1-8-09

Salutations,

My friends on the other side of the globe; I apologize for the lack of updates, but I was under the impression that only members could read my blog. Since my site has but five affiliates I thought no one was following my adventures so I stopped posting. It’s nice to know that plenty of people are in fact reading my entries and I promise to keep the stories coming on a much more consistent basis. In any case, fear not friends, for my life here has not gone stagnant. I have plenty of entertaining experiences to share. I have persevered through Christmas with the Euros, the search for roommates, the hunt for an apartment, the immigration office, tourist traps, the first week of class, being propositioned by hookers, nights out in the city and all the tribulations that come with clashing cultures and sprawling unfamiliar landscapes. Danny Sizemore, a mentor of mine, once taught that writing should be brief and concise so although I could write for days on my recent experiences I will instead skirt through the past couple weeks in record time.

Christmas with the Euros in Singapore was certainly unique. In every Asian county I have inquired about (including Korea, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and of course Singapore) Christmas is celebrated much differently than what were used to. Instead of the family sitting around a warm fire on a cold winter morning bit, they got out with friends and party like it’s the day before tomorrow (btw bars aren’t obligated to close at 2 in the morning here… actually they don’t have to close at all…). Anyway, most everyone staying at the hostel was a young twenty something and, like me, spending their first Christmas away from family. So, on the 25th I gathered outside with a bakers dozen and we hosted our own celebration. We stayed up late exchanging pleasantries and cheap gifts all the while drinking beer and very cheap wine. We tapered off around 3 in the morning, but it wasn’t until 6 or so when the distant sounds of overplayed techno stopped dancing through the old European style street that surround Sleepy’s. Like the rest of this entire ordeal, it was a once in a lifetime experience.

The day after, while folks back in the states were busy celebrating, I was looking for roommates and an apartment. Thankfully I had plenty of options for both. The logical order of business is to find roommates then go check out a place. The exchange students had all been networking for days to find like minded people with the proper chemistry. Once I shared a pint with Mikko and Kasper I knew I had found two class acts. The three of us decided that we would mix and match until all was right. Finding the right people was easy, finding a proper flat was tough and finding a quality real estate agent in Singapore was damn near impossible. The worst of all of them was this cute little S’porian agent by the name of Adolyn. She spent her nights loitering around the hostel schmoozing and networking to fill her unused units. Eventually her nightly round put us in contact and on the 27th she took the three of us out and showed off 5 or 6 available units. Working with Adolyn was like dealing with all the worst parts of every used car salesman from America to India. She couldn’t avoid spewing bullshit the entire time we were together. She didn’t know that I had been in Singapore for almost a week and as we toured the area surrounding her units she told us that, “this area is unique because there’s a shopping center so close” and “look here’s a food court… there’s so few here.” I kept trying to tell her that I’d been here a week and she didn’t have to keep lying, but there was no stopping her. Then came the close… she tried the most basic hard close techniques I’d ever seen. The same stuff they taught me at 24 hour fitness in three weeks. I might have tried negotiating with her for a good deal as she seemed vulnerable and new to the game, but I just couldn’t stand to look at that schmuck anymore. Anyway Mikko, Kasper and I did end up finding a good guy to rent from and we found terrific roommates. This is a picture of all of us spending part of New Years together… look how happy we are!




So Jack is the one toed up and on the cameras left. He’s an American from the east coast and he’s actually living above us. That’s Mikko between Jack and myself. Mikko is from Finland. The guy on the far right is Kasper and he’s also from Finland. Those two are some of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Both smart as a whip too… they speaks Finnish, Swedish, and English very fluently. The guy to my immediate left is Florian. He’s a crazy German house dancing machine, but get ‘em into the club and he’s trouble!!! The two girls below are Sarishta (on the right) and Alina. I’m so glad we have some girls living with us! They represent the Yin to the Yang inside our humble abode and have already taught me lots about living with girls. Anyway, I’ll finish some writing tonight and post the updates tomorrow…