Scoop from Singapore

It-a-ca?

2007-04-07T23:06:00.000+08:00

In a shop in Chinatown:

Owner: You're from America?
Me: Yep!
Owner: New York?
Me: Yah, actually!
Ownder: Oh! My son is studying in... It-a-ca this semester. Exchange.
Laurel and I stand there with our jaws open.

Please consider the odds. With Laurel here, there are 4 Ithacans in Singapore. NTU sends 2-3 students on exchange each semester. There are 4.5 million people living in Singapore. That is pretty impressive.

Hong Kong and Macau

2007-03-19T18:31:00.000+08:00

Alicia, Jen, and I woke up with plans to leave at 6 am Thursday morning, but of course Jeremy was missing. We went and knocked on his door and woke him up, so after he got dressed and packed his bag we were able to leave. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time though, and flew to Macau. From there we took a boat to Hong Kong, and arrived in the city around 4. After wandering the street that we knew our hostel was on for 15 minutes with no luck locating the place, we finally learned that the lobby and desk of the place was on the 13th floor of a building we saw. We checked in and headed out for our first official Chinese meal.

I should have known that eating was going to be an experience, since Jeremy and I have two very different takes on fine cuisine. Still, we let him lead and he decided on a tiny, hole in the wall place where the staff did not speak English and they did not have an English menu. Think of a take out place where you wait to pick up your food. That's where we were. Alicia and I pretty much walked out within the first minute, but the man assured us that one of his diners (there were 3) spoke English and could translate for us. I explained to him that I only ate chicken and rice, but Jeremy suggested he picked his favorite food for us to try, so within 2 minutes we had gelatin-like mushroom soup and curry squid. Then came fish balls and some veggies, but I was not impressed. Since Alicia and I hardly ate there, we got to pick another place to try out, where I got a a very nice dish of fried rice with vegetables.

We went to a karaoke bar because it was Jen's birthday, but after such a long day we headed back to they hostel before 10. We watched some television before passing out, but got up early the next morning to head to Disneyland Hong Kong.

I've never been to any Disney before, but as much fun as I had I have to admit that the hype about Disney was a little much. (I'm also nearly 21 and was in Hong Kong, so maybe that had something to do with it.) We were such thrifty moms though, and packed peanut butter, jelly, and a loaf of bread so we didn't have to pay for expensive park food. Thank good, since they served noodles and rice instead of pizza and chicken nuggets. I think my favorite part of the day was seeing all of the different shows and performances. It made me miss dancing a lot, but remember how much I loved performing.

All weekend we took pictures the three girls, and then one of Jeremy, but at some points he went a little picture happy and made us take them in front of silly things. This photo is one example of our joy for this. When I get home you will have to ask me to see the entire trips photos though. There is a fun trend to them.

After watching the fireworks at the end of the night, we headed back to the main strip where out hostel was, and planned to get something to eat. Somehow we returned to that first restaurant Jeremy love and affectionate named "Uncle Bob's." This evening there was a college aged girl who helped us order, and did so a little more effectively. Since it was Friday during Lent I wasn't eating meat, so I asked her to order me rice and mixed vegetables. Unfortunately, that didn't translate perfectly and I ended up with a bowl of rice and a bowl of bean sprouts. Still, it was edible and I dealt with it.

We headed back to our hostel and were disappointed when the television stopped working. To pass the time before bed we passed around a juice box and took turns telling a bedtime story. Very cute, but I think Jeremy was killed in the story about 8 times.

On Saturday we slept until 10 before exploring the city. I am not sure exactly what I was expecting Hong Kong to be like, but it didn't really match my vision. Maybe it's because I've been in South East Asia for so long now and have visited so many different cities. But this one just reminded me of the rest of them, with a little more NYC in it. We even visited Time Square and walked past all of the designer stores. During the day we also walked through some parks, one that had an "Olympic Stadium" in it. I took this as a good sign that the Olympics and China would meet for me again!

The best thing I think we did in Hong Kong was visit Victoria Peak, which overlooks all of Hong Kong. The city, as you may be able to see from the clothes in the pictures, was much colder than Singapore and a big adjustment. I would just like to state again, how happy I am to be missing winter by being hear. On top of the peak was most cold though, and combined with the wind was almost unbearable. We saw the view at both the day and in the evening, and it was much more beautiful at night.

On Sunday we headed back to Macau to explore "the Las Vegas of South East Asia," but were disappointed. I have never been to Vegas, but I am pretty sure if I traveled there 40 years ago, Macau may have resembled it. It was an old looking city, with little to do other than the casinos, I suppose. We went to a market that was disappointingly small, and I was then served my worst meal of the semester. They, again, did not have English menus, but the owner spoke very good English. I asked him for rice and chicken, which I thought was pretty basic. What I got, though, was a chicken, sliced in half, boiled, and his bones removed. It was awful and I was done before the dish even got to the table. Jeremy told me he likes eating around me. We visited some parks and Jeremy made us pose for more pictures, and then we just headed to the airport early.

On another note, I want a Chinese baby. Does anyone think they can help me?! haha. All of the children here are beautiful, so if anyone is thinking of adopting I strongly recommend a Chinese girl.

Fish Fams and Organic Veggies

2007-03-13T13:55:00.000+08:00

On Sunday, our Chinese New Year host, Alez, and his father took Michele, Kiko, and me on a tour of the farms in the north-west part of the island. We started by going to a "coffee shop" for breakfast. Now to me that meant cute muffins and toast, but it was a traditional hawkers center. His dad ordered for us, so I ended up eating what I equate to beef broth and noodles at 9 am. Oye.

After breakfast we began our fish farm visits. The first place we saw was not for edible fish, but those that you would put in a pond outside your house. We saw some that looked like giant goldfish, but as we progressed they got bigger and bigger. I don't know what sort of ponds some Singaporeans have, but by the end these fish were bigger than I am! I know this sounds like a fisherman's story, but I swear I could have ridden one back to the states.

We next headed to a fish farm where you buy fish for food. After watching some swim around in little pools, Alez's dad picked one out as our dinner. Fishie was scooped into a bucket and taken behind a counter, which is when I stopped watching so I would be able to eat later. We learned that these fish don't have that terrible fish smell when you cook them because the pools they swim in have really clean water that clean out their insides. Yummm.

After we had enough fish, our group went to the Bollywood Organic Vegetable Farm, where we toured the grounds and looked at all the different plants and bananas! Did you know that there are over 500 different types of bananas, so you could spend over a year trying a different kind each day!? The leaves on some of the trees there were honestly bigger than I am. They reminded me of blankets.

After our tour of the area, we took a break and met up with Alez in his dorm later in the evening. He cooked us Fishie and some greens that we bought at the veggie farm. We of course had rice, and his roommate actually made us a chicken stew too. Did you know that in Singapore it is traditional for the men to cook? Hear that boys at home?!

The fish was surprising good, once I stopped calling him Fishie and just ate. They made me try his cheek though, because it is supposed to be the most tender part, and I didn't care for that so much. Overall, though, I was pretty proud of myself! Poor Fishie though!

Laurel to visit Singapore!

2007-03-11T19:41:00.000+08:00

Laurel is coming to Singapore April 3-11!! I am so excited to get to share my new home with someone from home, and am already beginning to plan all the places she needs to see and the people she has to meet!

The invitation stands, if anyone else wants to fly over here too! *wink*

Spring Break Montage

2007-03-09T11:12:00.000+08:00

Our spring break, in video form. All footage thanks to Sascha.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

2007-03-08T14:49:00.000+08:00

When we finally arrived in Vietnam, our bus spent an hour trying to drive through the city. Our reservations had been cancelled at the hostel we had planned to stay at, so we improvised and stopped at the first one we came across. It was very nice and had 2 empty rooms, so we took it!

The boys were determined to have suits made, so that was our first stop. I considered getting a nice one custom made, but they were a bit pricey and I am already fretting on how to get everything home at the end of the semester. After Michele and I decided what fabrics and designs would look good, they had their measurements taken and we headed to dinner.

Right next to the tailor's was an ADORABLE Italian place. We were seated, and I almost cried looking at the menu. A lot from excitement, but also memories Everything on it was real Italian food, from risotto to gnocchi and it just made me think of Turin. Calendar wise, March 2 was also my last day in Turin last year, so maybe my subconscious had something to do with it.

We woke up early on Saturday and met our tour guide at 8. We, of course, took a BUS tour of the city, so my celebration of buses being over was squashed. Our guide, although very friendly, did not speak very clear English so he wasn't always helpful.

We first went to the war museum, where they had old tanks and planes, as well as photos and historic relics. My favorite part of the museum was the section that told the story of journalists covering the war, but that's because I'm a dork. The history geek in me was satisfied too.

We then went to the Reunification Palace, which was the workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the war and the site of the official handover of power during the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Our tour guide was pretty decipherable here, which made the tour much more valuable.

We saw the Notre Dame Cathedral (yes we were still in Ho Chi Minh), the post office, and a temple. We then grabbed lunch, and the four of us went to the Ho Chi Minh museum on our own.

We though the museum was going to be about the city, but were surprised to learn it was actually about the man. The museum was full of cups that he drank out of and pens that he used. VERY historic. I guess my joking about it caught up to me, though, because I fell down the stairs AGAIN as we were leaving, but Sascha caught me and saved me from taking as bad of a fall. Please note, my Old Navy flip flops are being retired after that trip.

We shopped a very little on our way back to the hostel, and then had dinner and played cards at night. The following morning we got up early, picked up the boys suits, and headed home. We waiting in line at immigration for a long time, but flew back in to Singapore with no troubles. It did, however, start pouring the moment we got off the plane. Classic Singapore. Some things never change.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

2007-03-07T10:47:00.000+08:00

We had bought our bus tickets through our hotel, so at 12:30 we boarded a coach bus (no more vans, thank goodness) and embarked on the next leg of our trip. I have become very good at putting my headphones in and sleeping on public transportation, so I dosed for a while on the bus ride, even though I had done nothing to require sleep. I am also a pro at curling up in a bus seat, with my feet resting on the back of the seat in front of me and my body curled to the inside. It's a sight, I'm sure, since the boys said my body shouldn't bend like that.

Now, while sleeping on a bus doesn't seem like an incredible feat, you need to understand Cambodian buses and driving. When there are paved roads, they do (gasp) have yellow lines down the center. Yet, they apparently mean nothing. We passed other cars and trucks regardless of solid and dotted lines, and without care to curves and oncoming traffic. Honking the horn is common and happened EVERY 45 seconds, as a way to say "hey, there's a car behind you". In some instances it made sense, as a warning to motos that a big bus was coming up behind them. But when we were behind a row of cars and oncoming traffic, I am still unsure what honking accomplished.

5 hours later (remember we were told 2) we arrived in Phnom Penh and were again mobbed by drivers, this time of tuk-tuks. We wanted to buy bus tickets to Vietnam before going to our hostel, but the bus station didn't seem to sell them. The man who was following us and offering to take us to our hostel also offered to drive us in his tuk-tuk to Vietnam, but we passed on that.

We finally agreed to hire this man to bring us to the hostel, and he swore that all five of us could fit, no problem. Well, 4 would have been a very tight squeeze, never mind and additional five large backpacks. We gave it a go anyway, since we were afraid of getting split up, but I am pretty sure we broke his tuk-tuk. It sputtered a sad put-tuk-tuk-put-put as we started, and the noises only got worse as we travelled on. After driving around the city for an hour and stopping for directions for multiple times, our driver confessed to us that he did not know where our hostel was, and he was worried about his tuk-tuk, so he transferred us to his friend's ride. This one was newer, and the man knew where we were going. Progress.

We finally arrived and settled in to our rooms. Since it was already dark and the city was very busy but seemed the least safe of all of our visits, we decided to just eat in our hostel and stay in. The hostel played the movie "The Killing Fields" which was about the war in Cambodia, so that was a perfect way to spend our evening. We went to sleep early, since apparently doing nothing all day can make you as tired as an active day.

The next morning Rachel met up with the other group and we boarded another bus, this time for Vietnam. 6 more hours, I told myself repeatedly, and we will be done with buses. Thank goodness we were flying home.

Another reason I was not a huge fan of Phonom Penh may be because I fell down the stairs there. Our room was on the third floor, and although I am no longer surprised by narrow and steep staircases, this one was slippery as well. And, as most of you know, Old Navy flip flops do not help with traction. Thankfully we were done with the beach, because I have some awful bruises from my upper thigh up my back and shoulder.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

2007-03-06T23:13:00.000+08:00

We took a bus from Bangkok to Trat, and then a van to the Thailand-Cambodia boarder. We arrived at the boarder around 6 AM, and literally stood around until Immigration opened at 7. We got our passports stamped, as were greeted by far too many men willing to give us a ride to the boat we planned to take to Sihanoukville. As we left Immigration, boarder control realized that Jeff was missing a stamp in his passport so we had to go back. By the time everything was taken care of, our driver suggested that we take a bus, not the boat, since we were cutting it close and it was less expensive anyway. We agreed, which may have been the biggest mistake we made the whole trip.

The 'bus' that we were going to take for a four and a half hour ride turned out to be a 12 person van. The streets of Cambodia turned out to be dirt roads, through construction that suggests a road may be built, eventually. That is, of course, if the process continues with breaking through mountains of rock and levels any bit of the land. The four and a half hour ride turned out to be more like six. And four times we had to"take a ferry" across a body of water because there are no bridges.Honestly, think Oregon Trail and fording the river. If we had oxen, we would be lucky if they didn't drown. Rachel and I shared the very backseat that was fit for one larger person, but really not two. Good thing we love each other.
The one good thing about the ride was that we were able to see so much of Cambodia. The country is very underdeveloped, and the images I will always recall of Cambodia are dusty and tan. While everyone we encountered along the way was extremely friendly, I cannot help but wonder what so many people do day in and day out. At every ferry stop there were food stalls,but what happens when bridges are actually built. These people spend their life selling Sprites to tourists passing through, for maybe a dollar a person. I just have a hard time understanding.

When we finally arrived at the 'bus station' (actually just an open lot where the bus stopped and let us out) many hours later, we were swamped by drivers offering us rides on their motos. As we told them where we had reservations, they nodded eagerly and shooed us towards their bikes. As I noted earlier, I must look silly with my big backpack, since one driver moved my bag from my shoulders to his moto in a swift motion. "Too big for you" he reminded me.

We arrived at our accommodations a few minutes later, and were thrilled to find two adorable rooms that were right next door to each other. Michele and I shared a bed and our room with Rachel, and enjoyed a private bath, AND toilet paper. That first night we walked down to the beach and had dinner at one of the restaurants. We played cards outside our rooms for a while before passing out from exhaustion.

On Tuesday we slept in before meeting some friends Sascha had made and following them to a secluded beach. The sand was cleaner and the water a BEAUTIFUL blue-green. We actually met a man who was about 40, retired, and a Cornell alum. It is a SMALL world. After a lot of swimming and tanning, we returned to the hotel and went to a different restaurant on the beach. While sitting and waiting for our food, we were swarmed by children selling bracelets. While the constant rush of people trying to sell things for "only 1 dolla" was often frustrating, the children were pretty cute and really bright. They told us about how they went to school and a bit about their families.

On Wednesday we repeated our routine of sleeping in and hitting the beach. We also tried to find a market, but it wasn't really touristy and so there was not much to see. One of the best parts about eating out in different places was the option to get western food. Bread with breakfast and burgers and sandwiches for lunch and dinner.

On Thursday we woke up early to hit the beach before heading to Phnom Penh. Our bus left at 12:30 and the capital city was only 2 hours away. Or, so we were told. This was our third bus/van experience, and we were a little concerned because of the roads we took to arrive in Sihanoukville. Still, we were hopeful that since there was pavement once we arrived here, the same would stand for the capital.

Bangkok, Thailand

2007-03-06T00:28:00.000+08:00

Our first country to visit was Thailand, so on Friday morning Michele, Sascha, Jeff, and I flew to Bangkok. After a little bit of trouble at the airport, we arrived at Big John's Guesthouse and were thrilled to find the owner to be a fun loving Australian. They made amazing sandwiches there and I happily enjoyed western food all weekend.

After unpacking a bit, the four of us decided to explore around our hostel, but found that there wasn't too much nearby. We later learned that we were in the eastern part of the city, a section that was not touristy. We came to appreciate this much more later. We had dinner at Big John's and then hung around the hostel and got to meet other backpackers. One of the girls I talked to was teaching English in Japan, while another had spent the last few months globe trotting. This backpacking culture just amazes me so much, and every person's story intrigues me more.

You would all be proud to know that I am becoming quite a backpacker myself. Or at least, I like to tell myself I am. I have showered and gone to the bathroom in some interesting places, have learned to carry a role of toilet paper (or at least a small package of tissues) at all times, have slept in beds that are NOT queen sized, have washed my clothes in the sink, and have carried my backpack weighing 18 kilos. Now, at the same time, every taxi driver and hostel owner has snatched my bag off my back because they said it was too big for me, I have run screaming from rats, and have been stranded on the side of the road because I was afraid to cross the traffic. But I still, I think I'm being pretty tough! Minimal complaining from this girl!

Late Friday night we did catch up with the girls, and even later the rest of the boys! We made plans for Saturday before drifting off to sleep on our squeaky bunk beds, and found great joy in waking the boys up in the morning. My friends are not morning people, haha!

Jeremy, Jen, and Julio had gone out ahead of us, so Alicia, Rachel, and our group got up and headed out around 11. Our plan was to meet up at 1, but taking the sky train, a river boat, and figuring out the route to our meeting point did not work out well. We ended up shopping around for a few hours before meeting at 4 at our back up plan meeting spot. In those shopping hours, we did find a great little Thai restaurant which kicked "Taste of Thai"'s butt in comparison. Yum!

Once we finally got together, Jeremy lead us on his tour of the must see Thailand sights, aka the tourist destinations marked with icons on his map from the airport. We saw the 200-year-old Giant Swing, a bright-red wooden structure that was once the focus of Brahman ceremonies in honor of the Hindu god Shiva. (I didn't think it looked like a swing... but shhh). We then went to the Democracy Monument, which is right in the middle of a traffic roundabout. It was the first of many times that I was forced to cross the street while traffic was whizzing by me. SCARY.

After those travels around the city, 7 of us headed to a hotel that was supposed to have a restaurant and great view from the top floor. We split into two groups, and unfortunately the other half got lost for the next hour. When we arrived at the hotel, we were also told our dress was not acceptable to enter the restaurant (7 sweaty college kids denied access to a classy hotel, we didn't see this coming?)

We then went shopping at a night market and went to bed early. We had plans to go to the floating market early in the morning (my alarm went off at 6, this was NOT screaming relaxing vacation to me) but because of travel complications and the distance of the markets, we ended up going back to sleep until noon.

As we prepped to explore the city again on Sunday, Rachel realized she lost her ATM card, so we hung back and took care of those logistics for a while. We shopped at another market for a while, before returning to the hostel to finish packing. We went to a really great Thai restaurant, all 9 of us, for dinner, and then said our goodbyes.

With the group down to Michele, Sascha, Jeff, Rachel, and myself, we grabbed 2 cabs and headed to the bus station for our overnight ride to the boarder. Since this was our first bus ride of the trip and they gave us blankets, I was still optimistic and peppy about travels. Please note, this got less enjoyable throughout the week!

Recapping Spring Break

2007-03-06T00:15:00.000+08:00

My 10 day tour around South East Asia went incredibly quickly, but at the same time lasted for an eternity. While I wish I had been able to spend more time in most of the places we visited, I was so exhausted by Sunday and couldn't wait to curl up in my bed and not have to go anywhere. It's funny, because before this trip I couldn't feel any time passing, but after all of the running around and catching buses I feel like I have been away from the States forever.

It is going to take me a little bit of time to recount the past week, so be patient as I write about it in pieces, and then add to it as I remember more. It is going to be long, so that I can remember everything about my travels, so there are no hard feelings if you decide not to read along. I will try to post photo entires as well, so maybe that will help give you a quick idea.

TCV: The Coolest Vacation

2007-02-20T23:24:00.000+08:00

For Spring Recess, I am embarking on The Coolest Vacation: Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We leave for Thailand on Friday morning and will spend three days in Bangkok. In Thailand, our entire group of 9 will be together. We will split into half, where Michele, Jeff, Sascha, Rachel and I will then take a bus and speedboat to Sianookville, Cambodia. After three days on the beaches there, we will take another bus to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. We should arrive Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning meet up with Jeremey, Julio, Jen and Alicia. Rachel is going to leave The Coolest Vacation, while we carry on to Vietnam. We'll arrive Friday afternoon and be there until Sunday!

The map above shows you South East Asia, incase you want to track where exactly I'm traveling. India and the Indian Ocean is to the left, China to the right and up. Singapore is that beautiful pink dot. The light pink is Malaysia and Indonesia, where I have already been, and the dark pink in my spring break trip.

CNY Home Visit

2007-02-19T23:15:00.000+08:00

To celebrate the second day of Chinese New Year, the International Student Center set up a home visit for Michele and me.

Alez (left) and his parents (back row; center, right) welcomed us to their home to share a traditional meal for the new year! The family is from Hong Kong, and they moved to Singapore 10 years ago. Their apartment was beautiful, with 2 bedrooms, a computer room, living room, and dining room.

When we first arrived, we were offered tea and got to talk to Alez about the traditions. We gave his mom the mandarin oranges that we brough, although technically we bought the wrong ones.

When we sat down for dinner, we began by tossing raw fish salad, yusheng. The higher you toss the salad, the more luck you will have in the new year. The salad, although nothing like salad in the US, contained a lot of veggies so I figured I could eat around the fish. Yet, as we were eating, Alez told us that along with the pink pieces of fish there were also thin strips of jellyfish that resembled the bean sprouts. I struggled to swallow the bite in my mouth, and then decided that was enough salad for me.

The rest of the dishes were then brough out, and somehow throughout the afternoon I managed to eat delicious shrip and peapods, and then pig intestine and liver. This by far fills my adventurous quota for the semester.

After our meal, we sat down in the living room for dessert and talked about the education system in S'pore, traveling around Southeast Asia, and our life in the US. This afternoon was really one of the best times I've had here, because I learned so much about life and culture. It also makes me wish I had the opportunity to do a homestay, because they were all so welcoming and loving. I think Alez is going to take us around the island a bit more in the future, and he offered to cook us dinner in the hall one night!

Tomorrow is our last day off for the new year, and then I have 2 days of classes before spring recess! I cannot believe how quickly time is passing!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2007-02-18T10:32:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!!

It is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, and today begins the year of the pig.
On the days before the New Year celebration, families begin a thorough cleaning process known as 'spring cleaning'. It is believed the cleaning the house sweeps away bad luck of the preceding year and makes the homes ready for good luck.

A reunion dinner is then held on New Year's Eve where members of the family get together for celebration. The festivities are usually held in the home of the most senior member of the family. The rest of the week is spent visiting the houses of families and friends. All guests bring two mandarin oranges as an offering of prosperity.

We headed to Chinatown around 7 and arrived by 8:30 and were starving! After getting a little lost in the crowd, we lucked out and got a table near the food stalls. Michele and I shared a fruit salad dish and spring rolls, and later enjoyed coke floats and chocolate covered strawberries. Let's just say I was in heaven.

Michele, Alicia, Rachel and I shopped all evening, and were able to get great deals on traditional Chinese gifts, desserts and candies. The streets were very crowded though, and it made getting around very difficult. I feel like I had a taste of Time Square here in Chinatown, and as fun as it was I don't know that I would particpate every year!

At midnight we were able to see fireworks, and we headed back to NTU around 2. Michele and I went to be early, although our friends stayed up through the next morning to bring extra prosperity to their lives.

Tanjung Pinang, Indonesia

2007-02-12T17:51:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I traveled to Tanjung Pinang, the capital of the Bintan Islands in Indonesia. We took a 2 hour ferry from Singapore, and stayed in a cute hotel just steps away from the dock. Michele and I had our own room with AC, cable, and a non-western bathroom (read squatting to go to the bathroom and "flushing" by filling a bucket with water and pouring it down a hole.)

Indonesia uses Rupiah for currency, where 1 American dollar equals 9,075 Rupiah. So, pretty much, I was nearly a millionare for the weekend. I am not sure what the logic in using such a system was, since I had 100 Rupiah coins, but, that's how hit worked. Everything was very inexpensive, with liter bottles of water costing 33 cents and bags of candy at about 60.

On the trip was Michele and me, Jen, Alicia, Jeremy, Sascha, and our our friend Galen. Because Tanjung Pinang is less developed and we were unsure of American sentiments, we stayed close for dinner. Although things were very inexpensive, choosing what to eat was hard since no one there spoke English and last I checked my Indonesian isn't too great. I honestly just picked a random number off the menu and hoped it would be edible, and to my great surprise it was. I ended up getting rice which was very spicy, but also good. It must be a staple in Indonesian food, because it was served many times throughout the weekend. I also had a really nice glass of mango juice, freshly squeezed. Mmm. After dinner we just stayed in our hotel for the night, playing cards and chatting. It was really nice to just have an in night with everyone curled up on the boys bed.

The next morning we got up for breakfast, which was more rice, and a NEW food and possible staple in my diet. We had toast with kaya, a green jam made from coconut milk, pandan leaves, and sugar. I don't really know what to compare it to, but its sweet and very good. During breakfast we talked to Bobby, our tour guide facilitator, who informed us that we forgot to change our watches when arriving and it was actually an hour later than what we thought. Oops.

We took a boat out on the Snake River and visited a bunch of islands and temples all day on Saturday. It was really hot with very little shade, but thankfully we were all dressed pretty conservatively so avoided bad sunburns. After the tour we all got massages and then went shopping. Even the boys! We were all very happy!

We stayed around our hotel again Saturday night, and left Indonesia around 1 the next afternoon. It was a short, but really nice weekend for our group!

NEWater

2007-02-05T23:28:00.000+08:00

These bottles of water seem nice enough. Pretty labels, compact size. Cute name too! Pass me one, ok? That was pretty much my response to the case of water available to us on our cultural tour of Singapore our first week here. I enjoyed my bottled water in the heat, and didn't think too much more about it.

Until today.

NEWater is the product of Singapore's water-treatment system, and it is wastewater that has been purified through advanced synthetic membranes and reverse osmosis. Yes, that is what I just said. That refreshing bottle of NEWater and much of the tap water I'm drinking isn't gurgling from a mountain spring in Maine. Most recently, it was rushing from a toilet.

For decades, Singapore has been dependant on Malaysia and other nations for water. With NEWater, though, Singapore will not have to renew its 1961 Water Agreement when it expires in 2011, and by 2061, when the 1962 Agreement expires, the nation will be totally self-sufficient.

Now, I've been assured that it is completely safe and clean by the time it reaches my glass. NEWater meets all the drinking-water standards specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization, so I guess it won't be hurting me too much any time soon. But, I don't really want to think about it again either.

Freedom of the Press

2007-02-04T12:47:00.000+08:00

On the first day of my first class at Ithaca, my professor handed us a copy of the First Amendment and told us to memorize it.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

We always talk about the media being the Forth Estate and a check on the government in our country, but I never truly realized the privilege and the importance of journalistic freedom.

The media in Singapore is highly regulated. Censorship of local news is common, Internet access is regulated, and ownership of satellite dishes is not allowed. Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has criticized international media for trying to impose "their norms and their standards" on the small island. In July of 2006, he justified the government's control over journalism when he said Asian countries who got “the best financial results were those whose
media was less aggressive."

I guess what startled me the most was this article in the AsiaWeek.com. The article quotes Says Eddie Kuo, the then dean of Communication Studies at Nanyang Technological University, my university here.

According to Kuo, "There is this perception that we are so handcuffed that we cannot do a professional job. But look at our domestic coverage and decide whether or not we have been hiding vital information. Have we banished diversity of opinion on domestic politics?"

The prime minister in 2000, when this article was published, also defended the government's polilcy on journalism. Goh Chok Tong said, "Watchdog, meaning that they can investigate every matter, espousing views and setting their own agenda, I would not agree with that."

To think that students studying journalism here are taught that government censorship of the media is acceptable is just so different than everything I have been taught. I understand it is the law here, and all that people really know, but this nation is very developed in so many other ways. In my Media in America class we have discussed that there is freedom of the press in the US, but no one seems to feel the need to push for it.

Don't get me wrong, I am not big into political reporting myself right now. But to think that I couldn't here, that I could be fined or jailed just for publishing online (blogging this?) is a lot to wrap my mind around.

The combination of monsoons and no laundry dryers...

2007-01-27T20:07:00.000+08:00

Our residence hall does not have laundry dryers here; we only have drying racks outside of our room/ building. The problem is that it downpours at least once a day and the drying process is usually defeated by the monsoon. How do dry your clothes then? Ha. Good question. We are on a hunt for a laundry rack to keep in our room, but until then we are open to suggestions.

Our Room is Ready for Chinese New Year!

2007-01-22T20:31:00.000+08:00

In an effort to make our room more festive and lively, Michele and I decided to buy decorations to hang on the walls. We decided that nothing would be more appropriate than decorations for Chinese New Year, so last night we dug through hundreds and hundreds of red decorations to gather the most beautiful, glittery, authentic wall hangings. Our room is much more welcoming now, and has a feeling of home. Also, when we pack up to return to the States, we are going to split everything and be able to decorate our rooms next year! FUN!

In other less major news, my Electronic Broadcast Media professor knows me as the only exchange studnet in the class over over one hundred. Today in my tutorial, one of the girls was explaining something, and all of a sudden started speaking in Chinese. My face must have been pricesless, because seconds later our professor interupeted her with "You need to speak English for Danielle's sake." Awesome.

Also, I met with the station manager of the radio station today, and she asked me to develop, train, and run a news department for NTU. I guess she liked what she read on my resume and was thinking about starting a news department here anyways? Um. I've been here 3 weeks, and I thought last semester's job was a lot. I'm going to keep in touch with her about doing remotes and stuff, but I do not think I am prepared to be responsible for a news department in a country that I don't even understand the government and laws I would be reporting on.

A Day in Pasir Ris

2007-01-21T21:11:00.000+08:00

Michele, Jeremy, and I traveled to Pasir Ris today, an area of Singapore on the north east part of the island. We walked around a fishing pond for a while, and then explored a big park on the water. Since Jeremy originally told us it was a fishing village, I had low expectations for this adventure. Instead of fish smells, though, I was pleased to find a grassy park and beautiful palm trees! There were also bbqs that you could rent, and we plan to do so in a few weeks!

We spent a long time unsuccessfully searching for bikes to rent, but found the spot as we were about to give up. We saw that they also rented rollar blades, so decided to give that a try instead. We skated all around the park for about an hour and a half, and I think it was one of the most fun experiences I have had since arriving in Singapore!
On Friday and Saturday, Michele and I shopped at malls on Orchard and Bugis. I got a few really nice pieces and am excited to wear them out. I also got a few big belts so I am ready to fit in with my Singaporean fashion! I'll have to get some photographs as I start wearing everything.

It's about time that I get to work though, since combining school with our adventures is pretty tough. Mondays are my longest days here, with classes all morning and then one in the later aftenroon. Tomorrow night I am meeting with the radio station manager, so maybe something exciting will come from that as well!

When NTU invades KL in Pictures

2007-01-15T23:05:00.000+08:00

Just a few photos of the friends that I traveled to KL with this weekend. Please ask for more details and stories if you're interested! The first picture is us all getting on the bus on the way there. Back row left to right is Jen, Julio, Rachel, Jeremy, Sascha, Jeff. Front row Michele, Alicia, me.

AdveNTUre 1: Kuala Lumpur

2007-01-15T13:52:00.000+08:00

Although there were fears that our trip to Kuala Lumpur, would be Kuala LumPOURED out, a group of 8 exchange students and myself traveled about 6 hours by bus to the capital of Malaysia this weekend.

The trip got off to an exciting start as we left a bit later than we had hoped to and had to run across Singapore to catch our bus. 9 obviously exchange students, running across the city's streets with huge backpacks, must have been a wonderful site for anyone watching. Still, we made the bus with plenty of time and rode to Malaysia in the pouring rain, crossing our fingers that it would let up.

It did, by the time we got to KL, and didn't start up again until the very end of the trip. We spent the early part of our morning at a McDonalds while we waiting for other shops to open. We then headed to the Petronas Towers, the tallest Twin Towers in the world. We spent over an hour photographing each other around the towers, and made an appointment to go up to the bridge between the two for later in the afternoon. We grabbed lunch and then napped for a few hours, since no one had gotten a great amount of sleep on the bus. We headed back to the Petronas for our 5:30 appointment, and then got a beautiful view of the city from above.

After we finished at the towers we were all dressed up so we went to a nice dinner. We all actually at burgers and fries, but it was a wonderful vacation from rice and noodles. We then headed back to the hostel, and stopped off to do some shopping at a night market. I got a really cute pair of BIG sunglasses, and on Sunday I also got a watch and earrings. We got back to the Backpacker's Inn around 10:30, promptly changed into pajamas, and hung out at the roof cafe with the other guests. It was so interesting to hear their stories and get tips of places to visit. I don't know that I can imagine myself doing what they do, just going, but it is so exciting to hear about. Still exausted from the bus ride over, we all went to sleep by 12:30 and got up for breakfast at 9:30.

We then went to the Batu Caves just outside of KL. The caves house many Hindu temples, once you climb the nearly 300 steps. We also saw many wild monkeys around the area. After the Batu caves we returned to the city to explore the lake gardens and listen to a concert in the park. We grabbed a quick dinner before getting on our bus, and rode through the night back to Singapore. Waking up for classes this morning was not at all a lot of fun, but the trip to KL was well worth it!

I don't know why my blog had been giving me so much trouble, or how long it will continue to work. I will try to update from the first week a little more when I get a chance!

Cultural Singapore Tour

2007-01-11T17:34:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday the International Student Center lead a Cultural Tour of Singapore, where we were able to see most of the city. Our first stop was in Katong, where they picked me to model a traditional Nyonya kebaya.

While there, we also watched a man make wontons by wrapping pork and rice in some form of a leaf. Jeremy tried to learn how to make them and found it looked much much easier that it really was. We got to taste the wontons, along with something made from fish and pineapple cookies, my favorite! The tea there very nice, but I may skip the fish and wonton next time.

From Katong we traveled to Arab Street, where we visted the Sultan Mosque, one os Singapore's most imposing religious buildings and the focal point of Muslims in Singapore. We were allowed to go inside, but had to wear robes out of respect for the religion.

After Arab Street we visited Little India and Chinatown, although only for a short while. We will need much more time to explore these locations in any way that does them justice, but the trip was a wonderful introdcution to the different parts of Singapore.

Schooling in Singapore

2007-01-10T11:43:00.001+08:00

Registration at NTU seems to be more difficult than Homer or Degree Navigator, if you can imagine that. Right now I am registered for Electronic and Broadcast Communication, Media in America, and Promotional Communication. I am awaiting approval for Intro to Lit and Psychology. But plan on not taking Psych.

My EBC class seems really interesting. We are going to look at the mediums in electronic broadcasting, including TV, radio, cable and staellite. Then we will examine the broader issues concernign electornic broadcast media, including media impact and effects and ethics. Finally, we will examine the business of electronic broadcast. My professor was a producerof tv shows in Asia, and I believe our TA produced for MTV? I bought the books and one is a book from the US, so that works in my favor, I think.

My Lit professor is a British man who is SO sweet, and half of that class is exchange students, which will help. I don't understand why the approval for this class is taking so long, other than it is not a Communications course.

Media in American is the class I looked forward to the most, and I think it will be very interesting becaue the professor is very critical of the US's media. It only meets once a week and for 3 hours, but I look forward to it a lot because I understand all of his references, and hope I can contribute a lot.

An interesting thing about classes here, is that they tend to depend on the final exam that counts for 50 percent of the grade, and a large group project. I am not sure how this will impact me, but I just need to know that I can study and prepare for a final and hopefully that will be enough. I "made friends" and am in a group for my EBC class, so hopefully they are going to be smart girls? Michele and I are in Prom Comm together but not our tutorials, so I will have a different group for that. My friend Rachel from UofMissouri is in Media in America with me, and Jen from across the hall is in Lit.

Address in Singapore

2007-01-05T07:57:00.000+08:00

I know a few people have asked for this, but please don't feel like I am expecting mail.

Danielle Barnet
Nanyang Technological University
Hall of Residence 3
3C-05-09
52 Nanyang Walk
Singapore 639928

First Full Day in S-pore

2007-01-04T12:29:00.000+08:00

After my first full day in Singapore, I am feeling a little less overwhelmed, but also still filled with questions. Having Michele and Jeremy around helps a lot, and we are starting to meet more of the exchange students. It is interesting, that the exchange students really are not from the US. I don't know why I believed there would be more, or that I thought there would be less international students, but I think this will be a completely differnet cultural lesson. So far we have met students from Canada, Sweeden, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Mexico, with many many students from Canada and Sweeden. Along with learning the accent of Singaporeans, I am not trying to translate everyone else we meet too! I love it though, and can't wait to catch up on my sleep so that I can go out with them. We're hearing that a night out gets to be pretty expensive, but we'll have to try it out soon. Food here is amazingly inexpensive though. For breakfast I had pancakes because I was unable to make myself eat noodles at 9 am, and paid a dollar twenty Singaporean. Yay for that.

We were oriented today, although I am not sure if they really told us much useful information. We learned about their version of online class supliments (like WebCT) and they explained to us that many classes are videotaped, so at least I can replay over and over my professors if I don't understand them. I still feel totally unprepared for classes to begin in a few days, and still need to add a course and have no idea about anything related to the ones I am registered for. I would REALLY love to just be on vacation all semester, but I guess that's not going to happen. We are already talking about the trips we would like to take, so homefully we can get on planning for that sooner than later! :)

I am still trying to learn my way about campus, but am very confused on my thoughts of its size. There are dozens of more buildings here, but I don't think it takes any longer to walk from our hall to the main part of campus than it would to go from Terraces to Park. The humidity and the stairs are not a great mix, but Ithaca has prepared me well!

Tomorrow the IC kids and I are going to head off campus and around Singapore to take care of our immigration paperwork. We were told that you have to go early, drop it off, and then pick it up later in the day. Hopefully we will get some shopping done and start to explore this city. Tomorrow we'll get our transportation card, "ez-link" which you can just add money to and tap (think swiping at the subway, but just tapping your card instead) when you get on a bus or MTR (this subway).

Views from Singapore

2007-01-04T00:43:00.000+08:00

I am here, somehow still awake, although exausted. Michele from Ithaca is my roomate so I am waiting for her to get in, but I think I may nap and just wake up when she arrives. I met up with Jeremy early this evening, and just having that familiar face and friend makes everything seem a little bit easier. Today was very overwhelming with all of the paperwork and details, but tackling it with friends seems possible. I am proud to say I managed to set up my internet so I should be good to go on this end, please keep in touch! Below are just a few photos of my building and my room, I will post more once Michele gets here and settles in so it's more like home! The hall (dorm) reminds me of a resort, with open halways and pretty tiling. I will have to take more photos so you can see.

Packed? and ready?

2007-01-01T06:05:00.000+08:00

I have the best friends ever, and as excited as I am to travel, I am really going to miss them! I think I am all packed, a HUGE suitcase on wheels and a smaller bag to carry on my shoulder, plus my back pack as my carry on. I am sure I am over packing and will never be able to get everything home, but that is a problem I will have to worry about in May. For now, I guess I will consider everything ready and just... give this a go! This New Year's Eve at home with my family will not top the list for most exciting holiday ever, but hopefully 2007 will bring me a year of adventure and new experiences.

Singapore experiences wettest December since 1869

2006-12-30T12:13:00.000+08:00

According to Channel News Asia, Singapore received 760 milimeters of rain in the month of December alone, which translates to nearly 3 feet of rain! 3 FEET! I realize that it is better than 3 feet of snow, and I do understand that the month of December is over and I missed this massive amount of rain. Still, I did not consider life in a monsoon. Where's my umbrella?!

4 days away

2006-12-29T04:03:00.000+08:00

I guess I will start posting as I prepare for my trip that is just days away. It is such a different feeling than last year's trip, because I have such little time to get ready. Last year I was sitting around with nothing to do but think and plan, but this time I feel like I have no time to do anything. I have been calling credit card companies, cell phone providers, and banks, but I am afriad that I'm forgeting something important. I know Singapore is very developed so I'll be able to find whatever I forget or opt not to bring, but it makes me nervous all the same.

Here's a map for anyone who is wondering where exactly I'm headed. As you can see, Singapore is not in China, I promise. It is right above the equator, and is a tiny island in the Pacific.

I will be taking classes at Nanyang Technoligical University, in the School of Communications and Information. As of right now, I am registered for three classes; The Media in China, Singapore Society, and Broadcast and Electronic Communications. I will be able to study the media and the country through all of these classes, and am really interested to see the differences in culture and broadcast style.

While in Singapore, I will live on campus in a residence hall like any other student at NTU. I have requested to live with another exchange student, in the hopes of finding a travel partner, and someone who can relate to my adjusting to the new culture. I would love to live with another journalism student from a differnet American university to compare what they are studying, but am open to pretty much anything. This is a photo of the building I am living in from the university's website, but I promise to update with more of my own once I have them.

I heard from the univeristy that I will be met by a student at the airport, and he will help me check in to my hall and such. I think this is the biggest relief, because I know that was the hardest and most stressful part when I got to Italy. Hopefully he can help me with my bags, and show me around and settle me a bit. With any luck, Jeremy from Ithaca will be around when I get there to piece that comforting piece of home, and we can find Michele when she arrives later. We know we are all living in the same hall, and will have to take it from there.

I can't wait for three weeks from now, when I am settled and none of this is so unknown. But for now, I will stare and my suitcase, and overthink.

Preparations

2006-11-23T01:40:00.000+08:00

Singapore in one month. Flight booking, this week.