Taiwan Trip Day 4

Itinerary

"Hectic day"

1. Transfer to Taichung in the morning

2. Fine Arts Museum

3. Lunch in restaurant

4. Aboriginal village + Amusement Park

5. Fengjia Night Market

Reflections

Brian- Day 3 is over already... Time sure flies when we're having fun. Today was a fully packed day, we started off our day with a early wake up call at 6am. After our hearty buffet breakfast, we proceeded to check out our rooms and then load our luggage onto the bus. Afterwards, we took a bus ride to the National Fine Arts museum and inside, we saw a lot of abstract art pieces and fortunately, there was a guide there to explain most of the art pieces and so we are able to understand the background story of each and every art piece. Without this museum guide, everything in the museum would be almost not understandable and so we will learn lesser things from this trip to the museum. Sadly speaking, we were on a very tight schedule today and so we weren't able to visit the entire museum. But luckily, the other half of the class would have gone to where we did not and at the end of the tour, we would be able to exchange pointers of what we learnt. We rushed to our next destination-- the Aboriginal Cultural village. At the foot of the hill, we stopped by a restaurant to have our lunch before continuing to the Aboriginal Cultural village. Over there, we first took the cable car up the mountain and then switched direction to get back to out original starting point. After we experienced the cable car, we were given 2hours to play in the amusement park. As I was not exactly brave to take the most thrilling rides, I walked around the entire amusement park until I saw something suitable, a water boat ride that has a gentle slide... Or so we thought. When we finally found the entrance to this, we eagerly got into the boats and were ready to roll. After the slide that we had seen, we realized that we were still not at the starting point yet, then a sudden realization struck us when we were heading up, to another steeper and higher slope. We had underestimated this ride but it was still fun. The surprise factor made us think that this ride was not scary at all. After all the rides, we proceeded to the entrance of the Village and then there was a farewell performance but the aborigines. The audience were invited to participate and learn their dance. I had a ton of fun learning from them even though I had minor difficulties at first. Overall, this trip to the Aboriginal Cultural village was an enriching experience for me and I would like to have a even more in depth information of these aboriginal people like their language. After that, we got onto our bus and headed straight for Taichung's famous Fengjia night market. This was everybody's long awaited location as we would be given freedom and allowed to decide what we will be eating. As promised out teachers gave us 2.5 hours of free time to shop and have our dinner. After this visit to the night market, we then checked in at another hotel that we will only be staying in one night and everybody went back to get their well deserved rest.

A view of our room in Talmud business hotel

Charmaine- As usual, we had breakfast early in the morning to start the day! I ate a little more--scrambled eggs with sausages, toasted croissant etc etc, akin to having McDonald's breakfast yum!😋 We went to the National Museum of Fine Arts.

     Exterior view of the National museum of Fine Arts

Although I like art, I was not looking forward as I assumed that it would just be paintings after paintings. Sigh. However, Taiwan's art museum had really aroused me (in every way) as all the artworks were different and each piece had a deep meaning to why it was done that way.  The museum exhibited many famous paintings and craft works from various artists in Taiwan. Thankfully, we had a guide throughout our tour in the museum or I wouldn't have known anything just by looking at the art pieces. There were sculptures, paintings, drawings during different times in China. Some sculptures are placed in a dark room to create a scary illusion. I realised that nudity is portrayed in many art pieces as well. Does that mean art=nudity and nudity=art? (Just kidding)  I feel that art can be portrayed in many other ways but a group of artists prefer to use nudity as one of their greatest artwork. The art piece I liked most was "Pencil Walker 走铅笔的人” by 石晋华. I don't have a picture of it as we were not allowed to take pictures in the museum:( It is not very eye appealing but shares deep meaning. My first impression was "oh it's just a huge black gradient board" and was curious to know why it was even in the museum. After listening to the guide however, my perspective of the artwork changed. Although this art piece might not seem like a nice piece of work from afar, there is a hidden meaning in the art piece. Now this is ART :D 🎨

Information about the Pencil Walker art piece ⬇️

"Art washes away from the soul the dust from everyday life"

-Pablo Picasso 

Art is always more than what we see on the surface :)

 

After which, we could finally go to the long awaited Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village! 🎠🎡  I was glad that we were finally able to have some FUN! The cultural park was real big and we had to take the cable car to the other side of the park as a class ;D it wasn't my first time taking the cable car but I was excited anyways. As the cabin was lifted up into the sky, I felt like I was flying as I immersed myself into the breath-taking scenery. The cable car constantly went up and down like a roller coaster, just less thrilling and terrifying. Come to think of it, it seems quite cool now 😎 We had the time to ourselves in the park. I went on a few rides such as the Viking ship, log ride so on and so for. 

 

 

        My friends and I on one of the kiddy rides :3

But that's not the main point. 

 

We were given the opportunity to watch the Aborigines perform on "stage". Their moves were synchronized and rhythmic. I have never seen similar dances before. 

 

               Aborigines showcasing their dance 

Since the Aborigines do not work in the cities like we do, they maintain their income by selling food and accessories in the park. During the performance, they seized the opportunity to advertise their ice cream. In addition, there are many small shops in the cultural park which sold handmade accessories. Although many of the accessories look extricate and required lots of time and hard work to compete, they were pretty cheap. The aborigines are really friendly. Even if we don't purchase their items, they would greet us with a smile and be sure to render assistance whenever we need help with directions. My heart literally warmed to their attitude towards people 💕 I have also inferred that aborigines are generally shorter than us from the huts they live in; the doors were shorter than usual and the height of the ceiling was low too. At the end of the day at the Cultural park, we picked up a dance at the entrance of the park. It was a fun experience although I kept tripping over my feet HAHA. Overall, the park was both enjoyable and educational. I feel that Taiwan has done a good job in preserving their culture by placing both aspects into this cultural park so that people can go there to play and enjoy themselves but learning about their own culture in the meanwhile. 

 

Cr: photographer Claudia

 

Learning to dance the tribal dance for the first time in forever~~

 

 

                      Photo with the Ami-Tribe :D

Last but not least, we went to Fengjia night market. We were given 2hrs to shop and have dinner. Dinner was mixed Taiwanese delicacies for me :) I tried the smelly tofu 臭豆腐, grilled chicken, fried squid and 冰. I have always wondered how 臭豆腐 would taste like after so many has critiqued it to be one of their favourite delicacies. The smell of the tofu invigorated my senses once I got closer to the store and my face turned green although it was not as stinky as I thought. "It must taste bad" I told myself. After trying it, I realised that I was wrong. The sauce tasted unique and lingered in my mouth (it tasted fairly good but not my favourite) From this, I have learnt NOT TO JUDGE A TOFU BY IT'S SMELL 😂😂 What I found really inconvenient was that I could not find any rubbish bins to throw away the food containers. As such, I had to resort in putting all the waste into my bag until I find a proper place to dump it. Is that why there is so much littering? Most likely I guess, since many people would not give a hoot and dump their trash whenever and wherever they want. Instead of looking out for food and clothes, I was looking out for my safety most of the time when I was in Fengjia Market. I was really concerned about my safety while walking down the streets since there were approximately 10 times more motorcycles in Taiwan than in Singapore and they were driving along alleys without horning or giving prior signal when they "invade" the crowd. How dangerous!! I think that this is an aspect that Taiwan can improve on to ensure the safety of the people; their traffic.

 

Day 4 was the most hectic day. I was saddened when I realised that four days passed so quickly and we only had three days left in Taiwan:( hopefully the last three days would be equally enriching! :)

 

Min Hui- After 3 days in Hsinchu, we moved on to our next destination - Taichung. On our way to Taichung, I wondered how different it would be in Taichung as compared to Hsinchu... Is the weather there different? Are the people there as friendly as those in Hsinchu? How are the buildings structure there like?

Firstly, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts. We were showed around the museum by an expert and she explained to us the meaning behind some artworks. I slowly noticed that the painting were all special in a way and conveyed a certain message to the audience. I can feel the mood of the painting by looking at it. I started to question why and how can an artist express his or her feelings through a painting and let the audience feel that feeling of theirs too. I learn that the colour plays an important role in it. One that really captures my attention is the artwork "City Life" by Yang San Lang. He used the method of blurring and thick textures to bring out the features of a leisure carefree urban lifestyle in the city. I believe, if you would have a chance to go to Taichung, the Museum of Fine Arts is certainly a place not to be missed visiting.

Afterwards, we had our lunch in a restaurant and as usual, group bonding strengthened and our relationship between one another was pulled closer by our chattering.:)

Next, we proceed on to the Aboriginal Village and Amusement Park. The way there was long and tiring. 我真的很佩服驾驶司机林叔叔。在不到半个路程时，大部分的同学们都睡着了。可是他还是继续的开巴士，把我们载到地点 Thumbs up and thank you so much Uncle Lin! 

From the aboriginal village, I learn about the culture of the different types of aboriginal group. The culture includes the way they greet each other, the type of houses they live in, traditions, games played during their free time and their outfit. These are knowledge and hands on experience that only comes once in a blue moon and having to visit the aboriginal culture village is a golden opportunity for learning. Also, I feel so fortunate to be able to see a live performance by the "Ah mei aboriginal group" performing and learn their dance together with my classmates at the end of the day. However, I realised that not many people were there... The tour guide explained that the number of visitors decreased because many of the rides in the amusement park located in the aboriginal village closed down today. I, myself, could not deny the fact that the rides in the amusement park were fun. This was my first time sitting on a pirate ship and its wonderful. I had a chance to scream as loud as I could and as high pitch as I could to the point that by the time the ride ended, I had no more voice and energy to speak. But it was worth it because I set the stress accumulated for the past half a year free. There was the free fall ride but I didn't try as I was afraid that my heart would stop halfway through the ride, so nope, not going to take the risk. But it was quite sad and disheartening to know that people are visiting the aboriginal culture village just because of the rides in the amusement park and their reason of visit was not to sincerely get to know the culture of the aborigines in the aboriginal village. In order for the aborigines to live, they had to build the amusement park to attract tourists as their source of income comes from the aboriginal village itself. Oooo...I almost forgot to mention this, we took a cable car up from the aboriginal village. I am not a fan of cable cars as I have motion sickness and it gets really bad when I take cable cars but I overcame it thanks to my dear friends who have entertained me with songs and jokes along the way. And also the view from the cable car was magnificent!!! It would be much better, if it did not rain halfway through our cable car ride:(

Following that, we went to Fengjia Night Market. There, we were given time to roam around to buy things and settle our dinner ourselves. I went with my three besties, Dan qi, Regina and Sin re. We sure had a great time there. We tried out the cheesy Hawaiian baked potato, the well-known 鸡排 and pearl milk tea. The food portions were so huge that only two people can finish all these. Most of us got the things we wanted to buy at a remarkably cheap price. During the "shopping" I noticed that there were many people of all ages there buying things and food. But in Singapore, there were only a few people buying things and food from the stalls. Hence, my curiosity to the reason and explanation for this made me compare the night markets in Singapore to the ones in Taiwan. I realised that the variety of food in Taiwan is much more wider than that of Singapore and thus, able to fulfil the taste and attract of many people of all ages. Also, there are certainly much more stalls in the Taiwan night markets than in Singapore due to land constrain. 

Thereafter, we checked in Talmud Business Hotel and had a good night. (This hotel is really nice in terms of cleanliness and environment)

Today was a hectic day, but it certainly was memorable. 

 

 

Taiwan Trip Day 3

Itinerary

We went to NEHS campus for the second and last time, but to the International Bilingual School instead. Before we left, we held a short performance during our break where we sang our hearts away and danced to our feet 👯 It was really memorable and saddening that we had to leave our new-made friends 👬👭 in the school :'( After the visit to the school, we had Taiwan's famous Beef noodle 牛肉面 at iNoodle 🍜

Reflections

Min Hui- Today is our third day in Taiwan and we went to visit International Bilingual School(IBHS) in NEHS campus. IBHS is slightly different as compared to NEHS. In NEHS, Chinese is frequently used in lessons but in IBHS English are used in lessons. This is because IBHS has international students. I realised that in some lessons, students were split into two different classes to facilitate their language usage. I loved the Life Science lesson as I got to see different types of human cells, blood from a frog, arteries and veins under microscope. Their microscope is much more advance and user-friendly than the ones in our school. Their microscopes were new, there were two eyepieces and the slide could be moved in all directions by turning knobs located under the microscope stage. I assume they have sponsorships from the government to get those scientific equipment and I feel that it helps in the students' learning. In Biology lesson, we learnt about sea creatures like anemone, clownfish, urchin etc. These were all learnt through presentations that the IBHS Year 3 students specially prepared for us.  There was a tank located in the classroom and some of us had a chance to put our hands in to feel those creatures. The shrimp actually reacted to the surrounding changes. It hang on and bit my classmate's, Xing Jian, hand. Wow! The last lesson was Magic, I believe it was their CCA as there are students from different grades. We learnt a few tricks and they were so Aweshum!<3

Group picture with the Magician Teacher and our egg-y trick! :) 

During our lunch break, we performed in front of the crowd of students who have came to see our performance. Firstly, Hong Yang and I carried out our speech and following that dance choreographed by our class dance crew and songs sung by the whole class. There was special performance by our teachers. I believe that there is room for improvement and we can do it better if we were given such a chance again. The NEHS students have enjoyed our performance, I am really thankful that they have given us their break time.

It was an emotional goodbye at the end of the School Immersion Trip in NEHS and IBHS...

Too my two awesome buddies:

Thank You for all you have done for me. You two saw me as your own classmates and included me into your group discussions. You two took the first step in striking a conversation with us and that gave me the courage to make friends with the two of you. It is a pleasure that I can be your buddy.  

起初，我感到一丝的害怕，害怕我这次的交流会像一只鸟儿独自在空中飞行。在旅程开始之前，我有想象过自己独自一个人走进课室，一个人吃饭，一个人坐在一个角落上我完全听不懂的课。可是事实却是完全相反的。

你们对待我是犹如自己班上的一分子。你们把我们加入进课里的活动，让我们参与，向前来和我们沟通，问候我们。你们也会足动的上前帮助我们。我们能感觉到那浓浓的亲切感。每一个小细节都深深地打动了我们的心。因此，你们也让我们有勇气张开这份友情。

我认为我的立化学生都有余一个美好的交流经验。谢谢你们！

I hope the both of you liked my small gifts and I hope we could keep in contact and still be friends.^^

Ji Xuan and Shu Han 我爱你们<3

还有学校精心为我们做的安排，让我得以更好地体验当地学生的上课情况，也为我这次的学习之旅编织了美好的回忆录。我想这样难能可贵的体验必能让我的台湾学习之旅添上一道彩虹。谢谢老师与同学们！

Afterwards, we went to Glass Museum. We had a short introduction on the Glass Museum by a employee there. We went around the Glass Museum to view the artwork of people. They were BEAUTIFUL. It made me shocked at the creativity and skill of these Glass artwork creators. I wonder how did they made all of these...Following that, I bought souvenirs for my parents and my grandmother who had took care of me since I was born. 

Next, we went to "iNoodle" in Hsinchu to have our dinner. While the others had Beef Noodles (their signature dish) I had Seafood Noodles. It is a pity that I am not able to try the Beef Noodles due to my religion. But anyways, I hope my other classmates had a great time during dinner. Their 豆花 are the best I have ever had. You should try it some time! Also, today is Gladys's birthday so...HAPPY BIRTHDAY GLADYS:))))!!! We also celebrated Sharlene's Birthday, which is on the 1st of June. Anyways, I hope they had a good birthday celebration!

I am excited about tomorrow and I hope to learn more about Taiwan.

Min Hui signing off~

Brian- Today is a brilliant day for all of us... Just like yesterday, we visited the school once again but today we went to the bilingual department. Over there, the primary language spoken was mainly English as compared to the middle school department of which was Chinese. This bilingual department was mainly used as an international school and was for the international students to better adapt to Taiwan. The first lesson we had today was Chinese Social Studies, where they invited an alumni to speak about Taiwan's industries compared to similar countries like Hong Kong and my home, Singapore. Shortly after his lesson, we went to the science lab and had biology. The differences between the labs was that theirs was air-conditioned while ours isn't and they have a different microscope from us. Although the microscope was more automated and slightly different, it only took us a short while to adapt to this and soon we were operating it with ease. Soon, we were already on our way to the 'stage', where we will be showing appreciation to our buddies and teachers by having a short performance dedicated to them.

First we had then dance segment.

 Then, we had the singing segment. 

Our beloved teachers from RV also sang a song as a part of our performance. They have practiced very hard for this and so I will thank them on behalf of the class once again here! Thank you teachers! Following this, we went to a coral reef talk and lastly towards the activity rooms for the activities we have been assigned to. In the room, we learnt about magic only being illusions and were taught how to do a couple of magic tricks :) 

Just before leaving the school and proceeding to the glass museum, we had a short photo-taking session with our buddies and friends. YAY!

At the glass museum, my friends and I saw the exhibition and admired the fact that the glass could be made into such fine pieces of art. However, the biggest pity of our trip would be that we wouldn't be able to try making glass personally.

        Side view of the Glass museum 

Right after the glass museum trip, we travelled to a 牛肉面 shop to have delicious 牛肉面 for dinner. Over there, there was also bean curd of the highest quality which both teachers and students enjoyed. 

Everyday seem to be getting more exciting, this also makes me feel even more excited to the next few days of fun! Tomorrow, we will be visiting an aboriginal cultural centre/ amusement park. Although I may not take all the rides there, but it's interesting to learn about the aboriginals as it was my biggest curiosity when I stepped into Taiwan!

Charmaine- And so....back @ NEHS! Before going for our lessons for the day, the secretary of the principal brought us to this lake just beside their school! It was absolutely peaceful with occasional chirps do little birds. Imagine them chirping at different at different intervals, perhaps forming a band?? Heehee! Wished our school has such a lake.

 

                        Scenery of lake 

         Group picture ;D (without guanjung) 

Students in the bilingual department were very different from those in the experimental school since it is an international school after all. I used to think that international schools varied from our schools but I was wrong. They speak mainly in English like us Singaporeans and a few of them were from other countries. I remember myself asking the girl sitting beside me which country she came from. I realised that she was from Taiwan. Awkward. 

 

I befriended a few friends in the class and they were really friendly. We could communicate well since they spoke fluent English=no language barriers. I admire their American accent omg. It sounded really really nice. Perhaps it's just me. Their lessons are also very similar to ours, just that we don't take Social studies and life science while they do. The teachers there were really enthusiastic when teaching so I didn't really feel bored whenever they teach. 

 

After two periods of lessons, it was time for our performance. Ahhhhhh. Like any other performance, I felt that we were not that prepared yet because we can never be fully prepared. "那些年错过的大雨。。。紧紧抱着你" started playing as we sang harmoniously to the tune. It was the song I was the most confidential since I have sang it a billion times and got really tired of it (not literally) I'm not sure if we sang well but I could feel the immense support given by the students and I think that was what brought me the most joy during our performance. Though I cannot judge our own performance, I wish they really enjoyed our performance! 😊

 

What intrigued me the most was the magic class. Instead of regular co-curricular activities we have in our school, there is this club which teaches the students how to perform magic tricks, It was simply AWESOME and COOL. Magic seems so simple yet it created an illusion which requires LOTS of practice. I tried two magic tricks and I guess I don't have the talent to be a magician when I grow up 😝⬆️

 

Next up, the glass museum. We weren't able to take pictures there but I really loved all the glass art pieces, Sadly, we were not able to stay till Sunday or we could have watched how to make such creative and fine pieces of glass works. It was just AMAZAYN! 

Bridge leading to the glass museum  

Last but not least, DINNER! Dinner was beef noodles with four dishes and one dessert. I think that this was the best meal I have had in Taiwan so far. The noodles are really Q hehe. Not to forget, the beam curd was the best I have ever tasted. It was as soft as a baby's skin and QQQ as well! I was glad to have ended the fulfilling day with bean curd that DEFINITELY goes best with the sweet syrup! 

Tiffany-So I've decided to keep this short and sweet after the annoyingly long reflection yesterday. 

I've learnt a lot from the school today since there's more English and less Chinese. (Sorry, English person here) The number one takeaway would be volunteering. It was a Life Science lesson and the teacher had asked for some students to draw cells on the blackboard. I bet you if this class was 2L, the teacher would end up choosing the people themselves. However, the students just went up to draw the cells. No one mocked them, saying that he or she is a know-it-all. It felt like the students were sharing Information with each other and not just absorbing, absorbing, absorbing. The magic class was so awesome. I didn't expect the school to implement such interesting and challenging classes. I think this would help with the students general knowledge and let them have a break from their stressful studies. I also realized that I fail at magic. I can't convince people that I'm doing the impossible just cause I feel stupid doing so.... Hahahaha. Magic's definitely not my cup of tea. 

Glass museum. I was fascinated by the artworks. The delicacy of the glass is just so breathtaking. I enjoyed my time there looking at the different pieces of art. It was a pity we were unable to take any pictures. 

And who can forget the birthday celebration at iNoddle. The beef noodles was just.... FANTASTIC. And the bean curd was heavenly. Happy belated birthday to Gladys and Sharlene! (: 

 

Taiwan Trip Day 2

Itinerary

We woke up to the early rising sun at 5am🌞  It was really unintended. After which, we had our first breakfast in Taiwan! 🍳🍞 Then, we went to the National Experimental High School to learn from their teaching methods and next up, the Science Industrial Park. The day ended off well with dinnerrrr (ofc)

Reflections

Brian- Today is the second day of out trip in Taiwan. Today is more interesting as compared to yesterday as we got to meet up with our Taiwan counterparts and have a shot at their style of lesson. Upon the arrival at the school, the first thing everybody saw was the huge sign in one of their buildings, welcoming our school to visit theirs in Chinese. My first impression of the school is that they were very meticulous and have done a very good job preparing for our arrival. Firstly, we were escorted to a conference room and was given a talk by the principal's secretary as the principal was help up in a meeting and could not attend to us. Afterwards, we were grouped into five groups and then dispatched to different classes for lessons. I realized that their lesson periods are 50mins each and there will be a short break time of 10mins every interchange of period. This would help the students to efficiently digest what the teachers have taught them. The first period of the class I was sent to was performing arts, they learnt about drama and were supposed to come up with a play and will be performing on 16th June. Unfortunately I would not be able to watch their brilliant plays and would have already returned to Singapore by then. I participated in their discussion and felt that we have very similar ideas and therefore immediately started talking happily. After another period of English lesson, our long awaited lunch time has arrived! Representatives of each class were sent to collect bento sets for our consumption. After having lunch, we are allowed to take a nap in the classroom or go to some other places. Guess which did I choose? I chose to follow my new found friends to the science laboratory and they were conducting an experiment and were trying to get a ball to the end of the object in 10seconds. Following that, we went back to class and continued with the lessons. We parted with them and went in to our next destination, the Hsinchu science park. There was where we learnt most about the background information on Hsinchu and it's evolution and transformation from the past to present and even possibly where it might head in the future. We also saw some of the innovative products made in the science park and were allowed to try using them.

     Exhibition on the first floor of the Science Industrial Park 

This visit to the park was rather short and we went along to have our dinner at a restaurant. Then finally, we returned to our hotel and started practicing on our performance that inches closer while I'm typing this. Hopefully we can do our school proud tommorow by having a spectacular performance. I am also looking forward to tomorrow's visit to the school again as we will be going to visit another department of the school-- the bilingual department.

Tiffany- So Day 2 brings National Experimental High School. The students and teachers are very welcoming and friendly. I enjoyed the time there. But my mind was blown during the geography lesson. I can't imagine learning about volcanoes in Chinese! All the names and parts of a volcano... Wowwww. And they learn English using Chinese! I thought it was kinda weird at first because the students will be less exposed to the language but I realized that we use English to learn Malay back in River Valley. The students there do all sorts of cool experiments that has no definite answer. Most of there projects involve designing their own simple machine. They have 10min breaks in between each period and a lunch break that is TWICE the time of our lunch break! They use their breaks to nap... Who doesn't enjoy a power nap? (Especially after the morning blues) I'm jealous. If their school system was implemented in Singapore, all students will rejoice! It's like a dream come true. A dream always include the classic chalkboard with childish handwriting. And that is what they've got! (Not the childish handwriting though). The first reaction when entering the classroom was pretty much gazing at the chalkboard and holding back screams when the inner fan-girl tries to break open.

Next place, the industrial park. The gadgets were so cool and modern and interesting (I guess?). We saw a lot of prototypes and inventions. Mr Chua had asked us time and time again about the use of having the industrial park. Lest I forget (Sorry Mr Chua!), the industrial park reduces transportation costs and time because all the factories are situated in the park. We didn't get to walk around the whole park. However, this industrial park can be considered as a nature park too. There are many plants and trees and bushes and shrubs to liven the atmosphere. The buildings all have the clay and glamorous look. It's kinda like Singapore's CBD ten times the size, thrice the number of plants. I loved playing around with the gadgets. The mood lamp was one of my favourites. It changes colour based on your mood. It's like a mirror. 

                       

                            One of the speakers

The speakers there are also amazing. Sound quality, design and all. 

Describing dinner is the toughest part. One word: crazy. I shan't even begin to describe it. So we'll just talk about the fabulous food. The rice had a different texture than normal rice. Mrs Vong said it was pearl rice if I'm not wrong. There were three fish. Long and thin. And no one dared to eat it. So the one of the poor fish went down Brian's gullet. The next fish was passed by the tail to Guan Jung. And the last fish was held by the tail and passed around the table. It was a funny sight. But with only chopsticks, it was the best option. We are no chopstick masters (that sounds like a martial art to be honest). 

Charmaine- Second day of our trip yay 😊 We arrived at the National Experimental High School in the morning. The campus was really humongous since it served as a school from kindergarten to 12th Grade (14 years of education). The school was also facilitated with a swimming pool and a gymnasium-something we do not have in Singapore, and a library. After a short briefing, we had the opportunity to sit in for their classes. The first period was performing arts. When I saw the timetable initially, I thought it was like a typical music class in Singapore where we would learn how to play instruments or pick up simple music theory skills. However, their "performing arts" lesson was different from ours in a way that they focused on plays. They had to come up with a creative storyline to be acted out during their actual play which is held next week. Aww:( wish I could watch them perform. Since our school had never done so before, I found this lesson rather fun and interesting. After which, we had more time to interact with the students.

I noticed some differences between our school and NEHS:

1. They use a blackboard instead of the whiteboard

I would prefer the black board because I like getting my hands chalky ahahaha. Just kidding, but I find it rather cool to use chalk instead of markers. The words are nicer too!

2. Students did not have to greet the teachers before each class

Greeting teachers is a sign of respect so we SHOULD 😛

3. 10 min interval between each lesson

More time to go to the designated venue for lessons and take a short break by going to the toilet in the meanwhile. I wished our school had this kind of system as well so we won't have to run like mad dogs if we do not want to get scolded by teachers time and again. 

4. Students were allowed to eat in the classrooms

I was really jealous because we don't get this opportunity back in Singapore. But I guess it has its pros and cons so.....

5. Nap time!

What a student needs most is rest! I think that a short nap wouldn't hurt 

6. Students bring bentos to school instead of purchasing food

I saw some sort of thing used to keep the bentos hot. I think that it is rather traditional and cool to bring our own bentos to school now since rarely anyone does that anymore. But I'm just curious to know what time they wake up to prepare it 😂

7. Almost no trash cans found in the school apart from the classrooms

Taiwan is REALLY environmentally friendly compared to Singapore so they recycle almost anything (???) After we finished our bentos provided by the school (packed in a paper box), the students brought us to empty our leftovers and recycled the box. We should learn to be GREEN GREEN GREEN too! 

What amazed me most was that the students there were really enthusiastic and welcoming upon our arrival. It was easy to strike up conversations with them. Like "Hi!" really naturally.  I have never spoken so much Chinese in one day and I would have to admit that my Chinese standards cannot be compared with theirs. After speaking to them however, i feel that I should read up more about my own country OOPS

After which, we went to the Science industrial park. There were many cool inventions there. Yeah. But I wasn't really interested since I am not technology savvy. But it's still cool. When we were going up to the second floor, I realised that the spiral staircase was designed with many films pasted on the wall. I think it was rather creative of them as each film showed us what happened in Taiwan during different times and visitors can read them while using the staircase.

 

                  Spiral staircase

 

Embedded under a glass piece which we can step on :)

I saw this type writer displayed together with all the speakers. It seemed really interesting so I decided to try my hands on it. I have never seen a type weirder before and was amazed by how it worked. It would be cool if we could still use a type writer at this present day and time since everyone is really high-tech now, just like how I am blogging with my iPad 😜 After a long day, I really wish I could snuggle into the comfy bed at the hotel 💤 I hope that I can make more friends in the bilingual department tomorrow!

Guan Jung- Hello everybody so today is another day at Taiwan, Hsinchu. Had a very nice rest at the hotel with its comfortable beds ( love it ) . So we started off our day with the most important meal of the day , Breakfast . The buffet that the hotel prepare for breakfast was awesome , I ate a lot of the sandwiches . After everyone assembled at the lobby , we headed out for the most excited part of our OELP , we head out for NEHS also known as the National Expreiment High School at the hsinchu science industrial park .

First up ,  upon arrival at the school , we could see a very obvious sign at the school building , welcoming us from singapore in Chinese . Immediately after we alighted the bus and took some photos , the secretary of the principal went to welcome us and bought us the the conference room.
 

It was a pity that the principal wasn't there as he has a important meeting at another high school .

After we watched a video about the history and the ways of study they had at NEHS , We learnt that they has a lot of compartments in their school ,some of which is electronics studies ,  sports and computer programs and many many more .Following that , the HODS of the school introduced themselves to us and gave us a brief idea of what we were going to do for the day . Next the most awaited came , our buddies had came to bring us up to our assigned class we followed them and went to their class . After I went into their class , a guy came up straight I me and we started a conversation . I found him really kind and also friendly , he make me had the impression that Taiwanese are very friendly people ( As least most if them ). During lesson I looked at the timetable for the day . there were some really different stuff from my Singapore time table . Let me state it out 

1. They had a 10 minutes break before the start of each lesson for them to walk around and stretch , and also for them to use the bathroom if they needed to .

2. They have a 1 hour rest and nap time for them to enjoy their meal or take a rest before the next lesson ( RV should have it too )

The students behaviour In class 

1. They were all talking while the teacher is talking,  they don't pay much attention to the teacher .

2. They all seems carefree and not serious at all when they keep talking to each other during teachers teaching .

And most of all , most students bought bentos to school to eat instead of purchasing food from the cafeteria .

After all the lessons we had to say our goodbyes to them as we had to go the other places . I couldn't bear to leave my new found friends but I had to .

After we left the school , we head towards the well known Hsinchu Science industrial park . When we entered the building , we could see all types of cool and never seen before technology and electronic devices . We had a staff to explains and introduce the 1st phrase factory building and history to us .

After which , we were given time to walk around the floors and explore the devices and the. advance in technology ,as I wasn't really interested, I gave it a pass .

After that we went to have our dinner at a restaurant , it served Chinese cuisine . I found the food super nice and I actually ate 4 bowls or rice ( Wow right ) can't believe myself either. The food was a cooked with the Taiwanese cooking method thus it was a very different taste from the Singapore cooking style .

After a tiring day , we went back to our hotel and took a well deserved rest that all of us needed . But due to the fact that we had a performance the next day , we had to stay up for some rehearsals .

After the rehearsals , I went back to my room and slept like a pig .

Tomorrow would be a more exciting and fun day for everyone ( I hope )

See ya good nights peoples - Guanjung :)

Min Hui- If I would use one word to describe today, the word is "heart-warming".

On the first night, I only had merely two hours of sleep. It was due to the unfamiliar condition of the hotel room and the noises produced by our class(I presume it was because they could not sleep well as well). The day's morning was horrible. I felt like I was a zombie. But it made my day when I went to National Experimental High School, Hsinchu.(NEHS)

When we got off the bus, the banner in front of the school flashed this message "我们欢迎来自立化中学的学生们” and the School's Secretary warmly welcomed us. I felt a gush of pleasure and it was really heart-warming. I believe my classmates have felt the same way also. Next, we were guided to a Conference room. We were given snacks, a brochure, school guides in a folder and tags with our names and lesson schedules we were going to attend on it. We were treated well.

I attended the following lessons with my CID group members+ Sin re: Performing Arts, English and Geography. The lessons were taught in Chinese (even during English lesson) and the relationship between the teachers and students are really close. I think it was because the teachers jokes openly around with them during lessons, that made them stay awake and stay focus on the topic that they are learning. I noticed that the Taiwanese uses blackboards instead of whiteboards. their classrooms are nicely decorated and they had a recycling corner where rubbish thrown is sorted according to the rubbish's material. They were allowed to eat in class, and that was because they kept their class clean, everyone does their duty and takes pride in their classroom.

I get to have a chance to take my lunch with the students. I am extremely grateful to the NEHS's school teachers who had arranged such fruitful timetable for us to follow, so that we would understand the teaching and learning culture and style here in Taiwan. Also, the students of NEHS welcomed us whole heartedly. They were comfortable with us around and see us as part of their family, they are not afraid to show us their true character and show us around their school. This we were able to quickly blend into their big family and make friends with them.

Afterwards, we went to Hsinchu Science Park. I saw the exhibitions on many creative technological inventions. As a member of the River Valley High School's Infocomm Robotics member, I was able to get some inspiration from those inventions for my upcoming Robotics competition. The tour around the exhibition hall also expanded on my knowledge towards the development in technology and the technology advancement made in Taiwan over the years. The science and technology industries and schools were gathered in Hsinchu Science Park was because they are all in the same industry category and it helps to save transportation costs for the materials. From all the quirky inventions, I liked the word scanner the most. The word scanner was able to "photocopy" a word document and make it appear in somewhere else as a softcopy.

Finally we had our dinner at a restaurant  and went back our hotel.

We were given a chance to bond again during our dinner time and this time we ate it with Mrs Vong:)

When we went back to our hotel, we rehearsed for our performance that we were going to put up  for our NEHS buddies. I was tasked to write out a script with Hong Yang to share our experience in NEHS to the students for tomorrow. We stayed up late, together with Ms Swee, who has helped us a lot in the completion of our speech. Without Ms Swee, we would not be able to finish up the script. 谢谢你，徐老师!<3

I am looking forward to tomorrow, Min Hui signing off~^^

Taiwan Trip Day 1

Itinerary of the day

After taking a 5 hour flight✈️ to Taiwan, we took a high speed train (高铁🚄) to Hsinchu to get dinner. Dinner was 米粉 with 肉丸汤🍲, also known as Hsinchu's famous pork ball, and several other dishes. Since most of the day was spent of traveling, we did not go to any specific sightseeing location. 

We stayed at Howard Prince Hotel.

Pork ball （贡丸） is a Chinese meatball made from finely minced pork, starch and cuttlefish to allow it to have a "bouncy" texture and added flavor. It is not only a common part of the cuisine of Taiwan, but from China and other parts of Asia such as Malaysia as well. The most popular place these delicious and chewy pork balls can be found is the place we are at now, Hsinchu. 

Reflections

Charmaine- Although we did not do much today, I feel that it was rather fruitful since we learnt about the Taiwanese food whilst having dinner and touched a bit on the History of Taiwan as described by the tour guide. After the long await flight to our destination, we took a high speed train to Hsinchu. The train was like the MRTs you can find in Singapore, just that the seats are arranged for the passengers and they were more comfortable since it was meant for longer journeys. I feel that it is very organized for the people-in-charge to assign seats to us so that every passenger can get a seat on the train. However, I find that the waiting time between each train interval was quite long and people who would like to travel to another place quickly is not able to do so. After which, we went to a restaurant famous for their vermicelli and meatballs. I find that Taiwanese food is quite different from what we have in Singapore. I especially like the pork balls served with the soup. Even though the soup does not have much flavor, the pork balls are really good when placed into your mouth and guaranteed to be chewy 😋 However, I did not like the bamboo shoots since it was my first time tasting it and I couldn't get use to the taste. After today's trip, I realised that there were some things we could improve on, in particularly our behaviour. Since we have been rather noisy and uncivilized during our trip, I believe we can improve on our behaviour by talking and laughing softly and act properly so as to not leave a bad impression on the Taiwanese. I hope that we can be on our best behaviour as a class tomorrow so that we can leave a good impression on the Taiwanese students and teachers.

                   Outside the train station at Taoyuan

Scenery of Taiwan from the high speed train 🚄🚄

Brian- Today I was the Day IC, making the entire class cooperate was the most challenging part of the day, other than that the day was fine. We did nothing much but the high speed train experience was very new and is very different from the mrt in singapore. The seats are more comfortable and are able to lean backwards but the downside to this is that people are required to buy a ticket and then sit on it, similar to the restrictions of the airplane. I enjoyed today's traveling and would wish that this process would be smoother in the future days. I feel that we are lacking cooperation with the Day ICs and so causing inconvenience to him/her and if we are able overcome this, our trip will be even more enjoyable. Other than just traveling, the food also amused me. This was the first time I have eaten such big meatballs but I did not really like the Bee Hoon. One of my favorite dishes is the tofu with salted egg, the salted egg's taste was in every bit of the tofu and I really liked this. I hope that tommorow will be more enjoyable and I look forward to the people we will encounter in the school we will be visiting tommorow. 

                               Seated!

                                  Arrival at Hsinchu 

Tiffany- The highly anticipated trip has arrived. First day is just loads of traveling though... :( It is not very tiring. And plane food was nicer than expected (: Anyway, I quite enjoyed the train ride to Hsinchu. It was fast but it didn't feel like it. And the one time use tickets were really peculiar. I had assumed long ago that train stations used cards that tap. The first meal in Taiwan was pretty interesting. Firstly, the tour guide mentioned that the bee hoon was free flow. Secondly, the meatballs were the size of a legit ping long ball! And they taste more like beef than pork. Thirdly, everyone was eating the same thing. They didn't even have a menu anywhere or like a sign to say what they sell yet tons of people came to eat. So I'm guessing this is a common meal in Taiwan? I also have a feeling we'll be eating loads of bee hoon later on, don't know why. But seriously, the bee hoon is awesome. Few minutes after dinner , we finally arrived at the hotel AKA wifi. Can I say I'm impressed by the hotel? 

Day 1 was still fun though there was no sightseeing and everyone was completely obsessed with the minimarts (7-eleven). I did learn a bit more about Taiwan from the tourguide and I'm already mesmerised. Can't wait for more!!!!

A view of our room :)

Min Hui- With a heart fully filled with excitement, I boarded the plane with the rest of my classmates. We had a pleasant flight today although it was slightly delayed. After arriving in Taiwan, Taoyuan International Ariport, we took a coach to take the HSR(高铁) to Hsinchu. This is my thrid time coming to Taiwan but this is my first time taking the HSR. The tour guide, Uncle Jeff, told us that the HSR, moves at the speed of 300-320km per hour. It took us 10mins to get to Hsinchu from Taipei. I feel really honoured to take the HSR and the experience was AWESOME! 

Then, we proceed on to have dinner. My CID group had dinner with Mr Chua. It was the first time I felt bonded with my group members. Time flies... I hope we would have more of this "bonding session". It allows our friendship to be closer. Thank you GuanJung for serving us:)! I really appreciate it.

In between waiting time, we went to mini convenient stores to get snacks. Those mini convenience stores are different from those in Singapore. There are a variety of food available and we could easily fill our hungry stomachs with food.

我喜欢台湾，他们的服务态度良好，人都很客气！

Tomorrow, we will be visiting National Experimental High School, Hsinchu, for an exchange with the students there. 我期待着明天的交流。 I hope I am able to understand the education system in Taiwan.  It is getting late so I am signing off...

Once again, I am Min Hui from CID Group(2L)^^

明天会更美好的！

GuanJung- Today was the day , it was what I have waited for for ages and it's finally here. Today, I will be traveling to Taiwan with my class ( most of them ) , and out destination istaoyian international airport. This would bethe first time I will be traveling overseas without my parents , thus I'm extremely excited . Upon boarding the Airbus 330-300 CI0725 China airlines plane , I find the attitude of the air stewardess very good . They were extremely polite and if we needed their help they would come over immediately and help us . Next I would move on the the plane food . My lunch was sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. and it shocked me as it tasted a billion times better then I would expect it to be , thus I felt that the food was very nice .

Right after we clear immigration and step out of the airport , I could breathe in the frest air that taoyuan had . I could see the clear skies , very little clouds and a lot of blue . We then took a 10-15 minutes bus right to taoyuan high speed railway station . The rail ride would take us about 10-15 minutes to reach hsinchu but the bus took 1 hour instead . Before entering the station , there were 2 minimarts at the entrance , the minimarts in Taiwan are very different from those in singapore , they had ready to eat food , a take what you want to eat counter and most of all my favourite , their latte , it's extremely tasty . After which we arrived in hsinchu , we headed out to our dinner restaurant . As stated in the itinerary we had hsinchu very famous rice noodles and meatballs . The rice noodles were abit different from what I had eaten in singapore but I found it still ok and enjoyed my meal .

After we had eaten our dinner , we took a 10-15 minutes bus ride to our hotel , on the way the tour guide explain why hsinchu is called hsinchu for us . If you want to know , come down to hsinchu yourself and find out. The hotel that we stayed tonight was Howard Plaza hotel , I found the stay quite enjoyable even though I slept in the small bed as my roommates hong yang and xingjian bullied me with their big muscles . Overall I found the day filled with fun and enjoyment I hope that tomorrow would be a better day and more fun pack activities would be held for us :)

Once again TAIWAN FTW!!!!!!!!!

Week 15 (Culture)

What is culture? The definition given by dictionary.com is that it is the inherited ideas, values, knowledge, activities, withshared tradition, expression, artistic pursuits, manners, dress, arts, attitudes, feelings, behavior, cultivation and many many more. Wow culture really means a lot, almost everything related to our daily life.

I feel that culture plays a huge part in our lives; influencing our views, values, hopes and fears. People who are exposed to different cultures are also brought up differently since culture affects the way we live--how we speak, eat etc etc. Without culture, life would be somewhat different and we would see the world differently. 

Every country has a different culture. We are similar yet different in how we live. I think that it is fun, interesting and cool at the same time to explore new cultures since they are mostly different from my own. Some cultures are really interesting and they practice a certain belief. 

Singapore Culture

Singapore is a multi-racial country. The three religions commonly practiced are Bhuddism, Christianity and Islamic. These three religions have their own beliefs as well. We have our own beliefs, attitudes and we celebrate different festivals as well. Examples include Racial Harmony Day, celebrated on 21st of July annually to impart the racial harmony knowledge to us, youths. I remember my school celebrating racial harmony every year by encouraging students to come to school dressed in different ethnic costumes, preparing performances regarding different countries and traditional goodies and games over the past 8 years. I feel that this experience has allowed me to understand and appreciate the culture of different countries. Although Singapore might have made it mandatory for all schools to do this every year, we would probably not see these in other countries since this is uniquely Singapore's  practice (social and religious harmony). 

Since every country has different cultures, it might be difficult to get along with people of different cultures sometimes due to culture differences. Certain culturual behaviors might appear funny or unusual to some of us since we are not exposed to that kind of culture. However, we should try to get along with people of different cultures and respect their culture even if we find it weird since it is their culture after all and we should show the respect given to their culture. 

"We are all human beings. We all love deeply, want to learn, have hopes and dreams, and have experienced pain and fear." I found this quote on a cultural website and I found it really meaningful. I feel that culture really allows us to learn and appreciate not only our own culture, but other cultures as well. 

Taiwanese culture

The culture in Taiwan is a mix of America, Chinese, Japanese, European and of course, Taiwan aborigines. Most people are Taoists, Buddhists or worship ancestors. The food and sports are heavily influenced by the west. The people there speak mostly Mandarin or Taiwanese. Slang language consists of commonly used Japanese phrases. Taiwan is known for having many cram schools. Most C-Pop, Hokkien-Pop and Mando-Pop artists are Taiwanese too. 

I enjoy living in this multi-racial country. The diverse culture allows me to be able to eat very different kinds of food. Singspore to me is something like a one stop shop. Everything can be found. Well, almost everything. Also, the harmony in Singapore allows everyone to freely bond. Singapore is like a place where anyone and everyone can congregate and live together. Despite the fact that the country consists of mainly of Chinese, many people of different races can be found in a HDB block. I for one live an aromatic scent of curry once in a while. Different languages spoken gives a more vibrant mood, I am very very excited to experience the Taiwanese cultures. They have many tribes which I have not seen before. In Singapore, different races live together, I wonder how the tribes live in moordern day Taiwan. I sort iof recall the Disney movie Enchanted where a princess travels to New York City by accident. She stuck out like a sore thumb there. I know it is not like that in Taiwan but I can't seem to think of any other possibility. Definitely can't wait to find out how they blend in. The culture over there intrigues me very much. 

I wonder if the culture in Taiwan is very much like ours since we are also Chinese. I hope that I would be able to gain exposure from visiting other countries to learn more about the place and their culture. Although we might not fit in at first, I believe that we will adapt quickly to the difference and remember the similarities we bear as well.