My buddies and I

These two weeks, I have been involved in the JXP (junior college exchange program) or JC (Junior College) immersion.

The JC I am in is HCI (Hwa Chong Institution). It is said to be the second best junior college in Singapore. I have a buddy called Lingzhuo Meng. She is Chinese and has been in Singapore for 6 years. She is C1 class 67. All of the classmates are kind and hospitable. They are all willing to talk to me. Actually, some of them admire me because I am already an NTU scholar, but they looked happier when I said I had to go through a 20- month bridging course. lol. I took some photo with them.

Last Saturday all of the scholars and buddies went for outing. We went to Little India and East Coast Park. Little India is very ¡°unique¡±; I am not very familiar with the style as well as the smell, but prata there is quite delicious. I had a cheese prata and a banana prata, yummy~ my buddy had a tissue prata that was amazing as it has a pagoda shape and it tasted nice, a bit greasy though. We went to Mustafa in Little India, which is a famous shopping mall there. It was strange that all customers with big bags should tie their bags to ensure they won't steal...it began to rain as soon as we reached the East Coast Park, so we chatted in the McDonalds¡¯ and played indoor games most of the time.

I had some classes with my buddy. The chemistry is okay, maths is easy, and Chinese is so so, while the economics is a bit confusing... The teacher of general paper and project work is also good£» I learned a lot from her classes. My buddy is quite busy. She has to join CCA (co-curricular activities) after school, and sometimes she cannot go back home until 9:00 pm! OMG.

After this week, I will have to get back to my studies...T~T...endless discussions, assignments, essays, presentations and projects...I should enjoy these few precious days...
Now I have to go downstairs to do some paper cutting and prepare for the farewell party tomorrow~ yeah, we will have a barbecue then

memories in HwaChong

Time flies. My life in Hwa Chong JC will come to an end tomorrow. I really appreciate that I am given the opportunity to experience JC life in Singapore. These days remind me of my high school in China that I miss very much.
Compared with my high school, I have to attend lectures here. To teach through lectures is quite common in university, but not in high school. I think it efficient to teach a lot of students together, but maybe it is harder to ensure everybody is focused. I am also not used to the continuous lessons without break. I usually feel lost, hurrying to another classroom after finishing one lesson.
Though in my opinion, Chinese students have more homework to do, Singaporean students are no less hardworking. I often find them doing assignments during break and staying up late to prepare for exams.
Besides study, there are also some similarities and differences, I did not take part in many after-school activities. Hwa Chong students, however, have much more time for CCA. My buddy joins the school orchestra, for she can play Erhu. I have heard that Singaporeans are crazy about eating, but I do not expect their irregular diet. Every time they take a break, they have a meal at canteen, no matter what time it is. It surprises me a lot actually. Sometimes, I have interesting talk with my classmates. I am quite familiar with the jokes they make and the gossip they are interested in, since I usually did it in high school.
To receive education either in China or in Singapore, students will be able to acquire plenty of knowledge, improve themselves and enjoy life, but in different ways. I am fortunate to experience both. I will always cherish my valuable memory in Hwa Chong JC.

JXP Reflection

Eventually the two-week JC immersion program ended. This is totally a different experience for me. I went to Hwa Chong and my buddy is Lilan. She was born in Hunan, China. Now she is a Singaporean. We have had a wonderful time together. I’ve found two main differences between the school life in Singapore and China. One is that the students have morning assembly and pledge as a citizen every day. This impressed me a lot. When standing on the playground, a feeling of holiness appears in my mind. The other one is that the JC students have lessons in lectures and tutorials. I think giving this is an efficient way of teaching. Students can learn new topics in lectures, then in tutorials, they have tutors to solve their doubts and questions. The enthusiasm of the students also impressed me a lot. All of them are very active and friendly. The first day when I met them, all of them were smiling at me. I really enjoyed the time spent with them very much.
Though two weeks is a short period of time, I have learnt a lot about the educational system here. I would take this wonderful experience with me whenever I go.

Two 100 days

“Only when we understand the growing environment of the youth, can we learn the centre spirit and sense of worth of the nation.” When I knew we would have a two-week JXP (Junior College Experience Program), I was excited to get the opportunity to make sense of the culture of Singapore.
Here in Hwa Chong Junior College (HCJC), I meet some really great people. The Teachers in Hwa Chong are vibrancy, humorous and respectable .Most of them are young, especially my chemistry lab tutor who is just a J2 student. They are not much older than us, however, they know when to smile and encourage students, when to be serious to scold and punish， how to control the mood and give a hint when it is the time. They keep dismissing the class on time. The boys and girls here are all gentle, but change into another enthusiastic person in CCA. My buddy is really hard-working, but she always comes up activities we do together, takes me to secondary school canteen to introduce Singaporean delicacies, and always asks me carefully, “Do you feel bored?” The home stay at her house let me know that two strangers can make life-long friends in less than a week if each opens her heart and care the other. “Love is an action not a feeling.” When I treat my buddy as one of my family members, she seems to be the real little sister of mine.
When I first come to Singapore and study in NTU, I wonder why the lessons have so many presentations and discussions. But when I walk into the Junior College classes, I find that every Singaporean student begin to present since primary school. When I study with them, I appreciate that they always have questions and evidential explanations. Everyone thinks differently, so that the world is colourful!
Singapore is really hot and damp, which makes the best condition for sleeping. What get things worse, JC start at 7:20 and we have to get on the school bus at 6:15, and get up at half past five! When we come to Hwa Chong in the morning, everyone sit and sleep. Our buddies stay up at night until 1 or 2 o’clock, get up the same time as we do or even earlier, and have no noon-rest, but they never close their eyes in the class. Always they participate in activities full of energy! After I found this, I made up my mind to learn from them. I ate less in lunch for better blood circulation (my high school biology teacher said), got my mind focused in class whether I could understand or not, just regarded the lecture as listening portfolio, started running to adapt to the humid weather of Singapore. Then I found I never slept in afternoon now!
During JXP, I am happy to adapt to my life and study in Singapore, build the friendship with local people. Weeks before, I celebrated the last 100 days before we leave from Singapore, but I am so happy on March 10, because it is the 100th day since I arrived in Singapore! I love my buddy, love HCJC, and I love to study here in Singapore!

Pieces of impressions of my JC experience

Name: Kuang Yiyun
After my two weeks junior college experience, I find many differences of education system between Singapore and China.
To begin with, the assessment system is quite different from China. Being a students here, if you can get the “A level”, you can go to university easily. While in China, students and parents need to predict the result and apply for a university before the marks come out, which means that if their predictions are not exact, they may not be able to go to university successfully.
What’s more, since the experiment classes here are much more than China, students in Singapore always have strong abilities to do experiment. Besides the amount of classes, doing experiments is also a part of exam in Singapore. But in China, students have quite a few chances to do experiences, which is not so good for students to learn the fundamentals of the further research in the future as I see.
Last but not least, there are many CCA for students to attend. But Chinese students nearly have no such activities. In CCA activities, students can not only meet with many friends but also enjoy and relax themselves.
In all, I learn a lot differences about the education system between China and Singapore during the two weeks JC experience.

Lead with passion, lead with compassion

I was very fortunate to be allocated to Hwa Chong Institution in the JXP. Before going there, I had heard a lot about it, especially about its wonderful results in A-Level tests. After 2 weeks of studying in Hwa Chong, I knew that it was not only a good school in teaching, but also a great place for students to enjoy school life.
Teachers here treated us very well. In school, they cared for our life in JC and taught us like normal students here. The headmaster had a meet with us and welcomed us. On Saturday, we went to the Little India and then took the bus to go to East Coast. Mrs Lee, Mrs Lim and Mrs Chin contributed their holiday time to company us. They prepared bus and stayed in the bus to wait for us in Little India. Then they sat in Macdonald’s while we were playing in the beach for the whole afternoon and then treated us for a excellent dinner in it. In the farewell program, the vice-headmaster watched our performance and encouraged us to study hard to get good grades and adapt to new environment. While we were enjoyed the program, 3 teachers barbecued food and prepared the Indian noodle, drinks for us. On the last day, the school also sent us the photo of all scholars and buddies, which was a wonderful souvenir in our life.
Buddies were usually 17 years old now, a little smaller than us. They were just like our brother and sister. We had a good time with them during this 2-week study. The most interesting thing for me was home-stay. I got close touch with local family and knew how they lived, which helped me learn more about Singapore and adapt the life here. My buddy had a brother and a sister. They were high school students and a little shy when I talked with them. The house of 2 floors was quite big. I sleep with 2 girls in one room. Although there was no air-conditioner, it was cool in the bedroom. Aunty and uncle were very nice and asked me about my study in NTU and life in the hostel. We talked in English, which made me happy. After the delicious dinner, buddy and I took a walk nearby. It was a relaxing walk. At night, I had a good dream.
My class in Hwa Chong JC was 09S60. It was a science class. We took English, Math, Chemistry, Physics and Economics. Students here had lecture first and then went to the tutorial room, which was similar to our Bridging Course in NTU. I liked my classmates here. Girls greeted me on the first day, about which I felt warm-hearted. They were hard working and had a lot of homework to do. On the other hand, they were lively. In the break time, they played the shuttlecock in a circle. In the long running, a girl got prize but I didn’t know what prize it was.
I really appreciated that Hwa Chong Institution gave me this great experience in Singapore. Mrs. Lee had said that once you became a student of Hwa Chong, you should do what Hwa Chong students do. I felt proud of being a Hwa Chong student.

Outing at Little India

We went for an outing on last Saturday. It was definitely an exciting trip.
In the morning, we went to Little India with our buddies. I used to imagine that Little India might be an undeveloped area, which could be not beautiful enough. However, as soon as I got there, I changed my opinion. Little India was an impressive place with many pretty buildings standing along the streets. There are a lot of little shops selling all kinds of interesting goods. I was mostly impressed by the accessories and clothes that the India women wear. In little India, I saw many things which are very different from my own culture. It was indeed a unique experience to me. I think, Little India clearly reflects the fact that Singapore is a multi-cultured society.
After having lunch at Little India, we were all taken to the East Coast Park by bus. Unfortunately, a shower started as soon as we arrived there. We could only hide under a big shelter. Despite the unexpected weather, we still had a good time. Some was playing rugby while some were dancing. There was also a group of people playing volleyball. We got closer to each other by doing sports, chatting and having fun together. We were all enjoying ourselves regardless of different nationalities.
The enjoyable day quickly passed. Though a bit tired after a whole day’s activities, everyone felt delighted and pleased because of the unforgettable trip. We were all grateful to teachers and buddies in Hwa Chong to have organized such interesting things for us.