Day 19- 22nd March (Unnecessary disputes..)
After a long weekend on sea, all of us were unwilling to pull ourselves out of the room to get to the classroom :( I woke up early this morning so that I could catch up with the number of blog posts I’m lagging behind. IS lesson started at 1 and today’s class is about business in China-

Expanding your business into China:
China is rapidly changing into a mass consumer market. It is known all around that the best time to enter a market is when it is growing! However language composes an immense barrier as the main business language is English. To make investment in China, one should have a clear understanding of the Chinese culture and should establish strong foundations on values. Being flexible and adaptable to China’s practices do help in allowing an organization to be successful. Furthermore, it is an important element for strong business relationships and networks to be built with the Chinese.

张宏老师 also touched on several interesting points which I never knew existed in business etiquettes in China!
• Light handshake should last for at least ten seconds!
• Don’t be the first to reach for a restaurant bill!
• Wait for the Chinese to extend a hand first because not everyone uses this gesture
• Being late for an appointment is considered a serious insult in Chinese business
culture
• The best times for scheduling appointments are April to June and September to
October Unique huh? :)
• Avoid using terms like ‘Red China’ or ‘Mainland China’
• The Chinese do not like being touched by strangers :O
• Placing your hands in your mouth is considered vulgar (^^)
• Bright colors of any kind are deemed inappropriate for business related
appointments
• Flat shoes are the main footwear for women in Chinese business culture (I
don’t think this happens in Singapore? :/)
• Leaving a “clean plate” is perceived to mean that you are not given enough food

Our lessons ended at close to 5 because halfway through, Ngee Ann’s Deputy Principal, Mr Foo, dropped by to visit us! OIP Batch 4 ♥
I do not have any idea why he’s in Wuhan, but I believe it is for a business trip? The polytechnic is so large and there’re so many students around. In their 3 years in Ngee Ann, I doubt more than 50% of them will ever have the chance to meet the Principal or Deputy Principal. If I had not come for this trip, I don’t think I will get to meet Mr Foo as well :} He came to have a short conversation with us, talking about how lucky we are to be chosen to participate in OIP trip; asking if we’re able to adapt to the environment here and stuff like that. He mentioned that China’s things are C and G- Cheap and Good! Hah it doesn’t apply to everything I guess? ;)

After class, we headed back to our dorms for a short rest before it was time for dinner! Our top scholar, TAN SIHAO, treated us to dinner because of his GPA of 4! A few of the local students whom we were closer to came along as well. As usual, the food ordered was scrumptious :D I believe Sihao felt very happy and honored to have so many friends here for him to share his joy with ^^ AM I RIGHT TAN SIHAO? Congratulations, and thanks for the dinner! :D Our filling dinner ended at about 9. All of us returned to our dorms thereafter, and this is all I have for you for today! :)
Do you see this at almost every dinner we have? :) Haha like i said, it's their style of dining!


Reflection
Today’s IS lesson on business in China made me realized that there are so many rules and regulations to follow just to meet a certain task given. At some point of time, I will feel that they are more ‘kiasu’ than us, Singaporeans :/ The Chinese here are especially strict with regard to the respecting of culture differences and generation. This is a very good model for the younger age groups in Singapore as most of them are getting out of hand. Though I am still in that category, but I do agree that many are very ill-mannered, uncouth and do offend people very easily. There is a need to nurture and educate the young once again as they are the future ambassadors of Singapore.
The dropping by of the Deputy Principal did give me little surprise. Though there is zero understanding between him and me and the class, there was a slight happiness in me. I’m sure this happened to all of the others who were present there today. Mr Foo’s appearance made me realized that there are a lot of people over in Singapore, supporting me. It gave me a little kick on the butt as he made me feel more encouraged and motivated to doing well and living better here. However it made me think of my family and friends who are so far away from me :( But never mind, it’s already the 19th day! :D
In the afternoon, the girls, us, had a tiny dispute with our class’ guys and it felt outright awkward the entire day. 4 of us girls and the 3 other guys used to wait for each other every day to go to class and return back to dorms after class. But today’s situation was different. The guys seem to be living in their own world and so we were left to live in our own. It all started from an insignificant issue and we didn’t mean for it to happen. It is time we 7, practice the annotation of Forgive and Forget. Sometimes it is all these misunderstandings and small disagreements that make our friendship stronger and less fragile. I do not know if it applies to this incident but I hope things will get better ;{