Jairell ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

SELF-INTRODUCTION

Post Trip Reflection

Year 2 Suzhou OELP
Name	School	Class	Stream	Period of Internationlisation Experience	Country of visit
	River Valley High School	2G	Integrated Progeamme	20 May to 26 May 2016	China
Reflections: Why did you choose to go on this trip? Usually the most reasonable answer is because it consist of at least 2/5 of my CID grade and in order to obtain a good grade, I have to go for the trip. However, due to this being an OELP trip, what I want to learn from this trip is how China is able to sustain itself despite all the challenges it has faces with its 5k years of history. Another thing I want to find out is how China is able to produce such high performing scholars every year without fail, even causing a stereotype that "all Asians are smart". What decisions were made when you choose to go on this trip? The most nerve wrecking decision was whether I was actually fit to go on the trip. I have SVT, a condition which may cause my heart to palpitate anywhere and any time. This condition is not lethal, but can be rather inconvenient and this was the main reason why I thought of not going. Our schedule was rather tight and should I have this condition during the trip, I may slow down the whole process and affect my friends. However, I thought that my teachers were experienced and should know what to do when SVT occurs, that was the reasons why I went for the trip. What do you hope to learn from this trip? Answered at the top already. What is one situation you come across that you feel strongly about. Possibly the radio tower and the experience of standing on the glass platform. Some people have a fear of heights which cause them to shudder at the thought of just looking down. I am usually not the adventurous type (kind of an introvert) and would usually avoid any new activities. Thus, looking at some of my friends avoid the glass platform made it kind of "satisfying" to look at. However, from this experience, I found out that no one is perfect as we all have weaknesses. Thus, we should focus more on our strengths and not mind about our weaknesses. What is one person that you had seen that taught you more that what could not learn in school? I found out that a true friend would be concerned about you no matter what the situation is. (Erik) Falling sick in China is a big thing as we are prone to foreign illnesses. Thus, we would usually be worried for each other should anyone of us be sick. There was particularly one day where I was not feeling that well and looked rather horrible. Erik noticed it and started asking me relentlessly  whether I was ok. At that time, I was truly touched by his actions as he was sitting next to me, and thus he could easily get the illness from me. However, he did not avoid be and continued showing concern from me. We would usually not feel this in Singapore as most of us would usually be too busy to even realize it, but during the trip (where everyone was more relaxed), these kind of actions would leave a greater impact. What is one fact that you have learnt during this trip? China wanted to collaborate with Singapore as they saw Singapore as a source of information and skills that they could tap on. At that time, Singapore was still a developing country and China was facing some financial problems. As a Singaporean, I feel that it is a proud moment that China, such a huge and important country, has selected Singapore (such a small country) to collaborate with them. From this, I learnt that everyone has  an equal chance to show their true potential. How would this trip affect your future behaviors and attitudes. I have to admit that I am a rather well-behaved and quiet person, but sometimes I will get out of hand and become rather rowdy.  However, after looking at the students in the school, I can conclude that our level of naughtiness and rowdiness is on a whole new level. They find fighting as a way to tease each other and would shout from one side of the classroom to the other.  (This may cause accidents and affect those who are trying to study) When I first saw this kind of behavoir, I felt that it was unacceptable as this was not showing respect for the teachers. However, I found out from one of my friends that this was why school in CHina was more enjoyable and this was the Chinese School's culture. Thus ,I found out that in other cultures, these kind of behavior may be acceptable, but we should have our own stand and not perform any actions that are unacceptable. Thus, I decided to put in more thought for my own actions and be wary of the consequences. What are some long term changes you hope to take place? I am usually looking at my phone when I go out, thus I would usually not pay attention to the details. There is this one time when 1 of my teachers actually pointed out that there was white paint on all of the trees along the road side and after noticing it, it actually became fairly obvious. However, when I was looking my camera or talking to my friends, I did not notice the markings at all even though they were painted on most of the trees. After some research, I found out that the white was actually lime which protects the tree from natural disasters. Thus, I found out that if we do not pay attention to our suroundings, we would lose out on all of these possible learning opportunities . Such a simple idea like limewater to protect trees would not be possible if the person was not paying attention to the properties of limewater and how it can be used to protect the trees. Thus, I want to be more attentive to my surroundings. What did you learn in this trip that you can bring back to Singapore I would say the ability to take care of myself. My parents are usually protective of me, thus I usually do not have the chances to take care of myself. Thus, this trip has allowed me to test my own survival skills. However, this trip shows the opposite as I have proved myself to be someone who is unable to take care of his own stuff . I admit that I have improved from this trip as I have become less absentminded.

Pre Trip Reflection


Yay! Just 3 more days to OELP. Things have been rather hectic due to all of the projects etc and I keep forgetting to reply to my OELP China buddy (oops). However, I still have to find time to do this individual post (argh I'm freaking tired):

Some questions I have is how China is able to sustain itself. Sure, she has made a couple of mistakes like limiting childbirth etc, it is still considered as a 1st world country and even developing herself immensely despite its humongous size. Also, people usually have a stereotypical belief that Asians are smart and love to study due to their parents who want the best for them in terms of education. I personally believe this myself (look at all the projects!). However, I am really curious to find out whether the Chinese students have it even tougher. Thus, I am really enthusiastic about sitting in their classes to experience their learning environment.]

Side note: I'm sure I will not be able to understand it based on past experiences. I went to China during OELP during primary school and they taught all lessons in Chinese (which I am horrible at) and were learning about latitude and scales!

Another thing I am looking forward to is the performance. Yes, I injured myself and now I am unable to perform. However, I am trying to contribute by playing a harmonica solo (which I still can't get the hand of) to liven up the atmosphere! This performance has shown our determination to do our very best. Despite the tight deadline, people were willing to stayback after school to practise the dance moves (house dance). :D






















How the Merlin will look in the future :

  Technology has changed our lives immensely. It has ironically brought us together on social media but separated us on real life. This also applies to the Merlion. With the new kinds of technology, much effort would be made to increase tourism on the Merlion. But then, with new technology, we would not experience the original feeling when visiting the Merlion. Last time, people would crowd around the Merlion with umbrellas to shelter themselves from the rain. But with new technology, people could just be staring at the Merlion from their hometowns, which was defeats the purpose of having a tourist attraction. This, I feel that the future could be a place for new opportunities , but we must not overdo with technology, as it would defeat the purpose of having new locations and tourist attractions.
Age: 13
Birthday: July 5th, 2002 (Give me presents :D)
Hobbies: Badminton, reading, surfing the web for random stuff.

About me:

 I live around Bukit Panjang, which is rather far away from RVHS. Sometimes, I wonder why I even wanted to join RVHS due to the far distance which I have to travel every day. However, I still have no regrets about joining RVHS due to the new friends that I made. The only problem I have now is the long travelling duration I have to experience every day just to reach school or home. Thus, this could be the reason why I get bored easily. However, now that time is more valuable due to the HUMONGOUS number of Common Tests, assignments, homework and projects. (Oddly I seem to like this kind of blogging projects, don't judge)

  However, I also like to do some reading or researching on the Web on random stuff which I find interesting or amusing things like the Flying Spaghetti Monster (Yes it is a real thing, no judging)

I also enjoy sports and surfing the web as they both bring me joy in my life. For sports, I prefer badminton and bowling as I excel decently with them, being able to score 90+ in a single round in bowling.

J is me, obviously :D

I so prefer more "hardcore" sports like badminton and possibly swimming, but you can't seem to tell it from my skin color as I prefer to exercise at night due to it being more cooler. However, one of my condition called SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) which makes my heart go faster than Sonic. However, this does not aid me in physical activities but instead causes me to go breathless and possibly pass out due to the blood only passing through the heart only. (Shame) On the bright side, I am still able to be involved in physical activities as this condition is only inconvenient and not life threatening.

  I have to admit that my strength of doing stuff really well when being bored can sometimes be a negative trait due to the fact that I can also be rather distracted when doing projects. (In fact, when I am writing this post, I am currently listening to music and phone is beside me) Thus, I feel that I have to stop this bad habit as it may affect me next time when I am pressed for time.

  Oh and one more thing, in terms of music taste, NEVER ask me about KPOP or any modern English songs as they are all greek to me. (Sure, I do know those famous ones like Bad  Boy, Gentleman, Out of the woods, Bad Blood) Instead, I am one of the minorities that prefer techno music, preferably those with no lyrics and no MTVs due to the fact that this kind of music allows you to be creative and come out of your own lyrics and story line. So yeah, no hate, my opinion should be respected and not criticized of. (KPOP lovers don't kill me D:

F-777 - A Legend To Me

How my holidays went (WIP)

   Two words, RV 60. The first half of my holidays was me just adapting to the new timings and I would usually wake up at 5 am to find out that there's school. The other half was (spoilers incoming)
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV6666666666666666666666660000000000000000000. (But I got to admit, the number of CCA timings were lesser than what I expected).

  Other than that, I still managed to "relive" some of my stress from my normal school days by hanging out with my friends and managed to get my bowling high score of 101 for bowling. (My highest was 100).

  Thus, even though the holiday was a little short lived, I still felt that it was a break that I deserved and that's all it matters.

The picture

First look
This picture may seem normal as it is just a picture of the school garden taken at night, however, if you look and think more closely, this picture may be an ever more significant meaning.


  If I remember, there was one time when I heard my seniors say that either the swing beside this wooden shelter or this wooden shelter was contributed by the graduated alumni, however since my group member Arron has taken a photo of the swing, I decided to choose this photo instead.

 This shows the loyalty of the alumni who felt that RVHS was their mother school and they still wanted to help out. Also, if you looked at the history of RVHS, the alumni had hosted and helped out in many school activities, both financially and physically. (eg. during 1996 and 2001 respectively, The school celebrated her 40th and 45th School Anniversary with a cultural concert at the World Trade Centre and a dinner hosted by the School Alumni.

   We also found out that the alumni had ranged from young to old during the RV60 mass performance. Even though some of the older alumni had already started to have physical constraints due to old age, during the singing of the School Song, they all stood up to sing the school song proudly. Also, even though a table of 10 for the school dinner was really expensive ($1000 OR $800), the alumni, even those who just graduated were willing to pay for those tables.

  What struck me was that even though the alumni had already graduated from RVHS and had almost part always with it, they were still willing to contribute back to the school by donating money to improve the facilities. Even though they could not frequently enjoy the facilities they had contributed, they still decided to spend their money on the school.


  Thus, I felt this picture is very special as it shows us the loyalty and commitment of our alumni, despite having such a big generation gap. When we graduate from RV, no matter what our experiences are, we should always contribute back to our school.

How and is poverty related to happiness

  First, we have to understand the meaning of "Poverty" and Happiness. Poverty, according to dictionary.com, means "the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor" while happiness means "the quality or state of being happy". Thus, we can infer that the meaning of "How poverty is related to happiness" is that whether having money will make us happier.

  It may seem obvious that not being poor will make you happier, as you are able to buy more incentives and entertainment items which are able to keep you more contented and happier. This is so common as now, even young toddlers would have a lot of toys and even have a screen to be glued to all because their parents wanted them to be happy. However, from the long run, this kind of mindset will cause us to become more materialistic and thus cause us to be more unhappy with our life.

  For example, we have enough money to buy clothes and even branded ones. However, we now see clothes as a battle of fashion, whereby the better the clothes, the higher your status. This will affect everyone in Singapore as no matter what, you will be involved in this "battle". Most people will look down on you if you wear tattered clothes, but would admire you if you wear branded clothing. Thus, this will affect most teenagers as they are mostly involved in this situation, thus, they will feel unhappy if they are not keeping up with the Joneses. 

  Also, having too much money is a bad thing, as this means that the standards of living in Singapore are too high. For example, the average price of a single dish in the hawker center is around $3 dollars, yet in Malaysia, the price is 53% lower. This means that the price of a dish is around $1.50 dollars. Thus, this will cause Singaporeans to become more unhappy as despite them earning more money, the cost of living is higher, thus they will need to focus on earning more money and they will become more unhappy.

  Finally, the thing about having too much money is that we will become too materialistic. How often do we see a young child crying cause he did not get his favorite toy? That is the cause of having a lot of money, as you think that your parents are rich enough to afford anything you want. When the child grows up, he/she will because way more materialistic and will demand more from their parents, thus causing unhappiness to both parent and child as the demands may be harder to fulfil.

  Thus, we should be as understanding and grateful to the Indian children, as they are used to living in hardship, thus they will be more grateful and happy when they receive food, unlike us who would complain if our pizza order came too late. In conclusion, I feel that poverty does not cause unhappiness, but it depends on how we use and value money.

░░░░▄▀▀▀▀▀█▀▄▄▄▄░░░░
░░▄▀▒▓▒▓▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▀▄░░
▄▀▒▒▓▒▓▒▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▒▒▓█░
█▓▒▓▒▓▒▓▓▓░░░░░░▓▓█░
█▓▓▓▓▓▒▓▒░░░░░░░░▓█░
▓▓▓▓▓▒░░░░░░░░░░░░█░
▓▓▓▓░░░░▄▄▄▄░░░▄█▄▀░
░▀▄▓░░▒▀▓▓▒▒░░█▓▒▒░░
▀▄░░░░░░░░░░░░▀▄▒▒█░
░▀░▀░░░░░▒▒▀▄▄▒▀▒▒█░
░░▀░░░░░░▒▄▄▒▄▄▄▒▒█░
░░░▀▄▄▒▒░░░░▀▀▒▒▄▀░░
░░░░░▀█▄▒▒░░░░▒▄▀░░░
░░░░░░░░▀▀█▄▄▄▄▀░░░░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

Chingay reflection

   Chingay was a blast, I got to admit. There's a lot of things that I would like to share about, however, let me introduce you to the brief introduction of the Chingay performance.

History

   The Chingay Parade is an annual street parade held in Malaysia and Singapore in celebration of the Chinese deities as part of the Chinese New Year festivities. The term Chingay originated from the Chinese dictionary, where Chingay means true art and floats.Even though this street parade was originally held for the Chinese celebrations, it is now considered as a unique multiracial performance, where people of different races would come together to celebrate. 

Chingay parade in the 1980s

  On 4 February 1973, the first Singapore Chingay parade was held partly as a result of the ban on firecrackers a year earlier in 1972 due to the fact that there were many safety risks like fires and explosions. Some people felt that the ban would result in a much dampened festival mood for the Chinese New Year period. Thus, the People's Association (Chairman was Mr Lee Kuan Yew at that time) and Singapore National Pugilistic Association organised a street parade which included the signature floats, acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dances, stilt walkers to liven up the Chinese New Year spirit. This parade was really popular and the People association decided to hold it during the first week of the lunar new year.

  Now, The Chingay parade is a multiracial performance, with a staggering 11000 performers from 150 organisations and even 760 performers from 15 different groups. One of the main organisations is PAYM, where youths would get together to help out in national celebrations. There are even 76 performing groups from other countries.


 However, the Chingay parade has been modernized, now, the floats have been made to become more vibrant and colorful, the music is so loud that it can be heard from Marina Bay, and now the even the goodie bags are even better than last year's national day. smh. These changes have been made due to the fact that the world is much more modernized now.  However, technology is amazing too. During the first few parades, the audience had to stand up for the entire show against the sweltering sun. However, now we are able to sit down comfortably with decent shade and enjoy the performance in ease and comfort.

Float at the Singapore Chingay parade in 2005

  Now that I'm done, let me show you guys my experience at the F1 stadium.

My experience

  I watch the Chingay performance every year and I just think about it as an annual performance. Nothing too special about it, meh. Who knew, being right there, watching live would leave such a contrasting impression about Chingay. Chingay was not just about the shining and flashing lights, it was about the efforts put in by the performers and the organizations. Despite it just being a practice, the performers put in a lot of efforts, even willing to perform those risky performances which could have been saved for the actual day. 

  The theme for this year's Chingay is the "festival of lights". This theme is really meaningful to me as it marks our 50 years of our journey from a third world country to a 1 first world country. It's just amazing how we have progressed so far! Thus, I feel we may have to plan carefully for our next 50 years. What plans do we have? Build a better economy, a better society, or even stop littering completely? Mr Lee Kuan Yew has guided our country through hard times like the Japanese occupation and housing shortages, and since we have a good foundation now, we, the younger generation, should play our part to help Singapore to progress.

  The ideas for this Chingay performance is also really creative. Give everyone tiny light bulbs to add to the mood of light of legacy? Check. Include the public to draw their dreams on inflatable lightbulb shape balloons to showcase? Check. Add a whole portion of over a thousand people running onto the track holding those balloons. Check! All these actions may seem insignificant, but they just showcase how creative we are. In this world, following the crowd due to the fact that everyone is doing it does not create change. Instead, we have to be creative and stand out, almost "hipster-like".

Ignore Zemin and Jerale :D

Thus, I feel that the organisations have conveyed the fulfilled the purpose of Chingay, not only providing the public with stunning performances and daredevil stunts, but also included a really nice message that we could take away from the show.
  

  Anyways, that's all I have for now. Thanks and have fun!

3,2,1

Three things I found out:

3. The number of children actually affects the overall wellness of the country

2. Singapore's 2 child policy was implemented at 1972

1. China's 2 child policy was implemented in 2015

Two things I found out 

2. Despite it being a really effect solution at first, it would make a really bad impact in the long run.

1. It is pretty hard to make the public agree with what you think.

One question I have

1. What happens if the babies are twins and you have an existing baby?

Are Singaporeans getting too complacent?

  In my opinion, I think that even though Singapore has achieved many achievements in our 50 years journey, we must not be complacent as the world has recognized our ability to compete in the world's market.

  For the first example, it has been stated that Singapore has held the record of 33.9mil 20-containers processed. It seems like a great number and no one can seem to beat it, but it has already been stated that Shanghai has been planning to process about 35.2 million. This shows that the competition of almost anything economically wise as the gap was 1 million and Singapore was ahead, but the numbers could be turned anytime.

  

  For the next example, it was stated that China has sent people to study at Singapore about how we manage our country. This shows that China has recognised Singapore as potential and is willing from us. However, if China, such a developed country, is willing to learn something from a country that has only existed for 50 years, doesn's this mean that we have a lot more to learn? We couldn't have developed our country flawlessly.

  For the next example, it was stated that Indonesia felt that we should be thanking them that we got fresh air from them as the haze was something they had to endure, yet when it reached our countried, we immediately asked them to solve it. This shows that Singapore is lucky to be born with such a small size and not having to resort to slash and burn to generate our countries' economy.