5 Things NOT To Do After Returning From Abroad

I'm beginning to feel like my time in Singapore is nearly over.  I'm headed to Hong Kong tomorrow, coming back to Singapore for a day, going to see Justin Bieber in KL, then it's my last week of class, then I'm going to Bali for a week, then I have finals, then Bangkok, back to Singapore, and finally Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and HOME.  Though this is all happening over 2 months, I have no doubt that it's going to fly by.  It's pretty crazy to think about considering I feel like I just got here.  I can still vividly remember the feeling of my Mom leaving me in the hotel room at 3am in the morning.  I was still jet-lagged so my body forced me to stay awake and deal with the emotional train that hit me right when she left.  I was all alone in a new country on the opposite side of the world from what I then called home without a clue of what to expect.

I like to think I've come a long way since then.  Of course this is extremely cliché, but I feel like a much more cultured person.  HOWEVER, I can't help but think that I will be extremely annoying based on an article I stumbled upon about 5 Things NOT To Do After Returning From Abroad - tips for successful reentry to the US after studying abroad.  This is a little premature, but I thought it was funny because of the truth in it.  I can already here myself beginning every comment I make with "Well, when I was in Singapore/ Thailand/ The Philippines/ Indonesia/ etc...."  I think that my many friends abroad right now will find humor in this too.  Let's try to not get on each other's nerves when we all get back ;)


Article: 5 Things NOT To Do After Returning From Abroad


I'll do my best, but let me just apologize in advance for everything that I may say or do that is extremely annoying.  You have my permission to slap me.

The Singapore Cinema Experience

Singaporeans love watching movies and going to the cinema.  Many people do it to get inside and cool off from the hot and humid weather outside (or the random down-pour that occurs daily).  I often justify going to the movies by telling myself it's a "cultural experience".  However, it doesn't really make sense to me as to why it's so popular.  From my experiences at the theatre, I've found that they are uncomfortably cold, LOUD LOUD LOUD, and I don't even get to pick my own seat.

Another thing that irks me a little bit is that mainstream movies come out much later than in the US.  The reason for this is the intense censorship process in Singapore, which focuses mainly on sexual, political, racial, and religious issues.  My roommate is taking an Asian film class and she learned that in Singapore, they won't allow movies that promote equal rights for same-sex couples.  The delay is also in part due to subtitling in Chinese.

I apologize if I'm getting annoying by talking about Justin Bieber all the time, but I'm going to see him in concert in ONE WEEK!  I'm just so excited.  Anyways, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never came out in the US on February 11th.  It comes out in Singapore tomorrow.  That's TWO MONTHS of delay.  What on earth could they possibly find offensive in a Justin Bieber movie?  (This question is meant to be a rhetorical question.  I don't want to hear your jokes about his music offending you haha)

I was able to see the Justin Bieber movie today in a "sneak preview" and needless to say I loved it, but I'll spare you the details.  I saw it by myself, which was actually a really fun and awkward experience.  I encourage you all to go see a movie by yourself.  When the movie first started I was SO excited and thought, "I wish someone was here with me to share the experience!"  Then, I ended up crying in the movie so I'm kind of glad I went by myself haha.

Well that's my 2 cents about movies in Singapore.  Speaking of money, the movies are cheaper by about $3 USD, if not more.  I plan on diverging from the mainstream movies and viewing an Asian movie soon.  They're pretty weird from what I've seen and heard from my roommate, but I guess it's all part of the experience!

Never say never

...DARY!  Justin Bieber is going to be LEGENDARY!

In life, when someone tells me I cannot, should not, and especially do not do something, I often see it as a challenge.  I think that's common in a lot of people, but I really want to prove them wrong.  What I find a bit odd is that when I tell myself that I'm not going to do something, I think I'm subconsciously challenging myself.  I think this is a good thing and the reason why I love trying new things.  I love proving myself wrong and telling myself "I can do anything, don't tell me what I can and cannot do" (yes, I know that's strange).

Many of you may know how much I love long hair.  I love being able to twirl it, curl it, braid it, whip it, etc.  Well I recently found myself saying "I'd never cut my hair short."  I think you know where I'm going with this... Challenge accepted.  I got my hair cut!  AHH!  The last time I had short hair was probably in the 5th grade...

Cheese!  I don't know why I didn't cut it sooner, I look so good.

But trust me, it wasn't easy.  I hate my hair in Singapore though, so I just figured it couldn't get any worse.  I was literally twitching in my chair as the stylist was chopping.  One thing I hate more than anything is when your hair stylist doesn't listen to your requests, but it turned out okay?  I'm not sure on my opinion on it yet.  Definitely going to take some getting used to.  Rest assured to my Dad and the rest of you haters, it will grow back.

My best reenactment.

So there's a valuable life lesson learned from my idol and the ever-wise 17-year-old, Justin Bieber.  Never say never ;)

Remember when I said that Singapore has the cleanest bathrooms in the world in my 'Say Uncle' blog post?  Well, I take it back.  That's all I'm going to say.

Welcome to the good life

There are many hotels and places in Singapore that come to mind when I think "luxury".  I find downtown Singapore to be an extremely classy place.  Even when I'm just walking around there I feel refined and elegant.  Marina Bay Sands is at the top of that luxury list.  The hotel includes a shopping mall, an ice skating rink, a theatre, a plethora of dining options, a casino, an Art Science Museum, and a Skypark complete with 3 olympic-sized swimming pools, jacuzzis, and a priceless view of the city.  You might recognize the hotel from an earlier post of mine where I talked about how I wanted to stay there!  WELL... after a long search of finding the absolute cheapest price through travel agents for a 2 person room, on Friday (April 8) Emma, Cass, and I took a break from our fairly budgeted yet very blessed exchange student lives and stepped into the life of luxury for 22 hours.

Activities of our slumber party included:

• pretending to be super rich kids while lounging on the skypark deck next to the pool on the 57th story

• taking endless photo shoots documenting the view

I didn't get the memo about the leg pop.

• enjoying freshly made bruschetta (by Cass), tasteful cheeses, olives, and French bread

so classy

• pushing our two double beds together to make a large, incredibly comfortable super bed with fluffy pillows and blankets :)

Good morning!

Just being silly.

• devouring complementary macaroons that we were delightfully surprised to find in our room after our pool session

• walking around the mall and looking at things far out of our price range
• testing the perfume, makeup, and nail polish in Sephora

• wearing our hotel robes and slippers everywhere we could

• hanging out by the bay admiring the view of the city that never ceases to amaze me

Marina Bay Sands

• tearing up to a chick-flick
• eating endless amounts of food at the included breakfast buffet

• sipping on fresh lime, lemon, or orange infused water

To wrap it up, it was a very fun and much-need girls night (with a guest appearance from Alex and Toby, but what's a girls night without boys?).  I'm soooo grateful for all the things I get to experience!

Penang, Malaysia

Well I certainly didn't give myself any time to wind down from my week long trip to the Philippines!  I headed to Penang, Malaysia last Friday (3/25) for a weekend trip.  Malaysia is a Muslim country; however, Penang is dominated by Chinese.  Penang is more of a place for food and culture than for beaches, which is a change of pace.  I feel like I've been spending so much time on the beach.  Ugh, my life is so hard ;)

FOOD


Penang supposedly has the best food in Malaysia, but I wasn't too impressed.  In my Lonely Planet, there was a list of "Penang Must Eats" and I was able to try 3 out of 4:  cendol, char kway teow, and laksa asam.  (Descriptions from Lonely Planet)


Cendol consists of bright colored green strands (made from sweetened pea flour) layered with crushed ice, coconut milk, brown-sugar syrup, and red beans.  Crushed ice with syrup and some kind of topping seem to be very popular in SE Asia.  It reminded me very much of ice kachang (from Singapore) and halo halo (from the Philippines).  It's pretty good, but I prefer other deserts to crushed ice.

Char kway teow has medium-width rice noodles that are stir-fried with egg, vegetable, shrimp, and Chinese sausage in a dark soy sauce.  This dish was my favorite out of the 'must eats', but still, nothing out of the ordinary (for SE Asia).

The third dish, laksa asam, is a fish-broth soup spiked with a sour tang from tamarind paste and a mint garnish; it's served with thick, white rice noodle.  I actually really didn't enjoy this one at all.  There was mystery things floating around in the soup and it just kind of freaked me out.  It also didn't taste like the laksa that I'm used to eating in Singapore, which is what I was expecting.

 PENANG NATIONAL PARK aka Jurassic Park


We spent some time hiking at Penang National park, which could be Jurassic Park.  I was expecting a t-rex to emerge from the trees at any moment.  We hiked to turtle beach and saw some baby turtles as well as some monkeys along the way!

TROPICAL FRUIT FARM


My favorite part of the trip was probably the tropical fruit farm!!!  We got a tour and learned a lot of fun facts about fruit.  For instance, did you know that bananas ripen from the bottom of bunch to the top?  Afterwards we ate at the fruit buffet!!!

Best tour guide everrrr! (bags on the fruit so insects don't eat them)

                                 

My fruit plate :)

SNAKE TEMPLE!

The more tensed up I got, the tighter the snake felt around me :/

Crazy guy.  This snake eats other snakes.

How did I live without them for 20 years?

Post #3 on the Philippines

My Spring Break 2011 began around 9pm on Thursday, March 10th.  I was headed to the Philippines a couple days before my friends to visit some family.  This would be my second time to visit.  My first time was when I was 8 years old and I was with my mom, so you can imagine I had some feelings about it.  On my 2 hour voyage to the airport via public transportation to catch my 1:15am flight, I had so many thoughts running through my head.  "What will I talk about with them?"  "Do they remember me?"  "What will we do?"  "Is their English good?"  "I wish my mom was here!"  etc...  I wouldn't say I was nervous, more like anxious and excited.  I really had no idea what to expect.  I think my family in the US could've been more excited than I was considering about 7 of them called within the first 2 hours I was there.

I ended up having the most wonderful time with them and I was so sad to leave.  The first time I left the Philippines I cried the whole plane ride from Manila to Japan (sorry Mom).  I kept myself together this time, but I might've shed a tear.  This is my tribute to them.  Thank you for making my time there so enjoyable.  Miss you all!