18-01-2009

Singaporeans don't use napkins. None of the canteens on campus have napkins and neither do any of the restaurants I have been to. This is one custom I am not fond of as some Singaporean meals can be quite messy. I similar concept here which may contribute towards the explanation is the lack of paper towels. Yesterday I saw a paper towel dispenser for the first time and it cost ten cents a sheet. This would appear to be a rigorous attempt to limit the waste of paper; they are very big on environmental sustainability here. However this has been quite a nuisance for me as I am going through a dastardly cold. Luckily I brought little packs of tissues from home, hopefully they will last me the semester. I've already used about half of them.

Yesterday I went with the NTU windsurfing club for a five dollar orientation to learn how to windsurf. It took place on the east coast which is approximately the furthest point on the island from NTU. We took a maxiCab there which seats seven people; the ride lasted maybe forty minutes. The MRT/bus ride back took about ninety minutes.

The orientation included lunch so five dollars sounded like an incredible deal until we got there and they only had two boards. There were about twenty five newcomers there so no one really got a lot of time windsurfing. Except Alex that is; the Swede apparently had a little prior experience which allowed him to successfully sail out, but not enough to turn and come back. He was gone for about an hour, just sailing back and forth parallel to the beach until he finally reached shore somewhere much further down the beach.

Windsurfing is quite a bit harder than I expected. I made two attempts, each lasting approximately 5-10 minutes, and each ending fairly unsuccessfully. The sail is attached to the board only by one ball and socket type of joint, which allows the surfer to fully maneuver it however necessary. This makes it very difficult as a beginner to balance both myself and the sail. The wet slippery board doesn't help either. At one point I was able to stand on the board while holding the sail in both hands for what may be an inaccurately guessed ten seconds. I liberally call this "windsurfing." I then tried to turn the sail to catch a bit of breeze and promptly fell off. Most people didn't fair any better; RPI Nick was able to move about fifteen feet in a fairly stationary position at which point the instructor told him either turn or drop the sail since you could see him continuing in a straight line out into the Pacific. Nick of course dropped the sail.

I put on sunscreen right before proceeding onto the beach, but neglecting to reapply later on resulted in a fairly severe sunburn on various parts of my body. The burn is mostly on my face but there are random red spots and streaks on the rest of my body which may be due to poorly applied lotion. It is good that I brought Aloe Vera along from home because one tube of it here costs thirteen dollars.

A good time overall because the beach was beachful, the weather was great, and I wasn't bitten by a manatee.