Michigania Dreamland

Boy are we sore from our first non-rainy day at Michigania!!

I woke up with my dad and brother and went mountain biking on the horse trails just at the end of south camp. The sand at the beginning was a bit tough, and that one killer hill in the middle was a hard climb, but I got through it (a bit slower than Jer and dad, though...). When we got back to the cabin, I woke up Matt, and we all went to breakfast together.

The rest of us had completely finished our breakfasts by the time my dad got his omelet (but he said it was worth the wait). I saw Terese, Cristine and Emily on their way to the tennis lesson at center courts.

My mom had a south lower court reserved for 9:30, so Matt and I played doubles with my mom and my dad. My dad and I clearly creamed Matt and mom, but it was a fun game. Greg and Danny were playing on the court next to us. They looked good!

We got to relax a little big after tennis - hanging on the porch with the other Birnholtzs and the Ledermans. We all had reading material with us, but no one really read anything. Matt went to riflery. Then the lunch bell.

We ate lunch out on the porch with the Londons, and it was so fun to see Noah (the newest addition to the London/Kanner family) living the Michigania life! After lunch, a whole bunch of us went out on the boat. We drove out and sat in the water for at least an hour. Everyone went swimming (it was a gorgeous, warm - but not too warm, sunny day!) and just hung around. Jer then took me and Matt out on a sailboat. It was a bit scary, and we almost tipped twice, but he saved us, and luckily we even had fun. We passed Laurie out there three different times!

It was unbelievable that the lake was still as glass at 4:00 in the afternoon! Mark was able to take me waterskiing, though my legs were still sore from biking in the morning. It's hard when you haven't been on the skis in at least a year! It took me about four times to get up, and my hands are hurting.

Matt and I went on a walk on the make-out, I mean nature trails on the other side of north camp. They go along the water, and they're definitely a part of camp that isn't appreciated enough.

After we heard four 8 year olds playing Heart and Soul thirty times on the piano at the dining hall, we got a great game of volleyball going. Ryan Lederman was the star, but other people played really well also. Jeremy had a bunch of kills. We played until it was just about too dark to see.

Then there was obviously a lot of Oberon (but others were drinking Coors Light - yuck), a few games of boggle, lots of talking and laughing, and the Londons introduced a new game.

Okay, none of this happened, and this picture is from last year, but it my head, it's happening everyday.

I super wish we were at Michigania.
Michigania 2009 baby!!

Greg, Cristine, Terese, Jeremy, Marie, Adina, Gregg, Danny, Lisa, Emily, Jer, Birnholtzs, Ledermans, Cunninghams, Grosses/Millers/Collins, Londons, and everyone else - enjoy it for us!! We miss you!

Asian Civilizations Museum, etc.

Yesterday Matt and I woke up and got moving, which is not so common for us on the weekend.

We went to Raffles Place on the MRT and walked across the river to the Asian Civilizations Museum. It was a great museum - putting Singapore in the context of the region, giving lots of history, and explaining lots of culture. I highly suggest it if you want to come out to Singapore. On the way to the museum we tasted durian flavored ice cream. The durian seems to be the state/country fruit of Singapore, and it's hilarious. It's this spikey, scary looking fruit, and it has a crazy, strong smell. It's not allowed on the subways, and it's not allowed on planes, and you're not allowed to have them in other certain public spaces. Apparently the smell bother Caucasians but not Asians. Anyways, we got a home-made ice cream sandwich with the ice cream, and it wasn't that good. It was a good experience, though.

After the museum we walked all around the river area. It seems like a touristy area with lots of restaurants - looked a lot like many other cities in the world. We ate lunch and went to Borders to get me a new GMAT book. I finished my other ones. Yeah, there's a Borders here. It looked exactly like the one in Columbus Circle, but there were SO MANY people in it, and they were mostly Asian.

We went out to dinner last night with this nice couple we met from our complex. They got married in October, and she just moved here six months ago, he a year ago. It was really nice to talk to normal people. They're pretty funny too. She's also looking for a job and doesn't have much going on, so that's good news for me.

Thank the lordy for Ticket and Settlers

When I say ticket, I don't mean tickets to actually go anywhere. We're trying to stay here for a while.

When I say Settlers, I don't mean the settlers in the West Bank.

I'm talking about Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan. Thanks to Jamie, who introduced us to both of them, our lives have been enriched. After kick-my-ass-boxing, Christian, Lee Fong and Lee Fong's cousin, Eric, came over to play games. We got to play two Ticket to Ride Europe and two Settlers of Catan. I have to say that I won one of each, but even if I didn't win - it was so fricken fun.

We also learned that Fong is Lee Fong's first name, and Lee is her last name. If she takes Christian's last name, according me, her new name would be DeGuzman Fong. According to her it's something different, including Fong, Lee, and DeGuzman, but not necessarily in that order.
If I were Chinese, and I created a nickname for myself, it would be Hildie Melanie. I like that.

Last night Matt and I ordered Pizza Hut (we're both paying for it today...). It was such a streamlined process - you call ONE number, from anywhere in the country, so you don't have to figure out which one is closest to you, and we got some weird pizzas, and they came in a half hour. I also saw that you can log in on the website. Who logs in to Pizza Hut? Overall, it was a good experience, but I don't think my stomach can handle it again, and I'm not sure I want to witness Matt's stomach handling it again.

We also watched Venus win Wimbledon. She won 1.4 million dollars. AMERICAN! That's a lot of money.

I'm reading a book that Lederman recommended to Matt - Eat to Live. It was the most appropriate thing to read following Pizza Hut pizza, but I'm finding it pretty interesting.

Mostly, right now, all I'm thinking about is how my entire family and MANY amazing friends have all gathered together on Saturday at Michigania. It is the family camp that I have gone to since I was six months old, and it's a gathering of hundreds of amazingly fun people, beautiful space on Lake Walloon, SO MUCH fun stuff to do, and everyone's there without us. I have definitely missed a few years in the past, but this one feels especially painful, since we are so far away, and I don't have much going on to distract me. I think the next time we have the opportunity to go is July 2009, which is just painful to me.

Shabbat Take Two

So, remember when the guard wouldn't let me into the Jewish community? I should have taken the hint and walked away. Far away.

This shabbat dinner experience wasn't quite like it was last week with that wonderful family.

There is a whole political story that I won't go into, but it ended up with an Ashkenazi minyan once per month in the main synagogue (well at the complex, but not IN the synagogue - god forbid). Tonight was the first one. We met some wonderful people as we went in. I met the president of the reform community, a really nice woman who's French but lived in Israel, and a girl who went to high school with Matt's cousin, Rachel. The davening was great - a bit of a choir, but very nice.

Then there was dinner. Matt had a hard time finding food, I burst into tears, and overall, it wasn't our favorite experience so far. We ended up meeting a couple of really nice people, but overall - yuck.

Then we got on the bus going the wrong way. It was a double decker bus, and we were on top. The bus stopped in this weird lot, and some guy was yelling, but we had no idea what he was saying. The the lights went out, and we realized we were the only ones on the bus, and we had taken it the wrong way. We got back on the same bus, ten minutes later, and finally got home.

Oh, and happy half-birthday to me!!

Heat...It's hot

When Shana and I were in Turkey we went to a Turkish bath. Essentially, we sat in a really hot, humid room with lots of other naked ladies for about ten minutes. Then, some large lady in a red g-string came up and exfoliated our entire bodies. She literally took each arm and rubbed all of the dead skin off, then legs, then back and front. The skin was just waiting to be removed, since it had been made loose by the humidity and heat. It was one of the best feelings in the world (afterwards - not the large lady with the g-string pulling on my very naked arm). I felt so clean, and I have craved that feeling for years - 9 in fact.

Singapore is like the hot, humid bath. Each time I scratch my body I take off skin - all I need is that lady to come and help with the rest of my body. I have thought about this idea often - that I'm so close to experiencing that bliss that I felt in Turkey, but not quite there. I have even written this idea down so that I wouldn't forget to share it one day. Then, today, I got an email from Shana mentioning that the heat here sounded like the Turkish bath...

I also think it feels like being hugged by a really fat, sweaty, sticky, hairy man. All the time. Face included.

Not much going on this week.
Matt and I ventured out to Carrefour at a major mall last night.
I ate unknown food.
Matt and I went out to an American Women's Association event tonight for the fourth of July (men were invited, so don't write him mean emails about going). It was fun, but each glass of wine was $18 (Singaporean, but still - that's a lot of money!). I have decided to never drink again. I'm too cheap.
I have an interview next week with a neat non-profit that works to empower women. My hopes aren't up, but the fact that SOMEONE is reading all of these resumes and cover letters is inspiring.
I hope Serena can pull this one off - being down in the third set, but I'm sure by the time you read this, we'll already know if she did...

Rosemary, George, and Maria

Matt works long hours (have I mentioned that?).

I don't know so many people in Singapore.

I mostly am by myself all day. I might venture out of the house each day (which I definitely need to do for sanity), but I do almost everything alone.

That is...until I met Rosemary. Rosemary was one of my first acquaintances I had in Singapore. She lets me know which stop we're at on the MRT and which stop is coming up. She even warns me when the doors are closing. Rosemary has taught me to pronounce difficult areas of town, and I especially like how she says "Paya Lebar" which is a stop about four away from ours on the MRT. Our conversations are admittedly one sided, but it's okay. I enjoy her voice, and I thank her for accompanying me nearly each day.

Second, I have George. Since I have decided to apply to business school (which I essentially decided sometime this past winter - remember that? When it was COLD outside??), George has been a good friend of mine. He often makes my back ache, because he likes to be carried inside my bag, and he's not so small, but he's another daily companion for me here in Singapore. George has given me lots of information about the GMAT and even test problems. Again, I don't have much to contribute to him, but I try to at least answer the questions correctly. George is so patient with me, though, if I get it wrong - explaining each step. I think my friendship with George might be ending, however, as I am nearing his end - I have finished bin four for the math, and I am just about there with the verbal.

My final companion is more silent. She lives in the maid's quarters off of our kitchen (no joke -we really have them, and I believe they're more of a storage room), and she's from the Philippines. She mops our floors, properly disposes of the bugs that I kill and then throw on the floor, does our laundry and all else helpful and clean.

Okay - none of these people exist, and I'm a bit embarrassed to be sharing them with you, but they definitely make my life a little less lonely.

And, nearly everyone in our complex and in Singapore (I swear!) seems to have a maid from the Philippines, so I'm not just being racist.

Aloo Gobi

All is well for our weekend. Went to the National Museum of Singapore - didn't make it to the history part, but we saw a really cool exhibit on food. They have examples of spices, fruits and vegetables that are widely used here, and now my trips to the grocery store will be more enlightened.

We also got a green slurpee from 7 Eleven. How gross is that? It was green apple "flavor." I was so hot, I really didn't know what to do with myself - hadn't stopped sweating in hours, and it was the first cold thing I saw. It did cool me down...

We also went for dinner at Samy's Curry Restaurant with our friend, Veena. The restaurant seems to be an institution in Singapore - eat on a banana leaf, eat great food, drink lime juice - and this is all while you're in an old British clubhouse. It was nice.

Today I spent my 4 out of my first 5 hours awake in a pool in the sun. I did my pool requisites for scuba certification. There wasn't anyone else in my class, so it was a pretty fast private lesson. I didn't realize that I would be so sore afterwards, but it must be new muscles that I don't usually use, because my back and stomach muscles are killin'!!

While I was being productive in the pool (productive with my sun burn that is...) Matt was sleeping. Considering he wakes up around 6 every day, I think he's allowed.

We met a nice couple from our complex. They just moved here from India (not quite as recently as us, but still fresh). I'm sure they can't replace Chag and Of, but still.

We also met Fred, who lives across the hall from us. He is from Wales (spelling fix thanks to Jill), he comes home around 6:30 or 7 pm, he has a lady helper that comes at exactly 9:30 sharp everyday, and that's all I know about him, but he seemed very nice (and sunburned too).

Matt and I ventured five minutes down the road to one of the two Indian restaurants in a little strip. It was called Chat Massala - for spicy food and spicy gossip (that's really what it says on the sign!). It was so good. The Aloo Gobi was outstanding, vegetable biryani to die for, and we even had some sort of ginger naan which was like candy. I love the food here. We ate all of it.