ChiKongNamIpore Part 3 (Singapore)

ChiKongNamIpore Part 3 (Singapore)

First, I’d like to say that because I was so far behind, I had intended to knock out China/ Hong Kong/ Vietnam/ and Singapore all in one blog entry, hence the name ChiKongNamIpore.  As you can see, that did not happen.  That would essentially have been a short novel, and well, ain’t nobody got time for that.  So for some reason I decided to keep the title, which now, looking back, doesn't make too much sense, but its my blog, and ill do what I want, so deal with it…

Moving on…

Singapore 

Singapore is weird, very cool, but weird.  When learning about Singapore, we kept coming across the same saying: “Singapore, it is a fine place”.  This seemed like a very strange way for EVERYONE to describe Singapore.  Why is everyone using the same adjective? Why such a neutral reaction, why doesn't anyone expand on this?? Then we learned what this really meant.   “Singapore, it is a fine place “ is not saying that Singapore isn’t a great place, because, it is! It’s simply saying that you will get fined for just about ANYTHING!  Before going to Singapore, I knew three things about it:  It was going to be hot.   You can’t chew gum.  And lastly, I had this vague vague memory from when I was in elementary school that went like this ‘being the little asshole that I was had just finished carving my name into a wet cement block outside my school when I over heard two teachers talking about a boy from the United States in Singapore getting publicly caned for graffitiing (I Don’t think that’s a real world, but again, my blog, deal with it) a government building .  ‘ Oh Shit’ I thought (that’s right, I was an asshole, and thought ‘oh shit’, not  ‘oh shoot’, like most elementary kids would think), I’m going to get caned for this.  Fortunately, like today, my handwriting back then was absolutely undecipherable, especially when writing in wet cement, so I never got the caning I probably should have.    

            We only had one night in Singapore, but we really made the most of our time.  We went on a great city tour, ate what may have been the best meal of the voyage so far, chili crab, (ok, your right, I did not eat chili crab, that just sounds way to spicy for me! But my mom and Gabby did and said it was the greatest thing they had ever eaten), and got to explore a city that was beautiful, vibrant, diverse, modern and safe. 

 Though I may have had my “Semester at Sea is the pretty much the best thing ever” moment sailing out of Hong Kong, Gabby had hers in Singapore.  We sailed into Singapore on the Chinese New Year.  Much like in the United States, new years eve is a big night, and, also like in the United States, new years day is a day to relax wearing whatever the Singaporean equivalent of Pajamas is, on whatever the Singaporean equivalent of a couch is (probably a couch).  This meant that the otherwise bustling streets were nearly deserted, the hawker centers which are the life force of Singapore were closed, and almost everyone had either left town for the long weekend or were was at home with their families. After wondering around  the deserted streets for some time, we happed upon a Chinese temple that was seemingly booming with life.  Upon entering we found hundreds, if not thousands of people queuing up for all sorts of things that I was unable to comprehend.  Some here pouring water over the head of a golden statue of a fat guy, some were being blessed by monks, some quietly praying, and lastly, hundreds of people circulating through out the temple putting coins into boxes in front of hundreds of different statues.  Chaos, was all we saw.  We assumed this was somehow linked to the Chinese New Year, but really couldn’t determine too much more.  Like so many sights we had seen before, we were ready to leave knowing little about the history, or the cultural significance of what we had just seen.  Another day, another temple…  On the way out, we walked by a familiar face from the ship, politely nodded, and said ‘Hey Hugh, pretty temple, huh?”, and kept on walking.  Simultaneously both Gabby and I stopped in our tracks and turned back.   Hugh Flick was different then every other person in this temple for two reasons, 1.  He is a 6’5” white guy in his seventies towering over the Chinese worshipers.  2. Hugh Flick happens is the head of the department of World Mythologies at Yale University.  There is literally no person currently living in the United States who would know more about this chaos that was going on all around us.  We turned, we asked, and we were amazed by what we found out.  The details of the significance of this particular temple don’t matter, but the realization that Semester at Sea had afforded us the opportunity to be in the midst of such a place, with the leading expert on earth, was just too much to handle.  Gabby broke down crying, and I’ve got to admit, it was quite a powerful moment. 

Dear Semester at Sea –

            You've got your flaws, but Holy Sh%t you are amazing!!

Love,

Gabby and Jesse

 

That night it was time to say goodbye to my Mom and Marilyne, as they would be leaving the voyage in Singapore.  What an amazing opportunity it was to sail the world with my mother.  Although sometimes I forget, being in Singapore and saying goodbye reminded me that we really are about the luckiest people in the world (and I know, we’ve seen a lot of the world now!).  We escaped Singapore fine free,  and I’d say Singapore is more than just a fine place, it’s a great place, but yah, don’t Graffiti government buildings.