There's More to See Than Can Ever Be Seen

It's kind of funny that now that I'm getting ready to leave Singapore, I'm getting better at updating my blog. Anyways, last night was one of the best nights I've experienced in Singapore. I watched The Lion King at the Marina Bay Sands with my cousin Petrina, Aunty Liz, and Sherill. IT WAS AMAZING. Now I understand why Amanda has gone twice and still can't get enough of it! Everything was brilliant, from the singing to the costumes to the props to the backdrops. It was so much fun being able to dress up all fancy and stuff.

AND since the theater wasn't even that big, we were pretty close to the stage.

We  were in Row O, so I think that put us only about 13 rows away from the stage.

The opening scene set the precedent for the rest of the show. Rafiki (amazing singer and actress) started off by singing The Circle of Life, and the next thing you know you feel like you're in an African safari. There are birds flying around above you and elephants walking through the aisles and cheetahs and gazelles leaping around on stage. The sun started rising, and basically anything I can describe here does not do the live show much justice. You just have to be there to experience it.

But the entire cast was just amazing. Scar had the sweetest mask and was great in his role. Baby Nala and Simba were the cutest kids ever, Timon and Pumbaa were hilarious, the hyenas looked like hyenas, the lionesses were so cool, Mufasa was brilliant, and Simba and Nala all grown up were just as great as their younger cohorts. Oh and Zazu! Super funny. And obviously everyone else that I didn't mention was just as cool.

The stage was amazing too (I keep using that word since there's no other way to describe the experience). The ground rose at times, the night sky looked so real, real grass was used for the plains, the stampede was so extremely realistic, and at one point when Simba touched his reflection he actually scooped up real water from the stage.

Just as amazing as the costumes and acting and props was the music. Almost every song that wasn't a solo was sung by what sounded like an African gospel choir and was so moving. And these people had some of the best voices that I have ever heard. I think the grown up Nala was my favorite, but everyone else was just as great as her.

When we first got to the theater and a little boy came and sat in the row behind us, Petrina and I were a little worried that he would be talking and we would be annoyed. But even though he blurted some things out, it just added to the experience. One of our favorite moments was when the lionesses went on a hunt and killed a gazelle, and right as it went silent, he asked, "What just happened?" And even though he wasn't the quietest kid ever, it wasn't really quiet in the theater anyways. I guess I don't have much experience being in a live audience, but it was great how interactive it was and how it actually made you feel. We were all laughing and crying and just awestruck in general.

The writers also added a tiny bit to the script in order to appeal to the Singaporean audience, which got laughs out of everyone in the audience. During the I Just Can't Wait to Be King sequence, which was just as psychedelic and crazy as the cartoon version, Zazu was going nuts, and to one of the animals that he saw, he said, "Oh look! A Chinese dragon. Ni hao!" And at the end of the sequence when Simba and Nala managed to get rid of Zazu so they could run off to the elephant graveyard, Zazu flew into a wall and fell down, then stood up and started yelling as he flew off the stage, "Nimba! Sala! Oh look, is that a merlion?" And when Timon was sleeping on some grass and the grass helped him to stand up, he was about to walk away when he remembered to turn around and say, "Oh, xie xie ni!"

Basically, it was a night to remember, and if I were given the opportunity to see it again, I definitely would! It's a great show for everyone of all ages, and I would recommend it to anyone!

Love,

Reb

What Asians Do Best: Sing and Eat

Another relaxing weekend in Singapore, where virtually all my friends left the country without me. Luckily, we were paid a visit by the "Swedes Undercover" (as Andrey would call it) and I was able to hang out with the family for Gong-Gong's birthday.

When leaving Cambodia, Sebastian said that we had to do karaoke upon his return to Singapore. I thought it sounded like a great way to get to know the Asian culture, since Ruohan told me that karaoke is a really popular activity in Asia. So, Friday night, we all went to the KBox at Marina Square.

We didn't really know what to expect, since we had never heard of doing karaoke with only a small group of people. There is absolutely nothing like these karaoke places in the US. Basically, you get a whole room to yourself for just you and your friends. In our room, we had a couch here, then the TV in the other corner of the room, and the touch screen control panel next to the couch. It turned out to be lots of fun, as we were all belting out tunes.

I'm not sure though that we did karaoke quite like the Asians do it. Ruohan said that we were getting MANY strange stares as people walked past our room. Apparently, no one really sings English songs; only Chinese songs. And he said no one really raps either. Andrey just kept picking rap songs. Which are ok to listen to, but very difficult to sing karaoke to. However, his poor choice of songs can be attributed to the fact that he was wired on caffeine. The comment he had for this picture of himself was "After 5 redbulls and 2 cappuccinos... the second me comes out!"

The thing about these places is that you can stay late. And since you're paying a lot, you'll stay as late as they let you. When we checked in, they said the checkout time was 4:00am. Needless to say, we were there until about 3:45. At that point I was about to fall asleep. All our voices were shot from yelling so much, and no one had had as much caffeine as Andrey. And completely unrelated to karaoke, but just to show you the Asian way of college, when I got back at 4:15am on Friday night (or Saturday morning), there were STILL people up studying in the lounges. People here never sleep. But back to karaoke. The only thing that was disappointing was that they didn't have Build Me Up Buttercup, which Nyle reminded me is the best karaoke song ever. All in all though, I'm glad I went because now that's one more thing I can check off my list of things to do in Singapore.

Another thing I can check off my list is eating at the Raffles Hotel (that was never really on the list, but I can say I did it!). For Gong-Gong's birthday, we ate at Soup Restaurant, then headed over to the Raffles Hotel to get some dessert and a young coconut for myself since I hadn't tried it yet.

Apparently, getting a young coconut instead of an old one is very important, or else you won't be able to scrape out the meat after you drink the juice.

One thing that I have learned in Singapore is to be more patient and appreciative of family. Aunty Lay Hoon laughs because she said that here I was coming to Singapore for independence, and then my parents and aunt and grandparents follow me! Which I can't say I mind. It is nice to have family around, and other exchange students express their jealousy at the fact that I get to see family all the time.

And I'm glad Aunty Lay Hoon brought us to the Raffles Hotel for dessert yesterday since just getting a glimpse of the lobby makes me want to go back there and go to the Long Bar.

The Long Bar is where the Singapore Sling was invented, and no trip to Singapore is complete without trying the original drink. This poster in the window of the Raffles Hotel Shop makes that perfectly clear.

I'll need to find out how to do that soon since I only have 5 more weekends left in Singapore! And only two and a half of them will actually be spent in Singapore. I can't believe how time has flown. And although I really love Singapore and I'm going to miss it so much when I leave, there's still no place like home.

Love,

Reb

Reb & Rach's Rad Rendezvous

Two weekends ago it seemed like EVERYONE was out of the country except for Rachel and I, so we decided to have a girls only weekend. It turned out to be just a girls only half day, but it was still tons of fun. And you have no idea how long it took us to come up with the awesome, alliterative name for our weekend. Anyways, what we decided to do was check out Pulau Ubin for the day. Pulau Ubin is an island off the east tip of Singapore that kind of shows you what Singapore was like 30 years ago. I was surprised that the government had left the land alone for all this time, but what I found out in some research was that the government actually did try to modernize the island, but nature lovers resisted to the point where they backed out. And then the government realized that the tiny island in all of its olden-day glory was still a pretty good tourist attraction, so I guess now they're happy since they're still making money.

On the day of our trip, Rachel and I left PGP at 6:30am. Our timing was impeccible, and we managed to get to the island and be on our bikes by 8:30. The only way to get to the island is by a bumboat, which was pretty much the most ghetto ferry ever. There's no clear boarding area, and no one there to hold your hand, so you just have to board and hope you don't slip and fall. And they're all different based on your driver, but our boat was pretty messy. Note the crappy toilet seat that Rachel was convinced our driver used in between ferrying people back and forth.

Once on the island, we were able to rent bikes for only $10 for the whole day. Luckily mine didn't have any problems, but Rachel's was stuck on the highest gear. I do not envy her at all since the island was pretty hilly. After looking at the map of the island, we vowed to make it as far as we could in one day since we didn't think we'd be able to do it all.

Our first goal was to reach the Babut Hut, which is all the way on the left. We got there in less than half an hour, and the view was quite disappointing, as it was just in the middle of nowhere. After that, we biked for awhile longer, and then came upon a path that was blocked off. It was a path on the map, and we thought maybe it was just blocked off to cars, so we took it anyways. Come to find out, the reason it was blocked off was because it was flooded. It started off as just a minor problem, and we had to ride through puddles on a thin path that was most likely home to many snakes and other creepy things.

It turned out to be a much bigger problem when we reached the bridge though. It was easily at least a foot deep in water and there was no way to go through it without getting our feet wet, and even then we couldn't see around the corner so we didn't know what to expect once we got to the next spot of dry land.

So we had to ride back through the snake infested path. After that, we managed to get all the way out to the Chek Jawa wetlands on the east coast without even realizing it. We got to walk along a boardwalk and through a mangrove forest in order to reach the ocean.

And somehow, the ocean at Pulau Ubin is ten times better than the ocean at Singapore. It's so much bluer and prettier and more inviting on a hot day than any water you'll find elsewhere. Probably because all of the oil tankers aren't sitting just off shore. The only problem was a slight defect in the boardwalk. And by slight I mean that it had actually collapsed into the water. But everything else aroudn it seemed safe so I guess it was ok.

We felt pretty lucky since we got to see wild boar on the island as well. I guess they're shy so not many people get to see them. And it reminded me of how, at the beginning of the semester, Kenny's one goal was to catch a boar and kill it with his bare hands. So I guess Pulau Ubin is the place to go if you want to do that.

The last thing we saw before leaving the island was an old quarry filled with water. The color was so bright that it didn't even look real. I could have sworn that somebody took buckets of food coloring and dumped it in the water.

And that's Pulau Ubin in a nutshell. One of the last undeveloped places in Singapore. So small that it's easily biked and walked in its entirety in under 4 hours. But still the perfect spot for Reb & Rach's Rad Rendezvous.

And now I feel accomplished for writing two posts in one day. As London Tipton would say, "Yay Me!"

Love,

Reb

Adventures in Apartment Living

So a few weekends ago (a long 3 weekends ago), we had to opportunity visit/house-sit a friend's apartment on the north side of the island. It was the best place I've stayed in since coming to Singapore. There was a giant flat screen TV, an Xbox Kinect (coolest thing ever; I felt like I was Tom Cruise in Minority Report), a clean kitchen, A CAT, a keyboard, a king sized bed, and a clean shower with a lot of water pressure. I felt like I was in heaven, and Karen and Kathleen definitely made themselves at home.

Those two hated the cat though. Which I was ok with, since it meant that I got to play with him more! He's the cutest, friendliest, most tail-less cat ever; the polar opposite of Pixie.

The best thing about having a clean kitchen was that I was able to cook up the mac and cheese that KC so thoughtfully packed for me before I left home. She was right that I wouldn't be able to find it anywhere here. And it tasted like heaven. Nothing like good comfort food from home.

And having a keyboard to play was amazing. It makes me seriously consider buying one for my apartment next year. Between Nick's skills on the keyboard and Karen's skills on the guitar, we were able to put Kathleen to sleep on her recliner in the living room.

The following morning when we woke up and Nick was gone, the first thing I wanted to do was clean the house. It was a true bachelor pad. And you may say I'm just like my mother, but I'm sure ANYONE would have wanted to clean up. There were cups everywhere (sounds like what the house would be like if Daddy lived alone), kitty litter tracked through the whole house, unmade beds, and carpets that hadn't been vaccuumed since Nick came to Singapore in January. The first thing I did was put the sheets in the laundry and start sweeping the hallways. The amount of dirt and kitty litter in the back hallway alone was revolting. After sweeping, I decided to tackle the pile of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. Always the lazy one, I didn't feel like doing them by hand, so I loaded the mini dishwasher. The only problem was there was no dish detergent. There was some Dial soap by the sink though, and even though the label said "not for dishwasher use," I didn't think there was actually any harm in putting it in the dishwasher. I mean, if it cleans the dishes, it cleans the dishes. Ten minutes later I came back into the kitchen and this is what I found:

If the label on the soap had just warned about this, I would have washed the dishes by hand. Now I understand why Mommy always says, "I want to explain to you why you're not allowed to do this." Valuable lesson learned. And I passed on my knowledge to my future roommates so this doesn't happen in our apartment next year. When I told this story to my aunt later that day, she just shook her head and said, "college kids." I guess everyone has to learn this mistake at some point.

Besides the slight mishap, it was a fun weekend. We've been given the option to go back on weekends, but given the hour and a half commute, I might just stay in PGP. It's a lot more convenient, and now my bathroom is much cleaner! Although it's still lacking, I am grateful for the step that was taken towards cleanliness in our dorm bathroom.

Anyways, I know it's been awhile, but I'm hoping to catch up on my blogging in the next few days. Miss and love everyone at home =)

Love,

Reb

Here Comes The Sun

I officially fail at blogging. Oops. Anyways, Here Comes The Sun was the official theme song of our trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our trip started bright and early last Friday, since we had to leave PGP at 5am, and we even managed to catch the sunrise at Changi.

A few hours later, we arrived in Cambodia! The main form of transportation (at least for us tourists) is the tuk-tuk. A little frightening to ride in at times, and quite bumpy, but it allows you to experience the sights and sounds in a completely different light.

We were all pretty exhausted by the time we reached our hostel, but Jayne would not let us just sit there and do nothing, so we hopped back into our tuk-tuk to head out to the landmine museum. What our driver said would be a 20 minute drive was upwards of 35 minutes, but we did get some nice views of the Cambodian countryside.

When we arrived at the museum, they were closing up but were nice enough to let us in anyways. Experiencing the landmine museum was one of the most shocking and eye-opening things I have ever experienced. Hundreds of missiles and other explosives that have torn up the Cambodian countryside were on display and there was plenty of information to educate us on the severity of the situation. Children and farmers find unexploded bombs in fields, and not knowing what they are they kick them around. Then, without even realizing it, it explodes next to them and they lose legs or arms. The one ray of hope in the museum was that the entry fee goes towards the demining efforts in Cambodia and towards helping children who have been hurt in landmine accidents. The founder of the museum, Aki Ra, has been named a CNN Hero for his efforts in making Cambodia a safer country for its citizens. Information on the Landmine Museum Relief Fund can be found at http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/menu.html and information on Aki Ra and his demining efforts can be found at http://cambodianselfhelpdemining.org/.

After the sobering experience of the landmine museum, we managed to get back into town (albeit 30 minutes late) to see a traditional Cambodian dance. It was a little on the snooze side since it wasn't very upbeat dancing, but it was neat to experience all the same. On the way home, we stopped by the outdoor market, which competed with The Blue Pumpkin as our favorite place to visit in Siem Reap. The Blue Pumpkin was this cute little restaurant/cafe, where you could eat sitting on couches with tables on your lap. And all the food was delicious. Needless to say, we visited that place every day for the three days we were there. And I'm pretty sure we visited the market at least twice every day. So those were some popular destinations.

After we got back to the hostel, we took it easy since we had to be up early for sunrise on Saturday. Max's two friends from Sweden met us in Cambodia, and since he could play the guitar we just had a giant singalong. Even though we only knew a small percentage of the words to each song it was still mucho fun. And it got even better when we ran into a girl who happened to have a violin with her! The only thing that was needed to complete the perfect camping scene was a campfire, although I suppose it would have been way to hot for that.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early. We left our hostel around 5:15 so we could catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, the most famous temple in Cambodia. When we were first arriving, it was pitch black and locals had to lead us to the viewing spot with flashlights. Slowly, though, it started getting lighter and lighter. Our first glimpse of the sun came around 6:45, and EVERYONE started scrambling to take pictures.

Watching the sun continue to rise right behind Angkor Wat was, needless to say, pretty cool. Pretty much like nothing I've ever seen before.

We also managed to capture the perfect group shot with the sun and the temple in the background.

After watching the sunrise, we spent a couple hours walking around Angkor Wat and then met our tuk-tuk drivers who had been patiently waiting for us since early morning. We continued on to see Ta Prohm, which is famous for being the tomb raider temple. After Ta Prohm, we stopped for a quick lunch, then headed off to Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom is not an actual temple itself, but rather a complex of temples and terraces and such. The famous temple at Angkor Thom is Bayon, which was built by a king and dedicated to himself. As if he didn't have enough money, he later built a temple dedicated to his mother, then his father, then his son. This was my favorite temple of the day since there were no marked routes to follow. Since it looks exactly the same on all 4 sides, you can basically get lost inside of it which was kind of fun. After eventually making our way out, our tuk-tuk driver took us to the base of some hill. Apparently there was a temple at the top with a great view of the surrounding area. After reaching the top, and climbing very narrow and scary stairs, we were able to see out over all the trees and temples. I didn't stay up there for long though since it was the middle of the day and the sun was unbearably hot.

All in all, it was a fun-filled day with MANY cool photos and sights. Since I took so many photos I'm not posting them here, but there are two complete Facebook albums up!

After returning to the hostel, we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening. Pam and I got half hour massages for only USD5, we went to the market and got 7 "Same Same... But Different" t-shirts for the group for USD12 (total), and went out to dinner at The Green Star restaurant. Our pictures with our shirts on are the best =)

Kurt confessed afterwards that he almost turned around for the first photo, which would have made it that much funnier. And what's ironic about the first picture was that Max was the most tired out of all of us since he had just woken up from a short nap, yet he looked like the one person who was loaded with energy. What the rest of us were feeling was demonstrated by Pam and Eugenia after we got dessert.

After traveling to Cambodia, I can honestly say it's like no other country I've ever visited. It definitely made me realize how sheltered I am in little old Mystic, Connecticut, USA. Everything about the trip was amazing, and I loved seeing the ruins of the temples, but if I had to pick a favorite part of the trip I would say it was the people. Cambodians have absolutely nothing, yet they are so much happier than people in Singapore or America. The children especially were the best. On our way out to the countryside we passed many kids who waved to us as we drove by. Eugenia made it a habit after that to wave to every single person we saw after that.

On Saturday, there were children EVERYWHERE at the temples trying to sell us stuff. It was very hard to say no as they were extremely persistent.

They were selling everything from bracelets to books to postcards to flutes. They would follow you as you were walking and cycle through the same few phrases. "10 for one dollar"... "come back and buy my bracelet lady"... "same same but different." Max noted that they were especially persistent with the ladies, and I told him that's because we actually had hearts and they knew if they pestered us enough we would eventually give in. While it sounds like it might have been annoying to be surrounded by that, it was actually quite amusing. The kids had a good sense of humor, and tried many different selling tactics. They told us they took credit cards and they told us to borrow money from friends if we said that we didn't have any money. And all of them could count to 10 since they were often selling things in sets of ten. However, when I asked a little boy how high he could count, he couldn't make it past 14 of 15, which shows how even something as basic as education we take for granted since there are so many people who don't even have that privelege.

In total, I managed to take 500 pictures in Cambodia, but if I was asked to pick a favorite, I would tell you it's this one:

This particular boy wasn't selling anything and he didn't even say much. All he had with him as he was walking by was that sack draped over his shoulder. As he was walking past he saw the camera in my hand and pointed to it, then pointed to himself saying, "me, me." When I asked if he wanted a picture of himself he nodded, so I took this picture and then showed it to him. His face instantly lit up and he started grinning when he saw the picture of himself. This specific moment was so profound to me, since all it took to make him happy was to see a picture of himself taken. It made me think how much happier the rest of the world would be if we appreciated little things like that.

Moral of the story though is that I was extremely sad to leave Cambodia. Our brief visit was not long enough, and I would gladly go back at any time. Hopefully I'll have the chance to towards the end of the semester!

Anyways, missing everyone at home and thankful I had a great visit with the fam, hugs and kisses!

Love, Reb

Things I Miss About the USA

1. Good food. (Cheap food, even if it is Asian, just isn't the same.)
2. Clean bathrooms.
3. Clean showers.
4. Clean hallways.
5. A well-lit, clean shower, without bugs.
6. Izzy and Bob.
7. Window screens.
8. Carpeting.
9. Boots and sweaters.
10. Being able to walk around campus. (Buckley to Northwest has nothing on NUS.)
11. Not having to climb an average of 50 flights of stairs per day.
12. A printer.
13. Driving.
14. Not having to rely on public transportation.
15. Not having to budget a minimum of 30 minutes to travel anywhere.
16. Bus drivers who understand that there are people standing and trying to balance.
17. Being able to sit on buses.
18. Patient drivers.
19. Crossing the street fearlessly.
20. My entire wardrobe.
21. All my shoes.
22. Unlimited texting.
23. Texting KC about anything and everything.
24. A fridge.
25. A microwave.
26. A futon.
27. Snuggling under comforters.
28. Salads.
29. Cereal.
30. MILK.
31. UConn.
32. Class grades based on your own performance, not your performance relative to others.
33. Students who know how to have fun on top of studying.
34. Forever21 that is affordable.
35. Being able to take out money at an ATM not in increments of $50.
36. Store 24, Wings, Husky Pizza, Starbucks.
37. The study lounge.
38. 50 minute classes.
39. My cozy dorm room.
40. 3 ring binders.
41. Spiral bound notebooks.
42. Gum.
43. My cat.
44. My friends.
45. My family. (Even though they're here with me now!)
46. And the list goes on...

Some things I actually like about Singapore:

1. There's always something to do.
2. Never-ending shopping.
3. Every Nation Church Singapore.

Fun With Haga

This weekend promises to be a fun and exciting one, so before I get too ahead of myself, I figured I should keep everyone updated! Pam turned 21 a couple weeks ago, so to celebrate her birthday we went to Kusu Island. On the way, Gina, in all her friendliness, befriended a lone Japanese traveller. Who decided to hang out with us for the rest of the day. This is Haga. Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures with my camera, so the one picture I have of Haga is not very good. (He's hiding there in the corner.)



Here is a better picture of Haga that I stole from Jayne:

Haga is the short little man all the way on the right. Holding Jayne's hand in one hand, and reaching all the way to Gina's shoulder with his other hand. There are too many Haga stories to tell here, but basically he was a lone 39 year old Japanese traveller, carrying with him cubes of cheese and business class Japanese cookies, who barely spoke any English. It made for quite the interesting and exciting day.

The other main highlight of Kusu Island was the plethora of turtles. Kusu does mean tortoise after all.

Last weekend, as if we hadn't already eaten enough during Chinese New Year celebrations, Pam and her dad cooked us a five-course Italian meal. It was by far the best food I have eaten in Singapore so far. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of all the dishes, but they all looked amazing and tasted just as good.

That's all for now, I'll try to check back in after the weekend. Hope everyone at home is staying warm!

Love,

Reb