Wednesday, 4 April 2012

First Entry (Exchange Program to Wuhan, China)

4 years ago, I had this chance to go to Wuhan, China for an overseas exchange program with 9 other students. I was very excited about the trip because it was my first time going overseas without my parents. It was a whole new experience for me as we got to visit some places of interest to learn more about the Chinese culture.

When we reached Wuhan Tianhe International Airport, the students and teachers of Zhuo Dao Quan Middle School were there with a large banner to give us a warm welcome! We then proceeded to the hotel to put our luggage and then headed to the school. We were each paired up with a Chinese buddy that will bring us around the school and we have to attend lessons together.

We also have to stay over at our buddies' home for a night. For my buddy, she stayed in a condo apartment. The layout of the buildings were quite spacious, unlike Singapore where the apartments are very congested and close to one another. I had dinner at their house and their home-cooked dishes were similar to what I had in Singapore. After dinner, we had a night walk around the condominium. Everything was very good except for one thing. Their beds.

When it comes to sleeping time, my buddy showed me the bed which I should sleep in. The mattress was very thin, and i could feel the bottom of the bed. I kept turning and tossing that night and didn't have a good sleep.

The next morning, we had black bean noodles and egg in ginger soup for breakfast. The egg in ginger soup tasted really weird, but i still ate it anyway. After breakfast, my buddy and I then head to school together.

A few days later, when we were at the airport, getting ready to depart to Singapore, I saw my buddy and her parents. I was quite surprised to see them because her parents said they were busy that day and couldn't send me off. They approached me and passed me a bag. I thought they were going to pass me another present before I left. But when I looked inside, it was my bathing towel which i left at their house during the home stay. Haha! I felt so embarrassed and thanked them too.

Through this trip, i learned to be more independent when my parents are not around and overall, it was a great experience for me!


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