was really fun and the view was fantabulous! 

There were many exhibitions of corals and we took many photos :) We're glad we were given a chance to visit this place! 

:)

Less than 24 hours left! -Tegan Liang Shi Wen

现在离我们上飞机的时间也只差二十四小时了！你兴奋吗？我是绝对超级兴奋！可是，在兴奋的同时，我也不知道为什么，我的心里也感觉有点空空的…

Tomorrow is 24th May, the day we've all been waiting for! Only a couple of hours left and we'll be on the plane. In all honesty, my mind has not really registered that WE'LL REALLY BE GOING TOMORROW! I can't wait to visit the places described in the itinerary, like the night market and the bookstore… I definitely hope the prices in Taiwan are cheap... After all, I want to buy tons of books as well as souvenirs for my friends... I even made a list. :)

I wonder who my buddies will be in Taiwan. Will they be nice? Will they be friendly? Will they like the souvenirs I've prepared? These questions have been stuck in my head for the past few days... How will I feel when we come back from Taiwan? What if the trip will not be how I imagined it to be (though I don't exactly have very high expectations)? What if we screw up for our performance? As the scriptwriter for the skit (half of) my class is performing, I'm quite disappointed myself by the script I have written... It's SOO CLICHE and I myself cannot stand it... (why are all 'educational' and 'appropriate' and 'morally sound' stories with a happy ending be so typical amd cliche? They are just soo predictable it's boring...

((My souvenirs aka bottle nebula))

((POSTCARDS FOR THE WIN!!! although they are kind of unrelated to Singaore...))

I'll be sharing a room with Laetitia and I wonder what kind of strange sleeping habits does she have? (I plan to take photos 😏😏😏)

It's a pity that we're flying off tomorrow though... My cca, choir will be singing as a guest choir for Dunman High Choir's concert tomorrow and I won't be able to participate 😭😭😭 It's such a pity...

Well this will be such an eventful holiday that I doubt I'll even have time to study O_o

For instance, I have choir camp after this trip, and I friend of mine from HongKong will be visiting soon... After that I'll be going to Japan... With all these activities planned out... WILL I HAVE TIME TO STUDY? 😱😱😱

less than 24 hours!!!!!!!!!!! (laetitia)

we're now down to less than 24 hours till we're on the plane off to taiwan!!! after some quick run throughs and editing of our performance, we're safe to say that we're finally ready to perform (hopefully) 

now all i have to do is to head home and finish up the final touches of the gifts and pack my luggage!!! i'll definitely not be able to sleep tonight 😅😅

also, we just recieved a task sheet from mr chua, which assigned different kinds of pictures for us to take and hashtag to instagram! of course, the details are secret bc they're different from all the other groups :x we're definitely going to have lotss of fun while taking the pictures, and whats more, there

are prizes if we won!

here's our task envelope taking a selfie with xinyi's group's 

i'm already counting the hours till we board the plane, and we have to get up really early tomorrow, so hopefully i wont oversleep :P

-laet 

Countdown.. 2 mOre days!!! (laetitia)

i honestly cant believe we're down to 2 days till we head off to taiwan! it seemed like just yesterday were we still preparing for the trip, talking about the trip, finding out we would be going to taiwan, and now i'm already packed and ready to go! i wish time'd fly fasterrrr.

i'm really looking forward to visiting the schools and getting to know how school life is like over there, is it more stressful? or is it less? whats their uniform like? how are their lessons conducted? i have so many questions and now im even given a chance to experience it first hand! we were told to put up a performance for the students there, so not to be a spoiler, bht we're gonna do 15 minutes of a skit ((more like a musical)) and dance!!! 😉 not to mention how we're going to sing 立化情 at the end (: 

preparing presents for the students is also something never to be left out 🎁🎄 and for me, i've prepared a badge that represents singapore (for them to remember me) and a bookmark with well wishes on for them (: as a class, we signed on a card which the gift bearers are going to present to the schools, tour guides and bus driver! hopefully, they'll all like them(: i'm really in love with the gifts i got, and because the badges are customised, i got one for myself as well! 

thats mine, which is going to go pinned on my bag 

and stuck in between my favourite books 

and these are the ones i've gotten for the students 

we'd visit at wulai and jianguo (:

we also got our class tee rushed out just in the nick of time before oelp, and we're going to be wearing it ((which i designed 🙈🙊🙉)) back to the topic, it's so near yet so far away! just 2 more days and we'll be on the plane off to taiwan! even though i was a little disappointed that we wouldnt get to take singapore airlines, i'm also really happy with taking china airlines, afterall, its what we've gained for the trip that counts, and i'm probably going to fall asleep on the plane :3

yesterday, we heard that there was an earthquake in taiwan and we got super worried that we couldnt go, but we're still gonna go and thats amazing! cant wait

-laet