Nov. 26, 2007
## Reflection
What I liked about my work
Firstly, I had a lot of chances to interact with people from different countries. This helped me to become more out-going and more sophisticated. I would also become braver and more confident than before as I would have to greet various customers initially.
Secondly, I had learnt a lot about tea leaves as well as making tea. There are mainly six kinds of tea leaves: White Tea, Black Tea, Red Tea, Yellow Tea, Green Tea and Oolong Tea. I was very glad that I had a chance to try the typical tea in these categories and finally I came out with my favorite tea which was green tea.
What I disliked about my work and how I overcome this problem
One of my tasks assigned was to mop the dust off the glass shelves. I had to remove all the tea sets made of porcelain or clay from the shelves to the floor first. After finishing cleaning the glass shelves, I had to put the fragile tea sets back. It was very challenging as I was afraid of breaking any things. However, I kept highly concentrating on my work and carried every delicate set carefully. Fortunately, I did not break anything. I thought I was even more careful than taking math exam. I realized that as long as I focused on the things that I was doing, I could do it well.
Applications of what you learnt in school
Firstly, when calculating the total prices of the merchandises sold, I would use mathematics’ knowledge I learnt in school. It was important to make it right as it would affect the reputation as well as the service quality of the shop.
Secondly, the teachers in school taught me to be good to others. Only when we put ourselves into others’ shoes all the time, we could think for others.
Skills you acquired from the organization which would be useful for you in future
I learnt how to make a proper cup of tea. This would be useful as tea was a traditional drink in China. I would serve others tea before I took my own cup. This helped me to be respectful towards others.
Qualities that you have discovered about yourself during the WEP
I found myself quite diligent and determined. When mopping the shelves, I was overwhelmed by the work I needed to do at the beginning. I thought I would never finish cleaning all the shelves. However, no matter how much the work was, I just kept on working. At last, I managed to clean all three shelves in three hours without rest. Looking at the shining glass, I smiled and felt satisfied. I learnt that as long as I put my heart to do something, nothing was impossible.
During the WEP, I became braver as well. This was not only shown when I was capable to talk to strangers, but also shown when I had to walk alone back to Boarding School every night. Usually the work ended at 7pm and I often arrived at the bus stop outside my School at around half past eight. Then I had to walk in the darkness on my own all the way to the Boarding School. At first I thought I could never do it and sometimes I would scare myself. Nevertheless, after a few days, I got used to the quietness and solitude. I found that it was a good time for me to think and summarize the day’s work and experience. I learnt to enjoy the walking and contemplating. This was the quality I have discovered about myself.
In conclusion, I had learnt a lot during the WEP. I would treasure the fantastic memory and experience.
Nov. 26, 2007
## Last Day
November 16th was the last day I worked at D’ Art Station.
Mr Lee, the owner of the shop, came back from China on that day. He brought many teapots made by famous teapot makers. As a result, many of his friends came to the shop to have a look at them. It was crowded in the shop. I had a valuable chance to take a close look at those delicate teapots.
Although I only knew Mr Lee for a short time, I could tell that he was an experienced and kind person. He was a gentleman around 50 years old. He knew very about tea leaves as well as teapots. I really enjoyed chatting with him as it was fun and I could learn a lot at the same time. It was a pity that I only met him on the last day.
At the end of the day, Serene and me gave the gift from the school to Ms Chin and Ms Chong. We also gave them each a Nanyang key chain with a thank you note which we had prepared days before.
Ms Chin and Ms Chong said we were quite helpful. They all hoped we had learnt something from the experience. I felt attached to them as well as the two shops. Anyway I had been working for eleven days there. I had mopped the shelves in the shops and memorized the position of different tea leaves. I also helped to pack the tea leaves into small packages. I did feel sad for the farewell. However, I knew I would have to go on and move on to the next step. I would come back to visit them whenever I go to Chinatown.
Week Two
After working for one week there, I was able to distinguish different kinds of tea leaves so that I would be confident to recommend the suitable tea to the customers. A lot of people liked to drink Jasmine Tea or Green Tea as they were quite fragrant. Oolong Tea was popular as well. Generally, I needed to greet the customers when they entered the shop. I would provide them with help when requested. Sometimes they just wanted to take a look at the tea leaves or teapots on their own, and then I would not go to disturb them. Instead, I should leave them alone. I found this way of doing business very wise. It showed the respect to the customers. D’ Art Station really helped to make drinking tea a fashion. The purpose of doing business was not just as superficial as earning money.
Moreover, I learnt how to make a nice cup of tea. In fact, the procedure of making tea is almost the same. However, the temperature of the water and the time are different when making different kinds of tea. Here I would like to talk about how to make a cup of Longjing as it is my favorite. Longjing is a typical Green Tea. It grows in Hangzhou, China. It is collected in spring to keep its freshness. We usually use porcelain tea bowl to make green tea. Making a cup of Longjing, firstly we need to wash and warm up the cups and teapot. Then, throw the waste water. It is better to use a pincer to remove the water in the cups. In linear arrangement of tea cups is a manner way of tea art. Secondly, we use the tea spoon to transfer the tea leaves into the tea bowl. The amount is around a quarter of the tea bowl. Thirdly, we pour hot water into the tea bowl and cover up. The temperature of the water is around 70 C to 80 C. We may use the cover of the tea bowl to turn the tea leaves a few times so that the taste would come into the water. As green tea leaves are usually very clean, it is not necessary to get rid of first round of pouring as making other kinds of tea. Fourthly, we soak the tea leaves in 5 to 10 seconds. We may add 5 seconds more than the previous pouring every time. The amount of tea leave in tea bowl will be brewed about 5 to 8 times. Fifthly, from left to right direction of the tea-maker, we pour the tea liquor into pitcher from teapot and then pour in to tea cups averagely 70% full of tea cups for politeness. Sixthly, from the last tea cup of right hand side, we will serve the cup in clock wise direction, while the last cup is for ourselves. Lastly, before drinking, we will appreciate the color and then smell the aroma. Finally, we will drink it gently in at least three mouthfuls.
In addition, I found it challenging to work as a seller. On November 8th, there were three American in our shop. They bought different kinds of tea leaves and other tea sets including three tea spoons. I went around the shop and took note of the unit prices after they had chosen the things they wanted to buy. Then I calculated the total prices for them and took the money. After they left, I suddenly realized that I had sold the three tea spoons at the wrong prices. They should be sold at $5 each. However, I carelessly sold them at $0.5 each. That was a lot less than what they worth. I was astonished and shocked as I discovered my mistake. On the other hand, no matter how guilty or ashamed I felt, I would have to confess my mistake to Ms Chong. Luckily she did not scold me but only reminded me to be more careful next time. In fact, it was my responsibility to do things well. I should not make such mistake again.
In conclusion, I have got used to the task assigned and learnt a lot about tea. I enjoyed working at D’ Art Station.
Nov. 07, 2007
## First Day
Yesterday, November 4th, was the first day I worked at D’ Art Station.
I arrived there at almost exactly one o’clock. This was because I had to eat at twelve o’clock at my Boarding School and eating took me fifteen minutes. Walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus took me nearly fifteen minutes. Then taking bus No. 961 to Chinatown took me half an hour. I felt quite shamed and guilty as it was better for me to arrive there a few minutes earlier. Maybe I should packed my lunch from canteen and bring it there to eat from today onwards.
Ms Chin and Ms Chong mainly took care of Serene and me. They were very patient and kind. Ms Chin worked at the old shop at Pagoda Street whereas Ms Chong worked at the new shop at Temple Street. Yilin was a poly student who worked part time there. She and Ms Chin showed us around the old shop. Later at about three o’clock Ms Chin brought us to the new shop and we worked there with Ms Chong till 7pm.
I did learn a lot about tea and I found myself getting more and more interested in it. However, there were too many different kinds of tea leaves to remember as I would need to explain and introduce them to the customers. Sometimes I was confused because those tea leaves just looked the same. Furthermore, the Black Tea in English is the Red Tea in Chinese, so as the other way round. This is quite confusing in fact. Moreover, I was not able to answer some of the questions asked by the customers as lacking of professional knowledge.
There were quite many customers on Sunday. Whenever a customer came in, I should greet him, then provided help if required. Sometimes I should leave the customer alone to think about what to buy instead of disturbing him. It was interesting to meet so many people from different countries. There were American, Japanese, Chinese, Australian, Indian, and French. I really enjoyed interacting with them.
Besides learning to distinguish different tea leaves, I also got a chance to taste tea. I tried Fenghuangdancong from Guangdong, Longjing from Hangzhou, and Puer from Yunnan. I found myself like green tea best. I would have more chances to taste tea in the following days. Ms Ching said I would learn how to make tea myself as well. How I am looking forward to that!
In conclusion, I enjoyed the first day I worked at D’ Art Station. I believed I would gain invaluable experiences and knowledge in this program.
Nov. 04, 2007
## Pre-Attachment Visit
This Wednesday, on October 30th, our WEP teacher-in-charge Ms Lim brought Serine and me to D’ Art Station at Chinatown for Pre-Attachment Visit. D’ Art Station was a shop which mainly sells teapots and tea leaves. All the merchandise was kept neatly in good conditions. I liked the classic atmosphere there.
Our Mentor was a very kind lady. She served us tea and answered our questions patiently and gently. Generally we are required to work from 1pm to 8pm every working day. There will be one day off every week. Our job is to serve the customers and provide them with help. We may speak Mandarin, English or even dialect if necessary. Our Mentor lent each of us a magazine about tea for reading and reference use so that we could learn more relevant basic knowledge before going to work.
After discussing, we agreed to add one more working day without payment on November 4th which would be a Sunday. This is because there will be more customers at weekends which allows us to gain more experiences.
I am very happy and satisfied with the work assigned. Personally I am interested in Chinese Tea Culture at the very first place. Serving in such a classic teapot and tea leaves shop as D’ Art Station allows me to learn more about tea. Moreover, I will learn to be more confident when interacting with various people. Hence I am looking forward to the actual working days.
Nov. 20, 2007
## The organization
Name of organization: D’ Art Station
Nature of business: A shop selling Chinese teapots and tea leaves
History of Organization: first started in 1991 selling clay teapots and porcelain, at riverwalk street. In 1996, it shifted to 65 pagoda street and also started selling tea leaves as the demand for Chinese tea started. In April 2007, it opened another branch at 63 temple street.
Size of organization:65 pagoda street shop (1000 meter square shop with 1 employee)
63 temple street shop (900 meter square with 1 employee)
Oct. 22, 2007
## Introduction
Reasons why I was interested in the WEP
There are a few reasons why I was interested in the WEP. Firstly, I have been interested in working since I was young. WEP is a rare opportunity for me to get involved to the adults’ working lives as I am still a secondary student now. By trying out to work by myself in the real world, I will become aware of the differences between learning academic knowledge at the school and applying the skills to work. The awareness and experience will be valuable and useful in preparing me to work in the future. Secondly, WEP provides me with a chance to work personally. I will get to understand how difficult it is to make money and hence be able to appreciate my parents’ hard work and learn to be economical in daily life. Thirdly and most importantly, being a foreign student studying here, I am not familiar with the working environment in Singapore since my parents are not working here as the local students’. WEP will be an eye-opening journey for me to know more about the local working life. Thus I can gain more social common senses and learn more about Singapore. Therefore, I was interested in the WEP when choosing the End of Year Program.
My hopes and expectations from the WEP
By attending the two-week WEP, I expect to see the following improvement of myself. Firstly, I hope to become more responsible and determinate as responsibility and determination are vital in both career and academic lives. I will have to accept the consequences when mistakes are made. Secondly, I hope to become more courageous in taking challenges. By experiencing getting used to an entirely new environment and getting alone with colleagues in a short time, I hope to learn to become braver and be less afraid of taking challenges in the future. Thirdly, I hope to discover some of my potentials and unknown abilities in the process of working. Fourthly, I expect to form positive attitude when facing “impossible missions” or difficulties. Last but not least, I would like to develop interest in various careers by trying it out personally and discover the fun in it.
My fears (apprehensions) with the WEP
As I will work in an entirely new environment, I have to make every effort to get used to everything as soon as possible. Although I am good at getting along with people, I still feel uncertain as a lot of things are remained unknown until I discover them myself. Moreover, I am afraid of creating misunderstandings if communication breaks down with my colleagues as English is my second language. However, I think this problem can be resolved and avoided by further explanation. Luckily, working at D’ Art Station requires me to speak in Mandarin and thus my worry will be minimized. Furthermore, I hope I will not break any teapots accidentally when selling teapots at D’ Art Station. I should be focused and concentrate all the time.
Reasons behind my choice of organization
There are a few reasons behind my choice of D’ Art Station. Firstly, as this job is to sell teapots, I think it is a good chance for me to improve my communication skills when dealing with various costumers. I will have a chance to exam myself for the ability of motivating others to buy things at the same time. Secondly, as Mandarin is my mother tongue, I fulfill one of the requirements of this job. Thirdly, I am an out-going girl and I like to interact with people and make friends with others. I smile a lot as well. I think this character is suitable and applicable when selling things. Lastly, I choose Tea & Conversation as my sabbatical in Term 3 this year. I found myself interested in tea. I learned the general history of tea and some useful communication skills. I would like to grab this opportunity of working at D’ Art Station to apply the skills and knowledge I learned and put them into practice. Therefore, I chose to work at D’ Art Station.
