Month: July 2012

Greetings from Singapore!

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I finally made it to Singapore. It has been quite the journey so far, and I’ve been here for less than a week. Here are a few quick observations and realizations that I’ve made.

1. Singapore is way farther than I thought. Originally I thought it would be like 5 hours from Seoul. However, from Tokyo, the direct flight was 7 hours! Therefore, from NY to Singapore was a good 20 hours on the plane in total.

2. Chewing gum is not allowed. Good thing I’m not a big gum chewer, but you can not bring it in, have people send it to you via mail, and it is NOT sold here! I remember people saying you can’t spit gum on the street, but I don’t think I realized that you can’t buy it or bring it into the country! However, you can chew it in your own home. I guess I won’t have to worry too much about my students chewing gum in class!

3. The escalators are super fast. The first time I was going into the MRT (subway) station, I was really surprised at how fast the escalator was going!! It was like double speed of the escalators back in Seoul and the USA. So now I realize that it’s just the MRT station escalators that are super fast. I think most of the other escalators are normal speed!

4. It is really humid here. Again, I think a lot of people warned me about this, but I don’t think I fully realized how humid it would be. So far it honestly hasn’t been that bad, but I can sense how it might feel day in and out, since there’s pretty much only one season here! Any beauty tips on controlling frizzy hair?

5. Follow the Singapore law! On the immigration form we have to fill out at the airport, it says on the back in red capitalized letters: WARNING DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS UNDER SINGAPORE LAW. They are serious here about following the rules. This reminded me to make sure to follow all the rules that they have including not spitting on the streets and eating in the MRT.

A few glimpses of my new home. 🙂

 

Hillsong NYC

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I finally had a chance to check out Hillsong Church in NYC this summer. I was completely blown away by the worship there both times. It was incredibly encouraging to see what God through Hillsong church. I am so thankful for their heart for reaching this city. I feel like this church has already done great things and will do even greater things for the gospel in NYC.

Both times I went, they sang this song, beneath the waters (I will rise) and I can not stop listening to it! It is such a powerful song.

It Takes a Village… to Throw a Wedding

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My little baby brother got married a week ago! The week before, all of his close friends and family were on unofficial wedding preparation duty. It started with some folding of paper, creating hot air balloon center pieces, making bouquets, folding programs and more. Here are some photos to show the process. The theme of the wedding was “travel”, since they both will be traveling the world together as they move to Seoul, Korea.

 

  Unfortunately, I don’t have actual pictures of the wedding ceremony since I was busy being one of eight bridesmaids!  However, here’s the wedding slideshow that I made for them, which was part of my duties. I actually had a lot of fun doing this, one more movie to make. No big deal!

baby j & friends

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I had a fun fourth of July eating good food and hanging out with friends. Of course I was busy taking tons of photos of baby j. I mean who could resist such a cute face. I must admit, only a few hours of playing and taking photos of him was so tiring! I don’t know how you moms do it. There’s a reason why I teach 5th graders. They don’t need me to change their diapers or feed them. I guess I’m not ready to be a mom quite yet. 😉


Adventures in Brooklyn

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I got a chance to visit my newlywed friends Sharon and Sam in Brooklyn. They moved there a month ago and were eager to have visitors. We grabbed dinner at Miriam, a Mediterranean restaurant in Park Slope. I got the chicken shawarma which was good, a lot of chicken and really filling. I think I enjoyed the appetizers we got (hummus and falafals) and our dessert (pear tart & pistachio ice cream) the best. The main dish, was a bit too salty and had too much chicken. The pictures are good at telling the rest of the story.

P.S.  Happy 4th of July!

Brunch @ Hundred Acres

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When I’m in NYC, I think Saturday brunch is probably my favorite meal of the week. It’s the weekend, it’s good food, and it’s NY. I recently got a chance to check out Hundred Acres in Soho, on 38 Macdougal street between Houston and Prince. I loved the two dishes we got which were the quiche and blueberry pancakes. These are probably the best blueberry pancakes I ever had! They were so light, flavorful and left you wanting more. If you are looking for a good brunch place in the city, this is it!

I’m always looking for good recommendations. What is your favorite brunch place in the city?