Our 2nd Chinese Lesson

《散步》莫怀戚

The second Chinese lesson we had was about a short essay "Strolling" written by Mo Huaiqi. The story is about the author bringing his old mother, his young son and his wife out for a stroll one day in early spring. Through a simple strolling activity, the author brings out the care and concern he has for his mother and at the same time his mother's love for her grandson. While strolling, his son wanted to walk on the small natural footpath, uneven ground but exciting. However the author worried for his old mother and would rather walk on the man-made walk path. In the end, his mother suggested to take the small track to accomodate her grandson and if necessary for her son to piggyback her. The author immediately carried his mother on his back and with his wife following behind, strolled with his son along the natural footpath. A heartwarming story of family love.

Our First Chinese Lesson

Our first Chinese lesson is this Chinese poem by the poet Wang Wei(王维） in the Tang Dynasty. The poem is about Wang Wei who is sending his good friend Yuan'er (元二）off. His good friend is going to Xi'an(西安）to be an official. Let me try to do a translation of the poem. Wang Wei sent his friend off at this place called Weicheng (渭城）. 

《送元二使安西》王维

渭城朝雨邑轻尘， 客舍青青柳色新。

劝居更尽一杯酒， 西出阳关无古人。

First line: The morning rain has just moisturised the soil of Weicheng.

Second line: The willow trees have just begun to turn green outside the hotel.

Third line: Let me toast my friend another cup of wine.

Fourth line: When you leave the West gate, I will miss a very old friend.

This poem is usually read to a friend who is leaving to show that you will miss him very much. I find the poem meaningful and the words beautifully written. It was so touching to hear the Chinese teacher recite with some background music. I could feel poet's emotions and his sense of loss because of his friend's departure. You can listen to the recital here.

Chinese Martial Art

Everyday there were surprises for the pupils. This time round, we were exposed to the Chinese martial art. First was the long stick. A few of the boys tried and took a while to master the simple strokes. After that the boys went on to the sword play and finally everyone went on to learn some simple movement of Chinese martial art.

Chinese Drumming Session

I like the Chinese drum performance best. The Licheng Erzhong students who performed the drumming did it with style and gusto. Our students were given the chance to try too. Drumming requires good coordination between your left, right hand and body. At the same time, you must have a good sense of rythnm. Our students played the drum rather well despite the short learning time. I heard from Mr Loke that he might want the students to do a short drum performance during Annual Awards Day based on teachers' recommendation. :-p

Cultural activities: Pottery

Many of you cannot believe the number of activities we participated in Licheng Erzhong. We tried out pottery, chinese martial arts, chinese folk dance, chinese knots-making, chinese drumming and chinese orchestra instruments. I could see how engaged our students were and I must admit some of them are really talented because they learnt very fast.

Pottery is offered to lower secondary pupils at Licheng Erchong. Our students had the opportunity to mould some of the clay into vases, pots and ornaments to bring back during their exchange programme in school. Pottery was not as easy as it looks; it requires a lot of planning and patience to craft out the product that you want. You also need to dirty your hands in order to do well. It is a serious business playing with the mud.

The People who received us...

Top: Guizhen, Mrs Tan, Zhengmeng & Ms Kong
Bottom: Tour guide, Zhiqin with the crown

Upon our arrival to Shandong Airport, we were warmly received by the school representatives from Lichen Erzhong(历城二中) as well as the tour guide. The night temperature was cold and luckily we reminded the students to hand carry their jackets. They came in handy.

Shandong University is the school who helped CCSS to arrange the twinning programme with Lichen Erzhong. The University was so kind to attach two brilliant 4th year graduating students, Yan Guizhen (闫桂珍) and Zhengmeng (郑蒙) to be our trip assistants. They were caring and resourceful, always offering help when we are faced with difficulties during the trip. These two wonderful girls made our trip so enjoyable. We were so impressed with them that we can’t help praising them when we saw their lecturer, Mr Gui.

They are now studying double degree with one major on teaching Chinese to foreigners. Next year, they will be sent to other countries to volunteer to teach Chinese as their work attachment. We wished they could come to Singapore so that we can return them the hospitality they had given us.

Our tour guide, Zhang Zhiqin (张志芹) is also another fantastic person. A young and fun-loving lady, meeting our needs at all times and was able to relate so well with our pupils. Without her, the trip wouldn’t be so smooth sailing. She was like a big sister to our students.

On 12 Nov, we threw her a surprise birthday party because her birthday happens to coincide with our trip. She was so moved that we could see her eyes turned watery. “This is the best birthday present I have ever received”, she broke into a smile.

Project Deadline

Dear all,

I believe all of you have a fruitful trip to Shandong and we have learnt so much. Now is the time to consolidate our learning and the deadlines are set to help you be more focused.

Timeline:

16 and 19 Nov: To submit the CD of all your photos to Ms Kong;

23 Nov: to show the first draft of your posters for teachers to see at 10am in the canteen;

30 Nov: to submit your posters.

7 Dec: to submit 3-4 PowerPoint slides to Daniel and Jonathan through email;

17 Dec: to complete your blog (by day or by theme) on the trip. Daniel and Jonathan to complete the PowerPoint Presentation slides.

Please go to the following teachers for advice for your projects:

Ms Kong - Reflections and Learning points (GL:Nigel Chua), Co-curricular and Cultural activities (GL: Chua Lee Lian), Reflections on Lessons (GL:Ho Li Wei) and Home Visits (GL: Tracy Goh).

Mrs Tan - PowerPoint Presentation (GL: Jonathan Ang), Confucius Teachings (GL: Afina Wong), Comparison of China and Singapore Students (GL: Amos Seow) and Places of Interest (GL: Cheok Yuting).

Please stick to the deadlines because we want to clear our work so that next year we can concentrate on other areas. Do check this blog regularly for updates as Mrs Tan and I may need to meet you to discuss further.