Shi Xuan ^_^

SELF-INTRODUCTION

Age: 14
Birthday: 22nd January 2002
Hobbies: Fangirling, reading, inline-skating, whatever i feel like doing at that moment 

Hey there to whoever who actually took the time to read my self introduction! :) To start off with the default self-intro style, I am Leong Shi Xuan, of class 2G. So, we shall not start off on the wrong footing, shall we? I am sure you would not want to be bored with my entry either. As for me, I'll make this interesting, yeah? Since this can be in informal writing, I'll make use of it; after all, writing a formal self introduction is extremely B-O-R-I-N-G...not that I want to mention.  First off, it must be compulsory to read students' blogs, isn't it? If not, my blog post would not even be read. Oh gosh... that is so repetitive :( you need some excitement and laughter! Nevertheless, we shall officially start! If you are still unaware, I'm a female who is well, relatively (sometimes only) boyish. I hate skirts, not to mention dresses, and I love mucking about and being very rough with my good friends. my friends have both genders in it, because I make guy friends rather easy as well. I'm an avid reader (novels and manga) and I absolutely love fangirling over hot guys (whether they exist or not). Tall, lean (with a nice and perfect amount of fats, not muscles, eww) tanned or not tanned (no middle!), and with back spectacles (the most important criteria!!) are my absolute cup of tea! Of course, I never flout rules, and I will not flout Mrs Look's NO BGR rule (I'm sorry, but i laughed while writing this part because of the unknown hilarious reason). whoever i fangirl over is simply infatuation and admiration, like what normal teenagers do! The most adorable of boys, I think, is from Hwa Chong Institution! Oh dear, the term HCI is well known among all my classmates since it's obvious that I fangirl over someone there, so I hope no one but you will read this! :) In RV, the guys are also not bad in terms of looks, but better to be made as friends. That is why I am glad that there is no guy adorable enough to distract me from my studies! Hehe, fangirling stuff aside now. I also like reading romance novels, and sometimes I think i am too mature for my age. Yes, I am old. My birthday is on the (scroll up to see), and i am practically older than most of my classmates. it isnt good sometimes :( I like my best friends in Rv a lot, because they either fangirl with me or make me laugh a lot. However, they sometimes laugh at my height :( , in the teasing way of course. Yes, I am the shortest among them but the difference is like... 5cm for the girls, at the very most? Sheesh... I also eat a lot of food and people tells me that i am adorable. I am not narcissistic :) I guess I am quite fortunate. 

- INSERTS THE CUTE PIGGY PHOTO -

I'm sorry my laptop is lagging so well, i had to make do with the 'picture' above ;P 

My holiday: RV60 all the way (i am sure this will be common), plus more fangirling, slacking, and faciliatators' trainings :) BAI BAI THANK YOU FOR READING :D tomorrow is the chinese common test and here i am typing away when it is already almost 10 oclock ;) , i still have a stack of homework, not to forget :( BUT REMEMBER i did 580+ words just for you :)

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 The Extraordinary RV in it's Ordinary Depths

 

A PICTURE TAKEN AT THE RED BRICKS AREA IN SCHOOL 

This was a picture I had once taken when I was bored and had nothing to do. I felt it was overall very nice because of the good camera quality and the serenity the picture depicts. In fact, this is one of my favourite pictures I have that was taken in RV. When I took my Ipad with me and wandered around the school in search of a suitable picture for CID 2, I looked through my gallery and suddenly spotted something seemingly insignificant in this picture, I got a shock, which, to put it more dramatically, an epiphany, wherein I came to a sudden realisation. Indeed, a picture tells a thousand words, and I shall officially start what is the important point of this picture and stop my naggy rant. At a first glance, what do you see and feel when you look at this picture? It looks normal, like some picturesque picture without much meaning. However, when you look closely, you see two air conditioner vents in the picture. Yes, when I first thought of it, I thought it was extremely lame and weird to point that out. However, when I seriously thought about it, I thought that this really do depict our life in RV. In fact, I feel that we are all seemingly insignificant in rv, this big school, with so many students as our future and current competitors. In such an environment, it is extremely hard to stand out. Looking at the air conditioner vents, I feel that I can relate to it. It takes up just this amount of little space in this picture, seemingly fighting with other other objects in the picture for attention. However, it is obviously losing. This is just like us students in RV. There are bound to be people that win us and lose to us in different aspects; there are bound to be things that we will be imcompetant at. But what is it, that makes us notice the air conditioner vents? What is it about us that makes people notice us? What do we do to make ourselves unique, special, and different from the others? What is it that makes us stand out and allow others to identify us? The air conditioner vent stands out because of it's physical charcteristics. I think we stand out because of our  personality. Are we just going to be robots, with a systematic and monotonous way of thinking, simply being a copy of everyone around us? The answer is  a definite "no". Our personality is what makes us, really us. Take for example, the air conditioner vents are small, squarish, and white. We  too are defined by our thoughts, words, and actions. Not to forget, an air condition vent also has its use. Without it, do you think we can use the air conditioners? Without it, can the room cool down? It's simple, no. This also signifies something. What can we do that makes us needed and helpful? There are so less air conditioner vents because or their value. So, what is so important about us that makes us irreplaceable? Though seemingly of no importance, it is a fact that air conditioners cannot work without air conditioner vents. The main thing is that, no matter whatever potential value we have that is yet to be revealed, we fight for ourselves. Either in a team or individually, we fight to achieve our best. Striving for the better is what makes us exceptional, and that is how we stand out, in such a competitve environment. This is because everyone is essential, and everyone is included, no matter how significant he or she might seem to be at one glance. I feel that this is an extraordinary concept taught to us in this extremely ordinary picture, and it perfectly describes and questions each and every one of us in this RV environment, regardless of age, nationality, or position.

Is Happiness related to Poverty? 

For me, I personally feel that this is an extremely general question, using China as a comparison with Singapore. I think that using a happiness index score to determine whether or not a country is happy is rather foolish. The main idea still lies in an individual's mindset. A somewhat politically correct answer would say that "Oh, of course not! Psh... rich people are not happy at all, all they have is stress and money!" So, the question still stands.

DOES $ = :) ? 

Well, it is true that China's happiness index score is higher than Singapore's, and I would think, for sure, that the seemingly most correct answer, or many people would very firmly say, is that "NO, being rich does not mean that they are happy." To support this, they would probably say that it is because rich children are spoiled and thus not easily satisfied. However, this might not always be the case. Even though Singapore has so many people, China has much more. Research have shown that Singaporeans encounter a lot of stress and are thus unhappy because of the expectations placed upon them. However, don't we all stop to ponder, that China used to have the one-child-policy? If almost every one Chinese family have one child, will they not face more stress with all their parents' investments of time and money in them? Will they not face higher expectations? However, why is China still having a higher happiness index score than us when our standard of living is better? That is precisely the point. China's standard of living is worse, only because they have much more people than us and that the difference between the rich and poor is extremely huge. Yes, being rich might not necessarily mean that one might be happy, but for me, I will not be happy if I were to actually live in poverty, forever having to search for food, not having a proper roof, meals, or education. In short, not having a proper lifestyle. I have seen a video once, about the poverty in China. As I watched the video, I didn't feel that they were even an ounce happy. It seemed like they lived in misery. The video tries to tell us that those Chinese thinks that living without enough money is a horrible thing. They fight for food, for entertainment, and even for their education. Worse off, they know about how the rich lives luxuriantly while they themselves suffer to survive, especially the extremely poor families. Well, I personally feel that those real beggars who roam the streets without a house, begging for money, is definitely not happy. Yes, the happiness index score shows that China are happier then us; but, we cannot simply use surveys, or some system, to measure the amount of happiness one in the country has. As I've mentioned before, it is based on one's perception, attitude, and behaviour. Having more or less money does not directly, or indirectly, define or mould a person's character. In a nutshell, I can conclude that having more money does not necessarily mean that one will be happier, but having less money means having a more restrained lifestyle, and too does not mean that one will be happier than the other, no matter richer or poorer, so happiness, sometimes, do relate to poverty. Having more money does not lead to an increase in happiness, but sometimes, it does help to reduce one's sadness or misery. In comparison, having less money or facing poverty does not exactly increase one's happiness.

Chingay 2016 Personal Reflections and Experiences :)!

I have to say, Chingay was grand, spectacular, amazing, and whatever good adjectives I can think of within my limited vocabulary range. I think, it is obvious that the purpose of this year's Chingay was to commemorate the end of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, and to look ahead in excitement and determination for Singapore's 100th birthday. The theme of this year's Chingay was 'Lights of Legacy, Brighter Singapore 《智慧灯海， 璀璨新加坡》! Even the Chingay website will say that it is to celebrate the legacy and wisdom of our founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and other founding fathers based on the core values advocated by them, to pledge our support to live by it and move forward together towards Singapore's brighter future. It is important because 2016 is the VERY FIRST year in which Singapore will be embracing a new chapter of her life, and everyone in Singapore will ensure Singapore's success and make Singapore walk towards her 100th birthday.

Chingay is also the largest street performance and float in Asia, something we can be proud of. From the main parade site to the heartlands, this street extravaganza epitomises the dynamism of Singapore's viibrant and multicultural society. The word "CHINGAY" is equivalent to the Mandarin 妆艺 (zhuang yi), which means "the art of costume and masquerade" in the hokkien dialect.

This year's Chingay had more than 8000 performers, not even yet including local and international performing groups and volunteers.

Compared to the first ever Chingay, there has indeed been a drastic change. On 4th February 1973, the first Chingay parade was held. It was held partly because of the ban of firecrackers recently in 1972, just a year ago from 1973, bacause of fire hazards. The people then viewed this ban unfavourably despite of the safety issues involved because they felt that it would dampen the mood during Chinese new year period. Only about 2000 performers took part then, with the crowd standing at the sides of the streets to see the performers walk by performing on the street itself. There were not really proper floats or even floats then. I think this is a very drastic change since the first Chingay and now's, since we now have a proper place (F1 pit) for the display of performers, proper and beautifully decorated floats that are mobile, and so many seats for the audience to sit and watch in leisure.

Glimpse of Singapore's first ever Chingay!

I think this change happened because, well, as we all know, Singapore became more strong and technologically advanced over the years; Chingay has also now been part of our tradition such that we ourselves feel the need to celebrate it every year and make it a big event to symbolise our love and passion for Singapore.

Here's some of my personal experiences that very day I watched Chingay 2016! As we all know, it was a mass full dress rehearsal that day when we watched, but I felt it was still a blast. To me, it was a work of beauty. Not only because it was colourful and had a nice sound system, but because I could see the difference in the people who joined. They took into consideration, the young, the adults, and the elderly, all together. All these different people are pulled together by bonds, all working hard towards this even together, for Chingay, and especially for Singapore. It was touching to me. 

Look at all the different people! Different races, ages, and jobs!

                                                                                                                              Us having a blast!!! :)

Goodies from the Goodie Bags!

We were given really cool goodie bags and it was extremely enjoyable watching different, exciting, intensive performances, like those in the air and those that involves fire! It was really quite eye-catching. 

Performances that include dangerous hazards like fire

Right in the air

This display made me feel insecure, scared, and proud all at the same time. It was fearful looking at someone brave something so dangerous like fire right at their backs or right up high, metres in the air, supported only by cables. Could you imagine if something horrible happened? Could you think about how much rehearsals and practices these perfomers must have for just this display during just this one event? But I was proud too, because the fact that these people in Singapore is willing to brave such hazards for us, for Singapore, despite the dangers, heartens me. 

Overall, this performance was bright, joyous, and well co-ordinated. I feel that the organisers have conveyed the theme and it's message to us in an extremely creative and fantastic manner. The bright lights used in the performance represents our bright future, and how very bright it is compared to the darkness around us, giving us enough strength and power to propel forwards, to a better future of our beloved country, Singapore. The emcees spoke of our founding fathers, and the permances too displayed some important core values established in us. Although, I think, the performance could've been more focused on the theme like mentioning it more often and explaining its significance and how it is related to the different performances, instead of just downright presenting it to us only in a visual arts manner.

However, in conclusion, I feel that Chingay 2016 was a humongous success, due to the hard work of every kind of people in Singapore.

Let's Reflect with Mr. 3, 2, and 1! :)

3 things I found out 

- The short or long term effects and consequences that applies to one's daily life because of policies that restrict more children.

- The possible reasons and explanations as to why the different governments of either China or Singapore implemented or abolished policies that restrict the number of children.

- How the number of children affects the standard of living and overall wellness of the country in many different ways. 

2 perceptions I have gained

- People should be more aware of current effects and problems happening and learn to also think far ahead and of the big picture so that they are able to anticipate and prepare for the difficulties they may face with a set of solutions they have came up with long before when facing the long term problems.

- It is hard to convey messages or convince others that the respective policies implemented via advertisements and posters is the best for now.

1 question I still have 

- What if you have twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc. during the One/Two Child Policy?

Why must Singapore not be complacent in her achievements?

Over the years, Singapore has thrived, and that is not a doubt. From simply an insignificant tiny red dot in the world, Singapore has now become widely recognised by other countries. So why is it that Singapore cannot be complacent in her achievements, no matter how many? The answer is simple. In this ever-changing world and society, nothing stays the same forever. Whatever Singapore has achieved up till now has no validity anymore in the future. It is an ever-going competition between all countries worldwide, and if Singapore were to be complacent, things would take a drastic turn. Big countries like China and the United States of America with much resources and manpower are continuously improving, and if Singapore were to get complacent, how is she going to continue striving to win those countries in the long run? The reason for rapid improvement in those big countries, especially China, one of our greatest competitor and strongest rival, is because they are always learning, simply because they have not become big headed. Competition is extremely aggressive, and reports also have shown how China is getting better and better than Singapore everyday, example, retaining its title as the world's busiest container port for the fifth consecutive year. People from China have been coming to Singapore to study too, and even though we should be proud of the fact that people from such big country is coming here to learn, we should also start being on our guard. What is the extent they can go to learn from us and improve their country? China is catching up with us at a fast rate, that is obvious. Being a big country, the advantage they have over us is much more resources and power. But are they complacent? No, they still try to learn from other countries. I feel that for us, there is no room at all for complacency, and we will not be relevant to other countries if we stop and do nothing, in turn taking away our chances to collaborate with other countries like China so that we can continue propelling forward towards our important existence in the future. If Singapore would be complacent, we would not continue learning and improving whatever our country is weak at and improve it, so that we can reach even greater heights, and not be Singapore today, and nothing tomorrow.

Another factor as to why Singapore should not be complacent is our surroundings. Who is to say when will Singapore not be 'clean and green' one day? Who is to know when will the haze strike us again? If we think that we can stay what we are now everyday, we are wrong. The worst thing is that those problems are unpredictable. I cannot imagine if that Singapore became complacent and not come up with solutions to lessen the impacts of situations regarding Singapore's surroundings. I think the "Car-Lite Singapore" is a great idea, by developing and promoting other modes of transport like our public transport, the mass rapid transit for example, so that there will be less pollution and less harm made to our green environment. Certain measures have also been taken into consideration to maintain Singapore's greenery, like ample protection for plants and animals in the UNESCO world heritage site nominated Singapore Botanical Gardens. Safety measures that include less exposure to the haze have also been prepared in advance in case the haze strikes us again. I would shudder to think if Singapore became proud and complacent, and not be prepared for any unpredictable cases that might weaken Singapore.

However, the complacent mind-set must not only be abolished in everyone in the government sector, it also applies to all Singaporeans and PRs. We cannot just rely on the government because the government also relies on us; all of us make up Singapore. We cannot afford to be complacent and stop where we are right now,  allowing other countries in this competitive environment to get ahead of us.

Imagining Singapore of the future 

Description of picture: I have drawn the merlion slightly sinking with the ground beneath it threatening to collapse anytime, possibly flooding the entire Singapore. The merlion looks very alarmed, and that is not all. Surrounding it is full of people - tourists, permanent residents, and Singaporeans. There are so many people that there are barely any space around the merlion or between the people, making it extremely crowded and cramped. The ground threatening to collapse with the rapid high-levelled water around that might submerge Singapore anytime is because global warming is impacting on the world and climate change is definitely bound to happen. No one can rule out the possibility that Singapore might be fully submerged in deep waters in the future, let us say, perhaps a few decades or a century away. The large amount of people depicts a possible problem Singapore might have next time- rapid increase of population growth (high population density), because many foreigners have migrated to Singapore to live. 

Pre-trip reflections :) 
This shall be my final post before our class's flight to Suzhou this Friday. Honestly speaking, I am extremely excited in what I will experience first-hand and in turn learn during this 7 day trip.
 
Although I have visited Suzhou before, I have never knew that it had so many historical and renowned places. Indeed, just simply the itinerary gave a me a new insight of Suzhou.

The Silk Factory makes me intrigued. I went there recently without paying too much attention (I was distracted because they said we could eat the eggs of the silk worms and my friend swallowed two at one go, chewed, and grinned at me). This time, I will pay much more attention. How is silk produced? How did its texture come about? Well, that is what I want to know for some extra knowledge. I might not eat the eggs still, but I will definitely gain more exposure. Next, I am also anticipating the making of the xiaolongbao, because I have never ever bore the thought of making something so scrumptious without anything burning. Never have I been to Suzhou when I was aware of going to those popular places like Suzhou industrial park, those gardens in the itinerary, Shantang Street, or Wahaha (I thought it was the wang wang biscuit at first) etc. Do they have more in depth stories and legends that cannot be found on the internet there? Well, that leaves us to find out for ourselves when we are there.

With so many misconceptions and questions I have, this trip is really necessary to broaden my knowledge and enhance my learning experience. The good thing when going with the school is, there is school immersion programmes. Same age, Same school reputation, and different countries. Can we understand each other and respect the different cultures or practices we have? Well, I hope so. My China buddy sounds intellectual and friendly, most probably a great source to get information I need or want to know about China. I can't wait to meet her and visit a Chinese in China house, and also perform together as a class for Suzhou LiDa Secondary.

Basically, these are what my thoughts are before the trip and that is all I can say. There is still a big question mark hanging above all our heads because we have yet to behold China. I just hope this trip will be a major success.

Goals (Personal): (Generally) Learn by making use of this trip!!
Goals (Class): Uhhh.... so many possibilities... but Let us just hope that no one gets lost, injured, sick, or even disgrace us by being too hyper :)
 
Post-trip reflections :)
 
 

Year 2 Suzhou OELP
Name	School	Class	Stream	Period  of Internationalisation Experience	Country of visit
Leong Shi Xuan	River Valley High School	2G	Integrated Programme	20 May to 26 May 2016	People’s Republic of China
Reflections:   From the second in which I boarded the plane for Shanghai, China, and settled down comfortably on my cushioned seat, I began to ponder about a few things. To be perfectly honest, I was not excited about the trip to Shanghai and Suzhou at all. Reality had hit me hard, and I was astounded by the fact that the day to leave my beloved bed for China for about a week was here. Just before the trip when I knew my class would be going to Suzhou, I was rather upset. The first time I had been to China was at Suzhou, and now again? I was not looking forward to the impending trip, and the fact that the day will come heightened my dread. However, curiosity never dies, even when dread’s the murderer. There were still a few things that I could question about this city. Was it a much modernised city? Did it lose its traditional roots? Was it very much like a gated society, differentiated and apart from all the other provinces of China? The teachers made it extremely clear to us that this was a strictly learning trip, not one for play, and perhaps this made me feel more insightful. As a Chinese, where is better to know about my culture and heritage than mainland China? I had a HUMONGOUS question mark hanging above my head, and it will not be cleared until I experience these things first hand and answer all my queries. This exposure would surely be useful to me when the trip ends. I had then and there, right before the plane even took off, decided with unwavering determination that I would make good use of the S$1000 plus trip and generally, learn as much as I can about that country. China is such a big country, having an international standing, and with so many people living inside, it would be a source with endless of abundant information that would broaden my perspective and knowledge. I hope to, in general, gain all these fresh and different insights so that I myself can form a view about China, Suzhou and Shanghai, and learn better about this big country, one in which my ancestors came from, one which lies in Asia itself, and one that Singapore have relatively much connections with.   Among the many places we visited, it was the Lida Middle School students in China that strongly made me despise and to phrase it bluntly, look down upon. By students, I do not mean the students that the school has chosen as our buddies, but the students of the school in general. One example I can very explicitly elaborate on is a situation I have first-hand experienced, which is when I entered my buddy’s classroom and attended lessons with her. Their first lesson was English lesson, so it was rather a breeze for me. I did not even mind going in front of the class to speak, even though I was a nervous wreck. Trying my best to be humble even though the proud side of me badly wanted to speak to them in English, with so called perfect grammar and much vocabulary, I spoke in Chinese first. I was trying to be polite, even complimenting them. Yet, what do they do? They laughed and I could hear their not-so-soft insults of my Chinese accent, or the lack thereof. I got slightly anxious, and immediately switched to speaking English, causing them to laugh harder because they did not understand a word. Is it really triumphant to not understand a Universal Language? I felt like they were extremely rude, and I have to agree with the stereotypical mind-set one would have of a China Chinese. Perhaps because Suzhou is a second tier city, mainly well developed and having international connections, close to matching up with one of China’s most recognised city, Shanghai, which caused them to act like that. The boys were extremely rowdy, and when they were to hit you accidentally, they do not apologise, but look at you as if it was your fault for not avoiding their rough physical ‘touch’. I felt that this was really preposterous and it left me rather intrigued. Does this have something to do about what they learnt when they were raised? Maybe it had something to do with their everyday life? Even though their classes were eerily silent and everyone were extremely attentive, their breaks were the exact opposite, and the epitome of noise and play. The girls were loud and boisterous, too loud in my opinion, and they even had the tenacity to pass me a note that they were actually passing around class, in which were making fun of me. So, I was the teacher’s pet because I could speak basic English and the teacher liked me? How fast did they need to pass such a judgement? I had barely stepped into class for half an hour! The girl that passed me this note and laughed with her friends really made me clap for her sarcastically in my mind. I definitely remembered her, because I was too astounded at how this group of 15 year olds (older than me) would stoop that low so as to get a funny subject to talk about. If I were nice, I’ll call it immature, but since I am not, let me just say that it was horrible, rude, desperate, and infuriatingly annoying. Experience this first hand and I can be sure that you would agree with me instead of saying I am making them sound crude. The girl has indirectly ‘taught’ and made me aware of an undeniable fact. This fact has indeed impacted me greatly, and perhaps the most in this trip. It was the fact that this future generation of China, had too much pride to uphold, and that it was normal there. I was just speechless at the fact that they were not an ounce open to whomever they perceive as outsiders – those not living or from Suzhou, and would do their best to bring them down as long as if they were a little better than them in other aspects. They are afraid to lose out in their already very competitive society. Well, perhaps it is not suitable for me to pass this kind of so-called biased judgement after such a short period of time of this immersion programme, as I have only experienced one kind of environment in one class and one school, instead of multiple. However, as this is a renowned school, and the fact that I entered alone, as a singular overseas student, without any other Singaporean students or teachers with me, to experience all those, is an exposure worth for me to thoroughly evaluate how they live and learn.   After this trip, I have indeed gained many new insights. My doubts and queries have mostly been cleared up, only leaving me to research for more in-depth details. These new experiences have made me more critical of my surroundings, but more careful too to not offend people who are different from me, because I am clearly and fully aware how just one trigger can cause someone to actually change his/her entire mind-set and behaviour towards that party. I hope that the people there can actually be more open minded, especially the younger generation, to foreigners because there is no limit for knowledge and lessons, and for such a big country like China to thrive, they have to start embracing the concept of acceptance, humility, and the passion to learn from others who are better, on a long term basis. A few learning points from China that I want to bring back to Singapore are how Singapore can work by learning from China to preserve more of our heritage, and how our younger generation can continue being a humble bunch. In a world that is too idealistic and realistic, only money and pride speaks, and that is not what I hope will become of Singapore. I do not want to grow old and look at Singapore continuously being more modern and commercialised, without anything that preserves our history, and nothing for me to reminisce about. I would also not want to see Singaporeans throwing away such an important virtue just to keep the country alive. Yes, there is a need to earn money by seeming unwavering and keep our country thriving, but our history, heritage, and most importantly, identity, should not be sacrificed at the same time. As I said, there is no limit to knowledge, and Singapore should also continuously learn from China. In a nutshell, this learning trip to China has enhanced my thinking in many ways. Everything that I have learnt simply cannot be expressed in merely over a thousand words. Also, I would like to make use of this reflection to extend my gratitude to all those who made this trip possible, and everyone who have taken good care of me. I thank you for reading.