Singapore - Day 3 - Little India & Singapore Zoo

On the third day in Singapore, we started our adventure with a personal tour guide. Sandy met Joyce in New Zealand and she offered to show us around a bit during our trip! It was so nice to have a local to show us things we wouldn't have seen otherwise!

We started our day with breakfast! Everything Joyce picked for us was new to me, so I was excited! We tried egg roti, carrot cake (not the sweet stuff we're used to back home), and chwee kueh. It all tasted delicious!!

Here are Joyce and Sandy after breakfast!

After that, we headed to Little India to walk around and see the sights. I've never been to a Little India before, so it was quite exciting for me! Almost immediately when we started our journey, we saw a stand with henna! I was so excited because I've always wanted to try it, so I didn't hesitate a minute! It was amazing how fast it was for the man to draw on me!

I was so excited about my henna tattoo!

There were so many colorful things to see! Here are a few pictures:

An interesting thing to us was how the people there dry their clothes. It was so crazy to see these drying racks just sticking out from the buildings, but it makes sense!! Just hope one of the clothes pins doesn't break!

Our next stop was another first for me...a Hindu temple. In Korea, I'm surrounded by Buddhist temples, but I've never seen a Hindu temple until this trip to Singapore. We visited Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple in Little India and it was quite an interesting thing to see. There were definitely still active worshipers there, but there were also lots of tourists, so the combination was a little chaotic and confusing!

After that, Sandy and I headed to another famous place in the city, the Singapore Zoo! For some reason, I've always heard about the zoo, so I was excited to see it for myself. It's hard to explain, but the zoo doesn't really have cages...it's more of an 'open' concept. It doesn't mean you're face to face with the animals...you're separated by a deep ditch or moat in most cases. If you're in Singapore, you should definitely check it out. (On a side note, I don't recommend worrying about the tram fee, the zoo is small enough for walking and we didn't even need to use the tram...so save your $5!)

The zoo is famous for it's collection of orangutans. We got to see a feeding time, and it was incredible to watch them! They were so adorable and I just wanted to take one home with me!!

The zoo is surrounded by lots of lush greenery! This is the lake that's at the zoo.

And, of course, it wouldn't be me if I didn't have at least one flower picture on my trip! These flowers were so unique!

We also went to the Night Safari that is right next to the zoo. My camera doesn't handle night pictures very well, so I didn't even try! I just enjoyed the time without worrying about pictures! It was definitely a good time, and one of my favorite parts of the trip! If you are going to Singapore, you definitely have to check out the Night Safari!

That's all for now...the last Singapore blog coming soon!

Singapore - The First Two Days

Whoo-hoo! My first blog about Singapore!! Have no fear...there are two more on the way!!

My trip to Singapore was a wonderful adventure. It all started with a midnight flight from Seoul to Singapore, with a short stop in Kuala Lumpur. I got to Singapore around 10am and made my way on the subway to my hotel. Of course, I was there before check-in, so I left my luggage and headed for the nearest hawker center. I was starving!!  I had previously watched the Anthony Bourdain review of the city, so I knew the first dish I had to try! Chicken Rice!! It was a great way to start my vacation! It was definitely yummy and super cheap! I really like the hawker center dining they have there...so affordable and delish!!

I spent the first day on my own, exploring the city a little and catching up on some sleep! Sandy joined me in the afternoon of my second day, and we had a full schedule of sightseeing ahead of us! Our first stop was Suntec Mall, where we visited the 'World's Largest Fountain'...the Fountain of Wealth. On the way to the mall, we ran into a giant chocolate bar that we just had to take a picture with!! Ok, it was probably mostly my idea, but who can resist!! I also got a snapshot of a really neat wall in one of the subway stops. It was for the youth olympics held in Singapore in 2010 and each of the tiles was made by different people from around the world (from what I could tell, anyways!). It was really interesting to me!

Finally, we reached the fountain and read the instructions telling us how to make our wishes come true from the fountain. We didn't really believe it would happen, but we followed the instructions anyways! Something like...Walk around the fountain three times, keep you right arm in as you walk around, and make a wish as you walk. I'm not sure if I even wished for something, but it was fun, anyways! Here are a couple pictures of the fountain!

After that, we headed to Merlion (like mermaid + lion) to see the harbor! It was really beautiful and the weather had cooled off a bit from the daytime heat, so it was quite nice! The Merlion is quite a popular thing in Singapore and is representative of the city. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it still made for a nice picture! Here are the shots from Merlion Park:

Hopefully from this picture, you can see three of the most notable sights in the Singapore harbor...from left to right, the Singapore Flyer, the Science & Arts Museum, and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. My camera isn't too keen on night pictures, but you can get the general idea, hopefully!!

So wrapped up my first two days in Singapore...more to come!!

Celebrating Suju's Birthday

Hey, look...I am still alive!! I can't believe it's already been a month since my last post, but I've been a busy girl these days!! Hopefully I can get caught up soon, though!!

August 9 was a very special day for my good friend, Suju! Of course, it was her birthday!! Luckily, Suju was home on summer vacation from Purdue, so I got to celebrate with her! Unluckily, Suju is now back in the States finishing up her degree....but no worries, she'll be back to Korea in a few months!! Here's a look at our celebration:

Suju's 'cheesecake'...which Korea hasn't exactly perfected yet...it wasn't as good as back home, but it was still ok!

Singing Happy Birthday to Suju!!

Me with the birthday girl!!

Suju and me with her mom (in orange) and another lady that works at their family restaurant. Isn't her mom beautiful!?! Suju has a good-looking future ahead of her!

Suju and her little brother...they're just precious!

The birthday feast!! Her mom made my favorite...참치김밥 (tuna sushi roll), even though it wasn't even my birthday!! I was stuffed from all of the amazing food!

Suju, I'll be looking forward to celebrating your 24th with you next year!!

Love Together!

"Love together!!" When I asked the high school girls that I would be teaching for the next three weeks what rule we should add to our list, the class captain said, "Love together!" It became our motto over the course of the next three weeks, as we not only learned about English, but also about life in general!

I got a call a few months ago, asking if I wanted to work this high school camp. But since I knew Kami's second week here would be my first week of camp, I tried to refuse the offer. With the other public school teachers' vacations already scheduled and the lack of available teachers, I had no choice.

So on we went...Christina, Lloyd, Danielle, and me...walking into a school where we had no idea what to expect and no idea what would happen while we were there.

I can only speak for myself, but I must say, this experience definitely ranks among the top in my teaching experiences. It was so amazing to teach these girls! On the first day of class, I walked in the room and the cheered for me! I knew from there, it was going to be a fun class! The girls continually surprised and amazed me.

Here are a few pictures from our time together!

The first day of class! Love together!

We did a lesson on beauty around the world and I wanted the girls to know beautiful they are!

I liked teaching the class in a discussion-style setting. These girls have a great deal of knowledge of the English language, so it was just important for me to get them speaking and using that knowledge.

On our final day of camp, we had a party! It was a lot of fun!

And they decorated the board! It was precious!

All the wonderful ladies!!

They gave me this paper where each of them had written me a sweet letter! I'll cherish it always!

Me and sweet Amy!

For the second hour of the camp, we joined all four classes and had coke floats! They had never had them, so it was a fun treat!!

And so ended the camp at ChungRyeol Girls High School. The camp may be over, but my heart is still happy!!

Kakao Talk

The newest and greatest app to enter my life....Kakao Talk. This is a Korean Messaging app that can be downloaded by anyone with a smartphone or app machine (i.e. iTouch, iPad, etc.). It reminds me a lot of BBM back in my Blackberry days, but it's so much better!!

What makes Kakao Talk so great for me? I can instant message with my family and friends from back home and it's like we're texting back and forth in real time. I definitely can't afford to text internationally, but this app makes my life so much better! And of course it's free!! :)

Why is Kakao Talk better than regular texting?? Well, I already answered the main reason...I can message internationally for free. Also, Kakao talk lets you attach photos and videos into the conversation with great ease! And one of my favorite features...you can know when the other person has read the message. This is great for me because I'm not left wondering if they got my message or not! Another great thing is that you can have group chats with multiple people and you don't have to worry about if you texted everyone or not...just do it in group chat!

So, if you have a smartphone or any kind of electronic that lets you download apps, I recommend this one!! It's amazing!!