Jia Jing

Individual Reflection (Per Day)

Day 1: History and Culture

After reaching our destination, we went to the Song Dynasty Town. It was an amusement park with a traditional setting and theme, and it consisted of haunted houses, shops and winding streets with a distinctly Song Dynasty feel. The workers were dressed in traditional costumes as well which added to the atmosphere. However, the most interesting part of the trip was the performance after we had toured the park. There were four parts of the performance -  in the first, imperial China was peaceful and the king was well-entertained by beautiful young ladies who performed elaborate dances for him by shaking their curvaceous bodies in colourful and extravagant gowns. In the second part, there was war. Peace was shattered as men fiercely assaulted each other on horseback with their swords. Men were killed, women abused and children abandoned. Thankfully, the war soon ended. In the third part, things took a romantic turn. People fell in love and there were touching love stories, a time of great happiness. In the last part, there was still peace. The performers danced around bushes and harvested the crops, carrying their large baskets on their backs.

 From observing the park, I could infer how the people lived in those days. It was around 1000 AD then. The people's clothing were impractical with man wearing long thick clothes and women clad in dresses that draped to the ground. The shops were built as wooden houses, which were most likely what people lived in then in the past. Red lamps hung around the rooftops were the only alternative to light because of poorly-developed technology.

The people who designed the park are very clever by amalgamating entertainment with history and culture. Visitors can enjoy themselves while simultaneously appreciating the thoughtful decorations, costumes and infrastructure that represent China's rich history. For us students, it is an interesting way for us to learn. It would be delightful if Singapore could apply such a concept as well. Though the cultures of Singapore are rich and diverse and its history bloodstained and fascinating, however, learning them out of a book or by going to museums isn't particularly memorable or enthralling. Combining them with entertainment though, such as through a theme park, will definitely spice up the learning process. 

Day 2: Economy

We went to Wahaha that day and it was definitely an eye-opening and beneficial experience. Wahaha is China's leading domestic beverage producer with a long history. It started out as a small, humble business in 1987 that sold milk products and popsicles out of a school store, but with its success it began to expand, acquiring a larger enterprise in 1991. It still continues to expand and is even ambitious enough to do so beyond the mainland, its products on sale in France, Germany, Thailand and many other countries,
Wahaha currently produces 30 varieties of drinks like milk and tea. It even diversified into children's clothing and may develop to care products like shampoo. As the Chinese are very patriotic, they support Wahaha's products.
Wahaha has proved itself to be resourceful and quick-thinking with their numerous strategies to improve their sales. For example, they use advertisements to promote its products on television and also frequently use local celebrities to promote as well, and as this is a seldom-seen tactic, people are willing to try out Wahaha and thus its products are very popular.

Wahaha is just an example of how strategic and ingenious the Chinese are in terms of Economy - they are creative in finding solutions to problems and always, always improving. That's why China is so successful.

Day 3: Heritage

Heritage: denoting or relating to things of special architectural, historical, or natural value that are preserved for the nation
That day, we visited the Tunxi Ink Factory and the Chen Dawei Abacus Museum. These two places strongly represent the culture and history of China, and the abacus preserved are very old and had been kept for 200 years. They were made of different materials, some strong and durable and the others brittle like wood and animal bone. The brittle ones had to be handled with care when the users moved its beads because it was easy to break it.
 Cheng Dawei contributed to the lives of the Chinese by making mathematical calculations so much easier with the invention of the abacus and thus paved the way for success in Math.
In the ink factory, we watched how ink was produced and its different uses. Ink is an essential part of Chinese culture as it is used in calligraphy and Chinese painting. We went to Cheng Dawei's former residence as well, which was preserved as a heritage site.
Heritage sites do not generate a lot of money. It is all right for China to have heritage sites as its land is vast. On the other hand, in the case of Singapore, heritage sites may be considered a waste of space and a hindrance to economic development to those who do not believe in culture heritage conservation.

Day 4: Huangshan

 Early in the morning, we ascended up the picturesque mountain by cable car. Visions of soaring clifftops, tiny little wisps of clouds, large pine trees and deformed granite peaks filled our minds.

However, unluckily, the much anticipated mountain climb was ruined by the morning mist which obscured any gorgeous scenery hiding behind them.

However, every cloud has a silver lining. With barely anything to gawk at, we could focus on our climb and listen to the tour guide. Also, there were certain other 'sights' to looks at - I saw many other China locals also climbing the mountain, and they were jabbering rapidly and vociferously in their language, all the while laughing raucously. I noticed some were even smoking, and there was quite a bit of litter in the mountains. There were several cleaners picking up the rubbish, all of them mostly octogenarians. As we ascended up the mountain we also observed that there were several hotels and restaurants strategically located on the mountains.

This gave us room to consider: does tourism help to preserve or destroy Huangshan? The foul cigarette smoke, the loud chatter of the visitors and the litter will undoubtedly lead to disaster: the ecosystem with the flora and fauna will be thrown into chaos. The air quality is going to be affected, and some curious animals may feed on the litter if they are not thoroughly cleaned up. The clamour of voices may also scare them away from their habitat. Lastly, the hotels and restaurants may cheat a little during rubbish disposal - what if they secretly dump it somewhere in the mountains? No one will know.
A picturesque mountain, pretty as a picture - at least, at first glance. Look closer and you'll discover the consequences of tourism.

Day 5: Identity and Education

The highlight of that day was definitely the school immersion programme. As students, we would obviously be more interested in the life of our China counterparts. And indeed, they did not fail to disappoint.

We were ushered into different classrooms where we had a firsthand experience of a school lesson in China. Each CID group was sent into a different class, and the one I went to was currently having their Physics lesson. Although I had not started my Physics module yet, however, one look at their textbooks and I knew that they were far beyond our level. To make it worse, their lesson was carried out in Chinese. It was completely baffling, but what we were more shocked by was the eerie silence of the attentive students. They looked completely serious as they gazed at their teacher, their eyes never leaving him, and the students only moved to jot down notes in their open notebooks. No one looked sleepy or bored, or secretly ate some snacks under the table. They barely fidgeted even.

Is this the ideal class every teacher dreams of? Where students are quiet, alert and respectful? That was my initial perception, but then I slowly realised that none of the students were asking questions. Only the teacher would, and he would pick on a student to ask. The chosen pupil would swiftly answer with only the slightest hesitation, and more often than not the given answer was correct.

In Singapore, especially a class as energetic as mine, we like to ask questions, and they can be foolish and clever. We often talk as well and few write notes, preferring to use our phones to snap a quick picture. Sometimes a few mischievous and hungry ones would sneak a snack under the table.

But does that mean our class is inferior?  It might not be very fair to compare us with the China students when our cultures are so different. China students want to keep their noses to the grindstone and work hard constantly, whereas Singaporean students like to slack off a little.

Next, we went to the basketball court where the Year 1 China students were gathered. There was a poetry recital inter-class competition going on, and in between snippets of it my class would perform for our audience and introduce our own culture.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the topic of the competition was about declaring your love for your country as a Chinaman, where they would recite beautiful poems to convey their feelings. Likewise, other than introducing our culture, the objective of our performance was also along the lines of showing our pride in Singapore. Two performances with the same objectives, and yet the quality of performance was so drastically different. The China students had prepared props, bought flamboyant, eye-catching costumes and memorised their lines to perfection. Not a step was out of place, and as they recited poems, their voices soared into the air and shook with feeling. If possible, each class was better than the next.

On the other hand, our own performance paled in comparison. In truth, it was actually not too bad as we had slogged hard to practice, but compared to the Chinese kids, ours was mediocre. Some blamed the fault of the technological difficulties, as the mics didn't work during the song performance, and when the dance music suddenly skipped one part, but above all, it wasn't really solely their fault, but also ours. Perhaps we should have prepared for a worst-case scenario where there would be problems with the mic and such, and perhaps we should have put in even more time into our performance. After all, one could see that the China students had really put in a lot of effort into their performance through their elaborate props and costumes.

But if this was meant to dampen our spirits, however, it has just given me a fiercer pride in Singapore. I know I'm different from the Chinese kids in level of education and learning attitude but I'm happy with my own country.
I'm glad too I have the opportunity to study the Chinese kids, for their never-say-never attitude has impressed me. It's definitely something worth having for the long run.

Day 6: Education

That day we spent more time with the China kids. Slightly more comfortable now in the new surroundings, I carefully noted down their school settings and differences.

Their classroom, surprisingly, is rather old, and the school too with the paint is peeling off the walls. I also observed that there was rubbish on the classroom floor. However, I guess it's okay as they clean up after class. The toilets though definitely left me a great impression. I thought I had seen all kinds of toilets in China: moderately clean ones, dirty ones with waste materials still floating in the bowl, squat ones with no tissue paper and repulsive ones that smell like a rotting carcass, but this I had never seen before. Their toilets had no mirror and most of all, had only tiny little walls between cubicles to protect your modesty. There was no door, and if you were unlucky enough to stand up while someone walked in on you, well, god bless you. Everybody who used these toilets were left scarred for life.

Rather interestingly though, our teacher explained that the reason for this humble toilets was so that the girls would not stay in them for too long, and would not check their hair, their make-up, their clothes and such as the toilet smells too revolting to stay in for even 1 minute and also due to the lack of mirrors. Well, clever as it is, I'll still keep my lovely Singapore toilets which have proper doors and cleaning systems.

For the rest of the day we attended other lessons with the class. It was the same as I had observed the other day, with the students as still as robots wile the teacher rambled on and on.

Two schools, two different worlds. We may all be students but we're so different, be it our looks, our accents and our attitudes.

Day 7: Lifestyle

A more interesting perspective to take is to compare our lifestyles. And luckily we were blessed with the opportunity to visit our buddy's house and have lunch with him or her.

The girl who was our buddy is cheerful and friendly; she adjusts the speed of her Chinese so that we can understand. Her parents were both very endearing and charming, and both of them own a car. Their house was a simple apartment, but it was comfortable, well-furnished and very large. It was very tidy and cozy, even though she lives with her grandparents as well. She is an only child though, which must be rather lonely.
Her grandparents were the lovely, kind and stereotypical Chinese ones who could cook very well. They prepared a scrumptious home-cooked meal which left us all happy and satisfied. They also took many photographs and gave us beautifully-wrapped gifts.

I thought that with a lifestyle like that, my buddy should be very happy. And she is, for she has a lovely close-knit family who cook hot meals for her everyday, and she has a good school and many friends. However, nothing is ever perfect. She said that she worries for higher education, for though she has good brains, however, a place in a university is very hard to get no matter how much she wants it. That's the problem of having such a large population of children; there are so many competitors, all vying for higher education. You have to be truly exceptional to deserve a place in university.

And I guess perhaps that's one of the biggest differences that sets us apart. My place in a university is definitely not be guaranteed, but I at least have a fair chance of getting into one. We have different opportunities, her and I, and even if we have the same loving family and good education, however, similar as our lifestyles appear to be, look closer and we're worlds apart.

Day 8: Homeward Bound (and good service)

Before we could finally jump into the arms of our loved ones back in Singapore, however, there was still one last lesson to learn. We were to dine in the HaiDiLao restaurant which was famous for its excellent service and good food.

And indeed, the service was not disappointing. We were treated like honored guests where the waiters and waitresses greeted us loudly and cheerily, and entertained us with performances as we ate. The toilet was a marvel with a pretty little fountain and a waiter to give us towels to wipe our hands with after we washed. No one gave us the dirt face - just warm, friendly smiles. And I was very shocked when I found out that there was NO service charge. How do the workers find such motivation to provide such excellent service? And so my teacher explained that the thing is all the workers have shares, and they will benefit if there are more customers. So, all these workers must work very hard to provide such good service so as to attract more customers and gain more profit. It is definitely an excellent win-win strategy.

Lastly, we took the high-rail train. It was very fast and yet very smooth, which made the 3 hour long journey almost enjoyable. 

 To conclude all 8 days, well, they have been one of the best days I've ever had. Going for immersion programmes isn't new to me but it always leaves me impressed, enlightened and most of, wanting for more. Being with my classmates in this trip has opened my eyes and widened my horizons in more ways than one.

 

 Individual Reflection

1.

China is a fascinating country with the largest population in the world, numerous places to go sightseeing, a place with a vast, exciting world of delicacies and where most of our ancestors come from. Therefore, I chose to go on this trip because I wanted to learn more about China in terms of its economy, its culture and heritage, the education system and the environment, infrastructure and transportation system. By learning these, I can apply it to Singapore using critical thinking skills and compare between the two countries.  I also wanted to experience and see through my own eyes the lifestyle of the people in China and the environment of the country as I am curious about what the world outside Singapore is like, and the best place to start from is China with its intriguing traditions and places of interest.

Some decisions I made to go on the trip were to be independent and attentive, and not waste my time playing a fool and slacking off because this was a short and expensive learning journey. I have to spend my time wisely during the short stay in China and constantly be perceptive and observant. I have to give up most of my time enjoying the sights with my classmates and instead be studious and listen to the tour guide. I also had to be aware of my surroundings by not making any social blunders so as to maintain the excellent reputation of my country. I had to blend into the life here in China so as to be polite as a guest, and be tactful and not mention anything that may offend or insult them.

I hope to benefit from this trip by learning more about China. I would like to look at the culture and heritage in China, and observe how it is tactfully preserved and whether this could be applied to Singapore too, where most of our youths are uninterested in Singapore’s rich and diverse culture, and where there is a danger of our traditions disappearing forever. I want to know why China is so successful in terms of its economy and its education system, why it is developing so quickly and its students are so exam-smart. I wish to observe what the infrastructure, transportation system and the environment, like its weather, rate of pollution and cleanliness, is like and note the contrast between my country and China. I would also enjoy going to the different places in the Anhui province, and know the role of Hefei and why that place is so special.  Next, I would also want to climb Huangshan and see whether tourism can sustain the environment, or instead, destroy it. Lastly I want to observe is the prices of the items here in China compared to Singapore as this is the biggest indicator of what life in China is like. As most items are made in China, therefore its products are drastically different and much cheaper. I want to know exactly the difference in prices.

2.

One situation I felt very strongly about was when I went to Shuo Chun Secondary School in Hefei. My school was to have its performance at the same time as the students were to have their own performance. The purpose of us performing was to show the culture of the four races in Singapore and our own youth culture to the Chinese students. The Chinese students themselves were only performing for an inter-class competition. It was Poetry Recital, and it was to express their love for their country, China, and their pride as a Chinaman. It was a simple performance, but I could tell that they had spent a lot of time and money for the performance – the costumes they wore were elaborate and fancy, some carried props like fans and banners, everybody was as synchronized as if they were reading each other’s minds and their voices as they declared their love for the country was loud and booming with pride. Plus, not a step was out of place and they had all memorized their scripts to perfection.

However, our own performance paled in comparison. We succumbed to technical difficulties, and the performance overall was lacklustre and shallow. Never before had I felt so ashamed, and thus I believe this is a great stepping stone from failure. The China students truly demonstrated what a real, well-rehearsed performance is like, and that hard work and time has to be put in for success. Both our performances were about our own countries, and the spectacular difference fully describes the kind of attitude that varies between students of different countries.

The person who was a better teacher than any other in a classroom was the tour guide. A teacher in a classroom has many limitations – for one thing, she can only teach through power points and pictures, and as everybody knows, nothing leaves as great an impression as a real experience. Therefore, as my classmates and I had the luck to be able to actually walk around and look at the sights through our own eyes, the tour guide’s teaching could thus be heavily imprinted into our minds. Notes were rare, because everything the tour guide talked about we connected to what we had seen and experienced. I learnt and remembered more about the Ancient Streets in China, the success of Wahaha and the different types of tea than if I had merely sat in a classroom and be bored to death.

One fact I learnt during the trip which left the greatest impression on me was the attitude of the students. As a student myself, I would obviously be more interested in the welfare and school life of another student in a different country. Indeed, I was impressed by what I had observed. The students were respectful and hardworking. As the teacher rambled on and on, the students were constantly alert and attentive. They diligently jotted down notes in their books and answered quickly and politely if a teacher raised a question. No one looked bored or tired, no one chatted to their friends, no one interrupted the teacher. The silence of the students was respectful and eerie at the same time. In Singapore, it was the complete opposite, especially in a class as boisterous as mine. The students were always talking loudly, asking foolish questions, sneakily eating snacks or passing notes to their friends. I thought that perhaps the China students were in truth boring little robots, but I observed that when class ended, everybody immediately snapped out of their trance and started talking loudly to their friends and walking around the class. It was that moment when I realised how amazing the China students were. During class, they were quiet and attentive, but when they had a break they would become very talkative. This showed that the students knew when to be disciplined, and when to relax. This is the best example I have seen of self-control.

3.

This trip has affected me in many ways. Firstly, it has changed my impression of a China student, and made me desire to learn from them. Secondly, I have learnt more about China than I could from the Internet, and I learnt it is a much more beautiful country than I had ever imagined. This trip will affect me in terms of my learning attitude, my leadership skills and my pride as a Chinese and a Singaporean.

Some say that the kids in China are only exam smart, but I don’t see the problem with that. Being exam smart allows you to advance in your studies and to acquire numerous precious life skills such as handling stress, problem solving and prioritization. The students in China are equally excellent in sports and competitions. They are all highly competitive, and this is an attitude I would like to learn from and have for the long run. Competitiveness is common among us Asian kids, because we were brought up to know that we must always strive for excellence and to extend ourselves to our full potential in whatever we do. There is no such thing as just trying our best, because we have to be the best. The China students all have this attitude, be it their studies, or in sports, or even in friendly competitions. It is admirable as it will always give them the strength to keep on going. I respect this attitude and hope that I can learn to have it too.

Another change I hope that can take place is my attitude towards learning Chinese. Chinese has always been a language I disliked, because it was difficult to master and I felt that it was old-fashioned. However, being in the country where the language originated from allowed me to realise the importance of mastering this language. Everybody is speaking Chinese – even the Westerners are learning it. China is developing so fast, and practically most of our everyday products are made in China. To prepare for the future, in which China will practically rule the world, one must speak the language well. This trip has enabled me to desire to improve in my Chinese and to get to know it better. It is something I have learnt which I can bring back to Singapore and the school. 

Going to China has been a thrilling experience, and I've learnt and benefited so much. It has definitely been an eye-opening learning journey.  

Youth Cultures: SG vs China

Singapore's youth culture

   

I feel that the pictures in the collage best symbolize the youth culture of the Singaporeans. The picture of Naomi Neo and Xiaxue represent the idols of the youths, and EXO shows the K-pop wave which overwhelmed us, with that particular group being one of the more popular ones. Crossy Road and Clash of Clans are popular games that we youngsters enjoy. Korean dramas and American cartoons are also some of the television shows we watch. However, nothing is as popular as social media, which is why it is at the centre of the collage. Social media like Instagram and Snapchat has kept numerous Singaporean youths glued to their phones. 

China's youth culture

I am not especially familiar with the youth culture in China. Chinese youths seem to do what we like to - girls go shopping, gossip and use social media, and guys like sports. QQ seems to be a popular social platform. Zhang Ziyi, the woman in the bottom right corner, is a Chinese actress and model and is considered one of the Four Dan Actresses in China. Lastly, the women in the picture on the top of the collage are the actresses in the famous drama, Empresses in the Palace. 

 Hefei's Culture: Fashion

Hefei is the capital and the largest city of the the Anhui Province of Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui.

Fashion in China is the same throughout the entire country, and in Hefei, which is urbanized and fairly rich, there is certainly a level of good fashion sense.

In the past, the Chinese people wore traditional clothing which was broadly referred to as the hanfu. Depending on one's status in society, each social class had a different sense of fashion.  Most Chinese men wore Chinese black cotton shoes, but wealthy higher class people would wear tough black leather shoes for formal occasions. Very rich and wealthy men would wear very bright, beautiful silk shoes sometimes having leather on the inside. Women would wear silk shoes, with certain wealthy women having bound feet wearing coated Lotus shoes as a status symbol.

     Shenyi (深衣) a type of Han Chinese clothing commonly worn from the pre-Shang periods to the Han Dynasty. This form is known as the quju (曲裾) and worn primarily by women.

During the Qing dynasty, the cheongsam, or qipao, and the changshan were introduced. The rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in many ways represented a cultural rupture with the past, as Manchu clothing styles were required to be worn by all noblemen and officials. The Qing first implemented queue laws that required the populace to adopt Manchu hairstyles and clothing - or face execution. Eventually, this style became widespread among the commoners. In the end, the queue was banned, but women still continued to wear the qipao as it was considered a new fashion item, and they made changes to it. The original qipao was wide and loose. It covered most of the woman's body, revealing only the head, hands, and the tips of the toes. The baggy nature of the clothing also served to conceal the figure of the wearer regardless of age. With time, though, the qipao were tailored to become more fitting and revealing.

       The changsun

The abolition of imperial China in 1912 had an immediate effect on dress and customs.The queues were cut off, and Sun Yat-sen popularised a new style of men's wear, featuring jacket and trousers instead of the robes worn previously. This became known as the Zhongshan suit. For women, a transformation of the traditional qipao (cheongsam) resulted in a slender and form fitting dress with a high cut.

 Early in the People's Republic, Mao Zedong would inspire Chinese fashion with his own variant of the Zhongshan suit, which would be known to the west as Mao suit. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen's widow, Soong Ching-ling, popularised the cheongsam as the standard female dress. At the same time, old practices such as foot-binding, which had been viewed as backwards and not modern by both the Chinese as well as Westerners, were forbidden. Items that attracted dangerous attention if caught in the public included jeans, high heels, Western-style coats, ties, jewelry, cheongsams, and long hair. These items were regarded as symbols of bourgeois lifestyle, which represented wealth. Citizens had to avoid them or suffer serious consequences such as torture or beatings by the guards.

 The Mao suit

Now, though, fashion in China is about the same as in the West, even if they still wear their traditional Chinese clothing like the cheongsam. The adults, especially the women, are quite well-dressed, especially in the urban parts of China. Jeans, jewellery, high heels and cute jackets are common in the streets. The modernisation of their clothing is definitely befitting of the 21st century.

Typcial streetwear

  The Merlion: Our National Icon?

Since when has the Merlion not been our national icon? It has always been assumed that the famous tourist-icon is simultaneously the icon of Singapore. The Merlion is a fabulous creature, with the head of the lion and the body of a fish. It looks so strange and far-out that the smallest child would point to it and yell 'Merlion!'

Firstly, lets answer the question of why we even need a national icon in the first place. Well, the thing is, using only just flags, or the coat of arms, to represent countries isn't very interesting. It's not something one can quickly identify the country with. The national icon, on the other hand, symbolises the country and makes it unforgettable. It can show the culture of the country, its rich and mysterious history, the life of the people in that country.

The Merlion is suitable as our national icon because it is highly unique, more so than any other things. As a mysterious-looking beast, it is easier to identify rather than using our national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim. Though the orchid is certainly quite beautiful and special, however, its name is long and wordy, and hard to spell and remember. Others suggested using the Changi Airport to represent us, which I find quite preposterous. What are you going to use, an airplane? Are we a travel agency? 

The story of Sang Nila Utama is quite popular and numerous children have heard of it. The lion which the young prince saw, when he first set foot on Singapore, was such a proud and majestic beast that the prince decided to live in Singapore. Therefore, the Merlion has a lion's head. The lion is an animal, known as the king of beasts, which represent goodness like respect, strength and power. The Merlion's lower torso is a fish's body, representing the fact that we are an island nation, and surrounded by the sea. 

The Merlion is truly significant to Singapore. The giant statue of it at Merlion Park attracts many tourists, and it is also a marketing icon used as a mascot. An odd and fascinating sight, the Merlion is undeniably the perfect national icon for our island nation. It is a constant reminder to us that we must be strong as the lion, powerful and majestic, even if we are just that little red dot on the world map. 

Remembering LKY

What is a golden age? It is an idyllic time of peace, prosperity and happiness. It is also the period when a specified activity is at its peak.

The golden age of China was the Tang dynasty - arts, literature, poetry, foreign relations and trade all flourished, reaching to incredible heights such that their impact is still omnipresent today. 

Similarly, Singapore reached its own version of the Golden Age under Mr Lee Kuan Yew. From a tiny, insignificant fishing village, it blossomed into the busy, highly successful city it is now. Singapore is peaceful, prosperous, and the people are satisfied with life. 

Firstly, Singapore is peaceful because of the racial harmony among the four races - Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians. In the past, when Singapore had first achieved independence, dangerous racial riots were rampant, and many people were killed or injured. To stop this, Mr Lee Kuan Yew enforced rules and policies, stressign the importance of maintaining religious tolerance and racial riots, and was ready to use the law to counter any threat that might incite ethnic and religious violence. The peace we enjoy now, and the special identity of Singapore's multiculturalism, is not something other countries have, and it marks us as unique. 

Secondly, Mr Lee Kuan Yew ensured that Singaporeans are well-taken care of. We have a continuous supply of water - we turn on the tap and clean water flows out. This is because we import water from Malaysia, our unique NEWater, which foreigners joke as 'sewage-turned-clean water, and of course our reservoirs and catchment areas. Our water is so clean, we can drink it directly from the tap. 
Additionally, most of the people are rich - one in every five households is a millionaire. Our lives are comfortable and sophisticated. Everybody has equal educational opportunities - there are bursaries and scholarships given. Our technology and healthcare are highly advanced - we have a very low infant mortality rate, at 2 per 1000 births, and our life expectancy is very high. 

Lastly, our environment is squeaky clean and our country is beautiful. Mr Lee Kuan Yew banned chewing gum as they were unhygienic, because they stuck to anything- shoe soles, the pavement, the train doors. Also, our country is called the 'Garden City'. There are many trees and flowers, and we have many parks which serve to be excellent recreational places. 

Therefore, our country is in the golden age because we are peaceful, prosperous and happy. 

China's Economy

China is undeniably amazing. In terms of total GDP, it is ranked 2nd in the entire world, only after USA. China has made a huge comeback and its economy is growing at a tremendous rate.

In the first place, China is endowed with numerous advantages. Its land area is enormous, at 3,854,082 square miles. Therefore, there is a lot of space for factories, houses and other buildings to be built on. There will also be cheaper rent, and this will result in the rent being competitive with other countries. 

China also has natural resources of her own, like coal, natural gases, and steel. Having these natural resources can save transportation costs as these resources need not be imported from other countries. 

China is literally everywhere. Many of the items we use everyday is made in China. It can be your toothbrush, your calculator, your water bottle, your smartphone... you name it, you have it. There are a lot of imports from China, not just only because of the reasons aforementioned, but also due to others. 

It is highly beneficial to set up a business in China, because labour is cheap. The size of the population in China is 1.4 billion, and this results in a large number of people who do not have jobs. Therefore, people can easily control the wages of their China workers. 

The corporate tax rate in China is also smaller compared to other countries, at only 25%. Therefore, it is better to set up a business in China rather than, for example, in USA, where the tax rate is 35%, because more profit can be earned. 

China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. A smart move, though a late one. The main benefit is that this can increase China's trading partners, resulting in access to more interantional markets for exports and also allowing for more foreign investors to enter the country freely. This can result in more money earned as there are now more people demanding for China's cheap products. 

I feel that the economic growth of China is incredible. Clearly, opening up their country to international trade is a smart move, because the impact is omnipresent. The products we use everyday are from China, and nearly everyone is demanding for China's cheap, affordable products. No wonder why their economy is growing at such a tremendous rate. However, I feel that no matter how wealthy and strong China is, it still has its faults and bad habits. China is ranked 4th in the world in terms of GDP per capita. This means that as the country becomes richer, the wealthy people also benefit, but the poor people are simultaneously becoming poorer. The income gap is widening, and China isn't doing much about it. It's just like if one compares this to a classroom - you can be the teacher's pet, but everybody in the class hates you. China should begin treating everybody in its country fairly.

China is important to Singapore's growth. If China's economy slows down, it will be as bad as if a giant rock crushes Singapore. So, when China's economy grows, this is advantageous to Singapore, because China is Singapore's most important trading partner. 

   

Lesson 26/1/2015

During this lesson, we learnt more about China's one-child policy. China is a large country, and to reduce overpopulation, the government introduced the one-child policy, meaning that every one couple can only have one child. So, we question: what are the implications, good and bad, of this?

The advantages are small. A good social implication would be that the parents could devote their time fully to that one child, and give him all the love, attention and resources he would need. The child would then grow up strong and capable. 

There are many disadvantages, however. If every couple had only one child, that means that the population of China would be drastically reduced by half. Also, there would be a greater tax burden, and a slower economic development due to the aging population, what with the decrease of young people and increase of the elderly. Also, because of this policy, there is a shortage of girls in China, the ration of men to women being 120:100. The society thus becomes less altruistic, less trusting, less trustworthy, et cetera et cetera, due to the decrease of girls.

Obviously, it can be seen that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. I feel that introducing this policy is inhumane and wrong, because, being humans, it is in our nature and freedom to breed, and this should not be controlled. This policy also seems to be encouraging more young people in other countries, such as Japan, to give birth to less children. The situation in Japan is very dire- about 70% of the population are old people. A century later, when all these old people die, the question is: who are those left to support the economy? Judging by the rate at which this is going, probably the economy will collapse due to the lack of young people left to support it.   

Let's move on to look at Singapore. The situation may not be as serious as in other countries here yet, but it may only be a matter of time.

As this is the 21st century, our ideas modernize. Now, it is not always a must for couples to have children once they are married. In fact, there are some couples who do not have children as they choose not to. Therefore, it is more commonly seen for parents in Singapore to have less children than those in the past. 

However, because of this, at the same time the population growth of Singapore starts to dwindle. 

The different kinds of situations from this are either economic or social. 

An example of an economic implication will be an aging workforce. This is because more people will retire and less young people will come in to work.  The citizen workforce will then shrink and economic growth will be negatively affected. As there are less young workers, our productivity growth will also shrink, leading to a lower level of innovation. Hence, out economic growth cannot be supported. 
To prepare for this, it is important for the right government policies to be input first, such as investing for more elder friendly technology and encouraging continuing education and training.

The government has tried to boost birth rate with innovative policies such as baby bonuses, promoting dating networks and dating vouchers and even changing tax exemptions. However, these policies have come in late and still show no effect. Instead, as the years pass, the problem seems to be getting worse. 
 

Yet, I believe that with time, and with the right mindset and ideas, our birth rate can once again be boosted. It may not be necessary to have at least five children, but more people must try to give birth and bring more promising young people to the world. The responsibility and future of the world rests on the shoulders of young people, and therefore it is a necessity to have more children.

December Holidays

Some of the highlights of my December holidays were my CCA performance and my trip to China to visit my grandparents. My holidays were fulfilling and very productive, and I was glad I did not waste my time on useless things. 

My CCA is Chorale, and there were many CCA sessions to attend as we needed to get ready for our performance in early December. We were going to perform Christmas carols, and everyone was looking forward to it. We spent at least 5 hours every practice working on our carols, and all of us did our best to put in our 110% into our singing. All our hard work and sweat (even though it was an air-conditioned room) paid off when the day of our performance came. We were to perform in Christmas Wonderland in Gardens by the Bay, on a small platform beautifully-decorated with Christmas lights. The Christmas Wonderland was very pretty, but what made me so happy was the time that I spent with my fellow CCA members. All of them were kind and fun to be around with, and they made the endless CCA sessions a lot more endearing. I heartily enjoyed my time with them and I would be glad to go through all that again just to spend time with them once more. The seniors will be graduating soon but the time the entire choir had spent together was genuine, and I shall never forget it.  Not only that, our performance attracted a large crowd and we received rousing applause. There were even some people who came up to us and praised our singing. Everything had been worth it, I thought.

After the performance, I, along with the rest of my family, left for China. Some time ago, my grandfather had a stroke, and it had left the left side of his body paralysed. I had two aunts in China to take care of him, but caring for my grandfather was no piece of cake. The stroke had left terrible consequences on my grandfather, consequences that can never be reversed. 

My aunt, my uncle and my family all set off to China. While there, we lived in my grandparents' house. My grandfather was in a hospital, which was an hour's drive away from home. Every day we had to go to the hospital to bring food for my grandfather and accompany him, as he might throw tantrums in the hospital if we did not do so. It was not easy taking care of him. The stroke had made him not quite right in the mind and his tantrums were very embarrassing - he would shout at my poor grandmother and complain and complain. 

Every week, the hospital allowed us to bring him home for about 3 days, where we could safely keep an eye on him and tend to his needs. We would feed him, massage his arms and legs, and let him carry out exercises to strengthen his body. He is still improving. 

My family stayed to help for two weeks. They were long and tiring days, and everyone was always miserable by the end of the day. Our tempers were short and my grandfather's tantrums made some of my relatives very angry with him. 

My grandfather had always been as fit as a fiddle. The stroke was completely unexpected and it has changed everything - gone is my kind, strong grandfather, gone are the peaceful days when a vist to my grandaprents made me jump for joy. 

We can all only hope for the better. 

Lesson 12/1/2015

In our previous lesson, we learnt the skill of gathering meaning and thoughts from pictures, and understood the meaning of 'there's more than what meets the eye'.

We were shown two pictures of people, both with the same theme: poverty. The first picture was of a man sitting down on the floor, head bowed, holding up a sign that read 'HOMELESS, BROKE....'. The second picture was of a woman carrying a baby, and trying to look pitiful so as to beg some money from a man. 

So, in class we carried out an activity: if you had a dollar, who would you help? There were the compassionate who wanted to help the woman and the man, but there were also those who decided not to help at all. I myself decided to help neither of them, reasons being 1) you never know if they are fake 2) as a man, he should buck up and get a job 3) a dollar isn't very much.

Then, our teacher showed us the back stories of the beggars. The man was actually very hardworking and tried his best to make ends meet. He sold things on his cart, but when his cart was stolen, he was unable to work any further. The woman, on the other hand, was the fake one - apparently, she worked for an organisation of beggars, who made the beggars carry babies so as to gather sympathy from tourists, and most of the money they managed to get was given back to the organisation.

Thus, I reflect that whenever we visit a country, we should not be shocked by whatever we see. We should first gather information about the country and understand its background, such that we can then make better choices. For example, in some parts of Malaysia, there are some children who wait on the streets for tourists, and they try to beg money from them. It is extremely unwise to give even a coin to one of them, for the other children will immediately rush over to beg money from you.

Poverty in Singapore is not as extreme as in other countries. You wouldn't exactly find beggars lining the streets, dressed in muddy rags and sleeping on park benches. You wouldn't see poor children running up to random tourists to beg money from them, or scrounging rubbish bins for food. Yet, the thing about Singapore is, poverty is definitely there- the only thing is that it is invisible.Singapore is an expensive city to live in , and there are those people who are hard-driven to make ends meet. In fact, about 28% of people in Singapore are living in poverty. Let me give you a 'for instance': there is one family in Singapore which is considered very poor. The mother is unemployed and has six children. They live in a sparsely-furnished flat, and all the children have to squeeze into one bedroom to sleep in. The family cannot afford to get sick, because they don't have enough money to pay for medicine. The mother cannot work as she needs to care for the children, so when she works it has to be in the night.

The proposed solutions are 1) improve education and lower education fees for single-parent or poorer families through means of subsidies and improvising schools specialized and accommodated for the poor in order to reduce poverty in Singapore, 2) promote re-employment and 3) help and promote the supporting of elderly in families in order to minimise poverty in the elderly category.

Sometimes, just because poverty isn't blatantly obvious doesn't mean it isn't there.