Dalian Immersion Program
Chiok Jun Hua Ivan
Singapore Polytechnic
Diploma in Experience and Product Design
Chiok Jun Hua Ivan
Singapore Polytechnic
Diploma in Experience and Product Design
Friday, May 29, 2009
Week 6, Day 40
On the 6June, I will be leaving Dalian, the campus, the people and the beautiful flowers that ruled the ground. I cannot believe myself that in just a week from now, it will be the end of the Dalian trip. Time starts ticking as the days start passing. The story that remains in my mind forever, an experience that is priceless. 19April the day I begin the journey. 6June the leaving of Dalian China to a city called Beijing. 9June the day I left my foot step on China made in China. Proudly announcing that I have been to China and this is my blog journal.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Week 6, Day 39
Today, tomorrow and Saturday is the celebration of the dumpling festival in China. 3 days of public holiday. So great. So jealous. During the dumpling festival, the sales of dumpling can be seen selling along the streets along the school campus. Dumplings are bought as a symbol of celebration while eaten as togetherness. It is a time for bonding and a time for tradition relations. A handmade colourful bracelet is worn by people in China during the dumpling festival as a tradition. This bracelet must be thrown into the water immediately on the day it rains, from the day it is being worn. This action is said to bring good luck all year round! How Cool can this get.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Week 6, Day 36+37+38
Work load is driving me crazy. There is so much work to be completed. Submission is getting nearer and nearer. Stress level is getting higher and hotter. Brain processor starts to overheat as many stuck themselves in their hostel mocking on the computers. The sound from key board “tact tack tact” filled the room as it raises the tension in us. This is how I felt and this is how we felt. The race to the end is just a few days away. A few days away before our minds could stop rest and relax.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Week 5, Day 34+35
Let us join the 2009 Dalian’s yearly International Walking Festival! It is an event where people from all over the country gathers and walk together as one big nation. Participant could choose paths from a 5km walk to a 30km walk depending on each individual strength and motivation. The walk started from Xinghai Square and ended back at Xinghai Square as my buddies and I embarked on the journey for the 5km route which we decided the day before. Exploring and sight seeing was a mission but spending a day with our China buddies was the main. In 2 weeks time, we will be leaving Dalian China. Everything will come to a stop and the relationship between the China buddy and I will also be affected. How I wish I could extend my time in Dalian and I bet I could do even more. Friendship was important in Dalian so does the connection between the understanding of the two different cultural backgrounds of both countries. What I’ve learn is as simple as this… There is always something to learn from one another and there is also a time when we need to open our minds to the acceptance from others. This is part of a cultural exchange that I’m really proud experiencing in Dalian.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Week 5, Day 31+32+33
Welcome back to the continuation of the topic relation between people in Dalian while comparing it with the relationship between people we know in Singapore! Previously on the topic “GuanXi” I talked about the importance of the relationship and the lesson I learnt that taught me a very helpful lesson in Dalian China. Back to today’s topic! Since “GuanXi” is so important to the people in Dalian what about Singaporeans? I may think that “GuanXi” is equally important but from my point of view, in Singapore what is most important is the finding of contacts. What do I mean by the finding? In China, it is all about creating a strong background for networking. But before a creation of a good networking system for a businessman he has to find one. In China Dalian, losing one customer does not mean the end of world because there are many more others waiting to be invited. From my point of view this is only uniquely happening in China because Singapore is no matter what a really small county that only contain 3 million citizens on the tiny little red dot. However in China, people are like a never ending flow of water that never runs out. The probability of finding a good partnership is thousand and one higher in chance than what you can find in Singapore. Losing one customer in Singapore may cause very serious consequences in a business context because word of mouth only spread faster in the small and compact city. Thus, a careful planning is needed before the launching of a particular task. In Singapore, I head of a saying opportunity is every where and it is only how you find that opportunity. Looking back into Dalian China, I can literally see the word written right in front of my eyes “O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y.” Business buildings are everywhere. From healthcare centers, pharmacies too little food huts that always sell similar food spreads. Never the less did anyone complain about the tough competition. People in China just keep striving and doing what they are assigned to. The abundance is what I soon realize. Every thing can be bought and sold in China. There isn’t something I cannot find in China that I needed to get. Everything is in a mass producing and mass copying stage that I feel is part of China signature sight. In particularly, China is just like a subsistence business hub that can generate solely alone on it own. In Comparison, China is the only country I ever know of that captures its opportunity within the land of its own while Singapore’s opportunity lies outside the relationship of overseas networking that can only be found through after the understanding of “GuanXi”.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Week 5, Day 29+30
Welcome back to the 5th week of Ivan’s Dalian blogging topic! Today I am going to talk about the relationship between people in Dalian. You must be curious why I am I raising this topic in my blog when the topic of relationship among people is usually a blogging topic that is against the norm. However I don’t find it boring and it is actually a very interesting issue to talk and understand about in Dalian. In Dalian China, one will understand that relation and networking among people is extremely important. This is because “GuanXi” said by many Chinese as relationship is a magical word that is imprinted into the mind of the Chinese. To enable a business to be successful, one has to have a good networking from friends and family. Without a good connection with the outside world, one is not able to survive long. It is as though living in a deserted city so huge that help is only available through teamwork with the survivals on the island. To get out of the island you have to know each other well. Who is the smartest? Who can you trust? Who is the danger? Who can you work with? This reminded me of the American TV drama program “Lost” that I find a close relevancy to the relationship among people. Getting back to the word “GuanXi”, it also recalled the time when I door by door visited offices hoping to get an interviews chance from the company. It was as though finding a little pebble in the deep vase sea. It is mission impossible. It was then when I truly understand the stupidity in me that I was wasting my time if I were to continue searching in the bush without the presence of networking/contacts. I consider myself lucky when I finally realize as it did really knocked my so hard before I truly understand the true meaning of relationship. It wasn’t too late! Thanks to the China Buddy contact, I was glad that they gave me and my teammate Rui Hon a helping hand that really benefited us in bring us one step further in understand the printing culture in China. Relation is indeed important but what do you think if we bring it to the Singaporean context in creation of a successful business. How will you think? To be continued…
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Week 4, Day 27+28
House Keeping Day! It was my first day of spring cleaning. The room was getting a little messy and its time to spend some effort to clean it up. Washed the cloths, scrubbed the toilet, wiped the room and sun our shoes. It was a day off cleaning and it was also my first attempt to such a 360° spring cleaning task. I found that doing house work was really not as easy as what I told it would be like. House work was as though doing a prototype model. Detailing was needed to perfect the finishing model. Effort was needed to ensure the high quality finishing while time acting as a timeline to ensure the completion of the given work before the deadline. The act of house keeping reminded me of a phrase of my own, “A day of house keeping, keeps the swine away” The outbreak of the swine flu had indirectly affected our lifestyle in Dalian. Pork is best not to be eaten and keeping oneself clean is definitely a key to prevent attacks. I can see the fear in the eyes of everyone with the topic of getting ill. If anyone would to be sick, he/she would have to be confined or quarantine. Worst, the whole Dalian group would be sent back immediately! What is so scary is that Beijing being the number 1 best/clean city in China had already been down with the virus, while Dalian is in vulnerable city that could be next. I don’t wish to be sent back so suddenly. I even don’t wish to get ill. Keeping clean and healthy has therefore become my main issue in Dalian to prevent any of such incidents to happen. Not breaking the spirit of both my school mates and I, we really hope that the swine flu situation could be resolve as soon as possible. Keeping our finger cross that Dalian would be safe.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Week 4, Day 26
Whoooooo Huuu!!! The colors of the surrounding were attractive and the buildings of the park were fairy tale like. It was filled by visitors with the screaming of enjoyment. “Happy” music started playing as the Discoveryland, Fa Xie Wang Guo, opened its entrance for us. The Kingdom of Discovery is something like a theme park in Dalian that is popular among many visitors visiting Dalian. In the park, it has many exciting ride that really challenges the limit of each individual. If you don’t have the guts don’t ever try the rides. It’s just TO BAD!!! Haha!!! I wanted to try every single ride but time wasn’t on my side as we needed to regroup around 4.30 which officially pressed on the stopped button of the day. I loved all the rides, particularly the sub-zero gravity machine that was as though jumping down a 30 story high building, the sand storm machine that turns and swirl you from left to right and finally the roller coaster ride that I almost lose my heart after the ride. The speed was so fast that my eyes were unable to open as the cold air started to pierce my skin. The speed of the roller coaster was wonderful as it was what I always wanted to experience. To be serious, it really blew my hair off during the ride. It was scary yet as relaxing as I was lifted from the ground like a speeding eagle. Something that I think I will never experience in my whole life time, only when I took the roller coaster in the Discoveryland. In fact, I did not expect the rides to be so fun as there were even more thrilling rides and more to talk about but it had to be experience personally. Words are hard to describe, but words could only describe the feeling I felt during enjoyable 6 hours of excitement.