It was just requested that I update the blog, and since I can't say no to a fan :) and since I now spend my days at a desk with a lot of free time, I really have no excuse. I was thinking about why I update this blog so infrequently - is it sheer laziness? Well, yes, I do have that nice lazy streak everyone wishes they could have, but it's more that Singapore just isn't as "interesting" at Turkey. By "interesting" I of course mean bizarre, frustrating, foreign, hilarious, etc...It's just a much nicer, and more "normal" place to live. This isn't to say one is better or worse than the other. I have recently put together my "Istanbul list" for a few friends who've gone to visit Istanbul and it made me miss it. I now have a small and constant hankering for lahmacun, and I occasionally miss the ferry ride commute to work (which truly proves that there's nothing like time to erase the negative - like the stares and the crowds and being surrounded by a boat full of people lighting up a cigarette at 8am).

On the other side of the coin, Singapore is everything people say it is; it's clean, efficient, organized. It's also lush and green, and hot, hot, hot! The food is delicious and the shops are more than enough to get me into trouble! There just haven't been many things here that make me say, "What???" Rather, things just kind of "make sense". Hence part of the reason for my lack of communication. The other part is that I've been pretty much working full time and I just completed my first semester of my Masters program (yay!) It was alot more work than I expected and took up most of my free time. But now that I'm free from classes (for a few more weeks) I appreciate that free time even more. One of the projects from this semester was to design a website, which I did, and it's here. There are some updates on there about the trips we've made this year (to China, Thailand, India and Bali) on the website, along with some library related things that I don't recommend you look at unless that's what you're in to (Flight of the Conchords reference, if you weren't sure. Are they coming back on the air? I miss them.)

Our last trip (well, my last trip. Chris' last trip was a field trip with his students to the non-resort part of Bintan, Indonesia) was to Bali. It was incredible and is now on my list of favorite destinations. The people are amazingly friendly and warm, and the places we stayed were nothing short of luxurious, all at a good price. We were amazed by how upscale it was (of course, I'm talking about the tourist areas.The local parts of the island were more rustic). Rather than a bunch of beachside shacks, the restaurants and bars in Bali were chic and the food was some of the best we've had in our travels. And not just local cuisine either. I had several italian dishes that would rival anything I've had in New York, and a usual meal, including wine or beer, appetizers, a main course and dessert, would be well under $20USD per person. It was amazing! One of the best experiences in Bali was taking a day trip with Wayan, who we met at the Three Monkeys Cafe, in Ubud, where he was our waiter. He is such a nice guy, working hard to support his family and he was really knowledgable about the island. During out tour, Wayan took us to a temple where there were hundreds of school children on a field trip. They were so curious about us and so friendly with the biggest smiles - It made all three of us (Chris and I and our friend Katie, another teacher) want to try and find a way to teach, at some point, in Bali). 4 days was too short of a time to spend in Bali and we look forward to going back and getting to know better the island and the Balinese people.

Still nagging me is the knowledge that I have to post about our India trip. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm intimidated to begin writing about it. It was such a long trip and overwhelming in so many ways, that I was mentally writing a long post about it while we were there, but now it's hiding somewhere in my brain. I do promise, though, that I'm going to start it today and hopefully finish it tomorrow. The photos are in a few different places, including the website I mentioned before.

On an exciting note, both Chris and I leave Singapore soon for our US summer holiday! We can't wait to get home to see family and friends and leave a bit of the heat and humidity behind. See you all then!!