Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I get by with a little help from my friends

The semester is coming to a quick end and I'm getting excited to make my final run at Southeast Asia (for now that is) before heading home.  It hit me today that the people I've been spending the past 5 months with will all eventually be returning home to various parts around the world.  The relationships I built with my friends were extremely accelerated.  Halfway through the semester I felt like I knew these people my whole life, but it's not hard to accomplish when your spending everyday together getting lost in unfamiliar cities, trying Asian mystery foods that may or may not give you food poisoning, getting sun burnt at the pool, riding elephants, enjoying each others company, and pretty much anything that means avoiding schoolwork.

I've learned some crucial life lessons from my friends.  Did you know that not all Australians surf?  They do have some pretty interesting slang, though.  The word for 'Hello' in Swedish is 'Hej', pronounced 'Hey'.  I have a new obsession for cappuccino thanks to my Dutch friend and I can now stand to drink a beer thanks to my German friend.  As amazing as an experience it has been, it would be nothing if it weren't for the people I had the privilege to share it with.  We all come from different parts of the world, but we're really not all that different.  Thanks for everything guys!  I love you all.

Shout out to Per Wettergren and the Freckled King.




Buddy pic.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hungry Ghost?

So I've never heard of the term 'hungry ghost', but according to wikipedia: "Hungry ghost is a Western translation of an Eastern phrase representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way."  This video is from a couple of years ago, but I can tell you from first hand experience that this is exactly what happens at this library every morning during finals week at opening time.  What you don't see is that when the students enter the library, they start sprinting to get the spots they want.  Tables with plugs are in high demand.  You can also hear the Singaporean accent in this video!  Pretty crazy, huh?