What is with Semester 2??

Hello again,

This is a short post intentionally. Why is is that all assignments are left to the end of second semester? Do professors enjoy causing unnecessary stress on all of their students? I feel as though they must. It is indeed a terrible thing to do to a person. I officially need school to be done as of 5 days ago. If anyone has a time machine kicking about I will pay big money to travel to the end of July when I will be boarding a plane to Singapore. I know they are out there..those crazy time machines. PLEASE!!!!!

M.

Count On Me Singapore!

Hi,

Of course I have been doing more reading up on Sinagpore and a while ago I came across a video on Youtube that displays the many different ethnic groups that live there and make it the country that it is today. Sinigapore is a relativley new country having gained its independance from Malaysia in 1965. The four main ethnic groups that inhabit Singapore are:

Chinese- 75.2%
Malay - 13.6%
Indians - 8.8%
Other - 2.4%

From what I have read and seen, it is clear that Singaporeans are very eager to continue their sense of growth and pride in their nation. Even with all of the rules in place and a governement who pays themseleves a ludicrous sum. I think I read that the Prime Minister gives himself 3X as much as George W. I am not sure how much that is, but I am certain it is a lot. Anyways, this video shows Sinagporeans from all of these ethnic groups and it shows their message of hope and dreams of success for the future. It mildly reminds me of the song we sang in MusiCanada in elementary school all about the Rockies and the "Yukon Miner"

give it a looksee (Singlish for viewing)

Ting-apore Singlish

Welcome to Ting-Apore

I must first say that I am so happy that winter seems to be fading away slowly but surely. More importantly I must say that next year, I won't have to deal with any winter weather at all…none whatsoever!!! Yippee!! I am feeling a tad anxious today because I found out that the York Mobility Bursary for my exchange will not be released until sometime after June 1st, which is long after I will need to book a flight to my new digs. The flight is $1900 return and that is also, coincidentally, the amount the scholarship is worth. Fingers are crossed that I receive said scholarship. PLEASE!!! I am sure that everything will fall into place though. I also sent an email to a Prof. in the Theatre Studies Dept. at NUS who studied at York as well, so I am hoping to speak with her and maybe even have a chance to T.A. or something. Moving on, I have decided that I will use this blog opportunity to teach all of you some Singlish. Singlish is a hybrid language that has been developed in Singapore and is spoken among its citizens. It is every citizens second language and it is spoken by nearly all young people. Its usage in schools and in political venues is strongly discouraged however because it prevents people from learning English properly. The vocabulary of Singlish consists of words originating from English, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay, and Indic and Sinitic languages, while Singlish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese. Also, elements of American and Australian slang have come through from imported television series. In the year 2000, the Singapore government launched a "speak good english" campaign. Singapore is really trying to get rid of the language all together. It looks pretty funny on paper and I am certain it will sound even funnier and be mildly confusing upon arrival. I will no doubt end up staring blankly at many a Singaporean before too long.
There is a lot of Singlish to be learned but I will limit this lesson to some simple words and phrases
Ting- think/thought
ah beng - spiky haired, punky, loudly dresses young men
ah lian - the female version of the above
alamak! - exclamation of disbelief "oh my god"
cheena - derogatory term for old-fashioned Chinese fashion
kena - closely related to 'got' in English ex. He kena arrested
makan - a meal; to eat
Ay-Jay - pig-Latin and Singlish word for gay
On - slang for gay "Is he on?"
There is a lot more to know indeed, you can check out the dictionary at http://www.talkingcock.com/ which is Singapore's satirical website. Study up and keep tinging

Bye bye and I wish you all much heng and until next time lah?

In the Immortal words of Elizabeth Berkley as Jessica Spano "I'm So Excited!"

So, I had been waiting for oh such a long time to hear some exciting news and it arrived on Monday March 5 2007. As of sometime in late July I will be a temporary resident of the South East Asian republic of SINGAPORE! I will be studying at the National University of Singapore and it would be an understatement to say that I am eager and thrilled to have this opportunity. Now, every time I tell someone that I am going to Singapore, they say WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU CHOOSE SINGAPORE? Here are the reasons I have decided to make this far away place my home.

It is located 137 kilometers north of the equator (today's Temp 32 degrees Celsius compared to Toronto's minus 10) Can we say "shorts everyday" and "Michael, you are nowhere as pasty and white as you once were."

The National University of Singapore has a surprisingly large number of theatre courses that seem very interesting to me ex. Performance and Popular Culture/ intercultural theatre

Tiger Airways offers ridiculously cheap flights to a number of South East Asian destinations ex. Phuket, one of Thailand's island paradises, return flight costs $108 CAD!!

There are thousands of hawker stands/centres offering a huge array of different cuisines including Chinese, Malay, Indian, and even western options as well. One can dine for as little as S$2.00 which is around $1.70CAD.

In short, I was looking for a completely different lifestyle and an opportunity to see a country which is located half way around the world…well here we go!!!! Allons-y!

One thing I must keep in mind is that the place is called "Fine City" for a reason. Allow me to list just a few examples of what I mean.

Chewing gum is indeed illegal
Drug trafficking is punishable by death
Homosexual acts are punishable with 10-life in jail (there are apparently undercover "gay cops" who lure men into touching them and then arrest them on site…CRAZY!)
$500 for smoking in public places
$50 for jaywalking
$1000 for littering and community service
$500 for eating or drinking on the MRT (subway)

Almost everyone: "Aren't you scared?"
Me: "Not as such."

I am obviously aware that this living experience will be very different than anything else I have experienced. I know that I will have to be careful and integrate myself into this environment one little cheaply-made-knock-off-designer step at a time.

I, as of today, still need to receive the package from NUS telling me how to apply for the $190CAD / month residence (SO CHEAP!) and then start the ball rolling with vaccines and budgetary work, flight planning, and etc. I however, am so thrilled and stoked to have this amazing chance. I hope that some of my friends will be able to come and visit while I am there. I have a lot to look forward to and I truly cannot wait!!! I anticipate slurping down a Singapore sling at Raffle's Hotel and going for a toboggan ride in "Snow City" very soon.

À bientôt mes amis.

Singapore Here I Come!

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