Wuhan, freaking cold but super awesome <3

At the start of the trip, I set out to learn more about the way of life in China (narrowing down to Hubei, Wuhan). The learning process involves searching the net an also personal experience. Learning more about a foreign country is both fun and interesting and it changes my view of (some of) the people in China too, in a good way. The way of life in Singapore and Wuhan is very different. Initially I had difficulty getting used to it, but as the days passed, I managed to adapt, and that allowed me to enjoy this trip more. Breaking the barrier is an important move to make as it allows you to discover things that are hiding behind it that makes it all worthwhile. I came to this trip knowing what to expect beforehand and I told myself that I must try to adapt to the living lifestyle and environment no matter how it turned out to be. That was what kept me going.

I learnt how to accept people and their culture when I’m in a foreign country. For example, spitting and littering in public places is prohibited in Singapore but not in Wuhan. The people would usually make a deep disgusting sound to clear their throat (get the phlegm out) before spitting it on the floor, carpet, stairs, elevator, practically everywhere. I used to give comments like “What is this? What is their problem? Why must they do that?” I went to search the net and it states that it is actually a medical thing – getting phlegm out of the body is important. After knowing that, every time I hear that deep disgusting sound, I would just go “Oh man, not again”. Littering is one thing I cannot stand seeing, especially when there is actually a bin nearby but one chose to throw it onto the ground. I witnessed it a few times in different places, many times was when we were climbing the wu dang shan. One time, I saw a little girl throw the satay stick on the ground after finish eating her food. A thought then flashed across my mind, they must be doing it as they are brought up that way. One more thing I cannot stand is smoking, the people in Wuhan literally smokes everywhere, even in prohibited areas like hospitals. We are brought up in a country where smoking is banned in most public areas, therefore we are not used to be forced to breathe in secondhand smoke. Although these are the few acts that irritate me a lot during this trip, I learnt that different countries have different practices. Apparently to them, spitting, littering and smoking almost everywhere are acceptable and normal. We have to understand that and not complain and compare their country to Singapore. After all, that is their way of life.

Independence is another important thing I have learnt from this trip. As we are away from home and our parents are not with us, we have to do everything ourselves. From chores like sweeping the floor and washing clothes using washing machine to waking up early in the morning and buying meals ourselves. Although we machine-washed most of our clothes, we still have to carry the clothes up to the fifth level to unload them, insert coins and wait for it to finish washing. It was my first time ‘operating’ a washing machine! After that, we have to go back up and collect the clothes and hang them in our dorms to air dry them. I actually enjoyed doing the chores as the days passed as it became a routine. Doing everything myself also made me feel more grown up and I also feel a sense of accomplishment as I do not have to depend on my parents. It also made me realize to never take things for granted, in this case, my parents.

Through this trip, I experienced many new things:

- First time visiting a TCM ‘clinic’.

- Dyed my hair, did manicures and pedicures with friends.

- Tried many kinds of street food etc.

I would definitely miss the friendly people and also food (Especially xiao long baos and strawberry red tea) there !

Overall, I enjoyed the trip a lot and made many friends, both locals and of the same course. I have to thank them for making this trip a memorable one.