Bintan, Indonesia

hiii!

well, i knew I would be slacking on updating my blog but i didnt think it would happen this quickly :). Sorry. Anyways, things are incredible here. I love it. Every day is a new adventure...whether it involves a physical journey--like finding classes or trying to order food, an emotional journey--bridging gaps in social understanding...understanding the concept of being a minority etc... Just for updates sake, these last couple of days have involved ALOT of exploring...Singapore itself [the city, malls, surrounding islands-paula ubin], NTU [the campus, my school, classes], food [this has been the hardest, i have subway at least twice a week haha but i am working on it, i reminded myself that I never know until I try it..no matter how weird it sounds..i most likely have never tasted it and if i dont like it..i dont like it. no harm done. its a daily process].

The last couple of days have by far been my favorite...like i mentioned before we went to a place called Paula Ubin which is a little rustic town off the coast of Singapore- about an hour and a halves journey. Everything is described as 1950's-60's coastal asian town. Its one of those places that have never and probably will never changed. I love it...the people just live off the land mostly...and uses necessities..nothing else matters. I didn't talk to too many of the locals...more observation than anything (I kinda wish i did talk to them a little more now that I think back on it). It was here that Nicole, Heather, Jeremy, Charlie and I went bike riding around the jungle...it was soo pretty and it was an amazing workout. haha. Did not see much wildlife, well actually lots of wild dogs..and apparently Jeremy saw monkeys but I am pretending he didnt because I want to see them so bad so its better that they never existed than to think I missed it. haha. After our bike ride we ate at one of the 3 little family owned restaurant...this one was called the 'first stop restaurant'- couldn't resist that. It was like a family style chinese food establishment..it was really good. We tried an ostrich meat and ginger dish...it was pretty good (once I ignored the fact that it was ostrich)...i liked it.


What else...oh yeah we did the touristy thing of the week and went to the Birdpark at Jurong Point- which unlike everything else...is pretty close to our school. It was like a zoo with just birds...the best part was that we got to feed these beautiful lorey birds. anddd they were on my shoulders and arms and it was sooo cool. although initially one almost headbutted the heck out of me when i first..everyone thought it was hilarious... i beg to differ. haha. oh and by the way..shane went with us..and she is terrified of birds (some traumatic childhood incident) so that was pretty entertaining.

Those are my stories for the day...but yeah just so you know, everything is going great..im looking at joining a club or two- one is a business club that focuses on corporate social responsibility which is what I want to do when i get out of school...and they have projects that focus on Cambodia which is pretty awesome...and the other is a Christian club so I could meet local believers and have an amazing time in fellowship while im out here. so far things are looking great :)

My CAMPUS:

National Day

August 9/10 are days that commemorate the 'Birth of Singapore', it is similar to our Fourth of July- Independence day celebrations. These pictures are from numerous parts of the city that we wandered around during the festivities. Hundreds of people gathered at City Hall to watch fireworks, hear speakers, see military planes flying over, etc... They sang the National Day Song which was "What do you see?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0I2inJdaT8&feature=player_embedded). As always we ended up in a mall during part of the celebration and people were jumping up and down singing it. Although we felt slightly out of place it was incredible to see the amount of pride citizens had in their country *ah class, i have to finish this later*

oh yeahhh and last night Nicole and I went out for the first time.
well actually we didnt really "go out" cause we were tired and came home at like 10.30 but, the point is we attempted.

We had dinner with the Bryans family, they are incredible...I can't wait to spend time with them more this semester...it is such a blessing they are around. But yeah we went to an American Brewery called Brewkerz which is one of the best breweries in Asia. Nicole and I had BBQ burgers and fries- yes we caved into American food already. It was amazingggggggggg.

After, we walked around Clarke Quay. Which is a beautiful downtown area...every restaurant and club is very intricately designed and conceptualized. The architecture and lighting is incredible. There was a band there attempting to play "American classics" such as Journey-Midnight Train and Coolio-Gangsters Paradise haha...it was hilarious.

Anyways, the best part of the night was that Nicole and I figured out the public transportation on our own. We went from Clarke Quay to home...which was about an hours journey on mass transit, but everything fun takes a while to get to.

Oh yeah... P.S. it takes about 35-45 minutes in a cab/driving to get from one side of singapore to another. its insane.

thus far.

day 4. i think. time is strange here, the days go by so slowly.

observations I have made:
1. Napkins are a personal choice. Nearly all the eateries sell them separately or they're nonexistent.
2. CROCS are really really cool. (well thats what they think, still haven't made the transition...i'll work on it)
3. In spite of the fact that it is really hot and humid. Singapore natives wear pants, never shorts.
4. Parking a car means backing it into a stall.
5. Extra words are unnecessary. Get straight to the point. [Carpark= parking lot] simple enough.


Things that the U.S. should learn from Singapore:

1. There are an allotted amount of cars on the island. Only a certain number of citizens have cars to prevent mass quantities of traffic. It enables the city to rely heavily on public transportation which is really well developed, organized, and dependable.

2. Also, citizens trade out cars every 3-5 years, to keep up with changing technologies and keep exhaust emissions low. There are NO old cars, they are all new and very well kept.

3. SUPER HIGH FINES. (its a 'fine' country *drumroll pleasee*)
$1000 for eating or drinking on the MRT (train)
$1000 for bringing flammable liquids near certain places
littering/jaywalking fines
etc...

4. HIGH regulation and prevention of illegal drugs.

5. No firearms unless for military usage

6. Each Singapore citizen (i think just males) must serve the country for 2 years

Although some of these things seem absurd or unnecessary, each of them has contributed to the success of Singapore...its cleanliness, extremely low crime, etc...

Speechless.

wow. the last 48-63 hours have been the most ridiculous ones of my life. Good news is...we're all in Singapore yay!

For the next 4 months I want to use this blog as a refelection, a mirror of my thoughts...and experiences..but for today I think a run-down of general statements is a necessity.

4. 8. 09 [Aug. 4, 2009- this is how the Asian cultures write their dates so I have to make it a new habit]

Departure- LAX 2:45 PM- Nicole, Shane, Alicia, Anna and I were all on the same flight! amazing start.

[7.13 PM]-Journal Entry from my new italian leather adventure book Melissa gave me! :)

Flying over ALASKA!! so cool, I wish I could go see it (I want to go there one day, I decided)...this flight-all 34908 hours of it- has helped me, actually no...it just furthers my theory that I have ADD, its an issue. Here's what my last four hours have consisted of:

-boarding the plane with Nicole (oh i bought a travel pillow...best investment ever)
-Sat down in our seats, they're snazzy and purple..photo seshh
-Played with the interactive screen in front of my seat. Tried to get it to teach me Mandarin, epic fail.
-Read every magaize the plane has to offer
-Learned escape routes, just in case. YESS the plane has an inflatable slide raft!
*pictureee
-Watch an episode of Mad Men
-Write in my journal
-Read cards from family & Mel...cried.
-bathroom break
-Singapore Sling! free, no id necessary, Score. (It's not as great as they make it seem...but gotta give Singapore some credit for their incredible marketing}


-Meet William. Sitting to the left of Nicole and I. He's headed to Indonesia to visit family, student @ UCLA, he thinks Phil's BBQ is one of the best things San Diego has to offer (he is slightly mislead), Chem major. Oh and he gave us a heads up on Singapore Slang- "eat what?" "where go?" apparently sentences are useless. Nicole and I might come back slightly retarded.
-attempted to eat an awful lunch. Stuck with the familiar, roll with swiss cheese and ice cream!
-Played super mario brothers for like 45 mins- oh how i miss that game. its weird how I havent played since i was like 12 and I still know where each and every life, magic bean stalk, and random coin bricks are. I should've majored in Nintendo *reevaluating life*.
-tried to read
-tried to sleep
-writing...currently
still restless...still stoked to be over alaska.

wow.

My Savior.

God is amazing. That's all I can say.

Sidenote:

My whole life God has been the only consistency [besides my siblings], he NEVER lets us down...and its a beautiful beautiful thing.

You may be wondering why I am rambling about this, but I think its important that I thank Him for this incredible opprotunity and the provision He has given me....whether it has been friendship, family, funding, etc... He has always had a plan and I am blessed to be a part of it.

Thats all.