Celebrating Chinese New Year in Singapore

Chinese New Year is considered to be the most important Chinese festival for every Chinese. It is a time for all family members to gather to have a hearty reunion meal at home on the New Year’s Eve. This year is different and special for me, as it is my first time that I have celebrated Chinese New Year in Singapore without my parents.

Though it is a great pity that I couldn’t spend the significant celebration with my dear mom and dad, I still had a wonderful festival with my new friends here in Singapore. I will never forget the interesting experience I had during the four-day vocation.

We went to Pulau Ubin, a scenic tropical island, which is really worth a trip. We stayed for two days on the island. The island is in the east of Singapore, and is so far away that I got bored and nearly fell asleep on the way. Before we stepped on the island, we took a boat where we could take a picture of the whole view. Pulau Ubin has some parallels with Gulang Isalnd, which is one of most beautiful resorts in China. I used to go to Gulang Island since it is quite close to my hometown. All the scenes reminded me of my colorful childhood.

We went for a stroll and had a picnic on the sand. The most exciting thing is riding a bicycle. It was baking hot in the morning, but it suddenly rained cats and dogs when I was cycling on the path in the woodland. In spite of the wet clothes, the scenery was spectacular especially in the rain. At night, I was so tired that I slept in the tent while some people were still energetic and played games overnight.

On New Year’s Eve, students of SM2 Batch 15^th from Fujian Province had hot pot together, which is a tradition. We were told that China Town that day was really crowded. Therefore, we went to a quiet place where the beautiful night scene regaled our eyes. We watched the CCTV Chinese New Year Gala until midnight. And I enjoyed the splendid firework display again. At that moment, though the harmonious and lively atmosphere impacts us, nostalgia seems to be growing and spreading.

As New Year is a start of a fresh clean new year, I hope everyone will achieve their goals and have a positive outlook for a better future.

My Childhood

 Like every child in a normal Chinese family, I am the only child. Children are expected to live up to parents' expectations, while I am lucky since I enjoyed my childhood without much pressure. Old pictures always remind me of the wonderful time which I spent with my friends.
 I looked like a boy with short hair when I was a child. I remember the first day I went to primary school. I was so naughty and outgoing that there was a girl who mistook me as a handsome little boy and watched me for the rest of the day. We usually played outside on Friday nights. We gathered in the square of the community and then played cartoon cards, played hide-and-seek, or performed a play. I had different kinds of costumes at home, so that my friends and I could act out the scenes of the soap opera‘s we watched on the television. Besides,   I also remember having lots of dolls that I imagined were real people and dressing them in clothes I made for them.

 Pets were important in my childhood. I had two little yellow ducks, some goldfishes, a white mouse, and a sparrow which I found hurt in front of my house. I was always very sad when my pets died for reasons like over eating. I took care of them and considered them as my family members. But I am kind of afraid of dogs. Although, ever since a dog jumped up at me and nearly bit my leg I have been afraid of all dogs.

  Dance played an important role in my childhood. I have been learning dancing since I was five years old. It is said, when I was young, I danced to the music whenever it was played. I love dancing and performing. I've travelled many places to perform and got many rewards. When I was about twelve years old, I decided to attend the ballet college in Beijing. Unfortunately, there are too many people who wanted to attend the Beijing dance college. And I was not slim enough. I failed. I was depressed at that moment, though I was finally accepted by Liaoning Dance College and Guangdong Dance College which are excellent colleges as well. Then, my father suggested that I could consider dance as a hobby as I also had good grades at school. It was the biggest dilemma in my childhood, and I think I made the right decision.

Childhood was awesome and I treasure my memories of it.

My first month in Singapore

I have been in Singapore  for a month full of pleasure since the moment we arrived at the airport with exhilaration. And I can’t believe how fast the time past by. I really enjoy my first month, though culture shock still confuses me sometimes.

I am from Fujian province in the south of China which many Singaporeans’ ancestors came from. The dialect in my hometown is the same with some Singaporeans’. Therefore, I am lucky that I don’t have any linguistic barriers, because I can even speak in Chinese, in my dialect, or in English when communicating with people here. And I am used to the hot weather which I think it is awesome that I don’t need to suffer the freezing cold winter days.

Although I feel familiar in this place, there are some differences that I really need to spend some time to get accustomed to. I would like to say that, the culture here is a kind of mixture of the Asian culture and the Western culture. Different kinds of people implies that we have different customs, festivals, cuisine, dressing and values, which we may not be able to come across each other easily. I have tried some local foods and some of them really taste palatable. I think, people from different countries respect each other, and I found local people incredibly hospitable.

We have travelled many scenic spots here. The most unforgettable one is Sentosa, which has a man-made beach. I love beaches and the sea which reminds me of my lovely hometown. We threw people into the sea and were thrown in as well. Also we played lots of games. At that moment, it was so relaxing that all my worries were out of my mind. I even stayed overnight on the New Year’s Eve and enjoyed the wonderful sunrise next morning, which is so meaningful that I will never forget.

I not only played and acquainted a group of friends, but I learned a lot from the experiences as well. The first month in Singapore is so unique for me. And I hope I will always keep the sense of freshness over Singapore and be optimistic about the future.