Today is the start of our OELP journey. We gathered at Singapore Changi Airport in the morning, boarded the plane and departed for Shanghai. I was very excited as I thought the trip would be a fun and good learning experience. On the plane, we chatted excitedly with our friends, watched nice movies, ate food and played games. After about 5 hours of flight, we arrived at 上海浦东机场. We met our tour guide, 黄导游, and boarded the bus to go to the restaurant that we will have our dinner at. During the bus ride, 黄导游 told us a brief introduction of Shanghai and I also saw the buildings and roads of Shanghai. We arrived at the restaurant and had our first meal in Shanghai! They served many dishes and it was tasty. After we ate, we finally went to our hotel to rest.
From this trip, I hope to experience how lessons are being held in schools in China and learn more about China's history, culture, society, people's daily lifestyles, etc.
Day 2
Today, we went to 城隍庙, 上海书城, 南京路, the Bund and French concession, and went around the 陆家嘴金融区. Firstly, we went to 城隍庙. We went around the temple and there were many tourists and shops. We got free time to shop around and I bought some things for my family. It was interesting to bargain for the prices of the things selling in the small shops. Next, we went to the Bund and French concession. From the Bund, we could see many well known buildings in a Shanghai, including the 上海东方明珠塔, and the 'bottle opener' building, which has a opening that makes it resemble a bottle opener. With the picturesque view, we took many photos. After some free time at the Bund, we went to the 上海书城. The 上海书城 is 7 storeys high, and sells a wide range of books and music. We had some free time in there, where we could look around and buy books. Lastly, we went to 南京路, and had some free time to shop around. The shops on 南京路 are modern and mostly are shops of famous brands. They things that they sell are more expensive so we could not really buy many things. After having dinner, we went back to the hotel to discuss and rest.
Today, I spotted many Starbucks shops on the streets. At 城隍庙, there were even 2 Starbucks shops which were very close to each other. I wonder why are there many of them along the streets. I think it is because the cost of living is getting higher, and more people can afford things that are more expensive than normal. However, I wonder who the consumers mainly are.
Day 3
Today is our first visit to the partner school, 上海市南洋中学. However, due to some students being late and heavy traffic on the road, we were late to reach the school on time. Although we were late, the teachers and principal were very welcoming and nice to us. We were introduced to our buddies and were given time to interact with them. However, as they have to go back to their classes, they only came for a short while. The teacher in charge, Mr Lu, showed us a few videos to show us more about China, and we were also challenged to build the tallest tower which can hold a ping pong ball in top, using only a piece of A4 sized paper and scissors. Many of us had trouble trying to build the tallest tower. At the end of the session, the physics teacher showed us some ideas to build it, many of which none of us thought of. It was fascinating and we had fun learning. After the lesson, we were supposed to learn how to make 香包, but due to many students around in the room, our group's buddy decided to take us on a tour around the school. She showed us the classrooms and places around the school, and told us that studying is very difficult and stressful in China. They had lessons even at night, and they often had to study late into the night. After leaving the school, we went to 海底捞 which was famous for their service, for lunch. At 海底捞, the waiters and waitresses were friendly and nice. When I came out of the toilet to wash my hands, a waiter offered me soap. When I finished washing my hands, he even offered me a towel to wipe my hands. I felt that their service was good and the food is nice. After the lunch, we went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. It show us how Shanghai has developed over the years, and there was a large area where they displayed a model of Shanghai. I was able to see how Shanghai was like in the past and how it is now, from the exhibitions. Afterwards, we went for a quick walk along 文庙街, where we were not allowed to walk around on our own as it is dangerous. People living along 文庙街 were quite poor and the houses were rundown. An old uncle on the street told us 文庙街 was already like this in the past, and there was nothing to see. After dinner, we went back to our hotel for discussion.
Today, we were late for about 30 minutes for school, and we could have left a bad impression for the teachers and students in 上海南洋中学. We were reflective and promised to board the bus to leave for the school on time the next day.
Day 4
Today was our last day in 上海南洋中学. Everybody tried our best to be on time to gather and board the bus as we did not want to be late like yesterday, and luckily, we were not late. On the way to the school, we practiced '立化情', as we were going to perform it for our buddies later on. We went to the school and saw how the students gathered in the parade square for morning exercise. They were running in an orderly manner to their respective places. They started doing the morning exercises and after our teachers' encouragement, all of us went to join them. I was quite embarrassed but I still had fun following their exercises. After that, we performed '立化情' for our buddies. I think we did okay. My group attended an English lesson, and got to see how lessons were conducted in the school. Shortly after, we had to say goodbye to our buddies, and sadly, my group's buddy was not around. However, we managed to ask another buddy to help us pass our presents to her. After that, Mr Lu brought us to the Oriental DreamWorks, where we saw how the workers drew the characters of the animations. It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity to tour around some parts of the company. It was fascinating and I learn more about how animations are created. After lunch, we went to 复旦大学, where a senior of RV gave us a tour around the campus. The seniors also shared how life in 复旦大学 was, and answered our enquiries. We also sang '立化情' for the seniors and I was really grateful towards them as they had used their time for studying just to let us know more about the University.
Day 5
Today, we travelled for about 3 hours from Shanghai to Hangzhou. After reaching Hangzhou, we had lunch and went to the 浙江大学 国际设计研究院. Over there, we were given a talk on the design and innovation course there. After the talk, we rode on the bus around the campus. The University was huge and the buildings there are very modern and there were many facilities, in contrast to Fudan University, where the buildings are old and the facilities are not as many. However, Fudan University is overall a better University than Zhejiang University. After leaving the 浙江大学 国际设计研究院, we headed to 清河坊, where we were given free time to shop around. I bought many things for my family at 清河坊. But sadly, after dinner, 黄导游 had to leave us and another tour guide came to take us. I will surely miss 黄导游 as he was very caring and approachable.
Day 6
Today, we went to 西湖, 雷峰塔, saw 断桥, visited 岳飞庙 and watched an acrobatics show called '西湖之夜'. We visited 岳飞庙 in the morning. At 岳飞庙, the guide told us about 岳飞, who was murdered by evil people. In the temple, there were four statues kneeling on the floor before 岳飞 and his son's tombs. People even used to spit on the statues, until it was forbidden due to the temple becoming a tourist attraction. This shows how much the people hated the murderers. Through this visit, I learnt more about YueFei's story. Next, we went to 西湖, where we went on a boat on the river. On the boat, we could see the 断桥. The bridge was actually not broken, but the name came from a family with the surname '断' living near it. After boat ride, we went to 雷峰塔. My friends and I climbed to the top floor first before coming down each level. The view on the top floor was magnificent as we could see the whole 西湖. It was such a good view that everybody took lots of photos. Lastly, at night we got to watch an acrobatics show called '西湖之夜'. The show was very interesting with exciting acrobatics performances. I felt that the most exciting part was when 4 bikers rode into a large spherical cage where they circled without falling and crashing into each other. It was very dangerous as if one biker made a mistake, all 4 of them can crash into each other and get badly hurt. I really enjoyed the show very much.
Day 7
Sadly, today is the last day of our OELP trip. We rode the bus back to Shanghai after having breakfast in the hotel. On the way to Shanghai, we stopped by 七宝古镇, which is an ancient town. We were not allowed to walk around by ourselves as it was very crowded and we could get lost easily. Thus, the tour guide guided us around the town. Next, we went to 田子坊. I saw that 田子坊 had many art galleries and the things there are quite expensive so there were very little things which were suitable for us. However, I thought 田子坊 was special as it had features of the traditional Shanghainese architectural style 石库门, it was nice and interesting. After some free time at 田子坊, we had to leave for the airport. We thanked the tour guide and the bus driver gratefully and went into the airport. We had our last group photo taken with the banner and checked in our luggages. After a short debrief from the teachers, we boarded the plane and departed for Singapore. I was sad to leave Shanghai as it had been a very fun and meaningful learning experience with my classmates and teachers. I had observed and learnt a lot more about China, and I am grateful for the enjoyable time I had spent with my teachers and classmates
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