Day 16 - Journey to the Ship

Today is cruise day!! Woke up at 6 30am, as the local students want to eat breakfast with us before we leave... Awww… So sweet =) So, we went to the local street store and had porridge, ‘xiao long bao’ and oily onion pancake.. Yum!!! Today is also a very nerve wrecking day, as A LOT will know about what happens on a specific date and time. Ya.. If you have figured it out, good for you =)

We went back to the room after breakfast, at about 10am. We still have a long way to go, before setting off for the cruise. So, we decided to blog about the previous day’s events and take a quick nap, before having a long nap on the bus^^





At 1pm, we were off!! The tour guide has told us that it will be a long journey to the port, taking about 4 hours. Everyone was so exhausted, that no one was hearing the tour guide explain about the various monument and history of the place. =p At each 1 hour interval, we will stop at a resting spot and freshen ourselves up. We went for dinner at the 4th interval, at a beautifully decorated hotel, and guess what?? Madeline, you will definitely know about this. I saw eye candy!!! Even better then your “R”, envy right!!!!???




The bus ride took longer than expected, and we only arrived at the port at around 9+. Even after reaching and queuing at the entrance of the port, some of us were denied entrance (including me =() Not long after, a whole group of China men came rushing behind us to board a different ship. There were cursing, shoving, pushing and cancerous gas. It was extremely unbearable but it passed quickly.



When we were finally granted excess, we waited for about an hour before the ship actually starts moving, so in the mean time; we played the game that the most unlucky guy on this trip dreads =p As the title holder of the most unlucky guy, he had to do 2 forfeits. After games, we went back to the room to watch TV, and they only had two channels to watch from. The girls continued to watch TV, while I returned to my room to bathe, and there was not a single drop of hot water!!! So I had no choice but to bathe at the fastest speed that I can, feeling the cold water =( So, now I am here typing my day in Microsoft word first and posting it when we return to our dorms, as there is no internet here.





P.S the most unlucky guy got two poor souls trapped within their room, locked from the INSIDE.

Reflection

China is known as one of the largest country in the world, with over 1billion people of population count. The area size of China is vastly different from Singapore, where Singapore is only a small red dot on the world map. So, when tourist or locals decides to go on a field trip, the travelling time taken is a major factor. But for Singaporean, we do not have much land to spare, so field trips are unlikely to happen. Hence, when we had to take a bus ride for over 6 hours, complains will happen. So, I must learn to accept the difference in the culture and, even the land size of different countries. Next, living in two diverse countries, behaviour and habits will not be the same. For instance, we cannot accept rude behaviour like shoving and pushing, we are used to the mannerly order of queuing up and waiting for your turn. Therefore, we must all learn to see things from a different prospect and widen our knowledge of cultural intelligence.

Loves, Charmaine

Day 15 - Presentation

Presentation day!!! Today is the day where everyone has worked so hard for. For some groups, they had to meet early to finalize the PowerPoint and scripts. But for me, our group is almost done and everything can be finalized in class =)

After we reached the class, each group were in their little section of the class, whispering about which group member will be presenting on. Ms Neo has decided to give each group 10 minutes of buffer time, to calm down and finally finalize the PowerPoint slides. None of the groups were able to decide on who will start the ball rolling. So I suggested on drawing lots to make it fair for each team. In my head, I wanted my group to go second, as the first will be the strictest and be the benchmark, while the last group may not have the full interest of the class. Sometimes, the irony of the predicament gets the better of me, and my group ended presenting the last.

After the 4 groups have presented, my group is finally presenting!! Our group has decided to do an event on modelling for charity. The donated money and items will all be given to orphanages. Can you see that we are very kind - hearted?? =p While presenting, Ms Neo pointed out the mistakes that we have made and requested that we edited the poewerpoint before sending it to her for marking. So, after we were dismissed, several groups stayed behind and worked on editing the powepoint. As there were points that we could not solve, we decided to go for lunch first then work on the powerpoint when we reutn to the dorm. When we decided to have lunch, it was only 12 plus, so it was still very early. Hence, the 03s decided to go to walmart (isn't walmart an American store??) to shop for the necessities needed on the 'cruise' and have lunch at pizza hut (I have not eaten pizza hut for a long long time, joy!!) =)





After we collected our laundry, we went our for lunch!! As there are 7 of us, we decided to take a "bread" van. You may be wondering what is a "bread" van, it is similar to a taxi tht we have in Sinapore, however they do not charge by the meter., but rather the distance taken and the van can take up to 7 people and looks like a loaf of bread. Thus, also known as a "bread" van. The cab fare only cost RMB12, which is s$2+ (super super cheap!!). So we took the van to the shopping mall, and we had our virgin pizza hut experience!!! The whole meal for 7 of us only cost RMB500+, which is S$100.






After lunch, we went to the walmart to buy our stuff for the cruise. The guys ought real necessitites like bread and water. While, we bought soooo much snacks, that we look like we are going to war. Hahaha!! After we bought our stuf,, we cam back to the dorm and rushed out our project and packed our bags..

Reflection

Unlike Singapore, China has a very flexible transportation system. This helps to make the Chinese life easier. But in Singapore, everything must go according to the law, so it will be safer then China.

Day 14 - Exercise Day??

I woke up at 7 30am to prepare for classes. Everyone was very nervous, as today is the day of the practical quiz!!! Everyone was sooooo nervous!!!

At 9am, we first had classes to study project control, which involves shifting of duration dates and canceling of finished nodes. Project control is essential as, there maybe unforeseen circumstances and imperfect planning, resulting in a deviation from the project plan. After the lecture, we did assignment 9. In such a short span of 3 weeks, we were able to cover 5 chapters, which will never be possible in Singapore. FAST much?? After completion of the assignment, we had 5 minutes of final preparation for the quiz. Ms Neo said that the quiz was relatively simple and the earlier you start on the quiz, the simpler it will be.

After the words has left her mouth, our class has suddenly become a feeding frenzy. Everyone was rushing to do the quiz, luckily i was able to complete the quiz as the fourth person. When I went up to Ms Neo's laptop (yes, the quiz has to be done on Ms Neo's laptop), i was so scared, that my mind became a blank. With Ms Neo supervising the quiz from behind, every move that you want to make, becomes a strategic decision. Fortunately, I was able to recover quickly and complete the quiz. =) By the way, I didn't fail the quiz. ^^

After class, we went for lunch and sent our laundry for washing for the cruise which starts on Friday and ends on Sunday. The girls suddenly felt very 'sinful' for eating so much delicious food and not doing anything to keep the extra weight off. I just want to sleep -.- So, they decided to play badminton and I became the photographer.








After a long long time, I decided to return to the room and sleep till dinner. After I woke up, it was already dark and I asked Fathullah whether they are planning to go for dinner now. So he decided to play a prank on me, and said that the girls went off without me. -.- HAHAHA!!! Soooo funny right? -.- So we decided to buy food back to our room and eat while preparing for the presentation on the next day. The food was awesome!!! Pamela~ I know you are drooling right now~~



Reflection

As seen from the pictures, many can see that the Chinese are very passionate about their spots. Be it badminton, basketball or table tennis. The reason may be because, China is still not as developed as Singapore. And while, Singapore kids play sports, it can be done through machines like Wii and Computers. While, the China kids may not own a convenient machine for exercise, so they will decide to play the sport on a more hands - on approach. This may the main reason why a large portion of Chinese do not have the need to wear spectacles. =)

Loves, Charmaine

Day 12 - IS module

Today is the first IS lesson with Ms Grace! The previous lesson was conducted by Ms Zheng. Today, she covered the topic of the; location, area of China and the Hu Bei (the location of where we are in, for people who do not know =))

Ms grace was able to interact with the students to teach us about the various facts and statistics about the China population, states and size. Also, she introduced alitte about the specialties about Wu Han that we can visit.

After classes, we were suppose to meet the director of MDE, however he was busy, so the interview was postponed to another time. However, we had a surprised visit from him =) (sorry, no photos of him)

Had claypot rice for lunch again. Guess what!! I ordered wrongly. AGAIN. It was too spicy, so Eline and I swapped, and I ate potato with duck rice. We decided to send our laundry today for washing, as we are going for a cruise on FRIDAY to SUNDAY!!! Don't envy us =p

Had the whole day to ourselves, so I webcam - ed and slept. In the night, we went to eat at one of the nearby restaurant, to help celebrate the book prize of Chao Ran and Ji Long. Congrats guys!!! =) In the resturant, we met a very cute boy, that always sticked to Fathullah. Not fair. I want him too =(





Reflection

On this trip, I found that the local students are very hardworking. It may be due to the fact that Singapore and China is two very different environment. In China, there are over 1 Billion people, each fighting for the one chance to get success. While in Singapore, everything is handed to us on a silver platter, we don not need to work for anything. This may be the reason why, the Chinese are able to make it big in Singapore, therefore we cannot complain that they are stealing what is rightfully ours. This is something that we can learn from them. Their spirit of fighting for a chance, even if the odds are against them.

Day 10 - Excursion

It's finally the weekends!!! So, it's the starting of the excursions. In total, we went to 3 places. The yellow crane tower, Gu Qin Tai and a park.

I was suppose to wake up at 6 30am but i overslept =p. Rushed and met the 03s at the entrance of the dorms. First stop, the yellow crane tower!!! It is only 5 storeys tall, BUT in the building itself, it contains 9 storeys. You people must be wondering how it is possible.. Hehehehe.. =p Within each storey, it is sliced to contain two storeys. So when 4 storeys (excluding the first floor) is cut into two parts, it will contain a total of 9 storeys. Cool ya?? =) The tour guide told us about the story of how the yellow crane tower came about. However, it is only a legend because the government reclaimed and re - furnished the tower to become a tourist attraction. Inside the building, it is very crowded, as tourist from all over china and parts of the world were taking photos and admiring the architecture. On the first floor of the tower, there is a huge brick painting of the legend of the yellow crane tower. We decided to climb the tower right up to the highest floor (tiring!!! >.<) The view on the top floor is awesome!! After which, we decided to have a shades photo =p







For our next destination, we went to Gu Qin Tai. The villa was created due to the moving true story about the strong bond between friends, even though they are of different worlds. Many road names, building names have spawned because of the story.





At our last destination, we were suppose to go shopping. But all of us were to tired to move (yes, even me). So 03s just walked to the nearest coffee house, known as Victoria Coffee house and chilled~ We ordered coffee and ice - cream. While waiting, we played some games. Time passed by quickly and soon we had to head back to the school.

Reflection

China has a rich culture and we had just viewed two of the many different places that each has a story behind it. By visiting these two places, my knowledge of Chinese myths and morals has increased. I have also learnt that the Chinese are able to create opportunities out of anything that comes to mind. China is a huge country that has countless legends that are created over its rich 5000 years. Hence, the Chinese are able to create financial opportunities by using their history as a base for attracting tourist. I have also seen how strong the Chinese views their morals and ethics. They view their morals as one of he top priority, making them one of the most reliable nation in the world.

Day 9 - Steel Factory

Today was the excursion to the Wu Han Steel factory. I had to wake up at 6 15am, just so that I have enough time to prepare. We met the class at 8 10am SHARP!!! So that, we can avoid the penalty system of paying whenever you are late.

From this paragraph onwards, it will be very concentrated on the processes. So please bear with me so that I will be able to get AD for my blog =)

The whole factory that is used to produce the steel that consumers sue in China and all parts of the world is 1.5km long, and it only takes 1 minute to produce a roll of Steel. Amazing yes?? =0 The first process of making steel is using huge metal barrels to pump raw steel into the super hot furnaces to process the raw steel into steel that can be sold to consumers on the market. After a few seconds, a large bar of heated steel will be pushed onto the conveyor belt to be sent to the second process.

At the second process, as the processed bar of steel is still at an extremely high temperature, it will still be very malleable. It will be sent on the conveyor to the 'rolling pin'. At the rolling pin, it will be controlled from a control station where the employees will be able to control the various settings of the 'rolling pin'. For instance, the thickness that they want the bar to be and the length of the steel bar. The factory contains two such rollers, however they are of different quality. For the older version of the 'rolling pin', the pins need to be changed every 24 hours. But for the newer version, the pins needs to be changed every 4 hours. And each time time the pins are changed, it takes them 40 minutes.

At the third process, the steel strip will be sent to the cooler to cool the strip into the size that they want. The conveyor is designed in a way that when the steel strips are traveling on the conveyor, the thin strip of metal will not bend. Otherwise, the steel strip will have to go through the same processes again.

Lastly, the steel strip will be rolled into a 'curler'. A 'curler' is used to roll the strip off the conveyor and roll the strip into a barrel for storage, so that it doesn't take up much space.

After the tour of the steel factory, we went back to the university to have a lunch break before our IS class at 2pm. We decided to wait for the guys, while they went back to the staff office to return the helmets. Meanwhile, we laid on the grass and decided to cam whore!!! =) After lunch, we went to collect laundry (yes. it is our second barrel of laundry. Third batch will be coming soon). We had our IS module which talks about the political and economics of China. We ended earlier by 1 hour and 30 minutes. So the bunch of us headed out with Ji Long to buy our needed necessities.










Reflection

Through visiting different aspects of China, like factories and scenic sites. We will be able to experience different parts of what makes China the new global superpower.

Day 8 - Classes

Today was rather warm. Which means that... Spring is coming!!! WEEEE!!!! I can finally wear my shorts and T - Shirts!!! But I will miss the times where i can wear my skinny jeans and boots, with hair blowing around your face. =(

Class started at 9am today, as usual -.- The major difference is that almost half the class has fallen ill!!! Take care people!!! Drink more water and sleep early~ So Ms Neo has decided to shorten the days lesson to only 3 hours, so that we can rest early and get ready for the weekend outings.

After class ended at about 12 30pm, we went for lunch at the main canteen, also known to Noor as Canteen 1 -.- The canteen was COMPLETELY empty, except for the 7 of us. With the canteen, the size of Ngee Ann's Makan place, echos can be heard if you talk loudly. Today was also the first day when we had to eat very quickly because the staff is chasing us out.

After lunch, we went back to the guys room to watch movies~~~ Ninja assassin and Friday the 13th. It was a gore marathon with blood and internal organs flying everywhere. Absolutely awesome!!! Don't judge me just because I love gore =)

At about 6pm, the local students came to find us, and we went to have our dinner at MacDonald. Guess what!!! China;s MacDonald taste even better then Singapore's MacDonald 0.0 And it cost cheap too~ NOOOO!!! I can not go back to eating Singapore's MacDonald anymore. I wonder if they have special delivery to Singapore =p



Reflection

At today's Project management lesson, we did not learn anything new, as we did our assignment. However during the practical, we learnt more about the different type of views used to help facilitate the management of the job involved.

Loves, Charmaine