Day 16

Today is a lesson free day and we had something similar to OBS. The training site in situated just beside WUST, the University which I'm staying currently. The place is pretty small but quite nice. It is considered a place for all the "NCC" people to gather and get to know each other. Oh yea.

Just a note to all dear readers. The "NCC" I'm refering to is not the NCC that we have in Secondary School. It is like a compulsory thing for all freshies in China's University (or at least in WUST) to have this NCC like training 2-3 months before their actually school time (or during their school time). So its like a way of bonding the freshies together and for them to know more people other than those in their own classroom/faculty. In a way, it is a pretty good way to bond people. But I doubt it will be successful in Singapore. haha! Because alot of people will COMPLAIN about it. INCLUDING ME! =) hahahaha!

anyway, in the morning we did some pocket games which is pretty interesting. Some I've played before while some are a little different from the ones I've played. I thought that the games are pretty fun and are really good ice-breakers. Somehow, the people from NP are more open compared to certain other places I've been to. So the ice-breakers are pretty fun and more hyper! =)

after which, we tried the rock-climbing which is about 8 storey high (I think). Of course, yours truly went to try it. haha! its FUN!


The rock climbing wall. Not too bad. Quite a nice picture. haha!


People waiting for their turn to rock climb and conquer it!!!

after which, we had a small break from around 1130am to 230pm. haha! A LONG LONG break indeed. We went to this restaurant which Boss went to eat before. We tried the fishball and it is literately FISH-BALL. haha! YES! IT IS MADE OF FISH! first time I dare to eat REAL FISH! hahahha! oh well. it was quite a nice experience so yea. =) and we ordered a few other dishes to eat. The total bill is 150RMB! haha! SUPER CHEAP RIGHT??! the food is good. The service is not too bad. And the price is VERY GOOD! hahaha!

went back to the site at around 220pm and we started with a mini game. This time round, it is Simon Says. And the forfeit was VERY FUNNY! in the picture you will know why. Anyway, there's a upgrade version of the game which I thought was pretty good and I would like to try it next time for Trybe events! hahah! TRYBE, HERE I COME!! haha! BRAND NEW GAMES COMING UP!! WAhahahahahhaha!




This is Jacob doing the forfeit. haha! the forfeiters where supposed to do a flying action and say "我要去中国。" and move their position to another side and say "我要去长安。". haha! super funny.




and the same thing happened to Cheng teck. LOL. SUPER FUNNY POSE! =P

then we did this building thing to withstand a filled 500ml bottle. we were given 40minutes and limited resources. Lets see. A total of 16 straws, 16chopsticks, 20plastic cups (very cui type), two small rolls of scorch-tape, 8 pieces of A4 paper and two pairs of scissors. My team were split into two sub-teams where we were supposed to make half of the bridge each. It was pretty challenging as communication is very important!

haha! and this is the end product.


our end product. NICE HOR? colourful and durable! haha!


Re-adjustment in progress.

haha! overall it was fun and a wonderful day under the sun! =)


REFLECTION OF DAY 16, TUESDAY, 9th SEPTEMBER 2008:

Time: 9:19pm

Today was a outdoor activity day whereby we tried something similar to OBS in Singapore. Two of the main activities we did which had a huge impact on me were the rock climbing and the 9metre high broken bridge.

The rock climbing was something which I didn’t do for a long time. Yes I tried it a long time ago before my back injury and thus this time round, I wanted to push myself a little further in trying. It was a test of endurance and also my ownself. Although I didn’t manage to really complete it, what I’ve learnt from was the debrief point made by the instructor. He said, “When facing a challenge, it is not about the success or failure of it but whether you have tried your best or have given up halfway”. This sentence really spoke to me as I took the rock climbing as a challenge for myself.

Next was the jumping across the broken bridge 9metres above ground. Although I didn’t have the chance to try, I could see the expressions of the others who had the chance to try. Serious speaking, if I were up there trying to jump across, I would have taken a long time to prepare myself before jumping. Reason being that I would have thought what if I fail and knock myself and other worries would start to flow into my mind. After the whole activity, the instructor said something impactful. He said that whatever we see on the outside (physically) may be a small step in our eyes. But in the eyes of someone who is doing it, it may be something that is considered a big step to them as they would have gone through many other things such as internal struggles. In life, our greatest enemy is not one who is much superior to us but our ownself. This made a very valid point as many of times in life we find out that the only one we really have to try and overcome/defeat is really our inner self.

Overall, it is a tiring day but a very fruitful day. The instructor is someone whom we can learn from.

Learning in progress: Being able to process more

Once again, start of another new week which is filled with trying of new things and also exploring more of China!!

DAY 15

Morning had an assignment meeting with Jacob to settle some part of our assignment so we would be less busy during the later half of the week.

After which, we met up with the girls together with GY, Jacob and SK to go to 大洋百货 which is situated at 鲁巷. It is an area where there are a few major shopping centre for people to shop for things. Items ranging from clothes to electronics are available and there are many shops selling almost similar things. For the girls, their main focus was Carrefour. haha!


There's COFFEEBEAN in SINGAPORE!! haha!


This is how 大洋百货 looks like on the outside. GRAND HOR?!


and this is the electronic building. Like Sim Lim Square in Singapore.

so us the guys split ourselves away from the girls and went shopping in our own style. Looking for things in a random mode. haha! just walk around and step into shops when we see something nice. We walked around for almost 3hours++ actually. Pretty long time huh. That's only the 大洋百货 and we still intend to go to the electronic mall. it was quite interesting as 大洋百货 looks like Bras Basah on the inside. All the stairs and escalators.. Super interesting. Jacob and I still joked about seeing Art Friends and Swee Lee. hahaha!

Here's something interesting about the mall:


Click on the picture and look carefully. The english translation on asking adults to hold on to their children has been translated funnily. haha!


One of the statues we found on the first storey of the shopping mall.


Another one. The statue found Handsome me! =P

haha! we continued to walk over and did some more shopping at the electronic mall. Found some interesting things and I bought an earpiece! haha! its like 10 Sing Dollars only. quite cheap. and the quality is pretty good. FYI, I'm using it now. haha! the song I'm listening to now is David Cook's The Time of my Life. =)


Mini group picture while walking.


me with Pizza Hut!


nice fountain outside the shopping centre! IT IS VERY NICE!


REFLECTION OF DAY 15, MONDAY, 8th SEPTEMBER 2008:

Time: 11:47pm

I spent my time today hanging around with the guys from ICT and went to explore outside of school. We went to 大洋百货 which is at鲁巷. It is about 20 minutes journey from the school and it is a place with quite a huge shopping centre.

Spending most of my time out while spending time with my friends, I took some time to observe the people around us. I’ve come to notice a few things which opened my eyes. One of which is one that I have mentioned previously, which is how the shop keepers are able to be competitive yet remain friendly towards each other. We were at a electronic store which is similar to Sim Lim Square in Singapore. There, we saw many stalls which sell almost the same product. We were walking around to look for some products. Our intention was to find the stall that would offer a cheaper price before deciding to make a purchase. There was this incident whereby we spent some time over at a stall to look for external hard disks, trying to get the best bargains from it. I notice shop keepers from other stalls coming over as if to try and “steal the business”. Later on when I continued observing, they were actually there to help the current shop keeper who was attending to us. For example, when we requested for a new piece to be shown, the shop keeper of other stalls actually took the initiative to go over to the ware house area to retrieve the new piece of product. Such attitude is something rare in Singapore as people tend to mind their own business only.

With it, I’m even more convinced that people in China are really hospitable to people around them and they are willing to help each other even though they may be “enemies” in certain area. This is one important spirit which one should posses, being selfless. From today and previous incidents which I have observed, I’m more than determined to learn to be selfless towards people around me. There are always long term and short term gains from various decisions we make in life. With what I am determined to do, I’m sure in long term wise, it will benefit both me and the people around.

Learning in progress: Being selfless