SingaPOURING SWEAT

I have been in the incredibly gorgeous and modern country of Singapore for over a week. The minute we walked out of the airport (midnight on 5/17) I was drenched in sweat from head to toe! But nonetheless this island is beautiful. It is a cultured mix of Chinese, Malays, and Indians... and they all speak English. Local dialect is actually called Singlish - it's a little hard to understand but it's pretty neat to hear! There is a unique dynamic here: since the people are so diverse and act just like westerners we seem to fit right in. Actually, at orientation the speaker said "In Singapore, we like to eat. I hope you like to eat!" I knew right then and there that I would have no problem in this country. And the people are great. I could honestly people-watch all day. The tidbits I get are on the train (MRT) and on campus during lunch. And really it's not a huge culture shock, not only since it's modern and English, but also because Tech has a high Asian population anyway so I'm used to it.
Classes officially started the first Friday we were here. There are 4 classes total, which we are taking one at a time, each class lasting 10 school days, mornings and afternoons. I'm not going to lie... it's already been tough and stressful: trying to cram a semester's worth of already-hard-enough-give-me-a-break material into 2 weeks is insane! Our second class starts this Thursday... isn't that crazy? But we're plowing through it and crossing our fingers for passing grades. At least we're all in it together! Our professors are so funny though: they are all from Asia and also want to enjoy their time in Singapore. They always want to know what we're doing and constantly offer to help call cabs or book tickets, etc... it's really cute! Too bad they're not interested in helping our tests go from hard to easy...
Speaking of hard, my bed is like a rock - but this is okay since I like sleeping on hard surfaces. When I was younger I thought I was a hardcore ballerina, so I would sleep on the ground on my back because my dance teacher told me it was good for the back! So no complaints... and my room is pretty decent! I am a resident of Prince George's Park. My room is a one-person dorm room, with a twin bed w/ sheets (it's too hot to have a blanket), a desk and shelf, a sliding-door closet, and a corner bathroom with a shower. It's not very big but it's enough room for me! The only times I'm in here are to sleep, shower, and study. Sometimes if I feel like I can't afford the normal $2.00 meal at the canteen, I'll come to my room and eat a peanut butter sandwich. (They have honey roasted crunchy peanut butter! Can you believe it? - For those of you who don't know what that is, don't try it because you'll get addicted. I was warned and didn't listen!)
You're probably wondering what I eat everyday. Okay, there are several canteens on campus. The two I eat at most frequently are the one next to our dorm and the one next to the NUS engineering building. They are very similar, with 8 or 10 different stalls of Asian food. I've attempted to try most of them, but haven't mustered up the courage to try Muslim Cooked Food stall or Indian food stall, since most of what I eat has been mostly fatty meat in noodle bowls or quite honestly "Guess-that-Food" meals. Last week I was proud of one of my choices for food from the Chinese Cooked stall: it was chicken (I think) and 2 different vegetables: bean sprouts and some kind of green dish... it reminded me of really dark asparagus in spinach or something, but I have no idea what it was. Anyway I took a bite of these greens and it was delicious! The second bite of it I took was crunchy... so with raised eyebrows, I glanced down at my plate. There were dozens of little bitty eyes staring back at me. Ever had greens with fish heads?
There's a good ending to the story: NUS has a McDonald's next to the engineering canteen. Never before has McDonald's made me so happy!
But we have eaten at some pretty good restaurants, don't get me wrong. Campus food is just the cheap stuff. There's a good western grill behind the basketball courts next to our dorms, and they have pizza and burgers. Downtown Singapore offers a great variety of places to eat and also really good drinks. Ever heard of a Singapore Sling? Or Tiger Beer? Both are extremely popular over here and delicious! There's also a famous, abundant Singapore fruit called the darian that supposedly stinks pretty badly (there are pictures of them in the trains with X's through them. Hahaha... no smoking, no food, no darian fruit.) It must be good, though, because the big Symphony halls are in the shapes of darians. The halls are about the size of the Sydney Opera House, on a bay and everything. Next to those buildings is a big Merlion statue, the symbol of Singapore! There are no lions and certainly no mermaids on this island but for some reason it's their symbol, I believe for strength and being an island.
I will leave my Sentosa Island story for another entry because it deserves lots of words. But other places we've been around Singapore have been the Cinaplex (crazy modern, 10-floor building with restaurants, stores, and movies) to see The Da Vinci Code, the Immigration Office (woo!), Little India, Zouk (the most popular night club), and a couple of neat restaurants for random occasions.
Left: picture taken in Little India in front of the Sultan Mosque. We spent an afternoon in Little India to check out the temples and mosques and what the streets were like. In all honesty, parts of Little India were pretty sketchy! But at the same time, it's a heart of the city and a neat experience.

All in all, Singapore is just like the United States, but 20 years ahead AND 20 years behind. The buildings, transportation, and technology are hands-down 20 years ahead of us. On the other hand, some of the food and customs could be 20 years behind us. The people are the best part, though. Get this: I went to Mass last week and the priest told the same jokes as one would at home. The songs and recitations were the same (I think --- I'm not Catholic --- but I knew a lot of it!) and people dressed like anyone from the U.S. would. The people here are loving and helpful and very nice. I'm having a great time!!