INDIVIDUAL REFLECTIONS FOR OELP
DAY 1(ECONOMY)
How would you feel if you got to go on an overseas trip with your classmates right after the exams? i felt excited at the thought of it. Normally, we would go on overseas trips with our family but it was different this time, we would be able to have fun with our friends overseas, which was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
As we were at the singapore changi airport, i could tell i wasnt the only one getting piped up. Everyone was taking their pictures before leaving for China, and of course, our CID group 4 took a picture as well.
After we reached Shanghai, we immediately went for dinner. Everyone had heard of the delights in Shanghai's food and we all looked forward to one of Shanghai's culture: TRADITIONAL FOOD.
THE BUND
After having dinner, we then went on to The Bund. The Bund was not only a beautiful place but also showed how modernized Shanghai already was from the many tall skyscrapers. And under the night sky with all my classmates and teachers, together with the lights and beautiful scenery, I couldn't ask for anything more.
The Bund reminded me of the Singapore river too. The river probably attracted business just like the Singapore river did.
REFLECTIONS OF DAY 1: what contributed to Shanghai's economy? How isit similar to Singapore's?
We realise that amongst the buildings we had seen at the bund, there were actually many shopping malls and banks which attracted tourists to modern Shanghai. The experience of having a cruise on the Huangpu river was also one which would attract tourists. Hence, The Bund was pretty important in Shanghai's economy.
In Singapore, we have the Singapore River, which has attracted many tourists to it as well.
DAY 2( CULTURE)
On day 2 we headed for Shanghai first thing in the morning. Although it was a long ride of 5 hours, I had a lot of fun with my classmates talking and playing a few games.
GEYUAN
After we reached Yangzhou, the first place we headed for was GEYUAN. Although it might seem like a normal garden its actually a much more beautiful place than a simple garden. it spotted bamboos and many beautiful trees. But it was also raining that day, which spoiled everyones mood. The infrastructure of Geyuan was also different all the other gardens I had seen before.
we also saw rocks of different size and shapes which were used to show the four seasons and thus the rock garden was named the artificial mountain of four seasons.
FALLING SICK
Due to the rain, I actually fell sick, on the second day!!!
i couldn't really enjoy the scenaries after Geyuan garden which were the Grand canal and enjoy the process of paper cutting but i still tried my best. i learned that by being sick i affected others moods and needed the teachers to worry for me, i felt really guilty about it so i rested well on that day and got well the next day :D i actually learned quite along from being sick overseas as well, i had to worry others and also not be able to enjoy the journey.
GRAND CANAL
At the grand canal, we took a boat ride in a river with beautiful greenery beside it. i learned that the Grand Canal is actually the longest river in the world and attracts many tourists. the canal starts at Beijing and ends up at Hangzhou.
PAPER CUTTING
Next, we headed for the paper cutting museum. It might seem boring but its actually an interesting attraction of Yangzhou's. And cutting out the animals and plants were no simple task, it required patience, precision and accuracy. i felt pretty frustrated at first when i couldn't cut properly due to the fact that i was sick!
LOCAL SUPERMARKET
After paper cutting, we headed for a local supermarket, which everyone was looking forward to. Everyone wanted to see the goods in China and buy a few to bring back home. Our CID group 4 we explored the supermarket and found many goods to compare with Singapore's and also good which China had but not Singapore. We also noticed that the supermarket sold many electric bikes which was something not found in Singapore.
REFLECTIONS OF DAY 2:
Our class compared Yangzhou and Shanghai and we found many differences
Shanghai:
more expressways
why? greater population of people, hence more cars
more developed,more skyscrapers
why? shanghai is a city which focuses on economic development while YangZhou focuses on culture and traditional preservation.
Shanghai is cleaner
why?more tourists visit Shanghai, hence more effort is put in cleaning the toilets for a good image.
Yangzhou is more traditional and less modern. It has more culture and historical values
why? Yangzhou has more scenery and richer history and attracts more tourists which ultimately lead to boost in economy as well.
On day 2 we headed for Shanghai first thing in the morning. Although it was a long ride of 5 hours, I had a lot of fun with my classmates talking and playing a few games.
GEYUAN
After we reached Yangzhou, the first place we headed for was GEYUAN. Although it might seem like a normal garden its actually a much more beautiful place than a simple garden. it spotted bamboos and many beautiful trees. But it was also raining that day, which spoiled everyones mood. The infrastructure of Geyuan was also different all the other gardens I had seen before.
FALLING SICK
Due to the rain, I actually fell sick, on the second day!!!
i couldn't really enjoy the scenaries after Geyuan garden which were the Grand canal and enjoy the process of paper cutting but i still tried my best. i learned that by being sick i affected others moods and needed the teachers to worry for me, i felt really guilty about it so i rested well on that day and got well the next day :D i actually learned quite along from being sick overseas as well, i had to worry others and also not be able to enjoy the journey.
GRAND CANAL
At the grand canal, we took a boat ride in a river with beautiful greenery beside it. i learned that the Grand Canal is actually the longest river in the world and attracts many tourists. the canal starts at Beijing and ends up at Hangzhou.
PAPER CUTTING
Next, we headed for the paper cutting museum. It might seem boring but its actually an interesting attraction of Yangzhou's. And cutting out the animals and plants were no simple task, it required patience, precision and accuracy. i felt pretty frustrated at first when i couldn't cut properly due to the fact that i was sick!
LOCAL SUPERMARKET
After paper cutting, we headed for a local supermarket, which everyone was looking forward to. Everyone wanted to see the goods in China and buy a few to bring back home. Our CID group 4 we explored the supermarket and found many goods to compare with Singapore's and also good which China had but not Singapore. We also noticed that the supermarket sold many electric bikes which was something not found in Singapore.
REFLECTIONS OF DAY 2:
Our class compared Yangzhou and Shanghai and we found many differences
Shanghai:
more expressways
why? greater population of people, hence more cars
more developed,more skyscrapers
why? shanghai is a city which focuses on economic development while YangZhou focuses on culture and traditional preservation.
Shanghai is cleaner
why?more tourists visit Shanghai, hence more effort is put in cleaning the toilets for a good image.
Yangzhou is more traditional and less modern. It has more culture and historical values
why? Yangzhou has more scenery and richer history and attracts more tourists which ultimately lead to boost in economy as well.
DAY 3 ( EDUCATION)
Today we went for our first school immersion in Yangzhou. Everyone was pretty excited about the school immersion as we wanted to find out what the schools in China looked like and also because we were going to meet our student partners.
SHUREN IMMERSION
One of the things that left a deep impression on me was that the principal of Shuren School specially came down to our hotel to receive us. Although it seemed like nothing at first. After thinking about it, I realised she had put in a lot of effort. For a busy principal to specially come down, I greatly appreciated it.
After we reached Shuren, everyone was stunned, the campus seemed enormous. Probably twice the size of RV. We had already expected the campus to be huge but we didn't expect the campus to be this big.
THE SCHOOL EVEN SPECIALLY WELCOMED US!!
Not only the size of the campus impressed us. The politeness of the teachers impressed me as well.
Usually when visitors visit RV, we have students receiving the visitors, but we reached the school, many teachers were there to welcome and greet us. This warmed my heart.
After that we went to a classroom to watch the students have a Chinese lesson. The students were all very focused on the lesson and I could see that none of them were speaking to each other. All of them were paying attention to the teacher and I feel that this is something we can learn from them.
After the lesson, we headed to a lecture theatre to watch a video about Yangzhou. The video was really interesting and showed most of Yangzhou's beauty. Yangzhou's culture and way of life were simply amazing and I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen.
We then went to a spacious indoor sports hall where we learned the Chinese Wushu routine. Although the routine was slightly more complicated than our own RV's Wushu routine, everyone got it and soon we were practising with the students of Shuren.
After we practised the routine, we showed Shuren RV's routine. It may not be as impressive as Shuren's routine but everyone had fun :D
we then went for lunch and this once again showed China's culture
After that we played a few games that Shuren had planned for us. It was exciting and everyone had fun, although we lost a few events we still tried our best!!
We then had a basketball match with the basketball team of Shuren. Although we were no match for them, we still tried our best and won a few points. When we were still losing, our classmates cheered for us and they kept cheering even though we lost. This truly showed the RV SPIRIT.
We then went to rest at a coffee bar in the school. I think that was one of the places which got me amazed. The place looked especially clean and there was coffee and sweets for the students to use. I felt that this coffee bar was definitely something RV could implement in the system.
REFLECTIONS FOR DAY 3:
Why is the school so big? Why does the school have so many facilities compared to RV? Isit because RV does not have enough funds?
No, its a common misconception and assumption that the Singapore government does not have enough funds to build bigger schools. But it is actually because the facilities take up a lot of unnecessary space and Singapore lacks space compared to China.
DAY 4 (EDUCATION)
Today, it was the second day of the school immersion, aka the day we got to meet our buddies!! We headed for the second branch of Shuren school which consisted only of secondary school students.
SHUREN IMMERSION
After we reached the school, we immediately had the opportunity to meet up with out buddies. I was worried about what to say or do to my buddy at first. I was worried it would be awkward but my worries were not needed. My buddy was extremely friendly and talkative and even offered to converse in English so we could converse more easily. Indeed, I can see that although it is a school in China, they put a lot of effort into teaching their students good English as well.
We talked about our country and the difference between our two schools
Shuren
-focus on academics
-less variety of cca and less pe time
-spend long hours in school to study
-night studying in school for revision
RV
- focuses not only on academics but on CCA and leadership as well
- large variety of CCA
- have to go home usually at 6 to finish homework
I was then extremely shocked when he apologise on behalf of his nation for the dirty environment and the people smoking everywhere. Although it wasn't his fault, he was polite to this extent and up till today, it still leaves a deep impression.
We then exchanged our gifts and I gave him a pencil case while he gave me something much more meaningful, he gave me a teddy bear which was a unique product of Yangzhou. He also gave me a one yuan and ten yuan coin, saying that it was a belief that the number 1 would provide goodluck!!
We then went for a lesson on how to make a beautiful bracelet, which was part of the CULTURE of China. It was fun and although quite challenging at first, many of us got the hang of it and finished it quickly.
Next, we went into a classroom and we had to showcase Singapore's culture, explain about VIA and about keeping the country clean through presentations. Everyone was listening intently and everyone thought it was interesting. The students of Shuren then did something a little more special. They showed us their talents such as playing the guitar, Chinese traditional dance and also presentations of inventions which had won during science competitions. Everyone had fun and we got to see how talented the students in China were as well.
We then went on for a 书法 lesson and the student volunteers there were really good. They taught us the different techniques of writing and it was extremely fun! Although we have done this in RV, it somehow felt different when we did it there, we didn't feel any pressure at all.
BOOKSTORE
After we left Shuren School, we headed for a bookstore. There, not only were we allowed to buy books, we had to compare the prices of books there and at the same time, observe the type of books there and come to a conclusion on why.
In the bookstore, we found that there was only a few or no English books at all. But there was more Korean or Japanese books with most of the books making up of of course, Chinese.
This was probably because Korea and Japan's economy were expanding and by reading the books, the Chinese could learn from Korea and Japan and in the future, help to improve China's economy.
Although it was a short trip to the bookstore, we learned a lot about the bookstores in China.
REFLECTIONS FOR DAY 4:
Compare RV and Shuren
RV is cleaner and has a better environment in the toilet
why? Singapore has high maintenance and it ensures there is a certain standard to the cleanliness
Shuren School has a large campus
why? China has a a lot more land than Singapore and hence, Shuren can afford to use more land and build more facilities
DAY 5( CULTURE)
LOCAL MARKET
The market there had a lot of ornaments and many accessories. I noticed that the ornaments weren't made with very valued and good rocks but the ornaments were sold at a high price. Also I noticed that although the ornaments were sold at a high price, they were easily negiotiable and the prices could sometimes be lowered by more than half. this meant that the price of the ornament wasn't actually priced very high but to earn more money the sellers sold the ornaments for a heavier price.
I also noticed the differences between the market in China and the market in Singapore.
In Singapore, the market sold mostly fresh food, fruits, vegetables but rarely sold ornaments while the local market that we went to sold a lot of bracelets and ornaments and hardly sold any food.
SLENDER WEST LAKE
The lake is well known for its beautiful scenery and history. Everyone was amazed at the scene of the lake and everyone was taking pictures of the beautiful lake. The lake had 24 attractions but we only visited a few.
When we were at the 24 bridge, we realised that there were 24 girls in our class so they lined themselves up the bridge and took a nice picture. The bridge was called the 24 bridge as there was a myth that 24 beautiful women were seen on the bridge. It was quite a sight seeing our classmates lined up like that.
ZHU ZIQING'S RESIDENCE
Zhu Ziqing was a famous Chinese poet and essayist. He was known for his famous essay, ’背影‘. He was also patriotic and loved his country. This was also the reason to why his residence was not demolished but made into a historic site. He had done many acts that showed his love for China. Among them, he had encouraged his students to oppose to Chiang Kai Shek from initiating the civil war.
The government wanted to remind the Chinese of Zhu Ziqing's heroic acts and remind the public that they should follow Zhu Ziqing and try to be like him.
DONGGUAN STREET
Dongguan street was one of the nicest streets I had ever seen. The infrastructure of the street was unique and it was unlike any of the streets in Singapore. And the street seemed to stretch forever. Although we had been walking along the street for 2 hours, we couldn't finish the street
The street also sold many products such as Tea, ornaments and even clothes as well. Our CID group also found out that the street was also once one of '10 famous historical and cultural streets'. Indeed, Dongguan street showed the cultural and historical value of China.
DAY 6( CULTURE)
Today we went back from Yangzhou to Shanghai, as it was a long 5 hour trip, we had to wake up extra early so we wouldn't waste any travelling time.
CHENG HUANG MIAO
There was the most number of people there and the place was packed not just by Chinese but also by tourists as well.
I noticed there were many crowded western cafes like starbucks and I was wondering why the Chinese would prefer Starbucks and then I realised that the people in Starbucks were actually western tourists.
The place kinda resembled Chinatown and even the design and infrastructure looked like that of Chinatown, just more beautiful.
We also bought many snacks which were a specialty in Shanghai back home for our family to eat.
SHANGHAI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM
Although it might sound like a normal museum, it isn't really like the museums in Singapore. The museum had life sized models of animals and the museum was enormous. There were all sorts of animals and not only were there models of animals, there were real animals as well. Although we had learned about most of the animals in school, it was definitely a different experience learning about the animals in the museum
After touring the museum, we got to watch and experience a 4D film which taught us about the harmful effects of anti biotics. It was a relaxing film and we managed to rest for a while from the long day.
ORIENTAL PEARL TOWER
This was the attraction I was looking forward to the most as I had always wanted to go to as I felt that the idea of a transparent platform was really cool. The Oriental Pearl Tower is one of the tallest TV towers in the world and it stands at 468 meters high.
We took a lift up and the view was spectacular. I was not disappointed. From there, I could see The Bund and many skyscrapers. Our CID group noticed that there were many western themed buildings and we wondered why. Mr Dela Cruz then explained to us that it was because the lake/ The Bund was used for business in the past and it attracted many foreigner so start their business there. Hence, now many of the buildings are western themed.
Next, we headed for the transparent platform. From there, I could see everything below me and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Our CID group took a jumpshot there and a few of the boys even did push ups there and took pictures. Other tourists saw what we were doing and started doing pushups there as well!
OLD FRENCH CONCESSION
The infrastructure of the Old French Concession stunned as me it was simply beautiful. There were many western styled buildings and the streets were lined with beautiful trees. There were also many hipster cafes in the area and also concept bars and antique stores. For a second, I didn't think I was in China! W e took a walk down the Old French Concession and enjoyed the beauty of the place!
TIAN ZI FANG
Tian Zi Fang was a quiet and nice place with many shops lining the area. This time, the shops there sold quite different items. The shops sold other items such as movie themed keychains, lego figures, slightly more western themed items. But there was still taea sold in the area. The streets were nicely arranged and the trees and flowers there just made it more beautiful.
DAY 7(EDUCATION/CULTURE)
It was the last day of OELP and everyone was sad that we had to leave so soon. It seemed like only 3 days had passed ): But we decided to cherish the last day and just have as much fun as possible.
QIBAO ANCIENT TOWN
The town was like a sanctuary and it was built during the five dynastis period, around 1000 yeas ago. Indeed the great development in the song Dynasty.
At the town, we were given some time to walk around and shop for some items in the area. There ere many costume shops in the area and Mr Dela Cruz explained it was due to the fact that China wanted to preserve the tradition and culture.
This town was definitely different from the rest, there were many costumes sold and even photo taking buisnes for the costumes. This was indeed a smart business idea and it showed the culture of China at the same time.Our CID group then bought a group identity there as well.
SHANGHAI MUSEUM
This was the last attraction we were going to. In the museum, we saw a lot of China history, tradition and culture. There were many Statues of Budha, Chinese calligraphy paintings and Chinese traditional costumes. There were also many of the ancient times Chinese coins there.
The items exhibited were mostly from the heritage and not of the revolutions and dynastic ruling. This shows that the Chinese government wanted to show only items which would bring out China's good history and not the bad.
Finally, we made our way to the airport and took our flight back to Singapore. Indeed, this journy with our classmates has been an enjoyable one and also an educational one.
2I OELP SUCCESS!!
Food of Yangzhou 28/2/2015
Yangzhou food belongs to the Huaiyang cusine, one of the best known cuisnes in China, which is popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
It first appeared in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and has a history of 1,200 years.
Besides emphasis on broth, Huaiyang dishes feature high-quality ingredients and meticulous preparation, with care taken to maintain the freshness and authentic flavours of the food. Dishes incorporating freshwater-food and meats cooked in Huaiyang style are eminent. Huaiyang dishes are delicately braised, stewed or soasted and the most famous include stewed pork ball, stewed fish head, shredded pork in chicken soup, steamed hilsa herring, stewed pig's feet, etc.
Huaiyang dishes also have a pleasing appearance. Usually decorated with lifelike carvings of fruits and vegetables, they are neither too salty nor too sweet, suiting most plates. Huaiyang dim sum is also attractive with steamed buns filled with pork and vegetable or crab roe being the most popular.
And of course the famous and must eat Yangzhou fried rice. The recipe was invented by Qing China's Yi Bingshou (1754–1815) and the dish was named Yang Zhou fried rice since Yi was once the regional magistrate of Yangzhou. this dish is so famous that it is even in Chinese restaurants in the Americas, Australia, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
MUST TRYS: YANGZHOU FRIED RICE
STEAMED CHICKEN OVER BAMBOO LEAVES
SHRIMP ROE WANTON AND NOODLES
What are your perceptions of the Chinese and their people?
Miss Huang then showed us a video about a delicacy in China where the egg is soaked in urine before being eaten also known as virgin boy egg. Many people believe that this delicacy has many health benefits but everyone in our class thought it would be pretty disgusting for us to eat it. Hence, Miss Huang taught us how we would reject the chinese in China during our oelp.
There are a few rules which we have to follow. First, we shouldnt lie to them as it would be very rude if they found out that we were lying to them. Second, we should be polite when we reject them.
Is the merlion statue the best icon to represent Singapore? 10/4/2015
Our group had discussed about the topic 'is the merlion statue the best icon to represent singapore?'
And our answer is NO
there are many icons which can equally represent singapore as well.
there are many factors which can contribute to an icon in Singapore such as
-Age of the icon
-Uniqueness
-tourists attraction
-beauty
and i trust that there are also other icons which can represent singapore equally well
the chili crab is a favourite delicacy in singapore and is defitenitely a must eat among tourists
the vanda miss joaquim is also a icon in singapore and it is a very beautiful sight
and of course the one and only Singapore flag. It is the national flag of our nation.
During todays CID lesson we had to research as a group to find out why 'Science and Technology' was a contributing factor to the TANG DYNASTY which was called the golden age of China.
during our research, we learnt about many factors under 'science and technology' such as
-engineering -medicine
-woodblock printing
-alchemy
-cartography etc.
other than learning about our own topic, we learnt about many other factors discussed by other groups which resulted in China's Success.
When we think about China's golden age, it made me think of Singapore's golden age as well. Singapore was once a fishing village but now, it is a first world city and is well known all over the world. we have our fore fathers to thank for this, especially the late lee kuan yew, who had spending his whole life building singapore. Although he has passed away, his legacy still stays on.
Sinapore river in the past!
The famous marina bay sands
Mr Lee had ruled Singapore well and he practised the four main principals, meritocracy, multi racialism, no corruption and self reliance. Mr lee made sure everyone was given an opportunity and all talented people were able to make use of their talent regardless of wealth or stature.
And he made sure every race and religion was treated equally in singapore. He made sure that people dont go around offeinding other religions and races and this in turn, led to the prosperity of Singapore.
And the third he did not practise corruption. He had no tolerance for corruption and would punish anyone who was guilty of corruption. He made sure there was zero corruption in the government and although it cannot be said that there is a 0% corruption rate in the government but it is defitenitely one of the less among the other countries and this is something i am very proud of for Singapore.
Last but not least he practised self reliance. Although Singapore had limited resources, Mr Lee made use of all the resources and used whatever he had to attract tourists from other countries. He thought of ways to solve the problems that Singapore had. He built reservoirs to make sure Singapore could have more water supply. Mr Lee has indeed lead Singapore well.
Social economy environment 20/2/2015
During this lesson, we learnt about how to differenciate different situations and how to categorise each situation under the terms 'social, economy and environment'
We then had to dot our the threats in red. this made me realise how Singapore is actually a well to do country compared to some of the other countries which had haze like China and Indonesia. Although Singapore is more fast paced country and everyone is more stressed by our jobs and our studies, we are living in a excellent environment with our fantastic transport system which can bring us all over singapore. we should be grateful for what we have and what our forefathers have done to bring singapore to such a successful city.
China's economic 17/2/2015
Today we played a mini game first to test our knowledge on China and its ranking positions int he world in the market trade productions. despite the big and overpopulated China, China still takes the place of 2nd in Terms of GDP, Gross Domestic Product. China has problems such as the rich being too rich and the poor being too far. In Singapore, the more you earn, the more the government taxes you. This is one way the government tries to let the poor do better by taxing the rich and spending these money to help the poor unlike China,resulting in implications. While in China, no such rules are implemented resulting in the rich and poor gap widening. China may have the 2nd position in the world ranking. This lesson taught me how Sinagpore has better foresight and that every citizen is being taken care of.
China's international trade has also blossomed alot. and it has expanded steadily since the opening of the economy in 1979. it has entered the markets of many countries and the amount of imports into many countries are mostly by China. China is now one of the biggest market in the world
the picture shows China's rapid growth compard to other countries which are also doing well
Dwindling growth of Singapore 6/2/2015
PREDICION OF SINGAPORES FUTURE
As Singapore's population decreases, the economics will of course be most affected in Singapore. There will be lesser manpower in Singapore and thus, there will be lesser results. there will also be more foreign talent invading singapore and there will be less opportunities for Sinagaporeans. As this happens, more Singaporeans would leave Singapore and immigrate to other countries for more job opporutunities. This will end up being a cycle and the population of Singapore will get less and less.
PREPERATION FOR DWINDLING GROWTH
There can be more campaigns to raise awareness of the slow growth in Singapore and more singaporeans will try to do their part in Singapores growth. The baby bonus has also be given to let parents of children have more benefits. this will encourage more singaporeans to have more children and thus led to more growth in singapre.
ONE CHILD POLICY IN CHINA 6/2/2015
WHAT IS THE ONE CHILD POLICY?
The one child policy was introduced to reduce the population in China. Families could have only one child or penalties would be given
WHY WAS THE ONE CHILD POLICY INTRODUCED?
As China was a less developed country at that time and many people were not very educated, it resulted in less or no family planning at all. The costs of living was also not very high which resulted in the great population growth in China. When the population is so big, there will be lesser economic growth in China. More money would have to be spent on the people and lesser money can be used to improved on China's living environment.
MY THOUGHTS
I feel that this is a very effective and smart way of improving the economy of China. China is a very huge country and has huge potential to do well. This method not only allows China to do better as a country, it also lets families in China do better and lets everyone have a better living lifestyle. For example, if a family has lesser children, each child will be able to get more money from the parent and the child will be able to do better individually. there will be less competition for jobs and there wont be a lack of jobs for many people in China.
Poverty in Singapore 30/1/2015
Singapore is known as the world-class country with an excellent economy. The city with financially stable citizens. As a singapore citizen, i know that singapore is not as perfect as everyone thinks it is. We see old aunties selling tissue packets at the entrance of MRT stations and uncles playing the keyboard to earn a few dollars as donations. They do this just so they can keep up with the fast pace of life in singapore.
I feel that although it is impossible to completely eliminate poverty, there should be a balance between the people of high-income and the people of a lower income. the salary difference should not have a large gap, so that there will not be such a wide gap between the rich and poor in our society, which will result in more poverty.
However, our society has implemented many things to help to ease the problem. For example, there is the financial assistance scheme in school which will help to ease the financial problems of many families and give students more chance to study and do well in school.
This is evidence that although many believe that there isnt poverty in singapore and that everyone is doing relatively well. Poverty still exists in singapore.
2014 DECEMBER HOLIDAYS
i had a very fun, interesting and busy holiday last year. i had been chosen to be a facil for River Vallwy High School's next batch of year 1s and I felt that i had a big resposibility and i should do my best to be a good facil for my year 1s. The facils had to go through a few training programs to train us so that the year1s would feel welcomed and do well in RV. First, we went through a leadership training camp on 18-19 November. we had alot of different activites during the camp and we learnt alot. we learnt that as a facilatator, we would be a role model for our juniors so we had to put on our best conducrt. also,we learnt many different cheers that we could use to let our juniors get high and be able to to talk more and be more outspoken.
Right after the leadership training camp, i went on a trip to Russia for an international robotics competition with a few of my friends and teachers. Before we left Singapore, our friends went to the airport to see us off, we felt very touched as it was already very late in the night. the flight to russia was long and tiring, we had to take a total of 3 transit flights before we reached Sochi, one of the states in Russia. One of the more memorable locations was Moscow, when we touched down at Moscow, we had two hours before our next transit flight to Sochi. In Moscow, the temperature was about -22, it was extremely cold. we went out of the airprot to take a few pictures and it was freezing. we quickly went back into the warm and welcoming airport after we took our pictures. we also had Russian pizza there. their pizzas were alot biger than the ones in singapore and one slice was even bigger than our face.
in singapore with the support from friends!
in Qatar!
in moscow :)
butts almost froze!
TEAM SINGAPORE
after we reached Sochi, we went straight to the hotel and slept immediately like a pig because it was a really tiring journey. our hotel had an amazing view of the snowcap mountains and we were amazed b the landscape and environment. there were very few cars and i observed that the people there liked to move around with their skateboards and skates which i thought was very cool and something we Singaporeans could do too. after that,we had our competition, althought we didnt win, we tried our best and had nothing to be ashamed about. although it was a competiton, we learnt more than just about robotics, we also learnt that making friends were very imporatant. we made friends with people from all over the world like China, Russia, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan and many more. we talked about the different places in our countries and their countries different cultures and interesting things too.
me observing the robot run
our robot
TEAM SINGAPORE
the interesting and fun part of the trip came after the competition when we went exploring Sochi. we went to a hill/park which was very fun. the hill had many different wildlife such as ostrivhes and squirrels and many more. when we reached the top of the hil;, the scene was spectacular. we could see the towns and the beautiful ocean and sunset. it was one of the highlights of the trip. we also saw many nice trees with autumn leaves,a wishing pond and even a meteorite. we were quite shocked and scared but our teacher later told us that it was quite frequent sight in Russia.
Almost reached the top!
amazing view of the city
jumpshot!
everyone in the photo!
jumpshots
cool shot!
after that, we went to a shopping mall in town to get presents for our friends. we also bought a few drinks and food so that we could have a small party in our hotel for our last night in Russia before we went home the next day. although the trip wasnt very long, but im sure that i will always remember the happy moments there.
after that,we got ready for our orientation for the year 1s. we had a few more trainings and with each training, we made ourselves more high to spread the rv spirit to the year1s. throughout the trainings, we had to be serious and high at the same time, knowing that we will be the first rvians the year1s will get in touch with and that we must make sure that they do well in RV and have fun in RV.
Next, on 5January,we had our orientation 2015, we met our year1s and we had various activities to make them feel comfortable in Rv and let them know that Rv is their second home. Although it was hard at first, we got the hang of it and did our best for the year1s. We made sure that we did our 200% so that our year1s could feel 100% that Rv welcomes them and that they will do well in Rv. My year1 class,1F, was quiet at first, but with the help of the facils, they become much more friendly and outgoing and they started talking to each other. Also, we taught them the cheers and dances so they could have fun and so that they could be high. We also went through a mass display of the words, 爱我立化，which means to love our school. This was something that we facils had to let the year1s know too, and we had done it. The year1s loved the school, and they were enjoying their time here. Finally,one of the highlights of orientation, the orientation night,it was the night where the year1s could get high and have fun and at the same time an emotional time when the year 1s would know that the people around them are their new batchmates their new friends, and that they could count on everyone of us,even the facils and organising committee. personally, i felt that orientation was one of the biggest events of my life and the impact it had on me was very big and it made me love my school so much more too!
Overall,it was my best holiday so far and given the chance, i would definitely want to be part of orientation 2016 and be able to spread the joy of being an rvian to my year1 juniors.
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