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.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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. :-)
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. :-)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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!
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!
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