The initial plan to party the night away was rather...shortlived. Sheila and Eliza slept first followed by Yu Chuan, Joanna, Michelle and Houng Sheng. The three survivors were Jiali, Yuhaw and I but then I KO-ed when Jiali went to bathe. So, the only two people that really stayed up the entire last night we were there are Yuhaw and Jiali.
We had street food for one last time and when we got back, the entire lobby was in a frenzy.
Plastic Bags littered the floor and everyone was rushing to weigh their luggage one last time.
Room 220. The place I referred to as "Home" during the entire trip. I'd be, "Eh, do we still have yoghurt at home?" or "Shucks, I left my phone at home!" It's funny how easily I referred to this room as home.
Leaving the campus, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness.
At the airport, we bade farewell to the Chinese students.
It wasn't soon before we reached Singapore. Upon our landing, our MDE group sang Home together. The trip has made me realise how lucky I am to be a Singaporean so when we sang that song, my voice sorta got stuck in my throat. [Don't judge me. Sometimes people get emotional okay].
Reflection:
Frankly, I dreaded this trip after finding out that it would be largely ISCM [International Supply Chain Management] dominated. Even though I already knew most of them from Camp Fusion 2010, we weren't close and I'm not exactly the best at introducing myself to relatively new people. However, this trip has enabled me to open up more and foster stronger bonds with other MDE people.
I guess the reason why I enjoyed this trip so much is because of the company. We climbed Wu Dang Shan together in really cold weather, We stayed up to watch the locks on the 3 Gorges River Cruise together despite the drizzle, We go absolutely crazy over the cute satay boy together.
We sang, we danced, we stole things [Yes, referring to Jason Mraz's album again]. Okay, wait we didn't steal things.
I've learnt plenty and I have also come to realise how warm and hospitable the Chinese are. From the Vegetarian Boss to the Bubble Tea Girl, we have been treated very nicely from the start up till the end of the trip. Even though these people were actually perfect strangers, they made a conscious effort to provide you with the best service. It isn't the case here in Singapore. On the day that the guys tried out multiple pairs of jeans, the sales person had to walk to and from the fitting rooms to get the perfect pair quite a number of times but he still had a smile on his face. In Singapore, once they see that you're a student and when you've had too many to try, they start being rude and display poor customer service attitudes. Even with the GEMS thing in place, customer service at certain places were still unsatisfactory. So far, in China, I have never had any negative experiences.
On a separate note altogether, I hope Singapore would implement the payment for plastic bags at grocery stores and step up our efforts in protecting the environment. It doesn't hurt to be green. We'd only be protecting our own planet.
- I would most definitely jump at the opportunity to go on another trip like this. Besides the things that I would be able to learn, being with friends overseas lets us bond more because all we have is each other to rely on. Also, being on a foreign land, there is so much more of the world for us to discover. I am not a creature of habit and I have to have things change slightly for me to function at my best. Going on another trip like this would keep things fresh for me and would also widen my perspective on the world.
And who knows, I might even be able to converse fluently in Chinese one day. [Or get a Chinese boyfriend. hahahah]
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