RuoXuan ಠ_ಠ

OELP SHANGHAI-YANGZHOU 26/5-2/6

DAY 1
Today marks the beginning of our wonderful OELP journey. After departing from Shanghai airport, we ate dinner and went to The Bund (外滩). We took a ship and proceeded to the upper deck, where I saw the most amazing Shanghai night view. The multiple skyscrapers were lit with colourful lights, and the Oriental Pearl Tower grandly stood in the middle of them all. It was spectacular. Even though I have been to Shanghai several times before, this was the first time I actually truly appreciated the night view, even ceasing to take pictures but just stood and marvelled at how beautiful Shanghai can be. I personally feel that experiencing, taking it all in, is more precious than taking photos. Why look at the beautiful night view through that tiny phone screen when you can actually look at it in real life and keep the memories with you forever?

After admiring the night view, it got me thinking how Shanghai was able to become so modernised. It certainly progressed tremendously ever since the Xinhai revolution happened. Shanghai encouraged foreign and domestic investment in the 90s, promoting the city in the process. Thus, it soon became the economic hub of East Asia and also the gateway to the Chinese interior. It is also China’s largest and greatest commercial and industrial city. With it's massive skyscrapers and modernised city and buildings, Shanghai sure attracted many tourists and earned revenue. Business opportunities are also definitely in abundance, judging by the impressive number of foreign banks there.

DAY 2
Today, we departed from the Shanghai hotel in the early morning to proceed to Yangzhou. After a four and a half hour bus ride, we finally reached Yangzhou and went straight to 个园 garden. Huang Zhiyun, the person who rebuilt this garden, loved bamboo, believing that they were as persistent, modest, straightforward and loyal as a good man. A cluster of three bamboo leaves resemble the Chinese character 个 (pronounced “ge”). His name Zhiyun also means "bamboo" in Chinese, thus the name 个园. 个园 is one of China's four most famous gardens- 中国四大名园之一. I feel like this garden has a ancient China feel, as well as a mixture of Japanese. The rain we encountered at 个园 contributed to its gentle and soothing atmosphere. Inside, the bamboos form a huge canopy, arching above our heads- it was magical. Further in, we saw various artefacts and houses of people from the past.
Overall, I think this garden really preserved a part of China's history. 个园真的令我大开眼界。我更清楚地看到了中国多年以来逐渐的变化，以及了解古代人的习惯和文化。

Next, we visited the Chinese Paper Cutting Museum. There, I observed something interesting about the Chinese. The tour guide was arguing with the organiser as there was another tour group experiencing paper cutting inside but we were supposed to be the ones inside and not them. Arguments soon turned into shouting, and as I stood at the side, I felt that the Chinese are actually very loud and straightforward. If they see something that provoked them, they would most likely come up front and put a stop to it. Singaporeans and the Chinese are indeed different in many ways. Most Singaporeans would not choose to start an argument over small matters, and they would also avoid raising their voices in public. However, the Chinese almost always spoke with a loud voice- sometimes I could not even differentiate if they were angry or not. Even so, I believe that this is just part of their culture and we should not judge them just because of their loud voices and straightforward character.

When we finally got to start paper cutting, we were told to pick a design and that we had to cut the design out by hand. I was actually pretty shocked as the scissors were hard to use and the design was very intricate. Sure enough, my hand started aching after five minutes and I almost gave up so many times. As I tediously cut out the design bit by bit, I began to understand the hardships that the Chinese had to suffer through back in those days, where they had to sell paper-cuttings to make a living. Why not use a machine to cut the paper now, since technology is so advanced nowadays? You may ask. Cutting the paper by hand is actually a preservation of the paper-cutting tradition, and that each piece requires time, patience, and a lot of effort to complete, thus it is way more meaningful than using a machine to do all the work. After tediously completing this piece, I better understood the hardships people had to go through just to earn some money by selling handmade paper cuttings- I only managed to do one with much effort, imagine how much effort they had to put in. I also really admire the Chinese for preserving this paper cutting culture for the next generations to learn and appreciate.

Day 3
It's finally the day for our long awaited school immersion! I'm sure the first impression everyone got from the school was that it was absolutely humongous. Upon stepping off the bus, I immediately understood what everyone meant when they said the school was high-class. I used to think RV was big, but after seeing 树人学校, I'm ready to change my opinion more than ever.
扬州中学教育集团树人学校成立于1999年6月。树人学校的校风是 “立德树人，自强不息”.
The inside of the school was huge, and everywhere looked very modernised. They had a big LED screen welcoming us to their school and banners with their achievements hung all over their school buildings. I used to think China school were less modernised than Singapore schools but looks like I was wrong.


Firstly, we were arranged to watch the students' Chinese lesson (从旁观课). Surprisingly, we did not sit in the same classroom with them but instead in an adjacent classroom and had to watch them through a live video broadcast. There was even a one-way mirror like those in police stations at the back of the class, for teachers to watch our progress. That actually shocked me- I really did not expect China schools to use such advanced technology, facilities and classroom design. It was even more advanced then our classrooms in RV. After watching their Chinese lesson, I came to the conclusion that we have similar teaching methods in 树人 and RV but their Chinese standards are, of course, way better and sophisticated than us, and they also speak very fast. Most of us could barely understand them. Their teaching content is also very deep, unlike the more basic stuff we learn in Singapore. I really feel that we need to improve our Chinese standards, especially since not many of us can even master Singapore Chinese, let alone the Chinese used in China.

After the lesson, we toured their school garden. As I have mentioned several times before, everything is huge. The garden is obviously huge as well. Completed with a water fountain, long bridge above the pond and various fruit trees, this really looked more like a park than a garden. I kept thinking, why is it that we are unable to have such big gardens in Singapore? The main reason is probably the lack of space in Singapore, whereas China has too much space. Even though I am indeed jealous of their "park", I have not forgotten to appreciate RV the way it is. Even though RV may not be nearly as big as 树人, but we are already very lucky, and we must learn to appreciate what we have. 虽然我们的花园可能比他们的小五十倍，但是大家的出发点都是一样的。我们大家都想推广栽种植物的重要性。其实如果出发点是好的，那大小根本不重要。大家都为绿化尽一份力，这就是最值得学习的。

Finally, we played team games against the 树人 students in their huge indoor sports hall. One thing I noticed was their obvious lack of school spirit. While we were cheering our hearts out for our classmates, they did not seem to have any interest in doing that. They even eyed us weirdly when we did cheers. It was only until we continued cheering for quite some time did they start to cheer for their classmates as well. This happened once again in the basketball match. When we cheered throughout the whole match and clapped when the opposing team scored a goal, they only cheered when their own team scored. I feel that school spirit is really something that the Chinese students are lacking in, and this was actually a very important trait. Without school spirit, students would not be bonded. However, I am really glad that they cheered their schoolmates on after seeing us doing it. I hope that will understand and learn from our school spirit- that would definitely make their school a more lively and better place.


Day 4
Today was the second day of the school immersion, and our OELP performance. I woke up remembering the hours we spent last night trying to sort out last minute singing arrangements and the problem with the lack of microphones. Not to sound judgemental but 2 microphones were really barely enough to do anything. Upon reaching the school, the teachers brought us to a lecture theatre where we joined a literature class. What amazed me was the skit that the students put up- lines were fluent with much emotion. I think this is a part that we can learn from them. We can barely speak in Chinese for a solid 2 minutes without stuttering.
接下来，同学们呈现了关于端午节的文化与习俗。他们提到端午节一定要吃咸鸭蛋。我觉得这很有趣，因为我们大多只知道端午节要吃粽子，却很少听说要吃咸鸭蛋。树人的同学们给我们每人分发了一粒咸鸭蛋，令我觉得他们很热情与细心。
The long awaited performances was finally here. This was actually the part where I am most displeased about. One thing I noticed about the students was that they did not pay attention to the performances, be it their own school's performances or ours. They also had a limited attention span, like when we had microphone problems and they immediately started talking among themselves. Sure, we were like that too in Singapore, but at least we had to curtesy to pay attention to their performances and not talk. I especially felt annoyed when they payed no attention to the pianist who was performing a rather difficult piece. I wanted to enjoy the piece but their voices was so loud that they almost drowned out the music. Ironically, the pianist was actually from their own school. I feel that character is more important than academic results. They might be the top 1% of Yangzhou, but if they do not even respect their own schoolmates, then what's the use of having fantastic results? The stage was also rather small so our performances ended up really squeezed and messy. All in all I feel that even though the actual performances was not as good as I expected and I was hoping more people would watch, we all did our best and that is the most important thing.

Day 5
Today was the day to wear our bright neon pink class t-shirts! We were heading to 城隍庙, a huge shopping place with many twist and turns, so it was easier to identify us in pink. There were all kinds of shops there - souvenir shops, food stores, even anime-themed shops! It was like a piece of heaven. Things sold here were relatively cheap too, as compared to other places. I think that this was another place that depicts China's culture- many shops looked like buildings from the past dynasties. Something I noticed was that many shops sold the same things, and they were located near one another too. They were probably not worried about the other shops stealing their business.

Day 6
Today, we visited the Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠). We took a class photo at the steps and it was a really memorable experience, where everyone had to line up according to their class shirt numbers. Even Mr Dela Cruz was involved! Everyone was staring at us as we took the pictures- I guess we really attracted a lot of attention, especially with our neon pink shirts. Our group attempted to take a group photo but were scolded by Mr Dela Cruz because we did not follow the tour guide's instructions. Even though that dampened our spirits, we learnt the importance of following instructions as after all, we're here to learn, and not to be tourists.

The view in the Oriental Pearl Tower was magnificent. I felt like I could see the whole world from up here. I found the glass floor not as cool as I expected, though. 

Will Merlion be the best icon to represent Singapore?

I personally do not think so. Firstly, the Merlion is based on Sang Nila Utama seeing a lion when he first stepped foot on Temasek. However, there is no real proof to show that he really did see a lion and I do not think that there were lions at that point of time. Also, foreigners will not understand the backstory of the Merlion and some even feel that it is adapted from a mermaid. Even though it is considered a national icon, but it might not best represent Singappre, in a sense that it does not tell the story of Singapore's past and present.

I feel that the Singapore River might better represent Singapore. Firstly, the Singapore River used to be dirty and polluted back in the 1980-90s, due to ships using Singapore as a trading port. Waste, oil spills and wastewater from these boats and lighters added to the pollution of the rivers. People also threw litter into the river and wash clothes there.

However, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had the vision to think of this place as a beautiful bay that we could clean up and enjoy. He started the clean up Singapore River movement, which enable it to go from dirty, black and oily, to clean and beautiful. The Singapore River is now a great place for water recreational activities and ships. 

Therefore, the Singapore River is the best icon to represent Singapore because it shows Mr Lee's vision and role in cleaning up the Singapore River, Singapore's history as a trading port, and Singapore's growth, from a trading port to a modernised city.

Remembering Lee Kuan Yew

Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a great man. He was the founding father of Singapore and he dedicated his whole life to building Singapore. When he was young, he founded the PAP and became Singapore's first prime minister, bringing us from a small red dot that nobody cares about to a first world country that is respected all across the world. He never gave up on Singapore, not even when the Malaysia merger failed. He always believed, Singapore will eventually become successful.
He started many movements, like the Bicultural studies, speak Chinese movement, long-term water supply, multiracial country. These are only some of the few things he carried out that allowed us to prosper. He didn't mind if people disagreed with him or his plans. He knew what was best for Singapore. He once said that he wanted people to fear him and follow his lead, as he could bring Singapore to greater heights.
I feel that even though he is no longer with us now, we should still carry out his hopes and beliefs. He sacrificed his whole life for the Singapore that we have now, and the best way to repay him, is to be united as one and work towards a common goal- an even more successful Singapore.

China's economic growth

China has its abundance amount of land and cheap currency to thank. With many, in fact too much land, large amounts of people choose to set up their businesses here. The cheap currency results in cheap products so businessmen or even normal citizens are able to make a profit. Businessmen can export the cheap products to other countries to earn more money. All in all, China is pretty successful and I can foresee it being even more successful in the future.

Singapore's population
I think that the dwindling population in Singapore will result in long term effects such as not enough young adults to take care of the increasing number of elderly.
For instance, if two parents gives birth to only one child, there will be a steady decline in population. Furthermore, the only child will need to take care of his or her two parents which is a major responsibility. If the child decides not to care about his or her parents, they will be abandoned and maybe even left to fend for themselves.



There had been an immense amount of population growth, also known as the baby boom, back in the post World War II period. Family planning was introduced to Singapore in 1949.

Fearing that Singapore's growing population might overburden the developing economy, Mr Lee Kuan Yew started a Stop at Two family planning campaign. Abortion and sterilisation were also legalised in 1970. This caused the population growth rate to drop rapidly.








Now, even though the government encourages more birth due to the low population growth, being the modern citizens we are, it is hard to juggle workload and life at the same time, thus many people refuse to have more than two children. Ironic, isn't it? Hopefully the government can come up with better campaigns to encourage more birth.





CID REFLECTION 23/1/15

   For this lesson, we were shown two pictures of similar situations- begging for money. One picture was about a man holding a board that says he only needed one dollar to call home. The other picture shows a woman holding an infant, begging a stranger for money. We had to choose who we wanted to help and without hesitation, I chose to help the man. Why? Firstly, the man only needed a dollar. I felt that even if he was a scammer, he could have asked for more and not just a dollar. Secondly, I felt that the woman looked suspicious. I also trusted my gut feeling.
   Afterwards, the real situation of the two people were revealed. It turns out that the man was truly in need of money and the woman was a scammer. Through this lesson, I realised that we should not judge book by its cover, as many of my friends chose to help the woman because of the infant. Nowadays, many people would resort to using babies to gain pity. We should really think thoroughly before donating to avoided being cheated.

 Do not judge a book by its cover

Poverty in Singapore

   The rate of poverty in Singapore grew from 16% in 2002 to 28% in 2013.
I feel that this is a rather shocking increase and the government should really start doing something about this. Singapore is considered to many a first-world country, and yet, one of the major problems is poverty in Singapore. Nowadays, poverty is very common on the streets of Singapore. Try stationing at MRT stations or at Orchard Road/Bugis Street. You are bound to see the elderly selling tissue packets, playing an instrument, or just plain begging, in a desperate attempt to earn money to handle basic daily needs like paying for food and shelter. In your neighbourhood, you might even see them collecting cans, garbage and living on leftover food. This is a dreadful sight to see in such an advanced country.
Tourists are always commenting on how our country is so beautiful and clean, but do they actually see the bad side of this city? I really doubt so. It might be too late to solve this problem completely though; poverty will always exist.

2014 year end holidays 

   Last November and December holidays was a really interesting experience for me as I tried out many new things and went to many different places. Let me list them all here.

1) Last day of school Talent Showcase

Basically, Commonwealth secondary held a talent showcase at our very own RVHS auditorium! I was really looking forward to it as I found the idea of another school performing here very refreshing.

That day was a CCA day so after CCA, I went to eat dinner with my seniors and had to rush back to school to change into "concert-approved clothes". I attended the concert with my Commonwealth and Jurong secondary friends and I have to say, it was a great way to end the school year!

2) Trip to 桂林

My trip to 桂林 lasted from 15-19 November. This trip was quite rushed as I had to squeeze it in between my two open house rehearsals which will be mentioned at 3). Overall this trip was really an eyeopener and I saw a lot of pretty stuff that Singapore will never have. One thing I would like to mention is the 银子岩!! The pictures I took were really spectacular and I would love to go back again. 

3) CCA Open House

This was one of the events I was really looking forward to as I love watching the seniors perform beautiful pieces. I could also introduce our cca to the p6s and their parents who are coming to the open house. I really hoped to recruite potential cca juniors! Below are some selfies I took with my seniors and other photos of the rehearsals and open house.

4) Lakeside 6H'13 gathering
This was one of the most exciting days I've had in awhile. I love all my primary school friends and I was really excited for this day's arrival. Firstly, we watched Penguins of Madagascar and went to Jurong Greens to hang out and take loads of selfies afterwards. I really miss all of them.

There is really too many things to mention so I will just stop here. This was one of my best and most memorable holidays ever and even though it has come to an end, I will never forget the times we've spent together and I love each and everyone of you featured here! I hope the next holiday will be just as memorable and one day I'll look back and replay every single one of these precious memories:>

-Ruoxuan