Jing yan's OELP trip reflection

I did not go for the trip, OELP, however, I seen some of my group members description of places they went to and their reflections. I am now going to talk about what I have learnt throught reading their reflections.

Day 1:

Places visited were just the hotel and the restaurant.

I could see how knowlegable and friendly this tour guide is as he explained to them many aspects of China like from common crimes to the Chinese culture. He must be a very approachable tour guide who is willing to help us learn from this trip and not waste the time and money coming to china.

Day 2: places visited,

城隍庙,陆家嘴 Finance & Trade Zone,上海 Book City,南京 Road, The Bund & French Concession

From these places, I could see that china has mordenised very rapidly from the last 30 years. in the past, where could you even find such a huge bookstore who has a whole building dedicated to it. Also modern shops are everywhere for you to go shopping and there are many nice buildings in the bund & French concession. Compared to singapore whose land is so limited, I believe that with the resources china has, china will grow even more rapidly ahead of us. We could even say that shanghai was overtaken singapore as they have so much to see and and everything is so modernized.

Day 3:

Places visited were the school immersion in 上海市南洋中学, shanghai urban planning building and 

文庙街.

From the school immersion, the students there were very friendly to us and will not keep a distance away from us just because we are foreign people. Instead, they offered to clarify any questions about the school and the lessons. They were good people who showed cocern despite the short stay.

Next, haidilao, was the place for lunch. It was a hotpot lunch as we eat from the same hotpot on each table. The teacher and research told us that haidilao is supposed to have top service. However, good service happened for 1 table only, which the waiter explained the history of haidilao. We were disappointed, but I felt that to avoid disappointment, we should just expect the bare minimum objectives only which was to eat a meal, which we did. Thus, do not expect the most out of everything to avoid being disappointed if they are unable to do so.

After that was the shanghai urban planning building, which we saw the little buildings of shanghai.

Then there was this 文庙街 we went. It was a deserted area with little poor people. I learnt that despite how successful shanghai is, some people will still fall behind and be unable to catch up with the living standards.

Day 4:

Last day in 上海市南洋中学

Visit to oriental dreamworks

 复旦大学

We went to the sister school one last time to attend lessons and say goodbye. We appreciated thier guidance throughout the 2 days and had fun and learnt a lot of academic stuff with them. We even sang 立化情 to them to show our gratitude that "在立化我不孤单" to them

Next, was the oriental dreamworks. Inside was snapshots for the upcoming Kung fu panda 3. It was a surpirse as we were not planned to go here in the itinery.

Then, we went to feudal university to greet our RV seniors studying there. We sang 立化情 as well. I feel touched that even though they are busy with their work, they still chose the time to come here to interact with us, their juniors, and teach us stuff we can learn. They must have been good to see their juniors coming to see them.

Day 5:

Hangzhou

Zhejiang university

We took 3 hr bus ride to hhangzhou. We went to see the university, who was bigger than fudan university as they had became more modern than fudan university as fudan university wanted to protect their cultures by keeping the old buildings. This shows how the chinese value their roots and we should do so too.

Day 6:

West lake

岳飞庙

西湖之夜

We went to see the west lake. It was much more peaceful and nicer than our chinese garden one, who is not even comparable. China surely has many beautiful sights, whether natural or man-made. Next was the 岳飞庙 where we leant the past or 岳飞 and how he was honored to have a place named after him. I could feel that history was so wonderful and interesting as it affects the present. Then we went to 西湖之夜 an acrobatics show depicting a story. It was an excellent show for us to not only see, but to learn from the content as well. Even though the one-wheel bikers were dangerously doing stunts, they did a great job of performing.

Day 7:

Last day

Trip to shanghai

七宝古镇

田子坊

Last day of OELP. We went to shanghai and to the two places to do last minute shopping and flew back to singapore. We certainly learnt a lot from this OELP Trip

Amelia's OELP Trip Reflection

Day 1: 

It was the first day of our OELP trip and I was very excited as it was the first time going overseas with my class with out my parents with me. I was worried that I might get homesick and miss my parents in china but I told myself that it is about time I became more independent and learn how to take care of myself. I boarded the plane with my friends and said goodbye to Singapore. Fortunately, my friends were there to cheer me up and made me forget about my parents. After we landed in Shanghai, I was very excited, all my worries and anxiety turned in excitement and happiness. We ate dinner then went to our hotel. The tour guide was very friendly and tried his best to tell us whatever he knows. Although most of us were too tired and did not listen attentively, he still tried to explain the culture and lifestyle in china. 

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, there were a lot of people there and it made me think of Chinatown in Singapore. It was a shopping paradise, there were a lot of shops there, selling a lot of stuff ranging from fake egg with painting to stuff toys. There were a lot of traditional Chinese stuff such as painting and traditional Chinese instruments like dizi. Next, we went to 陆家嘴金融区 and 上海书城. There were so many books! It was a seven storey high building with millions of book in it. I noticed that you could actually take a book and seat at the side and read it and no one will stop you. That means that you can just read all the books for free if you want to. It was very strange to me, it sells books but you can read them for free if you stayed there. It did not make sense to me as in Singapore, you will have to pay if you want to read a book. It was difinitely worth visiting it as I was able to immerse myself into reading and was definitely an eye opener for me. 

Day 3: 

Today was the first day where we had to put on our uniforms during the trip. I was not excited as it was very warm in china. We have to go to 南洋中学 for our immersion, I was not very excited as I thought it would be very boring but turns out, it was very fun. The teachers were very friendly and approachable and was still very welcoming even though we were late. The teacher was filled with excitement and enthusiasm when he welcomed us. The students were very friendly and tried to speak to us in english as we were not really accustomed to the environment. They took the effort to show us around the school. The activities were also very fun and engaging and it made us very interested. In the end we made a lot of friends and enjoyed our time there. We then went to haidilao. I had very high expectations as I was told that their service was very good but turns out they did not meet my expectations. I felt that they were very bias as the table with the teachers were actually treated better than the rest. The waiters actually took the time to talk and explain to them but ignored the rest of us. I felt very disappointed with the service when I realised they were bias. Then we went to 文庙街. We realised that they were the poorer parts of the country and the difference was huge. It was very old ans I was very shocked as where we went previously were all very modernize and I could not believe how poor and old this part of the country was. 

Day 4: 

The first place that we went was 南洋中学. It was our last day there and we were very sad. We went listen to their lessons and one of the students actually leaked the secret that they had already went through the lesson beforehand to me. I was flabbergasted. I felt that they should not do that as it is very fake and they are like lying to us in a way but I know that they did that to make sure that nothing will go wrong when we came. Next, we went to dream works where I was fascinated with everything they do, how they make the animation move and everything. They also showed us a few characters that will be coming out in kongfu panda 3 and was told not to leak it to others. They explained to us how they create the animations and how many drafts they have to do before deciding on the final product and it was a lot. Next, we went to 复旦大学. Our senior there showed us around and told us how it feels like living in china and studying there. She told us that china students are very hardworking and rushes to class every morning 2 hours before the class starts, to revise. I was very shocked as they were more hardworking than I had expected and felt that they pose a great danger to me as when I grow up, I will be competing against then. I decided to work hard so that I will not lag behind. 

Day 5: 

Today, we travelled from Shanghai to zhejiang. It was a 3 hours bus ride and the whole class was very restless. When we reached zhejiang, we went to visit zhejiang university. I was very shocked when I reach zhejiang university as it was very modernize and big compared to 复旦大学. I was very confused to why the environment was better when 复旦大学 was a higher rank than zhejiang university. Then, we were told that it was because 复旦大学 had a longer history and they want to keep the old buildings and their history. While zhejiang university did not really have a long history and was very new. Also, zhejiang university was combined by four universities resulting to it being very big. 

Day 6: 

Today, we went around west lake in a jetty and looked at all the beautiful scenery. We also went to the pagoda. You could see the top view of the west lake and it was very beautiful. There was also the remains of the actual pagoda and a lot of shops. I learn a lot about the historical backgrounds of west lake and the story of 白蛇传. Next, we went to 岳飞庙. I learnt that he was very loyal to his country and his king and contributed a lot to southern Song Dynasty. 

Day 7: 

Today was our last day and we took our 3 hours bus ride back to Shanghai. We went to 七宝古镇 to find that it was very crowded, we were literally bumping shoulders with each other. There were a lot of shops there but as it was very crowded, we were not allowed to shop and were rushed to the next place, 田子坊. I learnt about the constructive features of the traditional architectural style and was immersed into their culture. After that, we went to board our plane back to Singapore. Although it was only a seven day trip, I still experienced the china culture and how it differs form our country. It was definitely a trip worth going.