OELP reflection---Douglas ^~^

Over this 7D6N OELP trip to Taiwan, my knowledge on Taiwan's grew. Through this fun and exciting experience, I learnt more about Taiwan's culture. Many unforgettable memories as a class were formed along the way. Woohoo 2L the most awesome class ever! Taiwan is honestly quite different from Singapore's way of life. The people there mostly only know how to speak chinese to I find it hard to communicate with them at first as I tend to add in English words when I talk to them. But after awhile I got used to it. When I visited the one of the schools in Taiwan, I realised that their education system is much more carefree and relaxed compared to Singapore. Also, there are aborigines in Taiwan. That's something Singapore doesn't have. The Aboriginal culture village was one of the places I liked the most. I was very interested to know and learn more about the different tribes. At the culture village, not only did I learnt more about them I also had fun at the FREE FALL and the VIKING! We also experienced the night market in Taiwan. I really like the atmosphere there. It is sooo much bigger compared to Singapore's. I also realised that the people in Taiwan are very friendly. It's very easy to start a conversation with them. One experience was when i was at the night market. I was holding on to some rubbish as I couldn't find a dustbin. I was surprised when one of the  vendors offered to help me throw it away. However there is one  thing I personally think Taiwan can improve on is their road system. Cars are going in all directions and it's very dangerous when crossing the road. Through all this, 2L bonded a lot as a class. To sum up, this trip is not only enriching, we also had fun along the way. I really hope we will have a chance to go on a learning trip as a class again.

                               

                                   

Day 1:

After the long flight, i cant believe im finally in TAIWAN! I am very excited as this is my first time coming to Taiwan. After we reach the airport, we took a high speed train to Hsin Chu. It was a really fun experience. By then, it was around 6+. We were all tired after the long hours of sitting on the plane, bus and train. Then we checked in to our hotel. Finally... Wow! The hotel was alot better than i expected. Haha! That marks the end of our day. I really cant wait to find out what fun and exciting experience awaits us on day 2. *yawn* after playing games with yx for awhile, we went to bed... woo hoo! An interesting day tmr! I am really happy and hope that trip will be a fun one. This shall be a good learning experience and a time whereby my friends and i can bond together. *clap clap clap*

Day 2:

Today,I went to visit a school in Taiwan. When I entered the class, I felt really welcomed as they won't shy or quiet. As the day goes by, I felt that their education system is really different from Singapore. They were really noisy throughout the whole lesson but the teacher didn't scold or even at least remind them of their noise level. I would have been different in Singapore as I'm sure we would be reprimanded for that amount of noise. During lunch, instead of going to the canteen, the student brought their own lunch to class to eat. They even have some time on their own to sleep or do their own things and that's something we don't have I singapore. It was a really nice experience the see and learn about the different between Taiwan and Singapore education system. I feel that I would be nice to have something in between the both, not too relaxed and not too stressed. Haha but I guess that will never happen though... And that's how my second day in Taiwan ended. I had a great time with the Taiwanese students as they were all quite friendly never reluctant to offer help.

Day 3: 

Today, we visited the international school IBSH. As i sit through the lessons, i felt that the atmosphere was rather different as compared to Singapore. The lessons were light hearted and carefree. From what i can notice, the teacher and the students were very close infact i will say more like friends. However, singaporean teachers only come into class for that sole objective of finishing the syllabus that would be tested in our exams. I feel that fun lesson will help us in absorbing more of what the lesson taught us. We also visited the Hsinchu Glass Musuem. I was really astonished by the wonderful glass artifacts. I never thought glass sculpture could be so nice. I also bought some souveniers at the gift shop. I really enjoyed my today. Thats all for day 3~

Day 4:

Today, we visited National Taiwan Arts Musuem, Formusan aboriginal culture village and Fei jia night market. I was really happy to be able to look at all the beautiful paintings painted by famous artists. I also learnt alot from the person that walked us through the musuem. Next, i was fortunate to be able to go to the aboriginal culture village and learn more about the aborigines that i have always been very interested in. I finally got to look at the aborigines with their fascinating costume and housing. I was also shocked to see all the fun rides at the culture village. I think i would call it an amusement park instead. And im proud to say i conquered my fear of heights at the FREE FALL. The cable car ride was awesome as i got a birds eye view of the culture village. I am really happy to spend the day with my friends while having fun and learn about the aborigines. Last but not least, we went to the night market that was the highlight of the trip for me. The food was scrumptious and the fashionable clothes were sold at a reasonable price. The night market is really suited for teenagers unlike singapore‘s pasar malam that attracts the older age group. To end off, this was the best day i spent in taiwan. Good night and day 5 here i come~

Day 5: 

Today we visited the Lugang old street, 912 earthquake musuem and XI MEN DING. As we walked along the Lugang old street, i noticed that the streets were built very narrow and long whereas the doors were small and short. Due to Taiwan‘s large land mass, they were able to preserve such traditional places unlike singapore. At the 912 earthquake musuem, i learnt alot about the earthquake that was of a great magnitude. I felt really sorry for the people that lost their lives or family members in that devastating disaster. I feel that by rebuilding the earthquake site into a musuem to educate people about it was a really good idea. And last but definitely not the least, we went to Xi Men Ding where i spent most of my money at. Shops were everywhere but sadly we were only given a mere 2 hours to shop on our own. As my friends and i roam around, i really like it compared to the big sole shopping mall in Singapore as it was fun to run along the street when we saw a store to our liking. There was a large variety of stalls selling all sorts of things. I definitely enjoyed myself thoroughly today. I will never forget the experience at Xi Men Ding.

Day 6: Today, we visited Shih-Fen Old Street, Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall and the  National Palace Museum. My experience at Shih-Fen was something i will definitely not forget. Getting to walk on train tracks and releasing sky lanterns was really fun and it was my first time doing so as they are banned in singapore. As i watch my wishes soar up high into the sky, i felt really excited. Moreover, the scenery there was awesome. My friends and i took lots of pictures to remember that moment that will never happen to us again. Next, we went to Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall. I learnt more about Sun Yet Sen and his contributions. And lastly, we went to the National Palace Museum where i saw all the artifacts from long ago in the dynasty. They were all beautifully crafted and i think there are no one now alive capable of doing such work. It was really a fruitful day as i learnt alot from all the museum visiting. Thats it for Day 6. Feeling really sad that the last day is coming soon.

Day 7: Today is the last day of our 7D6N trip in Taiwan. After breakfast we went to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. It is situated near Taipei 101 so i managed to look at it. Inside the memorial hall, there was a large statue of Chiang Kai Shek. From this trip, i also learnt alot about his contributions. Next, we went to the eslite bookstore, the last place we are going to on this trip. The bookstore was 7 story high. It was more than a book store with restaurants, and other stuff in that building. And i guess everything has to come to and end. This marks the end of our trip to Taiwan. We make may our way to the airport, we said our well wishes to the awesome tour guide that had accompanied thoroughout our trip. And soon we were on our way home. This trip really bonded the class together. I will never forget the days i spent with my friends. I really hope that i would have another chance to go overseas with my entire class.