Day 36
The day to do some touching up for the final OIE presentation for the IS module due on the next day. It was tougher than the first presentation as it also included the creation of one video and more slides and information to remember. As usual, my slides focused on the main points of what I want to say while the rest of the information comes from my notes held in hand. Even though I had experienced for myself the different ways of presenting done by the other groups, I still stick to my own way of presenting as I do not have confidence to incorporate their way of presentation and make it as part of my presenting skills. The other skills that I’ve learn can be kept for other presentation or when I have more confidence to use it without stumbling over my own words.
Day 37
The final OIE presentation. For the first time, I felt really unprepared as I get this feeling that my notes were very messy. I re-did my notes twice and then I felt the edge of panic just after 2 groups did their presentation. This is seriously horrible timing. It took Yee Tat several minutes to get me to calm down and look through my notes again. During the presentation before mine, there were 2 curious China students who I guess heard the chatter coming from our class when walking by and they entered the class to see us present. From the excited (well, they look excited to me..) look on their faces, I’ll say that they either had never presented before (which I doubt so) or they have never heard foreign students present in fast and smooth-flowing English before. It was interesting to see their reactions and that kind of calmed me down enough for my presentation.
When it was my turn to present, I realized that it was silly of me to be afraid that my notes will mess up. It was like the usual presentation, looking at the rest of the class, saving the bulk of the attention for the lecturer and it was going pretty well, except that Dr. Tan made me laugh with a sentence and after that I forgot to say a bunch of information. Thinking back, I realized I was feeling intimidated by the presentations before mine. The year 1s were really great in their verbal explanations and as a senior, I expected myself to do better than them. The year 2s were really creative in using videos and interviews to highlight their presentation. Edah’s group was unique as their entire presentation was video-tapped beforehand and was really interesting as they were more relaxed and natural in the video. I guess that was all the stress I was giving myself, to want to be better than them as my group was the only group consisting of all year 3s. Can’t really be of lower standard than the rest of the groups. Oh well.
Day 38
The shopping trip where we are all relaxed and playing around as there is no more presentation to prepare! Fine, except for the report that I have yet to start on. It was a trip with just Calista, Yee Tat and I as we made our way into 光谷 yet again. This time, our objectives were clear; grab souvenirs and presents for friends before heading back to campus. We found that a new part of 光谷 had opened recently and we trooped happily to check the place out. Clearing our shopping in less than 3 hours due to our fast walking speed, we stopped at a modern tea shop to take a rest and enjoy the ambience. Calista and I agreed with Yee Tat when he mentioned that it was the only place in China where it felt really like Singapore due to the ambience.
After leaving the tea shop, we decided to go to the salon when we made up our minds to either pamper our hair or change the hair style. We entered “Yes I do” hair salon where we each went our different ways; Calista for her hair treatment, me for my rebonding and Yee Tat for his dye-ing of hair. Yee Tat did not manage to dye his hair until I was done, whereby we waited for his hair to turn to brown while talking to him for about an hour. Tons of fun today and we went back to campus with plenty of time to spare. =)
Day 39
Slacked in the room today as I had no mood to go anywhere. Was looking though CTCM notes and just reminiscing the times that had passed by in the blink of an eye.
Day 40
Woke up late today and just remembered that there was to be a some sort of farewell dinner for us in the night. Yee Tat and Calista came back from光谷 in the afternoon and visited me with some nice food. Apparently, they went to try out the BT chicken wings which were spicy like hell. They ordered for me to try and it was just as it’s name suggest, extremely spicy.
Nearing the time for the dinner we went to change our attire to make ourselves look a little more presentable. Upon reaching, we realized that we were actually crashing in with a Chinese wedding. It seems that there was a miscommunication between the manager of the restaurant and the dean of the foreign school. Well, since there is no other choice and we were all already gathered there, we continued in. This is the first wedding that I attended where its procedures were, well, a little different as compared to the weddings that I attended in Singapore. Well, at least it’s another new experience for me. It’s simpler as compared as the Singapore weddings but it’s still touching to see.
Following that, we had a mini karaoke session in the same place we had our student interaction. It was a great time as lecturers and students alike were singing together.
Frantic packing. Shouts down the corridors. Begs to borrow luggage spaces. Same old, same old. I didn’t remove much of my luggage throughout the time in Wuhan, so there’s no rushed packing for me. Went over to Yee Tat’s room to wrap my dear books to minimize damage to them. Off to Tony’s room to aid him in his battle of squeezing everything into his luggage. It was a fast game of rolling clothes and stashing them in available spaces. We went off to the bakery we frequent outside the campus to say our farewells. When we mentioned that we were leaving, all you can see in their eyes is just pure sadness. We had become friends throughout the 40 plus days we spent in Wuhan. We were reluctant to leave and they were trying to give us farewell gifts. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the bakery. Seriously, there was no faking the emotions that they were showing. They were genuinely sad that we are going and the care and concern they showered us with was real. Unlike in Singapore where most people would not show these expressions unless you are close friends with them, they are true in making friends and are not afraid to show it. This is really something different and again, something that I can learn from.
Day 42
A day of farewells, tears and hugs. In the wee hours of the morning, Edah, Hajar, Siti, Tony and I went to visit some of the muslim stores that the 3 girls have been frequenting. The proprietress usually opened the shop at 8am but when they know that Edah and the other girls were leaving at 9am, they opened their store earlier and invited them for breakfast as a farewell. I really could not express my feelings at that moment. It was a teary moment for all them when they said their goodbyes and left the store.
Leaving the hostel was a chaotic business. As many of the girls were outfitted in their prettiest (or sexiest in some cases) and wearing heels, many of the guys have to help them with their luggage. Arrival at the airport was the same scenario. Finally, we reached Singapore without a hitch.
From this trip, there are many things learnt and experienced. I would be lying if I say that I do not miss anything in China. I miss the friends made in the bakery, miss the weather there and many more. Everything that we saw and felt will always be remembered. There is no way anyone would forget the memories that we made in Wuhan. During this trip, I received help from many people, learnt tons of things and new principles in life, found new friends, found differences between China and Singapore and realized that there were many things that I took for granted back in Singapore. This trip is really memorable and there is no way that I’ll forget it. Ever.
Day 41
Frantic packing. Shouts down the corridors. Begs to borrow luggage spaces. Same old, same old. I didn’t remove much of my luggage throughout the time in Wuhan, so there’s no rushed packing for me. Went over to Yee Tat’s room to wrap my dear books to minimize damage to them. Off to Tony’s room to aid him in his battle of squeezing everything into his luggage. It was a fast game of rolling clothes and stashing them in available spaces. We went off to the bakery we frequent outside the campus to say our farewells. When we mentioned that we were leaving, all you can see in their eyes is just pure sadness. We had become friends throughout the 40 plus days we spent in Wuhan. We were reluctant to leave and they were trying to give us farewell gifts. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the bakery. Seriously, there was no faking the emotions that they were showing. They were genuinely sad that we are going and the care and concern they showered us with was real. Unlike in Singapore where most people would not show these expressions unless you are close friends with them, they are true in making friends and are not afraid to show it. This is really something different and again, something that I can learn from.
Day 42
A day of farewells, tears and hugs. In the wee hours of the morning, Edah, Hajar, Siti, Tony and I went to visit some of the muslim stores that the 3 girls have been frequenting. The proprietress usually opened the shop at 8am but when they know that Edah and the other girls were leaving at 9am, they opened their store earlier and invited them for breakfast as a farewell. I really could not express my feelings at that moment. It was a teary moment for all them when they said their goodbyes and left the store.
Leaving the hostel was a chaotic business. As many of the girls were outfitted in their prettiest (or sexiest in some cases) and wearing heels, many of the guys have to help them with their luggage. Arrival at the airport was the same scenario. Finally, we reached Singapore without a hitch.
From this trip, there are many things learnt and experienced. I would be lying if I say that I do not miss anything in China. I miss the friends made in the bakery, miss the weather there and many more. Everything that we saw and felt will always be remembered. There is no way anyone would forget the memories that we made in Wuhan. During this trip, I received help from many people, learnt tons of things and new principles in life, found new friends, found differences between China and Singapore and realized that there were many things that I took for granted back in Singapore. This trip is really memorable and there is no way that I’ll forget it. Ever.
7:42 PM