Happy Thanksgiving from Singapore

I know it's a little bit belated, but happy thanksgiving to you all in the States! I really miss my American thanksgiving: thanksgiving day breakfast with my church family, hosting my best friend Ei for thanksgiving dinner at our home, staying up for black Friday shopping, decorating the house for Christmas, and heading to perform Balinese dances for the annual Bali to Bala opening night. I didn't get to do the traditional thanksgiving meal here since 1) I don't have access to a kitchen, 2) Restaurant thanksgiving meals are pricey, 3) When I found out supermarkets were catering it, it was too late to place the order for thanksgiving day. Believe it or not, turkey dinner here is more of a Christmas fare so this time around they have just started providing the service. Despite of the absence of  thanksgiving meal, my heart was so grateful for all these places, faces, and experiences that God has blessed me with. They were more amazing beyond I previously imagined. I'm also thankful for whatever God has in store for me next.

One and a half week left for me in Singapore. Everyone has been busy preparing for the finals. I only have 2 exams,which are on the 29th and the 5th. So much time to study that I've became kind of scared that I'll forget things I'm reading up now comes the real exams. This is where lecture videos come in handy. I've been putting it on as I do my chores and start on consolidating/throwing my stuffs away. On the brighter note, I'm really looking forward to spending a month in Indonesia and more importantly going back to the States. So here's what my life looks like post-exam:

• Dec 6th: Flying to Jakarta in the PM
• Dec 7th-10th: Being tourist in Jakarta with Diana, an exchange friend I've been travelling with
• Dec 11th-13rd: Bali with my mom
• Dec 13rd-20th: Mostly Jakarta, but I might drop a visit to Bandung as my sister ends her semester and coming home
• Dec 21st-29th: North Sumatra to visit grandmother, relatives, and some times of family vaca

Breaking My Singapore Bubble

America, it is.

This past week I've been thinking of things that are going on back there a lot. It all started with the Hurricane Sandy hitting the Mid-Atlantic. Even though I was spoiled by Singapore's 90 degree days during that disaster, I was with you folks. I kept a close eye on the news while praying for your safety. I missed the historical Drexel closure and worked intensively on term projects and papers instead, boo! (I did celebrate Halloween with my neighbors, though. Eastern State Penitentiary should start hiring them; they did an awesome job scaring people off and turning TV lounges into haunted houses).

Election was another thing. You'd never know how much the international community is watching your election from here, America. Students from all over the world gathered at our Global Lounge nervously watching the votes being counted: many celebrated at the end, while few were disappointed. I had a mixed feeling towards the whole thing. However, a key take away is that no matter who the president is, God is still in His throne and Christ reigns over all. I had never felt such overwhelming gratefulness that my citizenship is not of this world, but is in heaven ruled by my Savior Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I have only one month left in Singapore and two months in Asia. It's time to register for courses to fulfill my degree requirements. I'm already set on staying full-time until graduation since the senior capstone course that I needed was closed for Winter term already; making it 2 courses that I really need for graduation to be postponed to Spring. I've also started  to look through the application for the year-long ministry internship which was quite lengthy. God has definitely been making me realize more than ever of my great insufficiency apart from Him.

This Singapore comfort bubble needs to be broken. Time for some real stuffs  to kick in.

Pre-Recess Week Post

So the moon cake festival at Takashimaya was not disappointing at all despite of what everyone said regarding "No need to go Taka, can do at any mall". What a huge festival with a LOT of moon cakes to sample. I've never seen so many varieties of moon cakes before such as durian, red wine, chocolate, caramel, red beans, even Angry Birds. Kudos to Matt, the local buddy of my UK exchange friends, who guided us through and took us for the fish and chips dinner long-missed by the UK chemists bunch (Yup they're all chemistry majors.No offense to the engineers, but eating with engineers is getting overrated after 4 years of Drexel).

After church Sunday, I went with Ann, Rensy, and Purun to Swensen's. We can say it was quite a spontaneous plan. As a buffet fan, I haven't tried to go to any self-serve buffet in Singapore. It was only a dessert buffet, but that's exactly why it's perfect for girls outing time :) First time I have a piece of real carrot cake in Singapore (as opposed to their carrot cake). We had such a great time that me and Rensy almost forgot that we had a Chomp Chomp dinner appointment with Louis and Rayden, local buddies of ours. More local tastes from the best hawker centre in Singapore (I had asked more than 5 locals to confirm this).

So what's next? Recess week is here! I just need to attend 2 presentations tomorrow morning then off I fly to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The 4 of us (Rensy, Ann, Diana, and I) are travelling together this time. We'll spend Friday through Wednesday exploring Ho Chi Minh and staying at Rensy's house. Another bunch of exchange friends is joining us on Sunday and Monday as they come down from Hanoi and would continue their journey to Phnom Penh. Comes Wednesday, we'll be in Bangkok until Sunday. Very excited for this trip of a lifetime ;)