Singapore Zoo

On 18th Janurary 2009, Sunday, William and I brought our China buddies to the Singapore Zoo. Our buddies were very excited.

map of the singapore zoo picture of us fooling aroud at the entrance

We started the tour by following the Treetops Trial. There were monkeys climbing all around the trees and gavials lurking at the riverbed. The China buddies were surprised that the animals here, unlike in Beijing zoo where the animals are locked up in cages, roam freely in their enclosure.

animals of the treetops trail

The next attraction we went to was the proboscis monkey exhibit. Our buddies called it the 'clown monkey' becaues of its big flabby nose. They learnt that the ' clown' monkey 's nose will grow longer and bigger as they grow older. When these monkeys are born, they have noses that look like ours.

The 'clown' monkey

We showed them the polar bear and they wondered how they could survive the warm weather of Singapore.The polar bear could grow up to 4 metres tall! After that, we brought our buddies to watch the new animal show, 'The Rainforest Fights Back ' Although they could not understand the presentation , they enjoyed watching the performance.

the polar bear!

Finally, we brought them to the exhibit that they had been talking about since they landed in Changi airport, the White Tiger ! The white tiger in Singapore Zoo is also well known in Beijing because of the recent mauling incident where a cleaner had been bitten to death. When we were reaching there, it was the tigers' feeding time. A throng of tourists had already gathered in front of the enclosure.When the zookeeper threw the raw meat towards the white tigers , they would jump and snatch the meat with their sharp canines. It's amazing that tigers could jump extremely high. My buddy suggested that William's buddy should act as Wu Song, the famous legendary warrior that killed a tiger with his fists and have a duel with the white tiger.

We spent the whole day touring the entire zoo. The China buddies commented that our zoo is so much bigger and better than theirs. I commented that Singapore zoo lacks one of the most valuable animal which is China'a national treasure, the pandas. A day at the zoo can be both enjoyable and educating.

White Tiger

A tour of Singapore

Last Saturday was a day that I had been looking forward to with anticipation since my return from the school immersion programme to Beijing in November. Finally it was my turn to play 'host' and show my China buddy the attractions of Singapore.
At 10.30, I requested for early dismissal from my CCA. My parents fetched me, my and William's buddies from the hostel. We drove them to Changi Village to try Singapore's most famous food, Hainanese chicken rice. They commented that the rice was fragrant and the chicken meat was tender . "We don't have this in Beijing! This is delicious ! " My buddy exclaimed.
After eating the delicious meal, we headed for Pasir Ris park to let our buddies enjoy the cool sea breeze as there is no beach in Beijing. At night, we brought them to Chinatown to experience and compare the local Chinese New Year decorations to that in Beijing . They took the opportunity to shop for souvenirs. After having bought some Merlion keychains, my buddy was disappointed and felt cheated when he saw the word "Made in China" embossed on the back of the keychain. My father reassured him that despite being made in China, he would not be able to find such keychain in Beijing. Instead he should be proud to find China made products all over the world.
After reaching home, my buddy and I played PS2 till midnight. It's fun having a buddy from overseas to play with you.

China Buddy

Today, is the arrival of the China buddies from Beijing. Our class was filled with excitement.
The buddies are coming into class at 10.10am! Before bringing them to our class, William and I took our buddies on a tour around the school compound . When we went into our classroom, whole class welcomed the China visitors by greeting them.

As Mr Chew had to welcome the teachers from China, there was no Chinese lesson aand we had free period. Ze Xuan and company wanted to test our China buddies' their strength in Maths by giving them maths question that even he could not do.

We also played 'jie long' with the China buddies. In this game ,a person would say out a Chinese verb or noun and the another person continues. A period of 5 seconds is given to every person. Once five seconds is out, the person loses the game if he cannot think of a verb to continue. The game will continue till there are two man standing.
We had an enjoyable time playing with them. The whole class enjoyed being with them. I hope they have a good stay in Singapore.

Here is a picture of our China buddies in Beijing, China. My buddy, Meng Wei is third from right

A Bad Day

Lady luck was not with me today.This is my worst day of my life.
It all started when I woke up with a shock.It was already seven o'clock. I rushed to put on my uniform and sprinted to school. As I was on the way,I realised I had forgotten to put on my glasses! I decided not to go back for my glasses as I could still make it to school if I hurry. I finally made it to school on time. When I was about to enter the school gate , the security guard stopped me and told me that I was at the wrong school. I ended up in a primary school which is a distance from my school. I then quickly turned back and ran towards my school. By the time I walked into the classroom , I was tremendously late. I was reprimanded by the teacher.

Things became worse during recess. Still in a daze after the reprimand from my teacher , I accidently walked out of school. When I realised that I was outside the school gate, I quickly turned back. Luckily, the security guard was not at the gate. As I was about whistle a tune, a voice boomed from my right "Boy! Stop!." I turned and saw the discipline master m,arching towards me. "Where have you been? Playing truant?" he asked in a stern voice. I opened my mouth but no sound came out as I was froze in fear. The discipline master is well known for his no nonsense and cane. I found my voice and tried my best to explain. As I was explaining, his phone rang .The discipline master then quickly gave me a short stern warning that if I play truant again, I would be caned. The phone call was my saviour!

When school ended, I took a taxi home as I did not want to get 'lost' again.
It was the worst day of my life. Since that incident, I make an effort to wake up early to prepare for school.

My favourite bleach fight

Last Sunday, I decided to help my parents to spring-clean the house as Chinese New Year is around the corner. Chores were given out to my sister and I. All I needed to do was to clean the chairs, tables and wash the toilet. I thought it would be easy as I had seen how it was done.

I started cleaning the chairs and finally knew the reason why we should clean the chairs regularly. The chairs were so dirty and dusty. First , I took the cleaning cloth and soaked it with soapy water. I then wrung the cloth to get rid of excess water . My father warned me that cleaning should be with damp cloth not water soaked cloth and I would need to pay if his teakwood chairs and table are damaged. Next, I wiped the surface of the chairs and cleaned the inside of the 'holes' of the chairs to ensure that every nooks and corners are dust-free. After every couple of wipes. the cloth would need to soak in soapy water and wring to get rid of the dirt and dust stuck on the cloth. After this experience, I realised that cleaning is not an easy job at all!

After that, I started washing the toilet. I used an old toothbrush and scrubbed off the dirt from crevices between the tiles . This is the part that I hated the most, as I need to bend down and to reach the low places which cause my legs to ache. I also washed the toilet bowl and scrubbed the floor. After scrubbing I sprayed the bathroom walls and floor with a hose Finally I use a broom to sweep the water down the drain. It was very tiring doing such household chores. Now I know why my mother always complains that housewife should be paid a salary and as much as our Home Minister!
One lesson I have learned from this spring cleaning job is not to scrub soapy toilet floor while standing. The bruises on my lips and left cheek are the result of slippng and falling onto the toilet floor. Instead of holding the scrub with my hand and squatting to scrub the floor, I stood and placed my foot on top the scrub and move to and fro. Due to the slippery floor, I fell forward, knocking my chin against the floor . My little sister who was helping me screamed when she saw blood on the floor. Luckily, I did not break any teeth.

Despite the pain, I am proud that my toilet is now spick and span because of my sweat and blood.

The toilet that I washed.

The chairs that I cleaned

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