Rendao's OELP Reflection

On 25 June 2014, all 33 of us 2F students started our
overseas learning trip to Hefei, Anhui. I’m sure every one of us enjoyed the
trip, and ultimately brought back to Singapore wonderful memories, but more
importantly values and knowledge that would otherwise not be picked up in the
classroom back here in Singapore.

                The
major places that we went to was the industrial visits (Meiling and iflytek),
the school immersion to 合肥科大附中, cultural
places of attractions (李鸿章故居，包公祠，三河古镇),
Huangshan, 西递 and 宏村 Ancient Villages and 屯溪老街. 

                The
industrial visits taught me more about China, and removed my stereotypical
mind-set about China that she was technologically laid back and products there
were of poor quality. Iflytek, a local company, opened my eyes to the
innovative minds of the Chinese, and to me, their voice recognition technology
was in fact better than that of Apple. Furthermore, 80% of their employees were
from their local universities, proving that there was no lack of talent in
China. Meiling, a company that manufactures refrigerators, exported their
products overseas to European countries, showing (proving) that Chinese
companies are not unpopular.

                The
school immersion was an eye-opener, as it was my first time participating in a
school immersion. I was nervous at first, as I did not know what sort of teenagers
they were, and I was afraid that I would do something that may annoy them. In
the end, my buddy was rather friendly, and gave me many gifts, among those were
a few that represented the Chinese culture (brush, scroll). Her name is 付悦. Although I only got 2 days to know her better, I learned a lot
more about her. My deepest impression, though, was that she and her class were
actually rather sociable and carefree, not to mention caring. One of them even
took time off to make handicrafts for all the Singaporean students that went to
his class. These 2 days changed my perspective of the Chinese students. Before,
I thought they were not a sociable lot, and knew only to study hard. However, now
I know that besides being studious they are also carefree and sociable; fun to
be with, just like us.

                Also,
they are allowed 10-minutes break in between lessons, for eye exercises, or simply
to run around the track. This gives students a chance to relax after a lesson,
or simply some time to absorb what the teacher has just gone through. 

                The
visits to cultural places of attractions showed me about the rich history of
China, and it also tied in well with our History syllabus we learn in school,
giving us a deeper understanding of famous revolutionaries in the past that
made an impact on the various dynasties. It also showed us how the Chinese
value these pieces of history, and made an effort to preserve these places of
attractions. For example, 李鸿章故居 was right smack
in the middle of a shopping district, and instead of replacing it with a
shopping mall to earn more money, the Chinese preserved it. From these famous
people that lived in the past, I can also learn from them, as many of them
exhibited exemplary values. For example, 包拯 was a court official that lived in a time where corruption was
strife. However, he was an honest official who was not corrupted, and even
punished his own uncle when he did wrong, and did not lessen his sentence just
because they were related. He was also a filial son, and continued to remain
with his parents even though he could work in another location with a higher
position. Also, when his parents died, he remained by their grave for three
years, further demonstrating his respect towards his parents. 

                Lastly,
the trip to Huangshan was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trip. We
spent an entire day as a class climbing Huangshan, and in the end we made it to
the second highest point on the mountain. Through the climb, we had to
persevere on despite the burn in our legs, and encourage each other when we
felt like giving up. Although the climb was tiring, the view at the top of the
mountain more than made up for it. As a class, we went through the tough times
together, and bonded as one. It was definitely something we would not be able
to experience in the classroom, not to mention Singapore. 



                As
a whole, this trip was fun and fulfilling, yet at the same time I learned many
values that would otherwise not be learnt in the classroom. I would like to
thank the school for this amazing opportunity, and I look forward to more
interesting activities to come.