Day 34 –Our trip might have ended, but it marks the beginning of our friendship

It’s finally time to return back to our homeland, Singapore. We got up at 6.30am so that we were able to have our last breakfast at Duo Luo Jie. But since most of them were still preparing, me and Jiali decided to pack the food from Duo Luo Jie back to the hostel. It was around 7.30am when most of us were done with the breakfast and we were told to gather at the lobby of the hostel. You should have seen how busy it was, many of the girls were carrying their heavy luggage down the staircase, and they had many bags with them as well. The luggage from us filled the whole lobby, there was hardly enough place for us to walk.

Time to bid goodbye to my room 219


This was how packed the lobby was


The bus was filled with our luggages


It was really nice of the local to send us off to Wuhan airport and some of them even help us with the unloading of luggage. They were really sweet too, they prepared small souvenirs for each of us and gave them personally to us before we left our hostel. You could sense that some of the students leaders can’t bear to leave some of the us (especially Zhen Zhao who have been on close terms with them).

Busy unloading


When we were over at the airport, we had around an hour or so to have a light meal before we board the plane, and so most of us decided to go to KFC to take a bite, at that point of time I realize that all of us really love each other company as you could sense that everyone wants to be together, we want to cherish every moment that we could spend together. But since we have got a plane to catch, we ended up chit chatting and packing food back to our meeting area while we wait for the boarding of the plane. The flight took off at 1.30pm from Wuhan to GuangZhou, during the flight most of us fell asleep as we were really tired due to the idea of not sleeping throughout the night.

Having our lunch together


Thats Weilin and Eudora


Our two bosses ^^


Father and son


It was around 4.30pm when we reached GuanZhou Airport, when we were there most of us were wandering around the airport as our flight back to Singapore was delayed too 6.15pm. During the waiting time, some of the girls went around the airport to do another round of last minute shopping for their families. And now it is finally time when we board the airplane and return back to our homeland, Singapore.

Group E ^^


During the flight, we all wanted to spend more time with each other and so we kept on chatting and we even exchange our Singapore numbers just so that we would be able to contact each other for outings in the future. I remembered that there was one moment where Sheila and I felt pretty emotional and we couldn’t control our tears. We literally cried in the airplane as we were saying about how much we would miss each other. But thankfully we picked up our emotion pretty fast and carried with our normal conversation (: It was when the plane touched down when some of us decided to sing the song Home in the airplane. Now I can finally understand the song Home, especially when it goes to the chorus as I could literally feel the song from my heart. Well this is what you get when you are away from your homeland for 5 weeks. Haha

Friends which i would never want to lose


Final picture in the Airplane


Sheila and I


Me and Giant (YuHaw)

Zhen Zhao and Me


Reflections:

The 5 weeks stay in Wuhan have definitely been the most fruitful event which I have attended so far. Not only have I learn to be a more independent person, I even got to know new friends, friends which I would definitely not want to lose.

Staying in Wuhan has made me realize how fortunate I was in Singapore, how I took so many things we had in Singapore for granted. This trip made me realize that I should be thankful for everything I have, and I should cherish them even more. It made me realize how challenging it could be studying abroad when you have to remember to get your laundry done, plan your time to do the cleaning up, buying of necessities like your detergent and food.

During the stay in Wuhan has been an eye opener for me, especially when we visit the many different tourist sites where I get to know more about China culture and history. Being able to reach the top of Wudang Shan was one of my greatest achievements. Visiting famous tourist sites like Yellow Crane Tower and Hu Bei Province museum makes me feel that I have became more knowledgeable. Being able to see the magnificent view of the 3 Gorges Dam was something I felt really proud of and will be able to share with my other friends who haven’t been there before.

Most importantly, during my stay in Wuhan, I have come to know many new friends. Spending so much time together have made us bond really close to each other, especially when we are always out together doing the shopping, having fun time like singing at the Karaoke, playing games that made us laughed like mad, having our dinner together and most importantly the chit chat sessions which we had to make us know each other better. Thanks to them, my trip in Wuhan has been a fruitful, yet fun and enjoyable one.

Singapore is our homeland; this is where we belong.
We treasure our heritage and take pride in shaping our own unique way of life

Day 33 – Let’s enjoy while we can

Today is the 2nd last day before we leave Wuhan. Most of us decided to wake up earlier so that we could have more time to shop at Hu Bu Xiang. However, due to filming and other stuff we ended up leaving our hostel at around 12 pm.
Entrance of Hu Bu Xiang


When we were over at Hu Bu Xiang, we were brought around by the local students to shop at the small food court where they sell many different variety of food. I tried a drink from there a s bowl of beef balls which was super delicious. After so we headed to the Tang Bao Shop which we went to the previous time when we came, the Tang Bao tasted as delicious as it was the previous time. I would definitely miss it when I am back in Singapore. And not forgetting the icy apple drink which was sold opposite the Tang Bao shop, it made my day a even more fulfilling one (:
Jo with the Candy Floss ^^


After our lunch, we took a ferry to Han Kou where we spend our whole day shopping. Most of us did some last minute shopping, we got our gift for our family and friends from the China Queensway shopping centre. After so we headed to Walmart where we bought a whole lot of tidbits for our friends and family back in Singapore. After shopping for the whole day, we decided to reward ourselves with some good food, and so we headed to Ajisan for our dinner. The serving there were the same of those in Singapore, the only difference might be the price as over here the food is definitely cheaper.
My Ramen

Mushroom with pork


When we were done with our dinner, we headed back to the hostel in a cab, but it took us quite long before we manage to get onto a cab as it was a Saturday and coincidentally, Jay Chou was also having his concert in Wuhan and thus that explain why it was so tough for us to get a cab back to our hostel.

It was already 12 plus in the night when most of us have finish packing our luggage, but since it was the last night in Wuhan, most of us could not bear to sleep and so 10 of us decided to camped over at Jiali’s room. Our initial plan was to have a chit chat session over at their room till the morning and after so we would head to Duo Luo Jie to have our breakfast. But some of us were really tired, especially Sheila and I, we got so bored and tired from waiting for the rest that both of us fell asleep, while the rest had noodles for supper. It was around 5 pls when all of us were really tired and we went off to bed.

Reflection:

Today would be the last night which we spend together in Wuhan. There seem to be a mixture of feelings within us as we were all starting to bond really close together, but now it is time to leave and we will all be going back to our own normal routine life in Singapore. Time flies, 5 weeks ago we were all just acquaintance and now we have became friends, friends which I would not want to lose. There are so much more things which I wish I could have done with them but it seem that we do not have enough time to do so. I would definitely miss those times when we all had our dinner together on the same table, when we were like a huge family, the warmth and laughter we all shared would definitely be missed by me. Those times when we knock on each other dorms, crashing their rooms and irritating each other were really fun moments especially when we all had some sing along session in HoungSheng’s room. Guys, thank you for all the fun, joy and laughter you guys brought to me, it is very much appreciated (:

Im glad to have known you guys (:

Day 32 – A meal we had before we left

Today was kind of a special day. In the morning, the guys woke up pretty early for a friendly basketball match with the local students which was held at the courts behind the hostel. The match starts at around 12.30pm, and so when we were there, most of the courts were already used by the students and so the local student leaders had to book the court in advance.

When we were there, the guys started to do their warm ups, while we watch the local students play. The local students were really tall and it seems that they were frequent players because most of them seem skilled. Well when the match begins, our guys did a good job by scoring the first score, however the local students were really strong too, the made an immediate score right after us. But after around ½ hour of play, our guys seemed to be out of breathe but the local students were still standing strong as they have many sub players while we only had one. Well, even though at the end of the match our guys lost by a few points, they played really well and they established good sportsmanship. Guys we are proud of you! ^^
Edwards' way of warming up ^^

The guys warming up

Our guys players

Both the team players

Discussing their strategies




After the match, all of us headed back to the hostel to have a rest and get ourselves prepared for the farewell dinner in the night. We were told to leave the hostel at around 4 plus 5 as our meeting time was 5.30pm at Walmart. Man, you should see how everyone was preparing themselves for this dinner. All of the guys dressed themselves up with long sleeves shirts and jeans, as for the girls some were wearing dresses while others wore jeans. Since it was a farewell dinner, every one decided to dress up a little to make this event an even more memorable one.

It was roughly around 7pm when we started our dinner, we had this buffet style kind of dinner which was rather similar to Singapore’s Marche, but over here the only difference was that there would be people go around table with carts of food and serve them to your table.
Group E ^^

Our Girls

The guys

All of us with the local students ^^

Everyone including the ISCT

Group E !!


Reflection:

It seems that after today we are only left with 2 more days before we returned back to SG. It is kind of a mixed feeling over here, its true that we would miss our families and friends over in SG. But the thing is, we would also miss our friends over here in China. Well, it was not as if we will not meet again, but I guess everyone doesn’t likes to bid goodbye to anyone. During the farewell dinner, even though the atmosphere was really nice and everyone is enjoying themselves, you could sense that there is still a little sadness in the air. The reason for it, I guess everyone should be sure of and that is, everyone cant bear to leave anyone.

Day 31 – Shop, Shopping, Shopped

Today we had our free day, and so 7 of us headed down to Bu Xing Jie early in the morning. But since the guys we still preparing themselves, a few of us went to Duo Luo Jie which was just behind our dorms to get breakfast. The weather was pretty cooling in the morning, but the floor was rather wet due to rain last night.

When we were at Duo Luo Jie, we couldn’t help ourselves but to buy lots of friend dumplings which was really cheap and together with a few cups of soya bean. Adding on to those, we ordered some fried pancake as well. Trust me those were the best combination to have in the morning, it made my day.

And so after we have all packed those food on our breakfast list, we headed back to the dorms to have our meal. While wating for YuChuan to be ready, most of us camped over at HoungSheng room and took our time to enjoy our breakfast. When we are done, we immediately left for our shopping trip to Duo Luo Jie. We took a totally of 2 cabs down, but it was really cheap over here and so it didn’t bother us that much. The amazing thing was that the ride was only ½ hour long but once we have reached Duo Luo Jie, we immediately went to Dico, a fast food restaurant to have our lunch! It’s pretty amazingly our large our stomach can expand during such cold weather.

Finally after our lunch, we headed to a shop which was 4 storeys high, over there they had many kinds of clothings. They sold jeans which were really nice, and the sold formal wear as well as casual wears, but the price was considered pretty high for the locals. The jeans they sell was around $50, which was kind of similar to the price sold in Singapore. But the jeans over there come in many different kinds of cutting and colours. Since we were already there, the guys decided to get new jeans for themselves together with the help of Jiali and the other girls. They were trying on many different type of jeans, the slim cut ones, the straight cut ones and many many more. Know what, when it comes to shopping for clothes, the guys can get really fussy. ^^ And so, it took the guys at least 1 hour before they are done trying out their jeans and selecting the ones which they really like. It was around ½ hour later when they are finally done chosing their free gift which comes along with their jeans.

Finally after 2 hours or so of shopping in the particular shop, we left the shop feeling really satisfied and we headed to shop somewhere else. But the thing was most of us had became really tired and so we took a 5 minutes’ walk down to Starbucks and had a small chit chat session together with some delicious cheese cakes. The cheese cakes there were VERY delicious!
Chilling out at Starbucks


After our break, we had an hour more of shopping before we headed for dinner at the Korean BBQ restaurant. Usually in the olden days the girls should be doing the cooking while the guys enjoy, but since it was the 21st century, the guys were doing the cooking instead! Haha that’s something nice isn’t it? Well we enjoyed ourselves and we shared our experience of outdoor activites and camping. There is always one thing I have always like about such dinner, we will always get to know each other better.
Dinner time







Reflections:

You ought to experience the customer service in China. Most of us have this stereotype thinking that they would provide really poor service. But if you were to be at the place which I went today, you would realize that the service they provide here is really good, they are always willingly stepping forward to provide their best service to you. There was this incident whereby I was trying on some vest thing and that particular sale staff came forward and offer me his service. And take the guys incident for example, the sales staff had to walk in and out of the dressing room area hundreds of time with different pairs of jeans every time they walk pass but yet, they haven’t shown any poor attitude. Instead they were suggesting to them which type of jeans they suit and which doesn’t. But if you were to do such things in Singapore, some of the sales staff might probably glare at you, especially if they know the fact that you are a student!

Day 30 – New makeover for everyone!

We had our last lesson of PM today. We ended off at around 12 plus and so most of us headed for lunch at a new restaurant which was beside Kuai Le Chu Fang. The thing was that this restaurant that we went to was rather small and the food which they serve was sort of the same as the ones which we had at Ling Meng and Kuai Le. But of course we prefer the food at both the other restaurant most probably because we area rather used to the food over there.

After lunch, we went to try some of the street food like the fried pancake, the pancake alike food and the fried dumplings. Those food were really delicious! The fried pancake cost one 1rmb($0.20)and there were 3 or 4 pieces in it, the fried dumplings cost 1rmb($0.20) for 5 of them and the pancake alike thing cost 4rmb($0.80) for a rather huge one. I bet we could never be able to find such cheap yet delicious food in Singapore.

After so we headed back to the hostel to have a rest before going to the hair salon. This time we didn’t went to the hair salon which was at Duo Luo Jie the one which I did my hair previously, instead we went to the one near the SuperMart. The hair salon was really huge and that it look really classy, they had many hair stylist and for every hair stylist they would at least have 3 assistant each.

And so when we got there, most of them decided to try some new look onto themselves, Jo did perming and dyeing, Sheila did her highlighting of her hair, while the rest decided to cut and dye their hair. Look at those pictures below, they seem to be enjoying ^^
Before anything was did to their hair


The process of makeover







It was already 9.45pm when all of them are done with their hair, and so we have to head back to the hostel really fast. But thankfully the hostel wasn’t really far away and so we manage to make it back before the 10pm curfew.

Reflections:

Doing your hair here in China, Wuhan is really cheap as compared to Singapore. Most probably because they uses the different brands of dye here in Wuhan, whereas in Singapore we uses only one type of dye per salon. Another reason why the price here is sp cheap might be due to the cheap labour here, I guess you would have already known that if you see the number of assistant there is in the shop itself. But well, if you ever come to China, do go to their hair salon it will provide you with a brand new experience.

Day 29 – Show time!

The day started off with us doing a presentation to Mr Chia in the morning. We met up early in the room so that we are able to do a small run through of the powerpoint slides before our presentation. At around 10 am we were called down to do the presentation, well our presentation was a smooth one, everything turned out fine. And so, after the presentation, we headed down to duo luo jie whereby we ate our breakfast cum lunch at Ling Meng Le. This time we went as a group over there and we had small chats as well as some photo taking. We had lots of laughter with Agnes’s monkey, especially when we were filming some random video.
Presentation Time

Our lunch together


After lunch, we headed back to the hostel room so that we are able to practice the dance before the performance. And because Edward wasn’t feeling well then, we had to do last minute changes to our performance. After an hour of practice for our group performance, we continued with the practice of another performance which is a mass dance by the girls.

Finally it was 7pm when all of us assembled at this lecture theatre where you could see that the room was filled with the year 1 local students as well as the students leaders which are in year today. The “concert” started off with the local students performing the Shan Zi Wu(Fan dance) which was a mixture of modern and olden days dance movement. After several performances it was finally time for the girls’ mass dance. All of us
headed to the front of the stage and we performed our very best for the local students, did I mention that we were performing the song Nobody? But anyway, our performance was quite a good one, at least we know that we did our best right? After the girls mass dance, our guys went up to the stage to show a video to the local students leaders and they even sang 2 songs for them to show their appreciation.
The crowd in the lecture theatre

Group E



And now, it is finally time for gourp E performance, we started off by giving a small intro of our performance and the meaning behind the song Reach Out for the Skies. When the music started to play, I guess all of us freak out a little, but we continued with our performance. The cheering from the audience especially from our OIP group boost our confidence. I am serious they were really supportive ^^
Show Time!



Finally it was group D that did the finale performance, they sang the song Home in both Chinese and English, the rest of us join them when it the song goes into the last chorus, as all of us when up the stage and sing the song, for a moment I felt like we were really at home, and for some reasons, I felt touched by the last performance. All I could say was that the last performance ended off well, amd I could see that most of us enjoyed it.
Mass performance -Home


Reflections:

Before this performance, most of us were trying our best to remember the steps and do all we can to tryto make this performance a perfect one. But now after the performance I felt that, the most important thing is not only to perform our best but also to enjoy our time spend together. It’s true that we do bond even more when we spend more time together. Would it be weird if I say that I miss the time whereby we all practice our dance moves together? Oh well.

Anyway on the other hand, I realize that in WUST itself, there are many talented students, students who could sing really well and students who could dance really well. Most importantly, the students here love and dare to perform. This was something which not many Singaporean would dare to do. I know it cause I was like that, I didn’t really have the courage to perform in front of everyone like that but due to circumstances I had to do it. But maybe after this experience, I might have already gain the courage to perform infront of others now.