Ahhhh Finally I feel much much better as compared to yesterday. Today's tour required us to walk more as we are going to many different locations like the Beijing Olympics Stadium 鸟巢, National Palace Museum 故宫博物院, National Theatre for Performing Arts 北京国家大剧院 and Tian An Men Square 天安门. It was loads of interesting factual information about the History of China which covers the high power distance between people.
As the world is modernising, the power distance ratio in some countries are decreasing to make the world a more comfortable place. In the past, the Emperor (President) would have a separate road to walk on and separate door to walk through. But now, the President uses the same road as everyone and uses the same door that many other people walk through.
However, as China only opened their doors to the world less than 100 years ago, they have developed to a country where people are willing to invest a lot into but there still much more to improve. That rate of development is not so rapid as compared to Singapore because of it's size! TianJin itself is already ~15 times the size of Singapore. Imagine the time needed to develop the whole country to it's full potential, that is going to take quite some time. The overall state that it is brought up to now is considered to be shocking as they did it in just 62 years. Determination is key.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
11 more days! - 1st April 2011
Ahhhh Finally I feel much much better as compared to yesterday. Today's tour required us to walk more as we are going to many different locations like the Beijing Olympics Stadium 鸟巢, National Palace Museum 故宫博物院, National Theatre for Performing Arts 北京国家大剧院 and Tian An Men Square 天安门. It was loads of interesting factual information about the History of China which covers the high power distance between people.
As the world is modernising, the power distance ratio in some countries are decreasing to make the world a more comfortable place. In the past, the Emperor (President) would have a separate road to walk on and separate door to walk through. But now, the President uses the same road as everyone and uses the same door that many other people walk through.
However, as China only opened their doors to the world less than 100 years ago, they have developed to a country where people are willing to invest a lot into but there still much more to improve. That rate of development is not so rapid as compared to Singapore because of it's size! TianJin itself is already ~15 times the size of Singapore. Imagine the time needed to develop the whole country to it's full potential, that is going to take quite some time. The overall state that it is brought up to now is considered to be shocking as they did it in just 62 years. Determination is key.
As the world is modernising, the power distance ratio in some countries are decreasing to make the world a more comfortable place. In the past, the Emperor (President) would have a separate road to walk on and separate door to walk through. But now, the President uses the same road as everyone and uses the same door that many other people walk through.
However, as China only opened their doors to the world less than 100 years ago, they have developed to a country where people are willing to invest a lot into but there still much more to improve. That rate of development is not so rapid as compared to Singapore because of it's size! TianJin itself is already ~15 times the size of Singapore. Imagine the time needed to develop the whole country to it's full potential, that is going to take quite some time. The overall state that it is brought up to now is considered to be shocking as they did it in just 62 years. Determination is key.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
12 more days! - 31th March 2011
Today, I realised how worried parents can get and how helpful friends are.
As today was the first trip to Beijing since the start of the OIP, we went to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven. When we went to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven, I had a weird sense that I've been here before. So I thought back and remembered that I've actually been here with my family before! It really brings back good old memories from 4 years ago and I still remember the incident where I quarreled with my older brother.
Now as everyone grows older and becomes much more sensible, you would laugh back at all the silly things you've done and ask yourself why did you do it. Really nice memories.
Later in the day when we got back to the hotel, I was feeling slightly feverish so I opted out to go for dinner and stay back to take a nap. Tresca was also not feeling to well so we stayed in the room to rest. When we both woke up, I saw 2 bowls of porridge placed on the table so I asked Tresca who bought them. He told me Chia Chun went around to buy them for us. I was really touched by his care and concern even though we were not very close.
Next, I called and told my mum that I fell sick and so her nagging started over the phone. It has been very long since I last heard here nag and I felt warm inside as she scolds because she cares alot. Most of the time, she would be the one who keeps calling me to take my medicine and even bring it to me. That motherly love can never be replaced by anything or anyone. ♥
As today was the first trip to Beijing since the start of the OIP, we went to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven. When we went to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven, I had a weird sense that I've been here before. So I thought back and remembered that I've actually been here with my family before! It really brings back good old memories from 4 years ago and I still remember the incident where I quarreled with my older brother.
Now as everyone grows older and becomes much more sensible, you would laugh back at all the silly things you've done and ask yourself why did you do it. Really nice memories.
Later in the day when we got back to the hotel, I was feeling slightly feverish so I opted out to go for dinner and stay back to take a nap. Tresca was also not feeling to well so we stayed in the room to rest. When we both woke up, I saw 2 bowls of porridge placed on the table so I asked Tresca who bought them. He told me Chia Chun went around to buy them for us. I was really touched by his care and concern even though we were not very close.
Next, I called and told my mum that I fell sick and so her nagging started over the phone. It has been very long since I last heard here nag and I felt warm inside as she scolds because she cares alot. Most of the time, she would be the one who keeps calling me to take my medicine and even bring it to me. That motherly love can never be replaced by anything or anyone. ♥
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
13 more days! - 30th March 2011
Finally! One module is cleared and we finally have a much more relaxed schedule. It being Mr. Tan's birthday today, all of us were busy preparing for his birthday celebration. 2 days back, we went around to look for a bakery and found one which has a 3 layer cake! In Singapore, a 3 layer cake would cost about 200+ but the one we saw cost 260... RMB! That equates to about 52SGD which is 1 quarter of Singapore's price. Immediately, we all agreed and took the 3 layer cake. Here's a picture of it!
As we are going to Beijing tomorrow, the role call was pushed earlier to 2200. Therefore, Mr. Chua helped us along for the night mini party at Buddy's Cafe in the Basement by dragging Mr. Tan to the cafe. Everyone had an enjoyable time and the person who has the most fun was Mr. Tan. He told us that every year, his family would buy a cake and sing a birthday song to him. But this year, it was different. We celebrated with him on behalf of his family and we could see tears in his eyes. That was the first 3 layer cake anyone bought for him for his birthday and the biggest one ever!
As a student, it feels really good to see our lecturers having a big smile on their faces and knowing you are the one who put it there. That sense of accomplishment is totally heart warming.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
14 more days! - 29th March 2011
Today was a day that I hope would only happen this time and never again. The reason I say this is because I did something terribly wrong today and I understand how Mr. Tan and Mr. Chua feels. For the OIP trip, they are like our parents to us and to them, we are their kids.
The days goes like this... As tomorrow's the final paper for APPG, everyone was busy mugging really hard for the paper. But during lunch time, I went to the hairdresser to get my hair cut, thinking that it would just take a while, which in turn took much much longer than anticipated.
Not to push the blame around or anything but I had the decision in my hands. I could have when to get a haircut after APPG and not during lunch time instead. Totally terrible terrible mistake I've made which made both the lecturers upset and made everyone's moral drop too. That feeling of knowing what my actions have brought upon also makes me upset and feel lousy.
Therefore, during the roll call in Mr. Tan's room, I shared how I truly felt about the incident. As I'm brought up in a way where leaving things unsettled causes me to be in a very depressed mood, I really shared and told everyone to not follow my footsteps. After sharing, he said this to me which really made me feel better. Mr. Tan looked at me and said "Being accountable is one thing but learning from your mistakes is the biggest thing". What is past is past, the only thing you can do is to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them again.
It almost brought tears to my eyes as I never expected Mr. Tan to even forgive me the slightest bit for doing what I've done today. I guess not every lecturer are willing to give a second chance and this was a real close call to be sent back because of today.
The days goes like this... As tomorrow's the final paper for APPG, everyone was busy mugging really hard for the paper. But during lunch time, I went to the hairdresser to get my hair cut, thinking that it would just take a while, which in turn took much much longer than anticipated.
Not to push the blame around or anything but I had the decision in my hands. I could have when to get a haircut after APPG and not during lunch time instead. Totally terrible terrible mistake I've made which made both the lecturers upset and made everyone's moral drop too. That feeling of knowing what my actions have brought upon also makes me upset and feel lousy.
Therefore, during the roll call in Mr. Tan's room, I shared how I truly felt about the incident. As I'm brought up in a way where leaving things unsettled causes me to be in a very depressed mood, I really shared and told everyone to not follow my footsteps. After sharing, he said this to me which really made me feel better. Mr. Tan looked at me and said "Being accountable is one thing but learning from your mistakes is the biggest thing". What is past is past, the only thing you can do is to learn from the mistakes and not repeat them again.
It almost brought tears to my eyes as I never expected Mr. Tan to even forgive me the slightest bit for doing what I've done today. I guess not every lecturer are willing to give a second chance and this was a real close call to be sent back because of today.
Monday, March 28, 2011
15 More Days! - 28th March 2011
2 more days and APPG would be over! It's shocking how time flies when you're balancing Studies and Play at the same time. For the whole day, all of us were mugging very hard for the last few chapters as it wasn't so easy to pick up the logic on how Methods and Arrays works. Mr. Chua saw us struggling with the chapters and so, he went through line by line, word by word to make sure we get everything right.
His teaching methods are quite different from other lecturers. At first, we would do it on our own and he would monitor our progress. Only when the exam date is near, he would try to clear up any doubts we have. I feel this way is effective as when the exams are near and you still don't understand, the mind would go all out to remember things that are needed. So by clearing the doubts a few days before, it would still be fresh in our heads. Our lecturers are fun people and at the same time caring which is rare as from what we hear from the other groups.
His teaching methods are quite different from other lecturers. At first, we would do it on our own and he would monitor our progress. Only when the exam date is near, he would try to clear up any doubts we have. I feel this way is effective as when the exams are near and you still don't understand, the mind would go all out to remember things that are needed. So by clearing the doubts a few days before, it would still be fresh in our heads. Our lecturers are fun people and at the same time caring which is rare as from what we hear from the other groups.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Day 20 - 27th March 2011
Well, this being a Sunday, I've quite sometime on my hands so I've decided to blog about the things that makes me think. Even though it is the weekend, all of us are busy trying to finish up the Wine Factory Presentation and study for the upcoming test on Wednesday. The weekend is to give us free time but how we use that free time is another thing.
It doesn't mean that when there is free time, we have to go out and shop or watch TV. That is the wrong mindset and till that changes, it never gets you far. The reason is because if the hunger for knowledge or the responsibility of completing your assignments on time doesn't affect you, survival in the real world is impossible under these circumstances.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)