Ong Qian Hui Denise 2300652A TGE08

Category A: Our Own Backyard - Glistening Montage: Geylang Cultural Journey

During the Geylang Cultural Journey, we visited many temples and churches. At the Amitabha Buddhist Centre, we saw the giant golden prayer wheel at the foyer of with 156 billion "Om Mani Padme Hum" mantras. We learnt about the belief that by turning the prayer wheel once, you will receive as many merits and blessings as the number of mantras on the prayer wheel. While we were at the Chong Hood Lim Association, the tour guide explained to us the differences between Taoism and Buddhism that pure Buddhists do not burn joss papers. However, due to modernization, Singaporean Chinese now follow a combination of Buddhism and Taoism. We learnt that the Soon Thian Keing Temple is the oldest Chinese temple in Singapore and is in the Singapore Book of Records for this reason. We also visited the Char Yong (Dabu) Association, which is a museum about Hakkas, a Chinese subgroup. We learnt that it is one of the oldest Chinese associations in Singapore, founded in 1858.

Category B: Beyond Our Shores - Body Art: Henna Painting - Beautiful Encounters with Gold

During the Henna Painting session, we learnt about the history of henna and tattoos, such as the different cultures and tribes that use them, the purpose of them such as henna being used for cooling and medical properties and tattoos being used for tribal identity and rites of passage. We then practiced how to draw henna on paper by following the instructor's demonstrations on the whiteboard. It was quite challenging as the angle and right amount of pressure was needed to draw lines and designs that are of the same thickness and come out nicely instead of getting "cut off". I then started to draw different designs on my own hand, such as animals, and also drew on my friends' hands. One of my friends drew a flower henna design on my hand which turned out really nice. She followed an example she found online, as well as the instructors' demonstrations as they also taught us how to draw flowers and other designs we commonly see in henna drawings.

Category C: New Connections - Self-Directed Activity

For the Self-Directed Activity, my friends and I watched "CODA", a movie about a child of deaf adults. The movie is about a girl, Ruby, who is the only one in her family who can hear, while the rest are deaf. While trying to achieve her dream to be a singer, she tried to help her family with their rocky fishing business. Throughout the movie, it showed the difficulties of both point-of-views of deaf people and being the only person who can hear amongst those who are deaf.

Reflection

The three activities contributed to each capital of the Global Mindset. For the Geylang Cultural Journey, it contributed to the Cognitive Capital, strengthening my cosmopolitan outlook about the Chinese Culture. I was able to understand my own Chinese culture better through the experience of visiting the different temples and museums during this heritage trail, observing and analyzing the different media shown at the museum, as well as the religious objects and Chinese deity statues at the temples. It allowed me to learn about the differences of the various Chinese subgroups, such as the culture, lifestyles of the people, language and so on, and comparing them with my own as a Singaporean Chinese, which strengthens my cognitive complexity. I was also able to learn about other religions and cultures as we passed by churches as well as a mosque. This allows me to be more savvy about the world as I gained more knowledge not only about my own culture but also others' cultures. 

For the Henna Painting, it contributed to the Social Capital. This experience boosted my understanding of other cultures outside of my own. Alongside the instructors' explanation of the origin and uses of henna and tattoos in different religions and parts of the world, my Muslim friends also shared some of their own knowledge of henna to our other friends and I, which allowed us to engage in conversations about the topic together. During this activity, not only were we able to practice drawing henna on ourselves and ask the instructors to draw intricate henna designs for us, we also got to draw on our friends' hands, building a lasting memory which strengthens our friendships and forge a closer bond, as well as intercultural empathy and diplomacy. 

Lastly, for the Self-directed Activity, it contributed to the Psychological Capital of the Global Mindset. As my friends and I had to watch "CODA", a movie about the main character, who is the only one in her family without auditory impairment. While trying to reach her dreams of becoming a singer, she was also trying to help her family's struggling business. After watching the film, my friends and I had a discussion about the questions that were provided for us for the activity. Through this activity, it strengthened my passion for diversity as the movie allowed me to see the different perspectives of hearing and deaf people, as well as their respective struggles. The movie also allowed me to better understand the life of deaf people as such people were casted for the movie, making it even more realistic. My friends and I's discussion also allowed us to better understand one another and our differing perspectives regarding the given questions to be discussed. 

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