OELP daily reflections (Tan Ivan)

First day

Honestly speaking, today was boring. We did not get any points from yesterday or today to show whether Singapore and China is friend or foe. However, we can say that China and Singapore are friends because of our tour guide for today. The tour guide had made friends with us today which partially showed that China and Singapore are friends. Although there is no full proof yet but there is a higher possibilities of friends than foes. The tour guide had passionately introduced us to Sanhe Guzhen. We went to 4 places today, 杨振宁旧居，刘同兴隆庄，鹤庐，仙姑楼。All these places are in Sanhe Guzhen. We walked and walked and walked. We saw many things but the places wasn't that interesting as it seemed to be from the outside. While walking from places to places, we see many children playing, adults talking and many more. This showed the culture of the chinese people.

Second day

Today was the most memorable day i will ever have in Anhui, Hefei. My class went to the school, 45 high school ! It was my first time meeting my buddy but we were able to communicate well because we were in an email conversation even before i came to China. My buddy and I had many fun activities together. We share the joys with each other, run under the hot sun together, playing basketball together and of course playing table tennis together. He teached me many things that i did not know. I am very happy to have such a winderful buddy like him. Although he did not give me and presents but the time spent togather was enjoyable. It was the best gift i could ever wanted for just 1 day of friends. In class, i was happy also because of the classmates. They were all crowding around me. They wanted to know me better and we all had enjoyable laughter knowing each other's nicknames. My buddy's home was smaller than mine and the outerior was not something that will impress my eyes, but the interior was the total opposite. His house was extremely clean, everything arranged properly. His mother was also very kind. She cut fruits for me, gave me chocolate and asked me about my school in Singapore and how i think of China. After speaking for a while, my buddy's friend,which is also my classmate's buddy, came over to his house with my classmate. We then had even more fun interacting with one another. It is memorable because i had never been to an overseas friend's house, especially when we only met for one day. Moreover, i envy their school system. Their school system is different from our school's. No matter what subject it is, the lesson is always 45 minutes. After every lesson, there is a 10 minutes break for us to rest, go to the toilet and do anything we want. From 11.25 - 2.30, they can have their lunch outside and then have lessons after that till 5.45. Even though the school hours are long, they are able to have time in between lessons to rest and their lunch time is very long. This gives them more freedom. All in all, i like today's trip and the school which i think is meaningful and memorable. To add on, the dinner was delicious, definitely better than the rest of the days :D

Third day

It was an emotional day today... Some people cry, some people were emo and the rest are normal. There were obviously fewer laughters today... So quiet. We saw the cruelty in humans when treating the animals. Of course, not all humans are like that and my classmates are one of the examples. Firstly, we saw the chicken fight. Even though it was the first experience for most of us, or even all, it was not something that everyone can see. The chickens' feathers were plucked off from the fights and even some has scars on them. Some of my class ates cannot take it anymore and went to a corner to cool themselves down. The next even more cruel thing was the circus. Honestly, i'd say that the performers didn't even treat the tigers like they are human beings. We do not know whether the performers are forced to do so but the actions are really too violent that many people left the circus and even some cried. No one could stand seeing the tigers get beaten so badly and even i couldn't even though i stayed there and continue watching.

Fourth day

Beautiful scenery today on Huang Shan. It was definitely tiring but absolutely fun. We took the tour bus to the bottom of HuangShan then took the cable car to the middle of the mountain. The cable car was fun and exciting. It was the first time i've ever taken a cable car which can take up to much much more than the small cable car which can take up to 8 people. 2 of my classmates are scared of heights and they didn't dare to look up or out of the window. They grabbed the bags of our friends and they slightly looked when the teachers forced them to. After that, we had like an EXTREMELY LONG WALK up to Huang Shan. It was absolutely tiring. When we got to our hotel, i literally dropped onto the bed and almost fell asleep. After that we had a trail on Huang Shan.

Fifth day

We woke up early today to see the beautiful sunrise. We were on Huang Shan and the sun rise was beautiful. Some of us climbed higher and higher to get the best view of the sunrise, like a VIP seat. We spent sbout an hour or less there taking photos, climbing rocks and enjoying scenary. After that, we were sent back to our hotel so that we can either sleep or get ready for the day. After everybody was ready, we went for breakfast and to Hong Cun. We were able to see the villages and learn about the people who lived in history. We learnt about their houses, about the rule that the girls have to stay upstairs until they are married and more. The villagers were poor and their houses were small.

Sixth day

We went to another village today called the Xidi village. Honestly, there were not really much to see there. There was some interesting "bubbles" in the lake at the entrance or Xidi Village. Mr Wong said that they were frog eggs but Lijie lao shi insist that they were bubbles. The most interesting part was the garden. There were beautiful flowers, butterflies and bees ! After that, we had our last lunch together as a group in China then we went to yuefei museum. We were making jokes there because we saw this boy poking into yue fei's grave and we said that he is yue fei's reincarnation. When we were at the museum, i saw 2 of my primary school friends and some of my classmates saw theirs too ! After that, we went to have dinner in the airport and GOODBYE CHINA !