Testing out my new camera in "self-portrait mode"


Admittedly, I didn't do anything interesting yesterday that could include taking other pictures, so you will just have to settle for my grin :-)



I have my last laser sailing lesson this Saturday, Mexican cooking on Sunday, and possibly an outing to the beach with some of my friends from my constitutional law class. I also have to head over to the Myanmar embassy sometime soon to get my visa. maybe tomorrow....

My roommates and I have decided to institute a weekly "family meal" together. We will take turns cooking for each other and introducing each to our different cuisines from home. We've grouped off so that every other week the Chinese girls (Tang, Gu, and Bi) will cook, alternating with the Americans (Ashley and myself). Yesterday was our first Chinese meal, and it was fabulous! The girls made fried rice, fish, prawns, and a couple of different vegetable dishes. It was so nice to have a home-cooked Chinese meal because most of what you get at the hawker stalls here are either versions of a stir fry drenched in oil or noodle bowls. So next week it is Ashley's and my turn, and I think we're going to make Mexican because none of the girls have ever tried it. We are limited in our cooking abilities because we don't have an oven, and only a double burner, but I think we can manage to make quesadillas, or something like that. I do miss cooking a lot, so I am really looking forward to these weekly cook-a-thons.

I'm playing for the law faculty's volleyball team today in an inter-faculty tournament. I was quite looking forward to the day, but it turns out that none of the other girls on my team know how to play, which leads to a boring game. Grrrr. A lot of the girls on the other teams are quite good and it would be really fun to play with them. But as it is, my team gets slaughtered- basically, we can't even make a single play and I am also the only one that can serve the ball over the net.

So I kind of feel like this is a total waste of my day, but can't bail now unfortunately. At least I brought my computer so I can try to get some work done between matches. 4 more hours of this to go....

Fabulous! I have figured out how to add images to this blog, which means that I can now also share photos of my travels with you. These are two pictures that my friend T.T. took of Koh Tao, Thailand when we were there earlier this month. I'm getting a digital camera soon as well, so I will have more to share in the future....

I've decided that the best way to ensure that I get my thesis done by the end of the year is to stay here in the library until close every night (closes at 10pm, so it's really not that late). The only problem with this plan is that it's like an ice box in this library and I feel like I should have lugged my winter gear out here to put up with such extreme climes! Instead, I am wrapped in my too-thin pashmina scarf feeling my nose go numb. Oh well. One must suffer. ;-)

So, holing away in the library probably won't give rise to the most scintillating blog entries, but you never know... besides, I've got a few trips planned for the coming month. Can't spend every second working! And let's not forget about sailing- tomorrow is lesson 2.

I had my first sailing class ever yesterday. The university here has a sailing club, and I signed up for a class that they were offering with the Sea Sports Club out on the East Coast of the island. It is a 3-day course on laser sailboats- small one person racing boats. My next classes are Thurs and Sat next week. Anyway, I loved it! On our first day we were only out on the water for a little over an hour because we had to spend a lot of time going over theory, tying knots, how to rig up the boat, etc. I capsized within about 3 minutes of being out to sea, because of extreme confusion over what the heck I was doing, but then managed to keep the boat upright and moving back and forth for the next hour. Capsizing was a bit of an event, because you then have to single-handedly get the boat upright and haul yourself back into the boat (need to lose weight and build upper body strength to make that part a bit easier), but I am glad I did capsize because it made me realize that falling in really is not a big deal at all. Can't wait for Thursday and more sailing!

Oh, and the East Coast is really lovely. The Sea Sports Club is out at a place called Pasir Ris, which is much more residential. There are parks, trails, beaches. You can even see Pulau Ubin (another small island) from the beach where we launched. And in fact, the park at the Sea Sports Club has the coolest playground ever! If I was a kid, that place would be my heaven. Who am I kidding? I don't have to be a kid to enjoy it!

Today is the last day of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. I went to Chinatown yesterday to see if there were any special celebrations happening, but alas, there didn't seem to be much besides copious amounts of mooncakes for sale. Apparently, the moon festival is no longer that big of a holiday- not even comparable to Chinese New Year. My Chinese roommate, Tang, said that the Moon Festival has even been surpassed by Christmas in China!

I've tried a few bites of mooncake though, in honor of the holiday. That's an interesting story.... apparently mooncakes became famous because during the time when the Chinese were under threat from the Mongols they used the mooncake to smuggle messages to organize a rebellion to overthrow the Mongols. The mooncakes are a very rich cake made from lotus paste and other sweet fillings, and the Mongols didn't like them, so they knew the Mongols would never find the messages hidden inside. The rebellion was organized for the 15th day of the 8th moon, was ultimately successful, and led to what today is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.

While on the topic of food, I did decide to try a local food while I was in Chinatown yesterday- peanut soup. Basically, it tasted like sugar water with peanuts in it, so I wasn't really that keen on it. Though it did have really yummy rice dumplings with a peanut butter-like filling inside.

You can also get toasted sandwiches out of vending machines here. It kind of scares me, so I haven't tried it....

I don't often think of Asian countries as being as overtly patriarchal as, for example, the Middle East or Latin America, but gender discrimination certainly still exists out here. I just found out about two existing policies in Singapore that illustrate this point. First, health coverage in Singapore does not extend to the dependants of female civil servants, only of male civil servants (comes from the idea that the male should be the main provider for the household). Second, the medical school here has a quota system where only 1/3 of the class can be female. Apparently, this discriminatory practice is accepted because of the heavy government subsidies expended on medical education and the "belief that female doctors are more likely to quit active medical practices when they get married and become mothers, thus wasting national resources." To me, this is an illustration of why Singapore is still hovering on the edges of the developed world, but hasn't made full entrance into it. There needs to be some basic recognition of equality between the genders, and at the very least an attempt to purge discrimination from government programs.

While I do enjoy living in Singapore, I also have a few gripes. And this blog wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't include the negative, would it? First, the one thing that has REALLY annoyed me these last couple of days is the way Singaporeans communicate- they will not answer simple questions! I know this is cultural and North Americans are actually probably quite unique in their directness, but having been conditioned into the North American way of relating to the world, I can't help getting a little annoyed sometimes.... So, examples: (1) I wanted to order a pizza. I called the pizza place and asked what their special included (they advertise 2 for 1)- was it a 1 topping pizza or a 2 topping pizza, etc? The woman WOULD NOT answer my simple question. No, I had to give her my address and actually order it. But how could I order the pizza if I didn't know what I was ordering??? (2) One of the local gyms was advertising a 6-week trial membership for $20. Wow, that sounds like a great deal, right?? So I called up the gym to find out how long the promotion was lasting, and what the normal membership fees were. Would they answer my questions? Of course not. I had to make an appointment to go in to the gym and meet one of the managers for a tour and to discuss membership options. So I did this. All I wanted to know about was the trial membership. Would they tell me anything about it? Of course not (I am beginning to wonder if it even exists). They kept trying to push a full membership on me and a 12-month contract, and even gave me a special student "deal" ("only for you"- yeah right). And I had to sign up TODAY or the offer would go away. I admit that when we finally got down to a the student deal, it was an ok price, but of course I hadn't come prepared to pay an enrollment fee and 3 months deposit. Couldn't even pay it today if I wanted to. After over an hour of meeting with the guy for a simple gym membership, it all came to nothing. See why I am annoyed? And I am a very patient and tolerant person! You should have seen my friend Heather who was with me (and admittedly still has "the rage" against Singapore- even after living here for 6 months)- she was seething!!

Pretty much everyday there are little things like this that happen here in Singapore. In general, none of this bothers me, because I have actually experienced far worse inconveniences in other places in the world. It's all part of what you have to expect about living overseas. If you come with an expectation that things will be the same as at home, you are bound to be disappointed and to not enjoy your time overseas. Expect to have to adjust to a totally different way of living, and you can chalk it all up to a "different" but simulataneously exciting and enriching experience! So yes, I am a bit annoyed, but it's a small inconvenience when considered on the whole.

All the same, I think I will make a list of things I "like" and "don't like quite so much" about life out here (in order to give you all the real picture of life in Singapore):

I LIKE
- The diversity of neighborhoods and places to hang out in Singapore- it will take me the whole year to explore this entire island.
- The multiracial society.
- How CLEAN everything is (huge fines for littering and such is a small sacrifice to keep a city this wonderfully clean).
- Singapore's location- it's a great base for exploring the rest of Asia.
- All the subsidized activities, food, computers, etc. for students out here.
- The excellent public transportation system.
- That taxis are so affordable.

I DON'T LIKE
- How long it takes to get everywhere on public transportation (waiting and more waiting) and that I couldn't have a car or motorbike if I wanted to because of all the fees and never-ending procedures to go through.
- That it also takes forever to hail a taxi in this city- waiting an hour on the street is not unheard of.
- People walk soooo slow here, never move to let you pass, and will often smash into you on the sidewalk and not apologise.
- The only real form of local entertainment seems to be shopping.
- Living costs are quite high (except food at school), and the apartments really are not very nice for what you pay.
- That the rulemaking goes a little far here... leading to a complete lack of flexibility in all areas of life.

Singapore has some fantastic storms. Booming thunder, lightning, torrential downpours...the whole works. Love it (especially for the cooling effect). Right now I am waiting out such a storm. Normally they pass within an hour or so. I don't want to attempt to walk to the bus while the rain is still coming down, so instead I am hanging out in one of covered outdoor walkways between buildings and getting caught up on internet and such. The buildings here are architecturally designed to be as "open air" as possible. Thank God, because it actually gets soooo cold in the classrooms where the AC is pumping that I would rather put up with a little heat than freeze to death.

I am very impressed with my fellow students and professors (the two that I have) here at the National University of Singapore. Studying here really impresses upon me the narrow-minded approach that Americans have to the world. Yes, law school in the U.S. is probably the most challenging in the world, and no doubt prepares students more to be lawyers than schools out here (I still can't believe law degrees are an undergraduate degree in most of the world?!), but still our education is very limited to what matters in AMERICA, and no where else. We just don't look outside. Here in Singapore everyone knows about the legal systems in, at the very least, the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, India, China, and maybe even places like Sri Lanka and South Africa. It's amazing. They can tell you how the political systems are structured, how judges are selected for the highest court of the land, how international law is incorporated into the domestic laws... sometimes I feel rather small when I realize that my Singaporean professor may actually know more about the American legal system than I do.

Singapore is a very interesting country in which to study the law because Singapore intentionally look to other countries for guidance in its own courts. For example, Singapore's tax law is taken almost totally from South African tax law. Singaporeans look around the world to see who is doing things right, and then borrow and make it their own. Of course, Singapore has only been a country since 1965 and is still very much in the early years of developing its judicial system. But it's good to be in a country where people realize that they can learn something from the experiences of others....

So I promised I would actually write something about my trip to Thailand, rather than just babbling on about technology and backpackers.... I spent one day in Bangkok, basically doing nothing, with the exception of going to one of my all-time favorite restaurants for dinner: Cabbages and Condoms. I love this restaurant! Now, you may be wondering about the name...it does have a purpose. The restaurant is run by the Population and Community Development Association, one of Thailand's biggest charitable organization, in an effort to raise public awareness about AIDS. The name "cabbages and condoms" came from the idea that condoms should become as common and "everyday" in Thailand as is cabbage (a staple of the Thai diet). So, the restaurant serves great food, including vegetables that come from rural development projects, and simultaneously raises money for an important mission. It ultimately makes one's meal that much better knowing that your money is going back into the community. That, and they even give out free condoms in place of mints at the end of your meal.

The main purpose of the trip to Thailand was to accompany my friend Heather back to Koh Tao, where she had been taking a diving course and needed to pick up some gear that she left behind the last time she visited the island. I had never been to Koh Tao before, but had spent an idyllic few days on neighboring Koh Pha Ngan in August 2001. Koh Pha Ngan is famous for it's full moon rave parties, but as you probably all know, I'm not much of a raver, so I actually spent my time there on the other side of the island enjoying a peaceful, tropical paradise. Koh Tao is similarly situated, with beautiful stretches of beach and lush green hills. Koh Tao, however, is eerily reminiscent of "The Beach" in that a small community of westerners have found their way to the island, and apparently never plan to leave.... It's "the" place to dive in Thailand, so divers come from all over the world to either teach or take the dive masters training programs. They pretty much spend their days diving and basking in the sun, and their nights drinking and using drugs. It's a bizarre alternative universe that draws a certain type of person in, creating a microcosm of Western culture in the midst of a Thai paradise. The locals and tourists flit around in the fringes of this culture, and if they're like me, try to actually avoid the Western influence and find the Thai culture that still exists if one looks for it....

So, the trip to Koh Tao was very enjoyable because I mostly just lazed about on the beach and ate good Thai food. I was there with Heather and two other girls whom we pick up along the way- T.T. from New York and Flavia from Brazil. They were both lovely girls and I really enjoyed talking to them. Also, there was a fantastic tropical storm our second night at the beach, and I LOVE these types of storms. Sitting on my balcony staring out at the sheets of water pouring off the tin roof and the rain pounding beyond was a most enjoyable way to pass the evening.

Went back to Thailand this last weekend for the first time since 2001. It was great to be back! Although the rushed weekend trip to Bangkok and Koh Tao did not fully satisfy my need to experience Thailand all over again. And it was a bit strange to be back as a tourist, rather than living there. It also made me feel rather old, to see how many changes had happened in just a few short years. The biggest change that I noticed was a change in the backpacker culture. Of course, there are still the age-old grungy backpackers out there who go to Thailand for no other reason than to wallow in their own filth and lose their minds to drugs. But there also seems to be a "new age" of backpackers who no longer retreat from the rest of the world as they backpack across unexplored lands, but is a city-hopper who travels on the high-tech road complete with laptop computer and mobile phone. Hostels are now providing wireless for these savvy travellers- no more tramping through unfamiliar streets to hunt down an internet cafe or waiting in frustration as the one computer in the shop keeps booting you off in the middle of emails. It's all about 24 hour contact with friends and relatives, photos taken with digital cameras sent immediately over the internet, and free internet calling and constant instant messaging. Some of these technological advances are a bit disconcerting for those of us who appreciated the simplicity of life on the ride, but at the same time the indisputable convenience of travelling as such is a seductive possibility. I am about to succumb to some of these developments myself, planning to venture into the world of skype and to buy my first digital camera soon. I don't think I will go so far as to bring my laptop with me on trips (the paranoia of losing it or having it stolen on the road is too great), but I do appreciate the pervasive presence of technology and how easy it has made it for me to stay in touch with family and friends back at home.