Assignment 1

Think about what you want to learn from the trip? Why would you want to learn it?

I have been to Beijing and Shanghai, these two cities are considered one of the biggest in China, and I heard that Wuhan is also one of the biggest city, so I want to compare these three cities together to learn about the similarities or the differences. Why I would want the comparison, because the environment in both Beijing and Shanghai is not that bad, and the scenery is marvelous, so are the food there.

What do you already know?

The things in china are selling at a much lower price as compared to those in Singapore, especially those in supermarket. But for the more popular brand such as Converse, they sell at a more expensive rate or at the same price. However, these shops have more varieties as compared to Singapore. There are some things here which Singapore doesn’t sell. Subsequently, you can’t trust all the things selling in China, as the quality might not be as good as those in Singapore, especially those in the flea market, even though you could bargain for a lower price. Another thing is that China is not as clean as Singapore, as people spit everywhere; dump the rubbish on the streets and hence I wouldn’t dare to eat the food selling along the streets, as I don’t think its that clean. Also, China people doesn’t have much manners, the way they speak is very rough and loud, For example, when they bang into you, they would just walk away without saying a simple “ excuse me “. and they could just argue right in the middle of the road, also you have to be careful when crossing the road, because the car doesn’t look out for people, it’s suppose to be the other way round. The driver seat is on the left side of the car whereas the seat in Singapore is on the right side. When you are going shopping, you have to be careful, as there are thieves or shoplifters everywhere, so you have to grab hold of your belongings tight.

What don’t you know and would be interested to find out?

The culture, the environment, the food, the people, or rather everything about Wuhan.

What motivates you to study?

Friends and self-motivation.

How to you intend to use your learning?

Working life, as maybe I might interact with people from china, and then I may use the information I have and meet the customer’s expectation, and please him, knowing the background information of the customers would leave him a good impression, that you are interested in doing business with him.

Define your focus

My focus is to learn more about the culture, as every different country got their own culture, I think this is because of the teachings that the ancestors passed on! As we know that Singapore used to be ruled by the British, therefore we have more of the western culture, whereas china is different, they were ruled by many leaders such as Mao Zhe Dong, he was a communist leader, and some of them still follow the teaching of . I also want to get to know more about the different festivals and different ethnic groups here, as Singapore has only 4 different types, but China has definitely much more than 4, and also can get to know more details about each of the groups, about their history and why it was called this way! Culture includes the different type of foods, I can get to find out what’s the most unique food in Wuhan, and also the way they cooked the food! Lastly, I would like to know more about the fashion in China, as it is quite different from Singapore, they don’t wear slippers, like Mr Chua said, and they think that it’s disrespectful, but in Singapore, everyone is wearing them, and also if you wear shorts to go for exercise, people would stare at you, as the girls would wear track pants!

Write at least five questions to frame and scope your learning journey.

Firstly, I want to research on why China people don’t know their manners, as they always cut queue, smoke even though there is a No Smoking, speak so loudly, drive carelessly [ for example, they could cut in between the lanes and they could drive on the passengers pathway. ], spit everywhere they like!

Secondly, why China don’t have much dustbins on the road, or rather if they have, it always not a proper one! The dustbin is just a pail, without any trash bag! I want to research on this, as the streets outside WUST is very dirty, there is always a pile of rubbish on one side of the road, and it never seems to be cleared, the pile is always there!

Thirdly, why is the educational system so different from Singapore, as I heard from a lady while I was doing manicure that they start to learn English when they are in college, while in Singapore, we learn from young. Another example is their mathematics. They are of a much higher standard than us as compared to those in Singapore. `

Fourthly, slowly I get to know why the hole in the ozone layer is getting bigger, I realize this when I first reach Wuhan, the vehicles produce black smoke, the factories give out a lot of black smoke also! I wonder why the government isn’t doing anything to stop this things from happening, and also why didn’t the government give fine to those who produce black smoke! Smoking of cigarettes also contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer.

Lastly, I would like to know why China people smoke that much, everywhere you go, there will be some people smoking, and worst, the taxi drivers would also smoke while they are driving, and they could even smoke inside a shopping mall, which makes the shopping mall stinks. Either they are too addicted to smoking, if not they ignore the No Smoking sign if not they are blind to see the sign! The government should increase the price of the cigarettes, so that lesser people would buy, or the government should follow Singapore, for example, they could install the sensor that whenever people smoke inside the mall, the siren would go off, or even give fines to those who smoke!

Define three global skills you want to acquire/improve.

First global skill that I would improve is comfort level with strangers, as I wouldn’t really talk to strangers when I first met them, because firstly, I do not know them well, and I have nothing to say to them. So I like to spend some time to know them, before really making friends with them. I would improve this by trying to speak more often, find some common topics to say!

Second global skill that I would improve is patience, even though when I go out with my friends, I would be the only one who reach early, while the rest would reach late, and I really mean late, the latest was an hour plus but I am sort of used to it already, still sometimes I would be angry, as it’s not the first time that they came late! So I would like to increase the limit to my patience, so that I could wait more patiently.

Third global skill that I would improve is sense of personal control, actually I am quite short tempered to certain things, but sometimes I just don’t really show, I just keep quiet and smile! But if the person was to go overboard, and I already reach the maximum, I would just get angry, show my friends attitude, or sometimes even scold vulgarities! So I would like to change this sense of personal control, so that I wouldn’t show my attitude that easily, and also I could tolerate and not let it out on them! How I would accomplish this, maybe I would just hide my emotion or talk to my friend!

First step, I would do some research on the internet, then whenever we are going out, I would take the chance to observe the environment and the people, their behavior, lastly, I would take the opportunity to talk to someone who would give me an explanation and details about their culture.

Day27

Woke up at 8, but didn’t know that lesson starts at 10, because we had to clear the rubbish at the BBQ pit, however some of the boys did the job, so we didn’t have to make a trip down! THANKS PEOPLE! What you did would be appreciated. So mr ma said that today he would finish the whole of chapter 6, and tomorrow chapter7, it seems that everything in this week is very rush! As a matter of fact, that we would be leaving soon too! Therefore, I shall work hard now or rather till the end of the theory test then I could relax all the day, as I heard that we have 5 days of free and easy! Anyway, a lot of people are getting sick, not very sure why, but everyone take care alright! So had lunch at KFC again, tried another meal, this time I ate beef roll, it’s quite delicious and I changed the fries to corn salad. After lunch, return to school for class, was doing lab6, then after lesson went to run at the field, and then to the gym! After exercising, went to canteen3 for dinner, and also went out to the laundry shop to wash our clothes. One thing that I realize is that running in china is better than running in Singapore, even though the weather isn’t as good as Singapore, the air here is very dry and dirty, and I always have difficulty in breathing! Even though I have been running for a few times, but still I can’t stand the way china people look at us when we wear shorts to run, as china people always wear long sleeve and jeans or track pants! Another thing is that the girls in china is always very thin and also during their physical education, they only run two rounds around the field when they are being tested like our NAFA test in Singapore! It’s like much easier than Singapore, and also the boys in china always sprint around the field, especially the guys playing basketball!

Day26

Woke up at 9 to go for a morning jog, but didn’t manage to run 8 rounds, as the weather was too cold, and I was having a sore throat, so sort of having difficulty to breathe, then went to the computer world with jayden and wenhao, as they wanted to buy thumbdrive, but before we went to shop, we had our lunch at macdonald’s, tried the pork burger, it was quite unique, as the macdonald’s outlet in Singapore doesn’t sell this burger, after lunch we walked around the different shopping malls that we missed out the previous time. So now I know why when we told Mr. Ma that there was only 3 malls, he said it was impossible! I think we went in to 4 different malls, and there are still other shopping malls. But to my surprise, there were people selling guns on the street! Then after that we back to dorm, as we are having a BBQ session with the china students. But I didn’t really eat the food, as I wasn’t feeling that well. So we left the BBQ pit to have dinner at the fishball restaurant opposite, it was different from the one that we went to previously, the soup was nice, so was the prawn and the vegetables, we even ordered two plates! Then headed to the mart, to buy some stuff before going back to dorm and rest for the night! An opinion of mine, why can’t china change their transport system, by using cards to tap, instead of asking someone to stand and ask for money when the person boarded the bus, it’s very irritating when the lady just push her way through to get to the front or the back! That lady who collects money is not very thin. Another thing is why can’t people just board the bus by using the front door, isn’t the other door build for letting people to alight!

Day 25

The weather today was super cold and it was raining heavily, and we had to wait for the bus driver for quite some time, as he was stuck in the traffic, but thanks to mrs chua who lend us her umbrella, 8 degrees! We took a bus down to hankou, about 90 mins! Then went we reached the Wuhan Beach Park, the weather was still quite bad, so the tour guide decided to change, he allowed us to go JiangHan Road Shopping Area, so thanks penghoe for his umbrella, but still we got wet! We had lunch at a fastfood restaurant, it’s quite similar to KFC, but then the restaurant sell chicken rice, which looks abit like long john silver! Then we started to walk around, saw a lot of sports shop, like converse! Then jayden and khoonfong bought fried chicken! We then saw this shopping mall, which sells all the fake stuff, and also there is a food street, we bought egg tarts, they also buy sushi, and takopachi! Somehow when we finish walking, it was about time for us to return! so teacher told us that we are going back dorm, but some people told the teacher that they wanted to go shopping at the building opposite the yellow crane tower, so all of went there, except for sebastian’s group! The building that we went was a shopping building that sells all fake stuffs, like fake converse, porter! Then I bought one porter back, which cost like 100rmb, thanks to khoonfong who bargain for me! And a lot more people bought porter things like the wallets! Then also a lot of people bought shoes, as it was much cheaper! Then headed to the food street, the food there is delicious! we bought dumplings which contain corn, dumplings that contain vegetables, fried chicken wing which was super spicy, rice cake, scallop, fruits and a lot more! Then we took a cab back and went to a meeting, and rested for the night! somehow I wish Singapore would have all these food street too, as the food was really delicious, I would use one of the free day to go back there and try their food. Even though I admit that sometimes the food along the streets is not clean, but still they are awesome. Another thing is that china really is good at making fake branded stuffs, some of them look so real, but there’s some which is really fake, as I didn’t see before the pattern! I realize another thing is that in china, they sell a lot of caps, and pullovers, especially those with cute design.

The day started with a lecture by the china teacher, the lesson was all about doing business with people, like what you have to watch out for. Then teacher told us that our afternoon lesson was shifted forward to 1 – 3 because he wanted us to go to the IT mall, then had lunch in our dorm, ate bread, seriously the bread is nice! The bread from the imperial cake shop! Then had IS lesson which we had to summarize the powerpoint slides which teacher went through in the morning. After lesson, rest and unpack our bags before taking a bus there. The IT mall is somehow like Funan It mall or Sim Lim Square in Singapore, but somehow the prices are about the same, if not it’s a little more expensive than those In Singapore. But one thing that I hate about the mall is that, people could smoke freely as they wish, and the mall is air-conditioned! They are so inconsiderate, seriously they should fine people who smoke, because the sign “NO SMOKING “ doesn’t seem to work on them. After that Khoonfong and I went to buy mantou, its so nice, like those in Singapore, or maybe there is a little more variety! But at least its delicious, and now I am missing those food in Singapore. After that Khoonfong and I went off first, while the rest went to have dinner, so we walked down the street, and to our surprise we found a food street, so we tried the dumplings, its nice, we tired two different type! And we ate Chou Tofu, actually it’s the normal toufu that we usually eat, just somehow the smell makes the food look not that appealing after that we took a bus to Lu Xiang Guang Chang, as we wanted to buy some stuffs, then took a taxi back to dorm. I realize that I could understand what the lady was saying over the radio, but I couldn’t understand what the taxi driver told us, I think its because of their accent. It’s so weird, and I get to know that, there are actually a lot of shopping malls out there that I didn’t know. But I will make sure that I will go there one day!

I Had to wake up early this morning, as we have to go a factory to take a look at the process of making it. Before arriving we had to take a bus to the same university but at another location, after reaching we had to change to another bus to go to the factory. First thing, the first bus that we took was super dirty, and I really meant super dirty. Second thing, the bus was small, some of the guys had to sit one another lap. When we reached the factory, we walked one round or rather there’s only one way to the exit. After visiting the factory, we went to Lu Xiang Guang Chang again, as teacher decided to drop us there. But from the factory to the place it took us about 2 hours, when we could reach there in an hour time. Thanks to the bus driver, either he don’t know how to go if not today is his unlucky day. First we waited for quite some time for the train to pass by before we could move, not once BUT twice. Then he decided to drive through a alley instead of the main road, then we got stuck because there was a construction going on and therefore the road was block. Finally, when we got to the road, there was a traffic jam. We had lunch at Pizza Hut. First thing, the food is expensive, way more expensive than those in Singapore. Second thing, the food stinks! I ordered a salad for 22 yuan, and the portion was so small! As for the soup, I ordered clam chowder but in the end they gave me cream of mushroom! What’s even worst is that the cream of mushroom is so watery! After I finish my food, I went shopping with KhoonFong while the rest continue eating, bought something for my friend again then meet up with the rest to go back to school! Something disgusting happen, we saw a uncle SPIT in the bus, GROSS, even worst, he was standing right behind KhoonFong! Seriously, I think China should put some signs or give fine to those who do that. It’s super disgusting, but lucky that guy step on it, I think due to the fact that we stare right at him when he did that. After lesson, continue on with khoonfong’s manicure and bought stuffs!

Same as yesterday, woke up at 6.30 to have breakfast which is at 7, and within half an hour we have to finish eating to pack our bags and leave the ship. Then we had to board the bus, an hour trip ride to YiChang, so I was sleeping throughout the whole journey, then we came to a shopping mall, or rather a supermarket which the tour guide told us to buy something back, as the snacks are unique and only YiChang have. So I bought quite a number, as mum reminded me to buy for other people. Then 5 hours trip back to the school, I was sleeping all the way. After that went back to dorm, to unpack my bag and also to bathe and wash clothes, but in the end didn’t managed to wash finish, as half way through, the guys asked us whether we want to play volleyball, so we went down to look for them, then headed to the indoor sports hall but there wasn’t any one in the reception desk, so we had to change to the outdoor court. Before joining the rest of the people to play, I ran 8 rounds around the field with KhoonFong, after that I joined marc’s team while KhoonFong join jayden’s team in volleyball, then we changed to netball as our hands were all pain especially KhoonFong’s, but it wasn’t a proper game of netball, as in the actual match, different positions run different places, and yet, we all ran all over the court, even worst, we ignored all the rules, like taking more than 1 step when you already have the ball in your hand, we defend the opponent without leaving three steps away. After exercising for 2 hours, we went back to bathe and out for dinner, however we didn’t return on time for the meeting at teacher’s room hence teacher gave us a warning saying that if we are late for the third time we would be send back to Singapore, then went down to the boys dorm to do programming and also help them to do their blog for the online journal.

Woke up at 6.30 because there was the sound system that would play music to wake us up, and worst the music is those classical old songs! The cruise didn’t have any hot water until a certain time, its so pathetic! Seriously, after people finishing bathing, then they know that they have to wait for another 30 minutes. I didn’t have breakfast, only drink the soybean milk, which is cold and not as sweet as those I normally drink in Singapore. The rest of the people who had breakfast said that it wasn’t that nice, as firstly, the porridge is tasteless same goes for the noodles, then the bun (mantou) is cold and tasteless also. After breakfast, went back to the dorm, to wait for the cruise to reach it’s destination so that we can change to another boat and go to the next location, the trip lasted for 1 hour, then we had to take a wooden raft to tour around the site, when the river becomes more swallow, the uncles who have been rowing the raft, got off and took ropes with them, as they had to pull the boat across the swallow parts of the river, as the turn was steep and the surrounding were all rocks. During the ride back, the tour guide say us a song which had the meaning of friends. same boat back which lasted for another hour, I slept throughout as I was too tired. When we reach the cruise it was 2 in the afternoon, had lunch, once again, the food wasn’t that delicious, so I didn’t eat much, went back to dorm to eat bread, and then we rested and played some games at jayden’s dorm again till the lady announced for us to go to the platform to look at the scenery, and then went down to cruise to visit a temple, and we had to climb so many flight of stairs before reaching, in the end I wasn’t paying attention to what the tour guide was saying, as there was another group of ngee ann poly students there, also as per usual, other people crowd around the tour guide again! After exploring went back to cruise, and didn’t sleep well for the night. I think Its very heart breaking to see those uncle helping us pull the boat, we are so comfortably sitting on the raft and yet they have to go down to the river and help us! thank god!