AnQi's OELP Reflection

Day 1 Reflection (25/5/14)(SUN):

Today, when we got down from the plane, some of us are very tired from the journey and some of us are very excited about coming to a new country and being on our own without our parents. We met our tour guide who was very kind and introduced us to Shanghai on the journey to the restaurant for our dinner. He also mentioned many facts about Shanghai although I don't understand most of the things. However, he was patient enough to explain it slowly and telling us the significance of different skyscrapers that we pass by on the bus journey. He also warned us the fact that China has a lot of pickpockets and to ensure our safety, he told us that at all times, our bag are suppose to be in front of us. He said that "包包在后面是别人的, 包包在旁边一人一半, 包包在前面是自己的". I feel that this saying is very interesting but true. In order to ensure that our valuables are safe, we need to be responsible and place our bags in front to safeguard our items ourselves. I hope that I would be able to learn more about China's education system and

Day 2 Reflection (26/5/14)(MON):

Places that we visited:

1) 城隍庙

2) 陆家嘴 Finance & Trade Zone

3) 上海 Book City

4) 南京 Road

5) The Bund & French Concession

Looking at the structure of the building, 城隍庙 is actually a temple where people can pray for safety of the family however, walking further into the temple, it seems to turn into a small Orchard Road in Singapore. There are a lot of shops selling souvenirs and food. At the "small town" in there, there are 2 Starbucks Coffee which made me doubt why is there a need to have the same shop in the same area. It seems like 城隍庙 is very good in catering to the needs of different age groups. For the elders, they can visit the temple to pray and for the youngsters and tourists, they can visit the temple with their elders to shop for souvenirs and also grabbing some food to eat. Also, this temple also has a rich history since the Ming Dynasty. Thus, I feel that the success of 城隍庙 is contributed by the fact that it is able to cater to different age groups.

* I feel that 城隍庙 has 2 Starbucks Coffee is so that they can reduce the queueing time for the customers as there is quite a big crowd buying food and drinks from Starbucks.

At the 陆家嘴 & 上海 Book City, I feel that it is amazing that Shanghai has a building that sells so much books. In the Book City, there are so many different types of book ranging from Children Books to Medical Books to English Books (Imported). How I wish that Singapore also has a building like this so that it can help the customers to save time by allowing them to buy the books they want at one go. Despite having books there, the Book City also has a Starbucks Coffee where the customers can take a break and have a coffee. I feel that the architect of the building is very mindful and has taken the needs of the customers into consideration. Thus, I feel that the 上海 Book City is definitely a place that we should visit. Visiting 南京 Road is definitely an eye opener where some shops sells traditional craft word and some sell fashionable stuff where teenagers nowadays would shop for.

Day 3 Reflection (27/5/14)(TUE):

Today, we were suppose to go to 上海市南洋中学. However, due to the fact that some of us are late and that there was a heavy traffic, we reached the school by 9am. Even so, the teacher that was expecting us was not angry. But instead warmly welcomed us. There was even a signboard that specially welcomed us. I was quite touched that they were expecting us for a long time and had planned out the activities well. It was definitely a new experience to visit other schools and understand their teaching style. We had our first physics lesson in Chinese where we are suppose to build a tower with an A4 size paper and that the tallest tower will win. We also tried to place ping-pong balls, tennis balls and golf balls on the top of the tower. Through this lesson, I learnt that no matter what mission that may seem impossible, there will always be a possible way out. After that, we were suppose to had some handy craft work by doing a fragrant bag however, excited students came in and we were probably too shy to communicate with them that in the end, we gathered together at the side of the room. Seeing that we were chatting among ourselves, our buddies even initiate to bring us around the school to see. They seemed ashamed that at that time when we visited their school, it was kind of rundown for they were preparing to shift into a new school campus where it is bigger. With that, we left the school and went to our next destination which is the 海底捞. I actually expected a lot from 海底捞since it had been famous for their incredible service. However, when we reached there, I felt that it was not expected. Our class feedback that the service was not unison to all 3 tables which is what I think should be expected in every restaurant in the world. However, it may be due to the lack of manpower. However, I was very shocked when I came out from the toilet to wash my hands and the waiter initiate to press some soap foam into my hands. After so, he even gave me a warm towel. So, I would said some parts of the service is superb while some parts is still average. Moving on to our next destination, we went to 文庙街to see the poorer parts of China and compare the difference. We are kind of shocked to realize that the difference was actually huge. With that, we went to have our dinner and went back to our hotel.

Day 4 Reflection (28/5/14)(WED):

Today is our second and last day in 上海市南洋中学. We saw how the students entered their parade square to attend their morning assembly and they also did morning stretching. After that, we sang 立化情for the buddies that took care of us these 2 days. After so, the school teacher brought us to the Oriental DreamWorks. We even get a chance to talk to the staffs that were designing the KungFu Panda 3 that will be out during next year. I was flabbergasted when I saw how much effort had to be put in just to create a scene. After that, we went to lunch and went to 复旦大学to meet our RV seniors who introduced her campus to us and she also found some of her friends from Singapore to help along. We also sang her 立化情and gave her some present as a token of appreciation. I was very touched that all these seniors spent their studying time to talk to us and entertain us even though it was a competitive school where they had to treasure every minute to study. After that, we went for our dinner and head back to the hotel.

Day 5 Reflection (29/5/14)(THUR):

Today, we had to travel to Hangzhou for 3 hours and when we board the bus, everyone was preparing to sleep which was a good opportunity for us to complete our photo mission which is to snap a photo of our group mates sleeping with their mouth open. It was definitely funny looking at how people are able to sleep on the bus. So, our main agenda today is to visit 浙江大学. We went there and realized that the school was even bigger and nicer looking than 复旦大学. After that we went back to our hotel to have our debrief of the day which is comparing the differences of both universities in China. 

Day 6 Reflection (30/5/14)(FRI):

Today, we spent a lot of time around the west lake and we also took a jetty to see the beautiful scenery by the lake. We also went to the pagoda to see the ruins of the old one and also to learn about the history of the pagoda. We also went to the 岳飞庙where we learnt about the history and death of 岳飞. The were 4 statues kneeling in front of his grave and we were shocked to the fact that they barricade the statues up for the Chinese had spit on these statues and how they had managed to throw all these statues into the sea. It shows that their hatred towards these 4 sinners is very extreme to the extend they can even throw them into the sea. After that, we went to watch a night show called 西湖之夜 where it first showed the story of 梁山伯与祝英台however, it ended up in a acrobatic show where 4 women riding in their motorcycle entered into a huge metallic ball and started riding around it. It was definitely a dangerous but interesting show that we might not be able to see in Singapore. With that, we ended our day.

Day 7 Reflection (31/5/14)(SAT):

Today is our last day in China. We packed all our luggage and went back to Shanghai with our 3 hours bus journey. We went to 七宝古镇to see the streets only to realize that it was very crowded. After so, we went to 田子坊to do some last minute shopping. With that, we find back to Shanghai airport to fly back to Singapore. Even though this trip might only be a short 7 days, but I have definitely experienced a lot more about China, knowing the difference between China and Singapore like the traffic condition and the educational system.