Chapter 96 : Back to School + Video

Just like most poly kids, I'm sure most of us have gotten use to waking up early, squeezing in crowded buses and sleeping (paying attention) during lectures. I for one have to say that I'm still trying to keep my head above the water cause I don't want to be one of those drowning when it's still the first week of school. Although I've heard a lot of things so far about this semester being the killer sem, I'm still trying to be optimistic about things since it's all about perspectives and looking at things from different angles. I'm sure I'll survive, but I don't want to be too certain about that statement.

So just about a year ago, my friend Hijanah and I decided to do go around asking people in school really random questions that could revolve just about anything and making it into a video. During the holidays I finally got down to editing the footages just to see how it'll be like and this is just a 30 second sneak preview of what you can expect! Enjoy!

Chapter 95 : Giving back #forRMHC

5 cents. It might seem like loose change that you want to get rid, but most of us might not realize that 5 cents can actually go a long way into helping others.

Many of you might not know this but every time you buy a Happy Meal from McDonald's, 5 cents out of that Happy Meal purchase goes to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).

Now you might be wondering, what exactly can that 5 cents do? It's true, 5 cents may not seem like a lot but when you put the other 5 cents that come from every other individual who buys a Happy Meal, that's a lot to help families in need of financial assistance, along with donations from the general public.

Throwback to one of my earlier posts where I talked about giving back to the community through volunteering, you can read it here. Donations are another alternative to giving back to the community if you don't have the time to spare. Usually when I donate, I try to find out the cause, if it's something that I support, the purpose of the charity and whether or not my donation would be put into good use and benefit others.

Just to share a little on what I found out about RMHC during their lovely blogger's sharing dinner last Wednesday, the aim of RMHC is to help families in Singapore with children that need intensive medical care such as treatment for cancer, trauma or undergoing organ transplants.

 Just last year, they set up Ronald McDonald House (RMH), working alongside with National University Hospital Paediatric Department to bring families closer to their hospitalised children by housing them at the RMH which is something I never knew until the dinner. During the dinner session, a family that benefitted from RMH was there to share her experience at the House and how it really helped her by bringing her closer to her youngest daughter who was hospitalized for 6 weeks and at the same time trying to look after her elder daughter who was in secondary school back then. You can read more about Joyce's story here.

This is what the House looks like, Joyce describes it as better than a chalet. Without a doubt, I couldn't even tell it was part of RMH cause it looks so modern.

Photo Courtesy of RMHC.

The fact that McDonald's is more than just a fast food chain that we grew up with and finding out that they are helping families going through a difficult time makes buying a Happy Meal even more meaningful.

In lieu of celebrating RMHC's 40th Anniversary, McDonald's Singapore has lined-up 3 things in which you take part and show your support for this global movement:

1. Donate and get a pair of Ronald McDonald's socks!
With effect from 15 October all the way to 28 October, you can make your donations to the charity by purchasing the exact same pair of socks that Ronald McDonald's has. You can purcahse them on Groupon and you have the option of purchasing it at $10, $20 or $50 and it's only limited to this period so I don't think they'll be up for grabs after the 28th!

Photo Credit: Groupon.sg

Not only that, McDonald's would like to thank you for your donation by offering a complimentary Strawberry Sundae that can be redeemed at any McDonald's restaurant throughout Singapore.

2. Spread the Word and Share your Stripes on your Social Media platforms!
After you get your pair of cute Ronald McDonald's socks, post a picture on Instagram or tweet about it with these hashtags #forRMHC #RMHCSG to raise awareness. BUT It's perfectly fine if you don't get the socks as well, you can still show your support for the cause, just dress in red and white stripes or even come up with your own creative way that can still incorporate the colors red and white!

3. Take part in McHappy Day 2014 on 16 November!
Normally, every year McDonald's would have a carnival of sorts to commemorate McHappy Day. However, this year is special as they are celebrating RMHC's 40th anniversary and they're going all out. Join in the fun at McHappy Day Walk and Sale where there'll be volunteers selling the Ronald McDonald's socks across the island. Also happening on McHappy Day 2014 would be the #forRMHC Party at Tampines Mall's McDonald's!

Chapter 94 : Thoughts on Turning 19

You know there's this saying:

"If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it's going to happen anyhow."

- Mitch Albom

Which is pretty much what I'm going through in my life right now. So I just turned 19 not long ago, say 3 weeks back? I know some people will still say you're still a teenager/young adult but if you think about it, I'm hitting my twenties next year. Frankly speaking, it's kind of scary to think about, especially when you spent your life as a helpless baby to a cute toddler and evolving to that annoying kid phase to being a rebellious teen and you're somewhat going into your next phase, adulthood. It's just like a welcome slap in a face and welcome to real world where no one's going to guide you or treat you as a kid/teen anymore, but expect a lot from you. It's common for people to think that at this age you should know what you should do with your life and where you're going to go.

You could say that I didn't live as much for the past 18 years or I wouldn't be writing this post or how negative it's starting to sound turning older. As a kid I've always wanted to be independent and I guess I somewhat did, especially since I was an only child and didn't really had anyone else around my age to look up to or rely on. Thus, I took on a lot from my mom. For a kid, wanting to be independent and thinking maturely didn't really match up to my age, I've constantly felt that I don't behave like my age at all which is kind of hilarious when you think about it. For instance, when I was 10 I had an obsession with shirts cause I thought it'd make me look older and more mature so for like a period of time I would only wear shirts at home and out and shun from T-Shirts. I was a weird kid thinking about it now.

I have to admit that as much as I'm not optimistic about turning 19, another part of me wants to be older and get through life and the significant milestones like getting my driver's license, graduating from poly and uni, moving out and living on my own and finding the one and I had this mentality that once I pass through these moments, my life will somewhat "begin" but I was so wrong after seeing this on Twitter. (Who says you can't learn anything meaningful from Twitter right?) 

What's the point of going through these milestones if I don't remember or stopped to see how I got pass it in the first place, it'll be like I'm running a meaningless marathon in this rat race we call life.

Perhaps it's still that I'm trying to sink in the fact that I've turned 19 and the responsibilities will start to pile with every passing year. I shall end off this post the way I started, "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." I guess in my case, it does matter, just a tad bit?

[ *Don't let my post be a spoiler for those of you growing older or turning 19 as well, this is just simply how I feel right now and I believe we're all different. I've had friends who really enjoyed turning 19! :) ]

Chapter 93 : 5 Weeks in the Land of Sleeping Giants (Tianjin + Beijing)

This post is long overdue and it's been like 6-7 months since I went to China for my overseas immersion program (OIP) but it's never to late to reminisce right?

I'll have to say that I'm not a stranger to China but it's the first time I've been to Tianjin and Beijing. Back in June 2008, I actually went to Guangzhou for a 5- day CCA trip. You can actually find a post about that in my old blog but be warned, my writing standard back then just makes me cringe right now.

*Tries to find picture of me back in 2008.*

geez.

Fast forward to the year 2014, it's been 6 years since my last visit and I decided why not take a trip to Tianjin for 5 weeks, complete 2 modules (Feature Writing and IS) and try to enjoy my time away from the hustling and bustling city of Singapore. What was supposed to be a simple exchange program had actually turned south but I won't go into details.

Now you might be wondering, "Why on earth are you going to China for 5 weeks, can you even speak Chinese?" I have to say that my number 1 concern before the trip was my mandarin speaking ability. Especially having to have graduated from secondary school with just Basic Chinese (Not O Level Chinese, but really Chinese B). Worst of all, having to do feature writing would mean conducting interviews in a language that only they can understand. But surprisingly, I managed to survive and my friends keep telling me that I still annoy them with the fact that I still speak in Chinese even after coming back to Singapore but ultimately I'm just trying to practice and brush up on my skills.

Prior to my trip to Tianjin, I had absolutely no clue or idea where Tianjin was but that didn't stop me from travelling there anyway.

*Some of the pictures are from my phone and some are from my DSLR, so picture quality will differ! Some of them are also taken by my friends, Vinice and Rachel!

I was really thankful that some of my friends came to send me off at the airport and I reached at the airport like super early (8 hours before check-in) cause I had nothing to do and didn't want to wait at home cause I was just super excited. It was also a really long time since I've been to the airport so I thought why not? Come to think of it, I missed that feeling of leaving the country and going to the airport to board your flight and having your friends send you off :P

If I remember correctly this was taken at 1am while we were boarding the plane? We looked really excited but it's only just for the photo, most of the time we would just be dead inside, or maybe just me.

The moment we reached we were treated to an unexpected surprise because before the trip we were told we'll be staying at the university's dorm during our 5-weeks exchange. So in my mind I was expecting the worse because I didn't want to get a rude shock. This was what I pictured my home would be for 5 weeks.

Photo Credit: https://futurechallenges.org/local/difficulties-of-students-in-china-in-the-labour-market/

However, we still got a shock because when they drove us to our so called dorm, which is actually a hostel, it looked kinda like a hotel and the rooms are like an exact replica of a standard hotel room with room service (YES, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CLEAN YOUR ROOM WHEN YOU'RE IN CLASS) that none of us expected at all. But we still had our complaints that the Wi-Fi was slow, but honestly? I rather have a nice room and slow Wi-Fi any day.

Yes, the brand of the bread is called Bimbo, surprisingly it tastes not bad, but I would usually have this chocolate bun under the same brand and call it Bimbo Bread. This was like my daily breakfast that got me through most of the mornings just before classes. 

Speaking of classes, even before classes started, we had orientation to get us settled down in the campus so that we'd know where to go cause the University is just huge.

Like how Ngee Ann has their different faculties, our classroom was at the School of Chinese Language and Culture, you'll find like many other foreign students from all around the world studying there as well.

The trains in Tianjin aren't normally as crowded as you can see here, we still had sufficient space to take a selfie, but if you were to board the train in Beijing, you can pretty much forget about using your phone cause there's just literally no space at all.

Normally if you're a tourist or you just moved in here, you can either get a card or this token for transport on the train which meant you better keep this token with you during your entire train ride or you'd either have to get a new one.

The shopping paradise, also known as the Tianjin version of Orchard Road with much more taller buildings and shops. I really liked this place because it's like the city area whereas our campus hostel is kind of secluded from the city and you'll only find university students there but here is just like a whole new world. 

The great thing about Tianjin is that the weather, lighting and surroundings are just so different from Singapore that makes it perfect for taking #ootds and selfies that you can never get in Singapore. This is me trying to take an ootd and my friends tryna photobomb and I'm just like "come on guys..."

Taking a picture while in the midst of interviewing people on the street for our assignments. It wasn't easy at first because people would either not want to be interviewed or they just really couldn't understand what you're saying.

Like I said, Tianjin's a good place to take OOTDs.

Another great point about China in general is the wide variety of food choices. Normally you'd think they'll just have dumplings, paus and other traditional chinese food but they actually have a lot more food choices and at a really dirt cheap price but it tastes really good. I must admit that I put on quite a bit of weight during my time in China and realized that most of my money was spent on food, but I just can't help it! What's the point of travelling to a foreign country if you don't try the food there right?

The very well-known Taobao Street. So many of my friends were really excited when they found out that there was such a street but it's still unknown whether or not the street has any connection to the popular china e-commerce website. However, I felt like it was your usual Bugis Street but it'd be like shopping paradise if you like cheap and affordable clothes that you might never be able to get in Singapore.

One of Tianjin's tourist attractions would be their Tianjin Eye, it's actually very much like our Singapore Flyer, just that theirs is on a bridge which makes it different.

Well as the title says, during the 5 weeks, we went to Beijing as well, the capital of China. Why Beijing? I only just found out on the trip that Tianjin is just somewhat beside Beijing and there's also a 30-minute bullet train between Tianjin and Beijing. Beijing was really fun and what I really enjoyed most was the visit to the Friends Cafe, Central Perk. At that time I just got hooked onto the show recommended by a friend and when you're obsessed with a show, you'll want to visit anything that has any references to your show and I nearly thought it was impossible but I guess the phrase "nothing's impossible" is just an understatement.

A picture of me raising my laptop in the air tryna embrace all the good fortune I can get in the Temple of Heaven.

We tried to take shots like these at almost every tourist destination and act like we're some TV stars that probably nobody would want to watch.

What I loved about their Central Perk is that everything on the menu is named after the cast. My cupcake is named Ross and the staff there all have the name tag that says Rachel with reference to the show.

The moment I reached I just couldn't believe that I was at Central Perk, it looks exactly like the one in the show and I just kept spazzing and was lost for words cause I was still trying to accept the fact that I actually made it here.

Beijing was just great. Did I also mention how much I loved the hotel room there?! Wished we had spent more time there though.

Basically, to sum this up, Tianjin was great and the people are generally fairly nice as long as you don't piss them off I guess? 

Would I go back again? Sure, there are still places that I'd like to explore and the fact that during that 5 weeks we managed to complete a module and try our best at having a break since it was during the holidays was just too cramped, it'd be good to visit when you're there purely as a tourist and not an exchange student. I still need to work on my Chinese before I go back though but I'd definitely go back for the food, sights and experiences.

Here's a video summary done by Yonas and Elizabeth to end off this post.

Till my next adventure.