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.