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.
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.
Mr Tan, Lecturer and Mr Choo.
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.
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.
- End of Week 3.
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