Day Two - 27 Oct 2014

This morning, we made our way to Jimei Middle School.  When we reached the school, we saw throngs of students making their way to the expansive school field.  All the students of Jimei Middle school were gathered at the field for their morning assembly.  We noticed that the students from Jimei Middle School are well-behaved and stood up straight for their flag-raising ceremony.  Just like our school’s Breakfast with Choices sharing every Tuesday, the students here at Jimei Middle School also share their personal work and thoughts in the mornings during assembly.  Today’s message was a heartfelt speech by a girl about the importance of working hard and persevering for one one’s dreams.  It was a good start for the day.

After assembly, we made our way to meet our buddies from one of the classes.  These students are from Xinjiang and they are now in a preparatory class to prepare them for their semester in Jimei Middle School.  They have only been here in Xiamen for two months.  We joined them for a Computer ICT lesson first followed by their English lesson.  Our teachers, Ms Chua, Ms Feng and Mr Tan taught them a lesson in English.  We played a game of idioms and we guided our buddies to complete the quiz using our school’s Activ Response handheld devices ( To use this, we basically need to key our answers into the device and the computer will register the answers for us).  We had a whale of a time figuring out what the idioms mean from some pictures displayed.  We also got along pretty well with our buddies.  Melwin even found out that his buddy, Marshall, likes the same music he does! 

After a quick and filling lunch at the school canteen, we made our way to the “Guaipo” at Xianyue Hill Reserve.  It was amazing to see how our full bottles of water could roll up a downward slope! We were amused by what we saw and took many photographs at the “Guaipo”.  Thereafter, we headed back to the temple.  This time, we toured in the temple and admired the beautiful Buddha statues.  Following which, we went to Hulishan Fortress Cannon and were just in time to catch a live firing of a cannon.  The whole performance began with a dance by a group of men dressed in traditional Qing Dynasty guard costumes.  Loud and majestic music accompanied the dance and the “guards” made their way up the hill to a fort.  There was a short ritualistic display of the preparation for the live firing and before we knew it, all of us were startled by a massive, loud boom from the cannon!  We then explored the area further, learning more about how and when the fortress was constructed.  We also learnt how the cannon was introduced to China during the Qing dynasty.  Most importantly, we admired the beautiful scenery of the Xiamen Island coast.  It was a good end to a fruitful day.

Dinner was at the General Restaurant, which we thoroughly enjoyed, with its stir-fried xiao bai cai, stewed duck and steamed fish.  Full and gratified, we made our way back to the hotel to rest and complete our reflections.  Here are some takeaways for the two days here so far! J

Jiayi’s Reflection (1^st Day)

I used to think that people in China are not good in English.

Now I think it is not always the case, people from China can speak and understand English well.

I say that because the tour guide spoke English very well.

Paulyn (1^st Day)

At Xiamen University, I saw its school motto and thought it was very inspiring and meaningful. The first four words of the motto means to never stop being resilient and the next four words mean to always be kind and helpful. I thought these are words to live by.

Philene (2^nd Day)

Today, we visited Jimei Middle School and I thought that the students are very organised and independent.

Jasmine (2^nd Day)

I noticed that the students here are very eager to learn. They are always trying to answer questions and take notes.

Joanne (2^nd Day)

Assembly was very serious and the students are very disciplined. They are well-behaved during assembly and their lessons.

Isabel (2^nd Day)

I thought that the students here are much more independent than the students in Singapore. After having their lunch, they will clear their plates. They also show great respect towards everyone. They are also very welcoming.

Danial Khan (2^nd Day)

The students at Jimei Middle School were very friendly. They even gave up their seats to us when there were not enough seats.