Half-Year Mark

So yesterday was my 6-month anniversary of leaving the states and starting on this whole epic adventure! Actually, I'm not really sure how to measure time over here. Today might actually be my anniversary because it's July 1st at home or maybe I should say that tomorrow is my anniversary of arriving (I left PDX on January 1st and arrived in Singapore on January 3rd). In any case, the beginning of July means I've been gone quite a while and only have two months left, 1/4 of my total time abroad.

Tonight, I am headed to Singapore to say goodbye to Gerrit who has been traveling around SE Asia and is flying back to Canada from Sing-a-sing. It'll be really nice to see him and be in that city again (less pollution/haze, stares, faster trains, more air-con) but it will probably be my last time. Weird.

Upon my return next week, I will write more about what I'm doing and how work is going, etc. etc. but here is what I consider a funny and somewhat strange story to hold you over:

I have now had three people, two of them pre-teens, the other my supervisor at the Refuge, on separate occasions ask me why I "walk so funny." The first girl told me that my legs are very far apart, the second (her younger sister) said I walk like a robot and my supervisor said that "only people with piles walk like that!" Upon further interviewing of my colleagues, I've found out that I do walk strangely to them. Apparently, standing/walking with my feet at shoulder-width apart is noticeably different (and considered weird) than stepping with one foot in front of the other like "the women on TV." Also, I walk too quickly for a woman. Other comments I got were: I do this "kicky" thing with my feet when I take a step and my back is angled backwards so I lead with my middle. Never in twenty years has anyone ever mentioned these things to me and after interrogating my two Oregon and Holland girlfriends, they said they had never noticed (they also match me stride for stride). Hmmmm, something to ponder, eh? I might have to start leaving the house earlier to make sure I get places on time if I'm expected to walk slow and with sway!