2 words:
1) Cultural
2) Eye-opening
2 Key Highlights:
1) Early in the morning, we had to bid farewell to our buddies of three days, where we had made many good memories and learnt many things from one another. It had been a fun experience and I really appreciate the efforts from both sides to make this a success. I look forward to meeting them again in January to explore and learn more.
2) We also went to the 2 UNESCO Heritage sites in Gyeongjoo, Bulgaksa Temple and Seokgulam Grotto. Through the visit, I learnt many things about the Korean history and religious harmony in Korea, like the story of the carpenter. It was something that cannot be found in Singapore and I was fascinated by both places' history and Gyeongjoo.
2 Things I learnt in about Korea:
1) Gyeongjoo was once the capital of olden Korea and last time, the kings and royalties were buried there. Gyeongjoo is one of the places in Korea that has a lot of historical value and we can learn much about Korea's history there.
2) When we reached the Grotto and Temple, the guide told us about how the structure was made and it was actually mainly composed of granite. Though the Chinese used marble, the Koreans used granite and achieved the same result, which the 1, 500 years old structure is still sturdy and looks new.
2 Things I learnt about myself:
1) At first, I was not exactly fit and I had not really much stamina. Even after spending few weeks exercising, I thought that I was much fitter than before. However, during the trip at Seokgulam Grotto, I was already panting at the first few steps climbing up to the Grotto.
2) After these three day, even though I had a language barrier with my buddy, I could still communicate with her as best as we can and I really enjoyed her company and guidance during the project. I feel that I could cope under the pressure of having a language barrier and still make use of much of our experience in Busan Science High School.
2 Things I did not do that well:
1) During the farewell party, there was a sharing of projects between both schools. However, after the presentations, I did not really ask many questions on the project, which actually reflects my lack of critical thinking. Next time, I should think more on their presentation so I can actually check my level of understanding of the project and really learn from it.
2) I seldom eats fish as I do not really like fish. However, during lunch, the main course was fish. I was very hesistant in eating the fish so I did not really eat much. Looking back, I realise I should have try new food in Korea, which was an important part in learning about the Korean culture and really get as much as I can from this experience.
2 Things I am looking forward to tomorrow:
1) Tomorrow, we will be heading to the National Science Museum, which I hope would be an interesting experience getting to understand more about the Sciences. This can allow me to gain new knowledge and this knowledge would be extremely useful for our projects.
2) Last but not least, we would be leaving Korea for Singapore. Even though it was a very fruitful experience where we had made my good memories and learnt new knowledge, I look forward to going back to Singapore to share this new knowledge to my friends in SST. This can allow everyone to learn together, which is one of the main aims of GCP in SST.
C-E-C
Today, during the farewell party, there was a student who went through about robotics and humanoids. Using my prior knowledge in robotics obtained from my CCA, Robotics@APEX, I realise it was very similar to what we do during our CCA: Building robots. One thing that really extended my learning was that other than Singapore, there could be another country that really welcomes a diversity of religions. Even the Bulgaksa temple accepts people from other religions and have spaces for them to respect their religion. However, during the farewell party, a person was going through a project on the electromagnetism and the rotation. He was saying that he was just looking at a infinite spinning top and decided to do this project. This really challenge my thinking as I did not think that such a simple everyday thing could allow someone to think of such of an elaborate project and I feel every time we are thinking of a new project, maybe we could start with something simple instead of immediately thinking of complex ideas, which seldom works during the project.
Today, we had different classes during the day after the visit to the Samsung Renault Motors at Busan High School. We had robot and drones, where we learnt to use Arduino programming to program a sound equaliser, which is a mechanism which uses LEDs that lights up at different frequencies, to create a colourful design. Arduino programming was also used to fly a drone, which has a Bluetooth sensor, gyro sensor and 'The Brain', which controls the drone. This allowed us to learn more about the drone algorithm and realise the importance of IT in the real world.
Next, we had Mathematics and Chemistry lessons where I revised about matrices and learnt about the spectrophotometer and the usage of it. During the Maths lessons, my buddy brought us back to their own classrooms for us to experience how one lesson is at Busan High. It was an interesting experience as I get to see how they live their everyday life in Busan High and to see how their class is like. Amazingly, their class size is only 20 of them, 6 less than SST!
In overall, I learnt many new topics during the day, especially during the Maths and Robot lessons. I realised how similar the lessons were in Singapore and Busan. For the Robot lessons, we used Arduino to the program, which was taught during out ICT lesson in Sec 1 and 2. It was a great experience and what was taught was quite similar. Using the Arduino program on the computer, we would download the program and watch the lights. In SST, we also had a similar lesson where we learned how to program. For the Maths lesson, they were going through topics that have been taught in SST, Matrices. During the lesson, the thing that really extended my learning was that their questions involved many Maths topics and it really shows how just a question can be interrelated, not only subjects. An example was that a Matrices question could include Coordinate Geometry, Quadratic Equations and Simultaneous Equations. After seeing this question, it really excites and challenges me to solve the question, the same feeling whenever I am faced with a challenging question. It was a new way of maths question and I had to try to think differently to see how each topic can be used to solve the question. It was a fun and challenging process as I realise Mathematics can be used in so many ways and after solving the question with my prior knowledge, I felt accomplished and feel driven to solve more of these type of questions to really widen my learning process of Mathematics.
Three words:
1) Amazing
2) Captivating
3) Educational
3 Highlights of the Day:
1) We went to the POSCO museum and factory tour allowed me to further understand how steel and iron are made. They also showed some technology in their process to make it more efficient, such as conveyor belt and FINEX. They even showed us their history of POSCO, where it proves that as long as someone is determined, anything is possible.
2) We also visited the Jakgalchi Market where we saw different live seafood moving about their tanks. It was an eye-opening experience as this would not be possible in Singapore, especially seeing some Korean people eating them live!
3) We enjoyed delicious Korean BBQ for our dinner and there was a whole variety of food. I like the food as we get to enjoy different ways to enjoy the food (courtesy of Mrs Jung), with me trying out different sauces and meats. Not forgetting cooking our own food!
3 Things Learnt from Korea:
1) POSCO is the third largest manufacturer in the world for steel and iron and exports huge tonnes of steel to many countries in Asia.
2) Since 1910, Korea's economy had improved drastically by 5000 times in trade and developement! This shows that the steel industry had a huge impact on the economy in Korea, and made Korea a first-world country.
3) POSCO patented their new technology, FINEX, as it is the only company that uses this method to process iron ores to produce iron and steel, making their ores directly into metals that are able to be used for manufacturing.
3 Things Learnt about myself:
1) I actually enjoy the taste of spicy food, even though I cannot take them. An example is Kimchi, where at first I thought it would not be nice, but the delicious taste melted in my mouth and I truly wished I could eat more without drinking water with it, making the taste bland.
2) Even though Busan's weather was cold, I could still take it with my winter jacket and only 1 shirt. The temperature was about 4˚C, but with gloves and a winter jacket, it blocked out most of the cold, making my body a little warm.
3) I need something to write on when organising my thoughts and doing reflections especially on the bus and in between trips. One example is during the POSCO factory tour. The tour guide was saying many facts about the company. At first, I was just listening, but everything got jumbled up in my brain. Then, I just took out my notebook and wrote everything down so I could easily categorise them and list them down easily.
3 Things I did not do so well:
1) I could not really understand the English spoken by the guide, but I did not clarify with him. It could be I was not fully paying attention to him, which I should have, but when I did not understand, I could have asked him to repeat or explain further so I could understand.
2) I did not really wear enough layer, and even though I could still take the cold, I should wear more layers so I can protect myself better. I only wore two layers, and that was not enough to block the chill and cold temperature. I should have worn more inner layers so it would not feel so cold to me.
3) I did not drink enough water, in one day only drinking 500ml from my water bottle. It could be I was afraid of being urgent during the long bus journey, but I should have drink more water to keep myself hydrated and healthy. If not, I would not be able to fully learn and enjoy in the learning trip to Busan.
3 Things I look forward to tomorrow:
1) Meeting with my buddy. When I reached Busan Science High School, I would be meeting my buddy. I would like to get to know more about him/her, and their lifestyle in Busan.
2) Trying on the Hanbok and playing traditional games. It would be an eye-opening experience as I get to further understand Korean culture and get to know more about Korea. Hopefully, I can get to know more about the history of Korea and widen my experience.
3) Being in classes in the High School. They are widely known for their Science and Technology, so it would really help me as it is very close to SST. Hopefully, I will get to know new things about Science and Technology so it can improve the learning experience.
1. I feel excited as I get to travel to Busan and learn the new culture and lifestyle when I am there.
2. (a) The visit to POSCO and Samsung Motors
(b) The learning experience with the Busan Science High School students.
(c) The Korean food
3. (a) The daily lives of the people living in Busan
(b) How do they manage to continue to innovate their technology
(c) The difference between Busan's and Singapore's architectural sector.
4. (a) How are the lessons like?
(b) New knowledge on Science and Technology
(c) Their hobbies
5. (a) How do I cope under pressure from the language barrier
(b) Ability to think quickly to solve issues in Korea
(c)Ability to socialise with others
6. (a) Learn a new thing from everywhere we go.
(b) Able to communicate with the buddies easily
(c) Finish the project (at least 90%) before the end of the trip.
7. I expect Korea to be cold and windy, and their technology to be advanced. Hopefully, there could be special designs for houses in Busan for our project.
