Week Five

It is the second last week in wuhan.

Monday

Discrete Mathematics Lesson (Trees)

Tuesday

We had the other half of the IS lesson on chinese traditional thoughts by director An. We were taught more on taoism and buddhism. It was said that the doctrines of confucianism and taoism complement each other, running side by side like two powerful streams through later Chinese thought and literature. I learnt that taoism advocates a more carefree flight from the responsibility and conventional duties of society and they turned to nature for the secrets of life. Taoism is often pursued by them in their private chambers or mountain retreats, seeking to get rid of the cares of official life and the pains in social experience.

The word Tao means “a way” or a “road”. Sometimes it denotes the “channel” of a river. In general, it means “the way to go”. It includes to the standard procedure of things, the correct method of their operation and behavior. In our daily life, we can often hear dao. Example:

• 白道黑道门道
• 道德道理行道

All these (dao) are what we often encounter in our life. The taoists are situated mostly in the Wudang mountain where many taoist monasteries can be found there. The mountain is known for practice of mediation and chinese martial arts. Wushu is originally from taoism. Here is one video of wudang wushu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmOnNcRBSjE Through the lecture, what interest me the most was the story of The Happiness of Fish(鱼之乐). The meaning behind of the story was trying to explain that either anyone of us will be able to understand one's feelings fully. I felt that it was so true because no one can understand someone else feelings so clearly than himself or herself.

其实鱼也好，我也好，我们谁也难以知道对方的感受，却往往将自己的感受转移到对方的身上，以为对方就是这么想的.

This sentence made me reflect on myself. We should not put our own feelings towards a situation and think that it is also the same feelings others have towards it. This is because we are not them and we are unable to experience how they feel.

The lecture have also touched on the topic of buddhism which is my religion. I did not know that buddhism was founded by prince Siddhartha, son of king suddhodana (pure Rice King) of kapilavastu in central India. (present-day Nepal), between the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. prince Siddhartha was also known as sakyamuni which means “the wise man of the Sakya clan”. He had given away the luxurious royal life and meditated under the papal tree and had become Buddha, founder of Buddhism.

One of the question asked during the lecture was : "How should we deal with our human desire." My answer to this question will be self-control. We need to control ourselves from temptations and think twice before making a decision. Then, we will be able to deal with our human desire. We have to think whether the desire will bring us more advantages or disadvantages.

Mid Autumn Festival Celebration




After the IS lecture ,we had a mid autumn festival celebration with the school of foreign language students. They organised some interaction games and was held at the staff clubhouse. There are gym, singing lounge and many other facilities available for use in the clubhouse. The way how china celebrate mid autumn festival is almost the same with how we usually do in singapore. We eat mooncakes but one thing which is different from us is that they play fireworks. They not only play fireworks at night but also in the morning. The small celebration lasted for about 2 hours only but i guess everyone had fun that day because around 80 people occupied the room. So, there was alot of noise and everyone was very active during the games.

Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos together. Accompanying the celebration, there are also additional cultural or regional customs, such as: Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns and fire dragon dances. In china, they called it as the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the other hand, we called it as the Latern Festival or Mooncake Festival in singapore.

Wednesday
Whole day of Discrete Mathematics Lesson ( Revision, Recursion)

Thursday

Shopping at Lu Xiang, Guang Gu






On thursday, we went for shopping at Lu Xiang Guang Chang and Guang Gu shopping mall. Lu Xiang Guang Chang is a shopping mall that is somehow similar to our Takashimaya in Singapore. The items sold there are mostly branded and are considered expensive. The day we went to Lu Xiang Guang Chang was the first day of their Huang Jin Zhou period which is our children day. I noticed that they can spend their money to around 500rmb. I find it weird because i once heard before that their pay in china are not so high and i wonder why it seems very normal for them to spend so much money in a day. But, i guess that Huang Jin Zhou which is the china national day ,is a happy occasion to the china people and it is somehow similar to our chinese new year where we will spend large amount of money to get new clothes.

Friday
Shopping at Lao Shu Jie.

Saturday

Saturday was a special day for me because it's 3rd October 2009. It was my birthday and i swear i had the best 18th birthday celebration in wuhan. One of the best gift i have gotten for this year birthday is to know more ICT people. They are a bunch of funny and sociable friends. At 12am, the girls came to my room and sang me a birthday song. They gave me a big brown teddybear which i always love to have one. I was very touched but they gave me an even bigger surprise at night.

After a steamboat dinner with a big group of people, they led me to the karaoke lounge. They booked a room and sang me the second birthday song with a cake and there was a friendly singing competition between keling, eliza and i. It was really the very best birthday celebration i have ever had in my life. My mother called me in the afternoon and when i heard her voice, i cried because it was my first time not spending my birthday with my family. However, this celebration by all the ict friends made me forget about my unhappiness and gave me what i need which was warmth.










Sunday
Mugging for final test which is on monday.


Random Pictures



Dropped our shampoo inside the toilet bowl. Our saviors(kim and gladys) came to help us out in the middle of the night. It was a very bad and scary experience.

• Will update next week journal soon.

Week Four

Monday

- Revision for common test

Tuesday

We had an IS lecture on chinese traditional thoughts by the so called 'director' of the school of foreign language. We were taught on confucianism, taoism and buddhism. For the whole lecture, we have discussed mainly on the history of different dynasty. China have a whole lot of different dynasty in different period of time. For example: Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song ,Yuan, Ming , Qing.

I have learnt that for every dynasty , there will be at least a historical story. The most famous ones will be the warring states period and the spring and autumn period. Also, the very famous and large project in china, The Great Wall of China, began in the Qin or Ming Dynasty. I feel that the concept of the mandate of heaven, which can also be known as divine right ,is very interesting. The emperor of the dynasty often think that being an emperor is a job given by the heaven. They have the divine right in which he thinks that everyone should listen to his words or orders. Emperor known themselves as '天子' (Heaven's Child).

In china, there are many legends. One of the legend i have listened from the lecturer is the one on the great wall of china. 孟姜女 cried down 800 li Great Wall for his husband. She waited for him for ten years and when she finally reached the great wall ,she then realised that her husband was dead. So, she cried and broke the great wall. I think the most beautiful part of china is all the myths and legends in the different towns.

In the later part of the lecture, confucius, mencius and their philosophy were also taught. What are the difference between this two great man in china? Confucius has many ideas that are not explained clearly and leaving a great deal of room for different intepretations. In the other hand, the idea in mencius are more articulate. Humans always have this problem of choosing between the good side and bad side. For me, i believe that the nature of human is good. It is their decision to pick their own path. They can choose to become a saint or evil person. I think that all it takes and need is the determination.

Also, i think that 道 is a part of us. The ideas of taoism is somehow related to our daily life. It is best for us to have the Dao De (道德）, Dao Yi（道义）values and to Xing Dao（行道）. If we are able to do so, then we will be able to restrain ourselves from going to the wrong path.






In the afternoon , we went for an industrial trip to coca cola. Coca Cola company is one of the very famous production company for beverage. We managed to visit the production line and the machines to produce the drinks in either aluminium cans or bottles. I can roughly know the procedure of producing the drink. Example: Melting of sugar, packaging of the drink and etc.Coca Cola is an international brand and what makes it famous is the carbonated and sweet taste of the drink that makes it addictive. The Coca Cola company claims that the beverage is sold in more than 200 countries and we will definitely see their products in any local supermarket. Furthermore, Pepsi drink has many commercial with popular artists around the world. This industrial trip gives me a clearer idea of how a manufacturing factory produce goods in a day and how advanced the technology are today that makes work much easier for the workers.

After the industrial visit, we had our common test at around 6.30pm in a classroom at the school of foreign language. It was a very very bad experience to have a test there as there were many insects flying in from the window and we girls in the room are shrieking like mad. I think i have wasted 10 minutes just to kill the insects and then to concentrate on the test paper.

Wednesday


Early in the morning, we had to wake up and headed for the OBS training. There are a number of activities we need to participate and challenge ourselves with the heights . The activities include rock climbing, trust fall, Broken Bridge and a role play skit. Normally I would have hate such activities but i did enjoy the whole session today.

We started off with forming the 4 groups and that we had to use newspaper to create our own unique uniform. It reminds me of my secondary school days when i used to do all this stuffs during the orientation camp. So, i am in the same group with jerry, jolene, kian meng and the others. We had to come out with a group name and the guys named us as '鹿鼎记'. Lu Ding Ji is a story focusing more on Wei Xiao Bao and his seven wifes. Concidentally, our group had 7 girls so it totally fits the storyline. We girls named ourselves as the ‘包子‘ of Wei Xiao Bao(Kian Meng). I was told to be the Xiao Lao Bao and we ended the first activity of the skit which was very funny and enjoyable. The second activity was the Broken Bridge. I am quite afraid of heights and it was the first time i challenge it. I had my try and was able to cross from one side to the other side of the broken bridge, It was incredible and i was challenging myself to pick up my courage because it doesn't really look very high from the bottom but it was especially high looking from the above.







The last activity was rock climbing. This activity trains our perseverance and how high we can climb. I managed to climb for 8 boxes and had no more energy to climb any further. The experience was not very bad and if i have any chance to challenge it again, i will try to reach the top .It may not be easy but i believe that if i have the determination and perseverance to accomplish it, i will be able to succeed.

At the end of the day, I have noticed that the activities(e.g. trust fall) done today have made us more bonded in a special way and i will not mind attending such trainings again although i am still afraid of the heights. In wuhan, i have many 'first time' experience here and i believe that all these experiences(e.g. courage, teamwork) will be able to help me in the future.

Thursday
-Lessons whole day




At night, the university had a celebration for the national 60th birthday. They organised a mini concert infront of the admin school. I did not join the fun but i heard some of the details from isabel and xianhui. They took pictures of the event and showed me. They met a new china friend there whom i was told by them that she is a very friendly,sociable and pretty girl when isabel and xianhui approached her to take a picture together.

There was a lot of people gathering around the stage and i feel that china people really love their country and felt a responsibility to their country. Singaporeans do love their country but they do not really show it out. We seldom have such big celebrations with the many prepared performances in school during the national day. I like how china people celebrate their special occasions. They respect it and unlike in singapore, they can play with fireworks freely. The Central People's Government passed the Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China on December 2, 1949 and declared that October 1 is the National Day. The National Day marks the start of one of the two Golden Weeks.

I wonder what will be the difference if singapore allows us to play with fireworks freely. Will the atmosphere be different and better on the national day?

Friday

I had 9am lesson in the morning and felt sick because i had flu. Initially, i intended just to have a nap during the break in our hostel room but never did i thought that i had a slight fever and headache. So, i skipped afternoon lesson and had a good rest. Isabel and Xianhui took care of me and treated me like as if i am their daughter. They seemed like they are very worried that i may feel worst again and i realized that when one is weak, he or she will be homesick. That afternoon i missed my parents and felt the importance of them in me. Maybe i'm still a baby girl and maybe it is time for me to grow up and be independent here in wuhan. I should be able to take care of myself and don't let my parents worried about me. I guess i finally know the reasons why initially my parents objected the idea of me going to china for this immersion programme.

However, i still feel that i'm lucky to be here to able to experience a life in china for 6 weeks.

At night, we headed for KTV outside the school campus with gladys, jiahao and the rest of the people. It was the first time going for karaoke in china. I thought that there will only be china chinese songs only but to my surprise, i think that the karaoke room here is even better in singapore. Furthermore, it has all the popular chinese songs available for us to sing. The price is very reasonable($6/hr).

In singapore, you can never find such cheap price rate for karaoke.





Saturday

Early in the morning at around 6am, we bused down to Wudang Mountain. We had our lunch first at a restaurant and headed to visit the 太子坡. Wudang mountain is a small mountain range in the hubei province of China just to the south of the manufacturing city of Shiyan. In years past, the mountains of Wudang were known for the many Taoist Monasteries to be found there, monasteries which became known as an academic centre for the research, teaching and practise of mediation, Chinese Martial Arts , traditional chinese medicine, Taoist agriculture practises and related arts.






Reaching up at the mountain, we visited multiple temples of taoism gods. Up at the mountain, it really felt like i am at a heavenly place as you can see clear clouds and the temperature is so low. It is a very good place for mediation and for anyone who wants to stay out from temptations. The monasteries and buildings were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

We have also visited Purple Cloud temple but arrived too late to watch the Taoists performing their famous martial arts. It is a pity as i am interested on martial arts and often wonder if those scenes in film of which the martial arts are really so powerful that may kill someone.




I feel that those taoist who decided to live their whole life in Wudang mountain would have took them a lot of courage to do so. Wudang mountain is so far away from the city and a trip back to town will take alot of time. They have to restrain themselves from entertainment and temptations. I don't think i can even do that for a few weeks. To me, i think that to decide on such decision are really difficult and noble.

Sunday

We woke up in the morning and prepared to conquer the wudang mountain. Yesterday was just a trial. The majority of us climbed the stairs to reach the top of the mountain. We had to climb for about 2 to 3 hours to reach the top. The Wudang mountain seriously cannot be compared with our Singapore Bukit Timah Hill. Wudang Mountain is so much taller and the scenery is beautiful. The whole journey of climbing the stairs to reach the Golden hall was crazy and tiring. Golden hall which sits on Tianzhu Feng, highest of Wudang's 72 peaks (1,612m/1 mile high), is part of the 15th-century Taihe Gong (Palace of Supreme Harmony) complex. Its two-tiered roof, covered in gilded bronze, is, naturally, best viewed on a clear day when it sparkles.

During the whole journey of climbing up the thousands stairs , i have the thought of giving up but i didn't want to be someone who gives up easily. I kept telling myself that i will be reaching the top soon and i am young and i should be able to reach the top. When i am old, i may not even have the chance or energy to climb up the stairs anymore. I climbed the mountain with jolene,kianmeng,angela and daphne. Jolene and kianmeng are the happy campers and our motivator.

At times ,i felt terrible and wanted to vomit. Jolene took care of me and motivated me to keep on flying. I envy their stamina and suddenly felt like i am an old woman who climbed the mountain slowly and panting at the same time. After 2 1/2 hour, we have finally reached the golden hall. Initially, i regretted for not taking the cable car but when i finally reached the golden hall, i felt accomplished and achieving. I conquered the hundred stairs and the wudang mountain. It was unbelieving and felt like a dream.






It was the motivation and determination that kept me going to reach the top of the mountain. I think all we need is perseverance. We have to believe that we are able to do it. We are able to climb up the mountain when we have healthy working legs.

After this trip to wudang mountain, i think that nothing will knock me down anymore. Nothing is more scary than climbing up the thousands stairs to the golden hall of Wudang Mountain.

Before returning back to car and headed back to wuhan, i went to the 转运殿. They said that if you walk one round in the temple, good luck will come to you. However, if you do not believe in taoism , it is better not to do so. Although i am a buddhist and not any of my ancestors are from taoism, i think it is alright to respect other beliefs and pray to their god. It meant no harm to us and we have to respect all the religions even if we do not believe in it.

We reached the hostel at only around ten plus. It was a fruitful weekend at wudang mountain and an experience which i will never forget for life because of the long journey up to the top of the mountain. The sweats, panting and our pale face while climbing the stairs will not be forgotten easily.



M

Week Three

Monday & Wednesday

Lessons were held as usual. Common test is coming and everyone is mugging hard.

Tuesday

In the morning, we had our IS lecture on culture. I've learn more about the ethnic cultures in china and i found out that 土家族 have really special cultures. They treat marriage as a sad occasion while funeral as a happy occasion. They will sing ku jia for about 1/2 a month before the marriage and they believe that the longer the bride can cry, the better it is. It is their tradition (minority race in China) to 'cry' before the bride leaving her home. Some would actually cry, but most of them just 'act' to be crying. Interesting thing is that, every girl in this tribe needs to learn how to cry 'properly' when wedding to express how much they would miss their family.

Here is one video of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygQRAlUU7jY

Mr Tan, Lecturer and Mr Choo.

All Labels: Week 1 Week 2

In the afternoon, the group of us met up with the local students in wuhan university of science and technology and they brought us to a tangerine farm. they are not in orange but green tangerines. The softer ones are sweeter than the harder ones. It was also the first time i pluck a orange from the tree on my own especially when plucking fruits from tree are absolutely an illegal thing to do in singapore.

Others also tried to dig out sweet potatoes from the ground using their own bare hands. I believe that this is something we can never experience it on our own in singapore because there are very very few lands or area for farming.

There was once when i took a picture of the small little girl whom i believe that she lives there and she has got this very fierce look. After i took one of her photo, she suddenly moved forward and i thought she was going to bite or beat me, so i quickly ran to another place. But , guess what? She just simply walked away. I was so embarassed and my friends were all laughing at me.

At night, we were told that there will be a bbq session. We gathered around the fire and it felt like we were having a campfire. Then , we started to barbeque our food. The mushrooms tasted really nice and i tasted mutton for the very very first time. I have this mindset that since my zodiac is goat, i should never eat them as it may feel like as if i'm eating myself. A stupid thought but i still believe it till now.

The local student trying to start the fire.


Jiahao & co. digging for sweet potatoes!

The little girl whom i'm afraid of.

Xianhui and Isabel excited about plucking the oranges.
I plucked my first orange for the first time!


Isabel and I.

BBQ at night near the school campus with local students.

The tasty and delicious satay and mushroom. *drools.

Thurday

The meeting room of Blue Star Company.

Headed for industrial visit to Blue Star company. It is a company which manufactures mostly IT Products,such as: computer. They have also introduced a new product called as carPC with a number of functions that can be installed in a car. We were arranged to be in the meeting room of the company for some brief introduction of the company background and their products by one of the manager there.

We visited their manufacturing line and saw how CPU of the computers are built and installed step by step. This industrial visit gives me a clearer view on how a company work in a daily basis. This trip is even more important to me as the company specializes in IT related stuffs. I may have to work in a IT company in the future and the trip may slightly prepare me for it.

Their IT Products.


The manager giving brief introduction of the company.

After the industrial visit, it was our free time as mr choo was sick and lesson is cancelled. Hence, the bunch of us (Jiahao, Sinyee & co) decided to cab down to Lao Shu Jie which Teacher Anna mentioned before that it is a popular place where students love to go. We even called Teacher Anna for the correct address as we were afraid that we might be lost or get conned by the taxi driver. Thankfully, we arrived at the right place safetly at ard 2 in the afternoon. The place is quite similar to the bugis street in singapore. They have plenty of small stalls selling many varieties of accesories and clothes. The price is average and not very expensive. Majority of the stalls are selling females clothes and thus, the guys kept complaining about it but we girls are very happy about our victory items!


At one of the restaurant in Lao Shu Jie.

I met a very friendly lady who did my nails for me at Lao Shu Jie. She told me about the difference between china people and singaporeans and i realized that it was indeed true. China people talk in a fast speed but singaporeans is the opposite, we talk in a slightly slower speed and we tend to drag our last word when we speak. Many china people thinks that singaporeans are rich and should be able to afford to purchase expensive items from stalls. However, it is not the truth. Many people in singapore are still unable to find a job and earn a pay every month. They have this mindset that we are all rich and that we should not save our money to buy cheap stuffs from them. Another thing that i have discovered is that majority of the china people are very honest and straight-forward, they will tell you what they think and feel straight infront of your face. I truly admire such behavior because i guess i will never be able to do that infront of anyone.

Friday


We bused for 5 hours to Yi Chang (宜昌) and had our lunch there. It was the best meal i have ever had during the whole trip in china as it tasted like singapore food. I miss hokkien mee and chicken rice. After the lunch, we headed to the three gorges dam which can be known as 长江三峡大坝. It is the world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind.The dam body was finished in 2006 and it was amazing. For each dam, we have to take a bus to reach there and there will be a tour guide explaining on the details of the dam.


The best meal ever in wuhan!

Such project cannot be done in singapore as our landscape is too small to be able to complete it unlike china which has a very large landscape that can accomplish big projects. Example: The Great Wall of China. I think that china will be a very well developed country in the future. The dam has also contributed to environment. Water can generate energy. This energy will help to reduce greenhouse gas due to navigation and reduce water pollution (waste management).








The dam.




Failed to do a jumpshot.





The big book.

After visiting the three gorges dam, we headed to River Closure Memorial Park and enjoy the scenery of the area. It is to commemorate the three gorges project when under construction. We did nothing much there and around evening, we bused to a restaurant for dinner. We boarded the cruise ‘金太阳’ at only about 8pm.





At River Closure Memorial Park.

The place we had dinner before boarding the cruise.


On the cruise.

Saturday
Woke up at 5.30am for breakfast. We were told that food here tastes kind of bad but i felt that it was pretty okay. The only thing that i hate about was the soyabean milk. The reason is because my stomach is very sensitive. So, once i drank the soyabean milk, i had a terrible stomachache and felt very weak.

The worst thing was that i still have to climb the stairs to reach the top of the Bai Di Cheng. Bai Di Cheng is an ancient temple complex on a hill on the northern shore of the YangTze in China. The temple is now an island due to the rise in water levels since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The island is linked to the north bank of the Yangtze by a bridge. It continues to be a tourist attraction with many cruise ships stopping at Fengjie to allow tourists to visit.

I saw statues of Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Zhu Ge Liang and many other famous ancient people. I have also bought the comb from the souvenir shop for my mother and myself. It is made of red wood whom people believe that it will help to maintain a healthy hair scalp ,cure headaches, prevent hair from falling and etc. We went back to the cruise and i was terribly seasick and felt giddy. The feeling was bad and i have a sudden homesick.

' People always say when you're sick, you will miss your family.'
I find it very true and realized that i'm quite dependant on family at times. It's week 3 now and i have learn pn how to control my emotional feelings and patience.




Statues of liu bei, zhu ge liang, etc.


White Emperor Temple.





Tour guide told us that touching it will lead us to 六福不浅 which means good luck.

Lunch at cruise.
After lunch, we headed to Shen Nong Stream. The banks of the Shen Nong Stream have been inhabited since at least the Han Dynasty and the primary ethnic group of the river valley has been the Thuja people. They have their unique language and speaking accent. As mentioned earlier, thuja people has special cultures which differ greatly from us.

When we reach at a point of Shen Nong Stream, we have to change to a smaller boat which can take rougly 17 to 20 people. It is the traditional Qian Fu La Qian. Qian Fu refers to the boat tracker. In the past, they are naked when working. They think it will be easier for them to pull the boat when their clothes will not be drenched. As for now, they wear at least a trouser so that it will not be so obscene. Qian Fu La Qian was something that i have never seen before. It is traditional and quite cruel. Why do i say that it is quite cruel? The reason is because those boat trackers are quite old already and they still have to pull a boat which carries 20 people. It needs so much energy to do so.

One of the boat tracker is also kind enough to bring us some of the stones in the river as a souvenir to Shen Nong Stream. I like the place and feels that it is a natural and beautiful site. The tour guide on the boat even sang us some Tu Zu songs that are interesting and memorable. I think that this trip to shen nong stream was the best thing in the week.



The boat tracker - Chief.

The traditional Qian Fu La Qian which i've mentioned earlier.




I told my friends that if i am like a cat which has 9 lives and that for each lifetime, i would like to experience different culture. Being a Tu Zu may not be a bad idea but crying for 1/2 a month before marriage doesn't seems like a very good idea to me.

Tu Zu Song：

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpsoS33ML1k&feature=related
Dinner at cruise and felt terribly sick.

Sunday

We had breakfast in the morning on the cruise and bused back to wuhan which took about 5 hours to reach the university. Then, we (Angela & company) headed for lunch and decided to have a haircut at one of the salon along the street outside our school. I have noticed that china people have very good working attitude compared to singaporeans. For example: If a hairdresser in singapore is paid for $10 to perform a haircut for a customer, the best thing he or she will do is to just trim a 'Okok' haircut for you. To compare, china hairdressers perform the haircut in more details. They will pick the correct hairstyle for you and make sure that you look nice with it.

It is not that singaporeans do not have the skills to cut a good hairstyle for the customers. It is just that the very few of them may not have the good working attitude compared to those in china. However, this may not imply to all.


- End of Week 3.