Day 3 in China

Today, we went to the Anhui museum and a theme park. I guess it is the most enriching since the trip. Most of us cried, many were crying in their hearts. We witnessed animal abuse. 

First, we went to the Anhui museum and learnt about the 'ding'. We did worksheet in class back in Singapore about the 'ding' and I am glad that I was able to see it in real life. I also love the samples of the houses in Anhui like the windows, things at their door and the one that fascinated me most was that the house did no Yee any nails. We also learnt more about Anhui.

Secondly, we went to theme park and first up was a chicken against another a chicken. Some of us could not take it and walked away. I feel that they should not do that as at the same time many feathers were dropping.

Next was the horse race and dog race. Although it might not seem like animal abuse, I feel that animals should not be treated this way for our enjoyment. Of course we did not like it and the teachers even asked us to leave the circus show half way through. 

We walked around the park and I feel that I enjoyed the playground the most. At the playground, there is a bouldering wall --- the one I enjoyed the most. Although I have tried it many times in primary school last time, I was not able to complete it. I tried it at least ten times and the teachers were really helpful telling me where to step.

Even though I have not completed the bouldering wall after a lot of tries, we had to leave. My longest distance was one rock away from the end and I got annoyed because I really wanted to complete it. Although I did not complete it the teachers were encouraging and it changed my perspective that sometimes we should not set our goals too high.

In conclusion, I feel that this is the most enriching day. It taught us a lot not through what the guide told us but because of what we saw. I feel that it really thought us about life and what we have to accept as a fact.

-Zhi Yan

5 things I love about RV

1. Toilet

The toilet in China is quite dirty and smelly. They do not have doors and the dustbin does not have a cover.

2. The classrooms.

The classrooms is RV is more spacious than what it is in China. RV classrooms table and chairs are also bigger.

3. The track.

RV have a 400m track in school and a soccer field in the middle. Other than that, we even have an indoor sports hall and 2 basketball courts. Compared to the school in China, they only have 2 basketball courts.

4. The ventilation

The ventilation in RV is better compared to the schools in China. They have to fill a lot of people in their class despite the small space given and the same number of fans as us in RV. Therefore, it makes it hard for the students to breathe sometimes while in RV we are able to breathe properly with lots of space.

5. The canteen.

In RV, we even have vending machine in the canteen and lots of different delicacies in the canteen. We even have two canteens to choose from while I heard from my buddy that the food in their canteen is not that nice.

-Zhi Yan

Day 2 in China

Today, we went to Hefei 45 school. We attended school with them and it was an eye opener. Their class size is 58 people which is almost 2x of our class size. It was awkward at first but it was fine after awhile. We had Math lesson and Chinese lesson in the morning. Math was easy to understand but their Chinese lesson was quite hard to understand. 

After every lesson, they had a ten minutes break before the next lesson which I think is a very good thing to have because they get to take a break before the next lesson. I feel that although I do not understand what the teacher is saying but I still manage to get what my buddy is saying although she is speaking to me in Chinese.

Noon came and we went for lunch. It is quite a decent hotel and I felt that it was before than what we had yesterday although I do not understand why they have to give us soft drink every meal because I do not really like soft drink.

After lunch, we went to their school again to attend afternoon lesson. I guess the afternoon lessons was worst for me as I did not understand a single lesson in the afternoon. Something changed my perspective of very studious and civilized people. During a break in the afternoon, few girls from the class was annoying this guy sitting in front of me and they even poured the soft drink that they were drinking on the guy, on his shirt and bag. I too got a bit of soft drink on myself and it changed my mindset of them. But, I later realized during dinner that although they can be rowdy in class, they actually study hard at home, therefore their results.

We left class early and went to Kitty's buddy house. They are very kind and generous even asking us to have a good dinner with them rather than with the school. Although we refused, they still treated us really nicely and brought a lot of food out for us to eat which I thought was really super kind.

We then went to walk around the place and they even bought food for us. We did not even pay for what we ate. I feel that they are very kind and they treat visitors like themselves.

-Zhi Yan

Day 1 in China

Today, we took the high speed rail and went for a cultural visit to Sanhe Guzhen. I experienced the high speed rail for the first time in China and it was quite a pleasant trip. I was lucky to get the window seat and seen many sceneries that cannot be seen in Singapore.

After the train ride, we proceeded for lunch right after. Thinking that it would be a good meal, I entered the restaurant happily. I needed the washroom and was astonished at what I saw. There was no door, blood-stained tissue was all over and it was dirty. It affected my view of the restaurant and of course I did not have the appetite to eat anymore. Furthermore, I realized that the people I was sitting with did not have much table manners or maybe just isn't up to my expectation.

After the lunch, we headed to San He Gu Zhen and walked around the place for 3 hours. It was hard for me to understand the cultural history of the place because the tour guide was talking in Chinese and it is hard for me to understand Chinese. Although I did not understand Chinese, I still tried to understand and just learning visually from what I see.

The place is a village where olden people still live there. There are a few museums in the village where we went to visit about the different famous people who had lived in that area. I feel that we are lucky to be in Singapore as we do not live in such a state and we have a more private area. 

In conclusion, I feel that even though we only visited one place, it made me understand about being appreciative of what we have. As a leader, I also felt more responsible as we have to look out for one another during the trip as if anyone is missing, we probably have to account for.

-Zhi Yan

Derek Sivers - How to Start a Movement

From the video, I can learn that anyone can be a leader. The person dancing at the start of the video might seem ordinary, you might think that he is crazy but not long later, you realize that he is the leader and you, sitting there is the odd one because you are not dancing with them.

This video is amazing. You never expect the unexpected. You might think that he is crazy, but once people start following him, the leader, he is impacting more and more people. He is an ordinary guy, who does not seem like a leader, but because of the follower, that made him a leader.

When someone decides to follow the other person and more and more people joins in, that makes the 'starter' the leader because no one else was doing it but he took the first step to do it, impacting others to follow suit. 

Therefore, the first follower is actually the one making the most impact rather than the leader. If the leader starts doing something and no one follows, how is that a leader? It is important that someone follows, convincing the rest to join in as well. 

The leader does not make it happen, but the followers that make it happen. Why do we always stand in the crowd? If it is right, why not make it happen and follow suit. You will be the one in the crowd at the end of the day because the crowd will follow you. You are the one who have guts to make the person who is doing right the leader. Those who simply does not want to follow you is now the one that people laugh at because they are not the same anymore. 

-Zhi Yan

reflection on how to start a movement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V74AxCqOTvg

in the link above is the video of derek sivers talking about a guy in trunks who started the movement. although it seemed awkward initially, he continued to dance by himself until a person joined in and another and another and finally this guy in trunks has got alot of people following him and his dance movements.

this video shows how to start a movement. to start a movement one needs to be of a great leader, to know how to convince others and attract others attention to be able to have others listening to one. one needs followers to support one in whatever one is planning to do. after all, without followers as seen in the video, the dancing guy would not be able to start what he was planning. as derek said, " everyone sees the followers not the leader." this is true as without his followers, the leader would not be able to attract a crowd of supporters. hence, one is only able to start a movement when one has support and followers behind his/her back. the video also shows that the followers support the leader in dancing as they do not want to ridicule themselves, one is able to see a whole crowd of people jusr rushing in to join in the fun.


hence, the most important moral of this video as said by derek sivers is to nurtur the first few followers we have, to make them as equals and that there is no movement without the follower. one must also be courageous enough to follow or the public cannot possibly be attracted.

so this shows that followers are the most important and needs to be brave in starting a movement, not really the leader, isnt it?

Reflection: Derek Sivers — How to Start a Movement

In the following video, Derek Sivers talked about how the first follower is more important than the leader as he shows others how to follow, spurring on the spirit, setting the precedent and starting a movement subsequently. 

The first follower is important as he turns the person he is following into a leader. As nobody listens to the leader as they think that "Hey, this guy is doing something by himself and nobody is following him. He must be doing something ridiculous. Therefore, I shall not follow him too." When nobody follows the leader, the leader is not a leader anymore because he is a lonely guy seen doing something ridiculous by himself. However, when the first follower says, "I think should follow him", he has the courage to be follow and ridiculed together with the leader, but at the same time, showing others how to follow. Then, it will occur to the second and third follower, "Maybe it's not so bad. We should join in too." After they start joining in, a small crowd / group will be created. When more people from the surrounding see this, they will think that "Since there is a bunch of people following him, let's join them too," thus creating a bigger crowd. In the end, those who do not participate are seen as the odd ones out who are being ridiculed. If it has not been the first follower, the leader will be like one person strolling along the path alone; but because of this first follower, people change their mindset and join in the first person, following the leader. In this case, the leader is now leading a troop, not strolling alone anymore. Thus, the first follower is important as he makes the difference by following the leader, convincing the others to follow too. 

All in all, I think that it is not a leader that starts a movement, it is his followers that make it happen. As mentioned by Derek Sivers, "If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire." We are often taught that leadership is important. However, after watching this video, does it come to you that follow-ship is equally important? Without followers, there will be no leaders. Thus, if you come across somebody doing something great, be it donation for charity, or even RAOK (Random Acts Of Kindness), be sure to have the guts to stand up and join in to make that difference, and people will follow suit, spreading the kindness around. 

~Kitty