Before the trip, I expected OCIP Jinan to be a valuable learning experience in terms of independence, organization skills, and reaching out to the less fortunate - more or less like any other community involvement project. However, it was certainly much more than any ordinary CIP I have ever done.
Firstly, the planning of the project taught us to be more self-reliant, and pushed our time-management skills to the limit, as we had to contend with our end-of-year examinations at the same time. Fortunately we worked together well within our sub-committees and also as a collective team. This also marked the beginning of the great bonds of friendship that were forged among us by the end of the trip..
Then came the actual trip to Jinan, China. While our itinerary for the first few days was relaxing enough to be mistaken for a holiday, the rest of the trip was rather more exciting and exhausting. Gone were the 30-dish restaurant meals and sightseeing. In place came stones, sand, cement, and construction work we lucky Singaporean kids would otherwise never have been exposed to. Ever. We were forced out of our comfort zones and toiled as hard as we could to complete the basketball courts we set out to build. After days of hard work (not to mention much help from the school’s teachers and students), I am immensely glad to say that we not only completed the basketball courts, we also learnt teamwork, patience, and learnt to appreciate our teammates’ efforts more.
This trip also exposed us to the locals’ lives, and made us more aware of how fortunate we are in Singapore, and also highlighted our faults. I think we all have matured and grown. A big THANK YOU to Ms Liew, Mrs Chua and Mr Nah, Peter, Clarke, Ms Torre, Life Link International, and to all others whom I have forgotten to mention, for the bonds formed, lasting friendships made and memories collected..
Anyone familiar with the old song “Time in a Bottle”? Well, if I could keep time in a bottle, OCIP Jinan would definitely be one of those memories I would like to keep forever.
Qi Yu