OELP reflection (weichen)

This OELP trip has enabled me to learn about Taiwan's culture and the many differences between Taiwan and Singapore. It most definitely has increased my knowledge of Taiwan and China even though I learnt the most about Taiwan. The schools in Taiwan has a more relaxed educational system which focuses more on self discipline and self study this is also the case in China. For example, wearing home clothes to school, playing a fool in class while still being able to catch what the teacher is saying. This gives me an impression that if the students produces good results, them it's alright to let them do as they please in class. I disagree with that because to them grades are first while attitude is second. Compared to Taiwan and China, Singapore focuses more on an all- rounded teaching that drills into our brain saying that attitude is the most important. However, Taiwan's teaching methods enable the students to be more independent by letting them achieve good grades thorough their hard work and effort. 
The most interesting of all is the aborigines. At first I thought all aborigines were people with markings on their face and being very anti-social. However, that was not the case. Out of 16 different official groups of aborigines we were able to see aborigines from the Ami group. My first impression was that they look like us and they speak like Taiwanese so I did not believe that they were real aborigines. But their way of getting married and their daily lifestyles were really different from us, them living in houses so low that they are shorter than me. It was really an eye opener for me as I learn about them. Singapore do not have any aborigines in the country maybe because there is not enough land. 
I'm addition, what struck me the most was the lack of rubbish bins on the streets. That came as a unpleasant surprise as it would cause me to limit the things I buy for example food, as I would have to throw rubbish along the way. I learnt that this is because Taiwanese are very Eco-friendly and they recycle everything possible. I experienced this first hand when I went to Macdonald's to buy a drink. After drinking, I could not find the usual bin that allows me to throw away my paper cup. I saw that I have to separate the cup, ice, straw and all to recycle them by throwing them into different categories. This influenced me to recycle more at home in Singapore so that I can produce less waste. Even though Singapore is known to be clean and green, I believe that is not the case as you can see rubbish everywhere you go. There are many differences between Taiwan and Singapore. 
Lastly, I am proud to be a Singaporean where it is a natural disaster free and that it has rubbish bins everywhere. I am proud to be a Singaporean because Singapore is where my home is.