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Friday, October 31, 2008
Reflection on being BFF with Haig Girls.
3:37 PM


OCIP reflection
Haig Girls’ School

Frankly speaking, I was rather surprised when I saw that most people have already posted their reflections on this blog, despite their Project Work Oral Presentation being mere days away. I guess this is the sort of commitment all of us should deliver, especially when we’ll all be on the plane in 2 weeks’ time!
To everyone in the team: all the best for your OP!
Meanwhile I will force my slothful self to wake up before noon and start working on all our programme proposals, before it’s too late.

Now, allow me to start my reflection proper.

The entire L.E.G.O. team of 29 went to Haig Girls’ School last Thursday. I felt a little uneasy during the bus journey, as I have never been fond of children. Since young I’ve had this innate hostility to screaming children who just can’t seem to keep their mouth shut and who have nothing better to do than to annoy you by running around in circles.

I essayed a smile, suppressing my anxiety and dizziness when I joined my group of 8 Haig Girls, whose names, sadly, I could not remember.

And the disaster began.

Although my group was the better-behaved ones (as I found out later), I commanded no respect whatsoever and struggled to control them. They’re in their own world, happily chatting away in their avid anticipation of High School Musical 3. When we’re having our ice breakers most of them just looked tired and bored. Not that I was any better, of course. I have long lost touch with anything remotely popular with primary school kids nowadays. (Darn, I should have done some research.) I didn’t know what to do.

It was awkward.

Thankfully I got myself together after the 15-minute break, and managed to hold a decent conversation with most of the girls. I even had this funny feeling that some of them liked me. When all was done (including the distribution of candies as a token of appreciation, of course), I walked off without a word, relieved that it’s over. To my surprise, the girls waved to me, flashing me a kind of smile that I haven’t seen in years.

During our bus journey to the hospital (for both *lunch* & vaccination), Ms Tan asked us to think about the objectives of the activity.

My primary learning point: Maybe children aren’t as bad as I’ve imagined (although it’s kinda upsetting that P6 kids are taller than me.)

Kidding.

To me it’s an opportunity to discover ourselves. Not only did this short interaction session provide me with a taste of what it would be like when we teach the kids in Yunnan, it also taught me to believe in myself. This may sound clichéd, but I believe faith in oneself (as well as in our teammates) is one of the things essential to making this outreach programme a success.

During our stay in Yunnan, we're bound to encounter many adversities, and things might not go as well as we want them to be. But instead of giving up/whining/complaining/pointing fingers, we should think of ways to rectify the situation and make the best out of it. I know it's only natural for people to feel resigned when faced with adversities, but we must believe in our capabilities and venture out of our comfort zones. (I promise I won’t cringe when I see the kids in Yunnan.)

Sometimes we may fail a lot, a lot of times. But that’s okay, because with each attempt we grow a little. One baby step at a time, and we can go wherever we want.

-sauyee

P.S. Whoa, didn’t know I could write so long. Thanks for bearing with me. (:
wilkommen
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