Kuala Lumpur: A weekend to learn from

Last weekend was nothing less than a stressful weekend to say the very least.  A few friends (Marc, Sunita, Sabrina, and Lukas) and I decided that we would meet up with some other friends (Kush and Jeff) coming home from Thailand in Kuala Lumpur, the lovely capital of Malaysia.  It started out a bit stressful as we were rushed to get on the earliest bus possible by Lukas--this attitude that he thought we had somewhere to be ASAP continued throughout the trip and caused us to feel rushed even when simply walking to find a place for dinner.  We got on the bus at 2:30PM and were promised by the driver that we were leaving at 3.  That being said, the bus set off on our four-hour journey to KL at around 4:30PM.  We arrived in the middle of the city--literally the bus dropped us off at a random corner in downtown KL--at around 9PM after a thirty minute dinner break for the driver.  Time clearly means nothing in Malaysian culture as we would also find out on the way home when our 12PM bus left promptly at 2PM.  

We then got a cab with a driver who drove us around for another thirty minutes looking for our hostel when in the end, we told him where to go!  After checking in, we went to look for food and a cold drink.  We sat around talking until the wee hours of the morning at a hawker center near our hostel, and went to bed with plans of waking up at 7AM to get in line for tickets to go up into the famous Patronas Towers of KL.  Needless to say we didn't wake up until 11AM, so settled for a coffee from Starbucks, and a trip to the Menara Tower--the fourth tallest tower in the world.  The Patronas towers are actually taller, but you can see them from the Menara Tower.  When we got there, practically jogging there no doubt, we found that it was better to view at night, so we set out for the Batu Caves.

Catching a bus in KL is completely random.  You don't really know what bus to get on, and there is not really a station, more like a general area where busses tend to stop, so you had better be on your toes.  Just as we were leaving Menara, it began to rain, and I don't just mean rain, I mean downpour.  Despite the unnerving weather, we caught a bus at the City Centre to the Batu Caves.  

  

The Batu Caves are a series of caves and cave temples which happen to be one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.  It is the place where the Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia is held.  We got to see a glimpse of this festival while we were there! 

       

To get into the caves and temples in the caves you pass a giant statue of Lord Murugan and climb 272 steep stairs!

  

After the Batu Caves we rushed back on a 45 minute bus ride to downtown to go shopping for a bit in Chinatown.  There we saw every brand of knock-off you can imagine, and ate some fried food as nothing else is too safe.  After Chinatown we went back to the Menara Tower for our night viewing of the Patronas Towers.  It seemed absurd to me to pay to go into one tower only to see another, not to mention that once you've seen one skyscraper, they all look alike.  Regardless, we went, we saw, and it was less than incredible.  The Patronas Towers actually looked more exciting to me from the ground looking up.  However, they are a landmark and a must-see of Kuala Lumpur, so I can say, "I've seen it."

After the towers, we were finally able to meet up with Kush and Jeff after trying to get in touch with them all day.  We went out for dinner, and basically called it a night.  By that point we were all at each other's throats and ready to fall over because we were so tired of running around everywhere.  I needed to relax.  The next morning Marc and Lukas got up to actually go inside the Patronas towers.  I passed on that deal as I was pretty sure another outing with them would not be in either of our best interests.  The girls all hung out and got ready to go home.  As I said before, the bus ride that we rushed to catch at noon did not leave until 2PM, so we got even more frustrated, not to mention we had to look all over downtown for our bus as it didn't stop in the station.  When we finally found it, it was packed full with only the worst five seats left on the bus--the very back seats.  

To say the least, it was a long four hour bus ride home.  You can see how cramped we were.  We were so hungry when we got to the rest stop that we all got off to grab a bite.  This would have been fine if the others would have let us know they were getting back on the bus with the bus driver, but instead they left Sabrina and I at the rest stop.  We came out after eating our dinners to find no bus, no Marc, no Lukas, and no Sunita.  "They wouldn't" we said to each other, but they had.  Just as we said that we see a bus reversing and see Lukas' head pop out of the back window yelling at us to come on.  This was a perfect summary to our weekend getaway to KL I'm pretty sure.  Crappy.  

While I realize that you can't win them all, this was an awful trip.  I didn't care too much for KL, not to mention it really taught me the kinds of people I can and cannot travel with.  I like seeing as much as we can, and getting the most out of a visit, but I also believe that in order to experience a city, you can't literally run through without stopping to look around a bit and learn the culture of the city/people.  I was glad that I was traveling with Lukas and Marc on a short trip to a not so exiting place, otherwise, I think I would have been really disappointed.  Instead, I was just pissed.  

We just booked our trip for recess week.  I am traveling with Rafael (from Finland), Saly (from IL) and Sabrina (NY) to the Philippines, then to Hong Kong and Macau.  This is over the span of 11 days.  I am really excited about it even though I at first had my heart set on Vietnam and Cambodia, but I will do those countries later I suppose.  I think this will be a nice group to travel with, wanting to get the same things out of their trip as I do--a nice mix of relaxation and exploration.  

Until next time!

Chinese New Year Break in Thailand!

Last week was the Chinese New Year Break.  Chinese New Year here is a lot like Thanksgiving in the states.  Since there wasn't a whole lot going on here in Singapore (most of the locals are spending time with their families--they have big "reunion" dinners over the weekend and Monday/Tuesday) we decided to take a trip to Phuket, Thailand.  We arrived there Wednesday night and checked into a hostel there called the Dive Den.  It was pretty decent, and even had a heated shower! (hard to come by when you're paying about USD$5 per night.)  I stayed with my friend Sabrina--she is from New York City but goes to school at Penn State. 

The next day we walked around just exploring the city and shops.  Sabrina and I were bored with walking so decided that we wanted to see the city and sites on motor bike.  We were the only two girls in a group of about 6, and none of the 4 boys were brave enough to get on a bike.  So...Sabrina and I rented them ourselves.

For only 100 baht (USD$3) we rented motor bikes for the entire day.  We then spent the day going all over the city.  We saw a giant Buddha statue on a hill (really amazing), baby elephants, lady boys (men pretending to be women..) beautiful beaches, great shopping, and even got to see the sunset over the beach and mountains while we were driving.   It was a really incredible feeling to just drive around and see so much in just a day.  

It was also nice to just be in a smaller group.  We were able to do so much more, and really got along well.  We got Thai massages on our way back home.  They stretched and prodded like we've never been stretched or prodded before.  My body has never popped in so many places.  It was a little painful during the massage, but afterwards, we felt great.  The two of us only had a couple of mishaps with driving on the left side of the road, and I didn't crash.  Sabrina made it the entire day without so much as a scratch, until we were parking the bikes in front of our hostel for the night.  She accidentally hit the gas instead of the break and rolled off her bike.  Luckily, she got up laughing and with only a few bruises.  We got a good laugh out of it.  That night we all went out on the beach to hang out.

    

The next day a group of about ten of us got up at 6AM (very little sleep--pretty standard for this entire trip) to go to Similan islands off the coast of Thailand.  We took a ferry there with a tour group, and upon arrival we went snorkeling.  These beaches were honestly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.  

They were so serene, and almost untouched it seemed.  It was like looking at a photograph.  A truly unreal experience. 

Underwater was just as incredible as the beaches.  I had never snorkeled before, so had my doubts regarding my water-sport ability (or disability).  When I got in the water though, I found snorkeling to be very easy, and SO amazing!  The Similan islands are one of the top ten places in the world for snorkeling and scuba diving!  I saw some outrageous marine life including brightly colored coral, fish, and stingrays.  I got stung by jellyfish several times, and really freaked out the first time.  haha.  I thought I had brushed up against some poisonous coral or something.  The sting/burn went away though after a couple of minutes, and I was back in the water.   

After snorkeling we just relaxed on the beach, had dinner, and headed back to Phuket.  The hostel we stayed in that night was ridiculous.  We walked in so ready to take a shower after a long day on the beach and there was no water in the entire place.  We complained, and the owner of course swore they were working on it.  An hour and a half later, there was water...dark brown water.  It was disgusting.  We had to let it run for close to thirty minutes before it ran clear.  Other than that, the place was nice, but needless to say we were brushing our teeth with bottled water from then on.  I guess that's what you get for $5 a night.  Each hostel we stayed in we usually crammed at least five people in one room--some on the bed, some on the cots, and some usually on the floor.  We're a cheap crowd.

The next day, we took a ferry to Ko Phi Phi Island where we had heard from other exchange students was really amazing...and it was!  There were beautiful beaches, unbelievably hot weather, good nightlife and great shopping.  The first afternoon there we all got on a long-tail boat and rode out to Maya Bay.  This is the island that the movie The Beach was filmed on.  The boat dropped us off at the opposite side of the island as the beach, so we had to climb over a bunch of rocks and coral to get to the shore.  

This was the most painful part of the trip and we all got pretty banged up.  Then we trekked through small caves and a short jungle while it was pouring down rain to get to the other side of the island.  It was incredible!  We were walking barefoot through the thick trees during a torrential downpour--it was so peaceful.  By the time we got to the beach, the sun had come out and we were swimming again.  

We relaxed there for a while, watched the sunset, then jumped back into the long-tail boat for a little cliff-diving.  By the time we headed back it was dark, the waves were rocky, and our small boat was being thrown around the ocean.  We made it back fine, but it was a little scary for a while.  

The only weird thing about Thailand was how incredibly touristic it was.  There were awkward, trashy tourists everywhere it seemed.  Phuket was the worst.  Old nasty men everywhere looking for young local girls.  It was really disappointing.  Luckily Ko Phi Phi was better.  It was a lot younger crowd with a lot more backpackers making for a great time.  

 

I had a really amazing trip to Thailand.  As the semester rolls on, I am getting to know the other exchange students better and better as real people and not just their name and where they're from.  The food is tasting better to me, I am getting used to cold showers, the heat doesn't seem so hot, and taking my shoes off before entering a room is second nature now.  The newness is definitely wearing off, and I am feeling pretty settled in.  One month down, three and a half more ahead.  

PICTURES: Pulau Ubin, Sentosa, Tiger, Bintan and random stuff.

If hot coffee in a mini-trash bag and literally cancer pictured on the front of my friend's cigarettes doesn't make you wish you were here, I don't know what will.  Maybe the rest of my pictures??  I take my coffee black with a bit of milk and served in a to go bag.  

These two buildings, the first Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information and the second the Art Design and Media (you can actually walk on top of the roof on the grass, it's really cool!) are two of the three buildings where I have class.

This pictures is of a hawker center or food court much like the one's I eat in, but larger.  This next picture is of my room door from the outside.  It is tradition to take off your shoes when you enter a house, so it stuck.  See my Toms?

This is where I hang my clothes...not that special and this is a village home in Bintan.

The girls and me at Bintan and the second is of our Bungalow we stayed in!

This picture is of one of our beds and the next is the sun setting from the boat

This is the death ferry.  Saly and I both got sick on it and this more appetizing photo is of Tiger beer during the tour. 

This picture is of the Buddhist temple and the second picture is of all of our group who went to Pulau Ubin for biking.  

In Pulau Ubin having to walk or walk our bikes, but it lead up to some great discoveries!  

Butterfly on Pulau Ubin, and the next two are of most of us who went to Sentosa two weekends ago.

It's been a while: Sentosa, Pulau Ubin, Tiger Brewery, and Bintan!

FIRST LET ME SAY THAT LAST NIGHT I GOT THE GOOD NEWS THAT MY MOM IS COMING TO VISIT ME AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER!!!!!!!!!  I cannot wait and have already started making plans for us!  It's going to be a blast!  Thanks John!

Things have been crazy busy around these parts...in a good way of course.  School/classes are really starting to pick up, I am applying for tons of internships, and doing as much traveling as I can.  It is incredibly cheap to travel here.  I just purchased a round trip ticket to Thailand for Chinese New Year for something like $50 US dollars and lodging there is going to be like $7 a night.  Crazy.  

A couple of weekends ago, a bunch of us just decided to chill here for the weekend and sort of hang out around Singapore.  It was a blast and a really nice relaxing weekend.  We took the MRT to Sentosa island right off the coast of Singapore.  It is manmade with sand from Indonesia, but really fun!  It was just a bunch of exchange students sitting on the beach all day Saturday.  We took snacks, books, good music, and just made a day of it.  Sunburn #1 of the weekend.  

The next day four of us decided, despite being ridiculously tired from the day before, to get up early and hop on a ten minute ferry to Pulau Ubin--another island off the coast of Singapore.  There we rented bikes and cycled across the entire island--on and off-road.  It was a ton of fun and due to my great experience with Abby and Blair this summer, I was an expert biker.  There was a lot to see, and we even got off our bikes for a bit and hiked around.  When we rented our bikes, we were trying to find ones that were comfortable and cheap to rent.  After arguing and trying to get her down in price for like ten minutes the lady told me in perfect "Singlish" (Singaporean's version of English) that she could, "give me discount lah".  Lah is something that Singaporean's often throw in at the end of sentences.  I haven't figured it out yet.  I replied in a rather frustrated tone, "I don't care about the color!"  Then Roman and Alex explained to me what she had really said and we all got a good laugh at my expense.  Needless to say we rented the bikes at a small discounted price for the day.  We ended up finding this cool sky look-out type tower that made for a great view of the island.  It was my roommate Alex--Germany, my friends Roman--Germany/Ukraine/Russia and Elaine--Canada, and myself.  I am learning that it is much easier and less stressful to travel in smaller groups such a this but more fun in bigger ones.  --Sunburn #2 of the weekend.  Time to get some aloe?

The Friday before I traveled with the business school exchange students (no one knows why I'm not in the journalism school, but I figured I'd bring that up after the exclusive free trip) to downtown Chinatown for a historical tour of the area followed by a tour of Tiger Brewery--Singapore's famous home-brewed beer, and then a night safari at the famous Singapore Zoo.  The tour of Chinatown and the Buddhist temple was really interesting.  Tiger Brewery was of course really cool and a great place to hang out with a big group like we were.  The night safari might have been better if I wasn't so tired, but it was still very impressive.  

Funny story about my roommate...She is talking to me while I'm writing this so I can't help but throw something in about her.  Alex is German.  Duh.  But in the German language I guess the V and W are interchangeable or something.  Well, this confuses her in the English language, and despite my instruction, she still doesn't quite get that the V will never sound like a W in English and the W will never sound like a V.  She says things like wery instead of very and wacany instead of vancancy.  It's super funny though...or maybe you just have to be there.  

This past weekend was my favorite weekend here thus far.  After trying to decide to go, and then not to go, and then to go, and on and on, we at the last minute decided to jump on the bandwagon as so many exchange students were, and go to Bintan, Indonesia.  In the end, I am SO glad we did.  It was an absolute blast.  There were probably 40 exchange students from NTU not to mention when we got there, there ended up being tons of French students as well as other exchange students from the other big university in Singapore: NUS.  This made for a great group to get to know and spend a weekend on an island with.  The group I was in was the group that decided literally an hour before the ferry was leaving the harbor to go to Bintan.  I was throwing random things in a backpack and jumping in a taxi before I knew it.  I didn't forget anything...except that none of us girls had booked a room in the resort.  Regardless, we hopped on the ferry and in two hours we were in Indonesia.  The ferry ride was the most expensive part of the trip and it was like S$50 (Sing dollar) so like $35 in the US.  At the harbor we got visas to be in Indonesia.  One of our students, G as we call him, is from Tanzania.  Apparently that isn't a country, like most well-known countries like the US are, that is allowed a visa upon arrival of Indonesia.  That being said, he was taken to a back room for an hour while we all waiting not so patiently outside wondering what was going to happen.  He ended up having to sleep on the ferry as we had taken the last one there, and then in the morning take the ferry back to Singapore as he wasn't allowed in Indonesia.  No one wanted him to stay alone, so a few of the other guys stayed on the boat with him.  Needless to say, he already has his visa for Thailand.   From the harbor we took a forty-five minute shuttle to our (unbooked) resort.  We went through the city/village to the beach where our resort was.  The village was poor, but functioning.  I have honestly never seen locals be so nice to foreigners.  The Indonesian people were SO friendly!  The staff at the resort was of course incredibly helpful and nice, but also the people we met on the walk to the neighboring resort.  We would be walking down the road and children would run to the road just to wave and say "hi, hello, hi, hi, hello, hi" to us while waving insistently.  Their parents, also sitting outside on the porch just watching the day go by, would also wave, smile, and say hello to us.  This happened at every person we passed, every house, every shop, and even every motor bike--they would slow down to wave or let their passengers offer a nice hello.  It was refreshing.  

On the island we ate great food, swam in the beautiful beaches, and relaxed.  We stayed in Bungalows that were sitting in the water that costed us 155,000 Rupia (The Indonesian currency) for two nights there.  This converted to $22 Singapore dollars and like $15 in the US.  Crazy cheap!  When the tide was high you could jump in from our back patio.  Some people rode kayaks, some relaxed on the beach, some played sports, some rode banana boats...it was just a fun time.  I mentioned earlier that we didn't have a place to stay, but luckily, the "double rooms" came with queen beds so we just shoved four in each bed and called it good.  There were showers (no hot water...I'm seeing a trend) and good food.  I had eggs for breakfast every morning and great fresh fruit for snack and lunch.  There was an island quite far from our beach and houses that you could literally walk to because the water was so shallow.  When I walked there the highest the water got was to my shoulders.  It was really crazy.  The ride home was not as nice as the ride there.  My friend Saly ended up getting sick as the ride was so rough.  When I walked her to the restroom at the back of the ferry I ended up getting really sea sick and shooing her out of the bathroom.  We decided we could never be pirates.  

I came home Sunday, applied for some internships, booked lodging for tomorrow and Thursday in Phuket, Thailand for Chinese New Year break, and wrote a paper.  I feel like I just turned around and am getting ready for another trip.  Tonight a few of us went downtown to the heart of Singapore (where the photo of the Merlion is taken at the top of my blog).  We got all dressed up and went to the Swiss Hotel--the 70th floor.  There is a beautiful restaurant, too much for any student to afford, and up a few more stairs is the New Asia Bar.  This is a high-end classy little joint in which the walls are windows and you can look out to see the Singapore skyline.  It was so fun!  We all ordered a glass of wine and sat on the couches to look at the view.  Tomorrow I leave on a plane at 6PM for Phuket, Thailand where I will be until Sunday night.  We also have Monday and Tuesday off (Chinese New Year) but the prices shot up tremendously for flights back on these days, so we opted to come home earlier and spend the Chinese New Year here in Singapore in Chinatown.  I'm not too worried about it as it is supposed to be one of the greatest places to be during this celebrations.  I will let you know.  Until then, bye!

And so we start class

This first picture is of my friend Saly's dorm.  They are painting the hall, and this is what the workers stand on to paint--bamboo sticks.  Twigs really.  The next picture is of my friends Monica, Saly and me in front of a restaurant at the mall which had life-sized Obama and McCain cut-outs at the entrance.  The McCain one read, "No hard feelings, Happy New Year!" It is really bizarre to me how closely American politics are covered around the world, not just in Singapore, but all of the other exchange students from other countries also follow very closely.  The last two pictures are of the streets in Chinatown.  One of the overhead decoration on the streets in preparation for Chinese New Year, and the second of the street-side markets--this particular one selling squid.  (By clicking on the captions you can enlarge the pictures. 

First of all, I have an address now, or I guess I know it now.  It is:

Amanda Maxwell 

Nanyang Technological University

Hall of Residence 15

Block 70 Level 3 Unit Number 1446

36 Nanyang Crescent 

Singapore 637635

My roommate also arrived.  She got here on Sunday night.  Her name is Alexandra Moebs.  She is a third year student from Germany studying business.  So far we get along very well.  Sometimes she says funny things as she is still learning some English, but it's cute.  She has already been here a semester as an exchange student, so she knows the ropes and is showing me around.  

Classes started on Monday, but here at NTU they have add/drop period where students basically shop around for classes, so things are pretty lax the first weeks.  I just today was approved for all of my courses that I want to take.  My classes are across campus, so I leave my room about twenty minutes before classes start.  I only have class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday leaving every weekend available for four days of travel.  This is how most of my friends' schedules are as well and I have an exchange study partner in almost every class.  I am taking all fourth year classes as third year communication students here at NTU are required to take a year long internship so I'm in class with mostly final semester seniors.  I am taking Advanced Advertising: Integrated Marketing Communication, Issues in Public Relations, Creative Design in Marketing and Advertising, and Service Marketing.  The professors all seem very nice.  A little story to go out to all of my Missouri School of Journalism colleagues:  My very first class here at NTU--10:30 Monday morning.  I was sitting in class and the prof asks us to introduce ourselves.  I of course say my name and he says in front of the class, "oh yes, Amanda Maxwell.  We've been awaiting your arrival here.  I have been emailing your professors about you for weeks discussing your visit to NTU."  It turns out he isn't as creepy as he sounded and after meeting with him per his request after class I found out that he actually attended Mizzou School of Journalism and graduated from there years ago as did the Dean of the Communication school here.  I was then instructed on what courses would be best for me to take, where to find the dean to introduce myself, and informed that if I needed a job in Singapore, that I had a friend in the business.  Later this week in class he made reference to the "Mizzou Mafia" which for those of you who don't know is made up of all Mizzou School of Journalism alumni, the "Missouri Method" and many Mizzou professors including Cynthia Frisby (so she wasn't lying about knowing people around the world I guess), and Larry Powell.  So that was that.  Small world. 

A group of friends and I decided the other night to take the MRT (subway) to Chinatown to take a look around and grab dinner.  It was a really good time, and the food was great!  It was interesting to see what a different culture it was there at night.  We browsed through shops and drank bubble tea as we walked along the crowded streets.  We didn't do much the first visit there as it was late and our main reason for going was to eat.  A few of us had plans to go back with the business school later this week anyway.  I had lost my voice the day before, I guess just from talking to much, but it's back now.  

I eat almost every day at least one meal in one of the canteens on campus.  These are just like mini food courts having all different kinds of foods and drinks.  For breakfast I grab fruit from the market outside my hall.  For dinner I usually get a vegetables and sometimes meat with a side of steamed rice and chili sauce or some sort of Indian cuisine which I am becoming quite fond of here.  To drink I always get iced lemon tea which is a very popular lightly sweetened dark tea here.  The other day I was getting lunch and noticed that when I pointed to a dish I had gotten a few times before at this same canteen the lady confirmed with me that I wanted fish.  I thought this was odd as I assumed it was chicken.  Well it just so happens that I am not a fan of any kind of fish, and this was in fact fish that I had been eating.  Needless to say, I kindly switched my order to vegetarian.  

Aside from eating fish by accident, everything is still going very smoothly here in Singapore.  Things are of course very different, but I am really loving the experience.  I get to know the people I've met, and meet new people each day.  They are no Kappa girls, but they are very nice and I look forward to spending a semester with them.  More news soon!

NTU exchange goes to Little India!

These are a few pictures from Little India. This first picture is of us on the bus back home from little India.  This is our main form of transportation off campus.  This next picture is of part of the group of us that went.  To my immediate right and left are my friends Saly and Monica.  The three of us hang out often.  And the last picture is of a temple in Little India.  


Today is a pretty chill day here in sunny Singapore.  The other day I went with a group of exchange students to Little India downtown.  It was night, so we didn't really see many of the sidewalk hawkers, but we did go into a huge shopping center there called Mufasa Center.  It was ridiculously huge, as I am quickly learning, like most Singaporean shopping centers.  After some sightseeing, trying some Indian food, and looking at temples we headed back.  We have a knack for getting lucky and catching the very last bus back to campus.  While we may be good at catching the bus, as my friend Monica and I found out the next day, we are not good at knowing which bus to get on.  The two of us were trying to hop on a bus to get back to our dorm from the Staff Club and somehow ended up all the way at Boon Lay--the off campus bus station.  We then had to get off that bus, and make another wild guess as to which bus to get on to ride back to campus.  Monica and I got in a few heart to hearts on that trip.  

I had my first Singapore Sling at the Staff Club Mayflower pub on campus.  Monica and I paid S$15 for one.  The Staff Club is where all of the international exchange students hang out.  We were talking there last night about where we wanted to travel to, and began making a few plans for weekend trips to Malaysia, Cambodia, or Thailand.  Most of us want to travel as much as possible, so it won't be hard to find travel buddies.  Today we're all heading to the pool to cool off and have lunch at the canteen on campus.  All of the international students stick pretty close together.  We take care of each other, ha.  I have as the Singaporeans call it, "fallen ill" these past couple of days.  I have almost completely lost my voice.  I attribute this to talking to much, but my friends here have been taking good care of me.  Luckily I'm in the tea capital of the world and have no problem finding a cup of hot tea.  Other than my throat, I feel great still. I am every day meeting new, outstanding people, seeing things I have never seen before, and doing things I never dreamed I would do (still not eating fish though...).  Classes start tomorrow, so I am going right now to organize my schedule, map out how to get there, and buy a few notebooks.  I am interested to see if things settle down after classes start as lately we have been going nonstop.  More news soon!

My first few days in Singapore!

This is a picture of my dorm room...notice I don't need anything more than a sheet.  The picture below it is a view from one of my windows in my room.

This third picture was taken from my dorm window and the last is of my dorm from inside the block.  The hanger at the bottom of the picture is where you dry your clothes.

Today begins my second full day in Singapore.  It has been an adventure every step of the way beginning with the flight here.  It was incredibly long (28 hours), I slept most of the way and met some wonderful people on the planes.  I arrived in Singapore around midnight on the 31st where a driver picked me and some other exchange students up from the airport and took us to NTU (Nanyang Technological University) where we will all be studying for the semester.  Two of the students were from University of Illinois so there was some friendly border-wars rivalry, but it was nice to meet people from close to home.  

We got to campus around 2AM and my student buddy Nont was waiting for me.  He showed me around campus, partially against my will as all I wanted to do at that point was sleep, but it was good to stay up a little longer so that I wasn't so jet-lagged.  After he dropped me off at my dorm, I unpacked and took a look around the dorm.  

My room is decent sized with a large closet and nice furniture.  I have a roommate who I haven't met yet as I am pretty sure she is still on holiday for New Year's.  It is custom here to take your shoes off before entering one's house, so since the dorms are our houses, we take our shoes off at the door before going in or carry them inside.  I think it's kind of cute.  haha.  Our floors are immaculate because of it!  The bathroom is just a few doors down, but since it is never cold here in Singapore, the dorm room doors open up to the outside.  On my first trip to the bathroom for a shower I was greeted at the door by a small lizard.  It freaked me out then, but even after just a few days, I'm getting used to them.  I also found out very quickly that there are heating hours for the showers.  Needless to say I missed that memo and my first shower was ice cold.  I have learned to appreciate these though as my room is not air-conditioned.   The weather here is very hot, humid and sunny during the day, but it didn't rain until early this morning.  The campus is gorgeous as NTU is a garden campus completely covered with trees, waterfalls, and vegetation.  The nights are beautiful here as well.  

I woke up early on the 31st to take care of my bills here, get my schedule, and set up my dorm before everything closed for the holiday.  I don't know what possessed me to think that I could do this all on my own, but I set out at 9AM on my journey around campus.  At the bus stop I got two things:  a tan and a HUGE mosquito bite.  I rode the bus around campus twice as I had no idea what stop I needed.  After the second time around I just guessed, got off the bus, and started walking.  Every place I went sent me somewhere else, but after a few stops, I got to where I needed to go.  There I met, thank goodness, two other exchange students from San Diego State.  They're student buddies were taking them around to do these tasks, so I decided to tag along.  It made things go much faster, and I found out that I had already filled out most of the forms while I was still in the states so it went fast.  

Then my new friends, their buddies, and I went to the mall to pick up some things for our rooms and get cell phones.  It was quite an adventure.  We went to the third largest mall in Singapore, and it still had four floors.  It was huge and packed with people!  We finally got everything and grabbed a bite to eat.  My dish literally came on a huge wooden plank with grilled chicken, chili sauce, and seafood soup (ugh) all heated by a flame underneath it.  Keep in mind this was at the mall food court, not a nice restaurant and only costs five Singapore dollars.  It tasted great! 

We then came back to NTU to get ready for New Year's Eve.  All of the exchange students decided to go to Sentosa Beach for the New Year's party.  We grabbed dinner at another HUGE mall--we opted for Carl's Jr. this time though for time's sake.  Then we hopped on the train to the beach.  There were about thirty of us that ended up meeting there, and it made it really convenient to get to know each other.  The beach ended up being a blast and a great way to ring in the new year!  We quickly found out why Singaporean's don't drink though--alcohol is not only outrageously expensive, but heavily taxed.  Needless to say, we didn't drink this holiday.  We had an amazing time though.  There were five dance floors, a foam party, and a huge beach.  After fighting to the death for cab home, we all discovered that we had foam in our hair and sand from head to toe.  Looked like another cold shower.  

This was a ridiculously long post, but to sum it all up, I am having a wonderful time here in Singapore.  Everything is closed today for holiday, so we (all of the exchange students...we stick pretty close) are just sitting around, tagging pictures on facebook, and blogging.  We have orientation tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, so we're all relaxing for a day.  I am incredibly excited for the rest of my stay here, and am happy to say that I have already made lots of friends.  I miss you all terribly though.  I wish you all a Happy New Year and I will post again soon!  I just heard a loud pop come from the outlet and my electricity just went out...I guess the converters aren't working so well...oops.