Thursday, January 20, 2011

Women have been taught that, for us, the earth is flat, and if we venture out, we will fall of the edge.



So the last couple of days there has been lectures and wrapping up the course material. Hopefully I can stay in touch with some of the Singaporean students that I have met!

A few girls and I decided to go out after the last night of lecture. We went out for live music and drinks. Good thing the next day was free to lie around and catch what is left of the sun before we go to below freezing weather!


My roommates and I also went out with Dr. Jennings and his wife Karrie. The Thai food was a.m.a.z.i.n.g...especially the green curry. The next day we went to the Thaipusan Festival. It was a jaw dropping experience!


Now time to get ready for 30 hours of travel and arriving to a 100 degree difference in temperature...

Sunday, January 16, 2011

“Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.” — Susan B. Anthony

Good News! I did not lose my camera…only misplaced it! :)

Saturday consisted of Arab Street, Little India, and China Town for walking tours of temples. While on Arab Street I grabbed a few souvenirs after looking at the Mosques. At the Mosque, we had to cover basically cover entire body to enter and observe.




Little India was crazy! We also went through a flee market in Little India. There were so many people around it was definitely a hot mess. We ate at dinner at a wonderful Indian vegetarian restaurant. I absolutely love the food especially if it is spicy!! The rest of the night consisted of finishing up any last minute shopping I had to do. It was definitely packed with people because of the Chinese New Year celebration coming up! However, I cannot wait for the Thaipusam Festival on Thursday!! The class and I will be witnessing the unflinching show of faith by the Hindu devotees.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

“You can do one of two things; just shut up, which is something I don’t find easy, or learn an awful lot very fast, which is what I tried to do.” —Jane Fonda


On Wednesday we spent the day at the pool catching some sun and playing with Dr. Jennings children. They are terrific kids! After a day of getting bronze and beautiful, my roommates and I went to little India in hopes to do our interviews. We started out at the Banana Leaf for dinner. You actually ate off a banana leaf. The food was amazing. We ate an assortment of dishes with rice and naan. Then we went into the heart of little India. I don’t believe we were in the right area for shopping and interviews. We soon aborted that idea and decided to go to Clarke Quay! It was definitely the place to be if you wanted to listen to live music, dance, and eat by the water. The ladies and I settled in a bar where we grabbed a few drinks and partook in Hookah. It was a great night with amazing friends!
 
Thursday consisted of lecture at NIE with Singaporean students. It was interesting to find that there were many commonalities among the discussion and group work. Thursday night the ladies and I did some major shopping!! It was crazy how much damage we could do in about three hours! We were all exhausted when we came back to the apartment, but very happy with the amazing deals and souvenirs we bought in Singapore! Definitely more shopping to come!!

This morning (Friday) was rough. We were all so exhausted from the night before, but were up and on the bus by 8am to hit the island of Pulau Ubin. It was a rough few hours, but then we seemed to get a small second wind. However, the heat, a lot of walking, and sweat was not helping! We were able to see the sea and walk around untouched territory by the government. It was simply beautiful…Singapore before it became a metropolitan area. The local lunch was amazing! Between the chili and pepper crab and an assortment of vegetarian dishes we were all too full to move! Thanks to Amanda she captured a photo of me basically falling asleep at the table. After lunch we went back to the main land and hit the beach! Best part of the day…sticking my feet in the East Asia Sea and picking up sea shells! Worst part of the day…lost my camera.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

“Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade.” — Constance Baker Motley


On Monday during the day we had a lecture about the legal system and how the school system works. Interesting fact: If a woman gives birth to four children before the age of 35, the family does not have to pay taxes. Singapore wants more reproductive rates. Also, Singapore claims to understand different cultures by the 5 “F’s”: Flags, festivals, faces, food, and fashion. It was refreshing to have such a knowledgeable person talk about the face value of cultural diversity in Singapore.

During the evening we had class at the National Institute of Education with Dr. Lee Boon Ooi multicultural class. Dr. Jennings spoke about awareness, skills, and knowledge when it comes to multicultural therapy practices. Toward the end of class, we split off into pairs and I interviewed a Malaysian descent student about her ethnic and cultural background. To our discovery, we had more in common than we thought! 

Tuesday was a rather interesting day, I ended up having to go the doctor and get something for my dizziness! So after a night of missing class and resting I am feeling a lot better but still have dizzy spells here and there.


Wednesday consisted of another day of pool side lecture about sexuality in the gay and lesbian community. Oogachaga support group came to talk about the situation. It was a very interesting conversation about what is considered legal in Singapore, and how it is rarely reinforced.

Later that evening the class went to the Zoo and then the night safari! It was awesome to see an assortment endangered animals! Also, the fish foot spa was one of the weirdest/coolest experiences! Riding an elephant was one of the highlights of my night! I was also very surprised about how close we could actually get to the animals!




Sunday, January 9, 2011

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do. -Eleanor Roosevelt

Lecture at TCA by Sam Kuna was rather intriguing consisting of examples of cases that he as came across in the mental health field. He was very informative on how families of little means are able to receive services. He also talked about how cross-cultural experience happens on a daily basis because Singapore has a plethora of cultures. One point that I found every interesting was the being educated in a certain language does not mean that the individual has not embraced the culture. I think it is important to appreciate that other people can appreciate things you cannot.

We then went to One People that promotes racial harmony by interaction between different races and religions. Between their camera man that was snapping pictures every second and their reactions to different questions I found it to be rather skeptical and interesting…

The next day first consisted of pool side lecture…who can complain about that?! Then I decided to get a massage! Hard day right?!

After such a hard day (sarcasm), the class and I went to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor thanks to Dr. Lee Boon Ooi.  Chinese medicine views the body as interconnected rather than focusing on just the area of symptoms. They said that the liver was connected to anger, lung connected to sorrow, heart connected to happiness, and stomach connected to worry. When it came to prescriptions it was a mixture of certain herbs and remedies that would help cure whatever a person may have. The Dr. had us try some herbs to help with energy. It basically looked like tree bark and tasted like honeysuckle. 



The class then parted to Malaysian for dinner and my goodness does the driving in Singapore make you sick to your stomach! I soon wished that I asked the Chinese medicine doctor what they would do in the case of nausea and dizziness! We then ventured to see a Shaman and were able to have a consultation with the Baby God. Watching the spirit of the Baby God take over the Shaman’s body was a once and a lifetime experience! We had to each go through a short ritual before we were able to consult with the Baby God. The consultation was a positive experience for some and for others it seemed a bit hurtful. I have mixed emotions about my consultation!



The next day I still was not feeling well and we were able to relax so the ladies and I spent it poolside. Basically dancing on the equator makes sun screen mandatory. It was a pretty laid back night and I went to bed early in hopes to feel better.

Today the class and I had a full packed day of visiting different areas of worship in Singapore. Sadly, I only made it a few hours and then had to leave because I am still feeling dizzy. Total bummer… Hopefully the dizziness 48+ hours will go away soon.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it. -Roseanne Barr


The Bollywood dance lessons were very interesting! I never knew that Bollywood dance could be so sensual. In the words of the instructor, some of us “arrived” and some of the group “did not arrive.” Unfortunately Dr. Jennings got it all on video. Hopefully it will not hit Youtube.

After the dance lessons, some of the ladies and I ventured to Tapas and Bogota sharing an assortment of dishes, drinks, and stories. Needless to say, we were all giggly on the way back to our apartment! 

Today we started out with a cross-cultural interview at the “Counselling and Care Centre” with two expert therapist from Singapore (Tan Boon Huat and Juliana Toh). It was a rich discussion consisting of couples, gay, lesbian, and multicultural experiences. One stated that we should challenge our own cultural beliefs constantly to allow us to have a better understanding of who we are and what we believe in. Throughout the entire lecture it was brought to our attention that individuals are not superior to one another, we just chose different pathways. It was a very inspiring lecture.

The class and I traveled to the heart of Chinatown in Singapore to grab a bite to eat at a yummy viet vender. The spring roles, curry, and noodles were amazing…very authentic and the smells were extraordinary. Jen, Amanda, Mariam, and I decided to stay in Chinatown where Jen and I found an awesome local fish market.  The day consisted of becoming immersed within Chinatown and visiting the medicine doctor, and viewing local temples.

The temples were outstanding! The first temple we went to was the Sri Mariamman. It was the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. The second temple was absolutely breath taking. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple consisted of five levels and we made it in time for the Medicine Buddha Prayer. You could feel the chanting in your chest.  I cannot put into words how powerful the experience truly was.



Monday, January 3, 2011

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes." -Clare Boothe Luce


The time change is definitely harder to get use to than I thought! Right now it is 3:30pm Singapore time… which means it is 1:30am U.S. time. Hopefully it will only take a few more days. I am surprised with the amount of high end cars around this area. Apparently you cannot have a car older than 10 years do to pollution issues.

After arriving at Treetop’s the ladies and I decided to unpack and we were determined to see Singapore! We traveled down Orchard Rd where there was amazing shopping and soon went to lunch at Song of India. The food was amazing. Lamb curry, naan, and a dish complimentary of the chef. Soon after our energy turned into exhaustion and we ended up wondering around until it started raining. Luckily we ended back at Treetops before the rain started. When it rains…it pours. Throughout the afternoon we were determined to stay awake. We were so jet lag from the time change we found anything funny. We were all in bed around 6-7pm.

Today we started out with a tour of the botanic gardens. There is more species in the botanic gardens than in North America. It was simply beautiful. I plan on doing yoga there a few times in the mornings. On the way we saw the U.S. embassy. Great to know where that is located just in case!

It is time to hit the pool for a few hours and then we have a Bollywood dance lessons later this evening.