APRIL III

DAY OF REST April 16th, 2006
The day after Singapore we held a day of rest. The interpreters, teachers, and other staff members all had the day off, and we celebrated with a two hour stretch of soccer and dodgeball followed by a swim in the pool. I got some much-needed color today! International Students from Israel and Palestine came on the ship in Singapore, and we welcomed them at night with a toast of beer and lemon sours. They both will be on board until Jordan, and will be giving a number of lectures on the conflict and resolutions between the two regions. Looking forward to hearing about their situation and how it's trying to be resolved.

SINGAPORE April 15th, 2006
Today was our second stop on the boat – Singapore. Singapore is like the shopping capital of the world, with malls EVERYWHERE (which is quite dangerous for me.) I hung out with a friend of mine Glenn from Singapore for the day. I actually met Glenn on a diving expedition I took in Malaysia a few years back, and we've met up in Cairns before for diving on the GBR. Every time I visit Singapore he always makes time to hang out and show me around, and even though today was his brithday it was no exception Well, this time I wanted to have high tea at the Raffles Hotel. It was very posh and fabulous. They had about 30 different teas to choose from, and tons of little bits to eat served to us on those fancy silver trays. Afterwards, we went to a bar my friend used to work at and had a couple of drinks to celebrate his ??-th birthday followed by an amazing late night dinner of Chinese food. Did you know that fish heads are a delicacy here in Singapore? I passed on the delicacy this time for something a little more my style.

SOUL TRAIN NIGHT April 14th, 2006
The whole GET teacher crew has been extremely busy with interviewing and sorting out classes for the students, and today was our last event before we start our classes on the day after Singapore. Tonight’s event was the GET nomikai, otherwise known as drinking party. We held a 70’s funk theme dance party, and (almost) all teachers wore afros and funky clothes. About 120 or so students came, even the 91 year old student who by the way is not only the oldest passenger on the ship, but really knows how to get down on the dance floor! His robot moves were kicking! The party was a total success. The pic is of me and Chris, GET teacher from England.