A few days ago, we had a combined group outing with the Korean and Chinese SMEs. The programme of the day: Learning Lion Dance, followed by a trip to Jurong Bird Park. When we heard about the itinerary for the day, many of us were whining and complaining. "Huuuuhhh lion dance is so stupid, the bird park is so boring etc etc."
After breakfast, we boarded the bus for Radin Mas Community Centre. Upon arrival, we watched several demonstration videos on lion dance and dragon dance. They then brought us downstairs for some live demonstrations. After that, it was our turn! We were split up into groups for the day, while we were waiting I was talking to Na Hee, Jake, Grace and Mushroom(my team mates for the day) trying to get to know them better. When our instructor approached us with the equipment, we stood up apprehensively. None of us had done lion dance before and we were really nervous. I didn't want to make a fool out of myself! Turns out, it was pretty fun. We took turns trying to carrying the lion and running at other people to scare them. At the end of the session each group did a performance for the rest. The session turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected (:
Short but sweet demonstration from the group of instructors
Trying it out for ourselves!
Afterwards, we headed to Jurong Bird Park for lunch and to explore the park. Entering the bird park, my korean team mates were quite excited to check out specific bird exclosures. I tried my best to show them around despite not being very familiar with the park. We rode the panorail and watched some bird shows which were really entertaining as the birds flew over the audience and performed tricks showing off their skills. There was even a bird who could sing and talk! Everyone had fun together even though it was a pretty hot day. I really got to know some of my korean and chinese friends better. We talked a lot during the day, telling each other about our countries and cultures. Though not everyone spoke english, language was not a problem as I could speak basic mandarin and the koreans could speak really good english. Though I started the day with a negative mind set, I ended up really enjoying myself with my new friends as we learnt new things together and explored the bird park.
Having fun at the bird park
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