I have managed to spill tea directly into my wallet, all over a cafeteria counter top, and on two innocent bystanders. Though I will admit that saying I have “butter-fingers” is an understatement, I would like to think that these incidents weren’t entirely my fault. When serving beverages for take-away, Singaporeans have the habit of pouring the steaming brew directly into a plastic bag. In all of my classes, Singaporeans have proven to be intelligent, hardworking, and logical; yet it seems to me these characteristics failed them the day they poured boiling liquid into a thin plastic bag. Yet, despite this slight foible, I am in love with Singapore.

My first weekend back in Singapore marked the tail end of Chinese New Year and there was a huge parade near City Hall to celebrate. I have posted pictures from the event on flickr and am pleased to say that the float made by NTU (my exchange university) won! The huge variety of floats and dancers made evident the diversity that is present in Singapore.

This weekend my friend Natalie (Scotland) and I went waterskiing at a cable park on the eastern shore. It was a big lake with a cable rigged around the perimeter. From the cable hung ropes that (after mastering a tricky launch) dragged participants around the lake on water-skis, wakeboards, and kneeboards. After a couple falls (and one particularly epic face-plant from yours truly) Natalie and I were able to get the knack of it and had a great time. We plan on going back!

After waterskiing we went to a seafood hawker center where we wandered amongst the stalls and sat down and to order a Singaporean specialty – Chili Crab. We were presented a fully shelled crab drowning in chili sauce, and only chopsticks to eat it with. After contemplating how best to break the shell and scoop out the meat with chopsticks, we realized that there wasn’t anyone to mimic, and that we would have to improvise. Two seconds later we were attacking the crab with a chopsticks-fingers combo. I can honestly say that I don’t ever think I have been so messy from eating in my entire life, but the effort was certainly worth the reward (soo delicious). Once it was clear that our ridiculous attempts to eat the crab had ended, the stall owner provided us with a bucket to clean ourselves with, and our spectacle ended. (If anyone has tips on eating crab with chopsticks, I’m all ears!) We ended the day by meeting some local friends at a Malaysian place for even more food!
The next day was Thaipusam, a festival celebrated by Hindus in Singapore, Malaysia, Southern India, and Sri Lanka. To show their devotion to the Lord Murugan, participants join a procession along the streets of Singapore carrying large frames and weights supported through bodily piercing. It was a bit gruesome, but interesting nonetheless.

I guess that is all for now! I am volunteering with the Red Cross this Saturday, so I am excited to meet some more people and help out the community. Over spring break we are traveling to Vietnam!