PLANNING

Meghna, Anjika, Candace, Caitlin, Lia and I are in a group together and we are planning our Project Week to Taipei, Taiwan. We have each designated roles for ourselves and we are each responsible for different aspects of planning the trip:

Meghna- Activity Coordinator

Anjika – Creativity Coordinator

Candace – Logistics/Budgeting

Isabella – Logistics

Caitlin – Media Coordinator

Lia – First Aid

 

Initially we planned to do activity and service as our CAS elements, however the service we wanted to work with in Taiwan, the Tzu Chi Foundation, was rejected by the school. This was very frustrating for us at the time because we had already contacted them and were excited to work with them but the school concluded that we couldn’t. I think this was because they claimed that we didn’t have enough connections to the organisation, even though we have several connections to the Singapore branch and teachers/students who have previously worked with the Taiwan Headquarters. This was a challenge as we were told quite late in the planning process so we had to quickly abandon those plans and work on finding creativity options to replace them.

We had to email several different organisations and people which overall improved our communication skills and also taught me more about how to have a more formal register. It also required us to be very organised and efficient as we had to know exactly what to say to our contacts and keep a professional relationship with them to build trust and a positive impression.

One of our emails to an activity provider whilst trying to see what we wanted to do and who we wanted to work with on our trip

 

Here is a video Anjika and I made reflecting on our initial planning stages

 

THE TRIP

During Project week I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I learned about the skills needed to be independent such as how to navigate, how to be self-sufficient and how to improvise when things don’t go as planned. I thought the trust we were given and the freedom we had was very liberating and I really appreciated the experience. I got to participate in activities that I enjoyed doing and that also connected to Taiwanese culture and history. I thought that the cooking class was so interesting because we were taught some traditional dishes eaten in Taiwan and it wasn’t just fun to make, but it was also delicious! When I got home I actually tried out the recipe that I learned!

Despite our enjoyment, there were a few instances where our group got into some difficulties. Our first dilemma came right as we were leaving the airport. We all rushed to catch the next train into town but while some of our group was in front, the rest trailed behind. Caitlin managed to get onto the train but as the rest of us approached her, the doors closed. We all panicked but remembered that it wasn’t going to help any of us. We just gave her a call to stop at the next station and that we’d take the next train and meet her at wherever she was. This was only a minor incident but because it was at the very beginning of our trip, it served as a lesson to us to stick together and be aware of one another for the rest of the trip.

 

 

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