Day 4 - Sparkling Orientation

Classroom Building
This is the building that hosts our education for the next 5 weeks! Our group of MDE students arrived here at around 9am to view our classrooms and study environment. The structure itself is fortified with strong pillars to hold its great weight. It is home for the study of foreign languages.


Broken Window


Quotations
There was a moment of dead silence as I entered the doorway. Echos were heard when we spoke to one another. The ambiance of the structure felt like it was abandoned decades ago. Walls were filled with quotations to help inspire students and improve the English of China students.


Dirty Classrooms


Self-Decoration

A classroom caught my attention while I was walking past it. There were trash, papers, dustbin, and a broomstick lying all over the place. How is one supposed to study in an environment like this? At the foreground were walls covered with self-drawn artifacts and posters. Even the stand on the stage itself was vandalized with white marker.

This could mean that:

• The students are not brought up with the right teachings that vandalism is prohibited
• Students are inconsiderate and show no concern to the next batch of people using the classroom
• Students find that randomly drawing on public property is a form of art
• The school is not strict enough or did not instill school rules and forms of punishment
• Or the students are completely ignorant

This is not a suitable classroom for studying, and is DEFINITELY not our classroom for use! Our classroom is better off and more decent and clean. However, there do not seem to be any air-conditioning, which is rather demoralizing due to the hot weather. But it is all right, as we have all came here to learn and experience something different. I have gone through without air-conditioning before just like old times, in Primary and Secondary School!


Toilet Cubical
One obvious point to notice is that the toilets along the classroom corridors are not built to satisfy our privacy. The cubical stands barely 4-feet tall, which in any case if a person were to peep into our cubical while we were doing our business, were free to do so! However, I believe that the China people are matured and will not do such a thing. We are fortunate that this toilet even has cubical doors, whereas in some parts, they don't.

I feel fortunate that Singapore has already advanced much further than most parts of China. Singapore toilets are maintained by professionals, and installed with State of The Art equipments. Such as censors on water taps to automatically dispense water, automated flushing system, and even automated hand towel dispenser.


Building's Caretaker
This elderly lady is the supposed caretaker of the structure's facilities. The interior of the room are filled with essential items for her daily routine. The rice cooker, wok, and utensils allow her to do her own basic cooking. She may also be in charge of doing the cleaning of the entire facility. However, due to her old age, she might not be able to clean up the whole place as before.


Office Station in Library
Lunch hour, and the staffs are probably having a fine meal. Their computers are still old-fashion CPUs with huge bulking screens. In Singapore, most work desks or even computer gaming shops are equipped with flat-screen monitors and all of latest technologies. Such super computers enable Singapore's workforce to work at a much quicker and efficient speed. Thus, constantly running and keeping Singapore in a competitive market.


Student Services
Two China students with inquires seeking help from a desk clerk.


Cargo Delivery
A truck filled with large consignment of goods. Inside the wrappings are plain printing papers for the library usage.


Professional Balancing Skills
This is one of the 3 elderly man carrying the heavy printing papers up to the third floor of the library. The man in the picture looks in is his mid 50s. Although they are "old", they are still in this line of work, which requires them to carry heavy loads of goods. It is not a choice for them to make as they are lowly educated and have to use their brute strength to make a living, even up till this age.

In my opinion, they should at least use a fork trolley or a pallet jet to ease the transport of such heavy goods. Carrying in such a way in the long run, will cause back aches or posture problems.


Shopping Mall Lockers
I headed down to the nearby shopping mall for lunch. The lockers used in the nearby shopping mall are operated by an electronic device. It requires the user to pay using a prepaid card, followed by keying in his 6-digit combination code to unlock the locker. This is an advanced system employed in China. In Singapore, their lockers are operated by inserting coins and issued a personal key, or even a combination lock.


Ventilated Charcoal
On the way back to the hostel, I passed by a truck filled of charcoal. This is not ordinary charcoal that we use to barbecue in Singapore. It is designed in a unique way. Notice that their cylindrical shape has many parallel holes in it to act as ventilation. This is to increase the intake of oxygen to improve combustion. In Singapore, most canteens use gas canisters to cook food. However in China, their food outlet uses a primitive method, charcoal! It is also good because it enhances the taste of food, and is less "poisonous". On the other hand, too much barbecued or charred food is cancerous to a person's health.

REFLECTIONS

It is always good to open one's mind and allow knowledge to flow in freely. Allow new experiences to enter into your life. The classrooms we have visited seemed dilapidated, but the China students have been able to adapt to it, so will I! All the quotations on the wall are very inspiring, and I will use them as a guide to improve myself and others. I am very grateful of the standard that Singapore has set for their education system. Singapore's education facilities are decent and simple, and toilets are well maintained with sufficient amount of privacy. Most schools in Singapore have security guards, to ensure that the premises are safe and also to serve as a service for students, parents, and outsiders.

In addition, I appreciate the fact that there are people working so hard to put food on the table, and would work as a laborer until an old age. I have always been cooking simple foods like eggs, noodles, or meat at home with a standard stove convenient for usage. However, I came to notice that in developing countries, people are still using primitive method of fire from charcoal.

The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows.

-Aristotle Onassis