5D4N Scouts and NPCC Overseas Exchange and VIA Programme in Chiang Mai
Short Description:
The Scouts and NPCC had an enriching overseas
exchange with Tedsaban School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Tedsaban School hosted
us with their traditional Scouts ceremony and exciting activities such as
outdoor cooking. The students learnt a lot about each other’s culture and
practices through this overseas exchange and Values In Action (VIA) programme.
This is also the first time students from the Scouts and NPCC
Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) have a combined overseas trip and worked
together to achieve their common objectives. Other than cultural immersion, the Scouts
and the NPCC cadets also learnt lessons about leadership and teamwork when they
worked on their VIA project at Baan Pa Mued Primary School.

Students’ Reflections:
This Chiang Mai trip was an eye-opening experience for me.
Through this trip, I was able to learn more about the culture and way of life
in Chiang Mai. I learnt that the people of Chiang Mai are very respectful
towards their elders and peers. They greet each other by putting their hands
together and bowing. In addition, the people in Chiang Mai are also very
responsible for their own things. The students do not rely on cleaners to clean
up the school for them. Instead, they are responsible for their own school's
cleanliness and I think that this is a very good mind-set that we should learn
from.
Other than being exposed to a new culture, I was
also able to benefit greatly from the planning and preparation of our VIA. One
of the things I learnt was the importance of teamwork. It would be impossible
for one person to plan the whole VIA. Therefore, it was crucial for everyone to
work together. Furthermore, I also realised the importance of communication.
When we had to interact with the scouts and the children in Chiang Mai, we were
faced with a language barrier. Hence, we were required to be more expressive to
get our message across. However, we still had some misunderstandings along the
way. Therefore, this experience made me really thankful that I'm able to communicate
easily with my peers.
Overall, this Chiang Mai trip taught me many
lessons that I am able to apply in my own life.
-
Wan Ting (3E4, Scouts)
The trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand was certainly an eye-opener
and I definitely learnt a lot from the trip. I not only learnt about the
culture in Chiang Mai, but also many life lessons and leadership skills.
During the trip, we visited two schools in Chiang Mai and we
realised that there are very big differences between the students in Singapore
and Chiang Mai. For instance, the students in Chiang Mai are very respectful
towards their elders, such as their teachers. During our scouts’ exchange, the
Thai scouts would always salute their teachers whenever they meet them. I think
that this is really interesting and it shows how much respect they have for
their elders. This is something we can learn and apply in Singapore.
During the trip, I was given the chance to be the Overall-in-Charge (OIC) of
the students on the last day. I learnt that a leader has to be responsible for
those under their charge. For instance, when we departed from a venue or
arrived at a new place, the OIC had to make sure that everyone was present and
well. I also learnt that a leader must be open minded and be able to adapt to
changes. During our VIA, as the student in charge of a station, I had to modify
the rules and ways to play the game at my station to make it easier for the
children to play.
Overall, this was a very enriching experience for everyone.
-
Ruei Leng (3E1, Scouts)
From this overseas trip, I learnt many things as well as bond
with my fellow scout mates and seniors. This trip also helped strengthen my
ability to work in a team and I learned the importance of respect.
I also learnt a lot from the visits to the two schools in Thailand. For
example, when they were carrying out their outdoor cooking, they only used
twigs and did not use any leaves. This surprised me as back in Singapore we
used a mixture of both. That is definitely something to bring back and teach my
scout mates and troop mates that did not go for the overseas trip.
Furthermore, the children in Chiang Mai were really mature. They
were really kind and not very playful. For example, during lunch, they offered
the food to us and asked us to eat first before they had theirs. After lunch,
they even offered to help us clear our plates, bring them to the back where the
hose was and wash them. This is very different for us as we are only required
to put the dirty plates into a container and the stall owner would do all the
cleaning themselves. This made me realise how privileged we are in Singapore
and that we should not take things for granted.
-
Samantha (2E4, Scouts)
This
overseas trip to Chiang Mai was wonderful and I feel that I learnt quite a lot
from this trip. I personally feel that the activities which were more enriching
were the night debrief on Day 3 and the VIA activity on Day 4. On Day 3, we had
a really long debrief. During the debrief, the teachers provided their own
viewpoints and perspectives to try and anticipate problems that could occur the
following day so that we would be well-prepared. A number of changes to the
activities were made during that debrief.
I learnt that planning cannot be done by one person. It would be a lot easier if
everyone or an organised committee came together to plan, because not only
would we have more creative ideas, we could also provide our own views and
anticipate problems that could arise, such as ensuring that there is sufficient
logistics so that the game can take place or adding buffer time. Minor things
like these can cause the event to become chaotic and go wrong in many ways.
Thus, foreseeing these problems and coming up with solutionswould be a useful
skill to have. From the games, I also learnt that if there is a language
barrier that makes it difficult to communicate with our participants,
traditional action games would work perfectly as they can be understood through
actions and demonstrations and do not require much explanation. This is something
I can apply when planning future activities.
On the day of the VIA itself, there were many things that we were quite
uncertain of, for example we did not know how the school compound was like and
so we did not know where the games could take place and how to organise the
kids there. Thus, immediately after arriving, we had to scan our surroundings
and find suitable locations for the games to take place. We had to be flexible
and adapt to our situation and environment to ensure the games and plans could proceed
without issues. For example, the weather that day turned out to be surprisingly
hot, so the group ICs took the initiative to bring the local kids out for water
breaks. They had to make minor changes to the plan so as to ensure everyone was
hydrated. In addition, as the OIC and coordinator for the VIA, I feel that I
could have taken more initiative as a leader. Instead of waiting for
instructions from the teachers, I should rely on my coordinators and myself
more. There were many opportunities for me to take the lead and initiate but I
had not made full use of it.
From the learning journey to the school, I realised that the students in Chiang
Mai eat the same food during recess yet they do not complain at all. However,
in my school, I would often hear students complaining about the food choices in
school and how bad it tastes. This learning journey made me realise how
privileged we are and learn that we should not take the things around us for
granted.
Overall, the trip was really insightful and I learnt about the culture and
lifestyle of kids there and quite a lot of leadership skills as an OIC. It was
a fun and enriching experience for me and I think everyone else enjoyed it too.
-
Wen Kai (3E3, NPCC)
This overseas trip to Chiang Mai was really memorable for me
as I learnt a lot from the different activities there. Being in Singapore, with
easy access to the Internet, we do not usually play with our friends especially
when we are all stuck in our own online world. However, by just spending half a
day with the students in Chiang Mai, I realised how they can use simple leaves,
rock and ropes to create a really enjoyable game for everyone. Even if they do
not have convenient access to the internet like we do, they truly enjoyed
themselves. I was also embarrassed at how most of the kids there were younger
than I am yet they knew how to set fire with twigs and leaves while I only knew
how to spend time playing with my mobile phone. The students were also able to
use ropes to create handmade obstacles. They were also responsible and took the
initiative to do things. This is one of the biggest take away from this
learning journey. In a nutshell, I hope as an NPCC Year Head, I can teach my
cadets those same values that I learnt from the students there.
-
Zhi Sin (3N2, NPCC)
This overseas trip to Chiang Mai with Scouts was definitely
an enriching and insightful experience for me.
Firstly, what I feel I learnt most from was the valuable
debriefs we had every night. The 2-3 hours we spent every night allowed me to
reflect on many things such as the qualities and values a leader should have.
One of the things I learnt from the debrief is that a leader should have proper
time management and be able to make decisions independently and logically when
the need arises.
Working with students from another CCA was also a great
experience for me because we have different ways of doing things. Hence, I
learnt the importance of having an open mind and looking for common objectives
to work towards together.
Apart from learning about what it takes to be a leader, I've also seen the
differences between Thailand and Singapore in terms of the cultures and
practices. The way the Thais practise Buddhism is slightly different from
Singapore and thus I found it an eye opening experience. One belief that they
had that was different was that walking around a pagoda 3 times would bring
them good luck. In addition to the difference in religious practices, the way
food is served in schools in Thailand is also very different from what I
experienced in Singapore. In my school, we have a canteen with different stalls
serving different kinds of food. However, in Thailand, the students had to
bring their own plates and utensils before collecting food from their teachers.
They also did not have a choice as to the kind of food they wanted. All they
had was rice with scrambled eggs and a slice of bread with jam. I realised that
we are a lot more fortunate yet there are still students complaining about the
variety of food we have in Zhonghua and choose to buy food from places outside
Zhonghua.
All in all, this trip was a very fruitful one which enabled me
to learn a lot more. As a Unit Head, I hope to share some of the things I
learnt with my unit and lead my cadet leaders and juniors better.
- Nigel (3E4, NPCC)