On 3rd February 2010, the Creative Circle reporters had the golden opportunity to interview the Mongolian students, who were in Evergreen Secondary School for the early preparations on the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
They were invited to perform during our the 10th Anniversary celebration at The Republic Cultural Centre (TRCC). Our guests presented an impressive solo cultural dance and they even harmonized and sung a Mongolian song as part of the opening act for the 10th Anniversary Performance, 'Metamorphosis.'
Read on to find out more on what the Mongolians had encountered and experienced in Singapore as well as what our Prefects and Student Ushers had to say...
What are your first thoughts of Singapore when you first reached here?
Purevswren Mongolian Exchange Student: I am quite happy to be in Singapore.
Chultem Otgonbaatar, President of Sukhbaatar District Olympic Council:
I am very happy to meet the Olympic Committee officials in Singapore.
Which places in Singapore would you most like to visit?
Purevswren: As I like animals, I look forward to visit the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.
Chultem Otgonbaatar: I am interested to go to Sentosa Island.
Have you tried out any of our local food yet? If yes, do you like it?
Chultem Otgonbaatar: Yes, we've already tried out Singapore's seafood at the hotel. But we didn't like it because Mongolians are not used to spicy food.
Purevswren: Our staple food is normally rice and potatoes.
Sato: We eat more meat like beef or mutton.
How do you feel about helping out in ushering the Mongolian Exchange Students?
Daniel Tan, Prefect: We needed to help each other out and the bond between us really taught us the importance of working together to get things working.
Yang Qing Yang, Usher: I believe that we can gain much knowledge about the Mongolian culture and have the opportunity to meet and interact with these Mongolian students.
What is your impression of the Mongolian visitors?
Daniel Tan: These students who came to Singapore are indeed very sporty and obviously adept at sports.
Yang Qing Yang: They are very quick learners and immediately took to various traditional games of Singapore which we introduced to them.
Were there any difficulties which you encountered in your contact with the Mongolian students?
Daniel Tan: It was quite hard to communicate because of our language barrier.
Yang Qing Yang: They were shy at first. But after getting to know them better, they opened up to us and were very friendly.
How do you plan to prepare for the competition while you’re here in Singapore?
Manli: We plan to prepare for the competition by resting and conserving energy so that we can be prepared mentally and physically.
What are your hopes for the YOG 2010?
Manli: I hope that we can do really well for the YOG 2010. I hope we can do our best and we aim to work really hard for the competition.
We also had the opportunity to have a brief interview with Mr Albert Teo, Olympic Ambassador of Mongolian NOC.
What are some of the events that you will be taking part in for the YOG 2010?
Mr Albert Teo: Some of the competitions we are taking part in are Judo, Boxing and Archery.
What do you hope to achieve during this exchange program?
Mr Albert Teo: Our main aim for this exchange program is to establish friendships with Singapore schools. Through this event, locals will get to know our culture better and hence can make friends with our Mongolian students.
Interviews by:
Nur Ardillah of 3 Aspire, Heng Wei Chuan of 4 Achieve
Risa Lee & Ng Hann Shen
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