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.

Holiday in Cambodia

This past Friday was a public holiday here in Singapore. Prior to my recess week, I knew about it and had planned to travel somewhere, preferably solo. I finally decided on Cambodia, one of the countries on my to-visit list.

My outbound flight departed from Singapore at 6:30 AM Thursday morning. Since taking the first MRT wouldn't get me to the airport on-time and I didn't wanna pay for a cab ride, I took the last MRT to the airport Wednesday night and camped there until the morning came. First experience camping at Changi Airport wasn't all too bad, considering I finally had my first doze of Dunkin Donuts coffee after 3 months.

I took a tuktuk right away from the Phnom Penh airport to a bus company's office and headed to Siem Reap, which was 6 hours away. Some parts of the ride was quite bumpy, and the villages in between looked more like wastelands; impoverished and very under-developed. Anyhow, I took a tuktuk as I arrived there to go up north of Siem Reap where the Angkor Wat and the other temples are. It was quite breathtaking especially during sunset.

After sunset, I was all set to go to Channa and Thomas' home. This Khmer-Danish couple owns a beautiful villa hidden in the heart of Angkor Archeological Park and often hosts guests to stay with the family. I somehow overlooked what Thomas said in the booking e-mail about the impossibility of me finding their home on my own. After a phone call by the tuktuk driver, Thomas finally came on a motorbike and took me to his family's home. I was welcomed like a family as Channa showed me my room: a peaceful little pavilion in the beautiful yard. I quickly showered, then enjoyed a Khmer home-cooked dinner with the family as we got to know one another better. To end the nice evening, I had a chance to help Amanda, their 8 year-old, with her Math homework as I thought to myself "What a true homestay experience!" I didn't have the chance  to take any picture due to the rush in the morning to get the bus back to Phnom Penh, but I would highly recommend Channa's Homestay to anyone visiting Siem Reap.

While waiting for the bus, a quite respectable-looking mid-age man approached me and asked where I came from. As I answered, a glimpse of excitement shown on his face and he started to tell stories. Stories about the good old days of his youth spent in a refugee camp in Pulau Galang, Riau, Indonesia, of how well fed and treated he was, and how he came to Christ during those times. He's pretty up-to-date with the Indonesian current news, maybe more than I am. He really wish he could come and visit Indonesia again one day.

Arriving back in Phnom Penh, I walked my way by the river towards National Museum, Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and the Independence Monument. The late King Norodoum Sihanouk has just passed away 2 weeks ago, and people are still mourning. The Royal Palace was closed to public as crowd still gathered and prayed in front of its gate.

Feeling exhausted, I chose to save Wat Phnom and Central Market for Saturday just before I head to the airport. I tried to visit the night market by the river, yet it was really mediocre since I've had experienced much better night markets before. Chilling out at Mad Monkey, the hostel that I stayed in Phnom Penh, I met another exchange from NTU. I guess it kinda became common by now meeting a fellow exchange everywhere I travel :)

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 ;)

It's Beginning to Look Like Mid-Autumn!

Back in the States, I had never noticed anything about Mid-Autumn festival unless I go to the Oriental Supermarket only to find that the festival is over from the deeply discounted moon cake prices to get rid of them. Here, though, it's a big deal. The Chinese Society on campus had a festival at our own Yunnan Garden a couple weeks ago. I didn't quite make it since it rained. FairPrice, which is the grocery store chain I go to regularly, even has its own row of lanterns, moon cakes, and so many other festive stuffs.

Speaking on Mid-Autumn festival, I've been attending weekly coffee talks hosted by the International Student Center here. I was quite looking forward to it since the topic was conversational Mandarin. However, I had to say I kinda set my expectation quite low. It was such a neat session of learning Mandarin with Mid-Autumn festival themed lesson. We even had some moon cakes as the Chinese Society taught us about the various type of tea and performed their traditional tea art ceremony (gongfu). I really enjoyed sampling the various traditional teas they had. My favorite is the fully-fermented and aromatic black plum tea (keemun hongcha)

So to join the festivity, me and some UK exchange friends are having lunch and heading to Takashimaya at Orchard Road today. Not to shop for moon cakes (man, they are expensive until the festival ends), but to sample them around hahaha. Pardon us the thrifty expats, we're just college students after all :D

Zhu ni zhong qiou jie kuai le!

Solo Adventure Followed by Another Great Week

Last Monday was a public holiday here in Singapore for Hari Raya observance. Since everyone else decided to sleep in, I took that opportunity to just explore on my own  some interesting faucets of Singapore that others most likely won't be interested in visiting. My adventure that day began at Chinese Garden, which is just a few MRT stops away. It's a really refreshing place to run, bike, and picnic. I almost forgot all the dynamics of industrious Singapore as I climbed the main pagoda and saw so many green :)

From Chinese Garden, I hopped on the MRT to Haw Par Villa or Tiger Balm Garden, which happened to be a tourist trap. Other than the not-so-aesthetically-painted Chinese folklore statues, there's really nothing else to it. However, after entering one of their attractions called "10 Courts of Hell", my heart was just amazed once again as I was reminded of how deep my Father's love is for me. He could've just poured all His wrath on me because as a filthy rugged sinner, I deserve punishment. As vivid as they were, the kinds of wrath I saw through statutes at that place would not probably compare to what I deserve. But the good news is He chose not to. Instead, He poured it our on His perfect son Jesus Christ so that I can be one again with Him and experience His grace and mercy.

As I continued to think of His love, I moved on to my next stop: Singapore Botanic Garden. For the interest of time and mom's love of orchids, I purposefully zoomed into just the Orchid Garden. I was really glad I went there since there were so many colorful and rare collections from around the world that I haven't seen before.


As far as campus life goes, this past week has been very dynamic and fun, thanks to Campus Clubs and Activities Fair. Beyond the freebies and free food, I think I've became interested in joining Deli Aprecio. Class activities have also picked up and I made more non-Business friends through my Engineering classes.

That's about it for now. Stay tuned for more updates on my Malaysia adventure this weekend :)

The Honeymoon is Over!

Classes finally started this week for me here. First day was especially hectic for everyone who was trying to add/drop courses. Praise the Lord I pretty much have all the classes that I wanted except for 1 that would ruin my 3-day weekend anyway.

Aside from classes, I had the cool chance to visit Microsoft Singapore as a part of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation week at NTU. All of you B&E majors reading this, please don't be jealous or bitter. It's our bread and butter, gotta get it where ever we can :)  Microsoft HQ here is amazing and the people taking us on a tour was awesome. We got to play with many of their new gadgets and innovation. Located on the 21st and 22nd floor of One Marina, the view outside its windows was simply gorgeous as well.

I also praise the Lord for providing me with a family of believer on campus. NTU Cru is adopting me during my exchange here. I was plugged right into a discipleship group for final year ladies.

This semester, we're going through a Cru curriculum that speaks about being sent to a world of harvest through a biblical perspective. Crossroads also kicked off last night. It was awesome to finally meet everyone in the ministry. Next week, we will be having a vision tea for to welcome the freshmen, and I'm glad that they asked me to be a part of their flash mob dance to this song.



So this weekend is a long weekend due to the Hari Raya, but unfortunately the ICA hasn't issued my student pass yet which means I can't travel outside Singapore. The plan is to check out the World Food Fair and hang out at Orchard Road today with my fellow Dragon Rensy. Tonight, the group of exchange students I've been hanging out with is also throwing a sushi dinner and karaoke for the birthday girl Diana. A relaxing day at Sentosa Island might be planned for tomorrow. For the rest of the weekend, it might just be exploring more of Singapore's hidden gems :)

Welcome Week

It's only my first week here, but my schedule is already looking packed. Praise the Lord that I am adjusting well, finally settled in my dorm, and familiar with the public transportation. The climate is hot (average high is 85 F) and humid (average humidity of 67%). If you want to send me snail mails, here's my address:

Nanyang Technological University

Hall of Residence 10, 52-4-1020

22 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639810

I still do get lost on campus sometimes. It is a HUGE campus with a lot of trees and hills, which is nice. However, the buildings are more like labyrinths inside another jumbo labirynth. There are 4 shuttle buses and one of them actually take people to the nearest MRT station. There are also 2 public bus routes serving the campus and surrounding neighborhood which pool at a nearby shopping mall called Jurong Point. Anyhow, here is the recap of the week:

•  Orientations: I got to attend 2 different ones for the general exchange as well as the Business exchange (more free lunches, more free goodies lol). Informations regarding transitioning into the whole NTU life as courses, healthcare, safety, and other services were being explained. I can't believe that there are 400-something exchange students in total this semester, yet very few Americans. Such great opportunities to make some new friends from all over the world, but I definitely still need to make more local friends :) 

• Cruising Singapore River: This is a great way to enjoy Singapore's greatest landscapes and history. Surrounded by historical as well as modern buildings, Singapore River is definitely the heart of Singapore. The "Quays" such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay are also cool places to hang out. There are plenty of restaurants, food booths, and shopping centers too on these spots.

•  National Day: There weren't much going on in the morning. It was quiet until afternoon-ish when people started coming out for lunch and just hanging out downtown. Red and white totally dominated the city. Not knowing much about what to do/where to go, I was very blessed to be invited by my exchange buddy Christine and her friends to spend the evening with them. We had dinner of Hainanese chicken rice at the air-conditioned hawker center inside Marina Square before heading somewhere near Millenia Walk to watch the fireworks.

• A Day in the Bay+Singaporean meals: Another day of adventure! I started the day off with Singapore's national breakfast: Paket B from Canteen 11 accross from my hall.   For S$1.50 only, I had a very substantial breakfast of 2 boiled eggs, kaya toast, and a cup of tea with milk in it before heading downtown for the Singapore Flyer. 

I also had the chance to lunch at Canteen A with Ashley, one of the NTU Cru staffs who has been in touch with me. It was a really great time of getting to know each other, encouragement, and prayer as she introduced me to another Singaporean dish: laksa. I'm really looking forward to meeting my discipleship group (equivalent with Drexel Cru 's growth group) and going to Crossroads (equivalent with Drexel Cru 's large group) kick-off for the semester :)

Singapore Discovery Tour: Sponsored by the super awesome NBS Exchange Club, this tour took us through Singapore's important trails and landmarks. We started this tour on Bugis which is a  famous open-air shopping market for everything under the sun.  The guides got us a box of durian that we ended up throwing away because it was hard to insist us exchangers to finish it. We also had a chance to have some Singaporean dishes for lunch at one of the hawker centers.  

After fueling ourselves, we were ready for some more adventure. We walked to the Arab street and the Kampong Glam areas populated by Malay and Middle Eastern small businesses. The dominating businesses here are imported textiles, rugs, as well as ethnic food. There's also the famous Sultan Mosque in this district. After succeeding better in getting us to try food from the stalls, our guides took us on an MRT ride to the Raffles Place where we would meet our Singapore Footprint guides.

      

The Singapore Footprint guides then  led us through the most important landmarks in Singapore along  the river such as the Fullerton Hotel, Cavanaugh Bridge, Asian Civilisation Museum, Peranakan Museum, National Museum, and the Armenian Church. The tour ended there for the day, but a handful of us decided to go for more adventure to the recently-opened Gardens by the Bay. From this spot, we got a really beautiful view of Singapore's night. Tired from a day filled with fun, we ended up eating at the Marina Bay food court instead of the original plan of visiting the touristy Lau Pa Sat market.