pinqi's reflection

woohoo~~~super long..i mean i took a very long time to type!!jacq!!i m here...

This reflection is guided by post trip reflection form which is adapted from the youth expedition project reflection form because there is so much that I learnt from this trip and I don’t know where to start.

Right from the very beginning, I joined OCIP with the intention of giving a service. Though I knew I can learn and experience a lot from the trip, my main intention was still to help the community over there. However, my opinion changed slightly after the various discussions we had. I began to understand that there is a limit to what we can do to help, however, everything that we do, observe, hear, touch, feel can have an impact on my own life and we can learn something from almost everything. (why not a service in singapore you might ask, i believe it is very different, and an experience there could enrich me and give me new ideas!and btw.i do service locally too)

One very memorable activity we had before the trip is the well planned open discussions by the teachers: S-L activity, Yes, No, Maybe discussion. These activities opened up my mind and allowed me to rethink about my opinions regarding some issues, for example, what form of service is most necessary for the host community. Also, these activities gave me a chance to understand my team mates better, in terms of their views. Most importantly, I came to understand that although we have the same goal, we might look at things from a different angle and there is really no right or wrong!

Pre-trip was also rather tiring. The darkest time was probably seeing our hard work produce very minimal results. Moreover, the whole team was rather separated and that was worrisome and disappointing. Though I m not sure if I enjoyed that part of the pre-trip at all, I can gladly say that I made a new good friend JACQ! mainly because of the “sai-kang” we did together, and it is worth it(: and I think I can make a good salesgirl for charity, though I do not aspire to be one. Finally, I come to understand that fundraising was a process/ hardship, that we were tasked to go through, it is really not about how much money we can raise as the teachers had applied for sponsorship already. I’m glad we really pulled through as a team during the trip and became a united group of friends.

Honestly, I had a reluctance to go for the trip (though it was not my first trip without my family) and later, a reluctance to come back to Singapore. Upon reaching Yunnan, I became charged up and excitedly await our first task. However, I remember feeling so bored on that day. Besides arranging our sleeping area, exploring the conditions around the school and writing journal, I did not do anything much. In the night, during our group discussion, I then realize that I should have taken the initiative to go down to interact with the kids there. Well, everyone makes mistake, so I decided to change and be more proactive.

One part of the trip which I enjoyed the most is Life Journey (LJ). It gives me great insights to learn from each others’ experiences and also triggered me to reflect on my whole life and some other issues of life too. It is also a great bonding session as I learn to embrace the actions of our team mates and understand them. It feels great when we trusted each other and could pour our hearts to the whole team. This is an activity that I might consider to introduce to my other organizations so that we can become closer too!
The photo essay is one activity which helped me focus better. It zooms in to one specific topic which we are interested to find out about. It gives a sense of purpose, besides just giving a service to the host country. Chengmistry bonded well during the activity, and had not much if not no problems with task allocation like interviewing and taking photos, however, we were struggling and did not know if we should continue on the topic on Zhao Bing or switch to our backup plan. Lucky for our group, we had support of each other and Mr Cheng, we persevered and finished our project successfully. It was really not as easy as taking a photo as we were not professionals and taking photo of a person in an act is like ?!! (I don’t know how to describe that). And quoting from Zhao Bing: “那简直就是偷拍嘛！” yup, professional paparazzi okay!! Record of 2041 photos (my tablet hang when I open that folder lo)

Thinking back about the schools and home visit, I cannot exactly pinpoint the lesson learnt. It was a different experience from the schools in the city. And it was a great chance to learn to deal with different people from different background. However, there are still so many question marks I yet to find an answer about. You’ll see below.

Probably one thing I can say is “ignorance is bliss”, as they are contented and happy with their life. But from another point of view, I think that many of the children deserve a chance to break out of their poverty cycle. Some of them are very bright and really obedient and matured, even at the age of 7. And I think they are deprived of that chance. But then again, what can we do as students from a foreign country? Even if we could give them the chance to study in the city/abroad, is it a good thing? And how many kids can we help? Is visits from us and teaching them simple english enough? Then again, 勿以善小而不为, so it will still make an impact on them, big or small.

Also, the last school which is nearer to the town was like an indication that made me have a hypothesis. They did not really welcome us, unlike the other schools which were more rural. This made me think that not everyone appreciates our help, especially those who already have a taste of the urban life. But should we still help? No matter what, I think that was a lesson learnt definitely, if not for that school, probably we will continue to think that they need/want our help.

One issue that we briefly discussed about is whether we should give them the sweets or not. Of course it is not about the sweets, it is the broader issue about dependency and whether by doing that they will expect the other teams to do the same too. Maybe it is true, as the previous paragraph about the last school states, they take us for granted and do not appreciate us anymore. Maybe that is a wrong signal sent out by us (the foreign teams in general) too.

Another broader issue was the government’s indifference to the development of rural areas. We found out about this only when we talked to Zhao Bing. This made me admire Zhao Bing’s “movement” very much. It is a very noble job that not everyone could undertake. A sheer 100 RMB per day (only when there are teams) is a testimony of his passion towards his job. This is so different from just coming over to do a service learning project for 2 weeks. But it is the indifference of the government that surprised me. Maybe China is too big, and the government does not know where to start? So in a way, the money that we are donating for the road works and all is still important, right?

We only stayed in the schools for three days and the accommodation of the rest of the trip was the hotel. I think it is a blessing in disguise, though we thought it would be a good experience to live in the village (as we would not be able to experience it in Singapore). This is because the team could bond even better in the comfortable environment, like talking till late at night. Also, we are more energized to start work the next morning due to a good night’s sleep. It also made me realized that adaptability and safety is more important and we must 见机行事 and must know how to react quickly to solve or prevent problems.

Well, there is just too much for me to put down in words. Maybe I’ve missed out some things, but I guess the main points are there. And reading other people’s reflection will somehow trigger to think about the other important issues too. And The smaller details like going to the market, cooking, toilet-ing, traveling, road building, dealing with P1 kids, singing, collecting the firewood and plain chatting are all in my sub conscious mind and journal so I would not elaborate.

Finally and finally, thank you to the people reading this, cos’ you’ll probably not understand my incoherence. And most importantly, I cannot thank you enough teachers and team mates of YELL!! I will remember you(: