Welcome to Singapore... where there's NO internet!

My goodness! I’m so sorry for not having written in weeks, but it’s been crazy busy over here! We stayed up all night talking and watching movies in KL before waking up hours later at the break of dawn to fly to Singapore. It’s amazing how we have to spend hours packing, driving to and from airports, gathering the group together, and waiting for luggage only to spend 45 minutes on the plane. We were glad to arrive though, since being in Singapore means we’re almost home!

Everything I’ve heard about Singapore has made me expect things to be slightly different from what they actually are. My preconceived notions ahead of time were that the country was incredibly clean (gum chewing was illegal because they don’t want people to stick it to things and litter), and a country that was incredibly strict (remember when that American guy got caned a few years ago?). In actuality, Singapore is like a mix of Asia, Florida, and Cincinnati. There are tons of white people everywhere, whether for business or pleasure. It’s a country that tries very hard to be up with the rest of the world, through technology and business. Because of this, they gloss over their history and past, and have only recently begun teaching these things in school. This is also overall the greenest place I’ve ever been. The streets are all lined with trees, and the vegetation is immense and colorful. Even though it’s a large, busy city (as well as being a country) it feels smaller, with streets that aren’t that wide and one ways everywhere. Our hotel is in the middle of the biggest shopping area in town. Orchard Road is basically three miles of amazing malls, restaurants, and other places to spend money. This is problematic, considering that we’re relatively poor here considering that the dollar isn’t worth much. Somehow we’ve survived so far, by laying out at the pool for most of our mornings, and eating extravagant lunch/dinners only once a day. We’ve found our local hangout bar (Muddy Murphy’s is outside and has some good beer specials) and our local nighttime eats (Medesto’s has amazing Italian food and serves until 1:30). We’ve pretty much settled into a routine that involves a lot of sleeping and a fair amount of drinking. We do try to venture out for some sightseeing occasionally, but this is for real the hottest place I’ve ever been, and that is a big deterrent for most of the company.

For real, every day here would be an "extreme heat warning" day in Ohio. You know, "Do not mow your lawn… do not spend time outside unless absolutely necessary." We did find time on our day off, however, to go to one of the coolest things we’ve done so far… the Singapore Zoo’s Night Safari! Now I’m not someone who’s incredibly interested in zoos… I mean, I enjoy them, but I’m never going to go out of my way to look at animals (unless they’re really cute). However, this was fantastic! The way the Singapore zoo is set up, there are hardly any barriers between you and the animals. They use natural barriers, like moats, or a line of bushes, or a cliff. They also use a lot more vegetation than we do, so the whole zoo is designed like a natural environment. The coolest part though, was the fact that you’re there at night. It’s almost pitch black so you feel like you’re in the jungle up close and personal with the animals. The habitats are set up so that they’re long and shallow, so the animals are very close, usually within five or ten feet of you. You get to ride a tram around and learn about the animals, and then we hiked the trails so that we could see them even closer. It was incredibly peaceful and quiet, and the animals were so beautiful in the moonlight. We also got to see an animal show, where we interacted with a giant snake, saw tigers hunting, watched otters clean up trash, and brushed shoulders with owls. It was awesome.

That's all I have time for now, but I promise to be better over the next two weeks (that's all until I'm home!) Miss you all!