Day 5 reflection -Adi ⊙_⊙

What i most enjoyed throughout this trip was all the times spent together as one team.Even though i hated the painting, i think it brought all of us much more closer together.All of us has put so much sweat and pain into that basketball court and because of that all of us are much closer together.Im just afraid that when we get back to Singapore it wont be the same.

My most disliked part in Thailand was the heat as its was unbearable ‘︿’ .Every step taken out of the shade was just intense heat.I also was very annoyed at all the insects buzzing around my face ๏︿๏.The language barrier was hard at first but after some time has passed it got somewhat better ʕ•ε•ʔ.

The Royal Sufficiency Project was very educational.It showed me how wise the 9th king was.It also showed me one of the most factual statements ever said.The 9th king said that, ‘Poverty would not be a thing, if we all shared what we gained’. That was legit wise ๏_๏.

When i get back to Singapore, im gonna be more grateful and appreciative of what i have. The Thailand kids left an impact on me, showing me its not always about technology.I am definitely gonna miss Thailand but im gonna try and bring back all the attitudes of the Thai people.

Jacelyn’s reflections 4.0

Enjoy and benefitted most

It’s still spending time and having fun with the students and my schoolmates. I’ve met, I’ve learnt and I’ve lots of fun with them. I think the picture of my schoolmates and the Thailand kids’ having fun, would always be deeply carved in my heart. 

Difficult/ Worst 

It’ll be the parting between us & us and the Thailand kids. The strong bond that was established in these three days was something that did not occur to me before the trip. It was unexpected that I’ll have so much fun together with my friends and the students. Language barrier was then nothing to us anymore. In addition, today will be the last day of our trip. When we’re back in Singapore or in school, communicate between us will not occur as frequent as during the trip. However this being said, there wasn’t a point of time in the trip when I regretted the decision of taking part in this Overseas Service Learning Program. No matter what is going to happen in the future, the memories of this trip will always be with me for eternity. 

Learning Point ~

The trip to the royal sufficiency, taught me a valuable lesson and one of them would be : do not take things for granted. Back in Singapore, as students, we have all the resources we need. But in Thailand, they do not have the luxury to be blessed with the resources we have. But compare to the learning attitude between the students from the two country, there’s a significant difference. Although they might not have resources we have, they are much more appreciative and much more eager to learn compared to us. And although we have the resources, we would be whining and complaining, instead of thinking of how to improve ourselves and spend our time wisely. 

Act differently in Singapore ~

Everyone have 24 hours, and it depends on how we spend and prioritize our materials. Instead of spending a non-efficient 24 hours, I would now set a timetable for myself to control and spend my time wisely. Additionally, in Thailand, I’ve learnt a lot about their culture. One would be : Being considerate and respecting, not only the elders, but everyone. It is a basic action everyone in the world must attain, but there are still moments, whereby we subconsciously do things which will disrespect and make others feel uncomfortable / unhappy. Therefore, when I’m back in Singapore, I would be more mindful of the words I use and the actions I do. 

Day 5 Reflection

I enjoyed the rice planting as i had alot of fun walking in the deep mud together with my friends.

The most challenging part was painting the basketball court under the hot sun and trying to communicate with the thai’s in english.

The Royal Sufficiency Project Trip taught me that we have to work smart not work hard and we also have to learn to recycle often.

I will try to not waste my money on stuff that i dont need and too much money on food.I will be more appreciative on what we have in Singapore as we have a very good learning environment in compared to Thailand and I will also start working smart instead of working hard.

reflection day 5 (Natrisha)

i have enjoyed the time when i was painting because the painting actually brought us closer to each other since we need teamwork for painting

the most challenging part for me was saying goodbye to the students because i really connected with the students , if i could stay longer i would’ve because they look so determined and i was just gettin to know them

i learnt that not everything you want you can get , instead you have to work for it

i would interact w other ppeople more often now ,knowing that they are friendly

Day 4 reflection by nabiel

Most enjoyed

My most enjoyed moment is when we were not allowed to use our phone most of the time. This is because we were all able to communicate and i was able to get vloser to frens and even make new frens.

Most difficult

My most difficult moment is tomorrow which when we will have to say goodbyes to each other as sch is starting soon and all of us will not be as close as this trip.

One thing i learnt at the sufficiency project

One thing i learnt is that we should not take things that we have which others dont for granted and that if we do not want anything, we should try our best to share with others if possible.

What would u like to act differently

I would want to share whatever i have that i do not want if others before thinking of throwing it away

Day 4 reflections- rachel

What have you most enjoyed or benefited from?

I enjoyed the bonding session with my group mates and the fellowship we were able to have. Even though the first few days I wanted to go home as I wasn’t as close to my group mates but now I want to have more days with them as I was able to have stronger bonds with my group mates on the last few days.

I also enjoyed taking my temperature as it was fun, it felt like I was taking a picture in the thermometer.

What was most difficult or challenging?

The painting as there was a lack of resources for everyone to be able to share and paint at the same time so most people either contributed a little or take many breaks.

The heat as my sweat drop into the paint while painting and that my feet burns as we didn’t wear shoes. Now I know that being in Singapore is very blessed and that I should appreciate what I have and not take things for granted.

The flies as they kept surrounding me. When the flies surrounded me I got distracted and could not focus when the students were talking or when I was at the royal sufficiency project. I now know that I should focus so that maybe I will takeaway more valuable lessons.

Lastly is the toilet, it was hard to try to aim at the squat toilet. In Thailand the toilet was mostly squat and there were not much seated toilet so it was hard to pee. I realised how much difference there is from the Singapore toilet and Thailand toilet. This shows how much difference there is in the toilet and that Singapore is much more develop. When I go back to Singapore I will train to face hard challenges like the toilet. This is not the first time squatting toilet but their squat toilets are different and scarier to squat on its as if you could fall face flat on the floor.

What is one thing that I have learnt from the royal sufficiency project?

I learn that there is a jar to fill water but if the jar has many holes in it, it can never be filled. If the water here is our money and the holes are like our daily expenses like food, utilities, medical supplies, education ,etc. Despite how smart you are you can never be rich if your expenses is more than your revenue. If your expense is spent all on food you have no money to save. I learnt that I must make wise decisions.

How would I live or act differently after this trip?

I would reach out to poor families in Singapore and also to help children in student care centres or lengkok Bahru children.

Day 4 Reflection – Xue’er

The thing I most enjoyed and benefitted from this trip would be teaching an interacting with the students of Ban Mae Sa School. I enjoyed it as it was fun trying and failing to communicate with them as well as leading them in their work. I benefitted from this as it helped me learn to put up a false front of confidence even when I am not.

The thing that was the most challenging was communication.In fact, due to our lack of communication, twice I was left out of group meetings and I had felt angry and hurt that I was not included when I did not know that the first time it happened was because they were trying to be nice and let me focus on my work while they did other work. The second time was because I was not aware that we had missing items and was not told due to everyone worrying over last minute material preparation. I regret putting my original anger-fueled thoughts in a previous reflection as it wasn’t fair for me to have just said it without knowing their reasons behind their actions.

The Most prominent thing I learnt from the visit to the Royal Sufficiency Project site is that a great change followed with success comes with everyone working in the same way and together. Not as 1 person, village or provinence, but as a nation. In order for their goals to be reached by that theory’s means, it would take all to make a concious effort to make it work.

When we go back to Singapore, I will try and upcycle more of my items instead of immediately throwing them out when I’m done with them or they have been broken.

Day 4 reflection by hafiz

I enjoy the most during the trip is when everyone participated the teaching process even though most of us is first timers.

I didnt enjoy most during the trip is the heat. Its like i expected it to be less hot but no3 its like im in an oven but regardless we as osl team finished the painting.

What i learn from the royal sufficiency is that to be rich you must be wise in terms of spending and to be rich must fill in the holes from the pail.

I would be more open minded and talk more.

Final day reflection by Nicholas

I found that the most challenging aspect of this trip was really that I couldn’t get through to any of the students until late into the first lesson of the second day. Even them I had to rely on my teamates because I couldn’t handle talking to the kids for an extended period of time.

At the Royal Self Sufficency project, I learnt that our lives don’t have to be luxurious for us to enjoy it. The late king said something along the lines of wanting people to live a sufficent life, not a luxurious life. And when I looked at the students in Ban Maesa School, they have little technology, most don’t have phones, and yet they look so happy each and every day. I realised I could learn a lot from that.

I’ve now resolved to try and cut down my time using my laptop for non-school related asignments. I’ll be taking baby steps like stopping 15 minutes early each day and eventually get to a point where I’m only using my laptop for a healthy amount of time (1-2 hours)

But overall, the best part of this trip by far, was all the laughs and joy we all expirenced in each other’s company. I’ll probably never forget these days that I can never get back or expirence again. Through all the challenges and disagreements we remained close. I’ll never regret coming to this trip, all the memories we have made all our hardships worth the effort put in by all my amazing teammates.

Day 4 reflection – Shunice

1. I have enjoyed my time with the Thai kids as well as our OSL team most. Before the OSL thing, I didn’t know anyone in the team. But through this trip, I have got to interact with much more people as compared to how I was previously.
2. I was afraid of having to interact with people that I didn’t know before OSL so I hesitated to join the project. But now thinking back, I didn’t regret my dicision and I had a lot of fun here in this trip. During the first day of teaching, I had a hard time trying to communicate with the Thai children as we did not understand each other and I didn’t know what to talk about with them. But as the day goes by, I somehow was able to teach the children on the second day of teaching. We did communicate a little and I manage to understand what they meant.
3. 1 thing I learnt about the Royal sufficient trip was that the King puts the Thai people as first priority and cared a lot for them. The food that the Thai produce are given to the Thai first then the leftover food are then sold off to other people.
4. I would try to communicate more with others and express my feeling more. I would also start to appreciate what I have and be responsible for what I do.