Day 6 - Marking the end of the trip

Though today is the last day in Chennai, memories of what has happened will still linger in our minds forever.
We have forged a new bond and relationship with our buddies @ Gateway The Complete School.
This last day marks the new beginning of a long-distance relationship. We will never forget the time spent together at Pondicherry, the classroom lessons, IT lesson and the Sandclay lesson.
Thank you buddies for giving up your precious time to be with us. We will never forget the extra miles and hospitality you showered on us. Let's keep in touch!
We will miss the smiles we saw on the girls at St. Aelen's Home. Though they had only the basic necessities, yet the girls were so happy to share and meet us as if they had known us for years. They were so generous in giving us roses and coke even it was costly for them. They had kept their living conditions sparkling clean and yet we had stepped onto their compound with our shoes that day. We are too blessed back in Singapore. It is time for us to learn how to be appreciative in what we have back home.

Day 5 - The Bond That Binds Forever

A tribute montage to our buddies @ Gateway The Complete School Chennai, India

Greetings - 6th Sept

Samuel – Hi mum! Hi dad! This is just a greeting to you. Today, we are going to Gateway school again to see our buddies. After that, we will be going to another compound to play games with them. Then we will go to an orphanage to visit them and give them study supplies. Miss you lots!

Elaine – Hey daddy and mummy, I’m doing fine here. Don’t worry much. I’ll call you back if I have the time. Have you read our India’s blog posts? Sorry for not calling back. Will call you back tonight. Tomorrow, we will be going shopping. I’ll surely buy a lot of things.

Day 3 - Our Journey Back to Chennai, India

We had a great time learning and appreciating about the ancient architecture and unique sculptures of the well established sea port city, Mahabalipuram. It is interesting to learn how a city could be hidden under the sand for more than 1000 years so as not to be discovered and taken by the opponent ruler during the battle in the past.



Our second stop was at DakshinaChitra, a unique heritage centre which offers the visitors an unforgettable and authentic insight into the lifestyles of the diverse peoples of South India. Our students met many traditional craftspersons and folk artists who work and perform in the centre. Here, Andersonians had the opportunity to learn more about the settings of the 19th century streets, homes and workshop spaces in the Tamilnadu and Kerala sections in an interactive manners via the iRACE game.


Upon reaching Chennai, we had our dinner at a lavish restaurant in a five-star hotel. This is definitely a dinner that we would never forget. Thank you Mr Derek Tan & Mr Justin Soh for singing us a song each on stage. What an electrifying performance!


Our students were all very tired when we reached back at our hotel as it had been a very eventful day. While some of them could not stay awake much longer or could not wait to hit our head on the soft pillows at our respective rooms, they did not allow their exhaustion to stop them from doing something very meaningful for the girls of St Helen Orphanage. They worked together as a team to pack the gift items in 40 haversacks so that they could be given as a gift of love and friendship to the latter the next day. We are very proud of each and every one of them!

DAY 4 - Back to School & The Challenge

DAY 3 - Breaking The News

DAY 2 iDARE - THE PONDICHERRY STORY

Here's an insight of our learning journey with our buddies. Enjoy!

Update from e-zoners

Update from the Teachers

Dear Parents,

Time now is close to 9 am, India time. We’ve all had a good night’s sleep after the eventful exchange programme with the students from Gateway, the Complete School. Our pupils demonstrated the Singaporean graciousness of taking care of their buddies while visiting the interesting sights of Pondicherry – the Auroville where we appreciated the natural surroundings of the greenery and the fascinating Utopic –like surroundings that promote harmony and meditation; the Asharam of the Sri Aurobindo where our pupils got a first-hand experience of immersing themselves in a prayerful atmosphere among yogic meditators; and the French Embassy by the beach, where our pupils got a respite from the city air and took in the freshness of the sea air.

Our pupils enjoyed themselves with the buddies, sharing interesting bits of their
life stories, and getting to know their favourite colour, food, birthday. The next encounter with the buddies on Monday is a much-awaited event, where our pupils will attend lessons in the Indian school, and play a friendly soccer match.

Today, we’re heading to the historical Mahabalipuram, a glorious centre in the 6th century, and land of kings. We’ll have plenty of photo-taking options here. Our teachers are doing a fine job seeing to the needs of your child, making sure that they are eating well, and drinking only mineral water. So far, everybody’s feeling well and enjoying every waking moment of the learning experience in Chennai.

Look out for more updates from the teachers and your child.
Mr Derek Tan

DAY 2 - The Pondicherry Story

Our Group Photo

Hi Family and Friends,

Take a look at our group photo.

DAY 1 iDare Task - AWAY FROM HOME

This is the first time for most of the APS sudents to be travelling overseas independently. As such, they would like to share their thoughts and experience with their loved ones.

Dear Mum & Dad,
We have safely reached Chennai, India. It was a long 3hours 45minutes ride on the plane from Changi Airport to Chennai Airport. There is a difference of 2hours 30minutes in Singapore and Chennai. Our plane is SilkAir A320. I found Chennai quite okay when I reached there. But when we were on the bus to the Pride Hotel, I found Chennai quite different. Residents of Chennai are much friendlier to people than Singaporeans. On the bus when I took some photos of them, they don’t seem to mind and even smile or wave back. Although I am away from home, I found Chennai a wonderful place to be in with the residents in it. I learned to appreciate what we have in Singapore as we are more developed than them. Although Chennai isn’t as good as Singapore, the people here are happy with what they have and I appreciate that we have a place to live, food to eat and schools to study it. I am very happy to be able to come here to visit the schools and places here. I feel great being here and I wish to come back again next time.

Have a good week mum and dad! =)
Love,
Jie Han

Hi Mum and Dad

I am fine here. The flight is 3 hours and 45 minutes. We travel in Silk air Airline. My seat is 20A. The air stewards different of time is 2hours and 30 minutes. The food in Chennai is very nice. There are a lot of foods there. Do not worry about me as with my teachers, I felt very safe. I quite miss you. There are a lot of upcoming activities in India. On 4th of September, there will be a meeting with our buddies. Then on 5th September, there will be an iRACE there. It will be great I’m sure. Bye! I miss you.

Siti Ariyana

Hi! How are you Daddy, Mummy? The time difference is between 2hours and 30 minutes. It took 4 hours to reach India you know? We took SILKAIR( type of plane) to travel and I was very excited. I felt worried, sad and excited at the same time. Worried and sad because I am away from you all but excited because I am excited that I’m gonna learn some new things and cultures.

Lewis Chee

Hi Mum and Dad, the trip on the first day was alright. Although we are still writing to you atdnight(Singapore Time), I would still like to share with you what had happened here. The food is quite spicy. My room mates and I are getting along fine. We'll be going to Pondicherry tomorrow. I hope to take more photographs to show you...=)
Samuel

Hi, how's are things in Singapore? Food's well but kind of spicy. I had a memorable experience on plane. Mum, I'm alright. Do not worry.
Darren

Hi Mum and Dad, today was an exciting day. We landed in Chennai at about 3.30pm. It was exciting although i miss my home. We had a bus ride to the Pride Hotel. We placed our bags in our rooms and went for dinner. Aunty Nimi came to visit me at the hotel and gave me a pepper egg thosai.
Love you, Yuknavell

This is the third time I went overseas with the school but this time, it is with my classmates. The flight was 3 hours and 45 minutes long and when I reached, I was still in good condition. There are many mosquitoes and other insects. We met up with the teachers from Gateway School and then returned to the hotel. The food was spicy but delicious. I was tired but still would like to write a message to you.
Jia Le

Hello Mum and Dad, this is Darroy. WE have reached the Pride Hotel. Today's lunch was chicken and dinner was vegetarian Bryani rice. It was really delicious. I'm staying with Yuknavell and Darren. The room is very spacious and nice. I'm excited and looking forward to meet our buddies tomorrow!
Darroy

Hi Mum and Dad, I am alright here. The flight from Singapore to India was approximately 4 hours. When I got to India, the streets were very run-down and old. But the people over here are very friendly. The food was delicious but a bit spicy. Tomorrow, I'll be meeting my buddies and I am looking forward to it!
Yong Jie

Hi I’m here in Chennai! I’m having a good time here. Here is some information that you might want to know. If you want to know what the distance between Singapore and Chennai is, there is a four and a half hour flight waiting for you. The time difference between Singapore and Chennai is two and a half hours. The duration of the flight I already told you. (Look at sentence three) We traveled on a silk air plane. My first impression of Chennai was: This place is not as bad as I thought. Being away I feel that the upcoming activities are going to be fun.

Lachlan

Hi Mum and Dad,
Being here is kind of cool, but I’m exhausted. Its two hours and thirty minutes behind Singaporean time. It took about three hours on the flight. I think its not too hard to cope with. I find it different to sleep with my friends. Hope you’re ok with everything at home!

Dylan Lai

Hi! It is very interesting over here at India! It takes about 4 Hours to reach there. The time in India is two and a half hours before Singapore time. The aircraft we traveled on was A320. The turbulence on the flight almost destroyed my lunch! It was the worst turbulence flight ever! But, the landing part was great! Everyone cheered when the plane touched down. In India, I’m afraid that mosquitoes will come and suck my blood, and then I will be sick, but the shocking amount of mosquitoes in India is good! There was not as much mosquitoes as expected. I am looking forward to my next few days in India.

Xiao Tao

Hi Mum and Dad

I am fine here. The flight is 3 hours and 45 minutes. We travel in Silk air Airline. My seat is 20A. The air stewards different of time is 2hours and 30 minutes. The food in Chennai is very nice. There are a lot of foods there. Do not worry about me as with my teachers, I felt very safe. I quite miss you. There are a lot of upcoming activities in India. On 4th of September, there will be a meeting with our buddies. Then on 5th September, there will
be an iRACE there. It will be great I’m sure. Bye! I miss you.

Siti Ariyana

DAY 1 - Chennai, Here We Come!

ITINERARY - DAY 1