Hi from the Philippines

Hello there.

So for the past week I've been in Southeast Asia's non-Muslim archipelgo country.

This trip has definitely had its own share of setbacks. For one thing, on my first day, I had a jarring pain in my jaw, which was the worst pain of any type I've had in over 10 years, and it was bad enough to cause me to go to the hospital for the first time (for my own condition) in over 10 years. So within 24 hours of the Philippines, I was sitting in a hospital in Manila.

The 2nd major setback has been the weather. Not only did the constant rain make my holiday just slightly less pleasant, but I got caught in the middle of Manila's worst typhoon in decades (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8277018.stm). More on that later.

So the jaw pain wound up being some viral infection in my sinuses... yay! The hospital, in case you were wondering, was a private hospital that was reasonably well-equipped, given what one might expect in a country like the Philippines. I didnt have to wait at all, and they were very nice to me. Of course, I had to pay for all of this.... but the consultation, medicines, and even the x-ray all together added up to about 60$ USD... which I suppose isnt so bad.

Miraculously, by the next day, the pain had mostly subsided. Although the infection stuck with me throughout my trip, the pain never got anything close to what it was when I arrived on Sunday, so it didn't really effect the rest of my trip.

Manila

On Monday I spent the day sightseeing in Manila. it's not exactly one of SEA's most touristy cities, but there are a few sights, most notably Intramuros, the walled city from the early days of Spanish rule:

Aside from that, though, I wouldn't say there is too many sites in Manila. What is interesting about Manila is the different neighbourhoods.... like Chinatown, Ermita (a really dodgy area with a HUGE shopping mall thrown in), Malate (backpacker central, with touristy bars and restaurants, with loads of slums and beggers), and Makati (upmarket CBD area with Manila's elites and expats... you could mistake parts of it for Singapore!). Makati aside, Manila is in general a rather poor city. Infrustructure is in mediocre shape. Slums and squatter settlements abound, along with beggers and street kids. Yet even with all of these slums, Manila has loooooooads of 7-elevens, McDonalds, and even some of the less common US chain outlets (TGI Fridays, Sbarro, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy's, you name it....).

What I find interesting about SEA is that each country's major city is quite different (having seen, now, 6 of them). Manila is no exception. Perhaps it can be best compared to Bangkok, with its horrible traffic and extreme contrasts between rich and poor. Yet Bangkok is markedly more developed than Manila... it is also more overwhelming. Maybe it is becuase I"m a more seasoned traveller now than when I stepped foot in Bangkok, but Manila has this curious safe feeling... although the traffic is a mess, and there are very few crosswalks to speak of.... there is a certain calm to it. I'm not sure how many people would agree with me, but Manila just seems a lot less overwhelming a) then I expected, and b) then other developing world cities.

Nicest thing about Manila is the cheap transport. Although some taxi drivers will certainly rip you off, if they use their meter (which, unlike in Bangkok and KL is 90% of the time it seems), even a ride all around town shouldn't cost more than $3-$4 USD... most roads are closer to the $2 category. Alternatively, there is the jeepney- the iconic mass transit vehicle of the Philippines. Somewhat of a cross between a jeep and a bus, the jeepney has an array of routes that no visitor could ever hope to figure out.... the "destinations" are written on the front, so the best bet is just to hop in and hope you end up somewhere near where you want to go. The good news: a ride across town costs between PHP 7-9 (less than $0,20 USD).

Kalibo/Boracay

On Tuesday I flew towards Kalibo, the gateway to Boracay (the top tourist destination of the Philippines). Since time was on my side, and it was reasonably late when I landed, I decided to spend the night in Kalibo, a random and uremarketable Philipine town. I walked around abit, ate in a local place, and I had the best meal I had had up to that point. The touristy restaurants in Manila were, well, terrible. I always tried the "Filipino" food, which, as it were, ended up being nothing more than some fried meat on a plate with rice. No sauce... no vegetables. Not to satisfying. In Kalibo I had pork adobo - the national dish. THe Pork is stewed in a sauce of vinegar and garlic... it's not the best thing in the world, but its more than edible. Oh, and it was much cheaper than eating in the touristy places.

On Wed I went to Boracay. This involved a 2 hr bus ride (at the price of 2$ USD) and a 15 minute ferry ride (another $2 USD). Boracay, as it were, is tourist central... which means that everything is more expensive than in other places. However, it's the "lean season". The good news? Hotel rooms are 50% of what they would be in the high season. I got a place which was quite nice by my standards (nice bed, proper bathroom, air-con, tv) for about USD $19 a night - and that was after bargaining!

The bad news? Rainy season in Boracay is not like rainy season in Thailand, SIngpaore, or Easter Island (namely, intermittent rain and sunshine). DUring my time in Boracay, it rained almost the ENTIRE time. WHen it wasnt raining, it was overcast and windy. I think I got a total of 2 hours of relatively decent weather, where the sun, although visible, was blocked by only a thin layer of clouds.

That aside... Boracay is still a wonderful place. Yes, it is EXTREMELY touristy. But sometimes, touristy is nice. For one thing, the beach is GORGEOUS. Everything you would ever want in a tropical beach... complete with cocktails delivered to your lounge chair (in my case, I got a glass of red wine for about USD 3,50$). All over the beach are bars and restaurants, including all you can eat seafood/meat/whatever else buffets for about $5 USD, along with live music to set the mood. Boracay really is a special place, and it was a nice place for me to relax... bad weather aside.

Like most parts of the developing world, really touristy areas are just facades. On Friday I rented a bike and discovered the untouristy underbelly of Boracay, which looks just like any other part of the Philippines that I've seen... complete with jerry-built housing and shacks selling all kinds of stuff. I rented the bicycle with the endeavour of seeing some of the other beaches on the island. However, about 30 mins into my ride, I was tired from the many hills, from the pouring rain, and the fact that I hadnt cycled in over 2 months- I decided to stop in one of these said shacks for a beer. They welcomed me inside, and i discovered that it was also a boarding house for some of the local workers, two of whom were on their day off. So, I got to talking to them, and next thing I knew, they kept filling up my glass, even after the 500 ml beer I had bought was long finished. 90 mins quickly passed by and I realised I had to return my bike ( I only rented it for 2 hours, as it was rather expensive). It was still worth it.... I biked 15 minutes to the other beach (which was close enough anyway, just to see it), then I returned about 1 hr 15 mins late.... for which I had to pay an extra $3.

Saturday: day of craziness

By Saturday I still had ambitious plans for the rest of my Philipines itinerary. that night I would fly to Manila, where I would hope to catch a bus to Angeles (small city north of manila, and location of the airport I arrived in from Singapore), where I would be able to organise a day trip to Mt. Pinatubo. Things go awry sometimes.

I checked out around noon. As my flight wasnt until 18:45, I had more than enough time to spare. I had a quick lunch, and made it out to the Boracay harbour, if I can call it that. WHen I arrived there, around 12:30, I realised something was fishy when I saw lots of ppl waiting, along with 7 full boats just sitting in the ocean. No one told me anything, not even when I bought my ticket. An hour later, the boats returned to the short and unloaded all the passengers; the coast guards said that no boats would be allowed to leave. One ambitious taxi driver informed me that there would be no more boats, and that I should spend another night in Boracay. I got a second opinion, which is, at it seems, always a good idea in the Philippines. This guy, whose uniform gave him the appearance of having more authority, informed me that due to bad weather, no boats were allowed to leave, but this could change in the upcoming hours. He told me my best bet was to wait until 17:00. I had nowhere to go, and, even though it was raining and there were no shelters, I was equipped with my umbrella and stood on the rain-drenched beach waiting for something to happen.

By 15:00 they announced that the boats could resume, and there was a mad dash for all the boats. Luckily, I got on one and by 15:30 I had made it to the other side, even if the small boat coupled with the bad weather meant I would be drenched.

From the other side (Cacitlan), I got a shuttle to Kalibo airprt, where I arrived by about 17:30. I checked in my flight, which ended up being delayed. No big deal... as long as it comes eventually, I thought to myself. As long as I get in Manila I'll be ok.

Oh, the flight did come. By 19:45 I was on the plane, and by 21:00 I had landed in Manila. Niavely, I still thought I could make it to Angeles that night. In the airport, I realised something was fishy, as there were loads of people waiting... in the arrival area! I asked the information desk about how to get to Angeles.... they told me I'd be lucky to get to Manila, let alone Angeles. Indeed, they informed me that no ground transport was leaving the airport, and thats why all these people were waiting there. Oiiiiii, I thought to myself that I had never been stranded in an airport AFTER a flight before. I resigned to this and waited for about half an hour. It was 21:30 by now and before resigning to attempting to sleep I wanted to know how long it would be liked this. So, true to the theme in the Philippines, I sought a 2nd opinion, who informed me I could try and get a taxi from the upstairs departure area. With some luck and patience, after about another 30 mins, I got another taxi, who, given the situation, charged me an exorbatant PHP 500 (about $11 USD) for a ride into town... this was AFTER he originally proposed PHP700! To give folks at home an idea, the ride *should* cost between PHP 150 and 250.

To make matters worse, I had no hotel reservation, and I didn't exactly know where to go. The advice of the security guards was to find a cheap hotel in Pasay City, near the bus station. That area, it seemed, was under water and unaccessible! The driver suggested instead Makati... and I was like... sure as long as I can stay somewhere reasonably cheap. THey took me to a cheap hotel, which was full, as were all the neighbouring hotels. This was due to the fact that these hotels were used by locals as "massage parlours", or to have some fun with their girlfriends. My next plan was to try Malate, where I stayed before. After a very long cab ride, which invovled trying to drive through rivers, I realised that the city really was mostly underwater, and there was no way I would get anywhere other than Makati- I was lucky that Makati wasn't flooded. So, I go to one of the main streets in Makati (a PHP 300 cab ride basically brought me in a giant circle) to a pretty posh hotel. A bit expensive, but at least I can sleep. Noppppppe. Becuase of all the flight cancellations, the hotel was booked, along with EVERY HOTEL in the area.

I was desperate. I turned to my lonely planet, and started to call every hotel in Makati. With a huge stroke of luck, one of the dingier ones was still free (and I saved quite a bit of money in the process). After turning on the TV, I realised just how big of a deal this rain really was.

That brins us to today (Sunday). I arrived in Angeles, but I have long abandoned my plans to climb Pinatubo. The extraordinarily bad weather, coupled with really tight time (I'd have to make it to this small town 50 km from Angeles with poor public transit AND hope that some ppl would lead me on a tour) and complicated by being along (which means that the whole thing would be REALLY expensive, if possible at all) made this idea seem not so good. On the plus side, my hotel here is pretty nice, if a bit expensive (about USD 23 per night) and the internet is super cheap (USD $0,50 per hour). Oh, and Angeles is really close to the airport I fly out of tomorrow, so transport shouldn't be an issue, which was another main motivation in leaving Manila today.

So that's it. I think the Philippines is a pretty nice country. The food is not the greatest, and it may not have the ancient heritage of places like Burma or Cambodia, but the people are very friendly. It is, curiously, mostly off the backpacker trail, although that could change in a few years. It is an extremely poor country, but there is a large elite class (maybe 10% of the country) who, it appears, live in standards compareable to Singapore. There are many links between Philippines and the US.... there are many Americans living here (often older men with philipina wives...), and there are many Philipinos in the US, along with countless more who want to be there. I wouldn't mind coming back... next time I could see Pinatubo, and Vigan, and Cebu... but this will do it for now. I'm glad to have seen another Southeast Asian country... soon enough I hope to have seen them all.... well maybe except for East Timor.

From Angeles, Philipines, thanks for reading!

Early Semester Update: the quotidian, thoughts on NUS/grad school/academia

Part I: The Quotidian



Since I am..... (very) slowly... carving for myself somewhat of a daily, or rather, weekly routine, I thought I would provide my readers with an update.



My formal schedule is actually quite light. I am taking a class called "Southeast Asian Cultural Landscapes" on Tuesday nights (18:30 - 21:30). The theme of the class so far has been about the cultural (dis)unity of Southeast Asia, and, as the prof is partial to giving heavy readings, has quickly submersed me into the academic literature on Southeast Asian studies (with which, at McGill, I had virtually no experience). Unfortunately (in my opinion), the prof is also prone to treat this class as more of a lecture- strange at the postgrad level I suppose. Not so bad, you might think.... but 3 hour lectures can be quite painful. It is enlivened somewhat by his constant tangents and personal stories (I think he spent an hour last week talking about ghosts and spirits). For better or for worse, said prof only teaches the first half of this course, and it remains to be seen what the second half will be like.



My other class is on Wednesday nights (same time) and is called "Anthropological Approaches to Southeast Asia". The class is exactly like it sounds, which, for me, is a rare island of anthropological relief in a sea dominated by the likes of geography and sociology (not that the differences are huge...). This is a much more seminar-like class (which is what I'm used to/ was expecting). The only problem is that most people in the class have little-to-no background in sociology or anthropology, and quite a few have been out of academia for some time now, so it really impacts the type of discussion we can have in the seminar. The prof, of course, is hard-core anthropologist all the way and so far seems to appreciate my strong inclination towards the discipline, complete with my unintentionally heavy use of anthropological jargon and name-droppping to which I had come so accustomed at McGill. In both of my classes there is one other token white guy (a Brit and (yay!) a Montrealer).



In addition to this, I am dropping-in / observing/ auditing an undergrad class: the Sociology of Education. Why this class? So, as part of my scholarship, I am "obliged" to do whatever work is assigned to me, which normally involves giving tutorials. However, as I am "new to the system", I was told that I didn't have to do this for the first semester. Rather, I would be assigned a prof to which I could become an "administrative assistant". By the luck of bureacracy, the prof to which I assigned did not want/need an "administrative assistant", but encouraged me (if I were so inclined) to sit-in her class, mostly for my own personal interest. I could also sit-in to the tutorial(s), just to see how they are done, with the possibility of teaching one myself toward the end of the semester. Not only do I find the class incredibly insightful and interesting (I'm learning a lot about the education system in Singapore), but it's also a cool experience being in an undergrad class at NUS- if for nothing else to observe the differences and similarities with McGill. This class is once a week, on Tuesday afternoon from 12:00 to 14:00, with a 2 hr tutorial once every two weeks. To my sheer shock, I learnt today that the poor professor of this class is teaching all five of the tutorials herself!!!! I don't think this sort of thing would EVER happen at McGill.


As for my "formal" obligations, that's pretty much it. There are other things that occasionally come up.... the random seminar to drop into (I went to a remarkably boring one about rainforest aracheology....), and soon, I will be starting my triple language exchange.



Yes, for the purpose of my research, I have decided to higher a Burmese tutor. I found a young lady on Craigs List, and she will start giving me lessons once a week for 2 hours, starting in early September.



But... since my research will be in Thailand, it was decided that I should learn a bit of Thai. So I initiated a language exchange with a young lady from Thailand who, for some reason, is desirous to learn French. My minor is already serving me with practical use (and not to mention, social capital).



But, thats not enough for me! I also thought that, since I'll be here for two years, I might as well learn a smattering of Mandarian. I found a very friendly fellow who wants to learn Spanish in exchange for Mandarian. I don't imagine that these lessons will ever go beyond the most basic level, but it'll be really nice to know a little bit of Mandarin.



In addition to all of this, I have around 400 pgs / week of reading to do for my classes... and I still have the task of coming up with a good research question (I'll keep you posted on that).



Part II: Thoughts on...



a. NUS: Since my last entry, I have actually experienced classes, and had the chance to talk to an array of students and professors. And I have some interesting observations.



At the undergraduate level, NUS is a "state school" and suffers from the syndrome of reasonably accessible schools throughout the world - not everyone takes it seriously, and most people just want to get that piece of paper. The best students, it seems, earn scholarships to study in that golden land of opportunity where all the universities are fantastic and the streets are paved with gold. In Singapore, as, apparantly, in most of Southeast ASia (and perhaps most of Asia in general), one gains a great deal of prestige in going to this golden land of the hamburger.



Despite this, there are many quality (local and foreign) students at NUS. The best make it to the honours level (in which they do a 4th year not normally required of normal undergrads). The best among them make it to the masters level (and so on). So, at the higher levels, the quality of student is quite high. That having been said, there is still, in my opinion, a devaluation of NUS, especially compared to Coca-Cola land and to a lesser extentm the land of Fish n Chips. Oh, and my readers will be pleased to know that McGill is accorded an extremely high status, on par with the premier schools in the world.


The irony, in my eyes, is that, on paper (at least according to THE TIMES, the most reputable international university ranking), McGill is just barely (albeit always) above NUS. In Social Science (which, obviously, matters to me) McGill is tired at 14th, while NUS is 18th. McGill might be better in the bookstore's offering, and the library collection, and the amount of available computers, but NUS has exceptional faculty and its buildings aren't crumbling. Oh, and the food is much better (but such a thing harldly counts in int'l rankings). My point is, on paper and in practise, McGill is just barely a better school than NUS, which is, in the local minds, way under-respected (or, perhaps, McGill is over-respected ... but I niavely try to think this is not the case).



b. grad school: It didn't take me long to realise that grad school is quite different from undergrad. For one thing, you really make your own schedule. In undergrad, you have a list of readings you're supposed to know for the exam, etc. In grad school (as it's been so far), you do have readings your supposed to do for classes, but you're not necessarily tested for them. You are also supposed to read regularly on your own.... ie, find sources on your own interests and just continually read them, and keep current on the literature.



Another thing that was true to some extent at mcGill, but more so now, is the education you get in the hallways. Just talking to people, who are like-minded but have different backgrounds and experience, is an enriching experience. Not only for my personal knowledge, but even for my own research - as my fellow sociologists/anthropologists can give suggestions/feedback on my ideas. IT helps being in the region that I'm researching, as almost everyone here is a decent knowledge of the area.



Perhaps the most important thing, or at least the biggest difference, is that grad school is about social networking. Meetings with profs all of a sudden become more important. And there are more social events to attend to ... teas, seminars, etc. Not only profs, but other grad students (higher-ups and peers) are important for establishing your academic social capital. Fortunately, as grad students are a bit higher up on the academic food chain (compared to undergrads), conversations with other higher-ups becomes accordingly easier.



c. academia: Being in grad school - even at the masters level- is an introduction to the wonderful world of academia. I ask myself everyday if this is the world for me. On the one hand, I really struggle with things like coming up with my own research topic- which is just about the most important part about being in academia. I would mostly just prefer someone to give me something to research and then I could go out and do it- but it doesnt work like that. Somehow, out of thin air, I have to come up with something interesting, feasible, and not yet done. And even if I manage to do that at the masters level (which remains a moderate sized "if"), the thought of doing it again at the PhD level seems quite daunting.

On the other hand, it is only in academia where I enjoy having intellectual conversations with people. I like reading. I like the open schedule. I like the university environment. And yes, daresay, I even like academic writing. I've gotten so used to it that when I'm outside the academic environment - say when I'm in NJ, or even the various placed I've worked at in Montreal, I feel strangely out of place... like I'm talking on a different level than other people. Call it elitist, but I feel a certain connection that I only find with people passionate about learning... and specifically in the social sciences. I like the sheltered strange world of academia. I'm just not sure if I'm cut out for it.

First official week at NUS, plus a little bit of politics.

I. First official week at NUS

One week of classes is in the books. To be fair, I only had two classes, which is all I'm taking this year. For my McGill readers (who probably make up all of my readership), I thought I'd do a short list of some of the things I've found striking. Of course, I couldn,t tell you what things were a result of a stark difference between NUS and McGill, and what's due to the equally stark difference between undergrad and postgraduate education.

-The profs here are dynamic and come from interesting backgrounds (which is not to say McGill profs don't). The two profs I have this semester are both Singaporeans of mixed background (including part-Westerner), who earned their PhDs in the US (Berkeley and Harvard). Many profs are like this. Some are Westerners (Americans, Aussies, Europeans) who, for some reason or another, decided to end up in Singapore. The sheer diversity of the faculty here makes things interesting.

-The students here (at least the one's I've talked to) are extraordinarily friendly, worldy, and knowledgeable. Yesterday, while I was innocently trying to find a space to do my readings, I kept bumping into people I had met previously and started talking to them, which turned into an interesting exchange of ideas. The different people here are really easy to talk to in this way, and I feel as though a large part of my education here will come from such an exchange of ideas. I suppose this is true and any top-tier university, but here there is such an abundance of people from backgrounds with which I'm not overly familiar.

-Readings are abundant. 200 pages per week per course is not rare. Unlike at McGill, readings are not always pre-copied for the student. Instead, sometimes even at the undergraduate level, the student has to locate the reading (more oftan than not is a chapter from a book, sso its not online), and manually photocopy it. The advantage to this is that due to the relatively cheap price of photocopies (SGD 3 cents per page), expenditures on readings are rather low. However, it is a bit of a waste of time to have to scavange for all of these readings- time, of course, that could be spent on the readings themselves.

-Things close early. Most stalls in the canteen are closed by 7. The library loans desk closes at 9. The library itself closes at 10 (although this might change closer to exams). All forms of transportation end at 11. This means that, unless I want to find a cab somehow, I can't really stay on campus as late as I'm used to. Fortunately, at elast for the moment, the place I'm staying at has a study room that I could use for as long as I want. And 24 hr hawker centres are just a 2 minute walk away. But gone are the days where I could stay on campus until 2 am (although if I move closer to school this also might change).

-Power outlets (called "powerpoints") are not abundant. In study areas, they are only at specialised points which, of course, are usually quickly taken. They are also at random points in the middle of the library, where there is no where to sit (safe for the floor). Although there are a bunch outside, in a reasonably decent spot... which, becuase it's shaded, is actually not too hot.... just the mosquitoes are a bit annoying. This is part of a national obsession in saving power, but it's not very convenient to laptop users. And of course PCs in the computer labs are in high demand...

Now, for something totally different:

II. A little bit of politics

Even on the other side of the world, my daily dose of BBC online keeps me informed about certain things going on in the US, notably the current health care debate, which seems to be surprisingly impassioned. I do support health care reform, although I'm not sure what the best reform is. Not that the Canadian system is horrible, but I don't see it as an amazing improvement to the current US system. At any rate, while I do lean towards some sort of healthcare reform which has the end result of having ALL AMERICANS covered, I do respect the alternative view. However, what I don't respect is the rhetoric and arguments which the majority of people opposing healthcare reform have been adopting. This rhetoric I believe only portrays them as uneducated hicks who have never left their country and who are grossly misinformed (very possibly by fox "fuax" news), about the state of healthcare in different parts of the world.

Let me do this by looking at the rhetoric itself, for example, found in this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8202275.stm, and this closely related video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8200844.stm.

1. Obama is a Nazi-like dictator.
-I don't even know where people get this from. I've seen drawings and posters of Obama, like this: http://roguejew.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/adolph-obama.jpg, although I suppose we can dismiss this sort of thing as coming from the craziest faction of the Republican party. After all, I suppose some asshole will do something like this for every president we've ever had, and ever will have.
-Although it's easy enough to dismiss this as completely lunatic and coming from an extremist fringe. Sarah Palin who, far from being the most qualified and respectable member of the Republican party but is still, paradoxically, among the most respected, called Obama's plan "evil". (See http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8280701). Not that I should be altogether surprised coming from someone of her intellectual calibre, but I'm not sure how I understand how the endeavour to provide 45 million Americans with healthcare is evil. It might be niave, impractical, fiscally unwise, even stupid... but "evil"?
-My problem in this respect is not that I believe these opinions are wrong (which I do), but I have a problem with how they are expressing themselves, particularly in the case of Mrs. Palin. Such rhetoric is simply uncalled for and, for someone potentially seeking to be president herself, is simply unacceptable. If you want to engage in this debate, there is no reason to use such horrid attacks.

2. Obama is an arrogant elitist.
-Well, I'm not certain if he is, although he might be. But what is wrong with that?? I simply don't understand this problem so many Americans have with elitist people. From the dawn of civilisation, progress has been a result of specialists. In the context of ancient Sumeria or Tiwanaku, specialists might include people trained in pottery, writing, or religion (among many other things). Obama, and other political elites, are people who have been extensively trained to lead the country. Obama is a Harvard graduate which, for some reason, has earned somewhat of a negative connotation in the US for being elitist. And to an extent it's true... after all, people from the "old rich", such as George W. Bush, can attend these institutions based on the wealth of their parental units. But Obama is not a member of the old rich (nor was Bill Clinton); he is what we can call the "nouveau riche". He, along with his wife, is an individual who worked hard, got himself educated, became prosperous, and is also incredibly bright. In addition to being qualified to lead the country, he is a striking example of what's possible in the US- with hard work and quick wits. Surely the most patriotic people should be proud of this? Despite having an extraordinary story, doesn't his middle class roots make him more like the rest of Americans? Someone from Sarah Palin might talk and think lost most Americans, but that's only because most Americans are simply unqualified for public offices. What I think these people don't understand is that public office is meant for people substantially trained and qualified in their field - not just people who believe in God and like to hunt. So in sum, if Obama is an arrogant elitist (which he actually may be), then so what? Throughout the history of the world, the best leaders have been arrogant elitists. (and some of the worst too....)

3. National healthcare is socialist
-Well, this may be true. But why is this a problem? You have to realise that the average American (as a result of the Baby boom from 1940-59) grew up during the cold war, and these old mindsets are hard to eliminate. Too many people have this cold war mentality that communism should be feared like the plague. My problems with this?
a) The idea that communism should be feared comes from a national propoganda movement. While communism may not be the best policy, and certainly hasn't been working well in North Korea, it remains to be seen is a properly instilled communist government, that doesnt subsequently receive embargoes from the rest of the world could actually work. This is something we simply don't know, since the (relative) failure of communist regimes in places like Cuba have resulted, at least in part, from an American self-fulfilled prophecy. In short, I'm not quite so sure why communism at its base was ever so feared, excpet as a threat to American ideological hegemony.
b) The fear of communism is woefully out of date. The cold war is over, and has been over for some 20 years. Communism is no longer a threat to American hegemony. People have to shake off this mentality of a dichotomous world where communism is prone to overtake the democratic world.
c) There is a distinction to be made between socialism and communism. Communism, as it has been practiced, has been in the form of a totalitarian police state. Socialism, as it is currently practiced in different parts of Europe, just involves the state controlling more aspects of society than, say, a free market society like the US.
d) People have to swallow their pride and borrow certain elements from alternate ideologies that work. Some might say, "we can't have national healtcare because it's socialist" with the idea that everything socialist might be bad. But if some aspects of socialism work better than some aspects of capitalism, what is so bad about adopting it?

4. National healthcare doesn't work in Europe/Canada
-Really? Despite having lived in Canada for 4 years, I cannot claim to be a sort of expert. I do believe that the Canadian healthcare system is not among the world's best, and may or may not be any better than that in the US. In other words, I don't care to suggest that healthcare is or isn't better in Europe. My problem is that people make these claims based on ignorance, as in the article I posted above. For example:
-The idea that everyone in GB and Canada hates their healthcare system, almost as if they are actively dying on the streets in a pool of medieval pestilence.
-The suggestion that the British healthcare system is poor based on the stereotyped perception that British people have bad teeth.
-And, what gets me the most, that people make these accusations without ever having stepped foot in this countries. Why? As one elderly man said, "if I go to England, I'd die".
It's this kind of ignorant mentality that makes intellectual argument with these people impossible. People are making these statements based on some arbitrary believe, perhaps perpetuated by Fox News and other outlets of the Republic media. Of course, people who actually DO make it out to other countries realise this belief is wrong, as evidence, for instance, by the man in the video who had actually been to the UK and said their system actually works.
-Oh, and life expectancies are higher and infant mortality rates are lower in CAnada and most countries in Western Europe as compared to the US. This doesnt necessarily mean that their healthcare system is better, as there are many other factors to consider... but what it does mean is that the NHS in Europe and Canada aren't utter failures.

5. It costs to much money
-This, I will grant, is the best argument this side has. And it's certainly valid, after all, the US is already in debt up to its eyes, and already spends more of its GDP on healthcare than most other industrialised country. This, I believe is a fair argument against healthcare reform.
-My problem? This argument comes from a lot of the same people who supported the Iraq war. The Iraq war, as we all know, costs much more than any healthcare system, was based on much more dubious principles, and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to improve the lives of ANY american; rather, if anything, it further endangered Americans by perpetuating the "threat of terrorism". So where were all these fiscal watchdogs when Bush wanted to invade Iraq?

My conculsion, after this rather long discussion? I do support healthcare reform, but I don't have a problem with people who don't. However, people should use an informed and respectful rhetoric. The popular rhetoric which has been exhibited, in my opinion, reflects a Republican party which, to a very large extent, does not base its opinions on anything ressembling facts, but propoganda and some sort of imagined national ideal of a country better in all ways than Europe and every other part of the world. If the US is to progress at all, this stubborn ignorance has to disappear. Or at the very least, it should be kept marginalised and ridiculed like the Republican party currently is. If Republicans truly want their opinions to be respected, and to keep Democrats at base, they should inform themselves on the issues and should refrain from using counterproductive and inflammatory rhetoric.

Another Update from Singapore: Moving, Meeting the Sociology/Anthropology Department

I. Moving in

On Monday, I moved into what will be my home until about December. I was happy to leave Geylang. Geylang certainly has its charms, but it'S probably the most third world part of Singapore. While known for having some of the best food, some of the food there is quite suspect. Its also one of the few areas in Singapore where it's actually (almost) difficult to get by in English... just because of all the immigrants hanging around.

So I moved to Boon Lay. The place isn't terrrrrrrrible. The neighbourhood seems rather nice, there are NUS students around here (ie, people I could talk to), I am lucky enough to have my own bedroom (although I pay double what most ppl pay as a result), there is a "gym" and "study room" which I have access to.... oh and the premises are REALLY secure (CCTV everywhere; you have to use your fingerprint to get in!). The downside? There's not really a kitchen (a fridge, a microwave, a hot plate, and a kettle). There is no sink in the bathroom. The air-con has a mind of its own. The mattress in the bed feels like its made of medal pins, and is without a doubt the most uncomfortable bed I've ever had (I think it would be an improvement to sleep on the floor), and it's particularly far from everything, including downtown, and NUS. It does seem somewhat close to Malaysa however (the Tuas causeway).

In short, the place is liveable, but I'll be happy to leave in December. I think that for what I'm paying, I could certainly do better, at least with respect to location and the damn bed.

II. Meeting the Department

On Monday there was a meeting with the new postgrad students and Prof. Erb. Prof. Erb explained, in rather clear terms, what the requirements of the degree are, and I do have a somewhat better idea of how things are going to work. I do know, for instance, that unlike at McGill, I get a whole semester off to do my fieldwork. It presently remains unclear what, if anything, I will do during the summer (May - July), but I'll keep you guys posted about that.

I had a very nice first impression of everything regarding the department. Prof. Erb was really nice, and the administrative folks are also quite friendly and helpful. More surprising was the fact that despite being the only foreign new masters sociology student (but not the only foreign grad student, as there are a few foreign phd students), the other folks are going out of their way to help me. I guess being the only westerner in a group of 8 or so people who all know each other could go either way: either I'd be ignored (which would probably happen at McGill), or I'd be the focus of everyone's attention (which is what has happened so far). So, to my great merriment, my fellow sociology postgrads are quite nice and I do enjoy spending time with them. Actually I have met quite a few people I consider to be quite pleasant and worth spending time with... the only problem is that, particualry with most of the Westerners I've met, they are only here for either 1 semester or 1 year.

Similarly, my early impressions of NUS are quite good. The infrastructure is as good or better than McGill's. The campus itself, while certainly lacking the 19th century charm of, for instance, the arts building, embraces its 21st century style as well as it embraces and plays into the tropical climate. Food outlets are abundant, cheap, and good. I strangely feel at home at NUS, in a city that, despite its cleanliness, modernity, and anglo-friendliness, is still abrasively foreign. This of course may or may not change drastically starting next week when classes officially starts. Word has it that the corridors get super crowded and chaotic.... although I'm not sure how that will effect me since my classes are all at night (18:30-21:30).

There seems to lack a bit of postgraduate social life (although there is NO lack of undergrad social life), with the exception of the ever-present "teas" (NUS's version of the wine and cheese which, as I found out today, includes much more than tea).

I'll give you guys another update when the semester starts, to give you an idea what actual classes are like (and I might have an even clearer picture of what the next 2 years will look like for me). Until next time... take care, and thanks for reading. :-)

First Impressions of NUS: Registration, Orientation, Other Thoughts

I. Registration:

On Wednesday at 9 am (Singapore time of course), I officially registered at National University. This procedure (or “exercise” as it is endearingly referred to in NUS-speak) is not to be confused with pre-registration and enrolment. Pre-registration refers to online formalities which I did well before arriving in NJ; the point of this seemed to be downloading particular forms which would be relevant for actual registration. Enrolment is when I actually choose which courses (here referred to as “modules”) that I’m gong to take (or “read”)”. This is something which I have no yet done.

So what was registration, also called “matriculation”? Basically, it was a formal procedure in which I turned in some forms, in exchange for other forms, plus my student ID card. What was the point? I really don’t know. Happily, the whole thing (including the wait) took less than 30 minutes, so it wasn’t terrible.

Following registration, I was asked to report to my department. After about 30 minutes of looking, I finally found it and checked in. I was given a key to my personal letterbox, and told a few things regarding my teaching obligations based on my scholarship. I was told little about course enrolment, but I was told that I would get an email regarding that (which I since have), and I would talk to the department chair at a later date (which now seems to be this coming Monday afternoon).

II. Orientation

Thursday afternoon was the “international student orientation”. More specifically, it was a “briefing session” if you will, giving basic information about adjusting to the university, and to Singapore. The particular session I went to was geared towards international postgrads (as opposed to international undergrads and exchange students). Interestingly, in a room of probably about 300 people, there seemed to be only about 20 westerners. At the end of the briefing, they went through a bunch of different countries to see where people were from. First they went through the Asian countries: easily half of all the students there were from China; probably between 20-30% were from India; perhaps an additional 10% were represented by other Asian countries – Myanmar, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia (of which there were surprisingly few), Indonesia (of which there were also surprisingly few), and the Philippines. After exhausting the most important Asian countries, certain individuals in the crowd volunteered different countries that they represented. The first such “exotic” country was Brazil. The Brazilian fellow earned the awe and applause of everyone in the room. From then on, every country was considered exotic, and had between 1 and 5 students: Lithuania, Estonia, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Finland, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, and probably a few others. When they announced each country, the people from the particular country would raise their hand, and everyone else would clap for them… it was actually a pretty cool scene.

Since there were so few Westerners (and Americans for that matter), it was rather easy for Westerners to meet up and strike a conversation. I met 4 people there with whom I was able to talk for quite a while…. Interestingly enough, all of them (and all of the other western postgrads I have met since) are studying law. The people I talked to even seemed to be more confused about things than I am… which made me feel a bit better.

III. Other thoughts

Of course the actual semester hasn’t started yet… and it won’t for another week. The first day of class is 11th August (next Tuesday), although based on what I think my schedule will look like, I will start on 12th August. The classes I want to take are on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6-9 pm respectively (ie, one class is Wed night 6-9 pm, etc). One of these classes is a required class (a graduate research seminar), which is marked on a pass/fail basis. My other obligations (ie, working with my supervisor, helping to teach) won’t start until the next semester. That, combined with the fact this class + the other one I want to take both don’t have final exams, means that this may be a reasonably easy semester (in contrast to Semester II), which, as far as I know, will end on the last day of lecture, or Thursday 12th November, giving me a two month winter holiday. Of course, I’m not going to book my holiday to Nepal quite yet… I still don’t know exactly how timetables and stuff are going to play out. I imagine I’ll know quite a bit more after meeting with Prof. Erb, the chair of graduate studies in Sociology/Anthropology.

How about the campus? Well, it could not BE any more different than McGill. For one thing, the campus is actually quite big, which is surprising for a dense place like Singapore. The campus itself is not downtown, and is actually not particularly near to it. In fact, it is unfortunately not particularly near or convenient to anything – at least not the main campus where I’ll be based. There is supposed to be a new MRT station opening on the edge of campus, which would greatly benefit me, however, it’s not going to open until 2010 or even 2011. The campus itself is sprawling to the degree that McGill students (even at McDonald’s campus) probably cannot imagine. Happily, it seems that the places I will probably most often frequent (the Sociology department, the Central library, and the Yusof Ishak House – NUS’s version of Shatner) are all somewhat near to each other and, somehow, linked by tunnels.

Yes, NUS does seem to have an extensive system of tunnels. However, “tunnels” is probably not the best word, since it’s not underground, or even completely indoors like in the McGill sense. One thing I really do like about NUS, and many parts of Singapore for that matter, is how they use the tropical climate to their advantage. Hallways and walkways in the buildings are largely outdoors, but covered. So one does not have the feeling of being cooped up inside, yet the shade provides shelter from the strong sun, or the (supposedly) frequent rains. However, these walkways, if you will, don’t just provide an alternative route to where you want to go; in many cases, they are they only paths you can use. While there are quite a few roads going through the campus, they aren’t all linked – or at least not in any convenient spot. This means that sometimes the ONLY way to get from point A to point B (without taking a 45 minute detour) is THROUGH buildings. And this does not seem to be quite as straightforward as at McGill: there are lots of twists, turns, climbing up stairs, and climbing down stairs involved, in a process that can only be described as labyrinthine. On the plus side, the campus benefits from the tropical flora which naturally occurs here.

The one really good thing about the NUS campus is the food. Cafeterias, or as they are called here, canteens, are abundant. The choice in food is as good as the quality. Already low prices are subsidised for NUS students. So at the very least, one serious McGill problem is solved.

Other aspects of NUS life, such as campus clubs/activities, and the actual classes themselves remain to be seen. I don’t really know what to expect, but I’ve mostly heard good things, especially from Westerners. Of course, most of the Westerners who come here are on exchange and they’re basically here to party and travel. A greater emphasis has to be on the latter, because the university has some quite prohibitive rules: the entire campus is smoke free; with exception of cafés (such as the Munchie Monkey café at the Yusof Ishak House), consumption of alcohol is not allowed, not even in residence; shorts cannot be worn during lecture; and, I think I mentioned this in my last entry, at least in my residence, when you have guests of the opposite gender in your room (who can’t stay over after 11 pm), you’re door must be ajar. Happily, none of these rules really affect me, except for the alcohol one. But there seem to be ways around it (like, going to the adjacent 24 hr hawker centre), and I’ll only be at that residence for 1 semester anyway.

If I haven’t learnt anything so far, I have realised that this is a totally different place than McGill, to the point where my constant default comparisons with McGill will always fall flat, except in so far as I can point out the stark differences.

I leave you for now wishing you all the best. Stay tuned for another update sometime next week, after I’ve moved into the Boon Lay hostel and have met with Prof. Erb. Until then: be well.

Singapore update #2: Apartment Search, Awkward First Few Days, Thoughts on Singapore

Part I: Apartment Search

The bad news...

So I thought I had a place lined up. I had been emailing this French guy (actually, he initially contacted me) to share an apartment. He is also an NUS grad student, so it seemed like a good situation. I went to see his place on Friday. Although a bit farther from things than I would have liked, and a smidgen on the expensive side, he seemed like a nice fellow and the apartment itself was actually quite nice. I told him I'd let him know the next day, but I thought to myself that I was 90% certain that I would take the place.

That was until that night when he decided to email me, saying he had talked with his roommate (who wasn't there at the time), and they had other people interested, and they wanted to wait until they saw the place.... would not let me know until 31 July! THEN... he sent me another email, saying that a French girl was seeing the place on Monday, and that they would actually prefer to rent the place to a girl!! Ah... so much for this place.

It seems that this situation is actually quite common. More than one of the places I've called about was exclusively for girls.... in fact, of the listings I've seen, easily 40% are only for girls. Add to that the additional 40% that are only for Chinese/Indian/working professionals.... right off the bat the selection is quite limited.

That aside, there were two additional places that seemed promising. I called the agents/owners, and they said they would call me back... which they have yet to do. It's like I'm applying for a job or something! One would think that they would want my money right away.

The sorta good news....

Just a few days ago, NUS, who earlier declined to offer me a residence, informed me there was a last minute vacancy, and offered me a room. Great right? Well, I of course decided to take it, since there appear to be no other options. But...

There are a few catches. One thing is that it's actually über far from campus.... and everything else... yes, the location leaves a LOT to be desired. There is a free shuttle between the hostel and school, but is at inconvenient hours (only at 8 and 9 am... when my classes will start at 6 pm). The rent is not exceedingly cheap... and I have to pay the whole thing upfront by Friday (yeah... I have to come up with some $3000 SGD in 5 days). Perhaps the worst part: it's only until early December. Not only do I have to restart the whole room-searching process again, but I have to find somewhere to keep everything throughout the whole month of December. So, you can understand why I was so reticent to take this place. But, I did accept the offer, so barring some unforseen setback (which, given how things have went, is not so far out of the blue), I will have a place to leave - if only for the first semester. The good news is that it's strictly a grad student residence, so hopefully I can meet people there with whom I'd desire to live. Hopefully.


Part II: Awkward first few days

I won't lie... I'm getting pretty lonely here. With school stuff still a few days off, I haven't much to do, save for touristy stuff. However, I don't want to spend money like crazy until I'm able to set up a bank account.

It's true that I have a reasonable number of contacts in Singapore. However, it just so happens that nearly all of my contacts in Singapore (I could think of probably about 5 people) are momentarily away from Singapore.... just when I needed someone the most. The few people I have been referred to (for instance, colleagues of some of my relatives), have been rather elusive. Add to this my lack of energy and mild depression (hopefully) caused by lingering effects of jet lag ..... well let's just say I,m thankful that I have my working laptop and a good internet connection here in the Happy Hotel.


Part III: Thoughts on Singapore

I guess this entry has been pretty negative so far. However, my current impressions of Singapore are that of a wonderfully interesting place.

I was here with the Gerber family back in 2007 and I got a totally different view of the city/country. I lived in luxury and was driven around and spoon-fed everything- which is not how I'm used to travelling. That of course is not to say that it was bad.... quite the contrary: I was spoilt, and I had a wonderful time. But the view of Singapore that I got was a very sanatised and Westernised view.

It is certainly true that Singapore is a somewhat sanatised and Westernised country. But it's also a country of distinct neighbourhoods. Staying in Geylang, for instance, has shown me just how diverse Singapore actually is. Geylang evokes to me much more of my stereotypes of "Southeast Asia" and, if it weren't for the big screen tvs and super modern buses everywhere, I could be forgiven for thinking I was in a small Malaysian/Thai town. This is in stark contrast to Little India, Chinatown, the CBD, Orchard, and the many other areas of Singapore, which are seemingly connected solely by the wonderfully efficient and clean MRT.

Singapore is also a country which appears to exhibit and embrace wonderfully 4 different cultures which live here: Chinese, Malay, Indian, British/European. These are all present in the language, lifestyle, cuisine, and even archietecture seen throughout the city.

Another interesting thing about Singapore: it's a city/country that has been meticulously planned by super smart, but micro-managing people (or, perhaps more accurately, one super smart, but micro-managing person: Lee Kwan Yiew). The MRT works with grace and near perfection... with well-placed interchanges, etc. The HDBs are designed to intermingle the different races to promote multi-culturalism (which is why, apparantly, some flats can only rent out to Chinese/Indian/etc). Harsh fines on littering keep the city spotlessly clean. A wonderful MRT system, and heavy costs for driving (plus very well planned roads) make traffic an almost non-existent problem. Singaporean politicians are among the highest paid in the world (the current PM is THE highest paid in the world, earning about $2m USD per annum). This, according to Lee Kwan Yiew, attracts the brightest talent by making salaries competitive to top private sector jobs, and simultaneuosly reduces corruption (in theory), since politicians don't really need to take bribes to make more money. It's worked. Singapore is a city where things work- and they work well.

That said, evidence of the government's micromanagement is everywhere. For one thing, the PM Lee Kwan Yiew - who made everything happen- created a post for himself when he became too old to be PM... now at about 85 years old he is MM: "Minister Mentor" (and his son is PM!). There are the infamous fines.... $500 for jaywalking, $500 for eating/drinking on the MRT... $500 for littering... $500 for not flushing the toilet... bans on chewing gum...etc. What I find most amusing, however, is their attemps to regulate foot traffic on the MRT. At interchange stations, where you have to transfer between lines, the route that most people will want to take may be right across the platform. If it isn't than they have a planned route you are expected to walk. You are supposed to follow arrows, carefully placed on the left side of the corridor (people going the other direction follow arrows placed on the opposite side of the corridor). While following these arrows, you see signs that say "please allow ___ minutes to arrive at the other platform". My favourite, though, is the arrows placed at the MRT platforms themselves. Two sets of arrows show where boarding passengers are expected to stand when getting ready to board the MRT. In between these arrows is an approximation (almost always percisely right of course), where the MRT's doors will open, and and arrow showing where passengers will alight.

Even in dwellings, this parental attitude is seen. For instance, in the residence I have decided to accept, there are strict rules. Visitors are not allowed after 11 pm. And when someone of the opposite gender is in a person's room, the door must be kept ajar. And this is a residence for grad students!!!!

In practice, of course, people disregard these arrows, and no one is going to enforce them strictly. I just think it's an example of the strict planning and micromanagement that the folks at the top have applied to Singapore.

Although this type of governance would never fly in countries like the United States, it appears to have worked quite well in Singapore- turning the country from a backwater, slum-ridden, Third World outpost with no resources, to one of the most advanced and developed countries on the planet- all within one generation.

So why do so many backpackers hate it? I guess it's the same thing I thought two years ago. This country is rather Westernised... people, especially from Europe, are so used to things working efficiently, and being cleaned, that when they travel, they must want some freedom from it all. Countries like Thailand do not have these "anti-social" laws... add to that the fact that the fact that it is simply much cheapter and more exotic than Thailand... given the high costs of flights out here, backpackers get more value for the dollar. Singapore is aptly named "Asia for beginners" and is a great place for larger-budget travellers to stay if they want to experience something different, yet still comfortable.

I still have about two years left in this place, and I'm sure I'll learn much more about it, compared to my thoughts after just a few days (and a bit of reading).

All the best from Singapore!

Day 1 in Singapore: Nice flights, a sketchy hotel, a cell phone rip off, an amateur film, and good food

Part I: Nice Flights

So I was fortunate enough to fly on Singapore Airlines. After flying with them, I'm not so sure I could ever fly with anyone else - and I only flew coach. The 747 I flew on was massive, clean, and very modern. I was lucky enough to be seated at an emergency exit aisle, albeit one right behind the pertruding emergency exit door (ie, i wouldve been much better off at the adjacent seat). The entertainment was impressive, as was the food and even the bathroom! I've never seen an airplane bathroom that had so many things like after shave, mouthwash, etc. All these things together, coupled with the wonderful neck pillow I bought for $20 CAD in Montreal's airport means that I was actually able to get a good deal of sleep on the plane!

Part II: A Sketchy Hotel
Upon leaving the airport, I go to the Happy Hotel in Geylang. Ok so the hotel isn't THAT bad. The rate that I'm paying is 45 SGD per night (about 32 USD), which is a bit more than I'm used to. But this is Singapore, not Bangkok. And aparantly the normal rate at this very hotel is 60 SGD / night, mine apparantly discounted becasuse I'm staying for 10 days. The room has it's own (very clean, if tiny) bathroom, a working tv (although it seems you have to pay extra for a clicker), a reasonably big bed, aircon, a dysfunctional power system, and not much else. This all of course is more than adequete for me for the moment.

The hotel is situated in Geylang http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geylang, a seemingly working-class area on the outskirts. While the rest of Singapore is probably about 25 years ahead of Montreal (my default city of reference), Geyland feels curiously stuck somewhere in the early 1900s, with its architecture and eating houses... one must, of course, disregard the über-modern city busses and ubiquitous 7-11s.

Part III: A Cell Phone Rip off

One of my first priorities was to buy a mobile phone... it will be quite important in the long-run, and in the next few days, as I search for an apartment. There are quite a few people celling phones here in Geylang, but most of the phones look used, sketchy, and overly expensive. I decided, perhaps unwisely, to head to Orchard Road http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchard_Road with the mission of finding a cell phone or bust. After perusing through the miles of upmarket malls, I found Lucky Plaza http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Plaza, a more downmarket mall which specialises in electronics.

They are also very skilled salespeople there. That plus the fact that I knew I needed a cell phone and didn't know where else to look means that getting ripped off was an inevitability. Only question was: by how much.

So for my graduation, my mother told me she wanted to buy me something similar to the I-Phone (in price and style): ie, a phone costing around $250 USD. However, it seems that finding a really good phone at a reasonable cost is difficult without a contract, which I don't want because of my horrific past experiences with Fido. So I knew I would have to downgrade my standards.

So given all of this, and that I didn't want a contract, $300 SGD for a Nokia 7100 Supernova didn't seem all that horrible. It's not exactly a phone I can brag about to other people, but its certainly a huge upgrade from any other phone I've had, and I'm not sure where I couldve gotten a better phone for the price. The guy then proceeded to sell me a SIM card - which I need in order to actually use the phone. I was expecting something to cost around $20, but the cheapest (according to him) was $88 SGD!!! I'm not sure if that's actually the going rate for a SIM card here in Singapore (I've only ever bought one w/o a contract in dirt cheap Thailand), or if he just blatantly overcharged me. So the phone, the sim card, and the $15 card to put money on the phone seemed more than I was willing to pay.... but the phone itself is being covered, so it didn't see THAT bad. I gave him my credit card (didn't have enough cash on hand) and then on the receipt (after he swiped my card) it said $527!!!! I asked him how they got that amount, and he said it was the GST. I know (and knew) he was lying, but he already swiped my card.... what could I do? Sadly, this one must go in the vault of me being royally ripped off. To add the icing on the cake.... he sold me the phone with a European charger... thats right, neither a Singapore/UK charger, or even a North American set.... a European charger. Fortunatley, I also happened to buy a (overpriced) universal adapter that day... so I can still actually charge the phone.

The silver lining in all of this is that the prepaid plan itself actually seems quite good. You can buy cards in increments of $15 (or even cheaper if you wish), which gives you $18 in credit (doesn't expire for some 16 months). I can call North America at local rates, which is 16cents (SGD) / min during the day, and 8 cents/min on nights and weekends (which is when I'd call NA anyway). SMS is only 15 cents. So, after overpaying by probably $150 SGD, at least I don't have to overpay by $30/month like I did in Canada. I try to look on the bright side of things.

Part IV: An Amateur Film

I was walking from the MRT at Geylang, heading back to the Happy Hotel, while trying successlessly to convince myself that I didn't get too badly ripped off, I was approached by a tiny young lady who asked me to be an extra in a film. Since I really had nothing to do for the rest of the day (and it was only yet about 14:00), I really had no reason to decline, so I said yes. She brought me to this abandoned airport not too far away, where she and probably about half a dozen other individuals slightly younger than me were working on a film. They recruited about another half dozen extras who seemed to be young teens just finishing up school. The film they were doing was for a project at school -they were all film students. They were making some version of Harold and Kumar... I don't know too many details, except that they only needed me for one scene: I was to stand in an "immigration queue".... I never even got to where the "immigration officer" was standing.

Part V: Good Food

By 15:00 I was back in my room. I did some things on the internet (which I get for only $5/day from my laptop), among which was to set up my first apartment viewing today in just over an hour. Next thing I knew, I fell asleep at 16:00, knowing that I should set my alarm for that night, but too lazy to do it. Although I woke up at different points throughout the night, I was too tired to get up and actually go out for something to eat. I woke up "properly" at 02:00, and decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to meander around outside the hotel, given that I'm in the city's red-light district. Fortunately, 02:00 is 14:00 in East Coast time, so I was able to kill time talking to people from North America (although I was starving!).

By about 05:45 I decided that I should at least walk and see if maybe 7-11 was open - or was opening soon. I didn't even have to go that far to see that the 2 eating centres on the corner were not only already open, but were doing so much business that the only table I could get was half in the rain. The wonderful thing about Geylang is the variety and cheapness of the food. For breakfast, I had a simple plate of fried noodles with an egg- $1,80 - and a cup of crappy coffee $0,80.

So that leaves me with now... 10:30 am local time. I'm going to see my first- and if it goes well, only - apartment today.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Late Summer Thoughts

You might ask yourself.... "late summer????" It's only July! I leave for singapore in less than 2 weeks. Registration starts just 1 week after I get into Singapore... Oreitnation less than 2 weeks after... and class less then 3 weeks. Of course... in Singapore, summer never really ends - but thast a different thing altogether.

Just a few updates:

Regarding my failed internship.... I finally heard in mid-June that I was cleared. At that point it was too late because I already had my 21 July flight to Singapore booked, but even if I changed my flight, started the internship at the earliest time possible, and got to singapore at the lastest time possible, I would only have had 5 weeks at the internship- which doesnt seem worth it.

Regarding NUS....
I never knew just how complicated this all would be! I mean.... going to McGill was complicated, and this isn't necessarily worse...

-So after a long and awkward wait, in early July, I was finally notified of how "pre-registration" works, and they finally updated their list of modules (ie courses) for the upcoming semester. The immigration process seems quite easy - as I've already been "pre-approved" for a student pass on their online system.

So what could be so bad?
- I have no less than 8 forms I have to fill out and sign....
-I had to go through a medical examination, which included a test for HIV and TB (both of which were of course negative).
-In theory, I still have to do a "chest x-ray" the only point of which would verify that I don't have TB. The American doctors seem to think this procedure is pointless and refused to do it.
-NUS has declined to offer me accomodation, leaving me on my own to find a place to live.

I'm hoping this stuff will get easier once I get to Singapore... but for now I'm a bit frustrated.

I will keep you all updated!

Early Summer Thoughts

So, I just thought I'd update you guys on some things happening in my life. A good old fashioned social commentary blog entry should come pretty soon.

Leaving Chile

I left South America less than two short weeks ago. A long flight route which I was dreading was actually much smoother than I had anticipated, especially considering the problems I encountered at the last minute about my ticket! To make a long story short, the folks at TACA had two tickets for me to go one way from LAX to SCL (Santiago de Chile). Obviously I only went on one of the itineraries, making me a "no show" for the other, which told TACA to cancel automatically the rest of my itinerary (ie, my flight back to Montreal). After several aggrevating phone calls (and one trip to the airline's office) I restored my flight. At first, they only decided to restore half the itinerary, but at the end, it all worked out well. I left Santiago at the ungodly hour of 6 am, with a short layover in Lima, Peru, and then a very long layover in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Not lacking the energy and optimism I had during my layover in San Salvador (and not willing to pay any entrance fees and departure taxes, and not sure if there was anything worth seeing in San Jose, or if it was even safe to walk around!), I decided to wait out the 6 hours in San Jose's airport. Unfortunately, San Jose's airport is most certainly not the best to kill a long layover - even San Salvador had a nicer airport. I would even go so far as to say San Jose has the worst airport I've ever seen (well.... maybe with the exceptions of Vientiane and Rangoon). It wasnt even so bad because it was dinky and third world (although it was- to some extent). I hated it because it seemed like a run-down American airport. In other words, it both lacked the charm found in many non-North American airports, and the vastness of many American airports. To give an example, the food court (and ONLY food options) consisted of three watered down American chains, with prices even higher than one would find in most American airports!

Fortunately though, it only cost $30 for the VIP lounge. While paying this fee might make me a sinner in the eyes of the backpacker gods, for a 6 hour layover in an otherwise depressing airport (while running on a dire shortage of sleep) seemed like a worthwile investment. I was, sadly, unable to get the sleep I so badly wanted (mostly because of my own inability to sleep in non conventional places), but, I had complimentary snacks, juice, coffee, and internet access. In the end it wasn't all bad.

This was followed by another long layover at JFK, which I was dreading even more. The plane landed at about 2:30 am, and my next flight was at 8. But by the time I got off the plane, went through passport control, got my baggage (which came quite late), it was already 3:30. To my hapiness, I discovered that there is life at JFK overnight... I even found arcade games I could kill some time (and a little bit of money) at. By the time I changed terminals and got my next boarding pass, it was already almost 5, and I slept an hour on the floor of a surpisingly nice American Airlines Terminal. By 10, I had arrived in Montreal, where, for the first time (ever!), I was greeted and welcomed at the airpot (by some really cool people).


Graduation Week

By Tuesday the first of my coterie of relatives (my mother and stepfather) had arrived. By Saturday, I didn't want to see a lot of them for a long time. I guess that's exaggerating a bit.

Thursday was the graduation ceremony. I was looking forward to a graduation similar to what the folks experienced last year. Well, the ceremony itself was fine, but shortly thereafter it became cold and rainy, and the reception was awkardly moved to the lobby of Leacock. Not really the lasting image I wanted for myself or my family. TO make matters worse, I come from a family of perpetual complainers, who wanted to make sure I understood very clearly how miserable they were in the inclimate weather.

That night, I was allowed to pick a restaurant. After all, it was my special day. This restaurant selection, of course, came with a large restriction: it couldn't be anything exotic (which, anyone who knows me well enough might know that these are my favourite restaurants) - since certain members of my family won't eat anything not traditionally eaten by white people. This left me to book a French/Italian restaurant in Montreal. Couldn't go wrong right? What I didn't count on was the worst transit crisis in 7 years. Three lines of the metro were shut down, and there weren't any taxi cabs available. The utterly miserable weather made it a pretty unviable walk, especially for most members of my family for whom mobility is limited. After an hour of having to listen to bickering and complaining, and faced with the possibility of having my graduation dinner in the hotel restaurant, we were all finally able to find a cab. Happily, the restaurant itself was actually quite nice, and I think everyone there enjoyed themselves (we also had the whole restaurant - and pretty much all of Old Montreal - to ourselves). I also had a special someone with me, making the experience exponentially more variable.

The following day was perhaps the most anticlimatic birthday I ever had. Waking up, it was actually easy to forget that it even was my birthday! That night, for some reason or another, my relatives which were still in Montreal (my grand-parents had left, leaving my mom, stepfather, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew), decided it would be appropriate to have dinner. There was a long ordeal of finding a restaurant suitable for everyone... which involed the older (ie, over 30) folks bickering about restaurants, walking out of two of them, probably forgetting that it was someone's birthday at all! Despite all this complaining and unpleasantness, the restaurant we ultimately found was pretty good.... and the complaining itself aside, I (ironically) had nothing to complain about!

My departure from Montreal was rather awkward. Saturday was moving day. I had only started packing on Friday night. I attribute this partially to my own irresponsibility, but also partially to the constant juggling of high-maintanance relatives and the emotional difficulty of packing up my Montreal life. This left me in a panic on Saturday morning, exacerbated by certain irritable members of my family, and the fact that not everything I wanted to keep even fit in the car! (Luckilly, I had a Montreal friend come and pick up what remainted)... I even had to trash things I might have considered keeping.

To make matters worse, I got a rather mean and emotionally unsettling email from my previous landlord, whom I had gotten to know as a friend over the last two years. I will not go over the details in the email (which was probably about 50% unreasonable ... he even started to blame me for the potential break up of his current marriage!), but let's just say he's never going to want to see - or hear from me again. Objectively speaking, I shouldn't be so upset- since I was never going to see him again anyway. It's just sad to have what I considered a nice relationship end on such a horrible note, and most of it be my fault.... it's a humbling thing I hope to learn a bit from.

Happily, this will not be my last experience with Montreal, because....


Dep't of State Fiasco

Those keeping track of my prior entries might remember that I was planning to intern with the department of state this summer. This of course was pending an extensive security clearance process, which commenced back in early February. I was told it would take about 90 days, but as of today, I have not yet heard the results from it. In mid May (while in Easter Island), I emailed them, and they responded telling me that they do not know when (or if for that matter) I will be cleared. Of course, at this point, even if I found out tomorrow that I was cleared, it would be too late, as I have less than two months left in the summer.

So, what happened? It seems unlikely that I actually failed the security clearance.... after all, I don't think there is any evidence that I pose a threat to the US. More likely, this was just a low priority for them (especially with all the other issues going on), and they haven't gotten around to clearing me yet.

This is not the end of the world.... it was tight as it was, and I could always just try for it again after I finish grad school.


Rest of the Summer

Where does that leave me for the summer? Well, it's June 4th now. I actually HAVE to be at NUS by July 29th to register in person (apparantly they don't do these things online). I thought I would give myself a couple of days to recuperate from Jet Lag. So, I leave the US on July 21st and arrive in Singapore on the 23rd. This actually leaves me about 6 weeks - enough time to be bored, but not quite enough time to undertake anything seriously.

Fortunately, I have friends in Montreal this summer, and although I no longer have my appartment, I have people who will set me up. I have nothing to do there except see people, but I suppose being bored in Montreal is always better than being bored in old Robbinsville.

So my plan is to split up my time. Next week (mid or late week) I will head up to Montreal for a couple of weeks, come down here for a week or so, head back up there, and come down here by the 17th of July (I have a wedding to go to on the 18th). Actually, I'll probably have to make two trips just to take the remainder of my stuff back down.

Grad school and beyond(?)

Which leaves us at end-summer and grad school. Although I have long been looking forward to this, the imminence of going to grad school leaves me with a lot of doubts. AM I cut out for grad school? WIll I manage my thesis? Will I enjoy my time in Singpaore / at NUS? Was NUS the right school? Will people respect my NUS degree? And, given the awkwardness I experienced in moving this past week.... where will I go after that?

I of course have an answer to all (or at least some) of these questions. Singapore is not the most fantastic city I've ever seen, and I don't expect to utterly fall in love with it. It is, however, a nice enough city which I expect to make an adequete base for the next two years. As for whether going to grad school (or, specifically, doing my masters in social science) is the right decision, I can't think of a viable alternative. Getting a job (with a BA, no real experience and a shitty economy) is almost a laughable idea. Law school could have been an interesting alternative, but I would probably have had to go to a university which did not appeal to me so much- and pay them lots and lots of money.

So, is NUS the best place to go? Well, it is ultimately the only place that took me (even though I only applied to one other school), and I'm not sure if there are many (or any) univeristies which seem so much more appealing to me. When push comes to shove, I'm not paying them anything, and it's enough to buy some time until the job market gets better (hopefully getting some legitimate qualifications at the same time!).


Conclusion

No, I did not intentionally structure this like a term paper. It's just that right now this is a very awkward time and I have some awkward thoughts in my head. The transient life path that I have chosen is one that comes with its own set of ups and downs. I get to see things and experience things (and meet interesting people) that many people, especially Americans and especially in my own family, have no clue about. For this I am utterly thankful. I, however, have to deal with such unpleasant things as moving periodically, reducing the stuff (valueable, sentimental, and otherwise) that I accumulate, losing friends, and dealing with logistical annoyances.

I am in a strange phase right now. I have no place I really consider home... in other worse, no place I can see myself living in for more than a few years. I have a family with whom I feel mostly out of touch. I have a few friends with whom contact is greatly restricted by geography. And I have a future career path which is far from certain- not only in the economy, but in my head- as I do not have as clear of an idea of my future as I would like to at this point.

So I write this not to complain or to evoke sympathy... I write this so that I can let people know what's been going on with me, and so that I can think aloud and help myself figure things out.

Thanks for reading and take care!

Greetings from Santiago (de Chile)!

Hello readers,

I am currently at my hostel in Santiago taking advantage of the free internet offered here (and the fact that apparnalty im the ONLY Person in the hostel.)

Just to update you since my last entry.

I left Easter Island on Saturday. THe flight was somewhat unpleasant since they arbitrarily decided only to give some passengers headphones and not others. Clearly, I was not among the privileged.

Arrived at Santiago, but only briefly. Spent the night there, but I didnt really get to see anything becuase it was already dark (by 7 pm), and I had left the next morning to Valparaiso.

Valparaiso is a smallish (about 250 k) city 90 minutes outside of Santiago. IT was a pretty cheap bus ride.... and Chilean buses happen to be exceptional. Valpo (as it is commonly called) is a UNESCO port city, well known for its steep hills, its colourful houses, and its quirky funiculars. These things were of course all there, and were in fact the highlight of my time in Valpo. Basically, Valpo can be divided into the downtown area (El Plan) and the many hills surrounding it. El Plan is nothing special.... reasonably modern, pretty EUropean looking, a little bit dirty..... but nothing worthy of note for the visitor, excepting a few museums and some pretty buildings. THe hills are mostly residential..... a few of them are touristy, but most of them are just residential (read: low income.... and kinda sketch). THe touristy hills (such as Cerro Allegre) are REALLY touristy.... to be fair, they almost succeed in their mediterranean feel. But as interesting an atmosphere as it is, I found it rather boring..... certainly didnt justify the 3 days I spent there. Perhaps it was made worse by being the ONLY Person in the hostel on the 3rd day (on the first two days there werre these two american guys I could talk to). Oh and on the first day, I met this American guy in a cafe. HE used to work with Lehman Brothers in New York... and ever since, hes been living in Buenos Aires. Kinda cliche, eh?

ON my 2nd day in Valpo, I did a day trip to Vina del Mar. Vina, is about the same size as Valpo, and is literally 10 minuts away. It is a upmarket touristy beachside place.... with a ritzy casino and stuff like that. Interestingly, it caters more to Chilean tourists than to Westerners.

Today I returned to Santiago (otherwise known as Santiago de Chile.... in order to differentiate it from other Santiagos out there). THe people I have talked to all told me to avoid spending much time in Santiago.... that it was boring and not meant for tourists. I have found it to be a pleasant change of pace from Valpo. True, its still pretty depressing being alone. And there arent that many tourists around here. There were more in Valpo, even though its low season (half the touristy restaurants were closed there!). But so far I have quite enjoyed my time here.... Santiago is a very nice city. I have only seen the main downtown neighbourhood (called El Centro), so maybe I shouldnt generalise. After all, the city has its not so good areas, some shantytowns, and more than its fair share of stray dogs. But at least the centro is quite nice.... I certainly dont feel like Im in the third world (if I am at all). Its full of shopping arcades, malls, haute shopping, and, best of all, is mostly confined to pedestrians! Its full of people watching opportunities.

I really have to pinch myself to remind myself that Im in SOuth America, and not Europe. That is, of course, until I see the prices for everything!

I have tomorrow and Friday to see some of the sites and the other neighbourhoods. Saturday (very early) I start back up to MOntreal, with a dreadfuly long itinerary (stops in Lima, San JOse, and New York).

´Lana = ¡Greetings from Easter Island!

Hello everyone. I am in (or on... dont know which is correct) Easter Island. They say that it is geographically the most isolated place on earth. The nearest inhabited island is some 2000 km away. The nearest city (Santiago) is some 4000 km away.

This geographic isolation makes it an appealing destination for many tourists. Add to this the fact that Easter Island has probably more archaeological sites per sq. km than most other locations in the world, let alone islands.... and it is quite stunning geographically.

This of course makes it a great destination for almost anyone.... but as much as Ive enjoyed all of this, its something else that intrigues me the most about this place. Given the how geographically isoalted it is, it is astonishingly connected to the rest of the world, particularly to Chile. There are (cheap) internet cafes everywhere.... the stores are well stocked with pharmaceutical items, potato chips, and beer - all of which must clearly be imported quite often. My Canadian cell phone even gets service here! The people here.... on paper and in brochures they have a polynesian culture. Geographically, it is part of the polynesian triangle, and its polynesian heritage is a big part of its tourist drawl. In fact, in early February there is a crazy traditional festival that traces its roots back to ancient times. This aside, you feel much more like youre in Latin America. It is Spanish, not Rapa Nui (the indigenous langauge) which is heard most often. Signs are almost exclusively in Spanish, with more English than Rapa Nui. Food is more influenced by Chile than by Polynesia.

Anyway, I have found it to be an incredible destination.... possibly my favourite ever. The downsides include a dearth of available food (I´ve lived on white bread, cheese, and empanadas - a variation of white bread and cheese, with shrimp mixed in). The restaurants that exist are VERY expensive. My first night here I ate in one.... had a (admittedy reasonably nice) shrimp dinner, with a Pisco Sour (official drink of Chile = AMAZING) and a glass of water.... came out to close to $30 US!!!!!!

What have I done here? Cycled around (as lonely planet says, its a two wheel playground!) and read alot... nights are pretty quiet and lonely.

Pictures from EI will be on facebook upon my return to Montreal (a week from this Sunday), along with the pictures I have from Southern California, and my 3 hours in El Salvador.

Other updates: After not hearing much about my Washington internship, I sent them an email a few days ago, asking when I might expect to start, etc. I got a reply (yay!), which told me they didn´t yet know when they would know (oi!). Given that I´m due in Singapore by 29 July, it seems more and more likely that this internship will fall through. A shame, as it would have been a great experience, but not the worst thing in the world. I can probably just go for it later.... this summer was a bit tight anyway. I will keep my loyal readers updated on that front.

For now.... goodbye from Easter Island.

Just for fun - some McGill "top 5s"

Why not? With just one week left of classes, I thought I would come up with a couple of top 5 lists about my entire undergraduate experience at McGill.

Top 5 Courses

5. FRSL 207, 211, 321, 431: French, all 4 years! This has been the only consistent part of my time and McGill and, although I've had three different profs, I really enjoyed all of my time in French- after all, I came to McGill with virtually no ability to speak French and now I can definitely get by in the language.

4. ENGL 315: Shakespeare, Fall '06. This was a long time ago, full of pretentious English students, and a complete elective for me (grade didn't count). In fact, this was the only course I took after first year that was a complete, irrelevant, just for fun elective. And it was lots of fun! Even if the prof was wacked out, I enjoyed his lectures and I enjoyed getting to read lots of Shakespeare.... I'm not sure when I would have otherwise.

3. ANTH 401: Comparative Anthropology, Fall '08. This was a semester course I took last semester with my then-thesis supervisor. At about 15 students, it was the smallest class I took at McGill. And there were so many characters in the class, that it was hard not to be entertaining. The readings were interesting (there was this one anthropologist who wrote about nomadic entertainers in Pakistan, and as part of his research he laid crunched up in a crib for 8 hours staring at what a baby would see.... and he made a sketch of this!), as were the discussions. Then of course the prof would have his anti-postmodernist tirades every once in a while.

2. ANTH 307: Andean Prehistory, Winter '08. I normally I'm not a big fan of archeology, but this class was fantastic. South America had always been a mysterious place for me, but it's ancient civilisations were even more mysterious. I simply did not know anything about them, and taking this course opened my eyes to so many interesting mysteries obscured by history. Although the class was an awkward size (about 30-40), the prof was fantastic and kept her lectures stimulating and organised.

1. ANTH 422: Contemporary Latin American Society and Culture, Winter' 09. This was a fantastic course! I was a litttle sketched out at first becuase it was once a week for three hours.... but the three hours flew by. This was a mostly student-led seminar, so interesting discussions always ensued. The readings and other course material were fantasically well-selected.... and the prof is even having the whole class over her house for a seminar party!


Top 5 Most Disapointing Courses

5. ANTH 358: The Process of Anthropological Research, Winter '09 (ongoing). I had very high expectations for this course.... I thought to myself, finally, something concrete! To be fair, this hasn't been terrible. The prof is young and inexperienced, but she tries very hard. But the lectures are dreadfully boring and often way too abstract to be relevant. The sad thing is that I don'T feel as though this class has made me any more prepared to go into the field.

4. ANTH 337: Meditteranean Society & Culture, Fall '07. With such a promising title, I guess I really had my hopes up. This wasn't a useless course- indeed, the prof making us do group presentations at the end was an interesting way to tie up the course. And the readings were generally quite well-selected. But my god were the lectures boring. Well except the guest lecture by my future honours thesis supervisor: "How many of you have tried sheep cheese before? No one? Good! Because I have some for all of us!".

3. ANTH 355: Theories of Culture and Society, Winter '09 (ongoing). Well, to be fair, I wasn't expecting much from this course, so I'm not sure how "disappointing" it was/is. But I felt I had to put this one there because it's SUCH a dreadful course. Readings are wayy to excessive, they are in a textbook with a font size of 2, and they are excerpted from their original sources - so you don't have any idea of the context. The text book we use actually edits out the concrete examples that the writers use to illustrate their overly jargonised and abstract points. The lectures similarly are so abstract that you actually have no clue what the prof is talking about. Not to mention, the prof left for 3 weeks to meander about in Africa and spent half the class before the midterm talking about his "travel" stories (which were SO boring), before handing us the most psychotic review sheet ever: we had to prepare for 25 IDs and 20 essays in less than 2 days!!!

2. ANTH 338: Native Peoples of North America, Fall '08. This class was a fiasco. The instructor was incredibly boring and disorganised. The textbook was atrocious- each reading seemed like it was written by 3rd graders and said the same thing, "White people are bad and with their alcohol destroyed the lives of the poor natives". The exams were erratic and tested the most irrelevant meticulous details.

1. ANTH 492: Honour's Thesis. Well... of course, this had to be the biggest disappointment.

Top 5 Fixtures of the McGill landscape

When I'm in grad school and beyond, what things -other than courses- will remain in my memory when I think about McGill? What thins will I most associate with the McGill landscape?

5. Never-ending construction

4. Chaos at the bookstore in the first week of the semester / in Shatner on Activity Night

3. Long winters

2. Samosa Sales

1. Red tape (bureacracy!)


Well, those are the lists I came up. If anyone else has another suggestion for a McGill top 5, let me know. :-)