Weather: -Nil-
Places visited: Kaohsiung International Airport and Ten Drums Hotel
I've learnt that the way Taiwanese speak is quite different from Singaporeans. For example, when it's late at night, instead of saying “现在已经很晚了”, like most of us Singaporeans, they will say “现在已经很夜了”, which is something that's normal for them. Secondly, the tour guide gave us the world's number one bread, and it was pretty unqiue though the taste was slightly different as compared to the usual bread I consumed. It's healthy and personally, I think the way they made the bread shows how important health was to the people there.
Day 2 🍀
Weather: -Nil-
Places visited: [In order] Meinong Folk Village, Meinong Hakka Culture Museum, Kaohsiung Hakka Cultural Museum, Kaohsiung Museum of History, Former British Consulate and Liu He Night Market
I've learnt (from the tour guide) that Taiwan is a “水果王国”, and that the farmers nowadays earn even more than the white-collared workers. Why is that so? Taiwan has more land as compared to Singapore, and most land have fertile soil suitable for farming, thus the farmers are able to yield more crops for the season. In Meinong, we went to the museum and the village, learning more about the history of it and also the places and buildings there that holds great historical value. In the village, we drank the 'Lei Cha', which is famous in Taiwan and uniquely Hakka. It can't be found in most places too. We also went to the other museums, learning about the importance of Hakka preservation, the tragic 228 incident in Kaohsiung, and also the history of the Former British Consulate. Values that we could learn from the Hakka Culture was that all of us should actually learn how to respect papers. In the olden days, people treated paper with great respect, because people thought that paper was the most essential thing needed for studying. Since olden days, people though that studying was something important to everyone if that one person wishes to achieve succes. Due to the fact that having a better education might allow people to rise to high political positions and gain fame for their family, people of course, valued studying more and to the extent that they thought that paper should be respected. The day ended off with a trip to the highly-anticipated LiuHe Night Market. We witnessed many people of different culture backgrounds touring the night market, with a look of awe on their faces. I've also seen many international cuisine sold there such as the Dorayaki and the Irish Ice-Cream. The Dorayaki was brought in when Japan invaded Taiwan, and though that one incident,you can see that the impact that the invasion brought to Taiwan was so significant that traces of the Japanese culture can still be found in Taiwan today.
Day 3 🍀
Weather: Sunny
Places visited: Ten Drums Hotel, AnPing Fort and Old Street, Eternal Golden Castle, Tainan Confucius Temple and Chihkan Tower.
The day started with a drum lesson in Ten Drums Hotel which we greatly enjoyed. After that, we went to watch a performance organised by the hotel itself. The drum players were trying their very best to give us their best performance and like what they've said, they wanted the tradition of Chinese drums to be passed down from one generation to the next , and it shows how preservation of this tradition was important for them. This was something that we could learn, since the younger generation are now more obsessed with their phones rather than trying to keep up with the traditional ways. For the Anping Fort and Old Street, I've learnt that the Dutch were the one who built the first fort in 1624, which was originally named Fort Zeelandia. Also, during the Dutch governance, slaves were brought in, commonly known as "Oo-Kui-Aa" or "黑鬼奴". Thirdly, the Eternal Golden Castle that we went to was a beautiful place with wonderful scenery. I've learnt that the tunnel built there was made from resources such as sugar and sticky rice instead of the cement that we are using nowadays. It shows how intelligent and how resourceful people was in the past. However, I've often wondered how much time they would need to build just one tunnel using all these materials instead if the cement that was quick and easy. Later on, we went to the Tainan Confucius Temple and Chihkan Tower. Both places were visited by many tourists and were famous places of interests. For these two places, they are often visited by students who wish to get good results, and also for students who wish to get into a school of their choice. Tainan Confucius temple is also the first school in Taiwan, thus making it a popular tourist attraction as people are interested to see the schools and classrooms of the past. Overall, I got to know more about Taiwan's history and also its traditions, and that the fact that Taiwan's many buildings are constructed the way it is now due to past foreign influence. I look forward to gaining more knowledge.
Day 4 🍀
Weather: Sunny
Places visited: Sacred Hearts High School (正心中学), Hwa Shan Public School and legend of Coffee Mountain
Today, we went to Sacred Hearts Hihg School for an exchange programme. I went for their English lesson and we played games such as "Mix & Match" and also charades. From here, I learnt that SHHS uses “快乐教育” which is more engaging and fun as compared to the lessons we have in RV. I also think that students should learn to be more active and enthusiastic during lessons like the students of Sacred Hearts High School. In RV, students are generally shy unlike the students of Sacred Hearts High School who are more outgoing. Even if there are certain questions that we want to raise, we mostly do not have the courage to speak up in class, a situation rarely seen in SHHS. Thus, this was a point that RV could learn from SHHS. Secondly, we went to "Legend of Coffee Mountain" where we made pineapple tarts. I've last learnt the reason behind pineapples hats ( an item used to block a pineapple from the hot sun), and it's because of the reason that it will cool the pineapple down (If the pineapple is too hot, the quality will not be good). Hwa Shan public school was the last place that we went to. We saw many arts exhibits by “下课了”, and we also watched a performance by the 43 children in the school. I saw a boy with great presentation skills too. Despite his young age, he had confidence as he spoke to us, maintaining eye contact as he explained the art piece with clear articulation and a booming voice. I think that I could learn from him despite him being my junior. I look forward to tomorrow.
Day 5 🍀
Weather: Sunny and Rainy
Places visited: Sacred Hearts High School, Xing Long Towel Factory, 云林布袋馆，台湾故事馆
Firstly, we went to Xing Long Towel Factory and we did our own DIY towel puppet (dog). I've learnt many useful information about towels such as the points we have to consider when buying towels. (The colour, the smell, the tag, and its ability to absorb water), which is applicable in daily life. Secondly, we went to 云林布袋馆 and 台湾故事馆, where we learnt about the puppets and also more information about the history of Taiwan. Puppets dates back to a long time ago, and it was commonly used during Chinese operas. For every character, there would be a different type of personality that they have, and when their faces are carved through special wood, all of their expressions are mostly different too. Each puppet is a special character of its own and I found that pretty interesting. I've learnt about 黄俊雄, a famous and skilled puppeteer in this area, and also the “三大” of Hu Wei, which are the sweets, the towels produced by the towel factory and also the puppets. The sweets were rather expensive in the past, and for most, those who owned sweets were people of higher status. Hence, people who were richer would always give sweet to their guests, which is a sign of their hospitality, yet indirectly showing that their family was pretty wealthy. Lastly, we went back to SHHS, where we attended the ballon sculpting and magic lessons. I found that a unqiue experience. In RV, most lessons are about learning the topics that was tested at the end of the year. The only time where we can attend other lessons such as calligraphy is when there is a special occasion. I think these type of lessons provided in Sacred Hearts High School is something that should be used in RV so as to better develop the other hidden talents of students. We even went to look at some of their CCAs, such as Scouts and Band. I've learnt about the differences that exists between theirs and ours CCAs, such as scouts which is solely for boys in SHHS unlike RV where girls can join in too. I look forward to the buddy outing tomorrow! :)
Day 6 🍀
Weather: Rainy and Sunny
Places visited: Sacred Hearts High School, 剑湖山 Amusement Park
Today, the day started with a trip to SHHS where we attended three lessons respectively. The first lesson was a Chinese lesson, and during that period of time, the teacher taught us a poem that was easy to comprehend once she explained to us the definitions and the meaning behind this poem. We went to the Chemistry Lab for a Chemistry lesson next, and there, after the teacher explained briefly, the teacher let the students do what they think is best as they followed the textbook but occasionally, he will check up on us to see our progress. I realized that for these two lessons, air-conditioning was provided in the room unlike RV, and another thing was that instead of whiteboards and markers, they used blackboards and chalks. Also, they used a radio to listen to the poem instead of using a laptop like most of us do. Lastly, we went for a home economics lesson. There, instead of teaching us step by step personally in RV, they showed them a video before allowing them to complete their work, which was a sign of how much the teachers trusted their students and how they gave the students a chance to be independent. The lesson was something that I truly enjoyed as I cooked several dishes with my friends and buddies, interacting with them along the way. After all of that, I went to the Amusement park with my buddy, along with some of my classmates (Audrey, Carine, Charmaine), her friend (Buddy of Carine and Audrey) and their mothers. There, we went on to several rides such as the Viking Ship and we had a wonderful time together. We also went to the haunted house and we even managed to appreciate an acrobatics performance by people who came from overseas. We even ate our dinner at a local fast food restaurant similar to KFC and the food was absolutely delicious! Overall, the day ended in a blink of an eye, and at around 8pm, it was finally time to say goodbye. Despite being strangers at first, we managed to warm up to one another. This friendship is something that I will treasure forever.
Day 7 🍀
Weather: -NIL-
Places visited: 921 Earthquake Educational Park, Taoyuan Airport and Changi Airport
Before we went to Taoyuan airport, we went to a place called 921 Earthquake Educational Park. Upon reaching there, the assistants told us to spit out our bubblegums before we could proceed on to visiting the inside of the place. There, the tour guide (陈大哥）further explained to us what happened during the earthquake. It happened in the middle of the night, probably around 2am and hence, no students were present, which was something fortunate. However, their schools were wrecked and completely destroyed, making it impossible for them to study in such an environment. Thus, they were unable to study in this school anymore and it caused several problems for the student population. The government kept this site till now so that it would serve as a reminder to the others that an earthquake wasn't something that shouldn't be belittled and ignored. Hence, several exhibitions were showcased so as to allow the people to learn more on earthquakes and the things that they could do during one to make sure that they stay safe from the dangers present. I think this is something that Singapre should actually learn, despite having no natural disasters, we have other problems as well such as floods and so on, and during this times, people is mostly at a loss on what to do. So, Singapore could actually teach the residents how and what to do during such problems and learn from Taiwan. Shortly after, we went to view a 3D video which shows the situation during a massive earthquake that occurred in Taiwan, and through this, we've learnt about the dangers that exist during earthquakes in Taiwan, and that she should appreciate the fact that Singapore is much safer country as compared to Taiwan. After that, we went to Taoyuan Airport and went back to Singapore~
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