week 13/14 - It's time to say goodbye

Week 13/ 14 - Final Week 

   

     Time flies, I almost finished my exchange life in SUTD. The life here was so unforgettable. The student, the staff, other exchange students here all made my life here so rich and happy. Thank you Jia Xian and Zi Xian held a farewell dinner for all the exchange students. During the dinner time, we together memorized our first day coming to SUTD. It seemed just happening yesterday. 

     Good thing that I chose Singapore and SUTD for my exchange that I could have the chance to become TF scholar and be a part of SUTD students! The school environment was so good that I usually spent my time in the school library. The staff , The local students were so kind that they always helped me when I was in trouble! I will definitely share my life here to my home university students and strongly recommend this school to them!!!

Jia Xian and Zi Xian

SUTD campus

farewell partyyyyyy

I will miss you guys!

Week 12 - Singapore zoo

November 9th - 12th Singapore 4 animal parks!

     Singapore zoo is a must-go tourist spot when visiting Singapore. So far, I have already stayed in Singapore for two months, but still haven’t been to the zoo. Therefore, this week I bought the tickets including tickets for 4 parks( Singapore zoo, river safari, night safari, and Jurong bird park). I couldn’t wait to see those cute animals!

     Singapore zoo was so amazing that those animals in the zoo are all treated like wild animals , they aren’t closed into the cage or fence. They can freely move in their space , this is quite a big difference compared to Taiwan, in Taiwan, some of the animals are stayed into the cage for visitors watching, but here, it is like we are going into the jungle and played with the animals!

     It was a special experience for me in night safari, I haven’t seen animals during the might before, and in the night safari, it was like an adventure. We walked in the zoo quietly seeing how animals took tests at night or seeing how nocturnal animals did during the night time. 

     After two days, we went to the Jurong bird parks and river safari. In Jurong bird park , I learned lots of knowledge of birds, and i also had the chance to see the world’s biggest prey birds, Philippine eagles. 

     Finally, we went to river safari to see the pandas! Not only we could see the pandas in river safari but also we could take a boat circle around one part of river safari to glance the Amazon animals! This was a really good combination for watching animals and entertainment.

     In conclusion, 4 parks in singapore are really really funny and worthy for you to explore! I loved the animals there so much!

Cheetah in Singapore zoo (my first time to see a real cheetah) 

Jurong bird park~

Panda in river safari !

Week 11 - Trip in Indonesia

November 20th - 25th Surabaya and Yogyakarta

     This week I went to Indonesia Surabaya and Yogyakarta. This was my first time in Indonesia. If I didn't come to Singapore for exchange, I think I won't go Indonesia in my life. And also, I did a lot of crazy thing in Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

My friend and I spent three days two nights in Surabaya. At the first day, we arrived in Surabaya about 6 pm and we drive directly to the downside of Mount Bromo. What the crazy thing was that we arrived at the hotel about 1 am but we need to wake up 3 am to ride a Jeep  and climb up the mountain to see the sunrise. It was definitely my first time experience to climb up the mountain at this time. But I would say that the sunrise was really beautiful and it was worthy waking up  so early to climb up the mountain.

The next day, we again woke up so early in the morning, 12 am!!! We drove to the Mount Ijen and started to climb up. I would say that this was an adventure cause we climb up and down on the rocky road and almost all the way with 45 degree slope! But finally, we saw the blue fire, which only happened in Indonesia and Iceland!

In Yogyakarta, we visited Borobudur,  the world's largest Buddhist temple. The architecture and the view there were so amazing that I would never forget! This trip was so special and amazing for me cause everything in this trip  would become the first and the only experience in my life time.

Sunrise in Mount Bromo

Our Jeep~

Blue fire!!!!!

Borobudur!

Week 10 TF report and thank you letter

November 18th - 20th Temasek Foundation Report and Thank you letter

     Time flies, it suddenly came to week 10 and only 4 weeks left staying in SUTD. This week, all the TF scholars in our school should submit the Temasek Foundation Report and Thank you letter to school. When writing my report, all the memories came up to my mind and I found that I loved the TF big family so much.

     In TF, I not only did the community involvement projects, but also made new friends from the Asia. In SUTD, our scholars are only from China and Taiwan but in other universities, NTU, NUS, SMU, they have students from Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia...etc. And with the activities hold by Temasek Foundation, I could have the chance to meet these TF scholars and even made friends with them.

     Thank you TF for choosing me and giving me such wonderful experience, I learned a lot and gained a lot from being a TF scholar. I will try my best to be a good future Asian leader as what TF had taught me and also share my experience to more and more Taiwanese students.

With NUS NTU SMU TF scholars!

NUS TF scholar from Taiwan!!!

Week 9 - Trip in Thailand

November 14th - 17th - Short trip in Thailand

     Since I am the only one student who came from National Taiwan University to Singapore University of Technology and design, I have made lots of friends with exchange students from different countries. For the academic work, we do homework and discussions together after class, everyone was willing to help others who had questions. Because we were all from different universities and different pillars, we could share the ideas what we have learned in our home school. 

     Besides the academic works, we also explored Singapore and other countries in south-east Asia together. It was so interesting and memorable experiences for me to have a trip with lots of friends from different countries. I never knew I would be able to meet so many friends from all over the world! 

     This time, I went to Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand with the exchange student from Korea and Canada. It was a really special experience for me to hangout with the friends from different countries. At first, I was nervous cause I was afraid that the traveling way between us will be different and sometimes we may faced the problem of communication. However, it turned out to be that we all had a great time in Thailand and we all enjoyed hanging out with each others!

Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Pattaya

My friends and me !!!Ally and Elise~

Pad Thai in Bangkok! so yummy ~

Week 8 - Supply Chain Game

November 4th - 11th Supply Chain Game 

Half of the semester passed. I'm also used to everything including the academy and living in school in Singapore. The school life here is really different from the school life in National Taiwan university. Let's talk about the differences!

I'm currently taking two courses in SUTD, one is Database and big data, which belongs to ISTD ( Information System Technology and Design) pillar and the other is Supply Chain Management , about business ( ESD pillar). One of the biggest differences compared to my home university is that there are much more interaction between the Prof and the students at SUTD.
In class, the professor often ask questions and help students in their thought process, organizing information and answering the questions, however in Taiwan there are less interaction and our professors are usually more focused on teaching the lecture notes.

What really surprised me in one of my classes, the Prof has actually created an online game for us. The game stimulate a real supply chain and we need to forecast and decide the strategies to be used. It was an exciting game and I would say this is a really new classroom experience for me!

The Supply Chain Online Game!

We need to check our ranking anytime!

Week 7 Recess Week - Trip in Vietnam

October 26th - November 3rd Vacation in Vietnam 

     Happy recess week is coming! I am so exciting and can’t wait to travel to Vietnam because this is my first time to travel abroad during the semester. There is no recess week in Taiwan so this week is so fantasy to me. I think it’s quite good to have such a week so that students can refresh themselves and then back to school pay more attention during the class.

     This time I travel to Vietnam for nine days . 5 days in Ho Chi Minh city and 4 days in Ha Noi city. In Vietnam, I experienced the totally different culture from Singapore. Singapore is a really modern and renovated city, the public transportation is well established. While in Vietnam, the street is old but full of history and lacking of public transportation made the Grab and “Grab bike” common to see on the road! Especially the Grab bike. A very special transportation in Vietnam!

     During my trip in Ha Noi, I also take a trip to HaLong Bay. A very beautiful place, the view there is really awesome and made you think of living in the heave! There are so much first time for me In HaLong Bay. My first time Kayaking, my first time staying on the cruise for on night, and also my first time squid fishing! It’s really a nice trip in HaLong Bay~

     Because I chose to exchange in Singapore and I got the chance to visit other countries near Singapore! So happy with my decision to came to Singapore, I can not only explore the Singapore but also explore the neighborhood countries of Singapore, which all have totally different cultures from Singapore. And I learn to embrace different cultures different customs!

First time kayaking

HaLong Bay - My Love~~

So cold in Hanoi haha

Mekong Delta

Surprising Cave in HaLong Bay

Pink Church so cuteee!!!

Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Week 6 - Busy Week for Midterm

October 21st - 25th Final week Before Recess Week~

     Time flies! Only left one and half month that I will end my exchange time in SUTD and back to Taiwan. This week is our midterm-week in SUTD. Luckily, none of my courses has midterm! But actually, I have lots of homework and reading assignment this week. Because next week is our recess week and I have already planned to visit Vietnam during that week, I tried to finish all my homework during week 6 , the week before recess week.

     Unfortunately, one of my courses, the professor wanted to announce the homework just on Thursday afternoon, which means I had only one and half day to finish this homework due to my flight on Saturday. I was really afraid that I couldn’t finish the homework since one and half days are too short for me to finish all the questions.

     Guess what, thanks to my exchange partners, we discussed the homework just after the homework was announced and then we quickly finished all the attempts! This was an so surprising experience for me that I could finish the homework just the day the homework announced. Now I can go on my vacation without any worries about my courses and homework ~ 

TF LEaRN Week 5 -TF Forum !!!

October 17th Temasek Foundation Forum

     This week is an important week for me because I need to do the presentation in front of all the TF scholars and even the TF ceo and TF foundation leaders! It’s a really big event - TF forum. I was nervous few weeks ago. I was not sure if I can do a great job during the presentation and being the representative for SUTD . I really want to make all the audiences know how perfect SUTD is and how I love my exchange life in SUTD.

     Finally, I smoothly finished the presentation with my partner, wei yang. Thanks for TF and SUTD gave me such a special and awesome chance to share my volunteer work, share my exchange life, and especially share what I have learned as being a TF scholar. I would never forgot the moment I stood on the stage, everyone looked at me and clapped their hands for my presentation !

     Thanks to Lydia and  Jia Xian , I would say that your are the best staffs I have met during my student life. You went every rehearsal with me, you gave me lots of advices during my practicing , and also cheered me up when I felt nervous before the presentation. So far, I loved everything in SUTD , I loved the experience from TF.

Me and My perfect partner, Wei Yang!!

All the presenters from 4 universities~

I was so nervous during the presentation haha

Lydia and Jia Xian! Thank you so much~

All the TF scholars from SUTD !! I really love this photo!!!

TF LEaRN Week 4 - Presentation !!!

October 9th TF Presentation Rehearsal !!!

     So glad and surprised to be the represent of SUTD!!! On the day, TF forum, on October 17th, I need to go up stage to share my exchange life and TF activities to all the TF students from NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD and also to the Temasek Foundation people. When I first be announced that I was the represent of our school, I was shock and nervous. For one thing, I didn't have many experiences to do the presentation in front of lots of people. Second, I couldn't image that how can I deal with the job. Thankfully, there were so many help for me. I can learn the skill from other school's  represent and also I have a local partner with me on the stage.

     This is really a formal event! I have to do the full preparation for this presentation. Again, It is so lucky for me to participate in TF program. I am very proud that I can stand in front of so many people and share my experience. This will become a very special memory and also very useful experience for me. I can go back my home school and say that it is worth to come SUTD. It is so lucky I can be a part of TF. Hope I can do a great job on the TF forum day! I will soon share what will happen on that day~

I need to remember my scripts OAO

A funny girl from NTU, learned lots of skills from her~

TF LEaRN Week 3 - Volunteer in MWH Flag Day 2019

October 5th TF Volunteer in MWH Flag Day

     The third TF community service was MHV flag day fundraising event, raising for the young boy between 11 - 18 who are in need of care , protection and rehabilitation at Tampines interchange. In Taiwan, I have attended some fundraising activities too. But the amazing thing for me was that only with a box on my hands and the people put the money in without any explanation! What’s more, some people even run towards me to donate the money when I was walking around! This fundraising activities really impressed me a lot. I saw the kindness and love in SG.


Actually, This is my final volunteer work(community service activities) in Singapore. At first, when I know I need to wake up early and do volunteer workings, I feel so annoyed and hope I could finish all the work as soon as possible. But after I have done these works, I was sad that the works ended so quickly that I had so many things to learn about the Singapore this county and even about the world,

Because of the TF program, I can have chance to meet other Asian students, I can have a special explore in Singapore, and I can share my memorable experience to others. During these weeks, I had gain the knowledge of dialysis , I had experience different cultures and I had the chance to raise funds for those in need. Thanks to TF, These were so special chance, I was lucky to be part of Temasek Foundation Leadership.

All the fundraising partners!!!! 

Still have lots of stickers in hands OAO

TF LEaRN Week 2 - Volunteer in Anglican senior centre

September 28th TF Volunteer in Anglican senior centre

     This was a special volunteer experience for me. It's my first time really went to the elderly‘s home. At first, I am a little nervous. I thought the elderly's home might be messy cause they live alone and they were too old to do the housework everyday. However, when I opened the door of our first elderly' home, I was surprised. The house was clean and the environment in the house represented the culture of India. The elderly was a cute Indian grandma. She was enthusiastic towards us. What she need was clean all the windows, the toilets and the kitchen. Soon, we finished all the work and had some games with the grandma.

     After our first cleaning job, we continued to a Malaysian grandma' s home. Like the previous one, her home was clean and tidy. She even introduced the Malaysian culture in her house to us. After we finished simple cleaning, she kept saying thank you to us. But at that moment, I thought I should say more thank you to her. Thanks her, I can experience a Malaysian style house, I could understand more about Malaysian culture in Singapore.

     I found I had lots of misunderstanding about the elderly who live alone. In the past, I thought the elderly living alone were all very poor and the house they lived in had very bad condition and they hated to interact with others. By this chance, I could really enter a elderly's house and knew what was the real life of the elderly living alone. I really impressed by the Singapore government's rule to the elderly, they gave the elderly a very good place and environment to spend the rest of their life. Hope Taiwan government can learn from the Singapore, giving our elderly such a good care.
 

TF LEaRN Week 1 - Volunteer in NKF Bedok Centre

September 17th-18th TF Volunteer in NKF Bedok Centre

     
     I have done some volunteer works in Taiwan like teaching students in the countryside or being the translator in some international activities, but chatting with patients is my first volunteer experience. At first, I was afraid that both the patients and I would be embarrassed since this was our first meet and didn't know what to say to each other. However,  the result turned out that both of us chatted happily with each other and I learned a lot from the patients.

     Even though they are facing much difficulties cause of the failure of their kidney, they are still very optimistic and passion towards me. They not only shared their stories with me but also taught me how to keep my kidney healthy. They were willing to let people know how important the kidney is through their personal experience, which really impressed me a lot. During the volunteering time, we also played Bingo Games with the patients there. In the game, they act like children and there were always big smiles on their faces. Their smiling faces touched me a lot, which I hoped to keep on their faces forever.

     From this experience, I gained much knowledge about the Dialysis and Kidney. The most surprising thing to me is that if once one of a person's kidney fails, the other one fails too. And one should do the dialysis at least three times a week from the time both of  your kidneys fail to work. Thanks to TF program, giving me such a meaningful chance to interact with the dialysis patients. The time in the NKF was delight but their stories makes me sad. However, they were still positive to face their rest life and didn't make any complain with their condition. Their strong made me moved and let me know being a healthy person is such a blessing thing. Hope all the patients there can get the chance to replace the kidney with a healthy one and say goodbye to the dialysis soon!

All Exchange TF Students ~ From China and Taiwan  

DAY 1 _ Chatting With the Blind Auntie

DAY 2 _ Chatting With the Uncle Yap (tourist guide) 

NKF Bedok Centre