Day 4

It's Day 4 of OELP!

Places we went:

-National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

-Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village

-Fengjia Night Market

National Taiwan Musum of Fine Arts 國立台灣美術館

Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village 九族文化村

There was an amusement park there!

We took the cablecar up to the aboriginal cultural village.

This woman who was at the aboriginal cultural village was really kind and she easily striked up a conversation with us!

We stayed to watch the performance by them!

They were selling some desserts for NTD50 and we bought it! It was pineapples with ice cream on top and it tasted really nice even though it was just a simple treat.

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Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市

We went to Fengjia Night Market for dinner and bought many different kinds of food, some of which uncle jeff had recommended and everything was nice!

Gabbie:

Fourth day of oelp! Time passes so fast, half of the trip is gone :( But we had so much fun today! Firstly we went to the national museum of fine arts, there were many interesting paintings there. Thankfully there was a guide to help us explain what the paintings means and expresses otherwise i would not have thought much about it. Secondly we went to the formosan aborigine village, we had to take cable car up to see the sun moon lake. I was just moaning throughout the whole ride as i was afraid of heights, it was terrifying. However the aborigines performances were really interesting and their costumes are really nice and traditional. I hope that this culture will not die as this is something that is educational to everyone and it is psrt of taiwan. Lastly we went to FengJia night market, i was kind of disappointed as it was not what i expected but there were still nice food and drinks! There were many teenagers enjoyjng themselves even though it was late at night, this shows that the night market targets at teenagers instead of senior citizens. I enjoyed myself alot today and i would miss the places we went today:(

Jean:

It's the 4th day. Today we visited National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village and Fengjia night market. At National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, i could see a many different kinds of abstract arts that actually have a very deep meaning. Without the explanation by the guide, i probably wont even understand what kind of message the artist is trying to bring across. I feel that the pieces of art at the museum are each very special in a way, the artists had represented their feelings and their message in the pieces and instead of selling them for money, they put them at the museum for exhibition, because they want to spread their message to people. I find the trip at the museum very interesting and extremely meaningful. 

Next we went to Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village. At the cultural village, there was a amusement park too. I think it is sad now that the aborigines are minority and could be extinct very soon, and the amusement park was built to better attract the younger generation in order to educate them about the aborigines. The fact that will be saddening to know is that the younger generation will probably go there and have fun, forgetting about learning the culture of the aborigines, defeating the main purpose of the cultural village. I stayed to watch the performances by the aborigines and it was actually very entertaining! 

Finally, we went to Fengjia night market to have free and easy dinner. I walked around with my friends and we all bought different kinds of food each to share and all the food was very nice and cheap. I think that the night market is so successful as a tourist attraction because there are many many shops selling a wide variety of things and the things sold doesnt necessarily have to be food or drinks. At the night market there was also some shops that sold trendy clothes. I think that it's also because the food sold there are also really cheap, and they also taste very good. All the stall holders are also very friendly and patient with us so I think that is why many people enjoy going to the night markets, I also enjoy going to night markets in Taiwan! I feel that entrepreneurship and creativity plays a huge role in the success of the night markets. There are some clothing stores there which are operated by young adults and they sell very trendy clothes, I myself even bought some. Some of the shops are also 'themed' and each sells different kinds of clothing, e.g. street fashion, only mens clothing, tumblr style, etc.  to better attract people who have different kinds of tastes / styles. Overall i had a really fulfilling day and i want more night market food because it all tastes great. I hope that tomorrow will be more fun! 

Yixiang: it's the forth day of oelp. Wow, time passes really fast when we are having fun. Firstly, we visited the National Museum of Fine Arts. When I first entered the museum everything was boring and stuff like that. As we start to move deeper into the museum, things got better. The art pieces in the museum were interesting and unique. The artists were creative and many of the art pieces had a deep meaning to it. Without the guide explaining every art piece to us, I would probably not understand anything. After that, we went to the Formusa Aboriginal Culture Village. The village had an amusement park to attract young teenagers to come to the village. Even though the prime objective of the village is to educate the people about aborigines, young teenagers had no interest in this kind of stuff. Hence they had to built an amusement park so as to attract teenagers. We went to the fengjia nigh market next. It is the biggest night market in Taiwan. I bought shirts and many food over there. The food was delicious and awesome. Due to the huge number of shops selling trendy shirts, many young adults would shop there. The target of this night market was the young adults not the elderly. I had fun today and hope that I would be able to go there again.

Kai Ming:

Fourth day of OELP!!! Today we visited the national museum of fine arts that showcased many unique art pieces and drawings. It was really a shame for me because I was "half blind" throughout the whole museum tour because I didn't wear my lenses and my spectacle. I had to lend Douglas's glasses throughout the whole tour and I felt really blur because I couldn't see anything. But through the tour guide's explanation, I could tell and understand the art pieces better and hence enjoy the tour even though I was blind. Next, we went to the Formusa Aborginal Culture Village. It was a theme park cum cultural village. We took the cable car to the 日夜谭 （sun moon lake) and took it again and again. And again. It was really cool at first but it soon became boring as it was repetitive. On one of the rides, it was really foggy and all of us started taking pictures. Those pictures were really foggy thus they are not included here. Most of the people in the class went to take the free fall ride and really enjoyed it. I, on the other hand, did not take in and fully regret it. The culture village was tons of fun but it was rally disappointing to see that a theme park had to be built to attract people's attention just for people to actually notice the cultural village. These cultures are slowly dying and it is hard to for people to appreciate it and the theme park is actually a good way of making people notice them but it is actually very sad to think of it. Next, we went to fengjia night market where we had free time to eat and shop which was really satisfying because it's what we like and also something we cannot find much in Singapore. 

Petra

Day four of OELP! ((Sorry if my day four reflection is not very indepth as my memory of the places we went is not as clear as someone deleted my reflection by accident)) We visited three different places today, namely the National Museum of Fine Arts, Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village and Fengjia Night Market! 

First stop National Museum of Fine Arts.

I have to say the museum definitely had many eye catching and unique piece of art that I would remember for life, but i felt that apart from those piece of art, not all were very Impressive and some almost looked just average. The tour guide did an excellent job of thoroughly explaining the different art pieces and how they came about. I came to learn to appreciate arts as it is something I deeply enjoy looking at especially if it's something unique that you wouldn't see often. 

Second stop, Formosa Aboriginal Cultural Village.

This was hands down of the the most exciting and interesting places I've been to out of the whole Taiwan trip so far! The place was well rounded with an educational and entertainment component! We were able to learn about the Taiwanese Native culture and witness them perform a traditional dance. What made it even more special was that we were able to interact with them by learning their traditional dance with them as they danced step by step with us! It was an unforgettable moment and I even got a picture with one of the aboriginals too! The amusement park was unforgettable especially with the company of my classmates as we took on the various rides, even a heart stopping one, the freefall. I also had the chance to sit on a cable car up into the mountains, witnessing the plain but yet beautiful green scenery and at the same time bond with my friends and teachers in the ride as we joked about! I think this trip really bonded us as a class, running around together , having fun and conquering fears ((the free fall ride)) and I wouldn't hesitate to come here again!

Third stop, Fengjia night market

FINALLY, SHOPPING TIME! It was the first night market and last night market that we were going to visit in this trip. We all split up into our own individual groups to tour the place. With me was Esther, Jean and Gabbie. The atmosphere was great and It wasn't so crowded to the point that we didn't have space to walk. What I didn't like was that I had to constantly have my bag Infront of me to prevent my valuables from being stolen as I checked my wallet was safely in my bag every 5minutes! We each bought food to share among each other and so that we would have more space in our stomachs to try other local Taiwanese delights! I truly like their local food especially their baked potato thing, I don't know the official name for it but what I know is that it taste so delicious. What I didn't expect was that they didn't have dustbins so we had to use our own plastic bags to throw all our rubbish in! Although it was inconvenient I think that this is a great way to be Eco friendly and that we should learn from their recycling ways. They also had a great variety of clothes and shoes, definitely a shopping heaven for me except that time was limited and so was my money so I didn't get to buy much! However I hope to go to Fengjia night market again!

Day 3

It's day 3 of OELP!

Places we went:

-National Experimental High School International Bilingual School

-Hsinchu Glass Museum

National Experimental High School International Bilingual School

This time we went to the International Bilingual School which is affiliated with National Experimental High School. These are some pictures taken during their chemistry practical lesson.

Since it was also our last day visiting the school, we put up some performances too.

Lunch at the conference room, this time they gave us bubbletea!

We went to an AP Biology class and the students introduced us to Coral-Reef Tank.

Petra and Gabbie played basketball with some other students!

Hsinchu Glass Museum 新竹市立玻璃工藝博物館

Gabbie did a jumpshot!

We had beef noodles for dinner it was delicious and we also got to celebrate Gladys' birthday, and Sharlene's early birthday.

Jean:

Whoohoo time really flies in a blink of an eye it's the 3rd day! Today we went to the Bilingual department of Hsinchu experimental High school. Basically most of the lessons are taught in English and I also got to know that the bilingual department is sort of like an international school so the rules are a lot less strict. It was totally different there, the students all spoke extremely fluent english and my first period with them was English!!!!! We had to play a vocabulary word game with the other 8th graders who are the same age as us and I swear even though the teacher allowed us to refer to their vocab book I was still really bad at it. I just realized how bad my English is compared to them...sigh... Chemistry practical was really fun though, even though I haven't started on chemistry module in school it was actually a really easy practical and my buddy even taught me how to balance equations! However during their lessons, some of the students were using phones or iPads to do things unrelated to the lesson and the teacher did not even scold them. He merely told them to keep it and it was totally different from the experimental department who did not even take out their phones or electronic devices during lunch time. I can tell that the bilingual department is a lot less strict! I had a really fruitful experience at Hsinchu experimental High school, it definitely was a wonderful time to experience a more relaxed education system! After we left the school we went to the glass museum and I got to see many different kinds of art made of glass. Some of the art were really detailed and it was really pretty. Overall I had fun today and I hope tomorrow will be a good day too! 

Gabbie:

Third day of OELP has arrived! We went to the school again but it was a different department. I was really sad at first because i really liked the first day students but it was also equally fun! We had english and chemistry and the teachers were so nice to arrange activities for us so thatvwe can enjoy the lesson and the students were glad to have us there. After that we also had sports activity , at first i was upset that we had to play ping pong because i really wanted to play basketball but after that we had lots of fun playing ping pong because we were just throwing the ball and hitting it around. But after thatvwe played basketball with the taiwan students!! but it was so hot to play in jeans under the hot sun But it was still fun! After that we left for the glass museum and there were so many nice souvenirs there but i didnt bring my money down so i didnt buy anything which is sad:( i like the part where we had phototaking the best because it was so heart warming and i took many pictutes today:)

Yixiang:

Time passes so fast and its already day 3. We went to the same school again but another department.  This time we went to the bilingual department. The people there are more hyped up. We did pe with them and we did not know how to play table tennis. I had fun today and I hope that we can visit Taiwan again and go to the sane school. After that we went to the glass museum. I bought souvenirs for my family and took pictures. I had lots of fun and hope that tmr would be a btr day.

Kaiming:

THIRD DAY OF OELP!!!! Today is Gladys and sharlene's birthday so of course we started the day off with a birthday song. We continued going to the school where we had lessons with students from another class. We tried their PE and went to their labs and learnt about corals from a few of their students. We then went to a glass museum and saw many different glass things. The tour guide at the museum was very friendly and helped us through the museum, talking about the history and stuff about glass. I hope tomorrow will be even better because of the places we are going to go!

Petra: 

Today was the last day at Hsinchu experimental high school! It was a tough time parting :-( I wasn't very close to my buddy but as it was time to go we took many pictures together and I got to see that she was a very nice person and I wanted to ask for her contact but it was time to leave :-( but I am glad she liked the gift I prepared for her! We also took photos with the guys in the class we attended! Sadly I looked so fat in it I cannot even! But at least I have a picture to look at :-) the memories at this school will forever be etched in my head as it was a totally enriching experience. Before we left we had lessons with the bilingual department! It was easier to communicate with them as they spoke fluent English! They however spoke it in an American accent as they had American teachers! We played a vocabulary game which had words I had never seen before! I was admitted impressed with their language skills. Their English and Chinese were so obviously better than mine! We also went for a science practical lesson where we had to mix up chemicals and record the time it takes to become thick enough to cover a plus sign! Their lessons were certainly interesting but however laid back. The students could just use their mobile devices to play games and the teacher wouldn't really care! Thus independant learning as they are in charge of their own learning and freedom. If they listen they'll learn something new , if they slack off they won't be enriched with new information! My buddy was very nice however I felt it was very awkward as we had nothing much to say :-( I honestly feel that the atmosphere in the experimental department was more joyful and happier as compared to the bilingual department. I got to experience how a typical Taiwanese class would be like while the bilingual class felt like I wasn't even in Taiwan as they all spoke in American accent. I overall enjoyed both days of the school programme very much and I feel that the school did a very good job in welcoming us! After leaving the school we visited the glass museum! The sculptures put on display were beautiful and unique! Definitely pleasing to the eyes! We then ate some beef noodles for dinner along with some beancurd which tasted great! Though the texture of the beancurd was different as compared to Singapore, it was softer in a sense! We celebrated Gladys' birthday at the same time, happy birthday!:) I overall enjoyed todays activities very much and look forward to tomorrows activities! Goodnight world!

[ Yixiang and Gabbie jio-ing themselves into a photo ]

Picture with our tour guide uncle jeff and the bus driver 林叔叔~!

Day 2

Today is the 2nd day of OELP! 

Places we went:

-National Experimental High School 

-Hsinchu Science Industrial Park

National Experimental High School

Our lunch at the school was in their classroom and it came with a drink (passionfruit drink).

Our buddies brought us to the canteen during the lunch break and we got to see them working on their science project.

They also brought us to the convenience store at the school!

Hsinchu Science Industrial Park 新竹科學工業園區

We were introduced to many interesting inventions which used advanced technology, such as this LED Mask.

Jean:

Today's the second day of OELP! We got to visit the experimental department of Hsinchu Experimental High School and it was definitely a great experience there. I got to know and learn more about their education system and compare a bit with Singapore / RV's system. Over there, the students were really welcoming and friendly! Even though we were not assigned buddies, there were a group of students who volunteered and willingly shared their textbooks with us during lessons. I got to know from them and the teachers that every lesson is fixed at 50minutes and after every lesson there is a 10 minute break. I felt that it was really interesting as it was different from our school with lessons ranging from 30minutes to 2 hours. 

At the school during the classes, if the students are not listening, the teachers did not actually bother to scold some of them but I feel that in Singapore our teachers want us to give them our fullest attention so that we can learn more. This is something I appreciate in Singapore schools; if we dont listen the teachers actually remind / scold us quite often, giving us a second chance in order to allow us to benefit. Instead at the Taiwan school it is actually up to your own choice if you choose to listen and learn or not.

I used to think that there will be much stricter rules at the school but that was not really the case. It is actually up to the teacher. Some teachers allow the students to eat and drink (sweet drinks) during their lesson and the students don't actually have to greet the teacher if the teacher does not request for it. I always thought that the Taiwanese schools will be even stricter than our school but after visiting their school, maybe not.

We also went to Hsinchu Science Industrial Park and got to see many cool inventions and I was really amazed by how technology advanced the items there were. I even tried out the bluetooth speakers which were really good and easy to operate. I am looking forward to day 3!

Gabbie:

Second day of OELP!! i was so excited as it was the first day that we were going to the school, i was so curious about their education system!! The students over there were really friendly and nice, they felt like the classmates that we knew for a year already. Their lessons were really relaxing and fun and it was enriching too, its completely different from singapore's education. After that we went to hsinchu science park campus, thet had do many high technology devices there, it was so cool! We learnt many things over there at the museum, it was mindblowing. Overall i had so much fun though i wish we had pe lesson together with the class!

Yixiang:

It is the second day of oelp. I was very excited in the morning as we are going to visit a school. When we first reach the school, my impression of it was that its enormous. We were greeted by the staff from the school and they were very friendly. They led us to the conference room and explain their history and the school's mission and vision. After that we had to attend classes with the students and I had a good time. The students were very friendly and helpful. But when the teacher was talking in the class, the students did not pay attention to the teacher at all. I was disgusted at first, but later understood that they have a different style of teaching conpared to Singapore. After school we toured the hsinchu science park campus. They showed us lots of gadgets invented/designed by taiwanese conpanies. The products were very innovative and I found it interesting. I didnt know that taiwanese designed so many things. I learnt that we need to be innovative in life to progress, if not we would never improve. I hope tomorrow would also be as interesting.

Kaiming:

SECOND DAY OF OELP!!!

We went to a school and met a very active students from a class who went through lessons with us. Their lessons were really different from singapore's and we were shocked to see that they could actually eat food in class. Some even slept in class XD! After the lessons, we went to a tech park place thing which showcased gadgets and technology made in Taiwan. It made me realised the technology that taiwan makes is actually used a lot In the world! I hope tomorrow will be great too because we get to see our friends again!

Petra:

Second day of OELP! It was the first day at Hsinchu Experimental High school! We attended classes at the Experimental section of the school. They spoke mainly in Chinese and the way they wrote Chinese words was in the traditional way and im personally not very good in Chinese so it was hard to communicate with them. Lessons were fun and the teachers were friendly towards us! Their teaching methods and education system is different from Singapore so it was a very interesting experience! They had a 10minute break in between lessons and they were allowed to eat and drink in the classroom! Which is our school we were not allowed to do so :-( also I observed that many of them slept in some of the classes. Even right in front of the teacher but the teacher didn't care! Somehow I envy their education system as its very laid and encourages independant  learning. And they get to wear whatever they want! While we have to constantly wash and dry clothes to wear on each of the days! However I feel that they should have certain rules implemented in the school as I saw people with dyed hair and a guy with a super long lock of hair down his back. To me it was unusually and in Singapore we are to follow rules on attire and what not. I feel that people would argue on whether the Taiwanese education system is better or Singapore. I feel that both have their pros and cons! We had lunch in class and they also served us passion fruit drink and it tasted great! We also visited the science industrial park where we got to see different inventions which are very eye catching! I certainly had an amazing time there!

牛肉面 party!