Today was the first day we were in Taiwan and there were many difference between Taiwan and Singapore. The language the locals speak here are Chinese while our first language in Singapore is English, so we need to learn how to adapt to their language. The currency is different, so I'm still not very familiar on how to use NTD. Taking the bullet train was a new experience. It was similar to Singapore's MRT however, it moves at a faster speed, the distance between each station is longer than Singapore's MRT stations and standing wasn't allowed in the bullet train thus everyone had their own seat unlike in Singapore's MRT, where you had a choice of standing or sitting. When we were in the restaurant for dinner, I noticed something new that I had never seen before. It's a mini lift where the restaurant owners installed and a trolley can be placed inside with plates of food on it so that food can be served on the second level. I thought it was pretty interesting and a good invention to save time and bring convenience to the waiters in the restaurant.
Jing Yan:
Today did not start out well because i forgot to bring my earpiece. In Taiwan, i was not used to hearing other people speak in Mandarin. However, i soon got used to their accents. We had our first attempt to buy items with a different currency in convenience stalls and thankfully, it was not very difficult to handle. Taking the bullet train was also entertaining despite the fact that where we were supposedly sitting was taken by someone else. I found the bullet train similar to those of Japan's. During dinner, Gladys and I were fascinated by this mini elevator which transported the tray and food up and down the first and second floors of the restaurant. We both felt it was extremely unique and a great idea. The food at the restaurant, especially the salted egg tofu and the meatballs were really good. Although we did not learn anything significant today, other than the fact that bee hoon and meatballs were the local specialities, i am sure the next 6 days would be extremely enriching and we would learn lots more about Taiwan's culture.
Emily:
Today was a fun day and as it is only the first day, i hope that the rest of the trip would be as fun too. The airplane food was surprisingly good and 7-Eleven in Taiwan is amazing. Although it wasnt my first time taking a bullet train, the train ride was still interesting. The food we had for dinner was a little disappointing though as the bee hoon was a little bland but the tofu was nice. Our behaviour wasnt good today and we were very noisy throughout but the teachers were still nice enough to give us free time after our debrief. I hope that tomorrow we would be better behaved and that our teachers would give us more free time.
Kheng Lon:
Today was the first day of our OELP trip to Taiwan. The weather in Taiwan is very hot, similar to that in Singapore. I realized that not many people speak English in Taiwan, mostly speaking mandarin. After placing our luggages in the coach, we went to take the bullet train. The train journey was amazing as we got to eat some snacks and enjoy the scenery outside. However, the situation was not so good in the bus. While the tour guide was talking, most of us were chatting and doing our own things, ignoring the tour guide. The tour guide was frustrated as he could not get our attention. I regretted my inconsiderate action as I was not showing any respect to the tour guide who is already in his 50s. I hope that all of us can learn to be more respectful when someone is talking so as to create a good impression. Overall, I enjoyed myself today.
Claudia:
It is the first time i'm in Hsinchu and it is vastly different from Taipei. We did not really do much apart from traveling and it has been an exhausting day. The 7-11 in Taiwan has a wide variety of food ranging from tidbits to meatballs in soup and it is very large, which us very different from Singapore's which usually only sell some tidbits and daily necessities. Also, the people in Taiwan are not well versed in English and I had a pretty hard time conversing in Chinese to everyone I see as I've been too used to speaking in English. I feel like our behaviour today was not appropriate as our noise levels were too high and also we weren't attentive to the tour guide and that is something we will definitely improve on. I hope that the subsequent days would be more exciting and rewarding.
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