Lost in the City!

Hello to everyone back home in the States!

Right now I'm about to head off to find the MRT station (subway station) without the assitance of either Nadiah or Yong (two Singaporean students who are in the joint-degree program between NUS and UNC), so wish me luck. I'm sure it will all be fine because Singapore's a pretty easy place to navigate given it's size -- the MRT is really easy to understand, especially when you have a map!

We started classes on Thursday. My first class (which starts at 9 -- I have to catch a bus around 8:20 if I want to go to the canteen to grab some breakfast) is about migration, and it's taught by Dr. Steiner, a professor from UNC. The second class in Singaporean/Southeast Asian history, and it's taught by Dr. Quek (I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce her name), a delightfully frank professor at NUS who tells it like it is. She's not necessarily anti-Singapore, but she definately focuses on some of the more negative aspects of Singaporean society, maybe because those things are often glossed over and she wants to give us a well-rounded education.

Thursday night we had a ton of reading, and it's pretty obvious that this is going to be a very EXHAUSTING experience! Between being on the move, adjusting to the heat, noise, and sheer amout of people in this country (in addition to recovering from the remants of jet lag), I've been sleeping like a baby at night. Still, everything is very exciting and new and different, and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to be here.

I'll update a little later on my adventures downtown last night and today, complete with pictures, I promise!

Hope everyone is well. SEND ME MESSAGES! On facebook or e-mail (I check both).

email: agcummin@email.unc.edu

Also, if you'd like, add me on Skype. My name is allie.grace17

Lots of love!
Allison