08-02-2009

Yesterday was the OSA FunBuzz 2009. All of my other RPI compatriots besides Sam went to the Philippines for the weekend, but I stayed here as I cannot afford three hundred dollars for a two day excursion. So Sam and I went to the FunBuzz which is like a field day event where thirty teams of ten compete all day in each of five different games. OSA stands for Overseas Students' Association; the idea was that each team should be comprised mainly of international students. Normally the event would cost each team twenty dollars to compete but as usual NTU's International Student Centre was eager to bail us out of that overwhelming two dollar fare.

The rest of our team consisted of three Iranians, three Indians, and two Indonesians also all from NTU; Sam and I were the only "westerners" at the entire event. There were five games: a six-legged race, pushball, gladiator jousting, wargh games (laser tag), and blanket volleyball. I don't think I will describe each game because it wouldn't be that interesting. Teams were awarded points for each game depending on how well they did and totals were added at the end to place the teams. First, second, and third placed teams received voucher awards for fifteen hundred, one thousand, and five hundred respectively. Our team placed fourth; bummer.

Jousting was the most fun, probably because I seemed to be fairly good at it. Each player only went twice but I won both rounds. The two contenders stand on two short inflatable pillars mounted on a giant inflatable mattress and try to knock the opposition from their respective pillar by whacking them with an inflatable battering ram. (I call it a battering ram for lack of a better description.) Most people would attempt to lunge at their opponent, smacking them in the face with the end of the weapon. This strategy worked most of the time because nobody seemed to want to accept that this was going to happen and that they should do something about it. (At least I assume that is why it usually worked.) Anyway, using my superior battle tactics I realized that a solid defensive stance was the key to victory in this epic struggle for immortality. By the time it was my turn I was a little peeved at the other team because they just kept smacking people in the face and seemed a bit unsportsman like to me. So I stood my ground and gracefully deflected the attempted face-smack, leaving my opponent off balance with his jousting pole up in the air. I then gave him a light nudge in the torso and watched with satisfaction as he helplessly crumbled to the bouncy surface below.

This photo was taken during the wargh games. The competition was very intense and I was scared for my life so you can imagine my annoyance at having a large camera shoved in my face while I am trying to avoid death at the hands of four enemy contenders. The photographer, a member of the OSA, was there pretty much the whole game just snapping away; I was tempted to accidentally whack him with my gun as I suddenly spun around to face my foe.

Here is the majority of my team; they gave us these shirts along with a small bag of freebies so I did come away with some small compensation.

05-02-2009

I discovered the explanation as to why Singapore cars all seem clean and new. The reason is that they are all new. It appears to be a complicated situation, but the gist is that Singaporeans must pay for a certificate of entitlement when purchasing their automobiles. This totals thirty to forty thousand dollars and I believe is why the population of drivers is so small. (The cars themselves are incredibly expensive as well.) This payment however only lasts ten years at which point the certificate must be renewed, possibly at a heftier price. For this reason most people elect to just buy a new car or trade in their old one. Also, cars are built with only a ten year lifespan in mind, so it is very rare to see a car that is older than this.

Something else I find unsurprising yet interesting is the complete lack of American cars. At least half of all automobiles are Toyota, the rest being mostly Asian with some European models mixed in. The buses are actually made by Volvo, which did surprise me; all the trucks and utility vehicles are Toyota. The models are almost all different too; I haven't seen a Prius or a Camry but there are a half dozen other Toyota models I had never heard of before coming here.

In the center of this photo is an example of one of the Singapore trucks I had mentioned earlier. It doesn't seem like there is any limit to the number of people that can sit in back for a ride. This one was a Toyota:

I make up for this fascinating material with another photo of the arts building:

02-02-2009

This weekend the infamous "Changay Parade" was held at city hall. This is an annual parade following Chinese New Year and is a big deal. The President and Prime Minister and whoever else all come and say a few words. The parade was free to attend but in order to get seats to see the actual show you need tickets which cost fifty dollars plus. A handful of international students were selected to receive free tickets from the Internation Student Centre and they just happened to pick all of the RPI students. We also received free NTU shirts to wear to the parade.

This was easily the best parade I have ever seen. Floats were accompanied by large groups of dancers and performers, each representing a different group or organization. There was a large stage in the center where acrobats and such performed as the floats passed. The following is a picture of the NTU float: