Sec 2 Service Learning to Shantou, China

10th of March had us all excited and elated to get onto the plane headed for Shantou. Our group of 39 Crescentians, along with our teachers, boarded the plane to Shantou for our Secondary 2 Service Learning Internalization trip that was from 10 – 15 March.

During our trip, we engaged the students at PengZhou school through English lessons and games. We could sense an air of excitement from the children, and we were thrilled that they were enthusiastic in participating in our lessons. Each and every one of us had at least a tote bag filled with the materials needed for our lessons and games. While some groups were carrying out their lessons, the rest of us were drawing and painting on canvases using the printed designs that we had selected during one of the training sessions.

Despite the frequent weather changes that we faced, from the strong winds to the heavy rain, we managed to complete our drawings and paintings successfully, as well as touch up the paintings done by previous batches of students who also came to Shantou for their service learning trip.

Our fourth and last day spent at the school had all of us emotionally wrecked and teary-eyed when we heard the children addressing us as their older sisters or “姐姐们” in Chinese. Many of us cried as we walked past the school gates for the very last time.

We visited a “Kungfu Tea Shop” and a shopping mall on the second last day of our trip. During the visit to the tea shop, we learned about the history of the different types of oolong teas in China, as well as the proper drinking etiquette.

One of the key takeaways I had from the trip would be that we should always be grateful and appreciative of what we have and not take them for granted. When I think about the environment in PengZhou school, I realised we are indeed privileged to have so many facilities and advanced ICT tools in our school that cater to our learning. Next, I learnt that we should always learn to put ourselves in the shoes of others by empathising with them so as to better understand their needs.

This service learning trip has really created many memorable moments that we will always cherish in our hearts.

Written by: Tan Xuan Yun Chloe (2C2)