By Pertz Liao, Jen Wang, Renee Klioufis and Andrew Tarn
As early as last Friday, students from all over the world began to file onto the busy streets of Singapore. Some had the opportunity to explore their new surroundings, while others only had time to explore their hotel rooms. News traveled fast among students about the grand shopping malls, the clean atmosphere and the wonderful food native to Singapore. For many, the excitement about coming to Singapore is greater than the excitement about attending THIMUN-Singapore III.Upon arrival, delegates were greeted by the unrelenting heat and the dazzling lights of the city, but their feelings of fatigue and nervousness were quickly eliminated by the excitement and anticipation of the THIMUN Singapore conference.For those delegates who arrived early, the itinerary for the first few days of their stay was full to the brim, with visits to Far East plaza, Tangs on Orchard Road, Sentosa, Raffles, the marina and the quays. Shopping in Singapore ranges from high-end department stores to the bargain markets, where better deals can be found. Some of the favorite stores among students include Forever 21, Top Shop, Zara, Mango, Charles and Keith, Ripcurl, and Diesel.Delegates from many countries have already “shopped till they dropped,” as well as danced the night away at concerts at the marina. Head of delegation for Thailand, Amelia Stojevski from the Presbyterian Ladies College in Sydney, said, “We are all very excited to be in Singapore and have enjoyed our stay so far such as sightseeing, shopping and experiencing the Singaporean culture.”One of the earliest schools to arrive in Singapore was the American School Foundation from Mexico City. Participants from this school arrived on Friday, November 16 after an exhausting thirty-hour flight, but they had plenty of time to wander around. They were able to go shopping in downtown Singapore, go on a city tour, and visit Jurong Bird Park with their host families from the local Overseas Family School. Students from the Shekou International School in Shenzhen, China arrived on Monday in hopes of exploring the city. Fortunately, they were able to shop at some of the major malls located here in Singapore city as well as take in some of sight-seeing. They were able to go on a “boat ride at Harbor Front as well as a ride in a cable car,” as told by Angel Chui, Delegate of Cote d’Ivoire in GA2. Delegates and press members from National Experimental High School arrived on Tuesday afternoon and only had time to go shopping at one of the malls close to their hotel. The selection of stores was described by Clifford Chen, Delegate of Haiti, as “really girly,” but he also said that “the mall has really good food.” Caught off-guard by the weather, some students were forced to walk from the MRT station back to the hotel in the rain.Those from Western Academy of Beijing arrived on Tuesday morning and were able to visit Sentosa, the resort island of Singapore. Beaches attract travelers to the island, which features three different coastal stretches. Palawan Beach is a good place for families, while Silosa Beach is the “hippest beach in Singapore” according to the official Sentosa website, http://www.sentosa.com/, and Tanjong beach is known as the tranquil beach. Sentosa Island, despite its popularity as a beach tourist attraction, also offers an educational experience. Sentosa Island was originally a fort controlled by the British and has now been recreated into a museum, which has one of the largest collection of World War II memorabilia. Alex Zhu, Delegate of Egypt in GA2, stated that Sentosa was “a nice place, but it was a bit humid.” Students from Concordia International School in Shanghai also had the opportunity to travel to Sentosa. Arriving on Sunday afternoon, they have already gone shopping on Orchard Road, explored the Clark-Key area, and even experienced luging. Kangda Zhou, Delegate of Armenia in GA1, remarked that “Singapore is really hot and humid, but the people are very polite and friendly and the food is delicious!” Delegates have grasped cultural differences, such as not being allowed to chew gum and ensuring that there is no inappropriate exposure of undergarments, and finally coming to terms with the climatic differences. For those from the lower southern hemisphere, the humidity and lack of sunshine has been a shock. Nevertheless, all delegates have had splendid times exploring the city’s sights and shopping centers. Delegate of Botswana, So Young An from International School Eastern Seaboard in Thailand, arrived Tuesday night and expressed her joy of jumping into Singapore’s shopping straight away: “We went to the hotel to leave our bags and then shopped all along Orchard Road and we are hoping to do the same thing tonight. Oh, and of course writing our resolutions.”Schools that are relatively closer, such as those from other parts of Asia, arrived slightly later. Those from the International School of Beijing cut it a bit close, arriving at 12:30 AM the night before (or rather the morning of) the conference. Arriving so late meant the students were not able to get out; however, they were able to explore the 7-11 next to their hotel. Students were a bit disappointed at the lack of free time to go shopping and visit different sites prior to the start of the conference, as about half the students from ISB are new to THIMUN-Singapore this year.With the looming preparation for the conference, outings were cut short to ensure that the THIMUN conference would take precedence over extracurricular activites. Delegate of Thailand, Stephanie Ralph, stated that, “We have all done a lot of preparation with staying up late writing speeches last night after dinner.”Across the board, all the participants of THIMUN-Singapore are excited about the opportunities that Singapore presents. Many expressed enthusiasm about the shopping on Orchard Road and the dance and night safari this Friday at the Singapore Zoo. They are eager to make an impression at this conference and to take home wonderful memories of new friends and the new sites they will encounter here in Singapore.
As early as last Friday, students from all over the world began to file onto the busy streets of Singapore. Some had the opportunity to explore their new surroundings, while others only had time to explore their hotel rooms. News traveled fast among students about the grand shopping malls, the clean atmosphere and the wonderful food native to Singapore. For many, the excitement about coming to Singapore is greater than the excitement about attending THIMUN-Singapore III.Upon arrival, delegates were greeted by the unrelenting heat and the dazzling lights of the city, but their feelings of fatigue and nervousness were quickly eliminated by the excitement and anticipation of the THIMUN Singapore conference.For those delegates who arrived early, the itinerary for the first few days of their stay was full to the brim, with visits to Far East plaza, Tangs on Orchard Road, Sentosa, Raffles, the marina and the quays. Shopping in Singapore ranges from high-end department stores to the bargain markets, where better deals can be found. Some of the favorite stores among students include Forever 21, Top Shop, Zara, Mango, Charles and Keith, Ripcurl, and Diesel.Delegates from many countries have already “shopped till they dropped,” as well as danced the night away at concerts at the marina. Head of delegation for Thailand, Amelia Stojevski from the Presbyterian Ladies College in Sydney, said, “We are all very excited to be in Singapore and have enjoyed our stay so far such as sightseeing, shopping and experiencing the Singaporean culture.”One of the earliest schools to arrive in Singapore was the American School Foundation from Mexico City. Participants from this school arrived on Friday, November 16 after an exhausting thirty-hour flight, but they had plenty of time to wander around. They were able to go shopping in downtown Singapore, go on a city tour, and visit Jurong Bird Park with their host families from the local Overseas Family School. Students from the Shekou International School in Shenzhen, China arrived on Monday in hopes of exploring the city. Fortunately, they were able to shop at some of the major malls located here in Singapore city as well as take in some of sight-seeing. They were able to go on a “boat ride at Harbor Front as well as a ride in a cable car,” as told by Angel Chui, Delegate of Cote d’Ivoire in GA2. Delegates and press members from National Experimental High School arrived on Tuesday afternoon and only had time to go shopping at one of the malls close to their hotel. The selection of stores was described by Clifford Chen, Delegate of Haiti, as “really girly,” but he also said that “the mall has really good food.” Caught off-guard by the weather, some students were forced to walk from the MRT station back to the hotel in the rain.Those from Western Academy of Beijing arrived on Tuesday morning and were able to visit Sentosa, the resort island of Singapore. Beaches attract travelers to the island, which features three different coastal stretches. Palawan Beach is a good place for families, while Silosa Beach is the “hippest beach in Singapore” according to the official Sentosa website, http://www.sentosa.com/, and Tanjong beach is known as the tranquil beach. Sentosa Island, despite its popularity as a beach tourist attraction, also offers an educational experience. Sentosa Island was originally a fort controlled by the British and has now been recreated into a museum, which has one of the largest collection of World War II memorabilia. Alex Zhu, Delegate of Egypt in GA2, stated that Sentosa was “a nice place, but it was a bit humid.” Students from Concordia International School in Shanghai also had the opportunity to travel to Sentosa. Arriving on Sunday afternoon, they have already gone shopping on Orchard Road, explored the Clark-Key area, and even experienced luging. Kangda Zhou, Delegate of Armenia in GA1, remarked that “Singapore is really hot and humid, but the people are very polite and friendly and the food is delicious!” Delegates have grasped cultural differences, such as not being allowed to chew gum and ensuring that there is no inappropriate exposure of undergarments, and finally coming to terms with the climatic differences. For those from the lower southern hemisphere, the humidity and lack of sunshine has been a shock. Nevertheless, all delegates have had splendid times exploring the city’s sights and shopping centers. Delegate of Botswana, So Young An from International School Eastern Seaboard in Thailand, arrived Tuesday night and expressed her joy of jumping into Singapore’s shopping straight away: “We went to the hotel to leave our bags and then shopped all along Orchard Road and we are hoping to do the same thing tonight. Oh, and of course writing our resolutions.”Schools that are relatively closer, such as those from other parts of Asia, arrived slightly later. Those from the International School of Beijing cut it a bit close, arriving at 12:30 AM the night before (or rather the morning of) the conference. Arriving so late meant the students were not able to get out; however, they were able to explore the 7-11 next to their hotel. Students were a bit disappointed at the lack of free time to go shopping and visit different sites prior to the start of the conference, as about half the students from ISB are new to THIMUN-Singapore this year.With the looming preparation for the conference, outings were cut short to ensure that the THIMUN conference would take precedence over extracurricular activites. Delegate of Thailand, Stephanie Ralph, stated that, “We have all done a lot of preparation with staying up late writing speeches last night after dinner.”Across the board, all the participants of THIMUN-Singapore are excited about the opportunities that Singapore presents. Many expressed enthusiasm about the shopping on Orchard Road and the dance and night safari this Friday at the Singapore Zoo. They are eager to make an impression at this conference and to take home wonderful memories of new friends and the new sites they will encounter here in Singapore.
No comments:
Post a Comment