Back in the Can-a-da

So back in this lovely country, however right now I am slightly revolted by my sibling in the kitchen. Is anyone else grossed out my protein powder? It kinda creeps me out...I don't get why you would consume that stuff, it just seems really scary to me, so thats what this said sibling consumes every morning, along with just now chowing on meat loaf...for breakfast! euw...gross...barf. Sorry, I am done now, no wonder my momma says he doesn't eat very well. Geez! Done my rant now.

Well, yes back in the country, and its beautiful, the weather has been so glorious it makes you wonder what we have done to derserve such amazingness! I have been reading a book called "How to See Yourself as you Really Are" by "His Holiness the Dalai Lama", and its great. I have really been enjoying it. I really like the point about how everything in the world is connected, nothing is independent of anything else, which is very true, as, for example, this table that I sit at, depends on trees that made it, which depended on the sun and nutrients of the soil to grow, but to make the trees into the table the table depended on the people that cut the tree down, then the craftsmen that made it, then our family depended on my dads family to buy the table so I could sit at it now and so on. Its an endless cycle, and amazing when thought about. 

Other then reading my book, I have had tons of friends back in Canada! Its radiculous all the amazing friends I have! I love it, its exhausting, but I really wouldn't have it any other way. I love being with friends and being social, but I also realized this week that its exhausting and I also need that time to sit and be with me, and be quiet. Be anti-social if you will. As my friend put it the other day "Your 'on' when your with friends", so I need time to be "off". However dispite my "off" times, the "on" times have been amazing. The existance of friends is soo important in life, I dont care about stuff, as long as I have family and friends that love me, then I am happy.

So being back in Canada is great, although I am not near adjusted yet(I continuously look around and wonder where all the chinese/malaysian/indonesian/indian people have gone) I am getting there, and my friends are amazing at helping me do that! Thank you guys! I love you all, as the dali lama points out, we are all sentinent beings, and are all connected, and we all deserve love and compassion. Please accept mine.

As I say Goodbye La

I have done very little blogging here, while in Singapore, yet the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking, random thinking with no beginning, middle or end, so I thought it would be a good time to type it down. The past few weeks, despite the fact that I have only 2 weeks left in Singapore have been ridalled with homesickness. I have been missing everything from friends and family to the spring feeling that accompanies this time of the year in Southern Ontario. By missing all these things, I have unintentionally been missing all the amazing things that Singapore has to offer though! 

Singapore is a very interesting, yet amazing place. It stresses me out hardcore when I have an agenda and need to get somewhere, but, as usual, I get lost and it takes me twice as long to get to my destination. However, these past few days my Aunt and Uncle came to visit me here, and it made me realize and appreciate again all the amazing things Singapore is. Like the diverse food, the nature and urban mix (just go to Pulau Ubin and you will feel like you are in another world even though you are only 10min from maintain), all the fruit and fruit juices, the diverse array of people, the indian men that always stare at you in a such a creepy yet intriging way, the ethnic areas of little india and chinatown, and the livelyness of the city at night!

Without an agenda, or need to get really anywhere specific, Singapore is a wonderful place. Its always hiding new things to explore and learn about, and as I spent the last 2 days with my aunt and uncle both exploring what I thought I knew, and uncharted teritory, I realized how little I really knew about Singapore. 

With all this said, I am not sure I could live here, its too structured, too urbanized, and after-all a big city, which I am not. Well, I'm not a big city person, I can't do them for too long until I need peace, to grow my own vegetables, cook my own food, make my little dorky crafts. Singapore feels to glossy for a perminate home for me. Define glossy? I'm not really sure...but thats what it feels to me. There is so much more to learn/see/do in this city though, that I can't wait for exams to end. 

Open your eyes to the wonders that are right in front of you, because before you know it they will be behind you.

Spotted in Laos

Neon Orange and religiously moving, who knew?!

PHOTOS!!

Here's a link to my singapore photos I posted on facebook, it didn't work when i tried to post them on my blog!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2220309&l=4c368&id=122609925

Enjoy!

The End of the First Week in Singapore

Week one in Singapore has come to an end. And what a week. Singapore is, in essence, a big concrete jungle. Composed of many places to shop, buy things, and eat. Although I am not a huge shopper I do love the food. Food is also very cheap, if you buy it at hauker centers, I am sure I spelt that incredibly wrong. You can get chinese, japanese, indian, korean, malasian, and many other foods of origin I am unsure. 

What unnerves me about singapore is the "too perfectness" of many areas of the city. For example, yesterday, I went, with 3 other exchange students, to Sentosa, a man made island/beach in Singapore. It was really creapy and wierd, everything was so "perfect" and unnatural, it was like I was in The Truman Show or something. I went for a swim and there was seaweed though, so thats kinda exciting! And there was a warning about "sea stingers" although none were encountered. Another place that is a little too perfect: NTU campus. Its too pretty, soo many green spaces, flowers, trees. And all so perfectly manicured. I always see the workers (who are always Indian, I wonder why...) out taking care of the greenery!

I love the diversity of Singapore, not to say that its equal among all races, not in the least, but there are people of all races here. I guess if you switched the whites in canada with asian, the indians with white, and the asians with indians then you would get singapore, did you follow that?! haha its pretty diverse, I notice this the most when taking the MRT, which by the way is also very interesting(to be mentioned later), on my way to "the City".

Just some of the food I have tried so far:

green tea pumpkin seeds(eating now...)

Chinese peanut soup with glutinous rice balls

Glutinous rice covered in crushed peanuts (they love glutinous rice, and so do I!)

Barley Juice (not a huge fan)

Cocanut Water (love!)

wierd clear fruit that kinda tastes like grapefruit but is small balls...

Roti with tofu and mixed veggis (malasian dish)

Indian food(naan, veggi rice, channa masala, dal, mixed veggis, etc.) off of a banana leaf

Carrot cake (NOT western carrot cake, its a meal dish, with cooked diced white carrots)

Crazy mountain of flavoured ice with mango sauce and red bean, jellies, and fruit hidden inside the mound

Chinese stuffed buns, assorted

Bean curd

Etc. I'll stop there, you get the point! And that was only one week!

Some interesting points, observations, randomness about singapore:

1. They use a crap-load of cards (for keys, for the mrt(mass rail transit), etc.)

2. $500 fine for eating or DRINKING on the mrt

3. The fact that you pay per distance when riding the mrt and buses here

4. How much people eat, but how tiny they all are...

5. All the crazy herbal canned drinks

6. How cold it actually is here during the evening and night (ever night I get cold!)

7. All the sheltered walk ways on NTU campus

8. how loud students are during lectures, seems so rude to me...

9. the fabulous hawker centers

10. I don't like distance education courses

11. People go to sleep really late here (ie. 2am and later)

I'm going to go to bed now, although I am living in Singapore, I am not a 2am local, and thus need my sweet sweet sleep! This weekend was pretty busy, except for today, the good part is that I was able to hang out with a bunch of local malasians, which really is much more amazing then exchange students, not that the other exchangers arn't amazing, but the locals just actually know what they are doing, where to take me, what to feed me, and have much more interesting stories I can hear!

Good morning to all of you, and good night to me!

Arrived!!

I arrived in Singapore two nights ago! Its been a little insaine thus far! I have been overwelmed with jet leg, meeting people, seeing the campus(which is massive!), buying all my nessesities to get settled in, and culture shock! Oh and registration for courses! The NTU courses system is insaine, annoeing and totally not cool!

Apart from all my insaine stress it is a beautiful campus. The following two pictures I just took (about 30min ago) from my dorm(or Hostel as they call campus residences here) room window. Yes thats my view, its pretty spectacular! 

Its so jungle'esk, which is amazing! 

What I find bizarre is how NO ONE cooks here! And I dont mean just on campus students, like very few adults as well...there are things called canteens which is where people buy breakfast, lunch and dinner! THey are very cheap (ie. I spent $4.10 for lunch and dinner yesterday), however not always that nutritious! Lots of rice and noodles, and for a vegan its a bit of challenge...I think I have already broken my veganism, but I do what I can, and thats all I can ask of myself. 

Yesterday when we, a swedish girl i randomly ended up spending the day with and myself, went to the canteen for dinner we started talking to this indian professor there who helped explain what Nori (I believe thats what it was...) is, its a traditional malasian dish, with bread similar to Nan, although greesier, and then toppings. They had a few different veggi toppings, and wanting to try some malasian food we went for it. It was really good, i had a tofu and mixed green veggis topping which you eat with the fried dough stuff...

Christmas Time

Wow, its been a while since my last post! This past month has been a little crazy though, for several reasons:

1. Ending my co-op term in Ottawa

2. Friends coming up to visit in Ottawa

3. Christmas time crafts

4. Getting ready for my exciting trip to Singapore!

5. And of course, CHRISTMAS!

Ottawa was a fabulous city to live in this past term, I was sad to say good-bye when my parents 

came to get me. It is filled with lots to do, many green spaces, and lots of ways to meet and make new friends(an essential when you come knowing no one, as I did). 

I enjoyed many nights of soccer games (our team got 3rd place!), vegan potlucks, yoga, art, and random events! It will be missed! When the snow began to fall it transformed the city into somewhat of a winter wonderland, although cold, and sometimes fairly challenging to walk through on my hour walk to work, it was beautiful. That is one thing I will miss when in

 Singapore, the beauty of snow, not the cold of winter, but the beauty of snow. If we could some how have snow without cold that would be amazing, but you can't have it all!

The holidays, although slightly slightly insaine, as I am running around like a crazy duckling trying to get everything together for my lift off to Singapore, has been wonderful! It's so nice to have down to time to see family and friends, sleep in, bake bread with dad, and decorate gingerbread with mom. Through a party with the friends and go out for coffee for chats, its all so important in life and I wouldn't trade it for anything! I had no idea what I wanted for christmas, but just being around all those that I care so much about, spending time doing nothing but being with one another is so important and so fabulous! We don't get enough of that with our crazy lives of running about hear and there getting everything on our to-do list accomplished...to tell you the truth, I even have a to-do list for the holidays, its horrible! But still, its nice to spend this valueble time I have right now with those I love, but before you know it I will be off on a plane to SINGAPORE!!!

So Singapore, yep another chapter of time. What to expect? I have no idea, and I like it that way. In actual fact I think I have formed too many expectations already, expecting the government to be crazy strict, school to be fun, and travel to be a breeze. All of these may prove to be false, but they may also prove to be true.

For those of you just stumbling onto my blog, I will be attempting to update it more recently then this past term with my adventures in Singapore. They may include more observations and less thoughts then my last posts, however it is hard to tell what the future will bring. I doubt the thought bubble will disappear completely!

As I type this it is foggy, slushy, rainy, and miserable outside. I dream of being in Singapore, where the sun is shining and sweat drips off my nose, but I am hear and will continue to enjoy it. With that said, I am going to go curl up with one of the many books I received this christmas, I love books!