Woodlands Ring Secondary OCIP

Message to Parents (Day 5)

2009-11-19T12:33:00.005+07:00

Atiqah: Ok, the place is so awesome. Yesterday we went to visit a hostel and had so much fun! The people there are humble and nice. I can't wait to go home though I'd miss Mae Chaem school too :D Please Irah, clover is doing fine with me.

Eika:Today we had our last drama rehearsalfor tomorrow. Yes! After that we can go home already! Later I buy magnet for the fridge. Hehe, How is daddy? Mummy? Susie? All ok? Don't miss me too much! Can you check this blog and tag. I don't recieve any message from you, you know. Haiyo.

Sharifah: Oh My God! I Can't believ time flies super fast! I feel like not to go home,ohohohoho, can I stay here? LOL JK. I miss my sexy family. Hope you guys are fine! Adios, Amigos! XD

Qing Wen: Hi mom! How are you guys? Thailand is super cool but I really miss home, especially you! muacks

Afiq: 4th Day already and I consider that rather I want to stay XD Everything is great. So, Don't worry kays!

Ah Nay: Hi spice gang! How are you girls? Have you been havng fun without me? I'm enjoying myself over here! haha... The weather is great the people here are super nice, the sceneries are pictureque, the students are well-behaved and doing above expectation! Most importantly, no cockroaches!!! See Ya when I get back!

Teresa and Zulaiha: So Fun Here

Ameera: Hellos!!! How are you? I'm having so much here and learnt new stuff...

Tiffany: I don't know. Look out for Mr Siva's SMS for the place arrival on sunday. Maybe tell dad to fetch home.

Tiffany: To Volleyballers: Hope that you all have a good game. I know you tried your best!

Rong Jie: How was Camp Pinnacle?

Syafiq: The days are coming home are drawing near, see you guys soon. Take care!

Yuen Hui: It's really fun to be here and really enjoy myself.

Anas: Greetings to my family, Happy Anniversary mum dad!! I wish I could be there to celebrate it. It's awesome here in Mae Chaem.

Faiz: Hello Mum amd Dad, yesterday its first time for me to watch a soccer match in big group (SIN V THAI) We watch with the Thai Students, the Thai Student one side while oher side. It's was quite fun. Then my friends force me to sing. Ya, It's was quite fun then I played the traditional Karen Bamboo Dance and It's quite easy. I hope you all are fine there in Singapore.

OCIP Daily Report(18 Nov) - Day 4

2009-11-19T09:04:00.021+07:00

It was a cold morning when we set out for Mae Chaem School.

When we reached the school we settled down and shared our reflections./

After assembly, we split into our different groups to start our activities for the day.

The Solar Car robotics group started off with a game of Kabadi with the Thai students. They had a lot of fun, and were ready to work on their solar cars for the upcoming Solar Car competition.

The student mentors also had fun teaching them despite the communication barrier.

Cultural Exchange team had the story telling creation activity where that Thai students were given materials and they were supposed to create stories in the form of comics and present their story in English to their fellow friends. In some groups, while other members were drawing Yae, one of the Thai students taught Sharifah, Afiq, Syafiq, Zulaiha and Tiffany some dance moves. I could see that both Yae and our students were having fun teaching and learning from each another. Yae had also express a wish to visit Singapore, a country which he commented as very clean.

Life skills team used actions to teach the students CPR, a skill which had not yet been taught to the Thai students yet and may come in handy during emergency situations.

Drama team spent the day preparing the props, while the cast rehearsed their scenes.

We had lunch together with the Thai students from the various teams, which both the Thai students and us enjoyed a lot.

After the lessons ended, we played sports with the Thai students and teachers, unlike the previous day where we only played with a few Thai students. They were very friendly and we taught them how to play the frisbee.

We set off for a youth hostel, where we enjoyed dinner with the people over there. There was a soccer match on television, Thailand vs Singapore. After dinner, some of us crowded in the tv room watching the live soccer match. During a break, we settled outside and hear a live band and watch a bamboo dance. We tried the bamboo dance. After the performance, we went into the tv room again to watch the remaning match, Singapore won 1-0. We were a little reluctant to leave.

Message to Parents (Day 4)

2009-11-18T13:13:00.007+07:00

Syafiq: I love Mae Chaem!!! I love my family!!! Bet you guys are enjoying your time at home, because I am not there haha. Joking lah. I think I might cry my heart out once I leave Mae Chaem School.

Sharifah: Hey gorgeous! It's super Duper fun here! Can't believe that I'm actually surviving without my HP.

Eika: Hello! I'm having so much fun here making many friends with the Thai students. Tomorrow is our performance.

Atiqah: Assalamualaikum, I'm having so much fun here and I am learning lots of new things and friends. The flora and fauna is really nice and I bet ayah will love it here though it's super cold.

Faiz: Assalamualaikum too, im having so much fun in Mae Chaem School and I really respect their motivation as they never give up and willing to learn more from us.

OCIP Daily Report(17 Nov) - Day 3

2009-11-18T10:19:00.000+07:00

Hello WRSS students, teachers and excited parents!

Today's weather was much cooler.

When we woke up, it was really misty, as if we were living in the clouds.

We had our delicious breakfast- fried rice and noodles.

It was Faris's birthday! We sang a birthday song and prepared a small cake for him.
As usual we walked to MaeChaem School which is roughly a 800m walk.

We started off with some ice-breaker games, before we started our activities.

The Drama team made good progress, with the blocking of scenes today. We can definitely expect a good show from them on Friday.

Cultural Exchange team spent good time with the Thai students playing ice-breaker games, and of course learning English through the singing of songs. The Thai students are practising the song, A Whole New World. They will sing it all by themselves for the finale on Friday. The team also played Congkak with the Thai students who picked up the game really fast and had a good time.

Lifeskills team had a good start teaching the Thai students about the different types of wounds and how to treat them. They even learnt a few tips from the Thai students on how to handle fractures with by improvising with things around them. Some of the Thai students went out of their way to buy a cake for Faris when they came to know that it was his birthday. Faris said that it will be one of his most memorable birthdays ever!

Robotics team tried their best in communicating with the Thai students through hand signs and bonded with them with games. The team also allowed the Thai students to show their creativity by asking them to design a banner for the competition which was really pretty. Another group of students designed and built their solar cars. They are looking forward to the trial session that starts today.

After school, we played sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and kabadi (a sport which originated from India) with some of the Thai students, while some of us played congkak in the room. We had great fun together and looking forward to another time where to play games again.

When we get back to our hostel, we washed up and had a delicious barbecue dinner.

By: Ruijie & Zhen Hui

Message to Parents (Day 3)

2009-11-17T10:42:00.012+07:00

Atiqah: I am having a slight cough but I'm doing just fine. Yesterday we visited the Karen tribe and I got to see the beautiful hills and wide padi field. I'm having fun and hope you guys have fun in singapore too.

Ameera Adam: It's a good thing that I woke up on time today. I went to the Karen Village. See you on sunday.

Zulaiha Beevi:Good afternoon everyone! Yesterday we visited the Karen Village. The hills are beautiful and also got to see the people there harvesting the rice at the field. It's quite cool. Bye for now.

Anas: Good day to everyone! It's a great place here in Mae Chaem and I hope that it will be a good day tomorrow.

Nicholas: Happy Birthday To Faris!

Roger chia:How are u guys? Don't worry I will enjoy myself here.

Rui Jie: I'm fine here. It's very fun and I'm enjoying myself.

Faris: Hi Mom! Hi dad! Hi brother and sister! Hi Uncle!

Muhd Afiq: Moving on...You guys miss me?

Keng Yeow: Mom and dad, I'm fine. Do take care of your own.

Tan Yong Kuan: I can take care of myself. Same for all of you.

Faiz: Hi mom and dad. I'm doing fine here. Yesterday I got a chance to harvest the rice and the place looks like I'm in one of the European countries. The food is getting more delicious and i realised that the people in Mae Chaem school, majority of them are girls.

Videos (Day 3)

2009-11-17T09:52:00.007+07:00

These are some of the videos that show us interacting with the Thai students. Enjoy!

Info for Parents - Return Flight

2009-11-17T09:16:00.003+07:00

Thai Airways
Arrival - Changi Airport Terminal 1

Sunday 22 Nov TG 105 Chiang Mai - Bangkok 1120 / 1240
Sunday 22 Nov TG 409 Bangkok - Singapore 1635 / 1955

Messages to Parents (Day 2)

2009-11-16T13:54:00.006+07:00

Rong Jie: Hi Mom

Keng Yeow: Mom and dad, I am fine. The weather is not too cold. The food is good. TAKE CARE.

Leslie: Everything is ok. Do not worry

Siang Yew: Do not worry about me, everything is going smoothly.

Eika Natasha: I miss you too. I pat a dog on the head today! . The students here are nice and friendly. I’m really enjoying myself. The hostel is not that bad. It’s acceptable but I don’t think mummy will like though.

Zulaiha Beevi: Hi! The place is so cool and cold. I’m still surviving happily. The people here are super friendly and nice. I’m staying in a resort with two other friends. I like it here. The weather is cold at night and in the morning but sunny in the afternoon. Don’t miss me ok.

Atiqah: Everything is ok here. The food is nice and the students in the Mae Chaem School are very friendly. The weather is cold the night and early in the morning and the hostel is not bad. I Love You!

And don’t forget that as soon as I get back, I’ll be staying over at suha’s crib, o

Sharifah: Hey sexy people at home! It’s super fantastic. The people here are very nice! Hope you guys are ok without my super loudness at home! Sarang-hae yo

Yuen Hui: Hi Mom and dad! This is my first time on the plane and it was very fun and the food here are really great. I really enjoy myself here and I have to say that the life here is more relax as compared to Singapore. I will take care at myself!

Teresa: BOOHOO! Everything is okay! I have lots of fun! The people here are very friendly! TAKE CARE! I Love You

Tiffany: So, What’s the volleyball match score? You (Alison) got a chance to play?

Syafiq: Greetings from Thailand my beloved family!!! Syafiq here, alive and kicking!!! The food is awesome and the people are very warming to the heart don’t worry I’m having a blast

Faiz: Hi Mom and dad. I’m still alive here and still breathing normally. The people here are very friendly and the atmosphere is like I’m back at our village at Malacca. Yesterday night, it’s my first time that I saw a shooting star and I make a wish. I also saw the Milky Way and it’s very beautiful. The sky was clear and we can see the stars clearly. The resort is awesome as I think my room is one of the best as it was so spacious and clean. Don’t worry; I’ve taken care of my prayers.

OCIP Daily Report (15/16 Nov) - Day 1 & 2

2009-11-16T12:42:00.015+07:00

Hi WRSS, students, teachers and anxious parents......

We have all reached Mae Chaem, Chiang Mai safely.

Although it was a Sunday, we driven straight to Maechaem School where we orientated ourselves to the surroundings.

We managed to meet some students who were hanging around in school on the Sunday. They were very friendly and when we needed assistance, they did their best to help us. Even when there was a communication barrier between us, they would ask friends who could speak English better or teachers to translate.

These are the photo taken yesterday, we visited Karen tribe.

We walked on path between their houses and we saw many chickens and pig.

One of our teacher, Mr Siva, said that the pigs are for the wedding of the daughter's wedding, so by looking at the size of the pig we can guess the age of the daughter.

Later we visited the farm, rice farm.

Some of us even had the chance to harvest the rice.

This indeed was a wonderful experience and all of us enjoyed ourselves.

And this was the dinner.....under the stars!!!

By: Ruijie

Pre-OCIP

2009-11-14T21:09:00.002+07:00

14th Novmber, 10:09pm

It's a few hours before we depart to Thailand.
We will be meeting in school tomorrow dawn 5am,
hope that we gain wonderful learning experinces.
Next update would be around monday morning 10am singapore time,
photos on school all the way to our hostel in Mea Cheam would be posted!

Ruijie

Day 3

2008-11-20T14:50:00.000+07:00

date:20.11.08 time:15:26 Journalist: Leonard&Hazmie

Right after the school ends at 3.30pm, we headed to the nearby village by trucks. It took about 30 minutes to reach Karen village. The village was very small and old. Old enough to be demolished if it were in Singapore. The head of Karen village seemed to know everyone well, just like family. He brought us around his village and we went to the padi field where we could get our hands on the padi. We felt like farmers for that few minutes of harversting. We also felt the hardship of those farmers working days and nights just to earn a living for their family. The truck ride was very cooling as we got to seat at the open area at the back of the truck.

After the long day, we then had our dinner before going off to weaving factory, where they selling hand made clothes and accesories. Some students brought some souvenir for the family while others just came and look around.

Had our daily night reflection then we went to sleep!

Day 2

2008-11-19T12:44:00.000+07:00

The day started off early for us at Mae Chaem. To be exact, 5 am local time.
Breakfast was served at 5.45 am and the dining area was situated a few meters away from our rooms. Today’s breakfast was special as we celebrated Miss Lim Hui Qi's belated birthday. After finishing up the cake, we set out for Mae Chaem school. We reached there early as intended in order to familiarise ourselves with the school environment. We were touched by the banner which read "Welcome Woodlands Ring Secondary to Mae Chaem school from 18-21 November 2008" . The HOD of English, Mrs Pongsri Wongkrajang, ushered us to the conference room.

At 7.45am, we walked eagerly to the assembly area. Students in Mae Chaem school greeted us with warm welcome. The students here are indeed polite.

When the Thailand National anthem was played, the students sang clearly and proudly.

We were overwhelmed by the Nation spirit they displayed. We tried to sing out loud liked they did but it was not loud enough to be heard in entire school.

We will be rehearsing it today and do better tomorrow. Just like the 10 year anniversary motto, " A Better Tomorrow" .

When we were done with the morning assembly, we met at the conference room for adminstrative work.We went into our individual groups: Robotics team, English Literacy team, IT team and Drama team.

Finally, was time to excecute our plans.

We started off with the ice breaking session.

It is not easy communicating with students here as they can hardly understand English. With the value taught in WRSS, we persevered, be resilence and finally, we manage to overcome the communication barrier. We tried not to depend on the teachers here(help us to interpret) but to explain ourselves. We overcome it by using our body language, talk with simple English and explain to them slowly. We glad that some methods really works!

Each group faced different kind of problems.

The Robotics team found out that the space given to them to conduct the Robotics workshop was too small. The Drama team realised their logistics list went missing and had to change their plan for the morning. The English Literacy had more number of students than expected while the

IT team experienced slow internet connection that led to lesser pictures being uploaded.

However, we looked at our challenges from different perspectives and were able to overcome many of them. In short, we learnt to think on our feet. We were able to adapt to the situations.

We left Mae Chaem school at 4pm.

Information For You

2008-11-19T10:15:00.000+07:00

To all the caring families
who have been trying very hard to keep updated on the OCIP team,

These photos are taken yesterday.

Evon explaining what to do next to the thai students(:

We have reached the school!

The robotics hunks posing for the thai students!

The IT team would be posting every afternoon between 12pm to 3pm until friday when we will be going back to ChiangMai from Maechaem. During our stay in ChiangMai, we would be sourcing for internet connection so that we will be able to provide you with the latest piece of news of the OCIP team. We are progressing smoothly and are well taken care off. At the same time, we are enjoying ourselves as we are entertained by the unique experiences and cultures in thailand. I shall update you in the future as soon as possible. Through the gates of Woodlands Ring Secondary, WALK THE BEST!

Regards

ChaoJian

Expedition Leader

Day 2

2008-11-18T15:06:00.000+07:00

Khun Ser Dee Mai, people in SINGAPORE!
(how are you, people in Singapore!)

From Aiin:
Hello everyone! Just to let you know that I am doing fine and enjoying the company of the Thai students. Takkaire of yourselves, orite!

From Evon:
i am doing well :] people here are super cute:]mummy dont worry,i enjoy myself here:]

From Isaac:
I doing well, very well.DO NOT worry about me, and do not touch my stuff!! God bless our family.

From Jeremy:
To Mum , Dad and sister , I am doing well in thailand and I enjoy myself .
To Chlovelle , Please rmb to have your meal regularly . =D
I miss you all xD

OCIP DAY day1

2008-11-18T12:48:00.000+07:00

TIME:1457
DATE:17-11-2008
JOURNALIST: Hazmie

The Info & Tech team!
Drama Team!
Robotics Team!
English Literacy Team!
Chiang Mai International Airport
SET TO GO!

Sawadi kap..

The whole OCIP team was highly excited for our departure to Chiang Mai, Thailand. After one whole month of preparation, we hope that all of our efforts will pay off and we will return to Singapore with wonderful memories. At the same time, be equipped with skills that will be useful towards our daily challenges. We reported in school at 11am. Amidst the preparation, Mrs Kok and some of the HODS addressed us. Some of the member’s loving parents tagged along with us to the airport. We were all geared up for our departure with our luggage at hand

The journey on the bus was rather peaceful. The students and teachers alike, were engaged in their own conversations and seemed to be having a good time. Upon reaching Changi Airport, the students quickly formed a human chain to transport the luggage. We then made our way to the Departure Hall. After all the administrative matters were settled, we walked towards the departure hall. This was the start of our learning journey. A journey, that promised many learning points. After an emotional goodbye to our loved ones, we made our way to the check-in counter. And soon enough, we were on board Silkair,flight MI 706.

We had safely reached Chiang Mai at around 1700 local time.
Everything went smoothly and we had our delicious dinner before heading to Mae Chaem.

The trip up to Mae Chaem took about 2 hours from Chiang Mai and before we go, we went to super market to buy some snacks and drinks.

The van ride was rather bumpy and some of us got motion sickness. Teachers bought motion sickness pills and gave to those who needed it.
Most of us slept through the 2 hours ride and soon we realised, we had reached our destination.

We reached Mae Chaem at around 10pm local time.
All of us were tired yet we still held on to have final meeting, debreifing and reflection time before we were dismissed to our own room.
Accomodation so far is good.
There are water heater, televison, some have air-conditioners.

For those parents who is worried about your child's well being, rest assured, the meal are fantastic and well taken care of by the teachers.
Muslim food is catered for.

To all who are related to students of OCIP,
we miss you.

5 MORE DAYS TO OCIP (:

2008-11-12T15:20:00.001+07:00

When things gets serious

when things gets critical

when things gets intense

when mouth starts to open

When students get more stress

but we still persevere.

Just left with 5 days before we fly off to Thailand.

Nothing will be left behind besides sweat and footstep.

We shall make sure that this Thailand trip will be fruitful and worthwhile.

ITS ME AGAIN,

Hazmie (:

PARENTS NIGHT! 7 NOVEMBER 2008 (:

2008-11-12T15:10:00.001+07:00

Date:12-11-2008

Time:1600

Journalist:Hazmie

On the 7 of NOVEMBER, we had our parents night .

The talk was lead by mainly Mr Chong but other teachers incharge was there too.

It started at 7pm and ended at 8pm. Parents were brief about the details, objective, flight details and so on.

The purpose of the talk was to inform and clear their doubts regarding the OCIP trip.

Thats all for now!

Signing off

Hazmie

OCIP 2008 coming your way

2008-10-24T06:49:00.000+07:00

Sawadi krap to one and all.

This post is just a pre-post before the OCIP trip which will be on 17 nov-24 Nov.

We will be going to the same place where our senior did last year.
We cant wait and now we are into intensive planning.
All in all, we are excited to meet the Thai students there!

-Hazmie.

OCIP Day 3

2007-11-22T09:24:00.000+07:00

The fragrance of Thai style fried rice greeted us as we started off the day with a hearty breakfast. We then set off for the school. Most of us were excited to start work today. We were hoping to follow up with our great start from yesterday and ensure that all the teams succeed in their objectives.

When we entered the school, the cooling atmosphere immediately caught our attention. The school is on a mountain and temperature is far lower than Singapore.

As we sat down for morning assembly, we noticed that the Thais were reading intently. Following the morning prayers, the work group promoting English introduced the Phrase of the day to the whole school. The Thais being hospitable, repeated the phrase with us.

As the students disappeared in various directions for their classes, the OCIP TEAM divided into its respective sub-groups to carry on with our work. The Drama work group rehearsed their skit and had a joy of a time working with their Thai counterparts. The Drama team has completed ‘blocking’ for their skit. We found out that ‘blocking’ means to get the various actors to enter, leave and stand at the various positions. The team intends to finish their rehearsals tomorrow in time for the performance on Friday.

The Library work group put up posters around the school to advertise for the English Corner in the library. As their team had completed all of their objectives for the trip, several of their members helped out with the other workgroups.

The Media resource work group managed to overcome the technical problem of not being able to upload pictures onto the blog site due to the low bandwidth of the internet connection. They emailed compressed picture files via email to Ms Lim Hui Qi (WRS) in Singapore. Ms Lim then uploaded the pictures onto the blogsite using the higher bandwidth in Singapore.

In the evening, we visited the Maechaem Police Station. The policemen were very hospitable and showed us around the station. The visit was really and eye opener as we got to see a prison cell and also found out how the police carried out their jobs. We found out that they did more than just providing security. They were closely involved with their local community in all their activities. For example, they even pass messages from people who live in the city to their family members living in the remote mountain areas that have no telecommunications.

Reported By Danial and Abu Sofian

OCIP DAY 2

2007-11-21T10:19:00.000+07:00

5.30 am: Time to wake up!

6.00 am We did last minute adjustments to our plans over breakfast and got ready to move out.

7am: We moved out and made our way towards the school. We were all nervous as we did not know what to expect on the first day. We were wondering if the Thai students would be shy or if they would cooperate with us? We were also wondering if they would make the sharing session a hard time for us? Our hearts beat faster as we approached the school.

When we arrived at the school, we were surprised to see that there were groups of students sweeping or cleaning the school without the supervision of teachers. We asked ourselves all of us back at school could also be as responsible as them.

7.40am: We assembled at their parade square. During the flag raising ceremony, Sofian and Natalie raised our school flag together with the Thai flag. We were then requested to sing our national anthem. Although we did not have music to back us up, all of us sang as loudly as we could. Following that Mr Siva addressed the school population and introduced Natalie as the leader of the student team. Mr Daniel Lim then presented the 900 English books that we brought from Singapore over to the school principal.

We were brought into the room named “sweet dreams” and then introduced to the 60 Thai student that have been chosen to work with us. The Thai students were divided into various work groups and we started work with them.

All the teams started off with the ice breaker activities which were planned before hand and it went smoothly. It raised our morale as their level of cooperativeness was really unbelievable. They did not reject anything when we suggested it to them and were even not afraid of doing a forfeit after losing a game.

We finished our planned work for the day at about 4.30pm. We stayed back till 6.30pm to play various games with them This gave us a chance to bond with the students. Our teachers also joined in the games and it gave us a chance to get to know them better.

The sun set quite early. As we left the school gates at 6.45pm it was completely dark. Mr Siva led us back to our hotel through the dirt track and the padi fields. We walked in a straight line like small kids and followed each other closely. Back in the hotel, we had dinner and then met for daily reflection time.

Before bedtime, we realized that some of the rooms had flickering lights that made it like a “disco ballroom”. The hotel owner told our teachers that they will repair it by tomorrow.

Report by : Peh Ming Bin , Muhd Danial

From: Shikin
Love you too Shera. And I miss my family!!

From: Sofian
Hi Mum, Dad, I’m here missing you . See you soon!

From: Elyn
Hi everyone, the weather is fine, I didn’t vomit at all. Miss you all so much! See you soon! Muacks

From: Afifah
Yoha! Yanz: thanks so much! I love you guys to the core! Nurul: I Miss You Too! See you soon alright! muackxx

From: Aainaa
Hey drama queen!!! I miss u too!!! Take care okay!! MB will publish the pictures soon :)

From: May
Daddy and mummy, I miss you guys! I enjoyed myself here. Hope to see you guys soon!

From: Kinza
Ammi, I miss u so much!!!! :)

From: Shah
Ayah, has my mother filled up the pail with tears? Just kidding. The MaeChaem school is kind of nice. I’m going home in one piece.

From: Jun Hong
Hello! I don't know whether you will be seeing this but I want to let u all know that I am fine, the food, place that I live in is great! The Thai people are very friendly.

From: Denis
Hi! I am doing fine here in MaeCheam. Miss you all. See you all soon!

From: Surej
Hello, family. How are you? I am fine. I am having a lot of fun. The room is nice. It is extremely cold at night and after taking a bath. The people are very nice. See you later. Miss you all!

From: Sam
Oh My God, this is awesome; they sleep under the tree in between lessons during free time: not us, them. Haha, take care buddies and friends: we will be back this Sunday. Miss me!

From: Kok Hou
Progress in the field of robotics has been fruitful. Who realise that the Thais learn very quickly.

From: Ming Bin
Don’t worry people, I will try to upload the photo as soon as possible  it’s fun up here! Stay tune ~

From: Danial
Hello! Sorry but I cannot upload the pictures due to the low internet connectivity. By the way I’m fine thank you. Hope all of you are ok. Alright, see you soon.

From: Suraya
I'm okay and I'm having a lot of fun!

From: Aisyah
Hello family! I’m still fine! See you guys soon …

From: Natalie
Hello everyone! I miss home... And my besties!  Time here has been great, especially when I’ve made so many new friends! I’m doing fine here… We’re in for more great stuff, so wait and see! See ya soon!

From: Mei Yin
Yo … I miss my mom.

OCIP WRSS DAY 1

2007-11-20T09:00:00.000+07:00

Monday.

Yesterday, early morning, 5am, everyone reported to school. Everyone was excited and ready to go as all of us were looking forward to this trip. As we bade farewell to our dearest parents, tears poured over several of our friend’s cheeks. All of us marched toward the customs check in the airport, hopes high.

The first flight was from Singapore to Bangkok. There, we were awed by the sheer beauty of the International airport of Bangkok. Following customs checks and moments spent waiting, our second flight arrived- the one from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

The Thai airways flight indeed was as smooth as silk. Finally, touchdown on Chiang Mai city. Indeed, most of us were extremely excited, we were finally in Thailand.
As soon as clearing another round of customs clearance, we boarded vans and made our way to the Karen village. Little did we know that the journey was a protracted ordeal. The van went on for miles and miles but the road seemed endless. Even after two hours of driving, we were still not there! No wonder several of us experienced motion-sickness in the van.

Who could take it turns after turn going up and down the mountainous regions of Chiang Mai? Luckily, to fight off the unwanted mess in the van, the girls chit-chatted and helped one another forget about the trip and to endure the challenging route.
Meanwhile, the boys were busy singing and cracking jokes throughout.

It’s amazing how sheer true friendship can enable one to overcome one’s weaknesses. After enduring chilling wind blowing into the vans and after a great meal for lunch, Our clan finally reached Karen Village. FINALLY!. The tour guide, also a pastor of a nearby church, showed us the daily activities of the villages.

One of the highlights was when we witnessed how the villages woven yarn into beautifully crafted bags and clothing. Not to mention the photos we took of the cute children there.We were indeed amazed that these people could produce such fine quality work. It only goes to show that teamwork goes a long way.

Walking past the huts we caught a glimpse of Huge roosters and pigs rarely seen in Singapore. Another interesting activity was the witnessing of the husking process of rice done by the women there.Stopping by a warehouse for refreshments, we enjoyed playing on the swings .

After a LONG DAY, we returned to our hotel for evaluation. After which we will now be going to bed as tomorrow there will be lots for us to do and we would need a lot of rest.