Meinong Hakka Culture Museum

In this museum, we learnt more about the culture of the Hakkas in Taiwan. We learnt about the migration of the Hakkas and that there were five different Hakka accents, hearing all of them using an interactive device, where the accents were played with the push of a button. We also learnt more about the different items that were significant to the Hakka culture, such as the paper umbrella and the oblation furnace. 

However, I feel that this museum could be a little more interesting. The guide who brought us around could be a bit more engaging. This museum may be quite an interactive and interesting one, but there is definitely room for improvement. 

OELP: Day 6

Day 6: 29 May 2014 Thursday

Weather: Sunny then Rainy then Sunny & Humid then Sunny

Places visited: 正心中学 • Places our buddies brought us to--> 台中!! :D

Today we attended some lessons with our buddies from 正心. While I was attending their 国文 lessons, I learnt many new things and also realized their standard of knowledge on Chinese (culture) as the students themselves made many references with many other Chinese poems. Although our English   may be better, their Chinese is definitely better than ours. I also found out from the students that the school specially prepared a cooking lesson for us (they don't usually have a cooking class) and I felt their efforts in making us feel welcomed and I am really thankful.

We also spent some time with our buddies and their family where they themselves organized a short "field trip" in Taiwan. I went to 台中 with my buddy, her mother, my classmates and their buddies and their buddy's father and had A LOT of fun! Although the "field trip" did not really go as planned because it started raining half way through, it was still EXTREMELY FUN because we got to spend a lot of time with our buddies! <3 I am also really really grateful to their parents who were very warm and welcoming to us and kept offering to pay for us even though we kept saying they shouldn't. 

In conclusion, I found out something that I can learn from the students at 正心. I also had a wonderful time and made some new friends with great memories. I can't believe the strong bond we built in just three days and I can't bear to leave them now. I miss our buddies already and will definitely keep in touch with them!

I had a lot of  fun cooking with the 正心 students:D

I had the best time with these people <3

Not to mention their incredibly generous parents too!

Lim En Yin (7)

OELP: Day 5

Day 5: 28 May 2014 Wednesday 

Weather: Rain, Sunny & Humid

Places visited: 正心中学 • Chinese Puppet Show Museum

Today we went to puppet show museum and from there I learnt how some Chinese cultures have evolved over time. For example the stage for the puppet shows have become bigger and the music for the puppet shows are no longer live. This made me wonder if the quality of these puppet shows have remained the same. I would really love to watch a traditional, authentic Chinese puppet show.

Today we also spent some time with the students at 正心中学. I enjoyed the balloon sculpting and magic tricks courses. It was fun learning to sculpt balloons with the students at 正心 as we had time for some fun interactions and also made new friends with fond memories. We also got to see a little of the 正心 campus and how they conducted their CCAs.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the day as I learnt some interesting things and also got to interact with the students at 正心中学.

I really liked the Yunlin Hand Puppet Museum, especially because of their interesting puppets!

Ballon sculpting with another very nice 正心 student ^^

 

Marching band CCA session over at 正心

Lim En Yin (7)

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)