Two Malaysia trips and a lot of busy!

I left for Kuala Lumpur two Fridays ago with my friend, Emily! The night before I left though, I stayed up pretty much the entire night to watch USC’s men's basketball team play their first game in March Madness (which sadly ended up being their last too). It was a lot of fun but I was hurting on Friday morning. I had a class field trip to a Singapore cultural inclusivity museum at 8:45 in the morning, and it lasted until 11:30. Then I had to come back home, pack and rush to the airport to leave for Malaysia. We got there, everything was good, but I felt so out of it and tired. We settled for takeout dinner and went to bed at our hostel. On Saturday and Sunday we explored everywhere we could which included the famous Batu Caves, the prime minsters house, the Pink Mosque, night markets, central markets, China town, and some famous mall areas. Our friends were travelling in Kuala Lumpur at the same time too, so we got to hang out with them which was super fun! Even though Malaysia and Singapore used to be the same territories, they are so different now. And not in a bad way. Singapore is years ahead of most of our world in terms of their development and modernization, so its hard to compare with any other countries in Southeast Asia really. So it really was worth the trip because it wasn’t the same at all!! Some parts of Malaysia reminded us of areas in South America that I’ve been to, and there were tons of cool markets (like I mentioned before) that had really cool things. You can haggle with the vendors there (basically go back and forth on a price until you get what you want) which is a different experience from the states.

A few pics from the trip...

When I got back to Singapore after our trip, it felt like I was back home. It's funny because I’ve only lived here for a little over a month. But everything feels very normal to me and I recognize/know the majority of places on the island. I felt a little slammed with stuff after getting home, but after three group meetings and a lot of work time, I caught up and felt ready to take on my next trip (also in Malaysia) with my whole cohort! We rented out a house in Johor Bahru and just enjoyed being together for the weekend :) We had a catered Indonesian meal the first night which was SO tasty and had a lot of pool time. On Saturday we played laser tag and hung out the rest of the day. We do an "IBEA weekend" every semester of our cohort program (which makes four IBEA weekends total) and this time it was the French students turn to organize it all for us because we each take a shift. These weekends are always highlights of my semesters because having everyone in the same house is never boring and I have so much fun with everyone there no matter what we do- it really does feel like family. :) When I got home on Sunday though, I was exhausted, so I took most of the day to sleep and recover before my busy week. 

My cohort in front of our house- a local took this pic

Now that we're more caught up on everything, this past school week was a lot. In total I probably had about 10 meetings on top of all of my classes, and I ended the week having 2 presentations and a client call in the same day. But it’s more rewarding to end with a busy week going into spring break than I boring week I guess. Also this week, my sister and her boyfriend flew into Singapore so it's been a lot happening!! I took them to the top of Marina Bay Sands (famous location in Singapore), so they could see the view!

Here's a pic of my friend and I there- I'm not sure why my sister and I never got a picture but don't worry she'll be featured for my spring break post! :)

But at the end of Thursday night (the night before leaving for my spring break trip) I was completely physically and mentally drained. I don't think I could do anything else but sleep. I’m still needing to do some prep for Brazil and some consulting work during my spring break, but I know it will be such an amazing trip. I'm going to BALI with my family!!! It's also been so fun showing them where I live and also cool to see them love Southeast Asia as much as me. They were so excited and impressed with Singapore and it reminded me to not become used to all the amazing sights and vibes there. Feeling really grateful for the opportunity to be here AND that my family could visit and spend spring break with me. If you know nothing about me, you should know that my family will follow me anywhere- literally anywhere.

Last random thing- on Tuesday we had another field trip with my Asian Cultures and Societies class and we learned all about Taoism. We had a lecture from a Taoist priest and he took us to a temple in Singapore which was a cool experience. It's really all about a different thought process and way of life, and a lot of their practices are really cool- something that I think could benefit a lot of people! Some of their practices are feeling and exercising every emotion, and living a life of simplicity, being content with what they have and never wanting more than they are given. It is a selfless way to live and I really enjoy learning more about different religions, its cool to get insight on all the beliefs around the world!!

Here's a picture from our walk to the temple: