Chiok Jun Hua Ivan
Singapore Polytechnic
Diploma in Experience and Product Design
0645hr I reached the air port accompanied by parents whom I knew they are extremely worried about me. Yet not trying to show any signs of unwillingness or sadness. As I finally left the hands of my parent an unconsciousness flashes of question started to appear in my mind. How does Dalian look like? What do the people think about us? What kind of place am I going to live in? How will be studying environment be like? Will I be able to communicate well with the local? Do I have enough money to survive for the approximately 51 days? Will there be great cultural differences between us? And most importantly will there be a sense of belonging for the 67 students, 4 lectures, from School of Design and School of Chemical and Life Sciences? 
Arriving late in the night, we were invited by the heavy down pour and the chilling weather that was so unbearably cold, while Student helpers from Dalian University Polytechnic started to shield us from them using umbrellas they had on their hands. The student helper from Dalian University Polytechnic had indeed showed me the spirit of team work and a sense of heart warming welcoming sincerity, even though the initial first impression of the student helpers wasn’t that great. This taught me that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Instead, I should learn to see while understand and not trying to judge using my personal thoughts as this blog will be a kind of reflection journal for myself and the understanding of Dalian that I hope to share it with the people around me.
Continuing… I was indeed shocked by the student hostel that we are allocated. WOW!
Never did I expect myself to be given a hotel standard student hostel. The room was considered a luxury living condition as I was prepared to live in a cramp, dirty, mosquito infected, squatting seat toilet, and stinking beds infected with a stuffy room atmosphere. Compared to the initial thought of how the student hostel will be like and where I am stay now and, it was hell moving into the heaven.