This week I also met Puneet from California. She's the same age as me and was just traveling for christmas break. She spent 3 weeks staying with family in India then was spending this week with her uncle who lives here in singapore. Her uncle lives in the same apartment complex as me so I randomly met Puneet while I was going to class and she was out jogging. Her uncle owns a very nice (and expensive) Indian restaurant very close to where we live so she took Leslie, Alba, and I there for dinner one night and insisted that it was on the house. She obviously didn't know anyone here in Singapore so we hung out with her a lot this week. I liked being able to direct her around the city and recommend places for her to go; it was the first time I felt like a local here.
This weekend a bunch of the exchange students went to Bintan, an island not far from here in Indonesia. I decided to stay because I figure someone will be planning some sort of trip every weekend and if I don't have some self control and learn to skip one here and there, I'll go bankrupt. Also, we've had 2 weeks of classes already and I have done basically nothing outside of attending class, (and even when I'm in class I usually just sit on facebook...or write a blog) so I figured I should try to be productive this weekend. 4 of my 5 roommates however, did go to Bintan, so it was just Kevin and I all weekend. Yesterday I went to Sentosa, a man made island that's only a $3 monorail ride away. I ended up getting reeeeally sunburnt, but I finished the book I was reading so I was happy. I then walked around the city for about 3 hours. I went to Chijmes which used to be an all girls catholic school but is now bars, restaurants, and shops. I also checked out the Esplanade theater for the first time. On my way there, I had to walk through an underpass to get across an intersection. There's an escalator going underground on one side of the road, but then instead of just being a simple hallway or something leading to the other side there's randomly this huge, completely empty room with ceramic tile floors. Down there, there were young people biking all around practicing tricks, playing music and break dancing, or sitting in a circle playing guitar. I felt awkward standing there like such a tourist watching all the locals, but it was a really random and interesting thing to come across. The rest of the afternoon I just shopped and such.
Below is a picture of the Singapore financial district at night. Along the shore you can see the strip of little bars and restaurants with multicolored lights that are reflected in the water. This area is known as Boat Quay.
Last night Kevin, Daniel (Germany), Anselmo (Italy), Puneet, and I all went to a karaoke bar in Boat Quay. I always imagine karaoke to be just a joke, with drunk people singing ridiculous songs in a ridiculous fashion. But here, the locals were extra serious about singing their Chinese ballads. At first we were disappointed, but we soon realized that this is even more hilarious than when people are trying to be funny. We (and by "we" I mean Kevin) of course joined in and sang some Linkin Park and Prince.
I appreciate the facebook messages from everyone back home, and I definitely like being updated on anything going on in MN so please fill me in on when you have time!!
and sorry this entry wasn't too exhilarating...
2 comments:
Yay I had fun seeing you, and I'm glad things are working out so well! You'll keep having fun and with a little luck, I'll see you again before the term ends. Later!!
i just clicked on this and the first thing i see is my name. lol. i was want to tell you again i had an absolutely amazing time with you and your roomies. sorry i didn't get to say a proper bye to you. i was so tired from that night!
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