Day 8 - A National Education lesson through Hurricane Sandy

Sandy affected many people in New York City. When the hurricane attacked, houses were damaged, the power supply was cut off and food supply was limited. In the hotel where we stayed, we came across a lady who had to temporarily stay there as there was no electricity in her home. Where the marathons were concerned, the efforts of the people who were training was wasted as the marathon eventually did not materialise. High schools were closed. As a result, we were unable to visit Eleanor Roosevelt High School as planned.

Despite what happened, the New Yorkers did not allow this matter to dampen their spirits. The sales personnel still say "Hi" with a smile; and the others whom we run into also seemed rather positive.

~Aqilah, 4/2

I can still remember the first time we heard about Sandy. It was the night we reached the hotel in Boston. However, little did I know how grave the situation was an the impact it would have on our trip as well as the people in New York City. Every morning, I would see images of Hurricane Sandy on the television and news updates about how Sandy has disrupted the lives of the people. The news reporters would be at the scene and I saw huge, strong destructive waves that uproot trees. For us, we had to stay indoors on one of the days. We were also unable to visit Ellis Island, the high school and the United Nations tour. The houses in New Jersey were damaged and subways were flooded. Shops had to be closed due to the cut in power supply.

The people whom we met did not complain about their fate and came across as rather hardy. They carried on with their duties and remained upbeat.

If Hurricane Sandy had hit Singapore, everyone here might have been in a state of panic and would probably take a very long time to adapt. We might be too concerned about our losses instead of moving on. For me, I feel that even though natural disasters rarely hit Singapore, we need to be mentally prepared and develop the resilience to overcome the odds.

~Kylie Chia, 3/8

Hurricane Sandy has not only disrupted the lives of the United States but our Literature journey's itinerary. In certain cities of the United States, it was so serious that lives were lost and homes, destroyed. The roads, pavements and houses were also flooded. Many people were affected and forced to evacuate.

Not only were the lives of the locals affected, our plans too had to be changed. We did not manage to have the United Nations tour, Ellis Island or conduct the exchange with the high school. However, our teachers and tour guides handled the situation very well as were able to visit other famous and educational spots such as Empire State Building.

~Aqilah, 4/3