Fallin Sick Soon...

Wa. School sux. So much tests to revise, so much homework to complete, but so little time to do them all. Have to keep juggling through CCA's and Schoolwork. For all my friends reading this-Sorry if I have left you out, cause all the crap has made me serious, too serious. Now I am starting to be damn quiet

Well moving onto the positive side, during January, Mrs Gopala has told me to write a report on what I felt on the India Fieldtrip to be submitted to MOE. For those inquisitive bugs out there, here it is:

My life in the cricket loving country.

India has always been a vibrant and diversified country since its beginning; anyway, it is already around 5000 years old. Starting from a humble civilization, India is today, one of the richest and high-tech country in the world.

Our fieldtrip lasted for around 9 days, starting on the 22nd of November. We were there during the live firing incident. This caused a lot of confusion back in Singapore. The straits times even came to interview us. I will touch more on that later.

Basically, the first day required us to travel around 136km from the city of Mumbai to Pune. We had a lot of fun along the way, singing songs and cracking jokes. There was also a lot of sightseeing. Our lunch was at a magnificent restaurant with fine and scrumptious food-we realized later that almost every meal was eaten at classy places. When nightfall came, we checked into Hotel Orritel, a three star hotel with cozy cabins and flat screen televisions! Dinner was also served at the hotel’s café. There, we ate till our heart’s content.

On the second day, we woke up with a bright start. Our first location was Pune University-the best in the whole of Pune. It was very huge. There was even roads in there for travelling. It even contained its own Science Park. We managed to spend sometime at the park, viewing interesting exhibits and gaining some knowledge. Soon, we had to rush off to a temple. It was very old and was made out of carved stone. Everybody was amazed at the good condition it was still in. Many people were even studying there, in the conducive environment it provided. We walked around the place and realized that there was minimum lighting. I finally understood how it was like, living without lighting. Our next destination was also a temple, this time of a different religion. We had to wear a headdress to cover our hair, a rule there that we had to follow. The place was very grand and architectural. . The most exciting part was the fact that we witnessed a wedding celebration and even had a chance to talk to the couple! The day was not over yet and we were down to our final two stops. They were firstly, a visit to a 300 year old fort and secondly, a tour round Agar Khan Palace. Let me get into more detail. The fort was actually a rich man’s office. He had modernized it and made it into a hotel cum restaurant. We were welcomed by a man blowing through a horn. It made some sort of rhythmic tone. We were told later that this was to tell the people in the fort that VIPs had arrived. Our lunch was held there, with again, high quality food and nicely dressed waiters. There was even a flutist playing music for us. The wind at the location was very cooling and refreshing. Finally, the Agar Khan Palace. Though its name might sound Arabic, it is actually very important to India. That was the place where Ghandi lived and died. We went through the posters put up and looked at the intricate carvings of Ghandi himself. The only disappointment was that the place was not maintained. The exhibits were very dusty and filthy. Some had even faded. Dinner was held at a café called 77th street. It was a place designed to look like one of Britain’s street. There was even a red bus put at the front where customers can buy cakes and chocolate. We went back to the hotel after that.

The third day was a school exchange program where our whole fieldtrip group visited a Indian school called Vikhe Pail. We were welcomed by the traditional red mark on the forehead. I still remembered how astonished I was when they did that to us at first. It was only after a few of these that I got used to it. Anyway, we were told to stand in to the school’s assembly. They sang their national anthem with pride and at the top of their voices; compared to Singapore pupils who whisper through the lyrics. They have no proper parade square but just a field to carry that out. Next, we were guided around the school. The premises itself contained a whole cohort of kindergarten pupils, primary level children and secondary school teenagers. It was unbelievable how they managed to study in a cramped environment. The computer lab contained few computers that are considered outdated in Singapore. The library too, was a small room with a few shelves of books. It was only at that time that I understood how good our lives are in Singapore. We had to sit in a few lessons. The pupils in my assigned class were very friendly and funny. They had the guts to answer back to the teacher. Classroom lessons were very chaotic but you can still see how motivated the students are in studying. Though the topics there are not really relevant to ours, it was still understandable. We spent almost a whole day there.

The fourth, fifth and sixth day was mostly home stay. I learnt a lot about their lives and many friendships were made there. I shall not go too deep into those few days. What actually happened was mostly shopping and visiting to the buddy’s relatives. One was a coconut trader and the second, his fun filled cousin. I managed to learn how to play cricket then. I heard the news about the India’s 911 at my buddy’s house. I was really afraid. I kept on thinking that I was going to be stuck there for quite a long time. My buddy was actually quite used to that and did not really care much.

Many pupils there cried as we left their school. I too had to hold back my tears. We will be seeing them again somewhere in May.

We checked into Hotel Woodland at the end of the sixth day. There we were briefed about the changes that were being made. Firstly, we would be taking a transit flight from Pune to Bangalore. Following that, another flight from the airport back here. I would sincerely like to praise the tour agency for making the changes efficiently in just a matter of few days. It really made me feel comforted. Also, our leading teacher, Mrs Gopala continuously gave our school information that we were safe. Many teachers were actually frightened when they heard about the incident.

I was sick on day seven due to the water there. Nevertheless, I managed to visit all the places we went to. For a start, we took an IT course on mobile applications. They served us lunch-hotdogs and black forest cakes. After the course, we visited a plant where cars are being constructed. It was very intriguing and fun. We walked through the stages of car making starting from the basic parts. After that, shopping! We went to several shopping centres and spent quite a lot there, buying Indian movies, clothes, watches…

The eighth and final day was quite foggy. It was the most hectic but exciting day. We took our last meal of Indian food at around the mid-afternoon. After that, we were driven to the city’s airport for our flight. The tight security check caused quite a long delay. Finally, when we boarded the flight, it was around six. The airline’s name was Kingfisher. It was nicely decorated with in flight entertainment. I enjoyed the whole travel. We landed at Bangalore at around seven. We had to wait for three hours at the airport for our final flight. At 6.08 am in the morning of 29th November, our plane’s wheels hit the runway, marking an end to our colourful fieldtrip.

This nine days were totally well spent and is really once in the lifetime. We were the first batch of students to India. Till now, we are still very bonded. On Chinese New Year, we were actually requested to perform. I believe that the friendships we have in India and amongst us will remain.

The spirit of India will never die. Our memories of the wonderful experience will stay on forever. I know that I will be going back there again one day. Till then…