Katie calculated that we only have ~18 days before we go home... that's crazy! Part of me is desperately longing for home while other parts of me will desperately miss it here. I've found that I am a melting pot of emotions during exam time. I hate exams with a passion. I thought CH was bad, but I have two exams here that account for 50%+ of my grade... gahhh!! I also have 3 others that count for no less than 35% percent of their respective grades. There is just so much information to stuff in my brain. For instance, I have 1000+ slides of testable information for my finance exam plus practice exams to go through.
Anyways, these exams are making me want to go home back to UNC where I know how to study for everything. However, after they are done I am heading to Borneo to see more of SE Asia before I come home. I'm really pumped about that. I'm sure the last week before I leave is going to be tough. I'll have people to say goodbye to as well as a home to leave. It's crazy.
Today I went to Tea Chapter near Chinatown and I learned how to take traditional chinese tea. It was really cool. I have learned so much about the culture here since I have been here and am really excited about that. I also made it to some markets last weekend. I still don't understand how there can be so many shops here. I don't know how people have the money to support it all.
Alright, this is all I got right now. My brain is killing me and I have to get back to finance lecture number 9, Bond Valuation=92 slides... gahh. Then it's off to studying for my philosophy exam tomorrow. It'll be all good in 5 days when I'm done.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
A Multitude of Masses
Wow, I can't believe it's been three months since I got here. Although it doesn't seem that long, thinking back to when I was waiting in line to get my student card feels like another world. I dont' get lost anymore. I don't have to think about which stop to "alight" at when I'm going home. I don't wonder what's in everything I eat, and I don't even notice the funny smells that bothered me so much when I first got here. Time sure flies.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty mundane. I haven't really done much other than go to school, do my work, eat and sleep. But there is a common theme that underlies everything I do, that is, the presence of others. I cannot find anywhere where I am able to be compeletely alone. I walk to the bus stop surrounded by people. I wait for the bus surrounded by people. I hold my backpack close to my chest on the bus because it is so crowded. I walk to my class surrounded by people. And I head home all in a similar fashion. I live in a <800 sqare ft. apartment with 5 other people, and there are high rises in all directions when I look out the windows of that apartment. Whenever I eat, there is a fight for a table, whenever I take public transportation there is a battle for a seat. I even walked for half an hour around the loathed engineering faculty to find some random room to sit and listen to silence but I could not find anything. There aren't even benches inside, and if there are benches outside they are taken up by you guessed it, people!
Almost every Intervarsity retreat that I've been on has a retreat of silence. And I remember Emmaus my freshman year focused on silence and taking media (i.e. music, internet... etc) fasts. Well, I put on my headphones and turn on some music just to drain out all of the daily noise. It's funny, I put on music to get some silence. I'm really ready to find some alone time. Even now, I am typing on a computer in the library and there are people pacing like vultures ready to claim a seat once a computer opens up. I look out the window and all I see are buildings, people, buildings, and more people. I guess I'm not a city boy. I miss fields, woods, farms, and mountains. I miss just walking in sitting a place where I can't hear anything but nature.
Well, that's about it. I think that I'm going to do something fun this weekend. I'm ready to end this perfunctory streak of routine. I'm sure it will involve people, but at least it won't be studying or going to school. And maybe next week if I search hard enough I can find a place to have a retreat of silence... maybe.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty mundane. I haven't really done much other than go to school, do my work, eat and sleep. But there is a common theme that underlies everything I do, that is, the presence of others. I cannot find anywhere where I am able to be compeletely alone. I walk to the bus stop surrounded by people. I wait for the bus surrounded by people. I hold my backpack close to my chest on the bus because it is so crowded. I walk to my class surrounded by people. And I head home all in a similar fashion. I live in a <800 sqare ft. apartment with 5 other people, and there are high rises in all directions when I look out the windows of that apartment. Whenever I eat, there is a fight for a table, whenever I take public transportation there is a battle for a seat. I even walked for half an hour around the loathed engineering faculty to find some random room to sit and listen to silence but I could not find anything. There aren't even benches inside, and if there are benches outside they are taken up by you guessed it, people!
Almost every Intervarsity retreat that I've been on has a retreat of silence. And I remember Emmaus my freshman year focused on silence and taking media (i.e. music, internet... etc) fasts. Well, I put on my headphones and turn on some music just to drain out all of the daily noise. It's funny, I put on music to get some silence. I'm really ready to find some alone time. Even now, I am typing on a computer in the library and there are people pacing like vultures ready to claim a seat once a computer opens up. I look out the window and all I see are buildings, people, buildings, and more people. I guess I'm not a city boy. I miss fields, woods, farms, and mountains. I miss just walking in sitting a place where I can't hear anything but nature.
Well, that's about it. I think that I'm going to do something fun this weekend. I'm ready to end this perfunctory streak of routine. I'm sure it will involve people, but at least it won't be studying or going to school. And maybe next week if I search hard enough I can find a place to have a retreat of silence... maybe.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Back in the Motherland
So yeah, it’s been a while. I guess almost two weeks ago now that I got back from Thailand. It was one of the coolest experiences that I have had. It kind of opened up my eyes to a few things about traveling. I guess before anyone goes anywhere, they see pictures of the places whether it’s on the internet or in postcards, or just general photos they have seen in their lifetime. The first thing I learned is that pictures are deceiving. Yeah yeah, we’ve all heard that before, but seriously, they are. But the most deceiving picture of all is the one our mind creates after compiling all the aforementioned images together. I had some sort of glorified image of Bangkok before I got there. I felt that I could toss a street vendor a penny and get a perfectly crafted Rolex watch back. Or if I walked into a perfectly organized mall, I could just see my size, shell out a baht or two and get a perfectly tailored polo shirt… not the case.
What I came to realize when I got there is that Bangkok is full of people just like you and me. They walk on the ground just like you and I do, and they live under the same blue sky (well, if pollution isn’t too bad) that you and I do. It’s not like you step off the plane and thematic music starts playing to make you realize you are in a new part of the world. When you walk out of the terminal, the clouds don’t part to reveal a beam of sunshine to guide you to the best places. No, it’s just a city. You’ve got to look at a map, and try to get where you are going all in a language that doesn’t use the same letters as English = zero chance of reading it.
Even though I enjoyed my trip thoroughly, it wasn’t like I had a catharsis ever day. It wasn’t as if I was blown away by something ever time I turned my head. I was able to see 800 year old ruins, walk the streets of one of the largest, busiest cities in the world, and then travel to exotic, tropical islands. But you know what? It was just the ocean like back home, trees like back home, food made of the same basic stuff as back home, and it all cost money just like back home. I’m really glad to have seen it and I would love to go back, but it’s not as glorified as commercials, travel guides, and the rest of the world make it out to be. And I realized that’s why my first couple weeks in Singapore were a bit rough. It wasn’t that much different then back home, but it was a new area that I wasn’t familiar with at all. It was like being a freshman all over again in a university that was the same as yours except all the buildings and pathways were in different places. Just kind of annoying until you learn them well enough to pay attention to the rest of the differences and enjoy them.
But yeah, that’s something that I’ve learned while being here. I’m enjoying my time here more than I did when I first got here. I feel that I am comfortable enough now with the basic set up of Singapore that I am able to enjoy all of its nooks and crannies that I hadn’t really been able to pay attention to before. Well, I am paying attention to my classes and they are pretty tough. But that’s another story. So overall I am doing pretty well. Still learning a lot. Mostly how to be alone and yet surrounded by people at the same time. I’ll try to write soon. Peace out.
What I came to realize when I got there is that Bangkok is full of people just like you and me. They walk on the ground just like you and I do, and they live under the same blue sky (well, if pollution isn’t too bad) that you and I do. It’s not like you step off the plane and thematic music starts playing to make you realize you are in a new part of the world. When you walk out of the terminal, the clouds don’t part to reveal a beam of sunshine to guide you to the best places. No, it’s just a city. You’ve got to look at a map, and try to get where you are going all in a language that doesn’t use the same letters as English = zero chance of reading it.
Even though I enjoyed my trip thoroughly, it wasn’t like I had a catharsis ever day. It wasn’t as if I was blown away by something ever time I turned my head. I was able to see 800 year old ruins, walk the streets of one of the largest, busiest cities in the world, and then travel to exotic, tropical islands. But you know what? It was just the ocean like back home, trees like back home, food made of the same basic stuff as back home, and it all cost money just like back home. I’m really glad to have seen it and I would love to go back, but it’s not as glorified as commercials, travel guides, and the rest of the world make it out to be. And I realized that’s why my first couple weeks in Singapore were a bit rough. It wasn’t that much different then back home, but it was a new area that I wasn’t familiar with at all. It was like being a freshman all over again in a university that was the same as yours except all the buildings and pathways were in different places. Just kind of annoying until you learn them well enough to pay attention to the rest of the differences and enjoy them.
But yeah, that’s something that I’ve learned while being here. I’m enjoying my time here more than I did when I first got here. I feel that I am comfortable enough now with the basic set up of Singapore that I am able to enjoy all of its nooks and crannies that I hadn’t really been able to pay attention to before. Well, I am paying attention to my classes and they are pretty tough. But that’s another story. So overall I am doing pretty well. Still learning a lot. Mostly how to be alone and yet surrounded by people at the same time. I’ll try to write soon. Peace out.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Brain Dump
Tuesdays are the worst here at the NUS business school. I start the day off with a two hour finance lecture followed by a one hour lunch break only to rush off to my three back-to-back tutorials (kind of like recitations). In the tutorials, all of the assignments are due making it my big homework day. After I get out of my last tutorial (like I just did), I feel like I need to take a brain dump.
I've quickly learned that the typical western style of asking questions seems a bit out of place here. Let me elaborate. So when we're back home, if you raise your hand and make a logical guess to a question, even though it may have been a stupid one, you're not stupid and just deemed as creative. Here, you're stupid. If you have something to say in class to the professor, you better know what you're talking about. I don't understand how the university can beg and plead their students to be more individualistic and creative when whenever they try, they get a blank stare questioning their legitimacy as a human being. Well, I know I'm a human being whether or not my professor thinks so.
But anyways. That's my Tuesdays and now I'm taking my brain dump by writing a blog post. The time is ticking before I peace out to Thailand. I'm starting to solidify places to stay and things to see. It feels strange that I've already been to Malaysia, have seen most of Singapore, and am leaving for Thailand in less than two weeks and I feel very behind in the typical study abroad travel "race." Some of my housemates have been to Malaysia, Indonesia... twice, and are planning to go Vietnam in two weeks followed by a weekend trip to Bangkok.... really? It seems everyone is panicking to get out and see everything. I've found it really nice here to do what I want. Nobody is grading me on my study abroad experience except for me. I guess I can give myself an "A+" for whatever I get to do, see, and experience. I've enjoyed spending one or two of my weekends at home, studying, reading, watching TV, you know? I don't feel like I'm wasting time at all or miserably failing at my abroad experience. Part of my experience that I have enjoyed the most is getting to know some of those part of the local culture by joining Crusade and the Swim team. I don't really need to travel to do that. It's pretty cool.
One thing I'm really looking forward to this weekend is the interfaculty games. I'm swimming on Saturday to represent the Business Faculty here (against the arts, music, engineering, environment... etc faculties). I haven't competed in over two years but have been training with the team since I arrived. I actually have a chance to take away the gold in the 50 meter freestyle. I'll be swimming that, the 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly, and maybe a relay or two. Afterwards, I'm headed to a lantern festival to see some more of the local culture. There will be music, food (Sat. is the mooncake day), and a lot of festivities. Unfortunately the event is sponsored by Hello Kitty... so attendees can foster the blossoming 5 year-old girl within.
So that's what's going on with me. I miss you guys a lot. I've talked with many of you via chat, email, skype and that has been a huge blessing. Thanks for all of your support. Much love!
I've quickly learned that the typical western style of asking questions seems a bit out of place here. Let me elaborate. So when we're back home, if you raise your hand and make a logical guess to a question, even though it may have been a stupid one, you're not stupid and just deemed as creative. Here, you're stupid. If you have something to say in class to the professor, you better know what you're talking about. I don't understand how the university can beg and plead their students to be more individualistic and creative when whenever they try, they get a blank stare questioning their legitimacy as a human being. Well, I know I'm a human being whether or not my professor thinks so.
But anyways. That's my Tuesdays and now I'm taking my brain dump by writing a blog post. The time is ticking before I peace out to Thailand. I'm starting to solidify places to stay and things to see. It feels strange that I've already been to Malaysia, have seen most of Singapore, and am leaving for Thailand in less than two weeks and I feel very behind in the typical study abroad travel "race." Some of my housemates have been to Malaysia, Indonesia... twice, and are planning to go Vietnam in two weeks followed by a weekend trip to Bangkok.... really? It seems everyone is panicking to get out and see everything. I've found it really nice here to do what I want. Nobody is grading me on my study abroad experience except for me. I guess I can give myself an "A+" for whatever I get to do, see, and experience. I've enjoyed spending one or two of my weekends at home, studying, reading, watching TV, you know? I don't feel like I'm wasting time at all or miserably failing at my abroad experience. Part of my experience that I have enjoyed the most is getting to know some of those part of the local culture by joining Crusade and the Swim team. I don't really need to travel to do that. It's pretty cool.
One thing I'm really looking forward to this weekend is the interfaculty games. I'm swimming on Saturday to represent the Business Faculty here (against the arts, music, engineering, environment... etc faculties). I haven't competed in over two years but have been training with the team since I arrived. I actually have a chance to take away the gold in the 50 meter freestyle. I'll be swimming that, the 50 backstroke, 50 butterfly, and maybe a relay or two. Afterwards, I'm headed to a lantern festival to see some more of the local culture. There will be music, food (Sat. is the mooncake day), and a lot of festivities. Unfortunately the event is sponsored by Hello Kitty... so attendees can foster the blossoming 5 year-old girl within.
So that's what's going on with me. I miss you guys a lot. I've talked with many of you via chat, email, skype and that has been a huge blessing. Thanks for all of your support. Much love!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Moving On
So I lied about writing shorter blogs and more often. I guess time kind of flies. It's now been about two weeks since I moved into my new place in Buona Vista. Since I've moved, my commute to school has been cut in half. Which is really nice, but it's still about half an hour out my door to the central library. Which to put things in perspective is the amount of time it takes me to drive from my home in Raleigh to campus in Chapel Hill. Yet, my place in Buona Vista is only about 2-3 miles from campus whereas Raleigh is about 30 miles from campus... it's kind of crazy. I guess if I were driving from Buona Vista it would only take about 5 minutes, but there's a lot of waiting with the bus.
Anyways, classes are underway and it seems there is no academic break with studying abroad in Singapore--except that I only have to get C-'s to survive. It seems with less time spent in class, there is an exponential return in demand for outside of class work. Maybe it's because I only have one class with less than four hundred people. And it also works out that it's my favorite. From the beginning I'm taking "Asia Pacific Business Ethics and Society," "Corporate Finance," "Introduction to World Music," "Management Science," and "Reason and Persuasion." My favorite is the world music class. Last Wed. we went to the SE Asia room and played a Gamelan set which is a musical style native to Indonesia based upon a weird tuning system and crazy looking instruments. It was probably one of the highlights of my week. My Asia Pacific class is my second favorite because it teaches me the business trends in the Asia side of the world. It's more interesting than any of my other business classes. I also like my philosophy class, mainly because it is based on Plato. I took four years of Latin in high school and in that learned a ton about Roman and Greek culture so it's easy for me to understand the mythology and concepts taught. The other two are really math based and kind of suck but will be worth it in the end with what I learn in them.
I've also gotten to see a lot more of the culture in Singapore. One thing that I have really enjoyed is how relationships are here. After joining the swim team and crusade I've gotten to see a bit how Singaporeans date (both inside and outside the church). I really appreciate the simplicity in it. When a couple is hanging out, they aren't all over each other like you generally see back home. They usually appear as very close friends. It's something that I admire. Most couples seem to have a large respect for each other. You also don't see everything in Singapore relating back to sex. There really are no bilboards, advertisements, TV shows/commercials promoting their products through sexual inuendos... unless they are American or European. It's almost like a breath of fresh air. As far as I can tell, you don't hear people talking a whole lot about getting completely drunk for the sake of drinking... and then having sex. People generally socially drink here. It's not about having a good story to tell tomorrow (if you can remember it) but more about building friendships, hanging out and laughing. It's really cool.
Last night Yong took myself and John David to a really nice hotel that had a lounge/bar on the top (70th) floor with panoramic windows overlooking the city. We had a couple drinks, hung out, talked, and enjoyed the incredible view. It was probably one of the most enjoyable times that I've had here.
Well, that's all for now. I think I am about to head out to find one of the few Taco Bells here in Singapore. Yeah, kind of lame but it will be an adventure since I think there are only one or two, haha. I'll really try this time to write sooner. Now that I'm settled in a little more used to classes, I think it will be easier. Oh, and I'll let you know soon what my plans are for Thailand.
Cheers,
-Matt
Anyways, classes are underway and it seems there is no academic break with studying abroad in Singapore--except that I only have to get C-'s to survive. It seems with less time spent in class, there is an exponential return in demand for outside of class work. Maybe it's because I only have one class with less than four hundred people. And it also works out that it's my favorite. From the beginning I'm taking "Asia Pacific Business Ethics and Society," "Corporate Finance," "Introduction to World Music," "Management Science," and "Reason and Persuasion." My favorite is the world music class. Last Wed. we went to the SE Asia room and played a Gamelan set which is a musical style native to Indonesia based upon a weird tuning system and crazy looking instruments. It was probably one of the highlights of my week. My Asia Pacific class is my second favorite because it teaches me the business trends in the Asia side of the world. It's more interesting than any of my other business classes. I also like my philosophy class, mainly because it is based on Plato. I took four years of Latin in high school and in that learned a ton about Roman and Greek culture so it's easy for me to understand the mythology and concepts taught. The other two are really math based and kind of suck but will be worth it in the end with what I learn in them.
I've also gotten to see a lot more of the culture in Singapore. One thing that I have really enjoyed is how relationships are here. After joining the swim team and crusade I've gotten to see a bit how Singaporeans date (both inside and outside the church). I really appreciate the simplicity in it. When a couple is hanging out, they aren't all over each other like you generally see back home. They usually appear as very close friends. It's something that I admire. Most couples seem to have a large respect for each other. You also don't see everything in Singapore relating back to sex. There really are no bilboards, advertisements, TV shows/commercials promoting their products through sexual inuendos... unless they are American or European. It's almost like a breath of fresh air. As far as I can tell, you don't hear people talking a whole lot about getting completely drunk for the sake of drinking... and then having sex. People generally socially drink here. It's not about having a good story to tell tomorrow (if you can remember it) but more about building friendships, hanging out and laughing. It's really cool.
Last night Yong took myself and John David to a really nice hotel that had a lounge/bar on the top (70th) floor with panoramic windows overlooking the city. We had a couple drinks, hung out, talked, and enjoyed the incredible view. It was probably one of the most enjoyable times that I've had here.
Well, that's all for now. I think I am about to head out to find one of the few Taco Bells here in Singapore. Yeah, kind of lame but it will be an adventure since I think there are only one or two, haha. I'll really try this time to write sooner. Now that I'm settled in a little more used to classes, I think it will be easier. Oh, and I'll let you know soon what my plans are for Thailand.
Cheers,
-Matt
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Mind the Gap
It's now been two weeks since I've been in the "little red dot." But apparently the Singaporean armed forces has changed it to the "lethal red dot." Well that's what is says on the back of our student planners anyway.
Looking back, it seems a long time since I stepped off the plane. The first week was a bit rough dealing with all of the jet lag and getting accustomed to the culture and climate--and thus my last blog posting. Things have been a lot better since then. Walking through street markets laden with the smell of fish doesn't make my stomach turn anymore, nor does seeing chickens and ducks yet to be decapitated hanging in food court stalls. After living in yo:Ha ("your habitat") for a while it doesn't seem as bad as it once did but I'm still glad to be moving into a new apartment on Saturday. It is a 12th story HDB flat with 3 bedrooms a living room and kitchen. But the cool thing is... literally, is that it has 2 air conditioned bedrooms. I'm pretty pumped about that.
A lot of what topped it off for me about Singapore was my trip to Malaysia. Scott, Katie, Henrik (our Swedish friend), and I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn to take a bus across the Singaporean border and into Malaysia. I thought it quite weird that we had to go through customs to get out of Singapore and then customs to get into Malaysia... what happens if you get stuck in between? Nevertheless, we made it through and it was about a 3 hour ride to Mersing. It was crazy to see the Malaysian landscape. It was partly beautiful and partly sad. It seems the country came a to a halt somwhere in the 1960's. There were shacks everywhere. But I was also able to see miles and miles of trees and hills. I hadn't seen that since I had been back home. Once we reached Mersing we hopped onto a ferry to Tioman island. We didn't really know where we were going to stay for the night, but we were bound to find something.
We stepped off the dock and headed to the left. There were two or three "resorts" with cabanas to stay in but it almost seems like a ghost town. We were kind of confused. There would be open air restaurants with one person sitting at the counter and nobody else in sight. We finally got to a place that looked only barely decent and asked if they had room, but they said no (We were kinda confused since we didn't see anybody... anywhere) and that we had to hike a trail over a hillside (that was covered in thick jungle), but there was no guarantee that the next place would have space either. We could either hike the hill or go back to one of the shanty looking places at the pier... we decided to hike the hill. Lo and behold there was a perfect resort. It wasn't too nice, but just right. They had a "super deluxe" room for us that came with "aircon" and room for four, perfect. It was really nice to relax for 3 days. The whole island was like a mountain rising out of the water with crystal clear waters. There were also incredible coral reefs about 15 yards out from the shoreline. I rented snorkel gear for about 5 bucks for the day and saw some of the coolest things that I have ever seen. All in all, my time in Malaysia allowed me some R&R and gave me a chance to better appreciate Singapore.
I'll probably write more about this soon, but classes started this week. I also joined the swim team and am checking out campus crusade tomorrow. Thanks for bearing with the longer post. I'll try to write them more often to keep them shorter.
-Matt
Looking back, it seems a long time since I stepped off the plane. The first week was a bit rough dealing with all of the jet lag and getting accustomed to the culture and climate--and thus my last blog posting. Things have been a lot better since then. Walking through street markets laden with the smell of fish doesn't make my stomach turn anymore, nor does seeing chickens and ducks yet to be decapitated hanging in food court stalls. After living in yo:Ha ("your habitat") for a while it doesn't seem as bad as it once did but I'm still glad to be moving into a new apartment on Saturday. It is a 12th story HDB flat with 3 bedrooms a living room and kitchen. But the cool thing is... literally, is that it has 2 air conditioned bedrooms. I'm pretty pumped about that.
A lot of what topped it off for me about Singapore was my trip to Malaysia. Scott, Katie, Henrik (our Swedish friend), and I woke up at the butt-crack of dawn to take a bus across the Singaporean border and into Malaysia. I thought it quite weird that we had to go through customs to get out of Singapore and then customs to get into Malaysia... what happens if you get stuck in between? Nevertheless, we made it through and it was about a 3 hour ride to Mersing. It was crazy to see the Malaysian landscape. It was partly beautiful and partly sad. It seems the country came a to a halt somwhere in the 1960's. There were shacks everywhere. But I was also able to see miles and miles of trees and hills. I hadn't seen that since I had been back home. Once we reached Mersing we hopped onto a ferry to Tioman island. We didn't really know where we were going to stay for the night, but we were bound to find something.
We stepped off the dock and headed to the left. There were two or three "resorts" with cabanas to stay in but it almost seems like a ghost town. We were kind of confused. There would be open air restaurants with one person sitting at the counter and nobody else in sight. We finally got to a place that looked only barely decent and asked if they had room, but they said no (We were kinda confused since we didn't see anybody... anywhere) and that we had to hike a trail over a hillside (that was covered in thick jungle), but there was no guarantee that the next place would have space either. We could either hike the hill or go back to one of the shanty looking places at the pier... we decided to hike the hill. Lo and behold there was a perfect resort. It wasn't too nice, but just right. They had a "super deluxe" room for us that came with "aircon" and room for four, perfect. It was really nice to relax for 3 days. The whole island was like a mountain rising out of the water with crystal clear waters. There were also incredible coral reefs about 15 yards out from the shoreline. I rented snorkel gear for about 5 bucks for the day and saw some of the coolest things that I have ever seen. All in all, my time in Malaysia allowed me some R&R and gave me a chance to better appreciate Singapore.
I'll probably write more about this soon, but classes started this week. I also joined the swim team and am checking out campus crusade tomorrow. Thanks for bearing with the longer post. I'll try to write them more often to keep them shorter.
-Matt
Friday, August 1, 2008
Uniquely Singapore
So I've been in Singapore three days. It's been quite a journey.
Monday morning I woke up to my phone vibrating at 3:45... time to get up after only 4 hours of sleep. After throwing some clothes on and quickly brushing my teeth, my family and I were out and headed toward the airport by a bit after 4. I was in the air headed to DC by 6:30. Katie and I had a 5 hour layover and were soon off to Tokyo. This 14 hour flight was pretty grueling only to be followed by another 7 hour flight to Singapore. The funny thing was that it didn't get dark until half way to Singapore. Which meant I had ~24 hours of daylight... can you say jetlag?
A Singaporean exchange student from NUS who had spent a semester at Carolina decided to take Katie, myself, and later Scott into his home for the first couple of nights. It was a huge blessing to be taken in by him and his family (his parents and his twin brother Gabriel). After the first night, we checked into yo:HA hostel (off campus dorm) the next day. I walked into my small flat only to see trash all over the floor, spoiled milk sitting on a sticky kitchen table, and a shower and bathroom coated with a fine layer of soapscum/filth. I then walked into my bedroom to see one mattressless bed, and one bed with dirty sheets and a used showercap on the floor. George and Gabriel immediately offered for Katie (her flat was marginally better) and I to stay another night at their home. I told the front desk that I needed my room to be clean before I moved in and they looked confused. So we were back to Geroge's 12th floor 2 story flat that had a beautiful view of Singapore.
We then headed to NUS to begin registration and our application for our student pass into Singapore. It took about 4 hours to get through all of the red tape. Throughout our first two nights, George and Yong (another NUS exchange student from Carolina) took us to different local eateries to begin to experience the Singaporean cuisine. I've had fish head curry soup, squid, tofu, chicken rice, roast duck, Asian green beans, and a special fruit Duron. The Duron is a local fruit that is a bit of a delicacy. It has a very short season and spoils very quickly so you must eat it within one day. It also smells terrible. It turns out that to me, it also tastes terrible.
George and Gabriel took us to a Giant, which is a Singaporean version of Target... but much bigger. We bought all of the things we need... including cleaning supplies. We returned later to the hostel and my room was much cleaner so Scott and I unpacked our things and got settled in. This morning we went through general orientation and business school orientation. It seems that this will be an interesting journey. I'm looking forward to it after shaking off the last bit of jet lag. So I guess all in all this has been a good past three days. The dorm situation is quite disappointing seeing that many other international students got on campus housing (we are about a 15 minute bus ride from campus), but we are planning on moving out after our month contract is up. George and his family have made our entry into Singaorean culture much much easier. There will be more to come.
Monday morning I woke up to my phone vibrating at 3:45... time to get up after only 4 hours of sleep. After throwing some clothes on and quickly brushing my teeth, my family and I were out and headed toward the airport by a bit after 4. I was in the air headed to DC by 6:30. Katie and I had a 5 hour layover and were soon off to Tokyo. This 14 hour flight was pretty grueling only to be followed by another 7 hour flight to Singapore. The funny thing was that it didn't get dark until half way to Singapore. Which meant I had ~24 hours of daylight... can you say jetlag?
A Singaporean exchange student from NUS who had spent a semester at Carolina decided to take Katie, myself, and later Scott into his home for the first couple of nights. It was a huge blessing to be taken in by him and his family (his parents and his twin brother Gabriel). After the first night, we checked into yo:HA hostel (off campus dorm) the next day. I walked into my small flat only to see trash all over the floor, spoiled milk sitting on a sticky kitchen table, and a shower and bathroom coated with a fine layer of soapscum/filth. I then walked into my bedroom to see one mattressless bed, and one bed with dirty sheets and a used showercap on the floor. George and Gabriel immediately offered for Katie (her flat was marginally better) and I to stay another night at their home. I told the front desk that I needed my room to be clean before I moved in and they looked confused. So we were back to Geroge's 12th floor 2 story flat that had a beautiful view of Singapore.
We then headed to NUS to begin registration and our application for our student pass into Singapore. It took about 4 hours to get through all of the red tape. Throughout our first two nights, George and Yong (another NUS exchange student from Carolina) took us to different local eateries to begin to experience the Singaporean cuisine. I've had fish head curry soup, squid, tofu, chicken rice, roast duck, Asian green beans, and a special fruit Duron. The Duron is a local fruit that is a bit of a delicacy. It has a very short season and spoils very quickly so you must eat it within one day. It also smells terrible. It turns out that to me, it also tastes terrible.
George and Gabriel took us to a Giant, which is a Singaporean version of Target... but much bigger. We bought all of the things we need... including cleaning supplies. We returned later to the hostel and my room was much cleaner so Scott and I unpacked our things and got settled in. This morning we went through general orientation and business school orientation. It seems that this will be an interesting journey. I'm looking forward to it after shaking off the last bit of jet lag. So I guess all in all this has been a good past three days. The dorm situation is quite disappointing seeing that many other international students got on campus housing (we are about a 15 minute bus ride from campus), but we are planning on moving out after our month contract is up. George and his family have made our entry into Singaorean culture much much easier. There will be more to come.
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