Xiamen Overseas Immersion Programme 2017' (Day 3)

Today will be a rather scenic and extremely windy day owing to us visiting Jimei School Village, Jimei Turtle Garden and the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Museum. But before all that glorious sightseeing, we'll have to have one more VIA done, which will be visiting the Jimei Ai Xin Old Folks Home where we will be organising games and performing for the elderly there. 

Jimei Ai Xin Old Folks Home: Games 

Before the performance, games are organised and the elderly are asked to join and play the games we created and organised with us. 

Games include Memory game where UNO cards are used. These cards are flipped backwards and randomly shuffled around on the table. After the shuffling is done, players are to flip two cards open per turn. To win a point, the cards flipped open by the player must match. 

The memory game in action. 

Other activities include a magic show involving poker cards, whilst another group made use of mineral water bottles to craft a rhythm of tunes by knocking the bottles against the table in a timed fashion for ultimate tunes. 

Picture 2: The magic show in action.

Picture 3: The group, using water bottles to create a rhythm of tunes based on timing. 

Jimei Ai Xin Old Folks Home: Performance

Right after the conclusion of the activities, we started the performance for the elderly, who were all gathered in front to spectate our performance. The performance is a dance alongside a soundtrack, which is Lean On by DJ Snake. 

Jimei Ai Xin Old Folks Home: A group photo

It was time for us to bid goodbye to the old folks' home after everything was cleared up and our acts came to an end, but to remember this moment, we took a group photo (once again) with the staff and elderly. 

Shopping at Zhongshan Road

As we were not allowed in the mosque with the exception of Muslim boys who needed to pray because it was a Friday, most of us went with our teachers to the nearby Zhongshan Road, a well-known shopping belt in Xiamen. We stopped at several spots along the road, prominently the pineapple pastry shop where some of us bought the pastry since it was on offer. After which, the groups which once merged went their own ways. While one group went further into the heart of Zhongshan Road, the other went back outside the mosque. 

For the group who ventured their way down south into the core of Zhongshan Road, they got the chance to purchase souvenirs and the little things they need. As Zhongshan Road has some scenic architecture lined along it, the group that explored further grabbed the chance to have a group photo, posing with their bag of pastry and souvenirs. 

Lunch

Though today's lunch and dinner will be at the same restaurant, the dishes will be amended to give more varieties for us to choose from, instead of the same few dishes. 

There was one dish for us today that "stood out", which was one of the most unappetising soups you could ever think of, made with a concoction of barley and some other ingredients, depending on your taste buds, it differs by person, but to most, it was unbearable. For some, the first few scoops weren't nice, but the following scoops after the initial few tasted decent. 

Besides the soup that "stood out", the dishes presented were relatively great and some of them were even emptied. 

Jimei School Village, Turtle Garden and the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Museum 

Located not far from the main island, the journey there only took thirty minutes. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by the strong winds making the already cold weather terrifyingly chilly, even the ones that defended their title of being the strongest against such cold weather can't afford to not have their jackets on and zipped tight. 

Weather aside, the scenic views of the Jimei School Village, rich in history and heritage, where the late Tan Kah Kee oversaw the engineering and constructing efforts of the school contains the architecture influenced and inspired by him. To add, the campus grounds were quite huge, compared to Queensway, I am sure there's no match. Furnished with classical Chinese styles and complete with a huge swimming pool, situated right by the sea, this school just doesn't feel like your metropolitan school. 

Here are some pictures, where you can see its almost century-old architecture and the awe-inspiring views of the sea separating China and Taiwan. 

 

After touring the school, around its perimeters, we went to the Jimei Turtle Garden, with a tall-standing monument that symbolises so many things, from the Red Army to the Japanese Occupation of China, the height and the number of steps to reach the main monument echos everything it symbolises. 

Oh, and one more thing, if you try climbing your way to the top of this monument in this chilly weather, you will be slapped with extra cold chilly winds. With the winds this strong, your lips will instantly turn dry if you haven't had lip balm applied. Besides your hair will be a mess, flying in all directions, especially for the girls. 

Lastly, we went to the Tan Kah Kee Memorial Museum where we saw the timeline of his lives and the great things he had done and contributed towards the society. 

Dinner, with the infusion of fun

So, after all the visits and activities for today, we end it with a nice dinner to compliment our long walks and tiring bus journeys. This dinner was infused with fun, especially the integration of jokes and "facts" by Mr Chng, one of our NPCC Teacher Officers. Because of this, the whole table suddenly came back alive and the dining room was filled with laughter and had a sense of joy and excitement. 

Other tables did the same too, and the whole restaurant, particularly on the second storey was filled with simply pure laughter and happiness. 

While waiting for the bus after this exciting and fun-infused dinner, as the others wait for the bus to arrive to pick us up, there's this few of us who took advantage of this time to get some portrait-mode fun shots done and here are some of them.

Evening: Reflect and Unwind

The usual routine of assembling at the meeting room comes into play today where most students have their writing gear and reflections booklet at hand. Summarising today's activities and integrating school values into the reflection, we were also asked the following question "What am I grateful for today?". This question will need to be answered before everyone can go back to their rooms to unwind and relax for the evening and prepare for the day ahead. 

End of Day 3