Safe, Sound, and Settling...

Hello from Singapore!

I left the States a week ago today and so much has happened since then! My flight on the morning of the first was delayed three hours in Portland (we had to switch planes and everything because of technical difficulties) so I missed my connecting flight and spent the night in Tokyo. That turned out to be a much better deal for me because I was able to sleep in a hotel (and talk to my friend, Nathan, who is currently studying in Tokyo) instead of having to get on a seven hour flight to Singapore after flying eleven hours across the ocean. My aunt-by-marriage's brother and his family live in Singapore (although they were spending the holidays in Switzerland) and I was able to spend my first night and day in their condo, which was wonderful. Their helper was very sweet and considerate and I relaxed all day before making my way to my university housing.

Unfortunately, I did not get into on-campus housing, so I am living a bus and a train (called the MRT) ride away from campus in a two bedroom apartment with a central room, kitchen area (with refrigerator, washing machine, sink, hot plate, and microwave), and a little bathroom. Eventually, I will have three roommates but so far only one has shown up (Sophie from Amsterdam) and she's in the room next to mine. The good thing is that there are seven buildings of National University of Singapore (NUS) exchange students around me and also other apartment buildings that anyone can rent. I'm near the MRT station, a supermarket, and local food stalls, so at least I wasn't thrown out in the middle of nowhere!

So far I have spent my time exploring, mostly by MRT and foot (consequently, my feet are very sore). U of Oregon has a direct exchange with NUS and so I met a student from here, Xintian, while she was studying in Oregon last semester and she has been unbelievably helpful. I really have no idea how I would have found my way to campus (let alone the rest of the city) if it wasn't for her! Yesterday was registration for me, so I now have paid all my fees (I hope) and received my Student Pass, which means I am legally living in Singapore for the next four months. Whoa.

One of the main questions that I've been getting from people back home is: how is the heat/humidity? And so far, it's actually been fine. Yes, it's hot. Yes, it's humid. Yes, I sweat all the time. But it's kind of fun and so far, I'm enjoying it. We'll see how long that lasts. I actually have air conditioning in my room but it was broken for the first three days and I didn't mind at all (after I bought a mini fan that I kept on while sleeping). I love the rain here. It just pours like crazy but that meant that I had to go against all my Oregonian instincts and buy a cheap umbrella to carry with me.

The other questions I've been getting a lot concern food. Basically, it's mostly rice and noodles and meat/seafood wherever you go. I haven't really been here long enough to be able to tell you much else yet, except that it's cheaper to eat out (at food stalls and such) than it is to prepare food at home. So far, that's just made meal times an adventure in themselves!

Things I've discovered (some that I'll have to get used to):
- Cars drive/people walk on the left.
- Most restaurants (besides expensive ones) don't give you napkins (sometimes they'll sell them to you).
- Most sinks in houses, etc. don't have hot water. There's a switch to turn the water heater on for the shower but faucets don't have a hot water option.
- Home is yesterday (my computer says that it's 8:48pm on Wed in Portland, but I am typing at 12:48pm on Thurs)
- Bubble Tea here is SO much better than it is in the US.
- There are grocery stores in malls.
- I never know what I'm ordering and usually don't know what I'm eating once I've gotten it.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some but I'm off to brave the sun! (Don't worry, I carry sunscreen with me wherever I go)

Sending love all around the world.