Racial Harmony Day

Yesterday was Racial Harmony Day. Quite entertaining I guess. For the non-CMC members. Unlike me. Actually, it was quite entertaining for me. Well, let's go into detail and not beat around the bush.

Okay. For the non-CMC members, they were supposed (*ahem*) to go around the cultural bazaar and buy food, watch a play (if I remember correctly - I wasn't there) and go for some Indian mass dance. So the day was pretty packed. But I guess most of them just stayed in class to DotA (*cough*).

As for us CMC members, we were participating in the cultural bazaar full-time, selling our foodstuff. It went well, with us selling some traditional delicacies, and we managed to earn more than twice our budget! While it seemed like it would fail and it was going to be boring waiting for customers, we kept ourselves busy, with customers coming and going.

Well, how I/we spent the day is not the point, the main point is the importance of racial harmony. You probably know why Racial Harmony Day is a day of celebration commemoration. Just in case you don't, you can google here is a brief overview. After the merger with Malaysia, many racial riots started between the Malays and Chinese. After these incidents, Singapore took racial harmony and religious freedom seriously. There you have it.

Now that we know the story, let's talk about my views. This day of commemoration is a great idea, as it's another holiday for us! it prevents racial and religious prejudice to a large extent (*cough* TKAM, TMOV). Well, erm. That's about it from me. My thoughts on prejudice then. Prejudice is what it is pre-judging. It's unfair to those prejudiced against. It's just unfair. So I feel that racial harmony is important. =D

Projects' Day Results

Hi all,

As expected, things did not turn our well. Basically, we did not get through. And we did not get a good mark either. Well, 'good' is subjective, but to us, 17/30 is not good at all. Now my best possible grade for Independent Studies is A2. Disappointed, of course, but then again, I did not think we would have gone through in the first place.

Firstly, if I remember correctly, we were the only group with a script, and that pretty much says a lot about our preparation to the judges. Also, we did not contact our mentor often and did most of the work ourselves, so while we may think that we did our best, it may not have been the required content or format. Such a pity. Well, I can't push all the blame to my group leader; it isn't entirely his fault, it's all of our faults. Well, better luck next time. If there's a next time.

Projects Day Finals

Hi all, Project's Day is just over. And I think my group did pretty well. Overall, my group's performance, as compared to a few other groups, was good, and things went smoothly. Anyways, we put a lot of effort into our project, so we hope we'll get in!

However, there may have been a slight problem regarding our Projects' Day. One of our judges said that our attitude was not up to standard. While meaning no offense to him, but I would like to point out: If our attitude was not there, then why would we be standing here presenting our project? If our attitude was bad, we should not have even got through into the semis! But then again, if he said that our attitude was bad, then we might not even get through to the finals even though our content was very good! Hopefully that's not the case.

At least we did our best - one of my beliefs - to do things to the best you can, regardless of what and how people treat you.

My Holiday - A Summary

Woah, that was fast.

Hi all, it's the last day of the holidays. (DD=)

As the title says, this will be a summary of my holidays. (week by week, I suppose)

Okay, let's begin. On the first week, it was pretty boring (:|), as only went out on Tuesday and Friday for my CCA (Chinese Orchestra). Anyways, I spent the rest of the time doing homework gaming. (*cough*) The first week passes without me doing anything constructive. (...)

On to my second week. My family had planned to visit my grandmother all the way up north in Malaysia, Alor Star, Kedah, to be specific. We set off on Saturday, my father driving a whole 10 hours non-stop. Then, for the next few days, my uncle and aunts took me out to visit museums, shopping malls, etc. Of course, I had my daily dose of gaming, but I also did some of my homework. (procrastination did NOT help)

The third week was homework spam week. In other words, I spammed homework. In other words, I tried to spam homework. In other words, I tried to finish up as much homework as possible. Enough of other words. The computer and other forms of entertainment was distracting, but I managed to finish up most of my Chinese and LA homework. (with the help of no CCA =D)

The fourth week. It went by very quickly. Like, very quickly. I was finishing up most of my homework on the first day (Monday). Then, I went for the iLTC (iLeaders Training Camp) for 3D2N at Aloha Changi Resorts. It was fun. Really fun. I spent 3hours sleeping for those 2 nights. On the first day we had an Amazing Race Around Singapore, during which I learnt that there was a difference between Botanical Gardens and Singapore Botanical Gardens. The next day, we planned a mini-game for other groups to play, had a barbeque and a "campfire" without the fire. Throughout the two nights, I was either watching the World Cup (GO South Africa! [they got kicked out anyways]), playing card games, or sleeping (that was the first night). Then, it was over. Less than 72 hours passed so quickly. I went back home, finished up the rest of my homework, and here I am, typing this blog post.

So, I enjoyed my holidays (pretty much). Did you?

Effects of War

Hi all, here's another mindmap I had to do during the holidays, regarding the effects of war on civilians as well as soldiers...

Merchant of Venice Mindmap

Hi all, this is one of the mindmaps I had to do for my LA holiday homework regarding the Merchant of Venice plot...

Term 2 e-Learning Task 2

Hi all,

This is Task 2: An Analysis of the poem. In case you want to read the poem again, here it is:

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight   Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free   Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance   Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole   Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light Henry M Bechtold

Okay, now for my analysis:

1. Point of View
The poet, being a soldier once himself, is anti-war, and he feels that war is unfair. He says that children are "in the darkness" and "have not seen the light"; the children are forced to be soldiers and learn how to fight, and do not know about what typical kids do (read, dance, etc.) War is seen to be "dark", and the children are trapped in war; "[they] are not free", have no freedom, and they cannot escape. He also mentions that the children are not even "[given] half a chance", let alone a chance, to experience life as a typical child, not knowing how to "read" or "dance". The children's "body and soul" are instead "[consumed]" by war, their whole "life and blood" left to drain on the battlefield.

2. Situation and Setting
In the poem, there is imagery of children being taught how to fight and take up arms during the Vietnam War. The contrast between "darkness" and "light", as well as its repetition, emphasizes the hopeless situation the children were in. War is portrayed as a "dark" place, cruel and depriving children from freedom, while other places free of war would be bright and cheery, with children with freedom and living their typical child lives.

3. Language/Diction
The poet uses various literary devices to emphasize the dire situation the children were in. Firstly, he repeats the phrase "Could we", emphasizing that the children are deprived of freedom and their usual child life. The imagery of a locked door with no key further shows how the children could not escape war. The personification of war consuming the children's "body and soul" emphasizes how cruel war was, and the contrast between "light" and "darkness" is similar to the contrast between war-free countries and war-struck countries: war-free countries are bright like "light" and cheery, while war-struck countries are "dark" and gloomy.

4. Personal Response
I feel pity and sympathetic for the children in war-struck countries. They have to face the hardships and harshness of war at such a young age that I doubt we can endure. They are forced to go to war for the sake of their country when they should obviously be enjoying their childhood in school or at home. In all, the poem evokes a strong feeling of pity for the children in war-struck countries in me.