And so we all went and had fun! Wheee....
First stop: Boat Quay! Though we don't know where exactly is the landing site of the IJ sisters, we do know that they landed somewhere here.
And then we followed the footsteps of the IJ sisters who went to the church beside CHIJMES. Yes, we WALKED from Boat Quay to that church. Thank goodness the weather was very good for walking. :) Frankly we chatted and walked so it didn't feel far at all.
At the church we learnt the history of the place. Next stop, CHIJMES, which is just next door.
Through the Gates of Hope. Apparently people had abandoned their babies here to the cared for by the nuns. What really amazed me was that within a few days after the sisters were given the Caldwell House to stay, with only scarce resources including just 1 frying pan for the whole group, they took in more than 10 fee paying students and even more orphans. Even though odds were against them, they did what they thought was right. How many of us can say for sure that we are able to do the same thing under the same circumstances? That really got me into a reflective mode.
The corridors of CHIJMES. How many had passed through their doors I can't say for sure. I think IJ students are really fortunate to belong to a school of such rich history and heritage. Unfortunately, I don't see the kind of school spirit I saw in other schools like St Andrews. The boys there sing their school anthem loud like a war cry that frightens enemies off. I've seen them fight in inter-school competitions, singing their anthem and cheering throughout the entire event. I'm not sure about IJ schools because I've never been to any such sports events as yet but I really hope such strong school heritage do not go to waste. Perhaps it's because I came from a school with very rich heritage too that made me feel so strongly about school spirit. Gan Eng Seng School (NOT Gan Eng Seng Secondary School PLEASE!) was established in 1885 for 'boys who were poor'. During my time, spirit was at an all time high. Now, I think the GESSian spirit is lost. No more pride. Just take a look at the way they wear their school uniform. Shirts tucked out, smoking etc. *FUMING MAD* NOT fit to wear the badge at all. ARGH! Ok too much ranting... IJ should never let their school spirit become like that of GESS.
We had lunch at BK of Cineleisure. So much junk food! I can't stand it! Haha...
And then we played our very own version of Amazing Race in Cineleisure! It's quite a good change considering we had a pretty emo morning with everyone getting into a reflective mode. So we did all sorts of funny things, DDR, Para-Para, Pool, Neo prints etc. Seems like my JC days are back again! I wanna take neo-prints with my best friends soooooon!! :D
We ended the day with some of the us going to Ding Tai Feng, Singapore Toy Museum or Eu Yang Sang. Apparently the Toy Museum group had the most fun. I wanna visit that too on my own next time! I was with the DTF group and we went to Paragon's Breadtalk and DTF to find out what made the company so successful. Just last month, I went to DTF 3 days in a row just to eat the same thing. My fav dish is the chicken soup with noodles thingie!! We had dinner at Fort Canning Lodge and though everyone was very tired, we did went back with quite a lot to think and reflect upon.
For me, I think what I remembered most strongly about that day was about the IJ sister's journey to Singapore and how they persevered against all odds. Human spirit, when pushed to the limit, can work miracles. Are we pushing ourselves enough? In today's comfortable world, are we getting too soft? Is Singapore turning into a nation of softies?
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