Glorious Granada!

I can't believe I almost skipped this city and am so glad Otavio encouraged me to come.  I met Simone at the crack of dawn (for all essential purposes) at our hostel where a swede named Freddie gave us a vibrant descriptions of the city.  I love when he added audio enhancement to his descriptions, mimicking the cha-cha-cha of the ticket printer, the wail of gypsies, drum beats of the flamenco dancers and the battle cries of the crusaders.  Simone, the couchsurfer that I'm staying with is absolutely hilarious.  She's born and raised in Jersey, with the attitude and accent to prove it (when she got her earring stuck in her scarf, she joked "jersey girl problems") but both her parents are Greek and she's currently in Athens teaching rich kids English on a Fulbright.  She's definitely immersed in the culture too- she complimented me on my gloves at one point, and when I lost one, she thought it must be the case of the "evil eye".  In Greek culture, light-eyed people are often the target of envious glares which lead to a day of headaches until cured with burning cotton balls in oil and mixing water and oil.  Or something.  Fortunately, I found my mitten and don't have a headache!

Simone and I with nice view of the city and Alhambra

Anyway, she's a little energizer bunny, up for anything, even after three planes and a bus ride so we took off armed with a bad map and the spirit of exploration.  And there was much to see!  We poked our head into cathedrals, wandered around the Jewish section where we found a minuscule semantic museum in some hidden neighborhood and she invited us to a Hanukkah music concert tomorrow (I doubt we could purposefully find the museum again), had tea in the Arabic section which where hookah pipes and Turkish lanterns spilled into the streets and pet cats at another randomly amazing museum on some painter who liked to collect Asian things.  

Typical Granada street with snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains in the background

The whole day we planned to visit St. Martin Alto for sunset which ended up being a day long epic adventure.  Between our bad maps, tendency to veer off course to investigate interesting looking things and our preference for standing in sunshine (Simone joked "I'm solar powered!  I only function when the sun is out"), it seriously took all day to get there.  We hiked through gypsy territory where ladies tried to put tree branches in my hand and mumble madness about "hijos, amor, vida larga".  We saw people living in mini caves with teensy horses eating grass under garbage outdoors.  We climbed a billion steps to the top of the city to reach our vantage point to enjoy the view- the Alhambra glowing orange, distinct personalities of different neighborhoods and the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.  Definitely worth the hike, especially since rolling down the mountain ended up being a lot more direct.

Sunset from San Miguel Alto

 Friday night, we met up with some locals for tapas in a Valencia-style and some perreo latino (Latin dance).  My British couchsurfers complained how Americans dance so dirty, grinding up on each other and told me they don't do that in Europe.  It was strange to see Spaniards dance to very, sexual Latin music because they do it in a rather spacious more formal way.  But good times were had by all, dancing well into the night!

Famous Court of the Lions at Alhambra

On Saturday, we toured the famous Alhambra palace complex, which they've compared to Taj Mahal and the Acropolis in Greece.  It was absolutely massive- at least three palaces, three giant churches and elaborate gardens.  I think all of the palaces were built by the moors so the palace was covered in colorful mosaics, intricately carved plaster and ornate calligraphy.  Definitely more of a middle eastern vibe that's infinitely more interesting to be than standard European architecture. This city has made me so excited for my trip to Turkey to February because like Istanbul, like Grenada is a city where Jewish, Catholic and Muslim cultures collide and I just love walking down a street selling hookah pipes, spices and tea from the orient then being suddenly surrounded by Stars of David then in front of a huge cathedral.  Grenada also has gypsies in the mix (we're hopefully going to a flamenco show tonight) and the free, elaborate tapas with a 2 euro beverage don't hurt either! Anyway, Simone and I had another lovely day of getting lost, tapas with four locals and perusing the markets.  Nap time now. More later!

Jamon, chocolate & churros y marizipan: more Madrid and Toledo

Day 2 had the perfect blend of culture, deliciousness and more interesting people.  After a morning with cafe con leche, croissant and catching up emails, I met up with the Taiwanese girls for a Spanish feast near the puente del sol, "the center of the center!", as dramatically described by my host.  Madrid is famous for its jamon, and literally there are hams lining the ceiling of restaurants and markets, and they love to shave off slabs to serve with melon, crusty bread or alone.  We went to el museo del jamon to indulgent at one of the most famous places to get it, standing at the counter to enjoy the cheap and delectable meal.  As a vegetarian, I elected for the tortilla espanola, another dish that testifies to Spaniards' abilities to do great things with patatas (and not just smile for photos... It's their version of "cheese"), a vegetable I have never enjoyed before coming here.  After some more wandering, munching and caffeinating, I parted ways with Sarah and Ellen to meet Alexandra at Museo del Prato, "the Spanish louvre".  Alexandra was born in Texas but has lived in London for most of her life, raised by an adventurous family that encourages her to kiss giraffes in Kenya, Safari around almost every country in Africa and adventure in the Middle East.  I felt like a home body after hearing the list of places she's been.    Anyway, I don't usually get too excited about classical art but after finding out students get in free and hearing couchsurfers rave about it, I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did!  In addition to seeing famous works by Goya and el Bosco that I remember learning about in Spanish class, the collection contained many religious paintings but several were portrayed with a surprising sense of humor.  Vibrant colors that last 600+ years, photo-like precision and larger-than-life paintings that spanned the wall took my breath away.  After our daily dose of culture, Alex brought me to madrid's oldest churreria.  We waited in a line that spilled out the door to share churros and chocolate, a treat more typically enjoyed post-party, during pre-dawn hours.  But the place was packed even before dinner... Who doesn't love thick, fried sticks doused in a steamy mug of melted dark chocolate?

Churros and chocolate with Alexandra

After Alexandra, I met up with Rob, a quiet but super sweet computer scientist who brought me to the couchsurfing language exchange at a cozy bookstore.  Lead by a very Nordic looking Minnesotan, it was mostly Spaniards trying to improve their English but I met an Italian mathematician too.  Interesting conversation ensued, discussing eating alligators and the depressed Spanish economy.  Rob took me on a scenic walk past more Christmas lights and historic area of towns to meet up with my host. Martin saw me swaggering like a sailor because of the blisters from my boots and recommended a perfect bar, where we reclined on cushions and people-watched (the bar was close to the gay part of town).  I must admit, I thought people from Asheville were intense with their unapologetic, full frontal staring at strangers.  At least three times in Spain so far, groups of people brazenly stare and talk about me, in front of my face.  I usually hear "rubia", "guapa" and "solo" (blonde, good looking, alone) so it's awkward but it could be worse.  And they love it when I pipe in with some Spanish.  At this bar, a few middle aged people were making bets whether or not I was a professor.  The flight attendant on the plane to Spain asked me whether I was going home for Christmas, even though I practically knocked her over with my big backpacking pack.  How these people get these ideas is beyond me but the middle aged people were pretty close.  Woot for giving off nerdy vibes!

Me near the Metropolis, one of the most photogenic sites of Madrid on the Christmas light tour

For my final day in "Madrid", Roberto, the Taiwanese girls and I met for a day trip to Toledo, a walled city famous for marzipan, mosaics and swords, about an hour away.  Toledo was adorable, with its windy streets, multicultural Arabic, Jewish and Christian influence and hilly panoramas.  We mostly just wandered, delightfully perdidos (lost) in Toledo,  peeking into churches and re-appearing in people's back alleys.

Ellen, Sarah and I with Cervantes in Toledo

I considered staying in Madrid for another night for a holiday party with Otavio and friends but when I heard they gather at 10:00, go out at 1:00 and come back at 6:00 am, I elected to take advantage of the rainy weather and hop on a bus to Granada.  I'm looking forward to "Spain's most tourist city", especially because I'll be joined tomorrow morning by Simone, a solo traveler from Greece who will bring the sunrise when she arrives at 7 AM.  We also hope to meet up with a pink-haired Bostonian working in a hotel there.
Thanks for reading- I wish I had the time/resources to make these entries more like the blogging I've practiced for epicure and culture, but given the circumstances, hopefully you find it somewhat educational/entertaining.

It's a small world after all: Madrid day 1

Greetings from a bus gliding through the rain to Granada.  As I warned in the previous post, this entry is going to be pretty bare-bones since I have no way to add photos and trying to handle life with this silly iPad's touch screen and ridiculous autocorrect is pretty diffult.  Especially when your advisor wants you to change your dissertation topic for the second time in a week and move to Tallahassee, Florida.  And work with a technology-inept nuclear physicists that sends you cryptic emails without the Rosetta Stone to make send out of them.  But that's not what this blog is about.
So Spain! Europe was never high on my travel list... Probably near the bottom to be honest.  Why?  Everyone goes there, it's not too different from what I'm used to and expensive.  But for solo travel, Spain was a great choice especially with couchsurfers enhancing every moment.  When they said, it's easy to travel around Europe, they weren't kidding.  I sailed through the border with no forms, no questions and barely a glance to check my face, after he already stamped my passport.  I'm definitely practicing my Spanish- even the people at the airport tourist booth didn't speak English.  Didn't know where the metro was.  I'm not really sure who hires these people.

David at the gardens of the royal palace- I had to sneak this one- he's camera shy!

Fortunately, David came to my rescue.  He's a Peruvian who has been here for three months for a graduate program in renewable energy.  As much as I didn't want to be an engineer, it's pretty nice to have them around and he navigated me to the city center, got me lined up with a Spanish number and gave me a fantastic tour of a city he's only recently discovered himself.  We strolled around plazas filled with Christmas markets, the royal palace, royal gardens, by the river, through several parks and by the famous museums.  Like me, David has noticed that the Spanish people have a leisurely way of life and tend to disappear for siesta when you need them.  Like when you arrive at the airport at a reasonable hour and the SIM card booths are closed, or the bank takes random days off and David joked that the Spanish ducks swimming at the beautiful Retiro park probably disappear for siesta too.  After a few hours, we met up with Taiwanese girls who scrutinized me upon arrival, "were you playing in the airport?".  I replied in confusion, "like an instrument?  Hopscotch? I don't think so" and finally they remembered that I asked them to watch my backpack when I went to the bathroom back at JFK. Small world!

Reunited with the JFK bag watchers at the Royal Gardens

After continued explorations, I had worked up quite the appetite by the time I met up with Roberto, is a madridelo (Madrid born and raised) geophysicist.  He showed me some other areas of the city, decked out for Christmas, sharing Madrid's history and traditions.  I'm a little disappointed I won't be here for New Years to eat twelve grapes and ring twelve bells.  Speaking of traditions, I got to experience tapas at el Tigre, which may be my favorite thing about Spain thus far.  You buy a beer for 2 euros and it comes with a huge plate of bread and cheese, crispy potatoes, jamon and other meat treats.  He did research on glaciers and mountains in Patagonia in Argentina and Chile and it was interesting to hear how those periods of complete isolation changed his outlook on life.

My first tapas at Le Tigre... life-changing!

After Roberto, I met another Peruvian, my host Martin.  He's literally living my dream as journalist for El Mundo, the most widely read newspaper for Spanish speakers, and a novelist.  Martin is a self-described dreamer, who grew up in the poorest areas of Lima and has no family left but now he travels the world reporting on a variety of cultural, political and economic issues.  He's a character with thick-framed glasses, swooping hair, a tablet in reach and a poetic way of seeing the world.  We started in a local teen hangout with cheap alcohol, more delicious potatoes and olives which he would flamboyantly pop in his mouth, raving about them as "jewels of Spain".   With food in our bellies, he took me into a hole in the wall wine shop with dusty bottles piled from floor to ceiling.  We sampled wines from Spain's three regions... The most famous, the most underrated and his favorite. I'm a fan!  And of Madrid day 1 in general!

Me and my Madrid host, Martin, the journalist living the dream

Here today, Spain tomorrow! Not sure what to be doing with myself right now

If you haven't heard, I decided yesterday to go to Spain tomorrow.  If you’re like most people I’ve told, you might be nodding empathetically.  And about ten minutes later, realize what I actually said.  I barely believe it myself, but it’s happening. 

Why Spain? Why now?  I’ll tackle the second question first- this week, I switched my dissertation topic and went from a 0% to 60% completion overnight, with my committee member’s blessings.  I also retroactively got reimbursed with two grand of student fees (thank you National Science Foundation!).  Switching my dissertation topic also means the clock is ticking for me to take advantage of the flexible freedom of graduate school and being able to write from everywhere.  And the way time flies these days, I’ve realized time is the most precious resource and what better time to live life to the fullest than when you’re young, able-bodied and relatively free?

Why Spain?   They say Disney World is the happiest place on earth but when I look at pictures of Barcelona’s carefree, colorful architecture, I can’t imagine how anyone could walk around the city without a smile on their face.  I’m completely smitten (and expect to be disappointed) but until I see it for myself, I’ll keep dreaming about skipping through streets surrounded by a blend of modern, gothic and renaissance self-expression.  It’ll be nice to revive my Spanish skills before they meet an irreversible demise.  I’ve never been to Europe and it should be a pretty safe place for my first completely unchartered solo travel adventure.  And because one of my couch surfing friends here is going to Madrid over break (he's Brazilian but has lived in Madrid the last nine years and loves it) and he didn’t think my plan was crazy.  Well, maybe he did, but he thought random adventures like this give life flavor.  If other people in Spain embrace this kind of insanity, I’ll be in a good place.  And last-minute flights were absurdly reasonably priced.  We’ll see if those are actually good reasons.

I know probably should be a frenzied machine of frantic preparation but things are falling into place so I thought I deserved a writing break.  The past 45 minutes I spent dancing in one sock and teal leggings, transporting random articles from my closet into my backpack to Shakira radio on Pandora.   Multi-tasking packing with practicing my salsa shake made one of my least favorite activities infinitely more bearable. 

And as previously mentioned, I think I’m in pretty good shape for the next two weeks.  Within 48 hours of this decision, I have an itinerary and I’ve found friends almost everywhere I’m going.  Between Otta, his friends and couch surfers, I’ve got plenty of help for three days in Madrid.  I found a Greek girl who I should be able to travel to and stay with in Grenada.  From Grenada, I’ll take the overnight train to Barcelona where several friendly people volunteered to show me around.  For the Christmas festivities, I’ll be celebrating and staying in a hostel with a couple other travelers- an Indian engineer who works with Saab in Switzerland currently and his American friend that he met at the University of Maryland.  From there, I’m flying to Lisbon where three people offered to host me.  I’m getting such good vibes from that city and can’t wait!  After four days in Lisbon, I’ll fly back to Madrid and fly home in time to watch the acorn drop in Raleigh for New Year’s Eve.

So we’ll see how this goes! I’m leaving my computer home so I’m not sure how many pictures and good quality posts I’ll be able to share during my journey.  I want to switch to Wordpress one of these days but that’s why I decided to wait a little longer because pecking on an ipad does not lead to award-winning narration. 

I’ll close with a quote from Jack London, “I would rather be ashes than dust.  I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot.  I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in a magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.  The function of man is to live, not to exist.  I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.  I shall use my time”.

RDU-DCA-FRA-BLR-BKK-CNX-HKT-SIN-KCH-SIN-KUL-REP-KUL-SIN-DPS-SIN-CMB-SIN-CEB-SIN-NRT-IAD-RDU-(SFO-SEA-ORD-RDU)

I apologize in advance for this slightly disjointed post- I started it this morning in Singapore but haven't gotten a chance to finish it until 20 plane hours later, a twelve hour time difference in DC.  I don't even know which way is up anymore but I'm chewing on gum (illegal in Singapore) and happy to be back in the States.  Even though I spent over two hours waiting in immigration and security lines, which would never happen in Asian airports (the guy next to me said "so this is what hell feels like.  Crowds, chaos, ill-functioning air-conditioning.  Well, if it was really hell, Celine Dion would be singing.").  I'm pretty pumped there's only another hour of waiting, a 75 minute flight and a squishy ride under my suitcase in Zach's Miata between me and home.  So here goes nothing!

Whew!  I don't know how many of you were following my blog from the beginning but I started this summer's journey with a list of booked airplane codes.  The list has since exploded!  I'm currently in the  Changi airport (Singapore), a place that is starting to feel like a second home after being here almost every weekend.  But it's quickly nearing time to say goodbye, not just to the airport but to all the places and all the people that have made the last eight weeks so perfect.
This week didn't disappoint.  As I mentioned, on Tuesday, I met up with Etkin and Zooey, my Turkish and Vietnamese couchsurfing friends respectively, for an evening in West Coast Park.  Poor Zooey had an accident where she toppled off Etkin's longboard "like an unbalanced potato" just prior to me meeting them at UTown.  But she was a trooper and still enjoyed the evening, rocking an ice pack like a sexy, off-kilter hat.   I love discovering new places until the very end and West Coast Park was a perfect choice, especially after giving the NUS-Yale talk and finishing my slides for the final presentation.  I've had a lot of fun this summer, but made an effort to remain a responsible adult, living and working in a foreign place.  Playing in the park felt reverting to childhood, devoid of externally or internally imposed responsibilities.  We hopped on the bus, made a pitstop at 7-11 to stock up on snacks which we consumed while walking around.  We settled "seaside" to watch the illuminated boats and tankers floating in and out of the port, dropping off shipping containers and dissolving back off in the distance.  The scene helped me appreciate the transience of life- people constantly come and go, things change but sometimes, you just need to stay calm and let things happen.  A beautiful Australian Aboriginal Proverb that captures the experience far better than I can is as follows: "We are all visitors to this time, this place.  We are just passing through.  Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love and then we return home".  And all I can say is: mission accomplished!

I forgot my camera but here's someone else's picture of the Park

To switch to a less serious note, after about an hour and a half, Ken, Louis and Kevin found us (apparently West Coast Park is big enough that its important to confirm a more specific meeting place than "close to the 7-11" because 7-11's are everywhere in Asia).  We climbed the jungle gym, the boys took turns pushing each other on the baby zip-line and the evening ended with milkshakes in McDonalds.  Definitely an evening designed for teens without licenses, but also ideal to get me ready to throw off the bowlines and sail away from the safe harbor that's been my home for the past two months.Wednesday was the much anticipated wine and cheese in an al fresco bar at the top of one of the supertrees.  

"Charlie's Angels" enjoying our wine above Gardens by the Bay

Sipping on French/Australian wines and nibbling on cheese, watching the sunset with excellent views of marina bay sands and the port was the perfect way to enjoy the company of many of my favorite people from this summer.  Dawn, Deb and Alissa came and Alissa brought her mom and sister who just got into town to visit.  Meeting Alissa's mom made it clear where her adventurous spirit came from... Her parents took the whole family with four kids on a road trip across Australian when Alissa was six.  At some point, they were given the option to enjoy a local delicacy where you load your mouth full of ants smack your lips in such a way that they urinate.  Alissa's mom, Pat, was the only one brave enough to try.  Alissa also remembered napping while her family decided to share their staple food, wonderbread, with the local wallabies.  She woke up to a baby wallaby eating bread off her stomach!  Alissa got to do the semester at sea program as an undergraduate and her moms considering doing the same, through their life-long learner a program.  I hope I'm that spunky when I'm her age- I have a hard enough time convincing my parents to visit me in Raleigh, never mind halfway across the world!

Alissa's sister, mom, Alissa, Lauren, Deb, Dawn and me: sunset and MBS

Lauren (who gave me Japanese cooking lessons) was the one who invited me so she was there and we finally got to meet her fiancé.  They're also amazingly adventurous, living in Asia for the past three years.  They are getting married in Bali next month and their wedding sounds dreamy.  Duly, the dumpling girl, also materialized out of thin air, dressed all in black and looking like a ninja.  It was fun to be surrounded by some of my favorite people from this summer (some more random than others), especially since everyone got along so well.

Thursday, I met my host researcher for lunch and Thursday night, Kevin, ken and I met up with some couch surfers for a foodie tour of bedok.  While we were in the Philippines, Deb met up with Jan, the queen foodie multiple times for delicious dishes and good conversation.  This time, we were joined by four girls from the Philippines and three Singaporeans (two were native).  Jan and her friend took us to a hawker center and they sure knew their stuff- most of the dishes had meat so I just learned about them but jan ordered me some delectable braised tofu, bean cake and eggplant at a vegetarian stall.  I wish I had met them earlier in the program because I wasn't all that impressed with food in Singapore but that probably would have changed if I knew what to eat.  I couldn't stay for the whole evening since the following morning was an early one but after I left, they continued their excursion with a supermarket tour and durian.

Friday morning was our closing ceremony.  We gave talks on each of our research projects and a group talk on our experience in Singapore, got more free swag and heard speeches from their national research foundation and representatives from the universities.  Then had a catered lunch and it was over!  As suddenly as it began.  Pretty hard to believe.

I went for one last swim, donated my dolphin kick board to future generations and said goodbye to the lifeguards and cleaning lady (who approaches me daily, so excited you'd think I was her long lost daughter.  I don't really understand what she's saying but I always smile, laugh and wave vigorously back).  Some of us did dinner at "the flaming Indian" (actually called "flames of India" but that's so much less dramatic) then ken and I met up with Kevin, Dave, Louis and the irrespective girlfriends at boat quay.  New neighborhood even on the last night!  We hung out for awhile, tasted some green beer (brewed with spirulina... supposedly good for you!?!), danced to some acoustic punk rockers and I called it a night, considering my 4 am wake-up call the next morning.

So that was my amazeballs summer!  Between having the round-trip flights taken care of, generous stipends in Singapore and the US and SE being so cheap, I'm not even going to end the summer "in the red", despite having all these priceless experiences.  All my weekend trips together cost less than a roundtrip flight to one of those places.  I highly recommend SE Asia to all my readers!  Deb and I definitely want to backpack Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia and visit Myanmar before it gets too touristy so I don't think this summer will be my last excursion in that part of the world.  But I'm in no immediate rush for that... it's crazy enough that in about 36 hours, I'm leaving for a road trip from San Francisco to Seattle with two of my roommates from undergrad.  Then it'll be realllly nice to stay in one place for the awhile.  I'm planning to just enjoy (and not blog) that trip.  But thanks for reading this summer- I know I'm hard to keep up with- last I checked, I had 4281 pageviews which is pretty ridiculous!  Signing off until next time!  Oh and if you want to see a video slideshow from my photos this summer, check it out here! 

Turnin' Avocado to Guacamole

Final countdown begins!  Only three full days left in Singapore.  Fortunately, I've been able to cross off all the last major things off my Singapore bucket list.
Last Tuesday, Jen, Dawn, Marie and I finally made it to the famous Gardens by the Bay, which was incredibly impressive even for someone who doesn't know too much about flowers.  The cab driver told us that the gardens contained over 70,000 types of vegetation.  Jen and I focused on redeeming our Groupon to see the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest conservatories.  The Flower Dome featured gardens from around the world, including some crazy Baobab trees (from Australia, if I recall correctly) that inspired the Supertrees that they illuminated each night.  The Cloud Forest was undisputedly my favorite- despite the humid moistness was frizzing my hair beneath its braids.  It featured a 35 meter high man made waterfall covered with a variety of orchards and ferns, which you could explore from the inside on multiple levels- I've never seen anything like it.

Waterfall at the cloud forest

We finished those gardens just in time for the simultaneously futuristic and tribal Supertree sound and light show- it felt like a cross between the Lion King and Star Trek.  Tomorrow, I'm meeting Lauren, Daly (my dumpling friend) and some fellowship people for wine and cheese inside one of the Supertrees!  So pumped- Lauren went last month and said she felt like she was inside a James Bond movie.

Supertree Grove

Speaking of fun Wednesdays, I think Wednesdays are favorite day of the week in Singapore.  Last Wednesday was particularly amazeballs because Ken got the EAPSI gang a room at Marina Bay Sands.  AND we got upgraded to a premiere room on the 47th floor with a ginormous bathtub.  I'm not used to staying places so nice- we called down to order some ice and ask for extra cups.  They called back, what kind of cups we would need.  Sure enough, when we opened the cubard, we found at least a dozen cups: coffee mugs, wine glasses, beer mugs, tumblers, highball glasses... more glassware than I know how to name!

Alissa jumping up and down- blur of excitement!

We didn't linger too long because fellow fellows were flooding in and we didn't want to miss out on our Ladies Night free drinks.  Almost everyone showed up and it was a fun way to celebrate a successful and truly unforgettable summer.

Katie, Dawn and Alissa in the infinity pool

Once Alissa and I stopped jumping for joy over the spacious epicness of the room, we donned bathrobes and headed to the infinity pool on the 57th floor. Nothing can beat the viewing experience of peering over the edge of the pool to see the illuminated city, spilling out before you.  It's where the musical genius B.o.b. shot his "Livin' the high life" music video (I think I shared it in an earlier post), rapping to life changing lyrics, including those in the title of this post (just kidding, it's an awful song but we like it for nostalgic reasons).

Most of the Marina Bay Sands crowd- some of the boys were still having fun in the room

Work has been going well too.  Last Monday, I gave a successful talk at NUS high school, despite being bleary-eyed after stepping off my Sri Lanka flight at 5 AM.  All of the physics teachers came and most stayed an hour and a half after my talk to chat (and eat yummy snacks).  Prior to my talk, I got a private tour of the impressive facilities.  Singapore definitely is doing some extremely innovative things with their education system.  NUS high school is exempt from national exams and they exploit that freedom to get students engaged in high level research opportunities, machine shop classes and electronics labs.  One student independently constructed Tesla Coils (a project beyond the capabilities of his teachers- they just gave him space to work).  Pretty impressive for 7-12th graders!

Today, I gave my final educational outreach "talk" to NUS-Yale college, which I was a little nervous about because the professors there were by far my most educated audience.  The acceptance rate for students was only 4% (in the first year of operation!) and students turned down Stanford and Yale to attend this brand-new school.  Dr. Adams, who I had met with before, was born in Kenya, earned degrees from Stanford, Oxford and Cornell, earned the prestigious National Research Fellowship scholarship in Singapore and helped set up a S$225 million educational initiative as a graduate student! He encouraged me to read the faculty bios of the RSVPed attendees and everyone was Ivy League educated, innovative and adventurous.  And he wanted me to provide a ten-minute introduction to SCALE-UP then lead a two-hour discussion so I had no idea what they were going to ask me.  Over a dozen people showed up which was an impressive turnout considering they have a small staff to begin with and everyone's nervous about classes starting next week.  I wish I knew more specific details about SCALE-UP implementations in the humanities (NUS-Yale College is Asia's first Liberal Arts College so they have a strong presence in the humanities) but at least I could successfully direct them to further resources.  Most of them stayed all two hours and it was cool to hear about their visions for the school.  Everyone gets the 7th week of classes off and students are encouraged to go on interdisciplinary trips- that sounds right up my alley!  And I got jokingly offered a job so they must have liked me.

So life is good!  Vice President Biden visited Singapore this past weekend and I was kinda bummed to have to turn down my invite since I'd be in the Philippines (in Dawn's approximate words "Superpumped to be invited to VP Biden's visit to Singapore.  Bummed to miss it.  Superpumped to miss it because I'll be in the Philippines") but the cohort who went, said we didn't miss much (just a 30 minutes broadcasting America's greatness).  So that was a relief.  Tonight, I'm meeting Etkin and some other couchsurfers at West Coast Park for some good brews and views.  Tomorrow is Wine and Cheese in the Supertrees, Thursday is lunch with the lab, Friday is the closing ceremony and Saturday morning, I'm off!

This summer has been the ultimate amazing adventure.  I've accomplished all I wanted (and more!) so I think I'll be happy to be home.  I told Zach that this summer was the traveling equivalent of a thanksgiving feast- it'll be nice to wallow in the equivalent of the subsequent "food coma", blissfully filled with good travels, good times and good memories.  I'm definitely looking forward to cooking, eating oatmeal, getting back into yoga, playing with Effie, seeing everyone and enjoying ant-free workspaces and warm showers.  

I won't be surprised if the next time I write, I'm in the airport- so enjoy life until then!

And then the cops took us home (Philippines)

My last weekend in Asia came and went, spent in the Philippines, the 9th country I visited this summer.  Alissa had heard amazing things about the country, especially the chocolate hills and the 5-6" tall big-eyed monkeys called tarsiers so it was off to Bohol we went.

We flew into Cebu then took a ferry almost immediately to Bohol, excited about relaxing at our beachfront resort.  When we landed at the ferry terminal, we figured we should take advantage of arriving in the largest city on the island to do some exploring and grab a much overdue lunch.  Honestly, we were quite shocked- poverty isn't a foreign concept after spending a summer in Southeast Asia but it hit us in the face here.  Immediately after leaving the boat, we were surrounded by a swarm of dirty, young kids looking for money, food, water or even empty water bottles. I had gotten a restaurant suggestion from the official tourism board and it turned out to be a dingy seaside shack with food sitting out on the table in assorted Tupperware containers.  No thanks!  And we weren't going to try the street food, where a woman was fanning flies of sticks of meat.  Dodging drivers who wanted us to enlist their ricks has services, we finally arrived at what we thought was a semi-acceptable place.  We enjoyed our meal but Dawn got food poisoning from her pork and rice.  After eating, we were all ready to get out of there and we hired a driver henry to take us to our hotel and he became our driver for the weekend since he was so adorable and eager to please.  It was a pretty drive through tidal beaches, fishing villages and lush rain forests.  When we arrived at our resort, we were "lei-Ed" with shell necklaces and a warm welcome by the American owner, John (after our experience in the city, this was a relief!).  Then we enjoyed a leisurely evening of a delicious dinner, swinging in the hammocks on the beach to the sound of the ocean, swimming in the pool then a feisty game of spades where the blondes (Alissa and I) decidedly dominated the brunettes (Ken and Dawn).  We went to bed relatively early to prepare for an early saturday morning start.

On Saturday, our driver picked us up nice and early to beat the crowds at the chocolate hills.  Legend has it that these 1200 hills were created by giants in a mud fight.  Now people know the hills are made of coral and the chocolate hills turn green in the rainy season (which is when we visited), but they were still pretty cute.  Originally, we hoped we could hike the hills but it turns out that visitors can only visit several outlooks because an abundance of snakes and pythons in the area.  We decided to do an atv tour to get a little closer which was a good choice.  We drove through the heart of a small village, where we passed families of four on mopeds, smiling children sandwiched between their poncho-wearing children.  Dawn was going to skip the tour since she didn't feel week, but the guide invited her on the back of his motorcycle and both of them were grinning the whole way.

Tree pose in front of a tree and a chocolate hill (not so chocolate during the rainy season)

ATV/dune buggy team!

The next major stop was the tarsier conservation center.  Alissa loves monkeys- she's the one who wanted to do orangutans in Kuching, let a monkey climb her on the monkey forest in Bali so this was on her bucket list, because tarsiers can only be found on this island.  The monkeys are nocturnal (but several woke up to peer at us through their big round eyes) and teensy tiny.  They hung out throughout the center, curled up on tree branches underneath palm tree umbrellas and they were pretty adorable.

Alissa and I being tarsiers at the tarsier conservation center

Dawn, Alissa and I and a real tarsier- so tiny!

All morning it had been raining so we decided to skip the river cruise, hanging bridge and butterfly garden and head back to our resort.  After lunch, it cleared up enough for Alissa and I to o snorkeling off the hotel beach.  The boat man hooked us up with snorkels and flippers and even paddled us out to the conservation sanctuary that was supposed to be the best spot.  Unfortunately, with all the rain, the water wasn't clear and couldn't see much even though we knew we were above extensive reef.  However the water was lovely, we had a good swim and most importantly, we made friends with that boat man who encouraged us to come out to a local joint for karaoke that night.  I met a Filipino at marina bay sands on Wednesday who wrote an extensive itinerary, including all the night life hot spots, food and drink recommendations and a day trip to swim with whale sharks.  It turns out that we couldn't do most of it,being based in Bohol so when he heard this, he seconded the boat man's advice "When all else fails, karaoke with Filipinos is always a good time".  

After a leisurely afternoon, reading in hammocks, talking to the bartender over piña coladas and an early dinner, rumor had gotten around to the staff that we planned to sing and they were so excited that we'd be hitting up their after work hangout.   the boat man insisted on walking us over to the karaoke bar at the neighboring seaside resort.  As the only foreigners, we received a celebrity welcome.  It took awhile to drag Alissa away from the new puppy lucky at the entrance, but they stationed us front and center and plopped down an incredibly massive songbook.  Dawn fearlessly took the stage and we later attempted some "vanilla ice ice baby" , sweet Caroline and gangsters paradise in between some of the wait staff who stranded us with Filipino songs.  In the meantime, I talked to the owner who just bought the property three months and had quite the ambitious vision for the place.  Bohol is supposedly the "next big tourist destination" and the owners want to build the biggest pool in the island, 20 villas and expand their reputation for the nightlife.  it seems to be the only place to go in central Bohol but its only frequented by locals- i think most tourists are superlame and don't leave their resorts.  The owner wanted our permission to switch from karaoke to "disco" then the party really got started.  Besides the waitresses and a couple older fearless Filipinos, it was definitely mostly us on the dancefloor.  Accompanied by our admirers, who literally lined up for the chance to dance.  Ken said "you literally made those guys night.  Week.  Year.  They probably thought they were dancing with an angel with your white dress, blonde hair and blue eyes".  An Angel who can't dance, I replied, especially considering Ken was literally sweeping the waitresses off their feet!  But we had an amazing time, especially when the bartender from our resort joined us after her shift.  Everyone wanted to take pictures with us and by the time the night was over, i think we had pictures of everyone, thanks to the click-happy bartender documenting the ridiculousness.  And we still got extra perks- the kitchen staff brought us over barbecued pork sticks (which made Ken happy) and the owners took us up to the roof to explain their vision for the place.  When we had danced our hearts out and were ready to head back, the bar tender convinced the local police to give us a complimentary lift back to the resort and three of them happily squeezed together in the front seat to make room.  We decided the night was a type I success: "good times, good story" and the perfect way to make the best of a rainy day.

Sunday, we slept in a little with the hopes of heading into the city to see a parade and dance contest.  But the rain was back so the parade was postponed to the afternoon.  Fortunately, Henry had a back-up plan so we saw one of the oldest coral churches in Asia, a cave where soldiers would hide out during WWII and the blood table ancient human sacrifice area.  It cleared up a bit, so he took us to Pongol, the famous beach that stretches 4 km and houses most of the main resorts.  He dropped us on the local beach, which earned us some weird looks and worried Henry who thought we'd want the white sand exclusive tourist parts.  The beach was beautiful- we wanted to stay but we had to catch the ferry to begin the journey back to the airport.

Overall, the weekend was excellent.  I don't know if I'd recommend Bohol (especially not for a weekend trip from Singapore- between the four hour flight and two hour ferry time, it's a lot of transit for three days).  The Philippines in general would probably be nice- filipinos are awesome, its cheap and the snorkeling/scuba is supposed to be some of the best in the world.  But we had a blast, we were able to thoroughly explore the island and it was nice to relax and catch up on sleep for once... I'm giving a talk to nus high school on Tuesday morning and we have to do a couple final presentations for the closing ceremony, so it'll be nice to start the week with some energy.  Thanks for reading- link to full photos here.