Life is good.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!  So many things are happening right now that I have no time to catch my breath.  Just the way I like it...

Thursday afternoon five friends and I boarded a ferry for Bintan Island, Indonesia one and a half hours from Singapore.  We stayed in a hostel called the Ocean Bay Resort on the western, less inhabited part of the island.  Ocean Bay was held up by stilts over the water, very similar to a place I stayed at in Bocas Del Toro, Panama during my last study abroad trip.  It was a very laid back place with a restaurant, some pool tables and games, a television, and some small huts to stay in.  On Friday morning we took a boat taxi with three other hostel guests to a neighboring island with nothing more than a small shack, white sand beaches, and crystal clear water.  It was exactly what I had been looking for.  Saturday, we rented scooters and sped across the island until monsoon rains ended our plans early.  We decided to check out of the hostel and spend the remainder of our day in Tanjong Pinang, a medium sized city on the island. We met plenty of local university students who wanted to interview us tourists and practice their English.  They were thrilled to hear about our home countries and what we thought of Indonesia.  The students even joined us at the local bowling alley for awhile.  Great fun was Bintan Island!

In the next three days I have two mid-terms and a big presentation.  However, I am visiting my friend Derek in Cambodia on Thursday for recess week!  I will be in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap for a total of 9 days for my last big traveling trip until the end of the semester.  I am extremely excited to see how God has blessed the ministry where Derek works.  Many people are enslaved in the sex trade in Cambodia, and Derek, along with many others and the power of the Holy Spirit, are trying to put an end to it.  Cambodia will be very different from the first world, westernized culture of Singapore.  I hope that my eagerness for the trip will speed my academic week to its finish.  I'm feeling so blessed to have experienced so much in my short time in SE Asia.

Love to all my readers!

Feel the Rhythm

I definitely feel as if I've gotten into the "swing of things" here in Singapore.  Some help came from Disney's infamous "Cool Runnings" movie, while much more came from the Lord.  I no longer have to frequently look at my class schedule to remember the times and locations of my courses.  I am going to bed at decent times while strictly following my marathon training plan.  For the most part, I'm even staying up on my studying, e-mails, and communication with people here and back home.  Even more, my 10-day stomach from last week finished on Friday.  I feel great!

This past Saturday three friends and I completed a sort of obstacle race that was a ton of fun.  For $5 a person we got a great shirt, free movie ticket, lunch, beer, and a wonderful time.  My group even won a dance-off to the current South Korean phenomenon "Gangnam Style" which earned us $100.  Sunday, I finally made it to Church in the morning where I enjoyed a great service and met some awesome people.  Yesterday, my first small group for Campus Crusade had dinner and got to know each other.  In addition, this week I have been eagerly getting ready for my weekend in Bintan Island, Indonesia, just a short ferry ride from Singapore.  After finishing "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" in the past two weeks I'm optimistic and thinking I can finish another book this weekend at the beach.  Any suggestions?!

World Traveler: Level 2

If you have a spoken to several different people who have done a significant amount of traveling you will come to realize that they have many similar stories.  When I say similar stories, yes, there is the chance that maybe two different people both went to Thailand's floating market or the Panama Canal on separate occasions.  However, I'm talking about similar stories that could happen nearly anywhere in the world.  As the list of similarities develops it makes you think that maybe there are different levels that you can reach as a world traveler.  For instance, if I couch surf in three different countries maybe that will earn me five points!  Well, I have decided that there must be some credential for a stomach "virus" that lasts over a week.  Meaning, I have a reached a new level! 

I have seen the doctor here twice this week receiving a few new medicines each time.  He told me to return on Saturday so hopefully he can have one last look.  I have no idea how it started, but I have a few good guesses.  Is pork fat on a stick really sanitary when it has been reheated for 1 minute?  Why was that watermelon only 25 cents?  It couldn't have been the mango sticky rice, it was so good!  As much as I rather be out in about in another country, this is not the worst that could happen.  I assure you I am not dying.  Oh, and I may have "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" done by the end of the weekend.

Love you all!

Phase Two

Ladies and Gentlemen, I actually had a very relaxing weekend in Singapore, for multiple reasons. 1) Traveling is expensive. 2) Traveling is tiring.  Spending back-to-back weekends in two of the biggest cities in SE Asia exhausts even the hardiest college traveler.  It was time for a break. 3) The bacteria may have gotten the best of me.  As I mentioned to a friend, most Singapore food stations would not pass the United States' strict health and safety codes.  Tomorrow I plan to go to the medical center to figure out if I do indeed have a small stomach virus.  4) Nanyang Technological University is ranked as a top 50 university in the world on multiple lists.  In other words, assignments and studying must be completed at some point.  In addition, I am registered for two classes at home.  5) Finally, I signed up for a marathon in December!  This is a feat I have wanted to accomplish for many months.  I hope that the discipline of this training will carry over into the other areas of my life.

Other news: I found a mentor from Campus Crusade for Christ that I plan to meet with every week, I bought my round-trip ticket to Phnom Penh to hang out with my brother Derek for recess week, I am seriously considering spending the money to get my scuba diving certification soon!

Thanks for reading!

That was an experience

I cannot imagine there is any city in the world similar to Bangkok.  It was the largest city I have been to, next to New York City.  The culture is very eclectic and fast-paced.  We stayed at a hotel connected to the tallest building in Thailand, the Baioke Sky Hotel.  The view from the buffet at the top left a similar impression as the summit of Pike's Peak.

What exactly did I do in Thailand?  Here's a small list: rode an elephant, ate a giant grasshopper, cruised through the floating market, received an authentic Thai massage ($6 for 60 minutes!), had some phenomenal mango sticky rice, went to a market full of 20,000 shops, visited some amazing temples, went to the largest jewelry store in the world, experienced some crazy nightlife, I think that is sufficient!

I am actually staying in Singapore this weekend, what a crazy thought.  It is time to relax, get some work done, and hopefully meet more locals.  The excitement phase and first month are finished, now it's time to get down to business.

Thanks for reading!  I'll figure out a way to let all viewers leave comments right meow.