Solo in Singapore!

Place visited: Singapore
Language(s) spoken: English/Mandarin
Population: 5.4 million
Currency Used: Singapore Dollar

     I took a quick solo trip to Singapore this week. It was EXTRAORDINARY!! Honestly, I fell in love with the city-state. It was less than a two hour flight from Surabaya, which is the capital of East Java. (Surabaya is a two hour drive from my house) I landed down in Singapore at about 9 a.m.


   

The Changi airport is absolutely incredible. It is nothing like I have ever seen before. I thought the Seoul/Incheon airport in South Korea was nice, but this one blew it out of the water.

  
 After immigration and customs, I exchanged some money and hailed a taxi. I visited Orchard Road and went by all of the shops and malls (there's a ton...they're just set up back to back). BUT, I couldn't buy anything because it was all designer. And not just any designer like Coach and Chanel. They had Prada, Gucci, and every other famous designer under the face of the sun. They had such high fashion designers I didn't even know the name of half of them!

     After walking around Orchard Road, I took the local bus to (what I thought) was going to be Marina Bay. However, I missed my stop by 1 stop and got off at a different location. However, it was a blessing in disguise. I was able to walk through their park that had a beautiful view of the entire city. It was so nice to just pop my headphones in, walk around, and enjoy all of the sights.

     However, the weather was much different than Malang. It was over 90 degrees with some humidity. I forgot what that feels like! SO STICKY.

     After walking through the park and seeing Marina Bay, I ventured over to a bridge that is shaped like the DNA helix. I walked through it and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city. Afterwards, I went to the 'Singapore Flight' (giant ferris wheel). I was going to ride it but it was $33 and my tummy was feeling grumbly. So, I headed back over the river and visited Gardens by the Bay. Here, there are giant trees encased in metal. It is so abnormal and amazing. I think another reason why I loved Singapore so much is because of its quirkiness. There truly is no city like it. It has so many amazing things to offer.

     They have extremely strict laws and bans on littering and smoking. As a result the city is SO CLEAN and fresh. It is opposite in contrast from Indonesia. Singapore reminded me a lot of back home in the states. Another thing that made Singapore enjoyable was that they had Starbucks! They had 5 Starbucks on just about every block. There were more there than there are in Seattle!

     I headed back to Orchard Road and walked through the cutest little market. I bought some gifts for friends and family back home, then found solace at a restaurant with wifi and air conditioning. Soon enough it was time to take a taxi back to the airport and get ready for school the next day.

     After my trip, I have officially put Singapore on my list of places to live, right after Boston. :)

That's all for today!

Here's a little video of my day:

xoxo Kat

Home Sweet Home

Hey there!!

I've been living in Malang for about a week now and it has been quite the adventure already.  This town is exquisitely beautiful.  It is completely surrounded by mountains, and of course, the wonderful Mount Bromo (an active volcano). 

Mount Bromo

I'm so proud of our 100% FRESH EVERYTHING lemon-garlic shrimp

Mmmm brains are oh so tasty ;)

We had teacher orientation last week.  Lesson plans, schedules and meetings have been taking up most of the space in my head.  Even if I had a month to plan and arrange my classroom, I don't think it would be enough time.  There's always something else to be done!

Even though things have been very busy with school, I've had a few opportunities to get out and enjoy Malang.  We went out to a small little dive called Houlihans.  It is in the old Dutch neighborhood, which was really fun to see.  We went up on the rooftop seating...which was like climbing a mountain to get there.  There were three or four flights of the steepest stairs I have ever seen.

     We were also able to go out and about at the marketplace.  Being immersed in the language is definitely helping me learn some of the common phrases.  I was so proud I ordered different foods by myself!  I just need to learn the higher numbers to know how much to pay for everything easier.  The conversion is a little tricky.  It's about 1 dollar to every 13,000 rupiah.  I just convert it 1:10,000 because it's easier.  

Rupiah millionaire! 

      That's all for now!  I have plenty to do to prepare for the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TOMORROW!  I can't wait to meet all of my kiddos. :)  All the teachers are meeting at our principal's house for a barbeque today. 

     Here's a little video of some of my typical day-to-day life here.  It's nothing too fancy! 

xoxo,
Kat