Tanjung Balai, what’s that? One day, are you sure you will learn and help anything?

These are all the questions that I get when my friends and family know about the change in plans for TOOP. The question I asked some of my friends back was “What makes you think they need our help?” Dumbfounded, they could not give any insight about this matter. Overseas trips have been so frequent in many Singapore schools, I believe that TOOP Balai widen my exposure and taught me that we are all equal after all. Poor they may seem, the villagers are actually contented with what they have and what they are doing every day.

When we reached Tanjung Balai, I kept telling myself that “we are just a sea apart from Balai, but there is a stark contrast between Singapore and Balai already.” Departing Singapore’s Terminal, all was pristine and technologically advanced(with the automatic passport gantry); Reaching Balai, I was reminded of the old photos my mum showed me in the 1970s, somewhat primitive. It dawned on me about how good governance is so important to ensure progress for the country. Curious faces were all around us when we reached, thinking why a group of students coming to a non-tourist attraction like Tanjung Balai.

When we were at the village, interacting with the kids, I finally experience the difficult of language barrier. Before the trip, seniors and teachers were reminding us how language barrier can impede us greatly from the interaction with the villagers. Although there is Selvie in our group, she was not able to handle the active behaviour of the group and translate our words quick. Poor Selvie was called by our members almost every other minute. Although it cannot express totally what we want to say, hand gesture was the most effective communication tool during that period of time.

Intrusion was something I felt during and after the trip. It seems that we were intruding to their lives, their almost perfect lives. Were we actually impeding their lifestyles? Were there emotions that we did not notice? While we were preparing for the photoessay, I was confused about the promotion of the fishing village we have to do. Thinking about the short interviews we had with the people, they all seem contented with what they are doing. Why then, must we actually promote this fishing village to garner more volunteers? At the very least, this question answered the above question “ what makes you think they need our help”.

After all, this trip was an enriching one, there were really a lot of things to ponder about and learn from. I am not saying the one-day trip that we went or the one-room flat clean up that we did, but rather the whole journey which started since TOOP interview 2009. Although there are really times when I want to give up and not attend meetings, what spurred me on was the primary motive I signed the application form.

Sorry all if I did anything wrong and also thank you all for the memories given.:)

Shir Lin's Reflection

Just a few days back I was writing my letter to self and looking at the pencil cases we brought home, and I realized that we didn’t even try if the pens were working before we put them in. It felt a little slipshod, as though we were trying to finish packing and that’s it. And then after that it occurred to me: how will the kids react when they receive them? Do they even have pencil cases similar to these over there? The stationery inside may not be worth a lot but something tells me that they’ll like it a lot. And then I wondered how a typical kid here will react if we gave them those pencil cases. The drastic difference in their reactions tells so much. Back from the trip and I realised I learned a lot. Honestly speaking, I thought that the one day trip wouldn’t really be of much use but apparently it isn’t the way so. The two hour boat journey made me feel a little sick but I liked the mini buses we took after that because it felt like we all returned to our childhood years:D We had a short hour and a half to walk around the village and the life there is really different to what we have in Singapore. It’s so difficult to communicate and understand what the others are saying when you’re in a foreign area but luckily Izzah was there, and we found out that fishing is the main livelihood. From what I saw, it felt like fishermen were more well-to-do because they had concrete houses. We saw smiling faces almost everywhere we went, were offered fresh coconuts, and I felt very welcomed. I think if given a chance, I might want to stay there, probably will a better sanitation system or something. Their life is simple, but at the same time they’re happy with it and I think that’s the most important. The kids over there are not afraid of strangers, in fact they get to know them quite fast. We played a couple of games and there was the language barrier again so it was a little inconvenient. And I think that our games weren’t really suitable for their age because some of them thought it was difficult and they decided to stay away instead, but the “London Bridge” game we played after that was enjoyable for them. All in all, I felt that the trip was really fruitful for us even though we didn’t really do much for the people over there and if I was given a chance to start this all over again knowing that there’ll be all the cancellations and hardwork, I will make the same choice:D:D

Charmaine's Reflection

After so long, we finally embarked physically on our overseas trip. Though not to the initially-planned Yunnan, the experience was still a fruitful one. Our one day Balai trip took place on the 6 of March, Saturday.

I have gained much insight from this short day. Personally, I feel that, via observation, there’s so much to see in this world. In Balai, Indonesia, many of the little things caught my eye. From the moment I stepped out of the ferry, I noticed the vast differences in many aspects…

It was a whole new exposure there. Take the bus ride for example, it was memorable to me; there was no opportunity of such given to fortunate members of modern life like us locally. Having to be at an equally sunny and humid place, the breeze during the bus ride was comforting. During the journey on the bus, I observed the simple lifestyle they enjoyed and realized how easy life could be. Deep down, I was hoping for an extension of another day or two on the island  to be exposed to their culture, to learn from them, to appreciate nature’s way.

In the village, the warm welcomes undeniably broke the ice (for initially, the communication barrier was a major concern). The wide smiles they had, the energy they possess, their eagerness. There was an impressionable story of a Hokkien-speaking fisherman which I would like to share. He actually belonged to the city area and settled for the simplistic village life after his marriage with his wife. I feel that it is indeed a brave decision to withdraw from town, and to fish for a living, especially at a young age where many are seeking for job opportunities to improve their condition of living. This is just a mini extract of my meaningful experience there.

Contented as they can be, their actions are truly from the heart. I admire their simple way of living, and I am inspired by their views and how easily satisfied they are. I commend their positive attitude, and I am touched by their spirit and acceptance.

Yangyang's reflection

The one day trip to Balai finally signals the ending of our one-year long TOOP journey. Though it is a pity that we could not be able to make it to Yunnan last year, the experience in Balai is still enriching and unforgettable.

We set off from Singapore at 7 in the morning, after two hour’s journey on the ship, we finally reached Tanjung Balai. The first impression of Balai reminds me of the experience of Outward Bound Malaysia last year. I found that there were many similarities between Indonesia and Malaysia, the streets, the housing for example.

There was another hour’s bus ride before we reached the small fishing village. As soon as I got out of the bus, I saw the land under my feet was sand but not soil, I suspected that there was no agriculture here and this was proved later during our visit in the village. Another thing that was piercing to my eyes was the scattered trash in the sand. As I walked into the village with the unforgiving sun burning the ground, I found out that the sanitation here was very poor. The houses were built upon many poles, which elevated the house 1 meter above the ground. Rubbish was directly spilled on the sand below the houses. The school was actually a huge shelter, with no windows and no doors. The desks were kept in a small room and were only moved out when there was a lesson since the shelter is a multi-purpose hall to the villagers.

After lunch, our team took a walk around the village and I had a deeper understanding of the villagers’ lives here. This is the period when I learnt most.

We had a home visit of a household first. We went into her house as she was cleaning the floor. The house was really simple and shabby. It was totally constructed by primary material like wood and stones. There was a thin plastic covering the wooden floor but it is still bumpy. The conversation with the lady was quite awkward for me as I cannot understand Bahasa Malayu at all. Izza was our translator and besides waiting for her translation, the only thing we could do was to observe the house. I am not sure whether our presence was polite to the lady, as she appeared very timid and careful. I learnt that she was only 23 years old and she had 4 children already. Hence, she might have her first child at the age of 16? It was quite surprising as she appeared to be more sophisticated than her age. I still find that the conversation very ineffective. We couldn’t have a real talk and for me, I could not obtain information from her words and hence develop the conversation and ask more substantial questions.

Leaving the house, we walked in the village. It kind of reminded me of the rural area in China, all the disorganized houses, strolling animals and the less developed infrastructure. The only difference was the tropical weather and coconut trees. I often saw people’s happy faces; their expressions conveyed the enjoyment of their lives to us, the kind of life which seems peaceful, simple and harmonious, at least from an outsider’s eyes.

However, after the whole visit, I had several concerns. I did worry about how the village would develop: the scattered rubbish, the less educated people and the rampant industry of prostitution in this area that I heard about. All these suddenly give the peaceful village a dark and negative impression. I left the village with many questions bearing in mind. Was our service indeed helpful? Should we teach the kids and the villagers more knowledge on protection of environment or the importance of education? How could this village finally come out from the vicious cycle of property? I think the answer may ultimately lie in the hands of local people themselves.

Sauyee's Reflections

(I am writing this as I sit freezing in the air-conditioned bus on my way back home.)

Although our stay at Tanjung Balai, Indonesia, was no doubt short and fleeting compared to the scheduled Yunnan trip, there was much to learn even as a condensed version of service-learning. Very importantly, today’s excursion to Balai allowed us to exercise the questioning/reflective process that has been emphasized since our first SL workshop. In retrospect, though it’s regrettable that we didn’t make it to Yunnan, I believe that learning opportunities are abound so long as one looks hard enough.

Of course, skeptics may have reservations: was it worth it, so to speak, to invest all that energy, money, time into a 1-day trip for somewhat minimal, intangible learning outcomes? After all, pragmatically speaking, if we had saved on the ferry tickets and et cetera we could have channeled more funds to the needy in the village. Though a reasonable argument, to me this boils down to the rationale behind organizing overseas outreach programmes – the overseas component is essential because, by immersing participants in an entirely different cultural context, it allows one to be temporarily detached from the assumptions that are deeply ingrained in our belief systems, upbringings, or society. As the Chinese saying goes, “____.” In this respect, our rendezvous with Balai was not any lacking in impact.

First of all, there was the culture shock. As a first-time visitor to Indonesia and an ignorant teenager, prior to the trip I was oblivious to the fact that Singapore and Balai are – allow me to be dramatic – worlds apart. (While this is not to say that the latter is inferior, I merely want to highlight the stark contrast, considering the proximity of the two regions.) The Singapore Cruise Centre, the terminal from which we departed, was pristine, high-tech, quintessentially first-class; in contrast, its counterpart at Balai was humble, unpolished and somewhat primitive. One can instantly tell that Balai is not a popular tourist’s destination – the locals stared with unsuppressed curiosity as we marched past in striking orange and blue, and there were no shops (not to mention shopping malls) in sight offering souvenirs or maps for tourists. Motorcycles roamed freely on the road. Even the air smelled different – a tinge of seawater fused with people’s sweat in the unforgiving heat. I secretly wondered if Singapore, once a fishing village herself, was like this.

In addition, we had to confront the language barrier. Unable to converse even simple phrases in Bahasa Malayu or Bahasa Indoesnia, I was effectively handicapped. Although the linguistic prowess of Ms Yanti and Jin Yi in the group helped initiate and facilitate communication, there was this uneasy awareness that we are ultimately just outsiders prying into the villagers’ lives. Perhaps it was also the frustration of having no direct access to their thoughts, as we were treated as guests and conversations were very polite. Was the girl annoyed at any point, when we bombarded her with questions about her personal life? Were there nuances in expressions and underlying emotions that went unnoticed? The teachers told us that one of the region’s main trades is prostitution – was there any in the village? Is it a taboo?... Questions like these linger in my head. I just think it’s too condescending, and somewhat offensive, to see all villagers as one-dimensional and romanticize them as a universally good-natured people.


As the subzero temperature on the bus sends shivers down my spine, I can’t help but to miss the breeze that brushed against my cheeks at Balai.

Limeng's Reflections
Finally the long awaited trip! The night before the trip before I went to sleep I checked my phone to ensure that the trip was still on, after the previous two cancelation of the trip, nothing much could surprise me. To be honest, I was rather skeptical about how much we could learn in a mere one day trip, however somebody close to me once told me this “how much you learn is ultimately up to you”, hence I decided to put this to the test.

One thing I learnt from this trip is that all humans have needs and wants and we all yearned to be cared for and loved regardless of how old we are. On the boat I managed to initiate a conservation on the deck with some elderly adults and found out their purpose to the Island for most of them were for “company”. In the village itself the children really seemed to enjoy our presence and this could be due to their parents often being away due to them being at sea. These two incidents showed me how care and concern was important to us and how just a little of it could make a person happy, just like the many big smiles I saw at the village.

Be generous and willing to share, that was something I took back today. It cost us nothing to show concern and care for the people around us, yet it is something we are so stingy with. The small things that we do may mean nothing to us, yet it could make a person happy for a day.

“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18

Wen Qing’s reflection

We finally made the trip to Balai. Although it was only a short one day trip, I experienced many things during the trip that made me think and realize that although the village isn’t a very sophisticated place and that many things in the villagers’ lives need to be improved, they might not necessarily be unhappy there.

Before going to Balai, I had the assumption that the people there were not very happy with their lives and they needed help to improve their situation. But I was proved wrong when I first heard the laughter of the children when I was walking towards the main gathering area. They were extremely animated and were playing with each other while the older girls were sitting around watching them. Even though they have not had any proper education and they have a relatively lower standard of living compared to Singaporeans, they still managed to find laughter in their lives. I guess that might be because they have not been exposed to life outside the village and thus they are satisfied with their current lives.

My group also went to a home belonging to a family of 3 generations. We asked her if she finds it hard to live in her home, and whether it is difficult to go out to sea daily to fish. She told us no. She said that this is their home, and that there is nothing to be afraid of because they know their home so well. The family is satisfied and contented with their lives. There were picture drawings stuck on the walls; there were toy boats stuck outside the house. All this shows that although the villagers might be living small, they still lived in contentment and happiness. This made me think whether these villagers may really need a change in their lives. Perhaps they might need help in terms of fishing and earning money, but I think changing their lifestyle and their homes (To become more modern and clean) might prove to be harmful instead of beneficial to them. These people have lived in their village for such a long time. If their village was suddenly modernized, they would become strangers in their own homes.

I was also struck by how warm and welcoming every villager was. They answered our every question and welcomed us into their homes for us to nose around. They generously shared their food (Coconuts) with us and offered us spoons to eat. I bet things would be radically different if we tried to go into our neighbours’ houses in Singapore on the pretext of interviewing them; Singaporeans would be suspicious and worry that we might have some ulterior motive. The villagers actually believed that we are sincere in knowing more about their lifestyle. This point really touched me. Aren’t all human beings supposed to be like this? To honestly believe in others and to be open to others no matter the circumstances. I think living in town where there is deception and hypocrisy has developed in Singaporeans a wrong mindset.

The children were also very spontaneous and willing to get into the games. They tried to watch us and understand our messages even though we might speak a different language. During the tangle game, we could see that the children were seriously confused about what we were trying to tell them but they still tried their best to understand us. I felt that this was very heartwarming. They also participated in our games wholeheartedly and were willing to listen to us. Once again, this demonstrated how open the villagers are.

In all, this was definitely a very enriching experience. If I could, I would want to go back to the village to experience their lifestyles again.

Jin Yi's Reflection

Finally, we made the trip to Balai successfully as part of our overseas outreach program to serve and to learn last Saturday. Although it was just a one day trip, I actually learnt many things from the trip such as gaining a new perspective in life, a better understanding about the people in a small fishing village of Balai, a place beyond advanced technology like Singapore.

Due to time constraint, we only got to interact with the children in the fishing village for about an hour and roamed around the village to learn more about a fishing village like this. Time was precious, but we tried our best to capture everything we can.

My group and I together with Ms Azyanti chose to walk around to learn more about the place. I guess the place is really a typical fishing village. At the shore, there are many boats with fishing nets owned by the villagers which many used to fish in the seas to earn a living for themselves. There are many wooden houses scattered everywhere. They are not segregated with fences, not as organized as the houses in city area. There are dogs, pigs, and roosters wandering around the village. The families do not own any computers, only some families own an old television. Many sleep on the mattress on the floor. The living condition is generally poorer as compared to that in Singapore. Our group actually went to talk to the people about their lifestyles. Many thoughts flashed through my mind as I absorbed what I see and reflected upon myself how life had been for me. What struck me is knowing how simple their life is in a fishing village; how happiness and satisfaction could be easily gained from what they have. The feeling was indescribable.

I saw children entertaining themselves just by running after one another, climbing trees to pick up coconut, etc. Their smiles are simply innocent. Will the children in city like Singapore actually feel happy just by running after one another?

I saw almost every door of the houses was wide opened, the people do not seem to take precaution of thieves. Everyone seems to know one another very well. It is like the village is a big family. I wonder, how much do I actually know my neighbour? Do I even talk to them? Oh well..

I met a girl who is about the same age as me. A village girl who feels satisfied even though she does not have a complete education. A village girl who seems to have accepted her life of living in a village, a place of simplicity and tranquility, a place of growing up, getting married at the age of 18, bearing children and taking care of the family. I wonder, can satisfaction and contentment be achieved so easily for me? It may be different for a city girl like me as competition is necessary for the survival here. However, I guess I should learn to be contented in what I already have. This is what happiness comes in in life perhaps?

Understanding the different lifestyles of these people do make me feel that there is a need to help them improve their living condition. However, it is also when we serve that we get to learn to realize what has gone wrong in our very complicated lifestyle and that we may have lost the very simple form of happiness in life such as supporting one another in the family instead of craving for more material needs.

Roy's Reflection

My trip to Tanjung Balai, Indonesia on 6 March was a fulfilling one. Although it could have been better if it was slightly longer, I appreciated the opportunity I was given to take part in the trip. Our main activities for the 1 day trip was the home visits, interaction with the villagers’ children and lastly, interactions with the students living in the city area.
Through the home visits, I realised that people there have very basic necessities and carry on life with their counterparts at very young ages. What I learnt is how joyful and satisfied they can be, even without material well-being. Sometimes, I start to think whether or not I should be complaining on whatever small reasons. Life there is indeed less stressful, but given a choice, would I live there?

Well, probably no. That’s to be honest about it. I really admire how they can be so happy, friendly, generous etc. You can ask anyone in the village for something, anything. Take for instance, Ms Ang asked one particular family how they get the coconut down, and next moment, someone is up to get not just one, but 4 coconuts for us. I am amazed by how generous they are. Probably, if one were to ask me for, say, a packet of biscuit, will I give it to him/her?
I presume I will. And the spirit of give and take is what the people in the village have. And that is what I want and hope to learn from them.

Interaction with the villages’ children was very stress relieving. Their laughter, smiles and small little actions make me feel stress free. Although there were times I felt redundant because I wasn’t able to communicate with them, I feel that there is a bond between the children and us. Maybe you are wondering, what’s there to learn from a small little child? Well, when you fall flat onto the ground, would you complain and cry in pain? I think probably yes. But guess what? The children there don’t. Running, falling, standing, running again is like a cycle they experience daily, hourly. What I learn is that life is like a cycle, there will always be obstacles and we need to overcome it again and again. There is no point in stopping. If you do, that’s most likely the end of your learning journey.

Lastly, we visited the students in the city area in Tanjung Balai. Honestly, it wasn’t that fruitful. I thought that we could have spent longer time in the village. The reason is because of the short time for interaction and that they were of close age to us, within such a short period, it is difficult to overcome the barrier most youngsters like me and you have. Nevertheless, I realise that even children there have very few sources of entertainment and thus realised how fortunate I am to be here.

Izzah's Reflection

For the many of us who have held on for the entire journey of TOOP 2009/10, we have been enriched and had our perspectives broadened. With the Tanjung Balai Trip last Saturday as the last event of the many events that we have had in place of our Yunnan Trip, we finally had a chance to experience what we have been preparing for all this while; interacting with kids, residents, taking shots that would make up our photo essay but more importantly, to learn.

The experience that I would have gained from Yunnan would of course be so much different from what I have experienced in Balai. With the language table turned in my favour, I was able to interact with the people there conveniently. This made my experience more ‘wholesome’ if I could say as I was able to interact with the kids, which was the main thing that I was eager about. Though I am not sure what it would have been like going for a longer trip, I would have appreciated more interaction time with the kids and the villagers because the hour or two spent in the village was rather short and I could only get a little taste of what it is like to teach the kids there something. Nevertheless, I have learnt some things from the little ones as well as the other villagers.

On our photo-taking round, I noticed that the villagers were unquestioning and open-hearted. They didn’t question who we were, what we were doing there or where we came from (im not sure if they knew beforehand or if they were expecting us but we roamed quite far off and they did seem enlightened when we introduced ourselves.) but welcomed us when we asked questions and seek permission to see them pluck coconuts! One of the children’s mother even let us into her house welcomingly and was humble but at the same time contented with what she had in that little house that roofs her 4 children, husband and herself.

It was quite amazing to observe such behaviour because comparatively, Singaporeans would be more apprehensive and wouldn’t trust foreigners that easily to open up to them about their lives. It was nice to experience such a change; to sort of turn back time to when life was simple and people’s wants were simple. The villagers seemed contented as long as they could provide for themselves and be with their family, like how the mother was contented with staying at home all day waiting for her children and husband to return from school and fishing respectively. Comparing ourselves to them, we have so much material wealth but find it difficult to be contented because we always want more.

The children’s eagerness to get their heads into whatever we have lined up for them is also inspiring. I think it wouldn’t have mattered if we had explained the games to them in a different language because they would still say they understand the game; there were just that eager to play and see what’s in store for them. We should learn from these kids sometimes and be eager to get our heads into whatever’s in store for us and dare to try. It is only through daring to try that we can achieve big things; just like how we have achieved and gained from daring to plan and go ahead with this trip despite the many setbacks we faced along the way.

Selvie's Reflection

Being part of TOOP Yunnan made me realise that it is the passion and heart to serve and help that really matters. This whole service learning was not like any other service learning that i had had before-things did not go as smoothly as i thought it would be. We started from planning, raising fund, discussing the programmes, pilot test and when we were ready to go, the school did not give the green light due to the H1N1 pandemics. Then, we decided to go to Balai yet it was so unfortunate that a ferry sank, so again we had no choice but to cancel the trip. Nevertheless, it is our passion to serve that keep us going and made the one day Balai trip possible.

Although, the trip is really really short as we only spent less than 5 hours in the village, I indeed learnt valuable lessons from it. When we had just reached the village and had lunch with the children, there was this thought that struck me. Being an Indonesian myself, It struck me when I realise that those children that we were going to help and interact with are just like any other underprivileged children that I often found in parts of Jakarta. Honestly, I had never had the thought to help those children and i guess it is mainly due to my upbringing that made me thought that the chinese Indonesian and the native Indonesian are not related and majority (at least in the place where I stay) do not really care about each other. In short, we are just so segregated. I kind of felt the irony that when there are needy children around me I do not bother to help them but when i am so far from them, I allocate a time to take a trip down to their village just to interact and help them. at first, it was awkward to me but after a while i found out that the people there are so warm hearted! The children were so enthusiastic in interacting with us, the villagers welcome us and allow us to take a closer look to their lives. It dawned on me that I should start helping those needy around me and encourage my community to do so too-helping others despite our differences!

Besides, i also touched by the strong community spirit that they have. The people there know almost everyone in their village and for them having friends around them is something that makes life their colourful and enjoyable. It is very different to our society, where people are so ignorant to others around them. Indeed, we need to learn to appreciate simple things in our lives from them and we may have a better and happier lives just like them who live happily and comfortably despite lacking in material comforts.

Chin Hwee’s Reflection

After the 2 times of cancellation and postponement of trip due to unforeseen circumstances, we finally managed to go on the trip to Balai last Saturday for our long-prepared service-learning project. Even though it is a mere 1-day trip, I wouldn't say that I have learnt anything from it because what I learnt were bits and pieces of things that I gained by observing the happenings around when I was there.

The bus journey was a meaningful one for me as I looked out the window to watch the people, the things around. I observed how simple the people in Indonesia live their lives- for instance, how they find joy in entertaining themselves by playing around in the bushes by the sea, how little children walk long distances everyday just to attend school because the most common and affordable mode of transport is by foot. Many things I saw set me into deeper thoughts, which i can’t really put into words now. But what I can say is that in a backward country like Indonesia, a less developed country as compared to Singapore, people lead a very simple and easy life although they may not be as educated as us. On the other hand, we Singaporeans often take for granted the comfortable and convenient way of life we have.

At the village school, proper facilities were lacking but education goes on. Therefore, we have to be thankful for the proper school system we have back in Singapore. Nevertheless, I felt welcomed by the little kids, especially when we started to get ready for lunch. There were some of the children who quickly and kindly unstacked the chairs and helped us in arranging them orderly. Later on, they even helped to stack up the chairs when we were clearing up for games after the lessons by the other team. Indeed, we had problems controlling the kids during the 1h of games because of communication barrier. We had a hard time explaining to them what each game was about, instructing them what to go and it was extremely difficult to get them to settle down/quieten down. But after that I thought, maybe that is a learning process for us as we challenge ourselves to manage situations. When circumstances call for it, we have no way to escape, but instead accept whatever that is being thrown to us and learn to handle it ourselves.

I would not deny that the 1½h of free time we had to work on our photo essay was the most enriching part of the trip because my group not only got to wander around to see things but we were very fortunate to meet this 16-year-old teenager who was so nice to share with us about her family, her life and even warmly welcomed us into her hut. Although we couldn’t understand anything that she said, we were fortunate to have Ms Azyanti translating to us what the girl said. By asking her questions, we actually found out that how the villagers lead their everyday life, how much they depend on fishing for survival etc. However, what struck me most was that when we asked her what she usually does everyday, she mentioned that she spend her day doing nothing! I feel very sad for her because her routined lifestyle is all about watching television, playing with her turtle and sit by the door watching the sea, which I thought is rather meaningless. That was when I suddenly felt that perhaps the hectic lifestyle and work we have in Singapore are what make our lives more fulfilling. So I learn that maybe we should stop complaining about the tons and loads of stuffs that we have to do everytime.

Furthermore, it dawned on me about how the complexities of life in we people have made us pampered and have too high expectations of lifestyle and also entertainment. We seem to crave for the newest phone, the best food, the most excellent results and very often unappreciative of the many things around us. By looking at how people in Balai lead their everyday life and stay in such a run-down fishing village where tides go high just before their huts, I learn to be more thankful of the things, the people around me, definitely the concrete life.

In short, very trip gives a different experience. This short trip to Balai has certainly been an exposure, a learning experience for me.

Fang Ying's Reflection

Finally we made it for the actual trip. Although it was a one day trip, it was really short as most of the time was spent travelling. Nonetheless, it was really a great experience to be away from modernization and be at Tanjung Balai where we can enjoy the peace and relax from the fast paced society for a moment. Also, we took the opportunity to interact with some of the villagers and it really amuses me to how free and easy their lives can be, and how simple their dreams may be. One of the villagers that we talked to actually has seasickness and hence, she cannot go out to fish like the others and she would sit by the door and look out at the sea daily. We asked her what her dream is and her dream was simply to visit the Palawan beach, a 1.5 hours journey away from her house. It is important for us to feel contented with what we have, especially when people there can feel contented with what they have. Also, I was impressed by the close relationship they hold between their neighbours. As we were talking to the lady, different people actually were walking into and out of her house and they were all chatting happily, this indeed is a rare sight in Singapore nowadays and we don’t really have real neighbours in the sense anymore and we are all busy living our own lives. Also, another villager that we talked to actually offered us coconuts. Even though they may not be well-to-do, they definitely are kind and generous. I think this is the kind of attitude that we Singaporeans should really learn from.

Interactions with the children were really a new experience. It was really not an easy task and it really takes effort and patience to settle them down. Due to communication barriers, it was quite difficult to explain the games to them. However, the children were still quite enthusiastic. It was a pity we couldn’t really talk to them and know more about them but it was really touching especially when we gave out the pencil box. The happiness shown from the face is unforgettable. And how they would shout “THANKYOU” together really touched me. They are so easily contented with what they have, something that we never seem to be able to achieve. On the bus journey back to the city, I was thinking about this entire journey that we had since we joined TOOP. It may not be the best nor smooth journey, but it definitely is a fulfilling one. No other groups would ever experience what we have went through and learn how to pick ourselves up through the many obstacles. Although I still hoped that we could have went to Yunnan for that 12 days, this trip was really refreshing and I’ve never regretted joining TOOP!

Sihui's reflection
Heys. I’m typing this with my eyes half closed but I have to get this down today so I won’t forget what I have reflected on the bus. Our trip to Balai is something that I have not done before. There were many things that seem to be common yet, as children born in a developed country, I’ve failed to experience. Things as simple as tasting a yellow coconut, walking a crab and really seeing a turtle without going to a zoo are stuff that I only have a chance to enjoy today. With learning and experiencing things from the people in a small fishing village, it really makes the whole SL thing click in my head. I really received a lot but gave little today. Just yesterday, I was crying like it was the end of the world over my A level Chinese due to high expectations that could not be met. Today, while walking through the beach of Tanjong Balai, I am truly ashamed of myself and envious of their care free lifestyle. Men are all greedy animals; we are always not satisfied with what we want. Without comparing the village kids to us, just by comparing them to the kids in the more developed part of Balai, the difference is jarring. I still remember that Fang Yin and Roy were telling me that the kids at the Natalie’s tuition class were complaining about how boring there island is without a shopping mall or a cinema. These are also not found in the village; furthermore, the village kids do not even have an air con classroom compared to the tuition class’s kids. But, they are not complaining! In contrast, the village kids are more approachable and friendlier. They have permanent smiles plastered over their faces, contended with what they already have. Thinking about how happy they were to receive their pencil boxes and their extremely sweet and cute “Thank You”, it really make me wonder if a more developed society is a better one. With what they have, they seem to be happier than even me as a Singaporean, who has a better toilet, better food everyday, air con above my head 24/7… The interviewee that we have today over the beach just enjoys sitting outside her door and enjoy the sea breeze. Apart from housework and feeding her pet turtle ikan she practically does that everyday. This makes me really reflect on how happier she would be than anyone of us now. Another point that makes me really doubt our presence in the Balai village is the disposal of rubbish. With many Singaporeans going there once a month to play and teach the kids English, non-biodegradable items are also brought into the village. These villages do to have a proper disposal rubbish system as they do not have any of them until foreigners like us came. Today as we picked up Styrofoam boxes that were thrown by locals on the floor beside our holding area after finishing lunch. I had this weird thought that maybe if this area was not developed and they lived in their old ways by fishing, the area might not be as dirty as today. There were glass bottles and plastic wraps for food all around the village. These obviously were brought in with the development of the area. By realizing that we are the ones contributing to the village’s pollution problem, I really have doubts in our purpose of our trip. Have they gained from us apart from material wise or have we destroyed their environment and their way of life? By teaching them English and showing them the outside of the world, are we influencing them to become like us in the future? Making them to become selfish and unhappy humans or should we just leave them to become what there now and be happier than any of us? That’s what I’m going to wonder when I suffer through my A levels this year.:D

Hi team sihui here. I know you all have some questions about the items so here it is.
knife-$3.50(is for opening can food and other things)
poncho-$2(rainy days)
mess tin-$4 for a set which have two so you can share( for eating but can use for other stuff but last year they used it to cook too)
head lights-$6.50(with AAA battery and for night use. will be bringing one on friday)
Heat Pack-$1.50/pack(one time use recommended for sleep and getting out of bed)
dry shampoo-$1.50/pack(individual one time use,if u all wanna get bottle within grps please talk among your grp and see who will buy it)
Rubber mat-$3(putting over sleeping bag cos floor dirty and act as insulator against the cold floor)
gloves everyone have to buy lolz..

Date: 31 October 2009
Time: 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Venue: CR 111 & Asian Civilization Museum

Fang Ying's Reflections
The day didn’t started quite well. Although the designated time to meet was 8, at 8, there were only 3 persons. I don’t deny that I was one of those who are late too, although it was only 5 minutes on my part, I think it still reflect a lot of our attitude towards the entire thing. Izzah, who live at ang mo kio could come on time, there isn’t any reason why I, living in bedok, should be late. Hence, most of us took the opportunity to reflect upon our own actions. I think that there is no shame in making mistakes; we just have to learn from it and move on. At the moment, I promised myself that I would put in more effort, not just coming on time, but also in whatever things I do in future.
The “yes, no or maybe” activity made me realized that everyone has their own opinions towards different things. Not only we must have a voice of our own, we need to respect others’ opinions. We must admit the difference between one and another, and instead of trying to influence others, we should learn to accept them. Only then, we can work as one towards our goal.
We moved on to do the trial photoessay. We took a long time to decide on our theme and eventually chose passion. We wanted to know what people are passionate about doing. And we may from there, also see the difference between people in Yunnan and ourselves and probably learn from them. After the presentation, I realized that it is important that we do not assume. We cannot just trust our eyes, we need to use our mouth and ears to get the truth. If we merely just snap a photo and elaborate it based on our own thoughts, the photoessay may look nice but not as meaningful. My group, although did find out the truth, our photos don’t really depicts what we want to bring across. I think this is yet another experience. Due to limited time, it is difficult for us to take photos of the passion that someone have, hence this taught us that for us to be able to capture the emotions and actions that we want to, we will need to spend more time in Yunnan to capture that photo to use.
The visit to ACM was really meaningful to me. This is the first time that I really learn during a visit to the museum. Most of the time, I would just walk and walk and walk and wait for the time to leave. I guess this is because I felt that there’s a need to know more about China, before we really visit there. I felt that I have learnt the most in the Islamic gallery. Never did I knew, some part of china was mainly Islamic. We also saw some overlaps in the culture of china with some Islamic history. It was really amazing to see so many artifacts, especially those from China. History of everything is very important, however, before learning others’ it is very important that we are well aware of our own.

Charmaine's Reflections
-ABSENT-

Aonan's Reflections

2nd SL workshop

i was late for today's workshop cause i was too tired and the alarm did ring the next morning. Anyway, i started find to excuses again as it  is one of my biggest problem. I'll try to change it. I missed the 1st part of the workshop and went in the room without knowing anything, but i managed to catch up with the rest. We have to ask and find out what's happening around us, but not wait for people to tell you. Take initiative to do things, listen to others' opinions and at the same time learn to voice own views. 

photoessay trial: learn to observe the things around you even the tiniest details... and see things from different perspectives

ACM
i totally do not know the reason why we have to go to ACM before the debrief session. this is amazing that we can derive so many stuff from the artifacts. Respecting others' culture as we all know, but how many of us can really do that!? we have to have better and deeper understanding of others and appreciate them. Through the "3 Qns" session, i found out that we have lots of things to learn from each other not only the one you think is great but also those you may not like that much initially. Everyone has something special that you can learn from them. Appreciate things around you. Be aware your initial goals and aims of doing something as time passes, we tend to lose track of these mindset and yupp....

it was such a beneficial day and especially with amazing peoples.
Love the team and our trip to yunnan will definately be an awesome one :D

Yiguan's Reflections
I have learnt a lot through today's SL workshop. Since it's already nearing our trip, I feel that the team should be more responsible for our actions. A lot of us, including me, were late for the meeting. We were told to reflect upon our actions and I felt that I have not done my best in helping the team. I should take more initiative and help when I'm in Yunnan.

During the first activity, we were supposed to choose our stand (yes, no, maybe) on the statement flashed on the screen and voice out our opinions. I felt that this activity helped me know the group better. I realised that all of us has many different opinions and we should learn to be understanding and compromise with each other.

We were then suppose to do our photessay. My group settled on the theme 'passion'. Through this activity and sharing, I learnt that there is a lot more to photo taking and I am looking forward to do the photoessay in Yunnan because it will help me learn more about the villager's life.

The day ended with our trip to the Asian Civilization Museum. I was really forward to ACM because I havent been there for a long time. Also, I always have an interest in History. I found the whole trip very enriching but hoped that we were given more time because I couldnt finish looking through all the artefacts in the various galleries. I felt that the activity we carried out at the China gallery by finding an artefact which can represent our adjective was good and meaningful. I felt that I really learnt more through the sharing session as we questioned ourselves. I also know and bonded more about my groupmates too.

All in all, I enjoyed this week's Service Learning workshop!

Roy's Reflections
Last Saturday was a very fruitful day for me. I learnt many things through various activities that we carry out as a group or an individual.

Firstly, we had an activity (Yes, No, Maybe) that required us to make our own stand when we were placed in a situation in Yunnan. through this activity, I learnt the importance of making our own stand and voicing it out. One must have their own views on any situation. However, as we are a team, it is important for us to agree on a final say. It is especially crucial since we are going overseas and thus any decision made must be considered carefully.

Next, we went opposite to take photos. My group's theme is love. The mistake we made is not to ask the people we photographed for their views on love. this is because we believe that love is something that is usually beyond words. However, if we do not ask them for their views, what that is portrayed in our photoessay, may not be true. Hence, I learnt that only by asking the person himself, the truth will be conveyed. This is a good learning point since we would not want to portray the people's lives in Yunnan wrongly when we make a photoessay there.

Lastly, we went to ACM to learn more about Singapore and China history. Not only that, we went there to gain more insights on the Islamic world. Being a Singaporean, I do feel ashamed for not knowing our history and thus, it is then, that I learnt new things about Singapore. For example, the history of Singapore before Raffles founded Singapore in 1819 and what the Singaporean government did to ensure a cleaner environment in various rives etc. Knowing our roots is important when we interact with people of other countries, so as to be able to introduce our homes to them, painting a better picture in their minds about Singapore. Knowing other people's culture and history may also be important, so as to not make unneccessary mistakes or taboos of their culture and society.

Si Hui's Reflections
sorry for late post have Chinese paper that ended today.^^ Anyways reflecting on the ACM trip on saturday. OK I shall learn my lessons and stop posting the events. Well before the trip, we did the photo essay. From that, I've learn that to really understand a person, not only should you ask them question but also observe their actions. Some things cannot be assumed just by looking at the outside. There was this little and her grandfather that was extremely memorable, the love that her grandfather showed was extremely powerful. From what I could observe and from the photos that we have taken, sometimes, just normal trips and small details that you observe, may be the most beautiful thing on Earth. While that thought me observing skills, the ACM trip was more of appreciating different artifacts and another culture. There are a lot of artifacts that we have seen. However, through the sharing of artifacts that we have picked, I've learned to see things in a different ways. Through asking questions, I've come to see the artifacts in a new light! Well really hope that this help with my trip in YUNNAN! yay!
Sihui(15days to Yunnan!)

Wen Qing's Reflections
Service learning workshop part 2 started off with some minor scolding, this was because some of us were late. Also, some of our reflections were more like informative summaries of the day’s happenings rather than actual reflections. I think I’m one of those who have “summary-like” reflections, so I shall write more informally and properly this time.
I had no idea what happened after the “scolding” because I had PW consultation with the teacher. But when I came back to the room, I saw Post-its pasted on different glass walls. I asked about them, and Izzah said that the team had to write down a statement after looking at a photo of some children in a classroom. I read the Post-its which were more profound. The notes made me think, and I realized that if I was to write my own notes from the photo, I would definitely write something superficial, like “Dilapidated classroom with students working hard”, or something. We should not leave everything at surface level. Everyone should delve deeper into whatever information we have, just like by looking at the photo, we should see not just the details present, but also the reason behind why the photograph was taken and the rationale behind the behavior of any people present in the photograph. One should always think, think, think.
The photo essay was fun. Onions did a photo essay on “Dreams”, and everyone was quite enthusiastic. I was glad that we were interacting with the people and asking them questions. Dreams can mean different things to different people, and they can also change as times passes. What struck me the most was a father and his daughter. The father only wanted his daughter to be happy, but the child had dreams of becoming a dentist so that she could “make lots of money”. I thought this was quite sad. The little girl’s dreams obviously weren’t influenced by her father, so she must have got her money-making dreams from elsewhere. Is the society so money minded that even a little girl has been affected by it? What I feel is the most important in life is happiness. Happiness in a person would then affect other factors of one’s life and make everything fall in the right places. Money doesn’t do that. But I’m sure that as time passes and under the girl’s father’s guidance, the father’s dream of wanting his daughter to just be happy would come true.
After looking through the 3 groups’ photo essays and commenting, I realized that a good photo essay needs the correct angle, the correct actions of the people in the photograph, and the correct details in the photo! Also, it is extremely important to speak to the people we wanted to photograph because what we think the photo represents might not necessarily be what the people themselves thinks it represents.
Everyone had lunch, and the trip to ACM came next. I was frankly really really excited to go to the museum simply because I love museums. Everyone went to 3 exhibits: the Islam gallery, the China gallery and the Singapore gallery. The Onions went to the China gallery first, and there were really interesting artifacts and exhibits. I think China’s history is pretty amazing. I found my artifact there; it was an emperor’s robe. My adjective is “Unrestricted” and on first thought, I feel that an emperor embodies that. An emperor is free to do whatever he wants, even if his actions are not right, because the people will believe that he is the son of heaven. But upon deeper thought, I realized that this is not true. The rest of the Onions said that there are emperors who did not want to take up the duty of ruling the country. An example if Kang Xi, he did not want to be emperor but he still had to take up this heavy responsibility in the end. Hence Kang Xi had been restricted because he couldn’t do what he wanted. But Kang Xi still did a very good job of ruling the country in the end. I learnt that we should always do the best to our ability to any opportunities given instead of fighting it, because there is a reason why this opportunity has been given to us. When negative things happen, so we should not think about how best to force things to go our way but just to let everything take its course, we might learn and grow even more from this experience.
Onions also pondered over a lot of profound matters. We realized that no one religion is bad, it is the interpretation of the religion that is the crucial factor. Also, everything starts from a mere mortal. Look at Guan Yu and Buddha! Both of them were just mortals who found out the correct way of life and living. Guan Yu advocates righteousness and justice. Hanle pointed that both the police and the triads worship the same god, Guan Yu, which is kind of ironic, haha. Would Guan Yu have liked himself to be worshipped in the years to come? Would he have grown arrogant and lost his sense of righteousness and good character? I personally believe that he would not. If his good character and sense of justice has been so prominent and famous to have been noticed by everyone around him, he must have been a really good and kind person. Having such a character, he would definitely not grow arrogant and lose his personality. Mother Theresa is an example of an extremely kind person who became known worldwide, and she didn’t become arrogant. As for Buddha, we should learn more from his style of living, instead of praying to him.
We also spoke about the issue of contentment in the China gallery. Jia Ming pointed out that contentment is when someone does not have any wants anymore, but Hanle said that she is content. But it isn’t because she has no wants, but it is because she knows that it is quite impossible to achieve all her wants, so she is quite content with what she has right now. I think Hanle’s perception of contentment is very interesting, and it made me tell myself that I should learn to live with what I have, instead of fighting for things that I cannot get, and I would be happier that way!
The Islam gallery made me open my eyes to another prominent religion in Singapore. I learnt a lot about Islam, and the fact that Islam roughly translates to mean peace. All the terrorism in the name of Islam TTTT. Again, this is the misinterpretation of religion! In the gallery, I spent quite a lot of time listening to the electronic speaking machine thing, it was really interesting. I now have a rough idea of the religion and its origins. Izzah mentioned that the Islam gallery made her realize that reminders are needed in life. She said that being so caught up in her life and work, she let her religion take a backseat. It made me think. Sometimes people will get so busy with their lives that they will truly forget about what is really important to them. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the important things in our lives, or we might really lose track of them. I also realized that I have been allowing important things take a backseat in my life too.
The Singapore gallery was really puny, there were only a few exhibits. But I still learnt things from the gallery though! Things about Singapore I never knew, the Singapore rock, some old folk legends about Singapore and the hill with all the old kings of Singapore, wow. Although Singapore is a really small country, there is still rich history and legends that are waiting to be found out. There were also models of the old coolies, the sampan and coolies’ pants!
All in all, I think that I have really benefitted from the workshop. I am so glad to be part of the Yunnan journey :DDDDDDDDDD

Grace's Reflections
-ABSENT-

Date: 31 October 2009
Time: 8:00AM - 4:30PM
Venue: CR 111 & Asian Civilization Museum

Selvie's Reflections
-ABSENT-

Zhi Lin's Reflections
We began our workshop with some reflection- who, what, where, when, why, how. It struck upon me that i only have this little amount of knowledge of yunnan, and it's only two weeks away before taking the flight there. Urgency! for me, i realise that i have to take action. to know more about a little background information first then can we know more and learn more effectively :)

Then came more active session, whereby we had to voice out our opinions when questions were flashed on the screen. Like, "education project is the most important to bring the people out of the poverty cycle." (something along that line) and i was really shocked to see the difference in our team. We all have our strong point of view and hardly we can change one another's opinion. this was so evident when no one or maybe one changed his or her sides. then again, we really need to live with our differences in order to keep the harmony. moreover, the window glass, tainted window and mirror really made me think. how much do we often reflect upon ourselves? and not just by infering and describing? much more needed to be learnt i guess.

Another crux of the session in school today is to get out of school for our photo essay! it was really enjoyable. but when my rainbow group managed to get the photos based on "love" we forgot to ask for the truth. because what we typed in the essay was what we assumed. and i realised we must really plan and think first before executing. this is much more effective, especially with a clear goal in mind. :)

the musuem ended our SL workshop for today! singapore was a different country to me when i was in the museum. i didnt know singapore river was once ued for training. maybe i did learn that before but it was not that ingrained in my mind. i was exposed to all the past to all that i've never known. However, 20 minutes in each museum is never enough. What matters most is that we have to think and look things at different perspectives- the story behind each artefact etcetc.

A fruitful day today! :)

Ashlene's Reflections
I was so excited by the PHOTO ESSAY! (Of course not the one we had today as a trail at the hawker center opposite -.-)

Just that I realized how much interesting things we will be seeing in Yunnan when the Bedok hawker center is already THAT fascinating. However I was quite worried by our choice of topic, which is “passion”, ‘coz when we asked “What’s your passion? / What are you passionate about?” Almost ALL of the people would give us blank stares and mumbled to themselves, “Hmmmmm…passion…” and that was when we had to come in and cue them, or give them some possible suggestions. The other problem was that we couldn’t possibly show in on a photograph when their passion happened to be something that they were not doing at the moment, so we ended up taking pictures of them talking (and that was completely meaningless).

The photos that we are going to take in Yunnan should be informative, should be able to tell something that people do not know about them, and not pictures of villagers talking. D: I don’t know, but I guess we got to sit down as a group and discuss about the photo essay again ‘coz it’s not an everyday’s thing that we can go to some China village to take picture, I really don’t want to waste this chance.

We went to the Asian Civilization Museum in the afternoon to know more about the Chinese/Islamic cultures that is prevalent in the place that we are going to.

It has been a while since I last visited any museum and it was really great to get back there again. When I looked at those mysterious artifacts emitting a unique golden aura under the dim lights, I like to think about all the history it has witnessed. Who made them? Why they made them? For whom? Who looked/touched/used it before? It was really intriguing. But of course, strong realization of my own ignorant would then follow.

On the overall, I really enjoyed the workshop and I’m not saying this because this is a reflection or what, I really liked it ‘coz I felt I’ve learnt something, though it was hard to name it. You know the kind of feeling what you finished watching “The last lecture” or reading “Tuesdays with Morrie”? Yeah, that’s how I felt. Close enough.

Shir Lin's Reflections
Punctuality, and it tells quite a lot about us and our attitude. Just having almost the entire team late is not exactly the best thing to have, especially when our trip is just two weeks plus away. It is important to change now, and all it requires is just that little extra effort from us.
We continued with activities about the different viewpoints. I feel that this exposes us to different viewpoints and also teaches us to accept the views of others, enabling us to work together better in the future and in this case, the trip. We carried out our photoessay activity and my group chose “love” as our theme. We went around taking pictures that we think reflect our theme and worked on it. We made a mistake of not talking to the people about how they were really feeling at that point of time and to know about their own perspective. Instead, we captioned the pictures with what we think they are feeling, which is not accurate. I feel that it does not really matter to make a mistake, as long as we learn from it and actually talk to the people in Yunnan when we are doing the photoessay. I realized it’s not easy to finish the photoessay in just a short period of time because there’s a lot other things that we need to ponder over and take time to observe.
The ACM trip was to enable us to learn more about the Islam, Singapore and Chinese culture. Our first stop was the Singapore gallery. The exhibition showed how lives in the past were like, how Singapore was found etc. The Islam gallery exhibited a lot of albums on Arabic writings. I found out that they put a lot emphasis on their religion, sculptures, Arabic writings, even to the type of writing materials used. At the China gallery, I learned a lot more about the different meanings behind the porcelain sculptures and watched a video on the process of making one. It actually takes quite a lot of effort to produce one, hence perseverance is important here, and since most of the things are handmade, just a small error in any of the process will ruin the entire artpiece. We were also required to choose an artifact and ask three questions about it. And through these questions, I realized that there can be a lot of meanings behind these simple artifacts.

Jin Yi's Reflections

The day was well spent although it started with a scolding.

 

Learnt a lot when we were asked questions and had to choose whether our answer was a Yes, No or Maybe. Honestly, such questions never came to me until the teachers asked us. It was more like a wake up call. How little I understood initially about the whole SL trip. It kinda pushed me to think more deeply.. how we should consider the consequences of whatever we do and so on. Also, it enables me to understand that different people will inevitably have different opinions and perspectives. But no matter how different it is, we have to live with it and stay together as a team.

 

After which there was some quizzes for all the 3 groups. This session was to help us understand Singapore more and also be prepared to know what we want to learn from the Yunnan trip. I guess its important to have a mind knowing exactly what you want to achieve after this trip because people always tend to get drifted away from their goals.. just like how in life setbacks could pull you into the abyss of ignorance. And you forget the direction you are supposed to be moving towards to. Perhaps we really have to keep reminding ourselves and not let the same mistake repeat again.

 

Attempted a short photo essay with my group. It was not easy. Sooooooooo many things to consider. Our group focused on Passion. This was a hard topic because not many people understand what passion really is, or perhaps many people define passion differently. Many associated money with passion. I guess this is more like a need which drives them into thinking that they have the ‘passion’ to earn more money. Overall, it’s just hard to do. However, it may be different if we were to do such topic in Yunnan because they have a different lifestyle compared to ours. I am looking forward to seeing their responses. =)

 

Lastly, we went for a visit at ACM. This was a completely different experience when visiting a museum. We were forced to think more, to ask more questions and share our different views in things. We were asked to link an adjective which we came up for our photoessay to a display in the museum and we were asked to ask 3 questions.

 

Haha obviously we had to squeeze our brain juices to come up with the questions and to choose specifically what we want to use to link our adjective. It was not an easy task but it kept you thinking and wanting to learn more. I guess this is the mindset we should have when we embark on this trip. To learn more. To want to know more even if there may not have an answer. It’s a spirit. A wonder that so many questions can be asked just from a very simple thing. Getting answers that perhaps may not be satisfying. And then the hunger to know more continues to spur us on to find out…
That’s all for this post. Off to meet my pw mates for op practice

Izzah's Reflections
I initially had been wondering what we were going to the museum for; thinking that we were going there to study the heritage of Yunnan to better familiarize ourselves with the place. However, it surprises me, now that I look back, at how the visit to the museum was more than just a visit. By choosing the artefacts and explaining our choices, different topics were discussed with even more in depth (for my group at least) and it taught me several good lessons.
But before that, the photo journal section was an enriching part of the session. I have never done a photo journal before this and hence, was unsure of how to do it. Luckily, we were doing it as a team so it was not so bad. But, even as a group, we still got the way of doing a photo journal wrong as we did not discuss about this and took it that it would come naturally- since we thought that we just have to put what the people in our pictures have said in the captions of the photo + all the rush that we were in, we were unable to come up with something better. However it is from our mistake that we have learnt how to do a photo journal in the proper way; capturing the essence of our photos through the captions that tell the story of the people in the photos. Hence to do this right, we therefore have to interact with the people beforehand before we are able to really connect the picture with our captions. As simple as the task may seem, it actually involves a lot more preparation work.
Going back to the start of the meeting, reminders came (hopefully not to late) that made us aware of how urgent the situation is given the closeness of the date for take-off for the trip. This might not have been discussed very much by us as a team but I feel that many of us have taken this opportunity of being on the team as if it is a given. We must remember the initial stages of going through the interview and how much we had wanted to be on the team at the start of the year. By keeping this in mind, we can then better push ourselves and do the best for the team by having a sense of urgency and work better as a team.
Moving on, the trip to the museum was especially refreshing as my personal trips to museums before this were never this meaningful. Many would just go to the museum, look at artefacts and displays in awe, and then go home. But for this particular visit, I had personally learnt a lot more.
Firstly, the general lesson learnt, or reinforced in me rather, was that different people have different views and takes on certain issues and it is important for us to recognize this fact and be broad-minded as well as accommodating to others because ultimately, not everyone can agree with one another but they must then agree to disagree. This is especially applicable to us since we will be visiting a foreign land whereby certain practices may be different from those in Singapore and we learn to respect the people and their practices despite the differences. I feel that by being Singaporeans in itself, we are rather capable in this aspect as we are already exposed to different cultures and practices and are quite well-trained in terms of being able to respect others despite our differences.
Secondly, an important lesson was that sometimes people need reminders to remind them of who they are and their purpose for being where they are. For example, as I looked through the Islam gallery, I found that I was still very much in awe of my religion and realized how much I still did not know about my religion despite being a Muslim for 17 years! And that sort of reminded me that in the process of hectic lifestyle- with school and juggling the various commitments, what keeps me going is God and I have to be thankful to Him and do my duties to Him faithfully.
Another thing was if knowing or showing is more important. For example, if you know very well that filial piety is very important but you do not show it, then what is the point? In this case, I personally believe that showing is therefore more important as filial piety is actually practiced and hence, can serve as a model for the younger generations. However, at times, taking a step back and not showing what you know would benefit you more. As a general example, if you know how to solve a certain problem and instead of spoon-feeding a group an telling them how to solve the problem, just by taking a step back and allowing them to tackle the problem on their own, you may find that the group has shown you there are indeed many more ways of tackling the problem than what you already know.
Similarly, certain things that we thought had only one perspective to them could actually be viewed in different ways. In the museum, some of us thought that being content was an absolute situation to be in i.e. when we are content, it means that we have everything that we have ever wanted and therefore are happy. But others have actually viewed it differently in the sense that you can be content without having all that you want by acknowledging the fact that you can never get all that you want as human’s wants are never ending. By acknowledging this fact, you can then choose to be content with whatever you have because your wants are not necessarily needed.
In short, perspective was the main issue in this session and it has certainly taught my group-Onion- a great deal through the various activities of the day. It is then not enough to only bring this with us to Yunnan but also to apply it in our everyday lives as such lessons are important in life skills.

Fiona's Reflections

Jia Ming's Reflections
During the first reflection, we learnt the different perspectives of people. Some people are visual, analytic and reflective attitudes toward objects. this is important for us to know because we need to understand if our opinions clash. Rather than convince each other which opinion is superior, we need to understand that all the team members have to depend on each other, and if we have to spend time ironing out our misunderstandings, we will be ineffective and inefficient as a team.

Furthermore, the variety of opinions is useful for the generation of ideas and strategies in Yunnan. For example, different opinions are able to be considered, and between the different perspectives, we can come up with better and stronger programmes and contingency plans within the Yunnan trip.

At ACM, I definitely saw the Chinese culture from a different perspective. We saw the rich heritage of China (spanning more than 5000 years), and in contrast to the Singapore gallery, which was a mere few exhibits, we can see the major differences between the two nations: China has a far more rich heritage, deep culture and advanced philosophy. Hence, rather than entering that nation as 'superiors generating change', we definitely cannot upkeep this attitude. We should see it that our trip to China is into a nation of much to teach up, and we need to be humble in our guest country.

During the Islam exhibit, I learnt the base of that religion. Islam itself means 'peace', and hence, the current media stereotype and biasness as well as racism, we need to remember that we should not judge a religion based on its violent extremists, rather, on the true merits of its philosophy and teachings. This is important for our Yunnan trip as we not only need to understand their cultures and respect them in Yunnan, a Islamic majority, we also need to understand that religion affects not only their tradition, but their general way of life - by finding balance and peace in their actions, and seek refuge from sin and be righteous in their actions.

While I am not a man of religion, being an Atheist, I learnt that today, when in Yunnan, I will respect the Islamic philosophy, because its is meritorious and definitely its teachers and guide us to be better people. The project has definitely been beneficial to me, holistic in its ways, through mindsets to even being empowered by the many experiences I've been through throughout the Yunnan Experience.