Day 25 (08/10, Fri)

THE CAMPUS IS LIVELY AGAIN!

Yes, the local students are all back from their week long National Day school holiday. The whole school is no longer quiet and there are finally people going to classes with us!

PRACTICAL TEST TODAY

Yup, today was PM’s practical test. I couldn’t finish my test paper! What’s worse was that I forgot to type my answer onto the word document but wrote it onto the question paper instead. BOO HOO! HOW?!!!

laptop check! question paper check! ready for practical test!

With all the tests over, we have to put all our minds into our report, presentation and the making of our group movie.

Eliza, Michelle and I had lunch at a fast food restaurant near the soup restaurant. The food was yummy but a little TOO SPICY for POOR ELIZA. She couldn’t take it after taking her first bite of her chicken wrap.

I found something interesting today! In Singapore, we are not allowed to consume food not purchased from the fast food restaurant we are dining at. However, this is not the case here. People can just buy food from the streets outside and just order anything from the fast food restaurant and they can dine in there without being chased out. HOW NICE! In this way, we can enjoy a wide variety of food at one location!

customers consuming food not bought from the fast food restaurant

We took a taxi to the flea market at 步行街 today. However, we felt that we were conned by the taxi driver. The meter jumped inconsistently every few seconds and at different amount each time. in the end, the taxi fare totaled up to a whooping RMB 42. We questioned the taxi driver and he insisted that it was due to the traffic jam. Hello uncle, it wasn’t that jammed. We compared it against the others who took a taxi too, but their fare was only RMB 30++. So, what do you think?

The flea market is like a MEGA GIGANTIC PASAR MALAM.  I bought myself 2 watches! So happy! But I forgot to take a picture of the place :(

Afraid that the scam might happen to us again, we decided to take a bus back instead. We waited 20 minutes for the bus, causing us to be a little late when we got back to the hostel.

Anyway, the bus was SUPER CROWDED. We were squeezed like pancakes! I was in such an awkward position that my legs hurt. Check out the crowd in the bus!

REFLECTION

The taxi ride today was kind of unfortunate. However, I believe in the saying “once beaten, twice shine”. This incident shall be a lesson learnt for us. So people, be careful the next time you ride on a taxi.

Day 24 (07/10, Thurs)

BBQ!

The local students organised a barbecue session for us today! WOO HOO!

I LOVE BBQ!

We took AN HOUR’S WALK to the barbecue pit. Have to exercise to consume the food later on!

Well, being in 2 different places on earth, the food that we normally prepare for our barbecue sessions are a quite different from the food the local students prepared for us.

Example 1: BBQ Pit

the long and narrow BBQ pit

 Unlike the pits we use in Singapore which are usually bigger in surface area, BBQ pits here are long and narrower than the ones we use.

  

Example 2: Everything is skewed

cutting the cabbage to skew it

Perhaps the reason why the BBQ pits here appear longer and narrower is to allow skewers to be placed neatly onto the pits to barbecue.

All the food prepared were skewed, and I find it easier to barbecue them. They are also easier to eat! We do not have to dirty our hands to peel anything off.

Example 3: Chicken Gizzard

Have you eaten chicken gizzards for BBQ? This is my first time! I have only tried this twice: when eating chicken rice and during day 3’s lunch of our cruise trip.

Skewing the chicken gizzard

Example 4: Spices Everywhere!

SPICES SPICES AND MORE SPICES!

We usually have the food we prepare marinated beforehand. Over here, the foods are prepared on the spot and spices are later on sprinkled on to give the food an extra taste. The spices are really GOOD!

Example 5: OIL, not BUTTER

We usually use butter to make our food taste and smell better. Over here, cooking oil is used instead. Interesting!

双蒙 and I! She knows one mt friend who came to Wuhan on the 4th OIP :)

 

All in all, despite the differences in the food eaten and the methods of preparation of the food eaten, both kinds of BBQ are also DELICIOUS!

Thank you guys for taking your time off to prepare such a wonderful meal for us!

After all those eating, we have to play some sports to shed though kilos off, and we played BASKETBALL!

Local food I tried today: 糯米包油条 (Dough Fritters wrapped in Glutinous Rice)

This is really nice and cost only RMB2!

糯米包油条



REFLECTION

Looking at how differently things are prepared for the barbecue session today makes me realise that not all things have to be done the same way in order to make things possible.

Despite all the differences be it culturally and also mindset we might have between us,

I’m glad we got along pretty well with the local students.

I’m glad that I came for OIP!

Thank you guys! I really enjoyed myself! :)

Day 23 (06/10, Wed)

Hey ALL!

A number of us wanted to discover some new eateries during lunch time today. We didn’t find any actually, but we did make interesting discoveries!

Interesting Discovery 1:

We saw people plucking the feathers of what seemed like a chicken along the roadside. There were traces of the animal’s blood on the floor! Check it out!

Interesting Discovery 2:

We saw many little children sitting outside their parent’s shop entertaining themselves by drawing and writing. Wonder if they attend schools.

Our discovery journey eventually led us back to the 炸酱面shop which some had for lunch for the past 2 days. Oh well, discovery for new eateries FAILED! Hopefully we can find new places to eat. Got to try more things before our stay at Wuhan is over :)

小面窝!
This is soomething like a doughnut, with batter and a little vegetable.
REALLY DELICIOUS!

肉串
similar to SATAY

Dinner @ 建设7 路

We went to 建设7路 today to visit the night market! I bought quite A LOT of things at a VERY CHEAP price!

However, we missed our curfew of 10pm and were all LATE. We all arrived back at the hostel at around 10.15pm; 15 minutes grace period was already given to us by Mr Chia. Eventually, all of us were fined RMB20 for not coming back on time. This is the 1^st EVER FINE that I had to pay. Broke my clean record. SORRY Mr Chia for being late. I know you were worried for all of us.

We are having tomorrow’s afternoon off from classes as we are going to attend a barbecue session organised by the local students! I’m sure LOTS OF FUN & INTERACTION with them will be promised. Looking forward!

REFLECTION

I felt really guilty when we were reprimanded by Mr Chia for being late. I gave to admit that we were not late for the first time and that he has given us chances by letting us off the previous time. sorry Mr Chia for not keeping our promise on being back on time.

Putting our irresponsible attitude aside, looking at the children who were sitting at outside their parent’s shop makesme think of how lucky Singaporean children nowadays are. These children here entertain themselves by drawing while the future of Singapore will take their parents’ iPhone and start with the games inside. See the difference? The children in Singapore are really fortunate and live a really pampered and comfortable life back home.

Day 22 (05/10, Tue)

It’s Day 22! 12 more days to HOME SWEET HOME!

OIP this time round is rather short, down from 6 to 5 weeks. As much as I am enjoying myself here, I miss home too!

Anyway, we took a group photo today in front of the main building!

After classes today, the girls who were tempted by Agnes, Weilin and I decided to head to the salon for some pampering! All in all, there were 5 who succumbed to the temptation: Brenda, Eliza, Jia Li, Michelle and Yi Xian.

We wanted to head to 建设7路 to shop at the night market after dinner but time did not allow us to do so. Guess we have to go tomorrow night. Heard that they have a lot of things selling at a VERY CHEAP PRICE! EXCITED!!!! CAN’T WAIT!!!

REFLECTION

Come to think of it, PM exam is actually 3 weeks plus away from now. OH NO! TOO SOON!!!

Studying a module in 5 weeks is actually possible.

Well, my purpose in coming for this OIP trip was mainly to study 1 core module so as to lighten my work load for my last semester of studies.

Little did I know that I have actually made so many new friends along the way. This trip has definitely been a fun and tiring one at the same time.

The 4^th week will pass soon and then will be our last week here. Guess I will miss this place too.

Day 21 (04/10, Mon)

TEST DAY!!! :(

Even though the test today was scheduled at 10am, I woke up at 7.30pm to make some last minute preparation or the test as I was too tired to revise on it yesterday night.

The paper was actually manageable, except for the fact that it was SUPER TEDIOUS!!! As a result, I was unable to finish the paper :( But what’s done cannot be undone. Let’s just hope that I will not lose too many marks because of that. Well I figured out that I will make A LOT of CARELESS MISTAKES, something I always commit during tests and exams, which is why I always don’t do well:(

Getting ready for the written test..

Our Test Paper. Yickss!!!

 With written test over, PRACTICAL TEST is coming along the way at the end of this week. BOO HOO! Why is it so soon? I’m not ready for it!!!

Mrs Doris Tan so kindly bought us watermelon today. Mr Chia cut it into slices for us. THANK YOU! the shape of the watermelons here at Wuhan are smaller and oval in shape as compared to the big and round ones we get back in Singapore. In Singapore, the redder it is, the sweeter your watermelon will be. That’s not exactly the case here. Even though the watermelon was not very red, it was really sweet! One more thing I have observed is that the watermelons here have much more seeds than Singapore’s. I don’t know why, it’s just the case. Haha!

Enjoying the watermelon. It's very sweet.

In order to pamper ourselves after the miserable test in the morning, Agnes, Weilin and I went to the HAIR SALON! I received hair treatment while they rebonded their hair.

Rebonding Price (2^nd best option): RMB209 ≈ SGD 40++

Their cheapest price is RMB99.WOW!!!

The Hair Treatment product
I paid RMB230 for this after discount.

Hair Iron. It looks a little different from the ones we see in Singapore

Nice Hair?? NICE :D



That’s all for the day. Got to get back on our PM project.

SO MUCH TO DO, SO LITTLE TIME:(

REFLECTION

While doing the test, I started to doubt each and every step I did, whether if I was doing the correct way. Was I too paranoid? Should I just be confident with my answer? Well, I really don’t know. But that’s the things that will go through my mind whenever I take tests and exams: Doubting myself about something i can do with such ease during tutorial class.

What’s wrong with you Eudora?!!!

Day 20 (03/10, Sun)

AMUSEMENT PARK! LET’S GO!!!

Rise & Shine! It’s 8am! Got to be ready at 9am to get to the amusement park!

Together with Yang Tao & Shen Ping, the local students whom we have made friends with since the first week we arrived at Wuhan, we went to the amusement park together!

Front Side: this is Wuhan's version of Ez-Link card.
It functions like our Ez-Link card.

Back of the card

Upon arrival, the place was not like what I expected it to be. It wasn’t exactly an amusement park by itself, but it was actually a place called 中山乐园, a HUGE PARK that also has an amusement centre in it. Again, due to the fact that it’s still a public holiday for China, the park was also packed with lots of people.

Group E!

It was not a pay-per-entrance amusement park. Rather, it was a pay-per-ride system if your want to get on the rides there. I didn’t play all the rides that I wanted as the rides were pretty expensive. I only got onto 2 rides:

RMB 20 per ride.
This ride brings you up and drops you down.
It was nothing to me.

Getting ready for the ride!

Our Ticket Man!

RMB 20 per ride
I LOVE THIS!
It was thrilling and so worth the money!

We headed to a Singapore cuisine restaurant. Boy do I miss Singapore’s food!! Yang Tao & Shen Ping, you’ve chosen the perfect place for lunch today. THANK YOU!

Food Merlion: The Singapore Cuisine Restaurant

After lunch we headed back to the hostel. Didn’t want to go back too late as there’s a test tomorrow to study for!

As we had to study for our test, we decided not to have dinner outside and therefore kind Eliza and Houng Sheng helped us pack food!! THANK YOU MY LEADER & ASST LEADER! YOU’RE THE BEST!

TOMORROW’S PM WRITTEN TEST.

ALL THE BEST EVERYONE!

REFLECTION

Going to the Singapore cuisine restaurant made me think of all my favourite Singapore food back home. Kway Chap, Roti Prata, 板面, Chicken Rice all came to my mind! Anyway, that is not the point. The point is, the restaurant was packed with people although the prices of the food sold are rather expensive. A plate of chicken rice costs RMB 24. To us, it was considered expensive as we can get them at SGD3 back home, much less for the people in China.

Being able to find a restaurant that sells food found in Singapore proves our country’s popularity in China. It was not until today’s lunch that I found out that many people in China do know about Singapore and how much they think highly of our country. Many people whom we meet on the streets were very envious of us when they found out that we are from Singapore.

I FEEL PROUD TO BE A SINGAPOREAN :)

Day 19 (02/10, Sat)

IT’S SHOPPING TIME!

We went back to 步行街 to resume our shopping journey today!

Weilin and I decided to venture off together and we had a really GREAT HARVEST!!!

Let’s see, I bought:

1) 1 shirt for my brother

2) 1 sweater for my sister

3) 2 blouse

4) 2 necklaces

5) 2 cardigans

6) 2 pairs of socks,

All for about RMB 600!!!

As it is still the national day holiday in China, the shopping streets are packed with people; much like the crowd you will see when you get to Chinatown on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Therefore we were really cautious of our valuables, constantly looking out of any suspicious people who might pick our pockets.



A Very Crowded Shopping Street

Fortunately, none of these unfortunate things happened to us!

For lunch, we decided to pamper ourselves @ Pizza Hut!



PIZZA HUT!!!



Our Platter



Ice Lemon Tea!



Weilin's Chicken Mushroom Soup



My Favourite: Hawaiian Pizza!!!



We shopped till we were really broke and tired, but it sure was a FRUITFUL DAY!

MY HARVEST FOR THE DAY :D

I will never get to shop like this in Singapore as things back home are really expensive and of course, we can’t bargain back home!

REFLECTION

As we walked through the streets today, we noticed a lot of sales going on. This was the retail store way to celebrate their country’s independence and also a strategic way to attract customers.

Well, this is actually a very universal method retail stores all over the world use. A similar situation happens in Singapore during the National Day month too. We have sales going on literally everywhere.



See the 2 girls standing outside their shop?
They are using a loud hailer to promote their shop.
Almost every shops along the street use this technique to draw customers