Icon or I conned

Personally, I think that tourism will devalue heritage spots and icons. To increase the revenue that the heritage sites earn, they would have to increase the number of tourists visiting the heritage site, and in order to so, they would have to introduce world-renowned shops or restaurants such as McDonalds to attract tourists and also cater to their needs for a familiar meal if they are not used to the local dishes. These types of shops will devalue the heritage spots and icons as these shops will be built such that it would fit into the heritage spot. Therefore, areas with these shops will be modernised, devaluing heritage spots and icons, making me think that tourism will devalue heritage spots and icons.

Preservation and Modernisation

My personal stand on whether to demolish Mr LKY's house will be to demolish it. After attending the lesson on the circle of view point exercise about whether to demolish Mr LKY's house, I understand the mindset of the various different people who may be somewhat affect by the demolishment of Mr LKY's house. For example, students may be affected by the demolishment of Mr LKY's house as Mr LKY's house can serve as a place of education to educate students on the life of Mr LKY. However, I think that we should demolish Mr LKY's house as it is one of his wishes. In the lesson, we were shown a slide where Mr LKY claimed that they should demolish his house after he passed away as it was affecting the development of buildings in that area and by demolishing his house, high-rise buildings will be built and there would be more housing available for the people in Singapore. Therefore, I think that we should follow the wishes of the late Mr LKY and demolish his house as a form of respect to his last few wishes.

Factory to The World [Economy Part 5]

       Dilemma between the blind pursuit of higher economic growth and protecting our environment. Higher economic growth and protecting our environment are equally important, however, most people turn a blind eye towards the destruction of our environment and destroy our environment directly or indirectly by pursuing a higher economic growth. Companies destroy the environment directly by, you know, destroying the environment using machinery to get natural resources buried deep in the ground and also set up stable, sturdy mines to mine for these natural resources. Whereas, consumers destroy the environment by buying these products and when there is a high demand for these natural resources, companies are encouraged to expand their terrain and destroy the environment more by cutting down more rainforests and digging the land to make space for mines.
        Although pursuing a higher economic growth is important, I think that protecting our environment is more important. Once gone, it will take a very long time to grow the plants back and bring back the rainforest. Therefore, I conclude that we should focus more of our attention on protecting our environment and not pursuing higher economic growth.

Reflection on EnC Week

            "Experiencing another's culture may open doors that were previously closed... but the choice to walk through those doors is entirely up to you."
            Last week of Term 1, we were given open doors that were previously closed and we decided to walk through these doors. These open doors refer to the opportunity to embark on a learning journey and travel to different places with our classes in hope of learning more about other cultures and races. In order to learn more about the many different cultures and races in Singapore, we decided to try our best not to fool around and instead listen and observe the things others do and why would they do such a thing. For example, on the last day, we visited the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and somehow, I noticed that all the hindus who enter the temple would ring the bell at the door first and when they leave, they will ring the bell again, after asking one of the hindus, I found out that they ring the bell when they enter and leave the temple to tell god that they are entering and leaving the temple.
            Most impactful lesson? Well, after spending some time walking from places to places in Madrasah Aljunied Al-lslamiah and learning more about the Islam religion, I feel deeply saddened by the fact that a lot of people are currently biased against Islamic people just because most articles say that most of the terrorists are muslims and Islamic, they are usually stereotyped by others which may make it harder for them to find friends that are not muslims as people from other races may be biased against them just because of the fact that most terrorists are muslims and Islamic, it will also be harder for them to find good jobs with a high pay if they meet bosses that are judgmental and are biased towards certain races. The fact that most people judge and put down islamic muslims just because some of their people are terrorists makes me angry just thinking about it, it's like just because there is a rowdy kid in our class, it does not mean that the others are rowdy, some may actually be peaceful and quiet. Based on the learning journey to Madrasah Aljunied Al-lslamiah, I found out that most of them are just like us, they like playing games such as VainGlory and they are actually very friendly, when we walked past their classes, we waved to them and in return, they smiled and waved back, some even doing the heart shape sign. The only thing that separates us from the Islamic muslims is just their skin colour, therefore,  l would like to state that we should not judge them just because they are islamic.
            Well, the programme could actually be improved in many various ways but I would like to state that the main questions for some of us is the lack of time. For example, when we went to Little India on the last day of our learning journey, the timing was a bit messed up which caused us unable to gather some useful information from shop owners. Additionally, when we went into the temple, we could be given more time to ask for information and compile them as there were very little people who we could speak to there, either due to the language barrier or the fact that most of them are praying and we would not like to disturb their prayers just for the sake of gathering information. Therefore, I think that the timing could be extended such that we would be able to provide a quality work on the last day of the EnC week as we would need to gather information from many different stalls and compile them such that the information would be more accurate and reliable.
            Hmm, the main objective of this programme? Well, I suppose the main objective of this programme is not only to educate us about other races and their beliefs but also remind us that there are actually many amazing and special religions and cultures around us. By sending us on learning journeys to many different places and given us a booklet filled with questions and space to write down our notes, we would be able to use the booklet to record answers and questions we have in mind which will make us more efficient in gathering data and storing them. Also, by going on this type of learning journey, we were able to get a break from the normal boring school life and engage in something much more interesting which included giving us freedom of movement, as in we can go anywhere freely and not get controlled by teachers which was something we never had before in primary school; in the past, I thought that I knew a lot about the Malay and Indian culture but when I was given the booklet, I realised that there were actually many blanks in my head regarding these two cultures, for example, I realised that the only thing I knew about the Indian culture was that they celebrate Deevapali and nothing else but after embarking on this meaningful learning journey, I found out that they also celebrate festivals such as Thaipusam and Pongal. This proves that going on this type of learning journey and forcing us to do something which we needed to present to  the class, we were actually able to learn a lot of things.
            At first, I thought that this programme would be really boring, puts me to sleep and the only interesting part about the trip would be the bus ride from the school to the places. However, once we reached Kampong Glam and we were given the freedom to go anywhere we want to interview people but within a certain area immediately made me excited about the trip, not because of the fact that we could buy toys freely but the fact that we were able to travel with other groups to many places and engage in conversations with the shop owners and learn more about their culture. By having a positive attitude, even though we were scolded by our chairperson for stupid things we did, my spirit was not dampened and I really enjoyed myself at the 3 venues throughout the week with some of my best buddies. In conclusion, even though the bus rides were once of the highlights of the trips, the programme and the knowledge it has gifted us made the learning journey a much better one with my best buddies.

Should Singapore continue to share her development experiences with other countries?

          Yes, I believe that Singapore should continue to share her development experiences with other countries. As a first-world country, our main goal should be to help second-world and third-world countries become first-world countries by sharing our development experiences and not let them find a way themselves to become a first-world country by being selfish and not sharing our development experiences. Even though some people may think that some countries will betray us in some way, I am very sure that some people in the country will think that it is wrong and eventually correct the mistake made by the past leaders. Thus, in order for all countries, mankind to be equal, we should share our development experiences with other countries like how the Late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew shared our development experiences with the people from China in hope of a better life for both Singapore and China.

Why Singapore cannot be complacent and why relationships with China are important

          Being a rather small and resource-less country, it would be very important for us to keep a good relationship with countries like China and not get complacent over the fact that we are a first-world country unlike many others. Throughout the years, in order to boost Singapore's economy, Singapore has kept a rather good relationship with China such that we would be able to work and trade with one another with total trust in each other. If we did not keep a good relationship with China in the past, we may still be a third-world country right now without all the fancy buildings and we would be living in crowded kampongs and clean food and water would be an issue. Thus, remaining humble and keeping a good relationship with China is vital as if we become complacent, China may think that we are too proud and stop engaging in trade with us, shutting down our main supplier of cash.

Thoughts on culture and similarities and differences of Singapore and China's culture

         To start off, I would like to express what I think of a culture. A culture is something that represents something, represents the customs and traditions of something or someone.
         In Singapore, it will be considered rude if you call someone by their full name and it is also the same in China. It is also considered rude if you knock your bowls with you utensils on purpose and put your utensils upright straight in your food in both Singapore and China.
         In China, it would also be counted as rude if you point your index finger at things but in Singapore, it is normally fine to do so unless told otherwise.

Welcome to Beijing

Aspect of Chinese culture	Description of scene from video	Description of How does this scene demonstrate Chinese culture?
Fashion	In many scenes of the video, you can see different actors wearing traditional Chinese clothing.	Traditional Chinese clothing is made of silk and was only meant for the rich and famous in the good old days and was not meant for the poor as it was delicate and was presumly hard to make.
Food	In two scenes of the video, we can see a few chefs preparing food like the braised duck and making what I assume is tea.	The chinese culture is especially popular for all the delicious food that is produced such as the braised duck and many more. Tea is also another popular item as it originated from China and could only be found there in the old days.
Festival	In one scene of the video, 3 people can be seen creating puppets for Chinese Shadow Play.	Chinese Shadow Play, also known as 皮影戏, originated from China and was one of the most popular entertainment you can get back then as back then technology was not advanced and there wasn't any mobile devices or laptops.

A Picture To Describe Singapore's Culture

           Singapore English, commonly known by others as Singlish, plays an important role in Singapore's culture as almost everyone in Singapore, regardless of race and age, uses it. Although many Singlish words are not allowed to be used in standard English examinations, some Singlish words have been added to the Oxford Dictionary, showing how much Singlish is being using nowadays.
          
           As Singapore is a multi-rational country, in order to remove the language barrier, Singlish was invented such that people from different races would at least be able to understand a few sentences as it is a mix of many languages.  
           Thus, I would choose the picture to describe Singapore's culture.

CHINGAY!!!

        Chingay was a word that I heard only one week before the actual event.Upon hearing the word 'Chingay', I was really confused over what the word meant as I have never heard of the word before. Adding to the fact that I do not usually pay attention to Singapore's local events such as Chingay and the National Day Parade, I would not be able to know what was did Chingay mean or stand for. Upon hearing what Chingay actually meant, I was immediately interested in the event. On 21 Janurary, we finally went to the F1 Pit where Chingay was held. Apparently, this year was its 45th Anniversary and this year's theme was "We Care Singapore". A few minutes before our bus stopped at the F1 Pit Building, our chairperson, Huiling, suddenly gave out ponchos to everyone without an umbrella on the bus. Curious about what happened, I decided to look out of the window and I saw raindrops on the glass. 

        After realising that it was raining, I could feel the class being not as cheerful as when we left. However, once we left the bus, we realised that the rain had subsided from a downpour to a drizzle. Upon finding out that the rain was now only a drizzle, the boys started to play with their hair and made many cool hairstyles which kind of lifted our spirits. Also, our chairperson Huiling (also known as Mother Huiling) saw that and told the boys to stop fooling around and cover their heads in order not to feel sick.

        Upon reaching our seats, we were greeted by a goodie bag which consists of food, a pompom and a star shaped glowstick which we used when they dimmed the light. This year, the guest of honour was the one and only Mrs Josephine Teo! There were many stunning performances which were performed by representatives of all the races in Singapore. People of different races, organisations and countries all came forward to perform for Chingay, according to my friends, 2 juniors in our school actually performed in it! A friend of mine from Nan Hua Secondary School also took part in the performance as a dancer. This shows that people of all ages were also allowed to perform. 

        After these performances, they brought in floats (above) which were lit up and various colours started to appear every now and then as the backstage crew did some tricks and made the lighting of the entire place change colours. Every now and then, the emcees will encourage us to wave our glowsticks in the air or shake our pompoms. Also, they played various 新谣during the show, there was even a dragon dance before the floats came in and amazed everybody. Also, as we continued to watch the show, a few kind souls in our class decided to share their food with the rest of the class such
as potato chips, this was the first time that our class actually cheered together, bonded together and shared things with each other without really quarreling and fighting with each other. For once, I feel that the class had truly bonded even though nobody mentions it aloud. Despite the ongoing drizzle, everyone's spirit were so high that if you jumped off it, you would get severely injured. Finally, the rain stopped which seemed to have lifted the spirits of the performers even more. Then, to end the event, fake snow came out of pillars and fireworks were set off, ending Chingay 2017. Then, popular music started to play and surprisingly, everybody started to sing along with it! It was really heartwarming to see that all my classmates singing together and having a great time all together. It was a super wonderful experience which made me feel very excited and elated, if given the chance, I will definitely watch Chingay again.

        According to my research online, in the past, Chingay was created to compensate the ban of fireworks which was a customary New Year practice to drive away evil spirits and to celebrate Chinese New Year for the chinese people living in Singapore. However, now, it has became a celebration for people of different ages, races, religions and even countries to come and perform to celebrate Chingay as one. Also, adding different races to perform also makes it more interesting as in the past only the Chinese performed and usually it would be lion dance and dragon dance but with other races, there would be more things to watch.

        I personally think that Chingay has fulfilled its purpose to bring many different races together and celebrate their differences as one. Due to the fact that each community performing at Chingay has their own unique way of doing so and their own unique culture were shown to people who watched Chingay. Many different cultures being shown at once made us Singaporeans feel even more bonded with each culture as we will bond to feel that some of the cultures seem familiar either because they will either be our own culture or our close friends' culture. In my case, I definitely felt the bond between the performances when they performed together as a whole which made me feel the spirit and closeness between one another. Just by watching them, I was convinced that people in this country would be able to celebrate their differences and celebrate Chinese New Year as one.

Table on Perceptions

This is the table from the worksheet on perceptions.

My Self Introduction

        My name is Meng Shuo and I am in class 2F. Born in China, I migrated with my family to Singapore at the age of 5. I studied in Juying Primary School until I reached Primary 3, when i was Primary 4, I transferred school to Rulang Primary School and stayed there until I graduated. Having the interest for building and programming, I decided to join River Valley Infocomm Club as it had robotics which is all about building and programming. Also, having the passion and experience in this field made me sure that i would not regret my decision. Gaming and reading are 2 hobbies that I have, most people find it super duper surprising that I read book as I do not look like the type that even reads but actually I like reading. Books such as those in the Percy Jackson Series or Big Nate are my favourite types of books, my favourite author would be Rick Riordian. Usually before sleeping, I would read a part of a book to make me feel sleepy and then sleep. My favourite games are Paladins and Counter Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO), I usually play them during weekends and during public holidays, I have almost 1300 hours on CS:GO[barely addicted].
        This year, I wish that I could get at least a B3 for every subject except for Science and Mathematics which I expect to get at least an A2. Pretty much going to fail my wishes but life is like this so yeah, goodbye.