Just finished my last exam! Woohoo! Or maybe I should actually say my only exam...that does not make it quite as impressive, does it? Actually, there's not much excitement associated with this event because now it just means that the bar exam grows ever-nearer, as does the date when I ought to be finishing my thesis. Speaking of, I bought my plane tkt back to the U.S. - July 13! Arrrr, so soon.

And we celebrated tonight by one of our oft-repeated outings to Orchard Road. The sad truth is that my "exciting" night was going to California Pizza Kitchen, followed by a stroll down the road popping into Borders Bookstore and a couple of other shops. We thought about going to a movie, but nothing good was playing. And the truth is that this sort of evening is more common than just about anything else I do in Singapore. Most days are rather boring, to tell you the truth (which is partially why haven't written in the blog much lately).

I am, however, going to Vietnam for a few days. Leaving on Sunday. Heather and I are basically making a visit to Hoi An in order to have clothes made- I really need to get a bunch of work suits and such made, as it is such a better deal to do it out here.

The elections are coming...the big question here in Singa is not who will win, but whether the PAP will make a clean-sweep of all the seats this year. Seems rather implausible in a "democracy" doesn't it? The local news, which is controlled by the PAP of course, is consumed mostly with announcing the new PAP candidates these days. They've got a good cross-section of people, including business people, doctors, etc. And a plea has gone out in search of a good Malay candidate for one of the seats... you see, there is also a racial quota system of sorts for the elections because in some of the districts they have to run as part of a GRC (Group Representation Committee) instead of individually. GRCs must be composed of a certain number of minority candidates (this is also one of the reasons that it is so difficult for opposition parties to succeed in elections- they have to win an entire GRC, not just an individual candidate). The other interesting tidbit about Singapore elections is that the current government doesn't have to announce when exactly an election will be, until 7 days prior to the election... you just get a vague idea that it is coming when the campaigning begins.

Just got back from the Damien Rice concert- I LOVE his music! The concert was interesting though- he was definitely high on *something* and I get the impression that it was a thrown-together sort of thing where he was going to Singapore and decided that he might as well do a show while there. So it was just him- no band. And it wasn't really planned out at all. Which was cool in some ways because it was very low-key and in some ways like hanging out in his studio listening to him mess around instead of a formal concert. He took several requests and joked around trying to play songs that normally required a piano, etc. A lot of improv. And, actually, he totally forgot the words to several songs. For a minute I was like, "uh? ok?" but he played it off well and it just turned out really funny. Like when he played "I remember," which begins "I remember it well..." and then he just kept playing but not singing, and a couple of seconds later he had to laugh and comment on the irony of the song because he actually couldn't remember the second line. It was also a really small venue- only 600 people- which of course, was about as good as you can get for a concert. So it was fun and great to hear him live, though I would really like to hear him with the full band sometime in the future.

So that was the excitement of the week. Otherwise I have been cranking out Chapter 2 of my thesis. I decided tonight though that I am too bogged down in it right now and am going to take a couple days break to work on bar outlines instead, and then come back to the thesis- I've been at it everyday now for a week and it has just become too much! Sad that bar studying is my "break" from thesis writing however. Pitiful, really. Well, tomorrow I am going to a fashion show for Singapore Fashion Week and also out to dinner- don't know where quite yet.

I've taken some photos around Singapore lately, so I'm going to post some of them:

First, here are some photos of the Botanic Gardens. Last weekend I went for a really long walk with a friend around the gardens- they're actually walking distance from my apartment and a great place to escape from urban atmosphere of Singapore. That last one almost had me fooled that it might be fall here! No such luck....






These next two pics are both from outside the Asian Civilizations Museum. There's me in front of the Raffles Statue and a view of Boat Quay from across the river.





And lastly, here's my part of town. I live just down the street from this quaint little area known as "Holland Village"- yes, there is a windmill and it is peopled by many a Dutch person. It's kind of a trendy coffee shop and restaurant neighborhood, and gets A LOT busier at night. Oh, and that's my apartment building. Thrilling, I know.

Singapore just opened its new budget airline terminal. I am very interested to see the new terminal, but also wary that my much-beloved times at Changi Airport are about to come to an end. I bet I can't get my favorite sushi and lowfat gelato at the new terminal :-( Though the shopping is supposed to be comparable... but I just doubt it will be as comfy and homey as the other terminals! Hmm, I am sure this new budget terminal will be good for Singapore though- because I know KL has opened a budget terminal as well and is attempting to compete with Singapore. And Bangkok is also building a whole new airport! It's about time actually, because their airport is crap. Well, I am happy to see so many signals of development in the region.

The buildings at the university here are connected by long, long covered passageways. In fact, it's a bit crazy but you could probably walk from building to building without being uncovered for 20 minutes straight. Hmm, I should take some pictures at school- I only ever take pictures when we're out on the town! You have no idea what the "normal" life is here, really, do you? I guess that's because it's not all that interesting! And I tend to prefer to keep you entertained when reading this blog :-) Alas, there will be nothing entertaining to write for a bit. This weekend I am focusing on finishing another chapter of my thesis- it is my March goal and I have made Monday my official deadline. I might take a break sometime to wander out to the Botanic Gardens though. They are relatively near my house and it would make a lovely walk.

Be prepared for some crazy photos!! I went to the Indian Festival of Colors- "Holi"- today, and it was madness! Which corresponds with great fun of course. Holi is the Spring festival that is celebrated all over India (and in Singapore of course because of the large Indian population here). Holi welcomes in the coming bright colors of Spring and also seeks the blessings of the Gods for good harvests and fertile land. Holi is celebrated with many many colors- covering ourselves and others with those colours actually. At the entrance of the festival we were handed a bag of a brightly-coloured chalk like substance.... this became very important as the evening progressed! First we ran around a field with a ton of people throwing buckets full of dye at each other (the little kids had a fun time specially targeting Sabra and I- I think we looked especially ridiculous because the dye showed up so vibrantly on our pale skin). After we were fully doused in dye, wet to the core, and our clothes had turned from white to a muddy mixture of every color of the rainbow, we proceeded to smearing the chalk substance all over each other- hair, face, arms, etc. All these cute old ladies kept coming up to us and streaking our foreheads and cheeks with chalk, and random men would run up and dump chalk over our heads. And then small kids would run up to us and douse us with the liquid dye again, and it would start all over again with the chalk, and the dye, and the chalk, etc. It was totally fun! Of course, now my entire body is dyed blue and I can't seem to get the color out of my skin. It has soaked in so deep. I have a feeling I am going to be walking around looking like a smurf for the next week.... sheesh, I even got dye in my eyes and they started to turn purple! (no worries, no last effects).

Here I am before and after- what a disaster!





check out my hair:



During, with two friends- Martin and Sabra. Martin is especially unrecognizable! Ha ha.






And, just a reminder, here is Sabra and I "before"- well, almost. We'd already been "blessed" by a couple of the local grannies:



And here is Martin and I on the metro home- yes, we had to take the metro looking like this! People were doing double-takes left and right (but Singaporeans would never actually "say" something- i.e. "why the hell do you look so disgusting?"). And just one last reminder, all of our clothes were WHITE to begin with! And so was my skin... I am so blue now! (still, after scrubbing and scrubbing- and my hair is still streaked with bright colors! ahhhhh.)

Earlier this week I was having one of those days where I just felt a bit down and blah (very concise and descriptive term, I know), so I decided that what I needed to feel better was a long walk. Was I ever right!! I need to remember how much I love going for long walks and make sure to incorporate it into my lifestyle. It was HOT outside (as usual), but once I was outside the heat seemed so much better than the stifling oppression of my apartment. Not knowing where exactly I ought to go, I decided to head in the direction of Orchard Rd (town) and see how long it would take me to get there. It wasn't nearly as far as I thought- only 1 hour! And the walk was marvelous- the great thing about Singapore is that even though it is a big city, it is very green. I was walking along one of the major roads that traverses the island, yet all around me were trees and jungle and I could even hear the crickets and tree frogs chirping away in the trees. In a strange way, this particular road reminded me a lot of Portland- the drive between the tunnels into town and Beaverton. Of course, the vegetation here is much more tropical, but it has that same density. Maybe I will start going on walks more often and exploring different areas in Singapore. There's still a lot I haven't seen.

There is something inherently wrong about a dorky-looking Singaporean college student (button up collar shirt tucked into tight jeans, hair that is too long in a mullet-type way, and glasses) prancing into a computer lab and drawling, "Wassup Bro?!" and then proceeding to launch into an incomprehensible Singlish conversation. Ah, the ironies of living in a country that walks the fine line between the East and West.

It is getting HOT again. Well, not that it hasn't always been hot (and humid), but the rainy season did bring a slight decrease in temperatures. I have mixed feelings about the heat. It is nice when I am outside and I feel like I am in the middle of a gorgeous, sunny summer, but then it gets soooo tiring with it being hot all the time. And night is the worst. I wish I had an air conditioner!

This weekend is a big cram paper-writing weekend. I have a paper due for my Indonesian law class on Monday, which is good, because it will be incorporated into my thesis and having this deadline gives me the push I need at the moment to make some progress on my thesis. I am also very happy that I have found a couple of NPR stations through iTunes and now I can listen to NPR all day while I study- I soooo missed it!

My most recent observation on Singapore is that the government here is extremely talented at legislating how people should live while simultaneously appearing democratic and rather laid-back. It's a very paternalistic approach to things. And indeed, it makes me question many of my ideas of governance. Singapore is the strict law sort of society that everyone always thinks it is, but these laws also don't infringe upon everyday life all that much. Of course, then there are the little hassles that I don't have to deal with because I am a foreigner, but would annoy me so much if I was a local- like buying a house. You have to deal with racial quotas and all kinds of things when you want to buy a home here. On the other hand, the government also subsidizes homes here in order to make it possible for as many Singapore residents as possible to be home owners (it is believed that a person who is a home owner will feel more stake/loyalty in their country).

The government has announced that new elections are going to happen soon, and this means that there has been quite a bit of re-aligning of voting districts and announcements that the ruling PAP government is going to refurbish certain apartment blocks, etc- it's all a very elaborate plan to keep the PAP in power. And I have no doubt that the PAP will succeed. The political structure here is such that it is very difficult for opposition parties to get a foothold. Hence the reason there are normally only a token couple non-PAP members in parliament. The interesting aspect of this is that strong PAP dominance has allowed the government to be extremely efficient. Parliament passes bills with minimal debate, and can respond rapidly to almost any situation. On the whole, Singaporeans are proud of their government and the efficiency of its response to international and domestic concerns.

Had a belated bday dinner with Singapore friends last night. Some pics.

Arriving at Changi Airport in Singapore always makes me so happy. It is actually one of my favorite places in Singapore. Never thought I would say that about an airport. It's the only airport I have ever been to where I don't mind going early and I tend to linger longer than necessary upon arrival. It has a very homey feeling. Maybe that's what it is- the airport is far more inviting and comfortable than my own home, and with all these trips in and out of the country, is almost as familiar to me as my own home! I especially loved Changi during the holiday season because there was always lovely music softly floating through the air and Christmas decorations all around. Upon stepping into the airport I would think, "ahhhh, Christmas" whereas everywhere else in Singapore the holiday sentiment completely passed me by, as I cannot associate Christmas with tropical heat waves and palm trees. But airports- they practically shout, "come to me! It is time for some holiday travel!"

And Changi really is a fabulous airport. Like everything else in Singapore, it is pristine and orderly. The departure lounge is filled with soft and cushy chairs. There are good restaurants and shops, and the duty free shopping is the cheapest I have yet seen (we priced the alcohol today in Singapore and Bangkok to confirm this fact). There are little alcoves where you can settle onto a comfy couch and watch the news, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, or movies. Free internet portals are all around. And at immigration the lines are short and they give out free candy. What can beat that?!

A day spent at Changi inevitably leads to a pleasant day. I know, this seems quite a paradox, but I swear it's true!

So the airport portion of my day was good. The actual airplane flight, however, was another matter. A couple of guys two rows in front of us decided that, as soon as we took off, they needed to eat something that absolutely wreaked of garlic. It was so pungent that at first I couldn't quite pinpoint the fumes that were floating in our direction, making us positively ill for a good portion of the trip. We asked the flight attendants to have them put the food away, and they did politely request such action be taken, as did we ourselves pointedly ask the men, but they kept pulling their food out and trying to sneakily eat it. As if the very fact of having the food unwrapped was not a dead giveaway for the fact that they were eating. Ugh, food that has such a strong odor should be banned from airplanes!

I hate to make stereotypes, but sometimes living overseas forces one to come to certain generalizations. Of course, there are many exceptions to the rule, but my experience has been that Chinese people (this flight was all Chinese), and to a certain degree Singaporean Chinese (though much less so), are some of the pushiest and least respectful people I have ever met. I was pondering this thought today as I was forced to confront this fact when the crowds of people on our flight shoved their way to the front of the check-in counter (trying to check in in groups of 20 rather than wait their turn) and then rushed onto the plane long before their seat number was called (a pet peeve of mine). Liz (who is Singapore Chinese and not like this at all) and I think that it is probably related to a communist mentality of push-your-way-forward-to-get-your-daily-rice-or-you-won't-get-any. The problem is that in most places it just seems rude and totally unnecessary. In fact, people are ALWAYS trying to cut in line out here. My friend Heather, who is quite bold about confronting people, is really good at turning the evil eye upon any cutter and forcing them to the back of the line.

Another thing that this made me think of today is the oft-invoked idea of "Asian values" (usually used as an explanation for why Asian society should be able to develop and govern in its own way, as apart from the West). Now, I definitely believe in a certain degree of cultural relativism and maybe that there are some small similarities between Asian cultures, but the longer I live out here the less I believe that this blanket concept of "Asian values" has any real weight behind it. There is no true uniformity amongst Asian cultures that can be used to define one set of Asian values. For instance, I see the Chinese and Japanese as being soooo different. Of course, both have the concept of saving face (indeed, this is very important in both societies), but the Japanese seem so much more refrained and respectful, while the Chinese are very aggressive and pushy in most things. Back the example of lines- the Chinese like to shove their way to the front, whereas the Japanese are uniform and meticulous about standing in line. All you have to do is go to a train station in Tokyo to see the difference! One factor that has often been classified as an "Asian value", that I now flatly disagree with, is that Asians are all more communal and believe in family values more than the West. First, I think that in Singapore at least, the society is anything but communal. In fact, it seems to me that most Singaporeans care little for their communities, but really only for themselves and their families. Singaporeans are very unlikely to be highly involved in their communities, nor do individuals or businesses donate to local needs. Family is important, but it seems that it is mostly in a monetary and material sense. I honestly don't think that Singaporean families are any closer than the average American, Canadian, or European family. Parents do financially support their children for longer, but this is primarily because it is a national standard to do so. And kids just don't move out of home until much older. But in Singapore you also always see really old people working. For example, in the food centers it is normal for those who bus the tables to be in their 70's and 80's. Now, this may be that the older Chinese people are hyper aware of not wanting to be a "burden" on their families, but it is also evidence to me that Asian families don't necessarily always take care of their older relatives in the way that is always portrayed to the West.

Well, these are just some thoughts that came from conversations during the last couple of days. Stereotypes broken and stereotypes formed. This is all part of living overseas- experiencing different ways of living, witnessing things that may seem very bizarre or rude or what have you, and figuring out a way to process it and fit it into one's own particular world view- or not.

And just to make this somewhat relevant to the last couple of days spent in Bangkok- here are a couple of pics. Liz, Heather, and I- though we didn't actually manage to get any pics of the three of us together.

Lots to update. I just returned last night from my spring break trip to Indonesia, have spent the day getting caught up with studies, laundry, cleaning, etc, and am headed out tomorrow afternoon to Bangkok for a couple of days.

So... Indonesia. A wonderful trip! The main thing I have taken away from my visit there was that Indonesians are very friendly and kind people. Some places that you travel in SE Asia can be extremely abrasive, leading to exhaustion and vows to avoid travel in future and all the hassles that go along with it (which, inevitably, I forget a few weeks later when another interesting trip looms near). However, my experience in Indonesia was very pleasant and I am already hoping to go back to Indonesia in the not too distant future!

I flew to Jakarta on Sunday morning with some of my classmates from Indonesian law. We were to meet our professor and other classmates on Monday morning for two days crammed full of visits to many Indonesian legal institutions. Sunday was a pretty uneventful day. We arrived and found our hotel on Jalan Jaksa- the tourist ghetto of Jakarta, if you can call it that. I don't actually think many tourists- or backpackers at least- travel to Jakarta so there is nothing remotely comparable to Bangkok's Khao San Road. I hold no love for Khao San Road, so nothing sad about that. Our first stop was to a restaurant across the street from our hotel to get some food. Not the best restaurant- in fact, we ate grilled gold fish (yes, as in the pet fish, though the larger version), and I do not recommend it. Very strong flavour. yick. In fact, we were actually wondering if they just fished it out of the tank right next to our table.... we next sadly failed in our efforts to visit a nearby flea market, as it was closed, and instead ended up at a nearby grocery store. The sight of all the delicious, fresh, and cheap fruit (it's so expensive in Singapore) was too much for us and we succumbed to a durian fruit and spent the evening munching on the (disgustingly) pungent fruit by the pool at our friend's hotel. For those of you who don't know what durian is, it is a famous fruit in SE Asia that wreaks of moldy socks or really old french cheese, but actually tastes pretty good. In fact, durian smells so bad that it is banned in many public places throughout the region. You can get a $500 fine for taking a durian on public transportation in Singapore! Ugh, I was on the train once when someone had a durian and it was soooo awful- the smell gets trapped in and there is no escape!

The next day we visited the University of Indonesia, the Indonesian parliament (well, their equivalent of a "parliament"), and a top Indonesian law firm.

Here I am at the parliament building with friends:



A group of law students from the university drove us and escorted us everywhere we went. These students were soooo incredibly hospitable- without them we would have been lost! Jakarta is a HUGE and chaotic city. Traffic is horrendous, but the layout of the city and lack of adequate public transport means that everyone drives. As a tourist, I think it would be quite a difficult city to get around. Basically, you would have to take taxis everywhere and sometimes the traffic jams would turn a 20 min drive into a 2 hour hell. The students then took us out for a local specialty dinner- called "padang". It consists of many tiny dishes that are spread over a table and meant to be eaten with rice. You choose what you want to eat, and then the restaurant charges according to what you ate at the end. There were a lot of chicken dishes, some veg, and an especially good beef dish. They even had chicken hearts and cow brains. I tried the hearts but not the brains. Here's a pic from dinner:



The next day included more visits around town, to the parliament again, the district court and the constitutional court, and an organization called "hukum online" which is trying to publish Indonesian laws online. This is a monumental task because many laws are not even published in Indonesia, and the government pursues a policy of decentralization, which means that the regional governments are primarily responsible for instituting regulations to implement and interpret the national laws. There are more than 30 regions in the country, some very far from the capital, Jakarta. So it is really hard to even get ahold of all these laws, let alone publish them online!

The next day most of the class parted ways, heading to various places around SE Asia for the duration of the break. I stuck around in Jakarta for the day because I wanted to visit the American Embassy and see if they had any good information that might be relevant to my thesis. I was able to meet briefly with the Regional Security Officer and got some good contacts whom I can email for additional information. So while I probably didn't need to stay around an entire extra day for a 30 min meeting, it still ended up being worthwhile. Luckily a couple of other students were hanging around as well. So we all met up for lunch, and then as it started pouring rain, we went to the movies.

Flew to Bali that evening. We took a taxi to an inland town called Ubud, where we spent the first couple of days. Ubud was a great town- very artsy and cute. Full of galleries, shops, great restaurants and spas. I was very happy to spend my birthday there! Basically, I pampered myself on my birthday with an indulgent visit to a spa and a great dinner at a restaurant recommended by a friend (Casa Luna- soooo good. I wish I could find a restaurant like that in Singapore!). That night we met up with some other exchange students from NUS who were also staying in Ubud, and they insisted that I drink lots and lots of Arak (the local alcohol) and then join them for a late night swim at their hotel pool. It turned out to be a very memorable birthday!

After Ubud, we all travelled to small town on the east coast called Candidasa. Here is a picture that typifies the relaxing beach paradise that was my time in Candidasa (tough life):



And here is the lagoon next to our hotel in Candidasa:



We were really lucky to get to attend a local Hindu festival. The whole town turned out for the festivities and all of the young men and women in town participated, dressing in beautifully elaborate costumes and bringing gifts to the Hindu temple.

Had a busy week as usual, and now I am feeling rather gulity for not being as productive as I planned this weekend. I didn't even work on my thesis at all yesterday when I had originally intended to spend the entire day working on it. Ahhh, I'm finding it really hard to drag myself in front of the computer these days. I'm not sure if it's because the studying for the bar exam is wearing me out, or what. We are kind of in an intense bar study period right now because we are pushing through to get all the lectures finished so that I can send them back by the first week of march. This means that we spend three days a week closeted away in one of the library study rooms for around 8 hours listening to recorded law lectures. I have even started drinking coffee because it is literally the only way to keep myself focused. I am really looking forward to a break next week! It is our spring break and I am going with my Indonesian law class on a trip to Jakarta for the first part of the week (our prof has set up visits to places like the Supreme Court, the university, a law firm, etc), and then over to Bali for a mini vacation for the last part of the week. I'm also intending to use the trip for some field research for my thesis, so I need to get myself organized this week and figure out which organizations I need to visit and what information to try to find.

One fun event did happen this week. My friend Dawn was on a business trip to the Philippines and found the opportunity to pop over for a brief visit. She was literally over here for barely more than a day, but we made the most of it. Ran all over town during the day and then went out for drinks and to one of Singapore's newest clubs, Ministry of Sound, at night. I wasn't very impressed with Ministry of Sound actually. Wednesday night is ladies' night here in Singapore, and that usually means free drinks all night, but that wasn't the case at MOS. I think they are still sliding by on newness and name recognition, but after awhile they are going to have to get back in line with the other clubs and start reducing prices and providing free drinks on ladies' night. After all, Singapore is the land of conformity!

Chinese New Year goes on and on... I enjoy the repeated opportunities to indulge in Yu Sheng (the special Chinese New Year salad that I mentioned before), but the cacophonous drums of the lion dance get old really quick. Especially when they start up at 8 in the morning outside my bedroom window. At least today I had blessed relief from the incessant banging, but that was not the case several mornings this week.

Had a big night out on Saturday. It was my friend Heather's birthday and we celebrated by going to a Brazilian carnivore restaurant and then on to one of Singapore's hot spots, a restaurant/club called Indochine on Clarke Quay. I'd actually never been to Indochine before and quite liked it. Because drinking is sooo expensive in Singapore ($16-$18 for a cocktail), it's important that a venue make up for the cost with a bit of style, and Indochine has that. The courtyard that fronts the water is lined with giant Chinese warrior statues, and the inside is stylish Asian decor, complete with a trendy "ice bar" at the back. I haven't actually gone out all that much in Singapore, but this was one of my favorite places thus far. Wednesday I'll have an update of the big new Singapore hot spot- Ministry of Sound- because we're planning to go there for ladies' night. Ooh, and my friend Dawn will be in town for a brief visit then- can't wait! She's stopping by for a couple of days after a visit to the Philippines. As always, it's great to see friends!

Chinese New Year passed by pretty quietly for me, as I stayed home for the rest of the weekend and did such mundane tasks as cleaning and laundry (I actually really really like taking a "day of rest" each week to putter around the house), and worked on my thesis some. Following dinner with my friend, my only reminder that it was a holiday was the occassional pop of firecrackers in the distance and the drumming sound of traditional dragon dances rising up from the street. I was going to go to a party on Sunday night where they had planned a dragon dance, but I felt that I had gone out too many nights in a row and needed a break. It was a good decision. Tomorrow starts the beginning of another week of my usual gym/bar study/class/thesis schedule, and I feel more rested and ready to get back to work now.

Happy Chinese New Year! I took part in welcoming in the Year of the Dog tonight with my friend Liz's family. This is the same friend with whom I enjoyed Christmas dinner- her family is so gracious and I do enjoy sharing the holiday meals with them! Her grandma prepared a traditional Chinese feast tonight- we had all kinds of things I can't quite name- a big, delicious salad with a shaved carrot base, with things like nuts, fruit compote, pomelo, and octopus mixed in, shark's fin soup (very controversial I know, but I figured I ought to at least try it while I was there), salad with abalone, pork and fish maw casserole, hand-made noodles with pork and vegetables, and a dessert made of yams and red beans. I was prepared ahead of time and brought two mandarin oranges, as is the custom for visitors during the new year. And Liz's parents gave me a red packet as I was leaving- a red envelope with money in it. It is typical to give money to visitors during the new year to help them welcome in a prosperous new year. In fact, the new year celebrations are really focused on the idea of having a prosperous, or wealthy, new year. It seems that Chinese culture emphasizes wealth as the key to being happy. Not what I would usually associate with "eastern" ideals- in the west we often think of the east as representing a simple, feng shui kind of life, but reality here in Singapore seems to be that happiness is wrapped up in commercialism and wealth. Or at least that's what people think. Although I have read in quite a few magazines lately that Singaporeans wish more than anything to spend more time with their families, and work less. People work really hard here- there is definitely a similar work ethic as the United States.

I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. It's been a long and exhausting week and I feel like I need a break! Put a lot of time into bar studying- Heather and I are listening to the lectures now- and had quite a few outings planned in the evenings, including a trip to Chinatown on Thursday for the festive season. One of Heather's friends from class took us on a tour of Chinatown, introducing us to many of the special holiday foods, and explaining the traditions of the holiday. The streets of Chinatown were full of venders selling all kinds of holiday treats- dried meat, candies, nuts, fruit- decorations- red and gold are the colors that everyone decorates with- and special gifts for loved ones. It was SO crowded in fact, that we inched along from vender to vender at a snail-like pace. Not something I feel that I especially need to experience again, but I'm glad I went!

For the next 3 days the entire city will be virtually shut down. Almost all employees have a 4-day weekend for the holiday, and indeed, some businesses are closed for the entire week. I was told not to expect to be able to go to the grocery store, any restaurants, or shops for the next several days. So I have stocked up for the long weekend and plan to hole away in my apartment tomorrow and get caught up on some sleep and other things that need to be done.

Hanging out with mom in Bangkok was lots of fun. I don't think mom was all that impressed with Bangkok- it is a big polluted city after all- but I think she will really like the north. It's more the quintessential Asian experience. Rice paddies and mist hanging in valleys lined with rolling hills and limestone cliffs, etc. We did have fun together though and I know she was really happy that we got to spend those few short days together. Luckily her tour leader was really nice and friendly and let me join in with all their activities. So I played tourist with her for 2 of the days- visiting a flower market and a couple of temples, and then going on a day trip to the floating market and a place called the Rose Garden (there were some flowers but mostly it was a place to learn about Thai culture- they have a little village set-up and put on a cultural show). On our time off I introduced mom to the heart of Bangkok- MBK, the shopping mall extravaganza. As such, she also got to experience the sky train and taxi service in Bangkok. She wasn't too keen on the sky train since it involved packing onto a train with just about every other person in Bangkok (after all, you have to experience the crowds for the true Asian experience), but the taxi was more her style. Air conditioned comfort for a mere 75 cents each. I told mom that Thailand is very inexpensive, but I don't think she realized just how inexpensive until she got there!

So what else did we do? I took mom out for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cabbages and Condoms. Despite the name, mom quite liked the restaurant and has enjoyed trying all kinds of new Thai food. And I made sure to order everything NOT SPICY because, for the novice, Thai spice can be really hard to take.

Other than that, we mostly just had lots of time to talk and hang out! It was really nice :-) Too bad the time flew by so quickly though.

A new travel first for me- I brought my laptop with me and am now sitting at my hostel checking email, etc.- and planning on actually doing some studying tonight as well. Because this trip only involves one stop- Bangkok- and I have been expecting some down time while mom has tour-related stuff that she needs to participate in, I thought I could safely bring my laptop and maybe even make up for some lost time at school. So far so good! I hope mom's hotel has wireless too, cuz the hostel has it and I have to say it is very convenient! I'm getting bitten by mosquitoes while I sit here though....

Spent pretty much the entire day at MBK (one of Bangkok's mega shopping malls) getting some errands done- haircut, eye exam and new glasses, etc. V. happy with having this day here in Bangkok before I meet up with mom tomorrow- funny to think that Bangkok, though a 2+ hour flight, is easily considered a short jaunt form Singapore for weekend shopping and errand-running trips. Prices are MUCH better here, and it is easy to find cheap plane tkts, so very worth it. I guess it's the equivalent of a weekend shopping trip to New York City, though much much much better-priced.

I hope mom likes it here! I think I've probably talked about how much I love Thailand so much that she has really high expectations!

Just had my first class of the new semester. I am taking Indonesian Law from a French Canadian man who used to teach at McGill (in Montreal) and has now been at NUS for 10 years, primarily because of his scholarship on Indonesia and the convenience of being based in Singapore rather than Canada. I think it will be a great class, and already we are planning a class trip to Jakarta during our Spring break. I'll use the trip to do some research on my thesis as well. I think the professor will be able to help me set up some meetings with various people to discuss security issues.

it's still raining. I wonder when it will stop? Rainy season comes with a vengeance here.

And it's a bit surreal to be here for another semester and see a whole new slew of exchange students wandering the halls, looking lost, as I am sure I looked back in August! I feel like a seasoned veteran here at NUS, and I even feel that I know Singapore quite well by now too. I'll have to find a few new places to explore this semester.

The big move to my new apartment in Holland Village is this Saturday. I have loved living at Karen's place for the last several weeks, and being right at Orchard Rd, but I am also looking forward to moving to my new place and settling in for the next six months. I will really really miss the gym at Karen's condo though! It is so nice and convenient to have it right there. I'm going to join a gym as soon as I get back from my trip to Bangkok to see mom though.

The monsoon comes to Singapore in December and January, and during that time I've learned that you can expect a good rainstorm every afternoon, if not for the entire day. I think we're going on about 72 hours of constant rain right now. I love it though! The main reason I love it is that it gives me a small comfort that Singapore has at least two seasons- the hot and the monsoon. Well, it's still pretty humid and warm even when it rains, but at least it's not nearly as hot as usual! Plus, rain makes it a wee bit more winter-like. And Singapore is equipped for the monsoon, unlike many other cities in Southeast Asia. There must be a good drainage system here because I don't see water sitting around on the roads. If this were Chiangmai, for example, the water in the streets would be a good foot or two deep by now. Instead, I can go out with my umbrella and merrily walk through the empty streets and come home only with a slightly wet hem.