Day 23- Bloom FLOWER Bloom!

The weather today is so perfect to have lesson at 9am. We going to have IS lesson with Miss grace and she taught us China philosophy. We learn a few famous Mottoes by Chinese Ancient Sages. The sayings of Confucius are in Chinese and Miss Grace has translated the whole thing into English. it is quite an interesting lesson as I learn some of the Confucius that can be used in everyday life. Before we get off early for today lesson, we did a little assignment. This is my first assignment for my IS lesson. The assignment that we did is about learning the culture and behaviour of the Chinese people.

After the lesson there is a small fight within the class due to misunderstanding between two people. The argument between both of them is being resolve in a peaceful manner. All of us are mature enough to solve a problem in a nice and peaceful manner rather than resolve with violence.

After the (stupid) fight, we have plan to go to the Wuhan University to take a look at Cherry Blossom but before we go there, we put our school stuff back to our dormitory. On the way to the dormitory, there is designated area that is supporting the Earth Hour. Earth Hour is going to be held on 27/3/2010 which is tomorrow. Everyone that wants to save the earth they can show their support by offing their light for an hour. The burning of coal to generate the electrical energy will produce the green emission gases that contribute to global warming. I think it is a good campaign as a small effort of just offing the lights for an hour can save reduces the amount green emission gases that are being produce. I will support this type of environmental campaign as it will save the earth from being harm from all the humans’ activities that causes damage to the earth. A small effort to save the earth can make a huge difference.

All seven of us took the ‘bread’ car to go to the Wuhan University. The interesting thing about the ‘bread’ car is that there is no back seat but we still took it. You want to know the reason why. The reason is, he offers us at a much cheaper price than other bread car. We are typical Singaporean; we just want anything that is cheap. The trip to the Wuhan University is so freaking uncomfortable especially the bumpy part of the ride. All the guys are gentlemen enough to give away the seat to the girls and the guys’ seat on the floor of the car.

Finally we reach Wuhan University and there is an entrance fee we can enter. The entrance fee is 10¥. When we enter to the University, the size of the university is 10times bigger than WUST. The University have a park, more than 5 sport complex, more than 30 high rise building that is use for classes and all the rest is dormitory. I can’t believe a University can be that big.

The first thing that I saw when I alight from the ‘bread’ car is 2 huge volleyball courts. Beside it, there is another 2 more volleyball court and 4 basketball court. There are quite a number of students that’s playing volleyball and basketball. The first place we went is, a park which has different type of unique of plantation that I think cannot be found in Singapore.

After we went through the park, then we can finally see the beautiful Cherry Blossom. There are so many people there to take a look at the Cherry Blossom and most of them are foreigner. There is a quite a number of tour buses that is being park at the side of the road. That’s the reason why there are so many tourists there. I was speechless when I walk through the pathway that is full of Cherry Blossom. There are so many different type of colour of Cherry blossom such as white, pink, red and yellow. The Cherry blossom helps to beautify the whole university. I called myself lucky as the Cherry Blossom can only stay bloom for a week only.

After a mesmerise trip around the University, we took the bread car again to go to another special place in Wuhan. We went to a lake that’s call Dong Hu (East Lake) which is one of the biggest lakes in Wuhan. The scenery there is very beautiful as this is my first seeing a lake in Wuhan. The first time I lay my sight on Dong Hu, I think it is a Sea. HAHA! It’s a good place to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lake. We never had a chance to rent a boat to venture out at the lake because we do not have enough time to do it. If I got chance to come to Dong Hu, I will confirm use this chance to rent the boat and checkout the lake.
After a tiring day of touring around different places, we went back to dormitory. We bought street food for our dinner and we call it a day after that.
Reflection
I call myself lucky today as I got chance to experience something that is unique which only occur for a week. It will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. To make the occasional more special is that I am enjoying this experience with all my close friends. We have been together for almost 25 days and they are the closes thing to me. We like a family and helping each other if any of us are in need. My bond with the other 6 of my close friends has grown each day and I hope that we can stay together for the rest of my life.

DAY 22- TEST!!!! Exploring the Livehood of Wuhan

Finally the day has come. Today is going to my first time having test in Wuhan. I felt very nervous for today test even though I have been studying for 8hours straight yesterday. I think that I don’t have the confidence and positive mindset that I going to do well for this paper. I woke very early for today, just to do a bit more revision and recap all the things that are important for this test. All my roommates also wake early just to get prepared for the test.

My heart beats very fast for every step closer to the classroom. I slowly enter the big lecture classroom, I look at everyone faces and almost all of them look very confidence except for me. The sitting arrangement for this test is Group A will sited at the front row than will be Group B will be sited at the second row and so on. I will be sited at the front as I am in Group A. I felt very cold when I in the room ever though the heater is ON! Ms Neo started to distribute the paper to everyone and everyone is already preparing to get started. After I received the test paper, I give my fullest concentration on this paper.

After I had finish the test, I felt so happy and relief for completing the whole test. I think the paper is not that difficult because everything that I have revised came out during the test. Everyone in class has a wide smile over their faces after the test and it means that the paper is too easy for them.

We went back to our dormitory to put our bags and after that we going out to go shopping for our sports attire for the trip to Wudangshan. While waiting for the rest of the group to get ready, some of us have nothing to do. We use that free time to clean up the whole room. I sweep the floor, Si hao clean the toilet and Fathullah just put all the things in order. We did enjoy the process of cleaning up the whole room. We have not clean the whole place for 1week!! HAHA!

After the room is clean, we went out to get the thing needed for the trip. We took at cab to Jiansheer Lu which is around 10min drive from the campus. When we finally the reach the place, we have plan to walk the whole street of Jiansheer Lu. During the journey along Jiansheer Lu, I have experience many different things. When I walk along the street, it feels like I am inside the neighbourhood of the place. The atmosphere around the area feels so relax and it’s almost the same as Singapore neighbourhood.

There are many interesting thing I experience during the journey around the neighbourhoods there. The first interesting I saw are, how the car parks their car. In different corner of neighbourhood, the car park differently. In one part of the street that I go, the car is park at one side of the road at an orderly fashion. In the other part of street, the car is park on the pathway of people walking. I think that, the government never really issues fines to anyone that park the car on the pathway so the people here don’t care where they park their car.

The second interesting I saw is, the old folks here love to play Ma jong along the streets with other old forks. They will gamble with other folks when playing the Ma jong. I think they have too much free time that they use this free time to socialize with other old folks. Other old folks that never play, will just take a look at the ones that playing, talking with other old folks or smoke their cigarettes. They are different than Singaporean old folks, as Singapore old folk only go out when they plan to buy groceries or just stroll along the park with their grandchild and maybe stay at home do their housework.

The third interesting that I notice is that, the entire fast food restaurant in Wuhan never provides Chilli sauce. WHY!! I love chilli sauces. I have my launch at McDonalds’ for today. I bought a set meal that consists of a burger, 2 chicken wings, French fries and a drink. I ask Si hao to ask for me for chilli sauce but they DO NOT OFFER ANY CHILLI SAUCE but they offer a type of chilli powder. I took it and give it a try and see how it tastes like. After we find a place to sit, we put together all the French together and I pour the chilli powder all over the fries. I give a try, it taste very nice and completely different than eating with chilli sauce. I also put the chilli powder on my burger and it completely changes the taste of the burger which made it more delicious.

After the meal I walk around Jiansheer Lu to get the sport attire I need. All of us bought something when we go out today. At night we never did much as we want to rest our mind and body for tomorrow lesson in the morning.

Reflection

Today is such an interesting day for me. I experience the neighbourhood of Wuhan. The neighbourhood here much more relax and the old folks here are so active. They socialize with other old folks, enjoying their retirement and having a great time together. Every shop that I went in, they are really interested in us as we come in Singapore. They keep on asking us Questions related about Singapore and the people staying there. We make good friends with almost every shop owner there and they going to give us discount if we buy anything on their shop. With this you can see the difference between Singapore Shop and the Shop in Wuhan. The first few things that I going to miss when I go out of Wuhan is the locals here. Their kindness and friendliness of the people here just touch my heart.

Day 21- STUDY! STUDY! STUDY! SAUSAGE?!

WAH!!!! Why the weather is almost the same as yesterday. Every day is like a normal routine, i will be the first one to wake up and wake all the other two sleeping pigs in the room. After the bath, I feel so fresh and energetic to start the day. When we prepare to go out from the dormitory, I still making decision whether to go to class wearing shoe or SLIPPER. After a few seconds of thinking, i have made decision to wear the slippers. The reason for choosing the SLIPPER is, I want to experience the cold weather while wearing a slipper and to see whether my body can take such a beating. HAHA! I know is a STUPID reason but this is one of kind experience and I will not throw this chance away.

Ms Neo Explaining how to use Report

SO COMPLICATED!ALOHA SLIPPER!

We have our lesson at 9am today. We are having practical lesson and Ms Neo is not going to touch on theory for today. In one day we can cover up two practical lessons, as the topic is very short. We learn about how to use the network diagram view which is the same as AON and learn how to generate report. The project office is one of the best software out there now as it makes your working life easier. The software can help the project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing the work load.
You can’t get better than that. I must pay my fullest attention in every practical lesson because I am weak when it comes to computer software and programming. Today lesson ends very early as Ms Neo give us the afternoon off to let us study for tomorrow test. I am going to make full use of the day STUDYING.

To Many different Type of Dishes..






We went off to have lunch at the big canteen. It has been a long time since I had lunch at the Big canteen. We reach at the canteen at 11.45am and there is not much students there. I start to order my food at the favourite fried rice store. My fried rice always extra spicy with extra egg and it cost me only 4¥. It is so freaking cheap. After we have all our dishes at the table, we can finally start to eat. When I was eating my meal, when the clock struck 12pm, a huge crowd of STUDENTS enters the entrance of the canteen. This is my first time seeing such a huge crowd enter at once and start to order for their lunch. Judging from all the student faces, they are really looking forward to their lunch and having their stomach full. Even there is So many STUDENTs, the big canteen is large enough contains all of the Students.


Before we go back... We go to our favourite laundry area.

Handsome already la Si hao.. HAHA!(outside the bathing area)

There is a SOFA outside the Bathing Area..

After the lunch break, I went back to my dormitory and start on my revision for tomorrow test. I haven really started on it and I will use the time given to me to the revision. I will camp at my room and I will not go out anymore even for dinner. All my roommates are with me as they using the time given to them to use for revision. There is five chapter that we need to study and only have less than 9hours to study for everything. WAHHH SO STRESS!!

That's the ONLY way to cook the Sausages.

HAHA! BRING IN THE SAUSAGE!
GRRR!! My stomach is already growling. I was already night I have not had my dinner. Both of my roommates have bought SAUSAGES and a big loaf of bread for dinner. This is my first time cooking dinner at my room. We do not have a cooker to cook the SAUSAGES. You know what we use to cook the SAUSAGES? We use the water boiler to cook the SAUSAGES. It is such a unique way to cook the food. After the dinner, I continue to STUDY and then sleep.

Reflection
One thing that I learn today is to have a good time management. When I am here, my time management is very poor as there is so many things happen at once that I can’t juggle everything. Study life in Wuhan is done at a much faster pace than in Singapore because we are squeezing 1terms of studying to 6weeks. I have to tell myself everyday that I need to plan all the things that needed to be done for tomorrow. Set a goal everyday is a good way to keep in track on the things you are doing.

Day 20- Rain Rain GO Away!

When I woke up, I was shivering like a mad man. It was raining heavily outside and the temperature is below 10˚C. In Wuhan, the sudden weather change here is very common and we all must be ready for the weather change. Item that i always must bring along with me is Jacket, umbrella and poncho. You never know when the weather will change and is better to be prepared. This is my first time wearing 2 piece of clothing on a very cold weather.

When I step out of my dormitory, the cold gust of wind just brushes off my body. The trip to the class was uncomfortable as I was shivering like mad and I was lucky enough to have someone to hug to. ;)

WHOAH! So colourful..

So Squezy!!

Today lesson, we going to learn a new topic that is call PERT. It is an important topic as it is going to be tested for our Examination. AHH!! I gave my fullest attention during the lesson and understand everything that is being taught by Ms Neo. Anything that I was unsure off, I will keep on asking Ms Neo so that I will understand every single detail that I don’t understand.
PERT is important as it can be used in my working life. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is used in cases where activity durations are uncertain or subject to uncontrollable variation, we cannot work pit an exact project duration. PERT will work out the mean project duration together with a standard deviation of the project duration. After we have done all the calculation, we can finally know the specific date that the projects going to ends. There is so much formula need to be used and it is almost like ASTATS which I took last semester.

Finally the class have ended. I can sense that everyone was tired and feeling hungry. One main thing that is different around the class today is, the class is filled with UMBRELLA! The umbrellas are scattered everywhere in front of the class. It’s such a unique sight as the umbrellas are cramp together at certain spot.

WET FLOOR.. be Careful..

HAHA!! I know how to Identify the Counterfeit Notes.
After the lesson, we went out of the campus to replenish our necessities. We went to the small supermarket to get all the stuff needed to stay survive until the end of the trip. All of us go to small clothing store to look at the clothing that is being sold there. Fathullah is looking around for a nice shirt to buy while Si hao and me is chatting with the shopkeeper there. The shopkeeper is very friendly as she told us the do’s and don’ts when are outside the streets. Some stuff that she talk about is that, don’t put the wallet at the back pocket your pants as pickpocket can steal the wallet easily. One of the interesting topics she talks about is how to identify counterfeit notes in China. There are various ways of determined if the notes are counterfeit. Finally I learn something interesting today and I can put in good use and identify all the counterfeit notes. HAHA!

Cute Bike..KFC Delivery Box.

YUM YUM!! KFC GOOD!

After we came back from shopping, we are so lazy to go out again to get dinner. The best way to get the dinner to come to you is just a simple phone call. We order KFC!! WOHOO! My roommates and I order the Family feasts which contain 11 piece Chicken, one 1.5litre bottle and 6 piece nugget. The deliveryman came in 15minutes after we order and we need to meet him at the back gate of the campus. The similarity between China and Singapore KFC deliveryman is they have the same KFC attire. The difference between China and Singapore KFC deliveryman is China KFC deliveryman ride electric motorcycle but Singapore KFC deliveryman ride motorcycle which use petrol to move the bike. The other difference is, China KFC deliveryman is wearing a cap when delivering the food but Singapore deliveryman will wear helmet when delivering.
After the superb meal, I get back to my studies and relax after that. :D

Reflection
Being prepare for anything is very important when coming to a new country or surrounding. You just never know what’s going to happen as you not very sure how the place works. When I am here in Wuhan, I always bring all the things that needed to protect me against any weather changes. The weather here is very unpredictable as we need to always check the weather forecasts and bring the things needed to keep ourselves safe.

The other thing that I learn is about being vigilant when you outside of campus. All your valuable belongings should always bring along with you and not keep at the dormitory as we don’t know what’s going to happen if we keep the things there. Wallets should not be put at the back pocket but somewhere close at front part of your body as it is the safest of all. The most important is how to check for counterfeit note as you never know whether the notes fake or note. I have been practicing of how to check the note is counterfeit or not. That’s all for today see you tomorrow. :)

Day 19- CELEBRATION!!

It feels SO GOOD after having a good long rest. The trip to the Three Gorges is still stuck on my head when I woke up and it will not be forgotten until the day I leave this earth. It’s the start of the week, and I am ready for anything that’s being thrown to me.

Miss Grace! How do China Business Work?

Today, I am having my IS class and we are learning a New topic about China. The lucky topic is Doing Business in China. I will give my fullest attention about any topic that is related to business culture. I was glad to have this opportunity to learn about how China people do their businesses. China is now one of the best countries to do business with as they have the resources and labour. There are many type of business that can be done in China but there are three major industries that contribute to the growth of China which is exporting of education, processed food and wine production.

I never thought there is so many different business cultures that need to be follow when doing business. Being a businessman is not that easy. In China, there are certain cultures that need to be followed. Some examples is, firstly, in China, business relationship are personal relationship; establishing a trusting personal relationship that demonstrate your respect. Secondly, handshaking is the accepted greeting, with a light handshake encouraged, lasting as long as ten second. Only list a two, but there is a lot more that I have learnt today.

A Speech from A Special Person..

Other Np stuff

So LUCKY to take picture with Mr Foo See Meng

There is a Special Someone that came to our class. It is the Mr Foo See Meng; he is the Deputy Principle of Ngee Ann Polytechnics. He gave a short speech and asks all the whole class weather the life in Wuhan is good. This is my first time seeing him even though I have been in Ngee Ann for almost a year. After the speech, all of us took a picture with him.

We went back to our room to have short nap and do some revision for my upcoming test. A few more days to my test and haven really started.

The TOP STUDENT!

Common Guys tell me your Order!


So much Variety Of FooD!!

It’s going to be night soon, and we going to have free dinner because someone special is going to treat me. He is treating us for dinner because he is the TOP student in International Supply Chain Management for getting GPA 4. His name is Tan Si Hao. In China the culture is that when one achieve something or when one receive good news, he or she is suppose treat their friends or family members.

He is treating all of us and his China Buddies at a restaurant not far from the campus. One of the China Buddies has already book a room in restaurant for us. We went there around 7pm and the table is already nicely set for us. When all of us have already take their sit, Si hao starts to order the dishes. He is kind to both me and Fathullah as he did not order any dishes with pork in it. All of my China buddies can understand English very well so any topic about China culture that we are unsure off, we can ask them.

Finally the food have come, we all pick up our chopsticks and start eating. SHIOK AH! All the dishes taste so delicious and we can enjoy the meal with all our close friends. This type of Special occasion doesn’t come that often, as not many people can achieve success every day. After the dinner all us say our goodbyes and went off to our separate ways. We went to our dormitory and call it a day.

Reflection
I have learnt many things today about China itself. Especially the Business side of China, as doing business in China is not that easy as we need to learn about their culture first before we can open a business there. If anyone wants to open up a business in any country, they must learn about the culture and belief in order for them not to harm or disrespect them. Learning about other country culture is very interesting as it can broaden our horizon and it can be use in the future if you are interested to open up business in other country. In the future, I hope that I have a chance to work abroad and use my knowledge about other culture to good use.