Better Nate Than Lever

Okay, I apologize for being such a failure about updating this, but SO much has been going on! Plus, I didn't have internet for the first couple of days I was here, so I got behind...and it's hard to catch up. This will be a very condensed version of my first week and a half here. I promise future entries will be more detailed!

After a number of harrowing flights, we arrived in Singapore last Tuesday and were met by Nadiah and Yong (two NUS students who spent a couple of years at UNC) at the airport. We all headed off for our dorms, Prince George's Park Residences (PGP), where we all have small single rooms with attached bathrooms. The rooms have A/C, which is a godsend. Almost everyone on my floor has had ant infestations at various points, but I think we've scared them off for the time being.

We all took much-needed showers and were given a tour of campus by Nadiah before eating dinner in the canteen below our dorm and going to sleep early, as we were all pretty exhausted. The next day, we completed our preregistration and took a tour of the NUS library before going to the Immigration and Customs Authority (ICA) to get our student passes. Although Singapore prides itself on efficiency, bureaucracy is much the same everywhere, I guess. I was one of the lucky few that had the privilege of returning to the ICA the next day because of complications the first day...at least it's a good place to people-watch.


View from the balcony of the Central Library at NUS


Typical canteen lunch

After our appointments at the ICA, we all went to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, which were lovely. There's one section devoted to orchids that has an admission fee, but the rest is a park that's free to the public.


National Botanical Gardens






(I have MANY more orchid pictures on my computer for you flower fans out there)


The "big-ass tree"



We started classes on Thursday. From 9:00-10:30 we have a class on human migration, which is taught by Dr. Steiner, a professor from UNC. Our 10:30-12:00 class is on SE Asian history and will be jointly taught by two professors at NUS and another in Thailand. Right now, we have Dr. Quek teaching us about Singaporean history. She is quite a character...very frank and opinionated. I'm really enjoying both classes, although I'd obviously rather not have the homework associated with them.


Typical breakfast from the canteen (prata and watermelon milkshake)

Thursday was also our official welcome dinner, which was held at a fancy Malay restaurant downtown. I sat at a table with the other NUS professor who will be teaching us about Malaysian history and leading our short trip to the Malaysia. He seems like a really cool guy, so I'm looking forward to talking with him some more.

After class on Friday (we won't usually have class on Fridays, but the first week was an exception), we ate a delicious lunch at a Thai restaurant before going to the Asian Civilizations Museum. The museum was great. We had a tour guide lead us around the four different sections: China, South Asia, SE Asia, and West Asia (the Middle East). The museum is on the waterfront (a river runs through Singapore), so after our tour we all went on a short boat tour of the section of river that goes through downtown. After that, we broke off into small groups to explore downtown on our own. I ate at a food court called Food Republic which is known for its great Singaporean food and then walked around Orchard Road (the big shopping district) with Sathya before heading back to the dorm.


Boat similar to the one we had our tour on










The Esplanade (aka the durian building), a performing arts center/mall


The Merlion!


View from the Esplanade's rooftop terrace

On Saturday, we had lunch with a bunch of NUS students at a vegetarian Indian buffet. The restaurant is near Chinatown, so a group of us walked around there for a while. It's pretty touristy, but we got to visit a Hindu temple, which was really neat. There are also a bunch of places in malls where you can get pay to have tanks full of small fish eat the dead skin off of your feet! I watched a few of my friends have it down, and now I'm intrigued...I'll definitely have to try it before I leave Singapore. We also explored Arab Street (we visited a mosque and had some satay) and an open air market. I had durian for the first time! I split one with Allison. The first bite was kind of painful (tasted like onions), but as I ate more and more of it I began to enjoy it. It kind of tastes like a fruit to me now...although I'm still getting used to the texture. After chilling out at PGP and eating dinner at a canteen, a bunch of us went to Clarke Quay (the swanky bar and nightclub area on the riverfront) and ended up going back to the Esplanade, where we at this place called Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar. I had a banana split waffle, which was DELICIOUS.

Sunday was pretty much devoted to resting and catching up on work, and Monday we had classes again. I think Monday afternoon was when Sean and I explored Little India very briefly (it was super hot and super bright outside), but I don't remember exactly. Little India is much less touristy than Chinatown, and it looks like there are some really great restaurants there. On Tuesday night, we all had tickets to go see a play that's part of the Singapore Arts Festival. It was called Seven Boards of Tricks (translated from French), and was performed by Chinese acrobats. It was very...modern. Basically a bunch of people moving a giant tangram set around and climbing on it, jumping off of it, etc. The geometric aspect was really cool, and there was also some huqin (a traditional Chinese instrument) music incorporated that I really liked. One of the women sang some Chinese opera, and I totally recognized the word "meimei"!! It's probably not something I would have chosen to see on my own, but it was interesting. In the words of the inimitable Margaret Cho, "What is comes down to is that I CANNOT RUN UP A WALL."

Wednesday was ladies' night at all the clubs in Singapore, which means that all girls get in free. I hung out with Sean, Steven, and Lionel at Clarke Quay (just sitting on a bridge and chatting) before going to a club, but then I couldn't get in because I had neglected to bring my driver's license (sigh). We're going out again tonight, though (Yong is getting everyone in free to a club), and I'll definitely remember it this time!

On Thursday some of us went to see a movie with Nadiah in the afternoon. We saw Night at the Museum II, which was vaguely dreadful...but I entertained myself by making fun of it with Monique. Then we ate dinner at a Thai restaurant in the same mall as the movie theatre. We were all pretty tired after that, but Sean, Allison, and I went down to Clarke Quay to hang out by the river before going back to the dorms.

Today, we didn't have class, so we went to a presentation given by some government officials about Singapore's Community Engagement Program (CEP), which is meant to "preserve communal harmony in a crisis." I think it was formed after the bombings in London in 2005. Singapore is such a diverse place, both ethnically and religiously, that the government is fairly concerned about potential tensions. We also visited the Harmony Centre, which is associated with a local mosque. It's meant to promote interfaith dialogue in Singapore. And as I already said, we're planning on going out tonight, so I should probably get ready for that.

If you have any questions, requests, etc., just ask in the comments! I know this post was kind of vague and overwhelming...

(Oh, and click on the pictures to view larger versions)