It was finally the day my class and i leave Singapore for Yangzhou for OELP trip. We took the Singapore airlines which was very classy. I am very excited for this OELP trip as i never been on a learning trip with all my friends overseas other than Malaysia. However, i will miss my parents for a whole week. Temperature at Shanghai was cold compared to a tropical country like Singapore, but i liked it. We meet with our tour guide when we reached Shanghai. He was a handsome middle-aged guy. In the bus, our tour guide kept introducing Shanghai's culture and some famous places to us. We went to a scenic place where there were many skyscrapers. After that we went for dinner, but all of us does not seem to get use to Shanghai's food yet. After dinner, we went on a night cruise along the Bund but we took a long time due to heavy traffic. At the Bund, all the buildings were lit up with lights. Commercials were everywhere. The night breeze was very soothing and we took many pictures. After that we went to our hotel to debrief and rest.
Day 2:
We woke very early and had breakfast. We went to the French Concession after breakfast. We were all pleasantly surprised as we did not expect a European building built there for a long time. We had another surprise when we saw a starbucks store near it. A modern building built there could attract more tourists especially youngsters to the French Concession i guess. We went to tian zi fang which was named after an artist. There were many art work on display. They were all very nice. After that, we went to a post office where we were treated like uninvited guests. The tour guide explains to us their poor attitude and we were fairly surprised as in Singapore there is no such things. They work under the government, they will still get their pay even if their attitudes are bad. In Singapore, you would already be fired regardless you are working under the government or not. We also went to Shanghai Urban planning Exhibition Hall. Shanghai was very big, Singapore is nothing compared to Shanghai. We can also see that there are many modern buildings built in Shanghai. After that, we went to Hai Di Lao to eat hotpot. Their service was flawless, they helped a lot in the cooking. They provided a lot of materials like apron to keep ourselves clean. Most importantly, they are all helping us wholeheartedly, not for the sake of work. After that, we had a long ride to Yang Zhou.
Day 3:
We went to try out Yang Zhou's breakfast. There were many different kinds of buns. All of them were delicious. I liked the one where we use a straw to suck out all the juice. It was quite big but not the biggest i seen. We learn that Yang Zhou people usually have a heavy breakfast which includes buns noodles and more, as they usually have two meals a day. Their lifestyle is very different to us Singaporeans as we have three meals a day. After breakfast, we visited the 瘦西湖 and the 24 bridges. The lake was very clear and peaceful, what a spectacular sight. The boat ride was relaxing as we got to enjoy the quiet scenery of the lake and the bridges around. The boats and the buildings were all very old. However, i dislike one thing: there were too many bloodsucking insects around which was very irritating. After this, we went to the block printing and paper cutting museum. I never have any talent in type of work. I was very mad while cutting as its simply impossible for me. Now i know the hardship of paper cutting. Nowadays, there are less and less people taking up these kinds of jobs as they lack patience.
Day 4:
It was the first time i been on a exchange programme at a overseas school. I was pretty excited. Our buddies came to welcome us. My buddy was a girl around our age by the name of Liu Chang. She was a quiet girl but we got along very well. She introduced me to her school's cultures and some places. They had a warm welcome for us, they tried to speak in English for us to understand better and i can see the efforts put in. We attended some of their classes including music class. It was quite fun as we get to see some students dancing including my classmates. Through these classes, i learn that the students were very obedient and quiet. They do not talk unnecessarily and their sitting posture was very straight. Unlike Singapore, students sometimes fall asleep in class which shows their attitude towards learning. Yangzhou students were all very hardworking. They also have ten minutes of rest between each lesson where they can take a short nap. I think this is very effective for learning as students can rest their eyes so they can concentrate on the next lesson. Studies shown that a avergae student can concentrate up to an hour. When the teacher asks a question, most of the time all the students were all eagerly raising their hands to answer. We had a scrumptious recess including chicken wing. However, my buddy told me that they usually have a simple recess. It was only at times like overseas students go to their school and they are allowed these delicacies. In contrast, Singapore schools have many varieties of food we can choose from and they are all very delicious. At noon, there was a long break for students. It was a important time for our buddies and us to interact. We joked around and played many games like arm wrestling and chess. In the evening, we went to Lushi Manshion to jave our dinner. It was a traditional restaurant which serves traditional Yangzhou food. There were many appetizer which was very delicious. After dinner , we went to take another boat ride around the Yangzhou river. Comparing the night scenes between Shanghai's Huang Pu Jiang and Yangzhou's Grand canal, Shanghai is more modernised than Yangzhou. Yangzhou scenery was mush more traditional and simple. This allows China to preserve its tradition and at the same time improve its economy.
Day 5:
Its the second and last day of the exchange programme. We had some activites today we have never experience before. We made a egg holder necklace which mine failed terribly. Also we had a rice dumpling making competiton, it was a fun competition where we bonded together as a team and learnt how to make rice dumplings. However, when i went to the toilet, i was devastated at the sight. The toilet was dirty and unkempt. There was no tissue paper and there was only a bucket for big business. This is a whole world of difference in Singapore clean toilet. I learnt to appreciate what we have in Singapore school. Even the teachers in Yangzhou are a lot more times scarier than Singapore teachers. We also had paper cutting lessons and chinese painting where we learn a bit during Rv literature. During the afternoon break, we did our last practice on our dance which we were preparing to showcase to the Yangzhou students and teachers. We spent days to practice and needless to say, we did a great job. We also managed to get to see some of the performance put up by the Yangzhou students. Including dancing, singing and chinese orchestra. After that, we went to a bookshop to shop. I bought some books as souvenior for my family. I can clearly see that all the books were organised very well, but to my dismay almost all the books are in chinese.
Day 6:
Today we went to the Volkswagen factory. Its my first time in a car factory and i am very interested in cars. We were prohibited to take photos in the factory to my dismay but i understood the importance of keeping it secret to other companies. I was amazed at how clean the factory is, there were many machinery parts. It was a very rare sight to see all the machines. Now that i think about it, i seen most of Yangzhou's car is Volkswagen, i guess its the most trusted brand and in Yangzhou. There will be more investment in China Volkswagen as human labour is cheaper and there is less competition in China among the different brands.
Day 7:
Its the last day of the OELP trip, time sure flies fast. We took a magnet train from Yangzhou back to Shanghai to leave for Singapore. The train was very orderly and timely. In contrast, Singapore's train are all late and people are always pushing. Ther magnet train was very clean and the seats could be rotated and there are some people selling commercial items and food during the journey. It was a very pleasant ride.
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