Day 1 Reflections: Cai Zhihan

Posted by Anonymous at 12:44 am

3 words to describe today’s experiences


  • Astonishment



  • Realisation



  • Reflection


3 highlights of the day



  • Tour of Posco: During the tour of Posco, I saw the scale of the metal refinement facilities. I was astounded that a country’s revival could be mainly based around the mastery of just a few specific industries. Through the interconnection between the heavy industries, such as metal refinery, automobile manufacture and shipbuilding, s.Korea has established an economy strong enough for sustainment.




  • Interactions with new friends: People such as Chen Ning and Sophia were just acquaintances prior to the trip, yet just through the day, we have learnt a lot about each other. We shared our experiences regarding our journey in SST during the flight from Singapore to Incheon, gaining crucial knowledge about each other within a short duration. I realised that there are still some warm people around me aside my usual friends.




  • Trying out Korean food: During lunchtime today, I decided against having chicken due to unfamiliarity, thus resulting in my seating with Sammi. We tried out the pre-briefed s.Korean food appreciation culture, adapting ourselves to our host country’s heritage. It was an enjoyable experience, as we really focused on courtesy and food appreciation, without distracting ourselves with other matters.


3 things you’ve, learnt about s.Korea




  • Through the POSCO museum tour, I have learnt that through resilience, s.Korea has picked itself up from ruins and progressed steadily, after redefining what people thought about their capabilities through the successful establishment of the steel refineries.



  • I learnt that s.Koreans are hospitable. The tour guide was friendly and communicated with us on a friendly and personal level, apart from bring multiple insightful jokes into context during explanation. He helped us through the challenges we faced today and even tried speaking in Chinese with some of us.




  • I learnt that s.Korean flight controllers make very sudden decisions, accordingly to ensure our flight is safer and to provide a positive experience for passengers. The aircraft we took was ordered to discard initial landing attempt in order to approach the runway from the opposite bearing. This is perhaps due to a sudden change in wind direction affecting landing characteristics. This shows their concern towards our safety and commitment to make improvements, after the national carrier had previously caused an accident by flying into Soviet airspace.


3 things you’ve learnt about yourself


  • I have learnt that I overly rely on the usage of a camera to take note of technical details. When faced with the camera quarantine during the observation of the steel slab coiling, I could not sketch the scene in time. I thus have to practice my sketching skills such that when I am separated from technology, I can still take note of visual details even if given only a short amount of time to observe.


  • I have learnt that I am capable of trying new and alien things, such as eating the crudely grilled pork belly forcefully made and offered by Chen Ning. Normally I would not even touch pork, but nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. Although I did not like it, I still tried something new and unimaginable as compared to what I would usually do.



  • I have also came to realise that I had packed too many bags, and despite their relative smaller size, caused a hindrance in my movement and convenience. In the future, in the case that I need to store many items, I will pack a larger bag and store my items more collectively, instead of storing them in small separate bags.


3 things you didn’t do so well


  • I was a little not so gentle in interactions with my room mate, although neither of us condemned it. I will work towards a better co-prosperity between us for the rest of the trip.



  • I did not take notes for the POSCO Museum tour, and although I began realising the significance during the factory tour and took notation of everything there, I still missed out some information from the museum tour. I will ensure that I write more entries of details into my notebook for an easier and more complete reference when the information is thereafter needed.



  • I did not reflect very often throughout the day. I believe that if I increase the frequency and seriousness of my reflections, I will be able to perform better and make better decisions to align myself back onto the best track.


4 things you’ve looked forward to tomorrow


  • I look forward to exploring the beautiful campus of Busan Science High School and learning more about the school. From viewing pictorial sources, I am expecting a very grand campus. Tomorrow I will be able to see for myself.



  • I am also looking forward to the classes at the school. I hope that there both familiar yet challenging activities, together with new activities requiring the learning of completely new techniques. I will open myself the the lessons and take as many notes as I can. I strive to learn and internalise everything which I can understand (language).



  • I also look forward to meeting my buddy and embarking on a learning journey with him/her throughout these few days of interaction. I hope to know more about Busan Science High School and s.Korea, through conversation with him/her.



  • Finally, I am looking forward to implementing certain protocols set in my personal reflections into my lifestyle in hopes of changing a little for the better.

You Might Also Like

0 comments

Popular Posts