Singapore, How I WIll Miss You

As our fourth week in Singapore has drawn to an end and our fifth week here has begun, we have all started to feel a bit panicky about our quickly approaching departures. There is so much left to do and so little time to do it all. If you had told me at the beginning of this trip that I would be so reluctant to leave my little room in PGP, or that it would come to seem so much like home, I wouldn’t have believed you. We have all been rushing to see every corner of Singapore, while also getting our school work done and trying to somehow find a little time to sleep in between. It is always entertaining to leave class in the afternoon and see the little trashcan outside the door overflowing with our coffee cups.

Colleen and I have made our own list of things that we must do before leaving Singapore, and we have been working on ticking them off one-by-one as our time here winds down. On Saturday our whole group visited the island Pulau Ubin and enjoyed another afternoon of bike riding. However, to my relief, the bike trail was much milder and the bike seats much more cushiony than those from the Malaysia bike ride. The trip to Pulau Ubin marked our last mandatory activity in Singapore as a group, and now we have the remainder of our afternoons to squeeze in everything on our lists. I have spent many of the past days venturing out with just one or two other people, enjoying not attracting the attention that a large group of 25 Americans tends to receive, as we explored Arab Street, shopped in the markets at Bugis, and visited the Chinese Gardens. And of course, some of my favorite memories are the long dinners in hawker centers, just people-watching and enjoying one another's company.

We are constantly amazed at how much everyone has been doing for us, whether it is enabling us to come on this trip in the first place or planning picnics in the park and Karaoke nights for us. We appreciate it all!

Goodbye lah. (I’ve been working on my Singlish!)

Nisha

Pictures of our Singaporean Adventures:



Haw Par Villa, where we walked through the Taoist 10 Stages of Hell



The Buddhist Temple outside Chinatown



Enjoying one another's company and...eating (a Singaporean pastime)