After OELP, I felt that the class have matured more and grown more together. Throughout the seven days that we have been together, we have become more bonded and closer. Last year's class outing was unsuccessful, with only 5 people being able to go. However, this year, the number of people who turned up was 28. This overseas trip would not be the same if I had not gone with 2I.
⭐️Situational awareness⭐️
Through this trip, I also truly learnt the meaning of two important words, and that is "situational awareness". Being situationally aware does not only mean that we should only look out for ourselves and pay attention to the surroundings ourselves, instead, it also means to remind our classmates to pay attention to their surroundings so that no one gets left behind. There were times in which we would get carried away taking photographs and not pay attention to the tour guide and obstruct other people's way. When this happens, our teachers would remind us to practice situational awareness and to pay attention to our surroundings and be alert at all times.
⭐️Punctuality⭐️
Aside from this, I also learnt the importance of punctuality and looking out for one another. There were some days in the trip in which our classmates overslept and caused our schedule to be delayed. I feel really bad when that happens because my classmates get scolded and I knew that they could have made it on time if I had noticed that they were missing for breakfast and had gone up to their hotel rooms to check. However, no one noticed because we did not bother to look out for one another. It is really troublesome when our schedule gets delayed and all that trouble could have been prevented if we have cared more.
⭐️Everything about Shanghai and Yangzhou⭐️
The term "everything" is so broad and vague and I would avoid using this word. However, the things that I have learnt about Shanghai and Yangzhou is simply too much to be listed down individually.
First of all, I have learnt so much about Shanghai and Yangzhou's history from this trip. From the tourist attractions and from the guide, I have learnt so much about Yangzhou and Shanghai. I now know that Shanghai didn't always used to be this wealthy and commercialized. It was once a poor fishing village and had developed greatly since then. Although Yangzhou seems to pale in comparison to the modernized and commercialized Shanghai, I feel that Yangzhou has it's own unique charm. It has history behind it too, and one of the most renowned person in Yangzhou would have to be Zhu Zi Qing, who was a popular writer among people in Yangzhou.
Secondly, I also learnt to treat everything with an open mind, and not making harsh conclusions about a particular place. My perceptions of China wasn't that great before OELP. However, after this trip, my perceptions changed greatly. I once thought that all Chinese in China were rude and loud. However, after this trip, I realized that not all Chinese are rude. While some might push and shove us out of the way, majority of the Chinese would make way for us and some even nodded their heads in a friendly manner at us when they realized that we were on a school immersion program. Some even asked us which country we were from and made small talk with us! This revealed to me that I should never make harsh conclusions about a country unless I have been to that country and experienced what it is like to live there.
I also learnt that Shanghai is economically strong and stable while Yangzhou goes to great lengths to preserve heritage and greenery. Shanghai has tourist attractions that reveals just how much wealth the city has. The bund showcases China's banks and also international banks, which suggests how rich the city is. Tourist attractions such as the oriental pearl tower is a skyscraper. Towering over smaller buildings at over 200 levels. The ambiguous and modern architecture of that place suggests just how much money Shanghai has in order to build that. Yangzhou has places that suggests that they were intentionally preserved so as to preserve heritage and greenery. Geyuan garden and slender west lake were not demolished so that greenery would be preserved. Zhu Zi Qing residence was not demolished as it was significant to Yangzhou's history, since Zhu Zi Qing was well known in Yangzhou.
Yangzhou's education system is a bit different from Singapore's, in a sense that students there have lesser project works and and that students there are required to report to school at around the same time as us, but stay back in school late into the evening. They are required to be even more competitive than students in Singapore, due to the fact that there is overpopulation in China and that students have to do exceedingly well in their fields in order to find good jobs in future. In Singapore, we do not face that problem and finding jobs are not as difficult for us.
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