Day 41 - Back to Singapore!!!! =)

Thank you for the amazing time in Wu Han!!! =)

We woke up early to do our final packing and to meet the local students for a final breakfast. They woke up very early to help us bring the luggage down and to help us clean up the room for the last time. We felt so guilty that they had to wake up so early to help us, and yet we didn't have the time to eat breakfast with them at all. So, they offered to help us buy breakfast, and they came back with so much food that we cannot possible finish at one seating.

After helping us load up all the bags onto the bus, we bid them a final farewell and hope to see them in Singapore!!!





It was an hours ride to the airport, everyone was so tired from the packing, waking up early and crying, so everyone just fell asleep on the bus. As there were many free counters, everyone rushed to weigh their bags to make sure that it was not overweight, if not we had to pay for the excess. In the end, everyone's' bags were not overweight, so it was a smooth check in. =) We were told that we did not need to check out the bags, so they would travel straight to Singapore!!! =)

However, after the transit to Guang Zhou, we were told that we needed to check out and check in the luggage again! >.< This delayed our flight back to Singapore by 2 hours, so we only reached Singapore at 10pm. =( But when we walked through those doors, we were so happy to see our classmates and family who came to fetch us at the airport!! =)

Reflection

I guess everyone is very happy to see their loved ones after a long 21 days. =) This trip had made me open my eyes to see what is going on around the world But after staying in Wu Han for over a month, everyone is used to the lifestyle, food, weather, transportation, language and shopping. Now, everyone do not wish to return back to Singapore. =(

I will miss the chilly weather in Wu Han. I will miss the fried rice store that we always visit when we are hungry! I will miss the bubble tea shop that we always visit after buying our fried rice, even if we did not buy lunch. I will miss the theme pack that we visited with the local students. I will miss the first snow in Wu Han and also the last snow experience. I will miss the first time we went to KTV with the local students. I will miss pizza hut. I will miss the double cheeseburger in MacDonald. I will miss the first time we stayed in a cruise. I will miss the 3 gorges. I will miss the first time we saw cherry blossoms in Wu Han University. I will miss the shopping sprees we had throughout the whole trip. =p I will miss waking up to see Hazel and Eline. I will miss my bed. I will miss having the 7 of us hang out in the guy's room. I will miss the friends that we have made in Wu Han.

In all, I will miss everyone and everything that I have experienced in Wu Han, the good and the bad. =(

Seeing the local students sacrifice their sleep to send us off, really warm our hearts. I really appreciate their help throughout this 41 days. Without them, life in Wu Han would have been dull and rather boring. Although, we only known each other for 41 days, i believe that our friendship will last for the rest of our life. =) Thank you so much for all that you guys have done for us with out wanting anything in return. =) See ya guys in Singapore soon!!!

For students of the next OIP batch, i swear that it will be one of the funnest and most unforgettable experience that you will ever have! You will experience things that textbooks will NEVER teach you! It will be a valuable learning experience on independence and you will never regret it. I swear! =)

For the last time
Loves, Charmaine =)

Day 40 - One more day left!! =(

1 more day left in Wu Han!!! =( I am going to miss all the friends that i have made in the 40 days of staying here, the food that we always eat and the people that i came here with =(

Everyone slept quite late yesterday, as Ms Neo has set a timing for each group to weigh all the check in luggage. It is necessary, so that there will be no delay in the checking in process. The whole division was very cooperative, and the the weighing in took a much shorter time as expected. =) After the weighing in, we are free!!! So, our group decided to take more photos to add into our video~

After taking the photos, we went back to our room to rest. Bu after 15 minutes, Si Hao came up to call us down to visit Ms Wong's apartment. The visit was arranged by Si Hao, at first, all of us were rather unwilling to go, as it was the last day we had with the students. But it turned out rather fun, as we get to catch up with the teachers!! =)

Ms Wong's apartment is only 5 minutes walk from the school, which is very very convenient for her. Her apartment consists of 2 bedrooms, 1 toilet, a kitchen and a living room that comes with a tv!!! 0.0 It was rather spacious and the living conditions are definitely better then our dorms. But Ms Wong rather return to Singapore. We talked for a short while before heading for dinner! =)








Dinner was awesome!! It was one of the better meals that i had in Wu Han. And Ms Wong decided to treat us for dinner, thank you Ms Wong =) After dinner, we bid farewell to Ms Wong and Ms Neo, and Si Hao, Fathullah and I went for our last shopping spree at Jiang Han Lu!!!









When we returned to our dorms, we were told that the local students made something for us, so we quickly went to buy the cards to write something for them. When i walked into the guys room, the water works began! I quickly walked to Xiang Hua and hugged her while crying. =( I will miss you guys so much!!! =(




After the local students left, we went out to buy alot of street food. This was not because,we are hungry from crying but because we wanted to eat all the street food before we leave for Singapore tomorrow. 1 more night in Wu Han =(

Loves, Charmaine

Day 39 - Rain!!!! & this is really good bye Guang Gu!

Rain!!! Rain!!!! This morning, everyone was so gloomy~ Either because of the rain or the fact that projects were all that everyone could think about. So, i just stayed in my dorm and watch FRIENDS and update my blog. =)

At about 2pm, i couldn't stand it anymore, so i went to buy lunch, wearing just my jacket, FBT and SOE shirt. The weather was very chilly and everyone on the streets were wearing thick clothing, with the exception of me =( I quickly walked to buy fried rice hoping that i don't freeze to death before having my last meal. Everyone was staring at me, thinking is she cold at all? One of the strangers on the street, asked me if I'm feeling cold. I did not know how to respond, so i just quickly walked back to my dorm to enjoy my piping hot fried rice. =)

At about 4pm, Si Hao came up to our room to ask if we wanted to follow him to Yes I Do hair Salon, as he finds that the curls in his hair isn't obvious. We quickly jumped at the chance to return!! =)

In the end, the both of us just ended up washing our hairs. -.- Before we left Guang Gu forever. This time, it really will be the last time we will step foot in Guang Gu. We went to have dessert and coffee in Starbucks. =) The desserts wasn't that bad. And the staff were all trained to speak basis English, so that they can communicate with the international customers.




After having dessert time at Starbucks, we took a bread van back to our dorms and bid goodbye to Guang Gu forever. =( On our way back, we saw a bunch of people rioting for Dong Hu. It seemed to be about the environmental rights of Dong Hu. The uncle had no choice but to take a longer route.

After reaching back, we immediately started to pack again. I'm worried that my luggage will be over - weight and i will have to pay for the excess weight. =(




Loves, Charmaine

Day 37 - Basketball match

Today was the basketball match that we are all waiting for!!! We all got ready at 9 30am, as the basketball match was scheduled at 10am. Yay!!!

Eline went out for breakfast, so she bought all of us MacDonald breakfast. Sausage with egg hamburger and warm (from hot turned warmed) chocolate. The weather was very sunny, which is very good for an on - going basketball match. =) When the basketball match commenced. I knew that our team would be in ALOT of trouble, as they looked like they had many practices before coming for this match, while our team were put together hastily.

The China team was very good, leading the scores of 20 - 4. =( Also, i experienced how they play, which was very rough and very serious. Many of our friends got injured because of the way that they play. One thing kept running through my mind, isn't this suppose to be a friendly match?? What would happen if this was a real competition?? =( In the end, Si Hao injured his ankle. GET WELL SOON!!!! =)







After the basketball match was over, we were going to head back to our room. BUT Noor left the keys with Eline, so none of us were able to go back to our rooms, so e were locked out of our own rooms. With no where else to go, we stayed at the field and watch the next match that is between their own students. When Si Hao returned, he just informed us that it was nothing serious, and he would be fine in a few days. =)

After having lunch, the girls decided to go play badminton. I rather stay in and prepare for the farewell dinner. But after a short while, they came knocking at the door, saying that the wind were not in their favour. The dress code was formal, but we were afraid that we were dressed too formally. >.<

At 6pm, we went to the uber posh and grand hotel for our 15 course dinner!!!!! ~Happy me~ Before heading to the hotel for our dinner, we had the largest photo taking session ever!!! The MDEs, ECEs, staff and the local students.








Reflection

For the dinner, each representative from the divisions came up to say a few words before the dinner officially starts. Sam from the ECE division said, the warmth and hospitality that the China students have shown us, have made all of us forget about the feeling of missing home. That sentence have made such an impact on us! When we first arrived, everyone missed home terribly and wanted nothing more then to fly back to Singapore immediately. But the kindness that the students have shown us, have made me forget to miss home. =p I will miss them terribly when i return to Singapore. We are now counting down to return home by just single digits. =(

Day 33 - New campus & bye bye Guang Gu =(

Today, we had to wake up early as we are going to visit the new campus of Wu Han University of Science and Technology. We were told that it will be a long journey, so we fell asleep on the bus again. =p

When we arrived at the school, all I could see are lands filled with greenery and tall and large buildings!!!! The school is gargantuan!!! We also saw many students standing by a building. At first glance, i thought that they were there to tthe school too. However, Hazel told me that they were there to welcome us!!! The hospitality was overwhelming and we were all very surprised for the arrangement! =)




After we left the bus and started walking to the building, they started to surround us and told us to pick a pink card that was written with a number. The pick card was like a lucky draw (why is there so many lucky draws!!!??), and the number on the card that you picked will be your individual partner for the visit. My partner for the day is a year 1 female student called Wang Xing. =)






When all of us found our partners, we were quickly ushered in to the function room for performance and a speech. The room were filled with balloons and posters of Singapore's famous statues like the Merlion. We were sitted and the performance started. The host of the event were the China student leaders who first introduced the first speakers' Si Hao from MDE and Sam for ECE. Si Hao spoke in English, while Sam will be the translator. They talked about how gracious and warm the Chinese are, and how much they have enjoyed the trip to Wu Han. After the speech given by the Singapore representative, they have a dance and singing session lined up for us. =) After the performance by the China students, they surprised us by announcing that we have a performance lined up for them too. 0.0 It was a surprise for everyone, so we just went up and try to perform the dance that we did a month ago. As there was no previous rehearsals, everyone was trying to follow those that remembers. =p














After the performance, we were brought to their library to learn more about the history of Wu Han University of Science and Technology. In the library building, they had a mini museum of the history of the university.











After visiting the library, it was already 12pm and it was time for lunch!!! We went to their canteen which was crowded with many hungry students. We went up to the third floor where they say that the food taste better. And we had lunch with our partners. =)



After having lunch, we went for a walk to their east lake, which was filled with insects *shiver*. On the way, we saw their school's freshmen sports days. They were playing China's favorite sports, badminton, table tennis and basketball. We also saw the host of the performance playing for his division.





And it is time for us to play the games that they have prepared for us!1 The first game, was to link bodies with your partners and transfer the ball to each pit stop without dropping or touching the ball with your hands in the shortest time possible. The second game was to pick up ping pong balls with chopsticks without dropping it.















After the games, we went for the final visit to their biology block. We are going to see some very creepy stuff. Which is the donated body parts by generous people for preservation. The following pictures may be uncomfortable for some people. Viewer discretion is advised.














After visiting the laboratory, we are going back to our school. In such a short span of time, we were able to make such good friends that we will forever remember throughout our lives. I will miss ya!!! =)





After the 1 hour bus ride back to school, we rushed to the hair salon to get our free treatment. And we took photos with our stylist!!! Can you believe how hot Hazel's stylist is!!!!??? You may find that in the picture, he is not really that handsome. But if you ever get to see him in person, he will really wow you over!!! =p








Reflection

China is a country with alot of land that can be put to very good use, for instance; building a large university that also includes many blocks of student dormitory so that students from different parts of China can stay in. Also, the government are willing to spare no cost to provide each student will an experience that will come in handy in their field of work. Obtaining real human bodies is no easy feat, but to be able to let the students see and experience the feeling of seeing real human bodies to study and "work" on, the government tries its hardest to get the body parts of the deceased that may even be 30 year old.

Loves, Charmaine