OELP: Day 4

Day 4: 27 May 2014 Tuesday 

Weather: Sunny

Places visited: Scared Hearts High School • 古坑 (a pineapple tart company which makes good tarts)  • A primary school with talented children

Today was more relaxing and fun since we got to visit Sacred Hearts High School, make our own pineapple tarts and watch performances by talented young children.

I got the most from Sacred Hearts High School as we attended one of their classes. From the circle time, I gained a lot of insight about Taiwan's education style. I discovered that Scared Hearts High School focused more on actually learning as compared to River Valley which seems to focus more on tackling examinations. The students at 正心 seemed more relaxed during lessons and like they are actually enjoying it while the students in RV seem to learn because they have to. From this I have learnt to not only focus on exams but also the actual learning experience which is more important.

Overall, I enjoyed the day with more hands-on activities and also gained a lot of insight on Taiwan's style of education.

Welcomed to 正心:)

Our works of art at 古坑 (unbaked pineapple tarts moulded by us!)

Enjoyed the violin performance by very very young and talented primary school children!

Lim En Yin (7) 

OELP: Day 3

Day 3: 26 May 2014 Monday

Weather: Sunny

Places visited: Anping Fort and Old Street • Chikan Tower • Eternal Golden Castle • Tainan Confucius Temple

Today we left the 十鼓文化村 with a tour of the place. The tour guide of the 十鼓文化村 took us to a room where 10 drums were presented, each bringing different prospects of luck when hit 3 times. Then through a painting, our guide told us the legend of the origin of the drums. I think this is interesting as we got to learn about the Taiwan Chinese culture like their beliefs and legends, this also makes me appreciate the different Chinese culture in Singapore and Taiwan.

We also went to the Taiwan Confucius Temple and through the displays there and the information my friend gave me, we did some self-learning. I learnt that in the past in Taiwan there were little to no education opportunities since the Confucius Temple was the only school then. This made me really appreciate my opportunity to be able to study in a good environment in Singapore.

The painting which tells a legend about the ten drums in 十鼓文化村

Each intricate detail in the Tainan Confucius Temple has a meaning!

Cannons at Anping Fort!

Entrance of the Eternal Golden Castle ((note the arch tunnel))

Lim En Yin (7)

OELP: Day 2

Day 2: 25 May 2014 Sunday

Weather: Sunny & Windy~

Places visited: Kaohsiung Hakka Culture Museum • Meinong Hakka Culture Museum • Meinong Folk Village • Kaohsiung Museum of History • Formal British Consulate • Liuhe Night Market

From the places we visited today and from what our tour guide told us, I noticed many differences between Taiwan and Singapore.

Firstly, surroundings. In the more rural part of Kaohsiung, everywhere we go, there will be an agricultural land owned by farmers who plant a variety of crops like wheat, mango, banana etc. for a living. In the land-scarce Singapore there's not much land for agriculture, most Singaporeans are office workers.

Secondly, preservation of the Hakka culture. We once went to a Hakka museum in Singapore and as compared to the ones we visited today, I feel that the ones in Singapore have many things to improve on. The Hakka museums we visited has a lot more information and is also more appealing with its colours and technology. I can tell that they really wanted the younger generation to preserve and appreciate the Hakka culture.

In conclusion, I learnt about the difference in agriculture and relating jobs between Taiwan and Singapore and also the difference in Hakka culture and the preservation of it between Taiwan and Singapore.

Taiwan's peaceful scenery viewed from our bus~

Interesting displays at the Kaohsiung Hakka Culture Museum!

擂茶, a Hakka beverage, sold at the Meinong Folk Village. It tasted great (y) Must try!!

Entrance ticket to the Formal British Consulate

The Liuhe Night Market had many very interesting things

Lim En Yin (7)

Daily Reflections 30 May 2014 Friday

It's time to go back... BUT FIRST LET ME TAKE A video.

It's our final day at Taiwan! All of us can't bear to part with this lovely country. Despite it being the last day, we still had one more last place to visit -- the 921 Earthquake museum. After that, we headed to Taoyuan airport where we did our last secret mission. The Matt Harding dance video. It wasn't as fantastic as what we thought it would be as many people stared at us as though we were lunatics at the airport. Although embarrassed, we persevered till the end and thickskinly danced so as to complete the final mission. In conclusion, this trip to Tainan has indeed been a memorable one as we were exposed to a whole new culture, environment and type of people. As hosts, Taiwanese deserve A plus plus! They are incredibly generous and treat us with sincerity. During a meal, they would order a lot more than what we can eat so that they wouldn't 'lose face'. According to the tour guide, Taiwanese will not only make sure that you are full, they would make sure that you are bloated! (不只吃到饱，而且还要还要吃到撑!!) During outings, Taiwanese will foot the bill for almost everything possible. That made us really uncomfortable as they were treating us far too well!😓 They took our visit very seriously and did everything they could to make us feel at home. Our buddies even had to undergo interviews just to become our buddies. I love Taiwan very much because of their free and carefree lifestyle, picturesque sceneries, as well as their generous and sincere people. It had been a wonderful trip!

921 Earthquake destruction

The embarrassing moment

We had fun. Sure we did :)

Special thanks goes out to the principal of Sacred Hearts High School and the 5 student leaders who were so hospitable and always tried to meet our needs during our stay :)

Our final class photo 

HOME SWEET HOME~ Goodbye Taiwan! We will miss you tons!

Joy Tan (17)

 

 

Daily Reflections 29 May 2014 Thursday

Slight rain.

It's the second last day in Taiwan! A gamut of emotions are overwhelming me. For the past few days, I had great fun conversing with the Taiwanese and also gained a lot of experience as well as knowledge from the various activities planned for us. I especially loved attending lessons in Sacred Hearts High School. They were a wonderful host, making sure that we were enjoying ourselves at all times. Today we attended, Chinese, Chemistry and Home Economics lessons. The Chinese learnt in Taiwan is far much better than the one learnt in Singapore. They are learning profound poems by scholars and poets in the past while we are still reading stories. In terms of Mother Tongue, I think we have a lot of room for improvement. Afterwards, we went out with our buddies and their family. My buddy brought me to Taichung, where I managed to board the train for the very first time. It had definitely been a pleasant experience as trains are not found in Singapore anymore. I'm really delighted that I had the chance to take the train. My buddy's father also bought a huge box of Sunny Pies for us. Those were famous local delicacies and were delicious! I loved it so much because I'm a big fan of pastries! The past few days had been a wonderful journey and now that the trip is coming to an end, I can feel a bittersweet tinge in my heart. How I wish that we can relive the previous days and be this happy for the rest of our lives. I LOVE TAIWAN!♡

A picture of my lovely buddy and I 

With my favourite two big sisters who took care of us throughout our stay at Sacred Hearts High School.

The pastries that we made during the Home Econs lesson.

The Chemistry class

Our chemistry group! ^^

The train station

My cute buddy and I!

These flowers give out the most aromatic scent ever! My buddy's father bought them at the train station from an elderly granny who was trying to make a living by selling these flowers. 

We eventually had to bid farewell to our buddies... I almost cried :(

Joy Tan (17)

Daily Reflections 28 May 2014 Wednesday

Slight rain.

The visit to iicake was an eye opener. The ordinary towel, after bring wrapped by the professional workers, is transformed to a cute, eye catching and portable ornament. We even had a DIY session, where we wrapped our towels by hand, and see it turn into an adorable dog. That was an interesting experience as most of us had never done something like that before.

Next, we went to the puppet theatre museum where we were spexposed to a whole new traditional culture of Taiwan in the olden days. In the past, there were no televisions or computers and people had to resort to hands-on methods for entertainment. Hence, puppet shows were popular. On the other hand, puppet shows are quite rare in modern Singapore as most of us are more interested in the screen that lights up in front of us. This kind of traditional skills and arts is on the verge of extinction now. I hope we can preserve this tradition and pass it down to the younger generation, so that they understand that the world isn't just about technology.

Finally, we headed to Sacred Hearts High School for a balloon making as well as a magic session. We had a whale of a time there learning new skills and interacting with the Taiwanese students.

 

Items displayed at iicake

A worker wrapping the towels into dumplings

DIY towel making session!

And my final product!

The puppeteer at the museum

During the balloon making session

Joy Tan (17)

Daily Reflections 24 May 2014 Saturday

Arrival at Kaoshiung airport! All of us are so eager and excited as the new chapter of our lives is about to unfold!! We look forward to our stay in Tainan :) We are really touched by the teachers and staffs of Sacred Hearts High School who waited at the airport till so late that night just to welcome us!

Joy Tan (17)