What I learnt

Reflection:

The past three CID lessons had been really interesting for me as I have learnt things that I have never learnt before. The CID course is to cultivate critical thinkers who would be able to  reflect and draw lessons from different experiences. The main activity, which is also the most exciting part of CID, is that there will be a class OELP trip to China or Taiwan in May where we will put learning into practice. When our teacher asked the class where we wanted to go between china and Taiwan, majority of the class chose Taiwan. However, there were only two classes who would have the chance to go to Taiwan n these two classes would be decided on how well we write our blogs. When we come back from our OELP trip, we will have to share our experience with the school during a learning symposium. We were told to create a blog in our groups where we are required to post our thoughts about the lesson where we hope to cultivate a habit of 'journaling'. I have never done a blog like this with my group members and I think it is very fun!

In the second lesson, which is the lesson I have personally learnt the most so far in this module,the topic was' A picture paints a thousand words '. We were shown many pictures including a picture showing a starving child with a vulture, different beggars and a video about Singapore's foreign workers. The picture of the vulture and the child was really iconic as it depicts many things.i was really shocked to know that the photographer actually committed suicide as he could not take the guilt of not saving the child in the picture. The video was really an eye opener for me as I never thought that the living conditions of foreign workers in Singapore was so bad. Many people had to squeeze in one small room and the facilities they had were all really dirty and unhygienic. I felt bad for them as they helped build Singapore's beautiful buildings and houses. I really hope that their dormitories would improve in future. My view towards foreign workers in Singapore has slightly changed and I realised how much a video can change us. I learnt that even though a picture can tell us many things, we should not judge it by its cover as we never know what is the background of it.

In the third lesson, we learnt the basics to capturing moments and photos and how to make our posts more interesting and meaningful. I learnt that observing is not just looking but entails deeper analysis and reflections. I also learnt about factual description, process description and emotional description. I found out more about the basics to photography including the rules of thirds and the use of lines.

Chinese New Year:

Before we know it, Chinese New Year is already round the corner! I feel really excited as Chinese New Year has always been one of my favourite festivals of the year. During Chinese New Year, I not only get to receive ang paus, eat good food and also get to visit my relatives whom I do not see very often! 

Colour-Red

According to legend, in ancient China, Nian ("Nyan"), a man-eating beast from the mountains, could infiltrate houses silently to prey on humans. The people later learned that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the color red. So "Guo Nian" actually means "Surviving the Nian". These customs led to the first New Year celebrations. At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children money in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck.

Symbol-

The paper-cuts are often seen during traditional Chinese festivals, particularly in Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival. They are also given as presents or gifts to good friends or other family members. In Chinese traditional culture, paper-cuts can reflect many aspects of life such as prosperity, health, or harvest. '福' is very often seen in people's homes as decoration and they are also believed to bring good luck when put upside down.

Image-

During the Chinese new year period, new year decorations are practically found everywhere in Singapore. One of the most visited places for Chinese New Year shopping in Singapore is none other than Chinatown. At this Time of the year, the place is filled with new year decorations which are changed every year. Almost every household has put up as least one piece of decoration. These are must haves for the Chinese New Year.

Gwen Su (18)

2E