Friday, December 30, 2011
First of the Bali Videos!
Here's some clips of Balinese dance. I'll be updating this post with additional videos as I finish editing them.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Back Home in Singapore
So, we flew home to Singapore yesterday. It was kind of weird leaving the airport because Singapore really does feel like home now. The winter decorations (because apparently they aren't just for Christmas) are still up, which is nice. We opened the rest of our Christmas presents yesterday as well.
WE GOT A SEWING MACHINE!
That means I can learn to sew cosplays and lolita! Yup, I'm a nerd!
I'm going to be dealing with photos today, hopefully get some up today or tomorrow :)
Short post is short. Sorry about that.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Danced the Day Away
Wow, I can't believe that today was my last full day in Bali. As usual, I got a late start. My dad went walking around towards some rice paddies this morning so he didn't join my mom and I for breakfast. Mom and I did some shopping around Ubud before ending up at Starbucks. No matter where you go in th world, you can count on Starbucks to have your cup of coffee. Anyways, we went to the Ubud Museum after that, where I took a Balianese dance class. The dance style here is angular- that's the best way to describe it. Elbows up, knees bent, everything at a 90 degree angle. The teacher was really good, though towards the end he started making the dance more difficult on me. By the end, a reasonable number of people ended up watching which was rather embarassing. It is fun to have an audience though.
We ended up going to the same restaurant we had dinner at a week ago for lunch. It was pretty good but I got this weird tamarind-coconut juice that I could have skipped. Oh well. The shops around Ubud are really interesting because they have a lot of small arts and crafts that are easy to take back.
When we got back to the hotel, my mom and I went to the spa. She got a pedicure for the first time in her life and I got a massage. We figured that our hotel has the "Best Hotel Spa 2011" or something like that, so it would be worth going to. We both enjoyed our spa treatments. The weird thing about massages is that afterwards I felt like I was going to fall over. I don't know why that happpens, but whatever.
This evening we've been playing the infuriating game of "How Do We Shove All the Stuff We Bought Into Our Suitcases?!?!?!" . Overall we've done pretty well. Hopefully not too much repair work will be necessary back home.
I loved Bali. There's something strangely enchanting about this island, I think it's that the authentic culture still permeates that air. The people are also really proud of their culture and smile a lot.
We ended up going to the same restaurant we had dinner at a week ago for lunch. It was pretty good but I got this weird tamarind-coconut juice that I could have skipped. Oh well. The shops around Ubud are really interesting because they have a lot of small arts and crafts that are easy to take back.
When we got back to the hotel, my mom and I went to the spa. She got a pedicure for the first time in her life and I got a massage. We figured that our hotel has the "Best Hotel Spa 2011" or something like that, so it would be worth going to. We both enjoyed our spa treatments. The weird thing about massages is that afterwards I felt like I was going to fall over. I don't know why that happpens, but whatever.
This evening we've been playing the infuriating game of "How Do We Shove All the Stuff We Bought Into Our Suitcases?!?!?!" . Overall we've done pretty well. Hopefully not too much repair work will be necessary back home.
I loved Bali. There's something strangely enchanting about this island, I think it's that the authentic culture still permeates that air. The people are also really proud of their culture and smile a lot.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Shopping in Bali is Really Something
Our second-to-last day in Bali was really busy, which shouldn't be much of a surprise. We sort of got a late start, but it was fine. We had a driver today (you do not want to drive in Bali) who first dropped us off at the Bird Park. The bird park was small compared to Jurong, but it had a lot of rare birds from all over the road anyways. There were some really pretty birds- and some strange ones. I took some mediocre photos. And some funny ones of Mom with two birds on her.
After the very hot walk around the bird park, we went to Singapadu to look at the stone carvings. They were too large and heavy to bring back, but they were fun to look at. Overall, I'd say Balinese carvings are pretty, but really creepy at night when they cast shadows.
We went to another silver village after the stone carving. Mom got a lizard pin and I got a pretty bracelet. This place had more Balianese designs than the other shoppe we visited- it was nice to see.
The last main thing we did was go to an Art Market. While on the exterior it seems horribly touristy, farther in there is some really beautiful artwork. We bought a lot of stuff there including some picture frames for the paintings we got. I also got some stuff for people back in the States.
Sorry this post is all about shopping, but that's all I really did today. When I get back I'm going to post lots of videos and also figure out how to post mutiple photos on this blog or through another site. Bali is fun to write (and hopefully read) about, but you really have to see it to believe it!
After the very hot walk around the bird park, we went to Singapadu to look at the stone carvings. They were too large and heavy to bring back, but they were fun to look at. Overall, I'd say Balinese carvings are pretty, but really creepy at night when they cast shadows.
We went to another silver village after the stone carving. Mom got a lizard pin and I got a pretty bracelet. This place had more Balianese designs than the other shoppe we visited- it was nice to see.
The last main thing we did was go to an Art Market. While on the exterior it seems horribly touristy, farther in there is some really beautiful artwork. We bought a lot of stuff there including some picture frames for the paintings we got. I also got some stuff for people back in the States.
Sorry this post is all about shopping, but that's all I really did today. When I get back I'm going to post lots of videos and also figure out how to post mutiple photos on this blog or through another site. Bali is fun to write (and hopefully read) about, but you really have to see it to believe it!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
My Very Merry Elephant-y Christmas
Aw, the title of this blog post rhymed so well until the whole "elephant-y" part. Whatever.
Instead of drinking eggnog around a fire beside a tree, my parents and I went to the Elephant Park. They have like 30 Asian elephants from Sumatra, which is very cool. 3 were born in 2009. The first thing we did was actually take an elephant safari around the park. I was by myself on a relatively small elephant while my parents were together on a larger one. It was really a lot of fun, though it took some getting used to. The forest was really nice and there were lots of pretty butterflies. Afterwards there was an elephant show, but as it started pouring rain, ended early. So, instead of going inside or something remotely logical, my family went to meet and feed a baby elephant. She was named Riski and her birth is apparently on YouTube. Riski was very cute. Petting her head was strange because elephant hair feels like wire. As we were quite hungry after feeding Riski, we had lunch and visited the massive gift shop. I got a Batik plushy elephant... If you can figure out how to leave a comment, suggest a name! We then visited the elephant museum, which was quite interesting, before heading back to the hotel.
At the hotel, I visited the spa and got a Cream Hair Bath while my parents were researching things to do. It wasn't just getting goo in my hair and having it be washed out- it was a whole scalp massage and such. Apparently it's Indonesian, but frankly I don't care if it works.
Dinner was at a place called NOmad, and was super amazing. There was a duo playing music (drumming and saxophone) that made the whole environment more Christmas-y. Food was really good too.
So, it might not have been the picturesque white Christmas with holly, but I think it was a pretty good one anyways.
Happy Christmas, everyone <3
Instead of drinking eggnog around a fire beside a tree, my parents and I went to the Elephant Park. They have like 30 Asian elephants from Sumatra, which is very cool. 3 were born in 2009. The first thing we did was actually take an elephant safari around the park. I was by myself on a relatively small elephant while my parents were together on a larger one. It was really a lot of fun, though it took some getting used to. The forest was really nice and there were lots of pretty butterflies. Afterwards there was an elephant show, but as it started pouring rain, ended early. So, instead of going inside or something remotely logical, my family went to meet and feed a baby elephant. She was named Riski and her birth is apparently on YouTube. Riski was very cute. Petting her head was strange because elephant hair feels like wire. As we were quite hungry after feeding Riski, we had lunch and visited the massive gift shop. I got a Batik plushy elephant... If you can figure out how to leave a comment, suggest a name! We then visited the elephant museum, which was quite interesting, before heading back to the hotel.
At the hotel, I visited the spa and got a Cream Hair Bath while my parents were researching things to do. It wasn't just getting goo in my hair and having it be washed out- it was a whole scalp massage and such. Apparently it's Indonesian, but frankly I don't care if it works.
Dinner was at a place called NOmad, and was super amazing. There was a duo playing music (drumming and saxophone) that made the whole environment more Christmas-y. Food was really good too.
So, it might not have been the picturesque white Christmas with holly, but I think it was a pretty good one anyways.
Happy Christmas, everyone <3
Saturday, December 24, 2011
I Didn't Get Eaten by a Shark
I love sports that involve a board, and surfing is no exception. I had so much fun today- so far it's the highlight of the trip!
We took a very long (1 hour) drive to Rip Curl School of Surf for Mom and I to take a beginner class. After gearing up, we lugged the heavy boards down to the beach. The surf wasn't particulary rough to start, but it didn't matter because we sat on the beach and talked about theory quite a bit. We started out just getting used to pushing up on the board and coming back to the shore. It's really not that hard and the instructors were really helpful. Eventually, though, it was time to learn how to stand up, which isn't quite as easy. Mom stood up like once before she decided she wasn't strong enough to keep going. Despite going in early, she still gets +100 Awesome Mom Points for trying.
However, I managed to stand up properly on my second attempt and rode the little wave all the way back to shore. Then, of course, I had to lug the stupid thing back into the water, which is more tiring than anything else. I'm pretty certain I stood up more than usual because one of the instructors ended up dragging my out pretty far to catch some slightly bigger waves. Dancer balance is apparently very useful when trying to surf.
After surfing we went for lunch, but I think I was overheated because I felt pretty sick. I don't know if it's the food or something but I've been kind of off all week. Oh, well.
This evening we had Christmas dinner at the hotel, which was nice. Dad and I had a pretty traditional meal of turkey, ham, potatoes and corn, while Mom had ribs. Everything was very good. There was live traditional music being played during dinner. Then, there was dancing.
The first dance was a fire dance, which was interesting. Essentially, two men twirled sticks and did martial-art like movements as the sticks burned. They also were drinking some sort of fuel and spraying it out of their mouths, creating a burst of flame into the air. Very cool, but we have no idea what fuel they were using. Sure hope it wasn't something really nasty.
The second dance we saw was more Legong dancing, but by young-ish girls. They were probably 11-12 years old and very, very good. Their first dance was quite traditional, but the second one used different music and movements that clearly had Western influence. I was very impressed with those girls. It looked pretty difficult. It was really nice to see Legong dancing how it is traditionally done (by young girls).
So now, off to bed. Happy Christmas, everyone!
We took a very long (1 hour) drive to Rip Curl School of Surf for Mom and I to take a beginner class. After gearing up, we lugged the heavy boards down to the beach. The surf wasn't particulary rough to start, but it didn't matter because we sat on the beach and talked about theory quite a bit. We started out just getting used to pushing up on the board and coming back to the shore. It's really not that hard and the instructors were really helpful. Eventually, though, it was time to learn how to stand up, which isn't quite as easy. Mom stood up like once before she decided she wasn't strong enough to keep going. Despite going in early, she still gets +100 Awesome Mom Points for trying.
However, I managed to stand up properly on my second attempt and rode the little wave all the way back to shore. Then, of course, I had to lug the stupid thing back into the water, which is more tiring than anything else. I'm pretty certain I stood up more than usual because one of the instructors ended up dragging my out pretty far to catch some slightly bigger waves. Dancer balance is apparently very useful when trying to surf.
After surfing we went for lunch, but I think I was overheated because I felt pretty sick. I don't know if it's the food or something but I've been kind of off all week. Oh, well.
This evening we had Christmas dinner at the hotel, which was nice. Dad and I had a pretty traditional meal of turkey, ham, potatoes and corn, while Mom had ribs. Everything was very good. There was live traditional music being played during dinner. Then, there was dancing.
The first dance was a fire dance, which was interesting. Essentially, two men twirled sticks and did martial-art like movements as the sticks burned. They also were drinking some sort of fuel and spraying it out of their mouths, creating a burst of flame into the air. Very cool, but we have no idea what fuel they were using. Sure hope it wasn't something really nasty.
The second dance we saw was more Legong dancing, but by young-ish girls. They were probably 11-12 years old and very, very good. Their first dance was quite traditional, but the second one used different music and movements that clearly had Western influence. I was very impressed with those girls. It looked pretty difficult. It was really nice to see Legong dancing how it is traditionally done (by young girls).
So now, off to bed. Happy Christmas, everyone!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Nothing Went Up in Smoke
Today was a really busy, action packed day. We got up early to go to the cooking class, which was a lot of fun. It started out with a trip to a real Balianese market. Even though Bali is pretty touristy, there are still some places that are mostly untouched by the industry. This market was really special. It wasn't clean and the road wasn't well paved, but I think that was part of the charm. A woman ate almost a whole spicy pepper, but it sort of made her sick. I'm going to put a video together for the market. It was pretty special.
Then the group (there were 7 other people taking the cooking class with us, five were from Singapore) was driven to a Balianese house where the cooking class was actually held. We all did one step or another in preparing the meal. Everyone chopped spices and vegetables up. The Singaporean mother (her husband and 3 kids were there) made rice, and was pretty amazed there was no rice cooker. I stirred the soup as various things were thrown into the pot. It was a group project, creating a relatively complex meal.
The meal itself, and the work that goes into making it, are both amazing. The Balianese like their food spicy instead of sweet like most of Indonesia. So, the meal had hot parts, which was very tasty. I liked grinding peanuts to make peanut butter for the peanut sauce-it was so different from just opening a jar. Coconut oil is the main cooking oil of the food here, and each family makes their own. It is incredibly fragrant and quite flavourful. It also takes a very long time to make, but that really doesn't seem to bother anyone. Everything was really natural. We helped make everything, and gained a lot of respect for what goes into the food the Balianese eat on special occasions.
Before we ate, we learned about the Balianese religion and how they give offerings. Basically, it's a flower with various things representing the 3 main Hindu gods in it. Then, food is offered. The offering is placed in various areas around the temple, and holy water is thrown on it. Women do this in their home temples, and their town temples too. They spend like an hour doing this every single day. I have no idea how they don't get tired of doing this at some point or another. Maybe they do.
This evening we finally saw Legong dancing at the Ubud Palace. It is one of the most enchanting dance forms I've ever seen. It had striking similarities to Indian dance, such as precise eye movement and interesting positioning of the hands. It is quick, but graceful and flowing at the same time. Take it from a dancer- it doesn't look easy, and I'm sure mastering it takes years.
In the same show there was the Barong (Barung?) dancing, which is basically a Chinese lion dance, Balianese style. So instead of focusing on tricks like the Chinese, the focus was on small movements to match the tempo of the music. It was quite nice, but to be honest I prefer the Chinese lion dances.
Now I'm back at the hotel. It's time for bed... I wouldn't want to be tired for my SURFING LESSON TOMORROW!!!
Then the group (there were 7 other people taking the cooking class with us, five were from Singapore) was driven to a Balianese house where the cooking class was actually held. We all did one step or another in preparing the meal. Everyone chopped spices and vegetables up. The Singaporean mother (her husband and 3 kids were there) made rice, and was pretty amazed there was no rice cooker. I stirred the soup as various things were thrown into the pot. It was a group project, creating a relatively complex meal.
The meal itself, and the work that goes into making it, are both amazing. The Balianese like their food spicy instead of sweet like most of Indonesia. So, the meal had hot parts, which was very tasty. I liked grinding peanuts to make peanut butter for the peanut sauce-it was so different from just opening a jar. Coconut oil is the main cooking oil of the food here, and each family makes their own. It is incredibly fragrant and quite flavourful. It also takes a very long time to make, but that really doesn't seem to bother anyone. Everything was really natural. We helped make everything, and gained a lot of respect for what goes into the food the Balianese eat on special occasions.
Before we ate, we learned about the Balianese religion and how they give offerings. Basically, it's a flower with various things representing the 3 main Hindu gods in it. Then, food is offered. The offering is placed in various areas around the temple, and holy water is thrown on it. Women do this in their home temples, and their town temples too. They spend like an hour doing this every single day. I have no idea how they don't get tired of doing this at some point or another. Maybe they do.
This evening we finally saw Legong dancing at the Ubud Palace. It is one of the most enchanting dance forms I've ever seen. It had striking similarities to Indian dance, such as precise eye movement and interesting positioning of the hands. It is quick, but graceful and flowing at the same time. Take it from a dancer- it doesn't look easy, and I'm sure mastering it takes years.
In the same show there was the Barong (Barung?) dancing, which is basically a Chinese lion dance, Balianese style. So instead of focusing on tricks like the Chinese, the focus was on small movements to match the tempo of the music. It was quite nice, but to be honest I prefer the Chinese lion dances.
Now I'm back at the hotel. It's time for bed... I wouldn't want to be tired for my SURFING LESSON TOMORROW!!!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Greetings From Bali
Wow, I've been a lazy butt in terms of updating my blog. Sorry about that. Anyways, I'm having a pretty good time in Bali overall. On the first day here my whole family went on a bird-seeing walk. We got to go to the rice paddies and the nearby forest. Now, I don't have my computer so I won't be posting photos and videos any time soon, but it was really beautiful. I really like the rice paddies- it was interesting to learn about the different sorts of rice and their growing times. Apparently, traditional Balianese rice takes 5 months to grow. However, the government decided to have people grow 3-month rice. This disrupts the ecosystems pretty badly. Due to this occurring, the government is now trying to get people to grow the normal 5-month rie again.
Yesterday we went on a taxi-tour to various art works places. Overall we visited a painting gallery, a wood shop, a Batik-shop, and a silver shop. They all had demonstrations outside of how the people make the goods. We ended up purchasing 3 beautiful paintings at the first shop. There were so many paintings, it would have been easy to spend all day in that place! I can't recall the order of places we went, but I think we went to the wood carving shop next. They had a lot of really large carvings for sale. I got a little painted mask there. Afterwards, we went to a silver jewlery shop. Mom and I both got a pair of earrings. Everything was kind of expensive there, which is relative in Indonesia. 9,000 RP is about USD $1.
Last we went to the Batik shop. Batik is the way people put designs on their clothing here. They use many wax layers and dyes to make really lovely patterns.
After the Batik shop we went to Turtle Island, which was really sort of stupid. There was a sea turtle conservatory (government operated), but there wasn't a ton to see other than the baby turtles in little plastic baskets. There were a pair of larger sea turtles that I fed, but for some reason it's not exactly what I expected.
I hope to go surfing soon this week, on Saturday maybe. We visited Kuta briefly yesterday, but it was too late in the day to learn to surf.
Today my mom and I went shopping while my father went on another bird-watching walk. He and a great time and took a lot of cool photos. Mom and I got some nice new clothes but we had to go back to the hotel a bit early because I'm sort of sick. I think the fruit juice did me in.
Oh well. Tomorrow we're going to a cooking class with a trip to a local market. That's going to be a story, for sure!
Yesterday we went on a taxi-tour to various art works places. Overall we visited a painting gallery, a wood shop, a Batik-shop, and a silver shop. They all had demonstrations outside of how the people make the goods. We ended up purchasing 3 beautiful paintings at the first shop. There were so many paintings, it would have been easy to spend all day in that place! I can't recall the order of places we went, but I think we went to the wood carving shop next. They had a lot of really large carvings for sale. I got a little painted mask there. Afterwards, we went to a silver jewlery shop. Mom and I both got a pair of earrings. Everything was kind of expensive there, which is relative in Indonesia. 9,000 RP is about USD $1.
Last we went to the Batik shop. Batik is the way people put designs on their clothing here. They use many wax layers and dyes to make really lovely patterns.
After the Batik shop we went to Turtle Island, which was really sort of stupid. There was a sea turtle conservatory (government operated), but there wasn't a ton to see other than the baby turtles in little plastic baskets. There were a pair of larger sea turtles that I fed, but for some reason it's not exactly what I expected.
I hope to go surfing soon this week, on Saturday maybe. We visited Kuta briefly yesterday, but it was too late in the day to learn to surf.
Today my mom and I went shopping while my father went on another bird-watching walk. He and a great time and took a lot of cool photos. Mom and I got some nice new clothes but we had to go back to the hotel a bit early because I'm sort of sick. I think the fruit juice did me in.
Oh well. Tomorrow we're going to a cooking class with a trip to a local market. That's going to be a story, for sure!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
I'm Alive
Oh my, has it really been 8 days since my last post?
Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've been pretty distracted with finals and general laziness. Here's a quick update:
Finals were annoying. Overall my first quarter marks are decent. Probably better than my first quarter freshman year marks!
I went to the Winter Ball, which was fun. My date's name was Jacob and the whole evening started out really awkward, but ultimately ended up being quite fun. My friends were too funny though- quite protective of me! I was dressed as Marilyn Monroe. I think my dad has a picture, I'll ask him for it soon.
We just opened Christmas presents, which is on video. However, I'm too lazy to upload it now. This is the first time I've ever opened presents in a denim mini skirt, and I have to say it's a pretty weird feeling.
What I Got From My Aunt Nancy (if you're reading, THANK YOU SO MUCH!)
- Kuroshitsuji DVDs
- Gum (Yippee!)
- Sweets
- Beautiful Ornament
- Book-marks
-Towel
- Various beauty-related stuff
- Hot Chocolate
This is a very good early-Christmas. We decided to open presents early because we weren't going to bring the parcels with us. Also, there didn't seem like there was any reason to wait to open presents... so we did!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Awesome Day
So, I lied. I know I said I wasn't going to post until after finals, but this afternoon was a relaxing one after exam-review day and good things happened so I'm posting.
First off, I managed to finish my lab report and it didn't look like rubbish. That was nice.
Second, I discovered I am able to read on the schoolbus. This comes in handy.
Then, I had two really boring classes in the morning that aren't worth discussing further.
After lunch, I went to History of China. Since it was only a semester course, today was the very last day of class. After the teacher handed back all of our tests, he started talking about the excellence award. This is an award given to an outstanding student in the particular subject. Then, he started describing the student.
Now, there was a boy in my class I'll call... um... Chris. Because his name starts with a "C" and it's the first name that popped into my head. Anyways, he was generally considered the smartest kid in class and generally got the highest marks overall. My teacher liked to joke, "why can't you all get as high grades as Chris?" Anyways, everyone thought that he was going to get the award.
However, my teacher walked towards my desk and handed it to me! Here's my medal. I also got a certificate but I can't get the lighting to work in my room, so it just looks like a blue piece of paper.
First off, I managed to finish my lab report and it didn't look like rubbish. That was nice.
Second, I discovered I am able to read on the schoolbus. This comes in handy.
Then, I had two really boring classes in the morning that aren't worth discussing further.
After lunch, I went to History of China. Since it was only a semester course, today was the very last day of class. After the teacher handed back all of our tests, he started talking about the excellence award. This is an award given to an outstanding student in the particular subject. Then, he started describing the student.
Now, there was a boy in my class I'll call... um... Chris. Because his name starts with a "C" and it's the first name that popped into my head. Anyways, he was generally considered the smartest kid in class and generally got the highest marks overall. My teacher liked to joke, "why can't you all get as high grades as Chris?" Anyways, everyone thought that he was going to get the award.
However, my teacher walked towards my desk and handed it to me! Here's my medal. I also got a certificate but I can't get the lighting to work in my room, so it just looks like a blue piece of paper.
Please forgive the weird angle- I'm lying on the floor on my stomach.
Needless to say, I'm thrilled I got the award. I put a lot of work into my History of China class, and it's probably the best course I've ever taken in my life (so far). I also talked about it waaay too much on this blog. So, yeah. Bragging rights!
There was a Christmas song assembly after Algebra (another class not worth mentioning), which was pretty cool. I'm actually going to start tech club next semester, so I hung out in the control booth and learned a bit about how the lights work. It's confusing.
This evening, my family went shopping and bought a somewhat lovely fake Christmas tree for S$50. Not bad, considering most places charged S$200+. Actually, quite good!
So this concludes my eventful day in a pretty rambly blog post. In short- today was great!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Why, Semester Finals?
Okay, this is basically the stupidest blog post in the world, and it is simply that I will not be posting again until after finals.
WHY?
Because I have to study >.<
Ick.
Anyways a quick update- I'm pretty stressed out with finals, last minute choreography for dance class, and life in general. I like being extremely busy, but only to a point. What's annoying is that I come home much earlier than I used to during first semester dance, but I start working around the same time at night. So be it.
Winter Ball is next Thursday, and I wasn't intending to go at all. Instead, I was going to celebrate the start of the holidays with Animax. Or... sleeping.
Instead, I will be coming home after finals only to fret about hair, makeup, clothes and jewelry... that's right, because someone asked me to go. Believe me, I'm shocked too.
I'm sure that will be a terribly interesting blog post, so until then, I'll be studying!
WHY?
Because I have to study >.<
Ick.
Anyways a quick update- I'm pretty stressed out with finals, last minute choreography for dance class, and life in general. I like being extremely busy, but only to a point. What's annoying is that I come home much earlier than I used to during first semester dance, but I start working around the same time at night. So be it.
Winter Ball is next Thursday, and I wasn't intending to go at all. Instead, I was going to celebrate the start of the holidays with Animax. Or... sleeping.
Instead, I will be coming home after finals only to fret about hair, makeup, clothes and jewelry... that's right, because someone asked me to go. Believe me, I'm shocked too.
I'm sure that will be a terribly interesting blog post, so until then, I'll be studying!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Time Flies
Oh my goodness, it's the first day of December. That means I only have a week until exams, 4 tests next week as teachers try to cram in last-minute units, and a huge headache. No seriously, I think the stress is making me sick!
Anyways, I've successfully not passed out yet. Okay I also haven't really been studying for semester finals because I've been so busy doing other projects.
Since no one actually cares about the daily life of a somewhat-loser high schooler (at least I'm honest with myself), I might was well reflect on how I've lived here in Singapore for roughly 4 months. Now that the holidays are approaching, it seems that time is going even faster than usual. It's weird that there really isn't any snow here and that the days are still long. It's even weirder to think we're going somewhere for Christmas this year... yeah that's right. We're going to BALI!
If I had never moved to Singapore, I probably would have never gone anywhere for Christmas. I probably never would have gone anywhere with my school but maybe Spain, or take history of China in school. I guess that's what I like about Singapore right now, because that's sort of what my life is about these days- school, studying, studying, waiting for Japan, studying, studying, and anime.
Aren't I cool?
Anyways, I've successfully not passed out yet. Okay I also haven't really been studying for semester finals because I've been so busy doing other projects.
Since no one actually cares about the daily life of a somewhat-loser high schooler (at least I'm honest with myself), I might was well reflect on how I've lived here in Singapore for roughly 4 months. Now that the holidays are approaching, it seems that time is going even faster than usual. It's weird that there really isn't any snow here and that the days are still long. It's even weirder to think we're going somewhere for Christmas this year... yeah that's right. We're going to BALI!
If I had never moved to Singapore, I probably would have never gone anywhere for Christmas. I probably never would have gone anywhere with my school but maybe Spain, or take history of China in school. I guess that's what I like about Singapore right now, because that's sort of what my life is about these days- school, studying, studying, waiting for Japan, studying, studying, and anime.
Aren't I cool?
Monday, November 28, 2011
OMG, LOL I GTG, HWK 2do
Okay, I'm guilty of writing in text talk in my messages and emails like everyone else these days. But seriously, why do people actually say this out loud? Today I heard someone say, "O-M-G, that's lol worthy".
Wait.
Just say, "Oh my gosh, that's hilarious."
It's not that difficult, and you sound significantly smarter. It's even a syllable shorter, I believe. Now, I remember when "coolio" was an acceptable word to use with friends when referring to something that was "cool". However, it no longer is. And seriously, "coolio" sort of cute compared to saying, "OMG". I just don't get that one, especially when the "G" is dragged out to sound like "GEEEEEE".
What is the English language turning into?
Don't answer that.
Wait.
Just say, "Oh my gosh, that's hilarious."
It's not that difficult, and you sound significantly smarter. It's even a syllable shorter, I believe. Now, I remember when "coolio" was an acceptable word to use with friends when referring to something that was "cool". However, it no longer is. And seriously, "coolio" sort of cute compared to saying, "OMG". I just don't get that one, especially when the "G" is dragged out to sound like "GEEEEEE".
What is the English language turning into?
Don't answer that.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sundays Are Fun
Today I went to Orchard Road with my friend Marianna. We went to the Japanese photo booth and took some fun photos. While I adore those booths, they are entirely in Japanese which makes a good deal of using them complete guesswork. We just ended up tapping the screen randomly hoping that eventually, we'd get to decorate/print our photos. It was a pain.
There were some cosplayers there, actually. One Ciel in his pink dress, some Naruto people, and the Baltic Trio (from Hetalia). Later on I saw two Lolitas and a cosplayer in a pink wig (no idea who she was). Not certain why I saw so many awesome people today, however I don't care! We also got our nails done- mine are silver and sparkly.
Here's some photos of Orchard Road from today.
There were some cosplayers there, actually. One Ciel in his pink dress, some Naruto people, and the Baltic Trio (from Hetalia). Later on I saw two Lolitas and a cosplayer in a pink wig (no idea who she was). Not certain why I saw so many awesome people today, however I don't care! We also got our nails done- mine are silver and sparkly.
Here's some photos of Orchard Road from today.
And here are the photobooth pictures. There are more, but uploading these was a total pain.
I take credit for both of these decorations. She put a really huge bow on my head in one of them- super flattering and attractive.
Well, it's homework time now. Or, go-finish-reading-book-then-watch-video-then-do-homework time. Which ever one works out it shall be.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Oops
So I realise I haven't been posting lately- my bad.
Here's a choppy update because I really want to go watch Death Note instead of write this, but I'm feeling terribly guilty:
Here's a choppy update because I really want to go watch Death Note instead of write this, but I'm feeling terribly guilty:
Thanksgiving:
Went to a fancy-schmancy restaurant that had an amazingly good turkey! Completely amazing- one of the best I've ever had (sorry Dad). However, I was filling up fast on the sweet potato stuff. It was cheesy, amazing sweet potatoes that were really creamy and ohmygoodnessyum worthy. Of course, there was also the very typical noodles and sushi that you totally see at every Thanksgiving meal. And the chocolate fountain, that's pretty ordinary too. Ha. Desert was also a knockout with pumpkin pie, pecan tart, cheesecake, mysterious green-coloured cake... yup, it was wonderful!
Yesterday:
We went to the Zoo. My father and I both took lots of pictures as I got more practice with the Nikon D90. One of these days, I'm going to figure out how to put a whole ton of photos up on here that won't take 3 days to upload. Anyways, it was good fun even though it ended up hot. I also think a bird pooped on my dad.
Today:
We went to the ArtScience Museum ( I went to the "Shipwrecked" exhibit back in April that was also there) and saw the "Titanic" exhibit. I couldn't take photos or videos but I learned a lot about the ship while looking at the replica grand stair case, first-class cabin, and 3-rd class cabins. It was an amazing exhibit that was strangely emotional (and also freezing cold, seriously air con doesn't need to be set at 18 degrees, thanks). Here's a picture from some random website:
http://comesingapore.com/pic/load/2368
Afterwards, we wandered around the Marina Bay Sands area before finally deciding to eat at TWG Tea, which is basically a fancy tea shop. The macaroons there are really good- I had 2 after my meal but could have eaten, like, 20. YUM!
What's Up With Me:
What's Up With Me:
I'm really dreading that Christmas break is coming up even though we might go somewhere like Bali. It's not that I don't want time off- it's that I'm fearing exams! It's a lot of stress and tears to get through and they are worth a decent chunk of my grade, which is scary.
I didn't get into varsity dance this year, which is disappointing because I was apparently one spot away from making alternates (which is essentially part of the team). Oh well.
I didn't get into varsity dance this year, which is disappointing because I was apparently one spot away from making alternates (which is essentially part of the team). Oh well.
Social life:
Non-existant.
Okay, not really. I've recently become a huge anime/manga fan for no apparent reason other than it's nice to hear Japanese being spoken (though I hardly understand a word). I'm currently really into Kuroshitsuji, Death Note, and Hetalia. Which is great, because exactly two people I know here like anime, and one is a boy who is going to Japan with me. Too bad we have no excuses to talk to each other. The other girl is in my dance class, so once again we have virtually no excuse to talk. Grr. Never thought I'd say this, but I miss my old town's crazy anime kids like crazy. If I hadn't moved, I'd be hanging out with them this year for sure!
Well, it's pretty late. To bed I go. In theory :D
Sunday, November 20, 2011
BusyBusyBusy
It's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. Basically, high school is taking up a ton of time brainwashing me into wondering if there is such thing as good literature. I'm not so sure anymore, because all these "classic" books are miserable when I have to analyse every single line. Oh well.
This is sugar cane juice, by the way. Forgot to upload the picture last week.
Yup, the stuff is green!
I was looking through pictures of my friends on Facebook today and I really started missing all of them. Everyone looked really happy! I guess I'm jealous of the other new girls who fit in right away and have decent group of friends. Sure, I've got some people I consider friends and all, but I miss the ones I had. That and by becoming a huge anime fan all of the sudden has kind of made me weirder than... usual. Sure. Whatever.
Okay, done being all sad now. Going to go to my Chinese dance/ballet audition tonight, hope I place well!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Homework is Uncool
Okay, so I know why teachers assign homework and all, but sometimes I think they are dumping homework on us to watch us struggle, and laugh at us. It's not very nice, teachers.
I've been pretty distracted between dance, schoolwork and learning Japanese, so I guess that's why I haven't been blogging as much.
Here's a list of stuff I've done recently:
I've been pretty distracted between dance, schoolwork and learning Japanese, so I guess that's why I haven't been blogging as much.
Here's a list of stuff I've done recently:
- Had sugar cane juice- it was pretty good overall, I'd say
- Choreographed my IASAS solo. Now I just have to practice it. A lot.
- Got a flu shot. Then had to dance. Yeah.
- Took some Butoh as part of my drama class. It's weird. Google it
- Had beef hand-made noodles again. I will take anyone who comes and visits me to this food court for them. They are so good, and it's fun to watch the guy slice them.
- Managed to make the bus this morning. That was an accomplishment considering I got up late.
Yup, I'm such an interesting high schooler at this point...
Back to Molecular Biology!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Dance Show!
Sorry I haven't been posting as much as I'd like, I've been terribly busy. Actually right now I'm sitting around doing homework instead of at an anime conference I really wanted to go to, but whatever. The last two nights have been busy with Romeo and Juliet. Yes, I will post photos taken by my dad once he's finished sorting through them and all. The show was great, though I personally did better the first night. Overall I am happy with myself and can't wait for the next show. School dance is really different than studio dance, but I think I like it even though everyone is at different levels. However I fully intend to find a studio as soon as I can! I think I'm auditioning for one next weekend... or it was supposed to be this weekend but I hope not. Oh well.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Dance Show
Okay, I've been so busy with getting ready for the dance show this week that I haven't had a lot of time to do anything but finish projects and do homework. Note sleep is not listed in things I've been doing lately. I really hate this quick update posts because they're just not interesting.
Here's my little realization of the day.
No matter how hard I work, there's always someone working harder. No matter how high my grades are, someone else's are higher. In dance, someone can always turn faster, jump higher, is more flexible. To some, this is very discouraging. To others, it encourages them to work even harder. I'm in in the latter group, mostly because I always want to do my best even when it sounds crazy. Then I go and start learning how to read Katana on the side as part of my Japanese learning experience, but that's kind of irrelevant. Anyways, while I understand that some people get discouraged, I don't get why they at least don't try. If you don't get the turn right, do it again. Even if it's not as good as the girl next to you, at least a get a turn so you don't stand in the middle of the stage doing nothing like an idiot.
That is all. Students, please at least half-heartedly make an attempt instead of doing absolutely nothing. Thank you.
Here's my little realization of the day.
No matter how hard I work, there's always someone working harder. No matter how high my grades are, someone else's are higher. In dance, someone can always turn faster, jump higher, is more flexible. To some, this is very discouraging. To others, it encourages them to work even harder. I'm in in the latter group, mostly because I always want to do my best even when it sounds crazy. Then I go and start learning how to read Katana on the side as part of my Japanese learning experience, but that's kind of irrelevant. Anyways, while I understand that some people get discouraged, I don't get why they at least don't try. If you don't get the turn right, do it again. Even if it's not as good as the girl next to you, at least a get a turn so you don't stand in the middle of the stage doing nothing like an idiot.
That is all. Students, please at least half-heartedly make an attempt instead of doing absolutely nothing. Thank you.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Laziness
I'm currently putting of a HOC project, my English homework, and my Japanese, but that's okay because it's only 2pm so in theory I can get everything done by tonight.
Last night I went to a sleep-over at my friend Anika's house. Another girl was there too, Emily. We had dinner at Marche in 313@Somerset before attempting to make it to a movie. Well, we missed the movie and went to the American Club to rent one. It was "Scott Pilgrim Versus the World" and it was honestly the worst movie I've ever seen. We gave up on that pretty quickly and ended up re-watching "UP" which was adorable.
Anika has a massive house, it was really amazing. I didn't know houses got so big in Singapore! Well, I guess there is always someone somewhere with a massive house, but in a way here in Singapore where virtually everyone lives in an apartment (I thought) it is more shocking to me.
Going to go study. Finally.
Last night I went to a sleep-over at my friend Anika's house. Another girl was there too, Emily. We had dinner at Marche in 313@Somerset before attempting to make it to a movie. Well, we missed the movie and went to the American Club to rent one. It was "Scott Pilgrim Versus the World" and it was honestly the worst movie I've ever seen. We gave up on that pretty quickly and ended up re-watching "UP" which was adorable.
Anika has a massive house, it was really amazing. I didn't know houses got so big in Singapore! Well, I guess there is always someone somewhere with a massive house, but in a way here in Singapore where virtually everyone lives in an apartment (I thought) it is more shocking to me.
Going to go study. Finally.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
3 Day Weekend!
For some very odd reason, I feel like I haven't really been in school that much these days. Wait, it's because I haven't. After a 5 day weekend just over a week ago, I have a 3 day weekend for a Muslim holiday. It's quite nice, really.
Yesterday my mom and I went down Arab Street and Haji Lane. The last time I was there it was in April, and we had an interesting experience to say the least. This time, however, we went there during the daylight, and we learned a lot. Arab Street is mostly fabric shops, but that doesn't really do it justice. It's more like the most beautiful fabric shops in the world with batik and silks. Haji Lane is high fashion at relatively inexpensive prices, which shocked me. Honestly Haji Lane was really charming and pretty until we got to the end of the lane where it was a big... well icky I suppose.
Going to do homework now, but I'm glad I found out what Haji Lane is really like. I don't think it's that bad or anything- in contrast I think it's wonderful.
Yesterday my mom and I went down Arab Street and Haji Lane. The last time I was there it was in April, and we had an interesting experience to say the least. This time, however, we went there during the daylight, and we learned a lot. Arab Street is mostly fabric shops, but that doesn't really do it justice. It's more like the most beautiful fabric shops in the world with batik and silks. Haji Lane is high fashion at relatively inexpensive prices, which shocked me. Honestly Haji Lane was really charming and pretty until we got to the end of the lane where it was a big... well icky I suppose.
Going to do homework now, but I'm glad I found out what Haji Lane is really like. I don't think it's that bad or anything- in contrast I think it's wonderful.
Friday, November 4, 2011
History is Awesome
So I'm sitting in History of China class right now, and I really should be doing some reading about this eunuch guy who sailed around and traded. He even brought a giraffe back to China, which the Chinese thought was super cool. But instead I'm writing about history on my blog, because I think it's an under appreciated school subject.
History is basically ignored by students and adults alike, because a lot of people think it's boring. I guess it's understandable, especially when studying the pilgrims for the 800th time by Freshman year. Okay. American history in general isn't terribly interesting, at least the "really" old stuff with lots of white men arguing all day long.
Chinese history is interesting. I'm not just saying that because I'm Chinese. I don't think anyone can deny that mystical kings, long wars, stupid emperors and their concubines, art, music and philosophy are half-way interesting. Granted, most of the stories regarding philosophy aren't exactly action movies, but it's still interesting to see how people thought. The adventures and wars are fascinating.
So even though I am taking this class for my "Eastern Studies" in order to graduate from this high school, I still think Chinese history is amazing. And history in general.
Because not learning from history is one of the stupidest things people these days do. Short-term personal history shows why people shouldn't drive drunk or kill someone. World history and ancient history explains why we as people are here, and what the world has gone through as a planet in order to get to where we are today. It is proof as to how intolerance and ignorance is destructive. History explains why people from different cultures act the way they do, and how their values formed. Without learning from history, personal or global, we are all dooming ourselves to conflict and misunderstandings.
...so why do so many people hate history?
History is basically ignored by students and adults alike, because a lot of people think it's boring. I guess it's understandable, especially when studying the pilgrims for the 800th time by Freshman year. Okay. American history in general isn't terribly interesting, at least the "really" old stuff with lots of white men arguing all day long.
Chinese history is interesting. I'm not just saying that because I'm Chinese. I don't think anyone can deny that mystical kings, long wars, stupid emperors and their concubines, art, music and philosophy are half-way interesting. Granted, most of the stories regarding philosophy aren't exactly action movies, but it's still interesting to see how people thought. The adventures and wars are fascinating.
So even though I am taking this class for my "Eastern Studies" in order to graduate from this high school, I still think Chinese history is amazing. And history in general.
Because not learning from history is one of the stupidest things people these days do. Short-term personal history shows why people shouldn't drive drunk or kill someone. World history and ancient history explains why we as people are here, and what the world has gone through as a planet in order to get to where we are today. It is proof as to how intolerance and ignorance is destructive. History explains why people from different cultures act the way they do, and how their values formed. Without learning from history, personal or global, we are all dooming ourselves to conflict and misunderstandings.
...so why do so many people hate history?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
School Update
Well, I already have a test tomorrow, a paper to turn in, and a project due next Monday. I love high school!
Essentially this is just a "gosh I'm so busy" post... which is okay.
I had an interim meeting regarding my trip to Japan in February, and I have to say, I am totally excited. I'm going to be doing a 2 night 1 day homestay, which I've been told is the highlight of the trip. We're also going to a karaoke bar, Harajuku (I want to see Lolitas!), the Nuclear Bomb Memorial in Hiroshima (I think it has a prettier name than that) and loads of temples. Seriously, I don't know if I'll be posting over that week but I can't even stop thinking about it...
On a totally different topic, the dance show is looking good, and I'm really excited about that. It's so scary that the show is next Friday and Saturday. Rehearsal is long and boring, but it'll be okay in the end. I'm trying out for varsity dance the week after the show. If I don't make it, I'll take Chinese dance (and maybe ballet) classes. Honestly, I don't really care about which one I make, which seems stupid, but they both seem awesome to me so I'm willing to accept if I don't make the team.
I clearly need sleep. Good night.
Essentially this is just a "gosh I'm so busy" post... which is okay.
I had an interim meeting regarding my trip to Japan in February, and I have to say, I am totally excited. I'm going to be doing a 2 night 1 day homestay, which I've been told is the highlight of the trip. We're also going to a karaoke bar, Harajuku (I want to see Lolitas!), the Nuclear Bomb Memorial in Hiroshima (I think it has a prettier name than that) and loads of temples. Seriously, I don't know if I'll be posting over that week but I can't even stop thinking about it...
On a totally different topic, the dance show is looking good, and I'm really excited about that. It's so scary that the show is next Friday and Saturday. Rehearsal is long and boring, but it'll be okay in the end. I'm trying out for varsity dance the week after the show. If I don't make it, I'll take Chinese dance (and maybe ballet) classes. Honestly, I don't really care about which one I make, which seems stupid, but they both seem awesome to me so I'm willing to accept if I don't make the team.
I clearly need sleep. Good night.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The World is Ending
Okay, the world actually isn't ending until 2012 or whatever. But my nice, happy, homework-free world ends tomorrow because I'm back to school. I haven't really done anything recently except sit around on my butt and sort through the stupid 13-18 second clips I took at the aquarium. That's a long video to edit, so it'll be up when I'm done with it.
Last night was the Halloween party which was pretty fun overall considering there was exactly one teenager there, yours truly. Here's me in my costume, I pretty much took a dress I've worn to many events, a belt, socks, high-heels I wear all the time, and false eyelashes to create the look. (No shoes in the picture)
I was entered into the "Best Dressed" contest in the adult category (One of five) and took second place! It really broke down into commercially purchased costumes, creativity (me) and epic face paint (Dracula, who won). What was really lovely is I got $150 in food vouchers, and they work at Cold Stone Creamery! Needless to say, we went there today and I had strawberry with M&Ms and gummi bears.
I'll keep working on the video. In the mean time, I'm going to go make instant noodles <3
Last night was the Halloween party which was pretty fun overall considering there was exactly one teenager there, yours truly. Here's me in my costume, I pretty much took a dress I've worn to many events, a belt, socks, high-heels I wear all the time, and false eyelashes to create the look. (No shoes in the picture)
I'll keep working on the video. In the mean time, I'm going to go make instant noodles <3
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sentosa!
Today was, surprise, another busy day. Because I'm a teenager there was no physical way for it to start before 12 noon. We took a taxi to the cable car stop and rode in a beautiful cable car to Sentosa, which is basically Singapore's playground. It has Universal Studios (which we didn't go to), museums, aquariums, a casino, hotels... anything you can think of, it has. My parents and I are super cool and ended up spending most of the day in an aquarium. There were lots of really interesting fish and massive stingrays- the video I intend to post tomorrow will show all of that. I was surprised by how interactive the aquarium was- you could touch fish in certain areas, feed rays and even feed sharks. We also attended a dolphin/sea lion show but naturally it got rained to an early finish. Anyone else noticing a pattern of, "we got there, it rained"?
Afterwards we wandered around towards the massive Merlion of Sentosa, which is like 30 something meters tall. Lots of the island was decked out for Halloween (including the inside of the Merlion) so we couldn't go inside without paying extra. Halloween on Sentosa is just more gory than in the US. I think the US relies more on surprise scaring people as well as some gore, but based on the posters all around Sentosa, gore is pretty normal here- I mean twin "schoolgirls" that were clearly dead with an eye missing and... I'll stop. It was pretty nasty. Perhaps I have a low tolerance for that sort of thing- but if I was a mother of a small child, I'd have my hand over my child's eyes!
We ended up at this shopping mall on the mainland to eat dinner, I forget what it's called but it was spectacular. The mall was, at least. In terms of food, I've had better spaghetti and meatballs. Those meatballs tasted sort of... deep fried? Whatever. It was a really fun day. Tomorrow is a Halloween party in our apartment building, I'm still trying to throw my "haunted doll" costume together. There will be pictures!
Afterwards we wandered around towards the massive Merlion of Sentosa, which is like 30 something meters tall. Lots of the island was decked out for Halloween (including the inside of the Merlion) so we couldn't go inside without paying extra. Halloween on Sentosa is just more gory than in the US. I think the US relies more on surprise scaring people as well as some gore, but based on the posters all around Sentosa, gore is pretty normal here- I mean twin "schoolgirls" that were clearly dead with an eye missing and... I'll stop. It was pretty nasty. Perhaps I have a low tolerance for that sort of thing- but if I was a mother of a small child, I'd have my hand over my child's eyes!
We ended up at this shopping mall on the mainland to eat dinner, I forget what it's called but it was spectacular. The mall was, at least. In terms of food, I've had better spaghetti and meatballs. Those meatballs tasted sort of... deep fried? Whatever. It was a really fun day. Tomorrow is a Halloween party in our apartment building, I'm still trying to throw my "haunted doll" costume together. There will be pictures!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Okay, so I realize that it's Friday, which means yes I stayed up and waited for my video to upload. I figure since I don't have school, I'm good to go. If anyone wants to comment on this post, (if you can figure out how to) tell me if you think vlogging is cool or weird! I like writing blog posts, but I'm going to be trying to add more media to the blog. So, maybe make some sort of photo-sharing account on some website and put links to albums here? I'll figure it out when I sort through bird pictures.
So I clearly need to sleep. Enjoy the video :)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Chinatown and Birds
I've had a busy past two days over my fall break! Yes, fall break. It's from Diwali, which was yesterday, until Sunday. Then I have another day off soon-ish, though I can't remember exactly when. Yesterday we went to Chinatown, in the shopping areas. Except in China, I have never seen as many stalls of vendors selling PJ's, clothes, traditional clothes, baby stuff, cosmetics, perfume... you name it, it was there. I'm working on a video I will hopefully put up tonight if all goes well. Video editing is a slow process, and I do apologize for not putting a video up lately. We had a lot of fun looking around and I actually bought a traditional Chinese dress that I'm pretty happy about. Lunch/dinner was pretty nice too, we went to a Szechuan restaurant that was pretty spicy! The fatty pork was amazing, and all you Americans wrinkling your noses clearly need to go try it.
Today it poured off and on all day, and we went to the bird park. It was amazing. There was every kind of bird you could think of and them some birds you've never dreamed of. There was a really cool African themed section with the largest man-made waterfall in the world. In addition, there was a Lorry-bird area in which the birds were pretty much hopping around and interacting with the visitors- you could pay for a cup of nectar to feed them. Actually, you could just look interesting as well and the birds would fly over and land on you. Apparently my whole family was interesting-looking enough because at some point or another we all had a bird on our shoulder, playing with our hair/collars. My dad got some good photos of me, and I got some photos of my mother. I look very... flustered. I took about 200 photos there but I still have to sort through them before I post. Maybe tomorrow, if I'm not too tired from Sentosa.
Time to go video edit/photo sort. Hopefully this isn't my only post for today, if it is, then the video will be tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Subway is Good
As I sit here eating my 6-inch turkey and ham sub that is nice and warm, I started going on the computer. Since I don't have any homework because of Diwali, I thought I was going to go on YouTube and waste time. Then I pulled up Google News by accident. There were over 200 new stories from the past week, some celeb news that no one actually cares about, and some big occurrences being covered that I hadn't been paying attention too. Libya is still big in the news about the rebellions, Turkey had a terrible earthquake, the US ambassador from Syria was pulled out. For some reason, just seeing the sheer number of stories that I haven't read made me realise that in terms of knowing what is going on around me, I know nothing. I've been focused so much on getting good grades that I haven't kept up with the world like so many other people, and I think that's sad.
On another topic fall break starts this afternoon. Which means 5 days of no homework and going to different museums and attractions of Singapore to get to know the area better. I can't wait. School is great and everything but sometimes we all just need a break, especially my dad who's always working. Sentosa, here I come!
On another topic fall break starts this afternoon. Which means 5 days of no homework and going to different museums and attractions of Singapore to get to know the area better. I can't wait. School is great and everything but sometimes we all just need a break, especially my dad who's always working. Sentosa, here I come!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
The Leaves Are Still Green
I am really missing autumn this evening, and I think it's because I was just drinking some Swiss-Miss that my mom picked up at the store. There's something about burning your tongue that just transports you back to jumping in leaf-piles, getting snow all over the red kitchen floor, and getting stuck in snow pants. However, I'm here in Singapore where the leaves are still green even though it's technically the rainy season which is the equivalent to "winter". There was also a lizard in the kitchen yesterday and I'll post the video to that soon. Apparently that's a common occurrence! Well, back to History of China homework.... fun fun fun.
Friday, October 21, 2011
LET'S GO EAGLES
The easy way to explain yesterday and what today will probably be is simply, awesome. I was let out of every class yesterday for at least half an hour (math was out completely) to watch soccer and volleyball. The schools involved are SAS, ISM, TAS, ISB, ISKL, and JIS (Manila, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta). Essentially I've done nothing productive in the past couple of days and have actually gotten to bed at reasonable times lately. I have dance on Saturday, which is basically because we need more practice for this one dance that looks a bit like an explosion, but it will get better soon hopefully. Can't wait to go watch soccer!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Being Thankful
Today in dance class we had a guest hip-hop teacher who was very good and I liked her a lot. Halfway through the class a girl started stretching out her shoulders and moaning about how "hip hop is so tiring". For whatever reason, this made me stop and think. I've heard complaints before, and I certainly complain about being sore as much as the next dancer. But when complaints at SAS go from sore shoulders from a guest teacher's class to that there aren't enough European Interim Trips, I can't help but start to wonder if we expats really having anything to complain about. There are the aches, pains, and blisters the size of 10 cent coins in dance that are all painful, and understandably painful. But interim trips? And that the cake sold in school is twice the price of a bakery's cake? What about how Facebook loads really slowly in school on the laptops our parents bought us for learning?
There are difficult aspects of being an expat. It's hard to figure out a new culture, where exactly you are on Orchard road, and making new friends. It's hard to have parents travel (though I'm pretty used to it) to places you can't even say or find on a map. Broken families are relatively common, moving is often frequent, loneliness is a constant state. And I understand that to the best of my ability.
What I don't understand are the spoiled kids that have forgotten the good fortune that has brought them to Singapore, or China, or where ever in this world they've lived. Singapore is a beautiful country and to be a live-in guest of the country is a privilege. It is not a right to be able to get bubble tea whenever you want, be surrounded by sky-scraper malls, and experience a mixture of cultures just by walking down the street. So even though I can't tell them this, I do hope someday they realise how good they have it now and that it doesn't really matter where you go on interim, from Japan to Thailand to London. We expat kids are so fortunate and I feel thankful every day to be here. I wish they were, too.
Here's a picture of me and my friends using a Japanese photo booth. It's a bit random, but whatever
There are difficult aspects of being an expat. It's hard to figure out a new culture, where exactly you are on Orchard road, and making new friends. It's hard to have parents travel (though I'm pretty used to it) to places you can't even say or find on a map. Broken families are relatively common, moving is often frequent, loneliness is a constant state. And I understand that to the best of my ability.
What I don't understand are the spoiled kids that have forgotten the good fortune that has brought them to Singapore, or China, or where ever in this world they've lived. Singapore is a beautiful country and to be a live-in guest of the country is a privilege. It is not a right to be able to get bubble tea whenever you want, be surrounded by sky-scraper malls, and experience a mixture of cultures just by walking down the street. So even though I can't tell them this, I do hope someday they realise how good they have it now and that it doesn't really matter where you go on interim, from Japan to Thailand to London. We expat kids are so fortunate and I feel thankful every day to be here. I wish they were, too.
Here's a picture of me and my friends using a Japanese photo booth. It's a bit random, but whatever
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Quick Lunch Time Post
Okay, I've only got 2 minutes until the bell rings and I'm in History of China, but I just wanted to update that this weeks is IASAS! I hope I spelled that right. But anyways it's all the American International schools who compete in sports and such. Today I'm wearing my green Snoopy shirt to show my sophomore spirit. I actually have no idea why IASAS is such a big deal because I don't really care about sports, but I do care about dance so I'm looking forwards to trying out for that.
GO EAGLES!
GO EAGLES!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Be Amazed, Be Very Amazed
So I just realised that black hair on a black shirt means absolutely no contrast whatsoever, but I got my hair professionally cut for the first time, in like, 3 years! Ok, maybe it's been more recently than that, but I honestly can't remember the last time I got my hair cut. The Korean guy cutting my hair was super nice and did a great job dealing with my super damaged long hair. Then he informed me I actually have quite curly, Japanese sort of hair... well, you learn something new every day.
I hung out on Orchard Road with my friends Hilary and Susan. We've been meaning to do this for a while but we never could remember to do so. It was very sad. We ended up spending most of our time in Far East Plaza. We all got our nails done, and Hilary got her hair cut as well. There was a lot of wandering around dead lost happening as well- FEP is so confusing! Overall it was a very girly day filled with laughing.
By the way, did you know according to people here I don't look full Chinese? I've been told I look half Chinese a lot. Or half Japanese. Or full Japanese. That definitely doesn't make sense, but whatever.
Tomorrow will be a lovely, homework filled day... yippee.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
For Some Reason, Everything Works Out in the End
I am so glad I don't have to take the PSATs again until next year! They were such a bore and very strangely phrased most of the time- I feel terrible for non-native English speakers! There were words I have never heard of on that thing, and I'm not going to lie, any word with a "x" or "z" in it tends to scare me.
That's not what's really important about today though... it was a half day so I came home to find my beautiful desk and bed waiting for me! I'm so weird that I'm actually looking forwards to studying this evening, which of course I have to do even though all my work is due on Friday. Without further ado...
So I sort of forgot to take a photo of my desk as a whole but I'll do that later. I think it's time for lunch now!
That's not what's really important about today though... it was a half day so I came home to find my beautiful desk and bed waiting for me! I'm so weird that I'm actually looking forwards to studying this evening, which of course I have to do even though all my work is due on Friday. Without further ado...
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Appu's Last Day
Hello,
Today was Appu's last day of school. We all signed her very attractive white uniform shirt and made it even prettier with lots of different colors of Sharpie ink! And gave her stuff and whatever. I'm pretty upset she's leaving but I'll see her again hopefully.
Tomorrow is the PSAT. Which means I have a half day of school. Apparently half-days aren't common here unlike on the East Coast, so everyone is really excited about it. If I'm lucky I'll hang out with people. If I'm unlucky I'll do a bunch of home work that I've been putting off. So be it. It's also college career day tomorrow, so people with these really cool (or uncool) careers come and talk to us. Since there's no psychology I think I'll head to the law speeches. How's international law sound?
My friends always say I'd be the funniest FBI agent/lawyer because I'm so short and non-threatening. Well, that's according to Natalie Bina who thinks I look like a teacher. Whatever.
I have Dance Club again this afternoon, and I have to say while I like it, I wish I had only signed up for two days instead of three because I don't like dancing five days a week every other week and then doubling up (I take dance class in school) two days a week the other weeks. Consistency is much nicer!
Hopefully I'll be less busy so I can blog more often (haha). Until then... More History of China reading!
Today was Appu's last day of school. We all signed her very attractive white uniform shirt and made it even prettier with lots of different colors of Sharpie ink! And gave her stuff and whatever. I'm pretty upset she's leaving but I'll see her again hopefully.
Tomorrow is the PSAT. Which means I have a half day of school. Apparently half-days aren't common here unlike on the East Coast, so everyone is really excited about it. If I'm lucky I'll hang out with people. If I'm unlucky I'll do a bunch of home work that I've been putting off. So be it. It's also college career day tomorrow, so people with these really cool (or uncool) careers come and talk to us. Since there's no psychology I think I'll head to the law speeches. How's international law sound?
My friends always say I'd be the funniest FBI agent/lawyer because I'm so short and non-threatening. Well, that's according to Natalie Bina who thinks I look like a teacher. Whatever.
I have Dance Club again this afternoon, and I have to say while I like it, I wish I had only signed up for two days instead of three because I don't like dancing five days a week every other week and then doubling up (I take dance class in school) two days a week the other weeks. Consistency is much nicer!
Hopefully I'll be less busy so I can blog more often (haha). Until then... More History of China reading!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Sleepoever Saturday
Hello there,
This was an extremely busy week, for a change. It was also a bruise-filled week because of dance- seriously I've never had my knees completely purple until now! It's shocking.
My friends Appu and Deepti are coming over tonight for some shopping and sleep-overing. It's Appu's last weekend here so we're going to simply do as much fun stuff as we possibly can.
I'm meeting lots of new people through dance and through my classes, which is pretty nice except I've been associating people's names with places and can't remember them in the hallway later! So far this move hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I have friends that I can talk to and will laugh with me when I screw up and walk on the wrong side of the hallway.
On another note, my school does this thing every year called interim. It's basically a week of school without walls... in another country! Most of my friends are going to China or Myanmar... but not me!
I'M GOING TO JAPAN!
So come February, you'll be hearing a lot about Japan. And me attempting to learn Japanese with a computer program I bought yesterday. Japanese is hard!
Sayonara!
This was an extremely busy week, for a change. It was also a bruise-filled week because of dance- seriously I've never had my knees completely purple until now! It's shocking.
My friends Appu and Deepti are coming over tonight for some shopping and sleep-overing. It's Appu's last weekend here so we're going to simply do as much fun stuff as we possibly can.
I'm meeting lots of new people through dance and through my classes, which is pretty nice except I've been associating people's names with places and can't remember them in the hallway later! So far this move hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I have friends that I can talk to and will laugh with me when I screw up and walk on the wrong side of the hallway.
On another note, my school does this thing every year called interim. It's basically a week of school without walls... in another country! Most of my friends are going to China or Myanmar... but not me!
I'M GOING TO JAPAN!
So come February, you'll be hearing a lot about Japan. And me attempting to learn Japanese with a computer program I bought yesterday. Japanese is hard!
Sayonara!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Mondays are TIRING!
Wow, I'm glad today is over!
I actually had a decent school day today, but I'm tired. History of China was lots of movie-watching, which was a lot of fun. History is really interesting when you're not just memorizing facts all day long. I went to my new math class and they're still doing stuff I did the first week of September. Or the third week in August, I'm not certain which. So I don't think that class will really be much of an issue or anything, which is nice I guess. I had to haul the textbook around with me today though- I was actually carrying about a quarter of my weight on my back up and down stairs today! I'm sure that's really healthy >.<
Since today was an easy-ish day I went home and ended up playing the Wii again. MySims is strangely addicting, not going to lie. Now I just got back from eating Mini-Wok and am sitting with one of those weird sheet masks on my face. It smells a bit like milk and a bit like ice cream, which I'm not complaining about. The food is really top-rate here, I know I keep saying that but it's every teenage boy's dream- relatively inexpensive, delicious, and filling. Maybe that's why so many of the SAS guys are tall- I mean I know I'm short but they are like freakin' giants.
On another note, I just realised tonight that even though I can't see the stars because of the city lights, in some areas I can see the moon and it made me really happy because everyone sees the same moon at some point during the day :)
I actually had a decent school day today, but I'm tired. History of China was lots of movie-watching, which was a lot of fun. History is really interesting when you're not just memorizing facts all day long. I went to my new math class and they're still doing stuff I did the first week of September. Or the third week in August, I'm not certain which. So I don't think that class will really be much of an issue or anything, which is nice I guess. I had to haul the textbook around with me today though- I was actually carrying about a quarter of my weight on my back up and down stairs today! I'm sure that's really healthy >.<
Since today was an easy-ish day I went home and ended up playing the Wii again. MySims is strangely addicting, not going to lie. Now I just got back from eating Mini-Wok and am sitting with one of those weird sheet masks on my face. It smells a bit like milk and a bit like ice cream, which I'm not complaining about. The food is really top-rate here, I know I keep saying that but it's every teenage boy's dream- relatively inexpensive, delicious, and filling. Maybe that's why so many of the SAS guys are tall- I mean I know I'm short but they are like freakin' giants.
On another note, I just realised tonight that even though I can't see the stars because of the city lights, in some areas I can see the moon and it made me really happy because everyone sees the same moon at some point during the day :)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Shopping in Singapore is Amazing!
Hey everyone, ready for a super girly post?
So I can't remember if I've blogged about SaSa, but it's essentially a combination of CVS, Walgreens and Sephora Asian-style. In addition to having Western brands, they have Asian brands and various products that Americans wouldn't understand. For example, whitening everything! Asian girls prefer to be pale then tan, because tan people were working out in the fields, when pale people were rich enough to stay at home.
Needless to say, I went to SaSa yesterday and bought some sheet masks, which actually was a German thing that spread to Asia, then exploded and is now heading west.
Isn't the little picture on the package adorable? It's a milk mask.
On another note, my friend Appu slept over on Friday night. I put her on Rainbow Road in Mario Kart Wii... she fell off 15 times and was delighted with me. Whatever. It was purely for my entertainment, which is rude but what can I say? It was hilarious!
So yeah, sorry this was such a random post. I'll get better about that. In theory. :D
So I can't remember if I've blogged about SaSa, but it's essentially a combination of CVS, Walgreens and Sephora Asian-style. In addition to having Western brands, they have Asian brands and various products that Americans wouldn't understand. For example, whitening everything! Asian girls prefer to be pale then tan, because tan people were working out in the fields, when pale people were rich enough to stay at home.
Needless to say, I went to SaSa yesterday and bought some sheet masks, which actually was a German thing that spread to Asia, then exploded and is now heading west.
Isn't the little picture on the package adorable? It's a milk mask.
So yeah, sorry this was such a random post. I'll get better about that. In theory. :D
Friday, September 30, 2011
Cool Kids Blog in the Library
Hello,
Just a quick post today when I have time to write during my day, which is in the morning, at lunch, and my free period. I love that I have a free period every other day! It's so nice to get work done in school. Anyways, I'm officially friends with Susan and Hilary and am getting to know them better. Through dance I'm meeting a lot of really interesting people and some excellent dancers. The big try out here is for ISAS dance, which is International South Asian Schools (I think) dance exchanges and performances. I can't decided if it's worth dancing every day and going home at 6 every night, but there's a shot I'd at least make alternates.
I wrote the first part of this blog entry in the morning, and it's really weird to see what I wrote earlier! I had Subway for lunch today which was super good. I realised that I can have a good lunch (hot food, which takes longer) 2-3 times a week during my free periods. I'm so lucky to have my free always be by lunchtime :)
My friend Appu is sleeping over tonight! I can't wait. We're probably going to be stupid all night and watch a terrible movie, but that's a girl's night in on Friday I guess!
Will blog about the chaos tomorrow :D
Just a quick post today when I have time to write during my day, which is in the morning, at lunch, and my free period. I love that I have a free period every other day! It's so nice to get work done in school. Anyways, I'm officially friends with Susan and Hilary and am getting to know them better. Through dance I'm meeting a lot of really interesting people and some excellent dancers. The big try out here is for ISAS dance, which is International South Asian Schools (I think) dance exchanges and performances. I can't decided if it's worth dancing every day and going home at 6 every night, but there's a shot I'd at least make alternates.
I wrote the first part of this blog entry in the morning, and it's really weird to see what I wrote earlier! I had Subway for lunch today which was super good. I realised that I can have a good lunch (hot food, which takes longer) 2-3 times a week during my free periods. I'm so lucky to have my free always be by lunchtime :)
My friend Appu is sleeping over tonight! I can't wait. We're probably going to be stupid all night and watch a terrible movie, but that's a girl's night in on Friday I guess!
Will blog about the chaos tomorrow :D
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Egg Tarts Make Me Smile
Hello everyone,
Sorry I'm not posting as regularly as I'd like to, partially it's out of sheer laziness and partially because I get home so late there's no time to do anything but eat, work, work, work, and sleep. But today I've sort of been having a rubbish day that started out with me thinking I was sick, then having a boat load of school and home-work. I also am really starting to miss my friend back in the USA. There's a girl here that really reminds me of my friend Jackie in the States and two girls that remind me of a ridiculous pair back home. So if you are reading this blog, I miss you like crazy. Lots of love from Singapore <3
On a less depressing note, I have to blog about Egg Tarts. You can find them in the States and all, but right now I'm eating one from a bakery near my house and it is just blowing me away! It's just so yummy.
It doesn't even taste overly horribly eggy! Yippee!
Sorry I'm not posting as regularly as I'd like to, partially it's out of sheer laziness and partially because I get home so late there's no time to do anything but eat, work, work, work, and sleep. But today I've sort of been having a rubbish day that started out with me thinking I was sick, then having a boat load of school and home-work. I also am really starting to miss my friend back in the USA. There's a girl here that really reminds me of my friend Jackie in the States and two girls that remind me of a ridiculous pair back home. So if you are reading this blog, I miss you like crazy. Lots of love from Singapore <3
On a less depressing note, I have to blog about Egg Tarts. You can find them in the States and all, but right now I'm eating one from a bakery near my house and it is just blowing me away! It's just so yummy.
It doesn't even taste overly horribly eggy! Yippee!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
My Dad's Little Friend
Hey There,
So today was a pretty good day. I woke up at noon because I had such a gosh darn exhausting week (surprise, surprise) and didn't really do anything this morning. However, my parents went to an Expat furniture. All I know is that they ate hotdogs there. And didn't buy anything. My dad came home after that but my mom stayed out and went shopping. Eventually she came home and we went for Din Tai Fung pick up. Seriously, that place has really good dumplings.
So, who is my father's friend?
It's actually a little gecko that was apparently in our kitchen this morning! None of us really thought that lizards or snakes or whatever could actually get up into the high rises IN THE CITY, but we were wrong because there was one in our apartment! I wish I had seen him but I was dead to the world in bed :(
I babysat tonight for a family that lives in our apartment building which was pretty fun, there were three girls and it was uneventful except for a stomach ache that sent me into a panic while the other girls watched me with amused looks on their faces.
Since it's nearly 1 am, I'm going to go now. I'll try to post more often, so sorry about that!
So today was a pretty good day. I woke up at noon because I had such a gosh darn exhausting week (surprise, surprise) and didn't really do anything this morning. However, my parents went to an Expat furniture. All I know is that they ate hotdogs there. And didn't buy anything. My dad came home after that but my mom stayed out and went shopping. Eventually she came home and we went for Din Tai Fung pick up. Seriously, that place has really good dumplings.
So, who is my father's friend?
It's actually a little gecko that was apparently in our kitchen this morning! None of us really thought that lizards or snakes or whatever could actually get up into the high rises IN THE CITY, but we were wrong because there was one in our apartment! I wish I had seen him but I was dead to the world in bed :(
I babysat tonight for a family that lives in our apartment building which was pretty fun, there were three girls and it was uneventful except for a stomach ache that sent me into a panic while the other girls watched me with amused looks on their faces.
Since it's nearly 1 am, I'm going to go now. I'll try to post more often, so sorry about that!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Photos of My Dad's Birthday!
I don't have a lot of time tonight because I have to study for a quiz tomorrow, but as promised here are the photos of my dad's birthday dinner!
The lights are the barges and ships on the ocean. It looks like a big city, doesn't it?
The No-Name Signboard or something like that had a cool neon crab for a mascot. I liked it.
So overall, I really had a good time and I know he did too. Happy Birthday again, Dad!
First Dish: Yam-wrapped scallops. Delicious
Second dish: BBQ'd prawns. Smoky and wonderful!
3rd Dish: Really odd clam, I think it's called a razor clam? Not a huge fan.
The star of the night... Chili Crab! AMAZING!
The birthday guy is very happy that he got a huge claw. My mother is focusing eating her clam with chopsticks.
The super-fashionable crab bibs.
It's the latest trend!
My dad's place setting after he was done with the chili crab (granted, he did most of the hard work getting the meat out of the shell). He also accidentally sent food flying at my mom, but we forgave him because it was his birthday. Haha
Ice lemon jelly desert (mine). Very cool and refreshing.
Mango stuff. My parent's desert. Not entirely certain what it was, but it was really good.
Jumbo sign all lit up!
So overall, I really had a good time and I know he did too. Happy Birthday again, Dad!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My Father's Birthday and Don Quixote
This has been a crazy weekend!
Yesterday was my dad's birthday. I was going to post yesterday but it ended up such an adventure that I just couldn't quite get myself to do it. Tomorrow I'm going to get out my camera and make a whole post about his birthday dinner because it was really something. To sum it up in 5 words: Ocean, Chili-Crab, Birthday, Weird-Clam, Avatar.
So that's tomorrow's post.
But today, I think the more interesting event was Don Quixote, performed by the world-famous MariinskyBallet. Yes. I saw the Mariinsky Ballet!! In Singapore! I didn't think they toured very often anyways. I have to say, it was literally life changing. Most ballet students have been lucky enough to see their local companies perform and all, but I mean the Mariinsky Ballet was simply stunning. It was pretty much a whole new level of ballet for me, I had never seen anything so incredible (sorry Boston). We had box seats that were right by the stage (in a good way, not too close) so we could actually see the Mariinsky Orchestra as well.
Alina Somova was Kitri! I admire her so much and it was amazing to see her dance. In Dance Magazine once she was featured and I read her article like 700 times, she's my favourite ballet dancer ever. Her lines, technique, attitude.... So perfect! I really can't say enough about how freaking awesome she is.
Overall the show was really spectacular, the set, costumes, music, and dancers of course were all really... well... AMAZING. So now I feel a crazy need to work on my pointe work and ballet in general even though I know I'll never be as good as any of those dancers, inspiration can't hurt.
To make the day even better, we bought tickets for the Paris Opera Ballet's Giselle right after Don Quixote was over. And seriously, when does the Paris Opera Ballet tour? I'm pretty surprised their coming to Singapore but I'm totally delighted.
Dinner was really good afterwards as well, but now it's really time for me to study. I'll tell everyone about my dad's birthday tomorrow (or the day after...) depending.
Good night!
Yesterday was my dad's birthday. I was going to post yesterday but it ended up such an adventure that I just couldn't quite get myself to do it. Tomorrow I'm going to get out my camera and make a whole post about his birthday dinner because it was really something. To sum it up in 5 words: Ocean, Chili-Crab, Birthday, Weird-Clam, Avatar.
So that's tomorrow's post.
But today, I think the more interesting event was Don Quixote, performed by the world-famous MariinskyBallet. Yes. I saw the Mariinsky Ballet!! In Singapore! I didn't think they toured very often anyways. I have to say, it was literally life changing. Most ballet students have been lucky enough to see their local companies perform and all, but I mean the Mariinsky Ballet was simply stunning. It was pretty much a whole new level of ballet for me, I had never seen anything so incredible (sorry Boston). We had box seats that were right by the stage (in a good way, not too close) so we could actually see the Mariinsky Orchestra as well.
Alina Somova was Kitri! I admire her so much and it was amazing to see her dance. In Dance Magazine once she was featured and I read her article like 700 times, she's my favourite ballet dancer ever. Her lines, technique, attitude.... So perfect! I really can't say enough about how freaking awesome she is.
Overall the show was really spectacular, the set, costumes, music, and dancers of course were all really... well... AMAZING. So now I feel a crazy need to work on my pointe work and ballet in general even though I know I'll never be as good as any of those dancers, inspiration can't hurt.
To make the day even better, we bought tickets for the Paris Opera Ballet's Giselle right after Don Quixote was over. And seriously, when does the Paris Opera Ballet tour? I'm pretty surprised their coming to Singapore but I'm totally delighted.
Dinner was really good afterwards as well, but now it's really time for me to study. I'll tell everyone about my dad's birthday tomorrow (or the day after...) depending.
Good night!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Quick Update
你好！
Hello! I learned how to type Chinese characters into the computer today so I figured I'd try it out on my blog. Don't deny it- you think it's pretty neat. It's been another long week, though it actually was an "easy week" with 3 days that only had Chinese for a major class, which isn't so bad. The rough part is dancing every single day this week (as opposed to doubling up on Tuesday and Thursday next week). Since we're doing ballet in dance class now I'm not really complaining though.
So I was taking random pictures of myself recently and figured I should post them here. The first is my hair that I wore to school on Thursday. It was for History of China-we all dressed up all Chinese-ish for a seminar. Then I walked around like this for the rest of the day. Whatever.
And yes, I'm lying on my floor writing this blog post because I'm still waiting for my lovely custom made desk. Oh, and the bed as well. That will be great.
Other than just being silly today there's not a ton to talk about.
That's a lie.
My very first friend that I made here, Appu, is moving on October 1st and she stops going to school after next week to pack. So I'm quite unhappy about that. So Appu, I know you don't read this but if you do, I wish you the best, have fun in America and enjoy getting away from the annoying English TA. Thanks for being my friend it made all the difference on the first day of school :)
Good night, everyone! 再见！
Hello! I learned how to type Chinese characters into the computer today so I figured I'd try it out on my blog. Don't deny it- you think it's pretty neat. It's been another long week, though it actually was an "easy week" with 3 days that only had Chinese for a major class, which isn't so bad. The rough part is dancing every single day this week (as opposed to doubling up on Tuesday and Thursday next week). Since we're doing ballet in dance class now I'm not really complaining though.
So I was taking random pictures of myself recently and figured I should post them here. The first is my hair that I wore to school on Thursday. It was for History of China-we all dressed up all Chinese-ish for a seminar. Then I walked around like this for the rest of the day. Whatever.
Yes, it's Panda hair! I think everyone in the whole school thought I was mental or a Freshman. I don't know which, but I think I prefer mental.
Here's me being happy Mom bought more Nutella. (no I am not selling Nutella or part of the company or anything for any random person who fancies making a fuss. Kthaxbai)
Other than just being silly today there's not a ton to talk about.
That's a lie.
My very first friend that I made here, Appu, is moving on October 1st and she stops going to school after next week to pack. So I'm quite unhappy about that. So Appu, I know you don't read this but if you do, I wish you the best, have fun in America and enjoy getting away from the annoying English TA. Thanks for being my friend it made all the difference on the first day of school :)
Good night, everyone! 再见！
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Room Pictures!
Good afternoon,
Here are some pictures of my room now that I've done a decent amount of unpacking today. I was actually given a new camera yesterday because it came for free with the TV so now each of us have a camera. Since I've got the new camera I'll try to put more pictures up!
My bookshelf! The bottom left is academic, the bottom right is Harry Potter, the top left is smartical books, and the top right is artsy! There's also a framed photo of a girl I used to babysit and me, as well as my photoshoot book. And a piggy bank.
My dresser. From left to right: 7 layer stacking doll from Russia, Ganesha the elephant head god from India, blue bird embroidery from China, a little ivory penguin that my mom gave me and a swan I painted in Taiwan.
So I can't remember what I've already posted on this blog because I'm cool like that, so here's some pictures of surrounding buildings and such.
This is from my room. The building in the foreground has really bright lights that turn on when the sun goes down. It's annoying.
The lovely abandoned building next door, from my parent's room. Yes, abandoned.
View from the dining area of the pool. It's a huge pool that I sort of cut off. Also you can see the balcony of the people below us.
On Friday we actually went to this Moon Festival fair thing that had easily 20 vendors selling all sorts of mooncakes, from traditional to durian to pineapple. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in terms of buying mooncakes! We got two pineapple ones and one traditional one with white lotus seed. I love the traditional ones, I'm terribly old fashioned I suppose. Some vendors were actually baking mooncakes at the fair thing. There was a lot of durian which most people think smells pretty bad, but there's something wrong with me and I think it smells good! I don't know if I'll try it, but I didn't mind the smell very much.
Friday, September 9, 2011
It's Friday!
Wow, it’s been a really long week. When I say a really long week I mean I was getting home at 7 three out of five days and it looks like I’ll be doing that for another 8 weeks, not including the actual lead-up to the dance show that will be every day after school. This is delightful! I went to bed at the extremely healthy, normal hour of 1am last night. Oh well. SAS is a lot more stressful than BHS because most people are very college-oriented. It’s considered horrible to have a C here, which is like failing. Which isn’t terribly new to me, but it’s weird to be in a school filled with people just like me in that aspect. Or, mostly filled with people like me. There are slackers like at any school, of course. I mean, it IS Singapore AMERICAN School after all. Haha just kidding.
I’d just like to mention how annoying the bus is, since I’m typing this up on the bus and will be posting this when I get home. On the bus ride to school I’m with all grades from Primary to High School, so K-12th. It doesn’t really bother me because no one is really awake anyways. On the ride home, however, the middle schoolers are incredibly load, annoying, and otherwise rude. I really don’t remember ever being that inconsiderate to others when I was in middle school! Sorry I just had to mention that. The good news is, the “school buses” are literally tour buses. For the Bedford kids reading this (if any of you do!), I’d compare them to the buses we took to DC, though without a toilet. ACAS girls, pretty close to the same buses we took around Taiwan, though not pink on the inside. It’s really lovely.
I'm taking pictures for a "Day in the Life of Natalie" photo-set (for lack of a better name) which I'll try to post soon!
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