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.

My experience in Hwa Chong

The first week of JXP come to an end before I realized. After the tiring but rich week, finally we had a chance to hang out with our buddies and relaxed.
In the morning, we went to Little India, a very distinctive place in Singapore. Since our buddies all wear uniforms in school, I could hardly recognize them when we met in the subway station. Unlike in school, we were all energetic and I could foresee a wonderful day.
We walked around Little India in small groups. As there were only girls in our group, we spent a whole morning shopping, rambling from one store to another. Our buddies acted as tour guides. They introduced some Indian legends and the history of Little India to us. Indian culture was most amazing, so were their spicery and accessories.
We did not feel hungry until we saw an Indian restaurant. The advertisement was so appealing and the food smelled so nice that we chose to have lunch there. What I ate was not as delicious as I expected, but it was very interesting to see how an Indian ate. Though I had read it in a book, I could not help being surprised when I saw an Indian ate with his hand. It was one thing to read about it, another to see it personally.
That afternoon was not as pleasant as the morning due to the weather. No sooner had we arrived at East Coast Park than it rained. We hurriedly rushed to a shelter and waited for the rain to stop, but unfortunately, it rained heavier and heavier. We had no other choice but to play some games to pass the long and boring afternoon in the shelter. The rain did not stop until 5 pm. We took a walk around the beach and played volleyball for a short time before we went back to McDonald to have dinner.
It may sound strange to have dinner in McDonald, but soon I found that it was a perfect place to communicate. We chatted and played games. Eating together at McDonald helped me know more buddies and their life.
To be honest, I did not talk much to my buddy in school, but after spending a whole day hanging out together, we get to know each other much better.
A good day does not necessarily mean that every thing is perfect. As long as we have memories that are worth cherishing, we can call it a good day. I have to say that the day I hang out with my buddy must be a good day.

Goodbye Hwa Chong Institution

Goodbye Hwa Chong Institution, we will treasure the experience forever and keep the everlasting friendship with our buddies as well as our lovely classmates in JC. Two weeks are definately a short period of time. However we have gained a lot and had a deep vision of the everyday life in Singapore.

Also we have unforgettable home-stays which were arranged specially for us.

We will miss all buddies and would like to appreciate the teacher mentors who gave us great help.

HCI, we love you forever!!!

My days in Hwa Chong Institution

The JXP in HCI left me a deep impression . The teachers and students are very friendly . They have arranged everything well so that I have a good time there . The life in Singapore JC is quite different from that in China . Students here can choose what to learn while Chinese students are supposed to study every course . Besides, they don’t have a head teacher or even a classroom of their own class . But instead ,they have class bench ,which ,in my opinion, makes the life inconvenient . They have to attend lectures which don’t exist in Chinese high schools . What’s more ,they do not have so much homework to do .They can leave school very early and spend time doing what they like but the disadvantage is that they lack exercises so they can’t solve problems as quickly as we do .In conclusion ,there are differences between two cultures which lead to differences in education . I’ve experienced the life as JC student and made a lot of friends .

JXP experience in Hwachong Junior College

Last two weeks we went through an impressing experience in Hwachong Junior College. Hwachong Junior College made a good impression on me as one of the top JCs in Singapore.
I think the most attractive thing was who would be my buddy that I would follow during 2 weeks time. On the weekend before JC started, I received a short message from my buddy and she claimed she was a girl. At that moment I just regarded it as a joke made by my friends because there had been the same case before in a blue moon. However, when we finally met each other in JC, I turned to be the so-called lucky man and my JC life started.
In Hwachong JC, most of students are Chinese-Singaporeans. My buddy’s Chinese was perfect so she passed her Chinese exam easily and she could also talk to me in Chinese very frequently. However, English was the most wide-used language during school time.
They moved to different lecture theatres and different tutorial rooms from time to time just as what we had done in NTU, in the university. This was quite confusing me at the first sight because we never do this such thing in my senior high school in China. During the break time, my classmates went to their class bench and did their own staff. In fact, in most cases they chatted with their friends and enjoyed their school time. The classes ended quite early so that they had time to do some activities or joining school clubs. In China, school clubs are rarely spotted in most of senior high schools because the emphasis had already been put on the College Entrance Examination rather than the enrichment of students’ life. In addition, what they learned in class was different as well. The method of problem solution was one of the most important parts they thought. The theme or the topic of their homework including searching, presentation or essay was much relevant to the events happened in the world recently. I thought it was a good way to understand the world well and build the valid sense of value.
2 weeks’ JC life was quite short but left me a nice memory and I also made many friends there. The best way to recognize one thing is to experience it for oneself. Though this experience is quite short and I could only see several aspects of their life, I enjoyed myself in Hwachong. Best wishes Hwachong, best wishes all the buddies!

12 days with penguins

Why “penguins”?

Before the JXP, our IS teacher told us a story about the penguins and researchers. When the researchers arrived at Antarctic, they found that every time they moved forward to these cute creatures they just went backward. And our IS teacher related this story to our JC life. What she taught us was that sometimes we could make ourselves look more like the JC students so it would become easier to get close to them.

JXP

I still remembered the first morning of JXP. When we were waiting for the first meet with buddies, a girl with a very low voice asked us if we were waiting for buddies. I thought these cute “penguins” were really shy. Hahahahaaaa…lovely.JXP was a different experience for us, interesting, sometimes boring in class. I am really happy having been with my buddy who is a very very kind girl---always very patient. During the 10 days in Hwa Chong, I caught a cough and became more and more severe so I drank a great amount of water.....So I almost "traveled" every wash room in Hwa Chong. However, she never showed even very little impatient. During the farewell meeting, a student of our scholars told us to cut right at the 1/16 site of a paper. My buddy, Huixuan, just folded the paper until she found the “right 1/16 site”. So lovely a girl! I never thought I could also do something making her happy until I received her letter on the last day. She said she was lonely sometimes and my company made herhappy. Knowing this, I felt grateful to this memorable experience.

See you, my lovely friends.

My two weeks happy JC life in Hwa Chong

Two weeks is not a long time for me to experience the JC life in Singapore. In fact, I didn’t realize that it’s too short untill it came to the end. Because friends there were really kind to me and all the stuff have a strong sence of responsibility.
Firstly, I want to say something about my “buddies”. All together I have three buddies: Hao Kai, Kia Gwan, and Hong De. Hao Kai was my original buddy; Kia Gwan sometimes took me to classes when Hao Kai was occupied; and Hong De was the host of my home-stay during which we shared a halcyon time together. All of them were kind, responsible, and full of passion. Hao Kai is a big man, he was enthusiastic, humerous so that he is popular as well. Because of this, I have always felt a harmonious atmosphere following him when we were lingering around the campus. Besides, he speaks good Chinese which made the communicating between us very easy. Kia Gwan is a serious looking but humerous inside student, sometimes he came up with some words which made the crowd busrt into laughter. Hong De is an extremely good man, because he always considers more about others and less for himself, in other words, he would be happy only if his friends had been happy. That’s a plesant characteristic, isn’t it?
Secondly, I would like to say something about my JC teachers. They are resiponsible and optimistic. There was a morning when I felt sick of the airconditioners and a little bit dizzy. The teacher asked my buddy to send me to the sick bay. But when we got there, we found that the original sick bay had been a storeage. Then we turned to a teacher near by. She stopped her meal immediately and take me far away to the new sick bay. I’m so thankful to the teacher who I still don’t know the name of her.
In short, my JC life was so great which I will never forget.

My days in Hwa Chong

Life in Hwa Chong has passed, but this two weeks will be an important part in my memory. During the two weeks, I met new friends, went to lectures and tutorials in JC, had an outing to little India and East Coast Park and ate delicious local food. The most coincident part was that my buddy was from Harbin and his parents were from the same town as my father. So I have a happy talk with his mother when I stayed at his home. I also had a good time when we went outing and had farewell party together. I think students in Singapore are really lucky. When we were busy studying, they were busy doing their CCA. But they were really very creative; they had various new ideas on the PW lesson. However I think they need more hard working. I really enjoyed my JC experience, and I hope I can come back to Hwa Chong in the future.

Forever memories—the experiences with my buddy in Hwa Chong Institution

The happiest thing during my two-week-long experiences in the JC Emersion was I met my buddy—Wong Jinghao, a cute and friendly boy who is a Singaporean Chinese. We got together during the two weeks: we attended lectures, we had tutorials, we went out for fun, and we ate dinner in his home… I really cherish our meet in such a program.
The first meet was always unforgettable. In the reading room of Hwa Chong, Jinghao came in with a friendly smile. Although a Chinese, he looked like Malay in some degree, which made me a little bit nervous. Few hours later, I found him an easygoing boy with a sense of humor.
The most interesting experience with Jinghao was the home-stay in his home. It was on last Sunday. There were three shocks hit my mind. Firstly, it was the servant from Philippines. She was so helpful of the family and she had come to Jinghao’s family for more than ten years. So in fact, she was regarded as part of the whole family. The second thing was that it was Jinghao’s father’s grandfather who first came to Singapore to make a living. So the family was a typical Singapore family. The third thing was that the chat with Jinghao during the night. We had compared a lot between china and Singapore and l have learned a lot.
Saying goodbye was always a sad thing but I had to do it. It was on Thursday night that we had a farewell activity in the canteen of Hwa Chong. We sang songs together, we played games together, and we laughed together… In the last minute we had to go, Jinghao gave me a gift which was made by him.
Once we meet, that we are. The time together with Jinghao in Hwa Chong Institution will be in my memory for all my life. I really hope the friendship between us two will last for a lifelong time.

First day in Hwa Chong

Today I began my JC journey. For the next two weeks, I am a junior college student. At the first time, I became a journalist and the shadow of my buddy. Compared to my recent study, everything here is so fresh for me, and I am very happy to experience a new way of life.
_____on the way
I tied my hair, wear the same clothes with others and did not bring my computer. Suddenly I felt I went back to my own junior college in China. Especially I got up at 5:40 to catch the school bus at 6:15. My class begins at 7:20, I think my school must be very far so we need a lot of time to drive there. To everyone’s surprise, we arrived after fifteen minutes. I felt it was like a joke. We waited for the teacher at the gate. The sky was still dark but we were so excited that we forgave the funny bus time table.
_____the first sight of Hwa Chong Institute
I was sent to spend my JC time in Hwa Chong Institute. I am very pleased because it is one of the top schools in Singapore. It is my pleasure to wear the uniform of this school. I find that the building here are very Chinese, even more Chinese than most of schools in China. I was shocked by these unique buildings. Then I was guided to a more unique one__ __good news coffee, but they all call it fish tank because of its shape and its glass walls. It is funny that people in it are like all kinds of fish. However, the most attractive thing is its nice smell. Smelling it I feel full of happiness. I even could not move my legs the first time I passed it. It has unique rules, too. The origin of the nice smell is the nice food, so the food is expensive, but everyday there will be a kind of food selling at a special price, almost 50 percent off. The cheap food will be different in different days of a week. The students like to sit in it chatting, eating the cheap food on that day and maybe breathing the nice smell. How happy they are.
_____the first impression of people in Hwa Chong
The teachers are very kind, smart, good at teaching, patient……In a word, they are of high quality. My buddy, a little size girl, is very helpful, warm and outgoing. She does well in both Chinese and English, so I think there will be no problem for our communication. She seems having a lot of friends and treats me well just like a warm host. I believe we will become good friends soon. I find other people talking with their buddies happily, too. I find an interesting thing that almost all of the local students like to write with their body sideways, with even someone up to 180 degree. They have advertisements for activities every morning at the assembly. The actors act funny to make people laugh and draw people’s attention. At lunch, I waited a bowl of noodle for more than half a hour because there is a rule in the canteen named “staff first”. It just happened to me that a crowd of staffs came to buy noodle before making it for me. I am so hungry!

Hwachong, we are coming!!!

The JC immersion finally came! And twenty of our sm2 scholars were arranged to be as members of Hwachong, which is a top junior college in Singapore. And it is located near our hostel.

From the internet, we know that Hwachong is an excellent JC which not only have good grades, but also do well in sports and other CCAs. That is what really attract us. Also we believe that our buddies must be responsible and friendly.

Although the immersion has just a short period of two weeks, but we are sure that we will treasure and make full use of our time there to experience the educational system in Singapore and the everyday life here.

And we know that we will have homestay which means we can live a Singapore life.

However, what shocked us is that the school bus will come at 6:20 am !!! That means we need to get up at 6:00 am!!! Well, never mind.

Okay, anyway there is no doubt that the life in JC will surely be fresh and unforgettable for us who have just came in Singapore for three years.

Hope everyone to have a enjoyable time in HWACHONG INSTITUTE.