I've been looking forward to this trip since i was in y1 and now that its over, i really feel like it has surpassed my expectations of fun and also learning :D Before the trip, all i was looking forward to was to have fun and i didn't really think much about the educational component of this trip but i am very glad to say that, putting fun aside, i have learnt a lot through this 7 days, experiencing life in another country with the company of my fellow classmates!
One of the highlights of this trip would definitely have to be the visit to NEHS, it was where i got to experience Taiwan's education. After the brief 2 days there, i could make comparisons between Singapore and Taiwan's education system. I feel that Singapore is much stricter and we have a lot more rules to adhere to than in Taiwanese schools, the Taiwanese students need not wear uniforms on most of the days and they do not have many rules regarding attire. Also, they do not have a heavy workload and they do not have tests regularly, unlike Singapore where we have our CAs and SAs. But they do not have a CCA system where students are able to engage in other activities outside classs, unlike in Singapore where CCAs are mandatory and we can spend time outside of class to do things that we enjoy. But generally i feel that both education systems has its flaws and merits.
In Taiwan, people discourage the use of plastic bags in shops by charging them, food containers in schools are not dumped but instead routinely taken to recycling bins. This isn't anything spectacular to the Taiwanese as it is part of their lifestyle but yet as Singaporeans we do not see this happening often in Singapore, so upon seeing these practices we would take such good habits back to Singapore and practice eco-friendliness here.
The trip to the aboriginal culture village allowed me to witness the aborigines of Taiwan(which are the minority of Taiwan) and also learn more about the Taiwanese culture. I think that the existence of such places is crucial to a country so that culture and tradition won't be lost with time but instead will be preserved and passed on to the younger generation. The visits to the museums and memorial halls have greatly increased my knowledge of Taiwan in many aspects. From fine art, to history, the lives of revolutionaries such as Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat sen and also being able to view artifacts from the ancient Chinese dynasties. Upon gaining knowledge from these places, i understood the importance of preserving culture and artifacts from the past as it is able to educate people or even the younger generation about a particular place or person and not let them be forgotten with time. In conclusion, the culture, traditions and history of a country or place is extremely important as it gives a sense of identity.
Straying away from culture and tradition, we also got to experience what life is like in Taiwan in the present 21st century, where high speed trains are the common mode of transport and shopping streets such as Ximending are regularly frequented.
Through this trip i could see the similarities between Singapore and Taiwan, both being developed nations, but i could also see the differences in the lifestyles in both countries and i also appreciate Singapore for its merits and am proud to be a Singaporean.
That aside, 2L truly bonded a lot as a class in the past 7 days. Spending time together allowed us to know more about each other and understand each other more. We had fun together, got scolded together but most importantly we spent time together and nothing could ever be exchanged for that. We will definitely miss the times we spent together and the memories would remain with us for as long as we can possibly remember :')
p/s: it was fun being one of the photographers of the trip photographing everyone and also taking selfies and stuff ^_^ in case you didn't know, heres the link to the photos i took >> https://www.facebook.com/claudia.chua.7/media_set?set=a.10201038708928524.1073741826.1791733512&type=3
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