I walked up to a frozen yogurt stand and asked for mango yogurt and sprinkles. The lady at the counter looked at me with a confused expression on her face. So, I pointed to the sprinkles... and when I looked down at them, I realized they are called color rice here in Singapore. Lesson learned. Sprinkles = Color Rice

Only in Singapore would you ever find a beer pong table like this... complete with instructions and holes to keep the cups organized. I had a good laugh when I saw it.

Despite the fact that many countries in Southeast Asia have gorgeous beaches, Singapore's beaches are not the greatest. They are manmade (the sand is imported from Indonesia) and the water is not blue or clear (you can actually see huge ships in the distance and I imagine they pollute the water). However, my first visit to a Singapore beach was quite fun.

Today, I went to Tanjong Beach on Sentosa Island with my friend Nina (Nina is from Germany and works for BASF). Sentosa is Singapore's playground - aside from beaches, the island has a Universal Studios theme park, a casino and several resorts. 

Tanjong Beach is supposed to be one of Singapore's prettiest beaches. Since my expectations weren't that high (I had read and heard about the quality of Singapore's beaches before my visit), it lived up to its reputation. Nina and I hung out at the Tanjong Beach Club, a restaurant/bar with a pool and lounging areas. The mini resort was relaxing and fun, and the food was delicious! The ambiance at the club almost made me feel like I was not in Singapore. It's amazing to think that the beach is only about a 15-minute taxi ride away from our home right in the middle of the hustle and bustle on Orchard Road.

The highlight of the visit was the fact that I made a new friend - Sam the wiener dog. Sam's owner had fallen asleep beside us, and when he couldn't get her attention, he unexpectedly leapt onto our daybed for a belly rub :)

It's surprising how new opportunities can pop up out of nowhere. I visited the Canadian Education College here in Singapore to pay for my Mandarin Chinese course (I'm excited for this to start!), and the program coordinator mentioned that I had an easy-to-understand American accent. So, out of the blue, she asked me if I would like to be an English tutor for the school. My first private lesson begins tomorrow, and I'll also step in as a substitute teacher on Wednesday for a class of 11 students.

I am excited about this new opportunity :)

Who would have thought that Singapore would be the place where I would find the best mango margarita I've ever had? Certainly not me... but that was the case this weekend.

Joe and I had an intense craving for mexican food, so we visited Cafe Iguana at Clark Quay. The food was surprisingly delicious, although it was far more expensive than mexican food in the US. A burrito here costs S$25!

It is extremely humid here in Singapore. If we don't keep our apartment ice cold, condensation forms on the walls and the floor. However, I can't stand being cold, so I tend to keep our thermostat set at a higher temperature.

We bought some small, cheap dehumidifiers to battle the condensation problem. For days after we set them up around the apartment, I would check them religiously. I felt like a little kid, waiting anxiously to see if an experiment would work. I wanted instant gratification, but had no such luck.

Of course, the novelty of the gadgets wore off and I forgot about them. But just a few minutes ago, I picked one up and... success! See the water that collected at the bottom of the dehumidifier? As you can tell, it's the little things in life that excite and amuse me :)

The staff members at 8 on Claymore are fantastic, and I've enjoyed getting to know some of them better. Yesterday, as I was hanging out in the resident's lounge, Zaine (an employee) asked me if I'd like to try some traditional Malay cookies. Zaine is Malay and Chinese, and explained that the cookies were part of the Eid celebration. 

Many of the staff here are Malay and practice the Muslim religion. Zaine explained that after the Ramadan month of fasting (which ended a few weeks ago), Malays celebrate Eid with a month of feasting. Each weekend, Malay women cook a large feast and invite family and friends to their homes. Everyone dresses in traditional Malay outfits for the occasion. Zaine's mother had baked a wide assortment of cookies, and had asked that he share them with his friends. Zaine joked that after a month of fasting, people typically lose about 5kg (11 pounds) and so he's been hard at work, eating to gain the weight back.

Funny enough, the night before, I had complained to Joe that I had an intense craving for chocolate chip cookies (but it was late at night and most stores were closed). I certainly satisfied the craving with the assortment of goodies from Zaine's mother!

With all of the great Asian cuisine in Singapore, I almost feel guilty admitting that Joe and I needed a break from it... but we did. And what did we turn to? Italian food. Of course, being in Singapore, we paid a premium for it, but the meal was worth every penny. 

We got our fix of pizza, pasta and a hearty, fresh salad (a rarity in Asia) at a nearby restaurant called Modesto's. While it definitely wasn't the best Italian food I've ever had, it was a nice change of pace. 

For those of you who are thinking, "jeez, pizza and pasta don't belong in a travel blog about Asia," here is your Asian fun fact of the day. You can tell when a restaurant's management is influenced by western culture by the order in which your food is served. In America, we're used to different courses - appetizers come out first, followed by salads and then our entrees. In Asia, many restaurants do not distinguish between courses - food is simply delivered to you when it's ready in the kitchen. You may get your entree before anything else arrives and some people may get their food way before others in your party (we've had to forgo politeness to eat while our dishes were hot!).

If you visit Asia and experience this, my suggestion is to go with the flow. It's easier to accept the cultural difference rather than try to explain that you want the appetizer delivered first... cultural and language barriers may prevent you from getting the food at all if you attempt this. 

Visiting Little India was like visiting another country. Even though we were only about four subway stops away from home, the setting was vastly different from the Orchard area. The first thing we noticed when we got off the subway was that there were literally thousands of people crammed into any open space available - open green spaces were packed with people lounging around and the sidewalks were so crowded it was difficult to walk around. I felt that pictures did not do the experience justice, so I captured the video below.

The streets of Little India are very colorful, dotted with dozens of flower necklace stands as well as fruit and vegetable stands. The fruits and vegetables looked extremely fresh, better than the produce we've found in most grocery stores. There were also countless jewelry stores filled with beautiful gold jewelry.

After wandering the streets, Joe and I stopped into the famed Mustafa Center which is open 24 hours a day. The center is huge and basically sells anything and everything. From food to electronics and clothing to toiletries, the store had a massive stock of inventory. I have never seen so much Dove bodywash in one place in my life! And again, we faced what seemed to be thousands of people as we struggled to walk through the various aisles of goodies. Joe and I decided that the store was a little to claustrophobic for us, but that it was a good option to consider if we can't find a product that we need elsewhere (or overnight).

Winding through crowds on an extremely hot summer day worked up our appetites, so we decided it was time for dinner (even though it wasn't even 6pm yet). Joe and I tried Gayatri, a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet Guidebook. Luckily, it was a GREAT recommendation. I had looked up the menu online earlier in the day, and given the low prices I didn't expect the restaurant to be as nice as it was. It was a beautiful, peaceful setting with plenty of air conditioning (thank goodness!). 

But what surprised us the most was that the restaurant was hi-tech, offering us electronic tablet menus with which we could place our own order. The 16-year-old son of the restaurant owner told us his father was the first restaurant owner in Singapore to implement an electronic ordering system. The teenager was intrigued by Joe, striking up a conversation with us by asking if Joe works out (our young friend was skinny and seemed to aspire to become muscular). We learned that his grandfather was the first family member to move to Singapore from India, and that the teen's father opened the restaurant 16 years ago. We mentioned that we found the restaurant through Lonely Planet, and the teen was really proud and pleased to hear this. It was impressive that such a young kid would spend his Sunday afternoon working at the restaurant, and that he took so much pride in creating a great experience for us.

Now to the food... it was delicious! We started off with an appetizer of vegetable samosas, which were veggie-filled dough balls, fried to perfection. They were very flavorful, as most Indian dishes are, with very tasty spices. For the main course, we both had chicken murtabak, which I believe is more of a Singaporean/Indian dish rather than a traditional Indian dish. It is prata bread (thin, pan fried bread) filled with shredded chicken and onions. This has become one of my favorite dishes here in Singapore (thanks to Paige for introducing us to the dish!). And last but not least, I finally got to try a mango lassi, a traditional Indian drink that is yogurt based. By the way, it was my third mango drink of the day... I think I'm obsessed with mango ha ha :)

Gayatri was a great ending to a fun day... although I laugh as I write this because Joe did not seem to be amused by Little India (he prefers more relaxing adventures with fewer crowds). However, Joe did say he would come back to Little India for another meal at Gayatri because it was amazing... and I agree!

In response to Joe's comment on this posting, I had to make one addition to my story. Yes, fish head curry seems to be a very popular dish in Little India (and in Singapore in general). It is a soup with a fish head inside. I've read that the cheek of fish is the best part of the fish. Although I like to keep an open mind and try most foods, I cannot get myself to stomach this dish. It also happens to be quite an expensive dish, usually ranging around $30. 

On Wednesdays, I volunteer as a mentor and English tutor at the Evergreen Bees Mentoring Program. The after school program is for children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as single parent homes or homes in which parents work long hours and don't have time to help their kids with school work. It's been a neat experience to learn more about the Singaporean culture by interacting with the children. 

I'm usually one of the first mentors to arrive, and Abigail, a sixth grader, is always shyly waiting to play board games with me before the study session begins. I think she gravitates towards me because I'm American, and likes to ask me questions. Yesterday, she told me all about the big national test that's coming up in October. All of the children in Singapore must pass the exam to progress to the next level in school. In fact, the curriculum in the Evergreen Bees program is preparing the children for this exam.

Without fail, a little boy always shows up to wreak havoc on our games. I nicknamed him Todd because he refused to tell me his real name on my first day in the program. Todd is rambunctious and always has something comical to say. Yesterday, he told me that I "talk so slang." He then proceeded to try and speak in a "gangsta" voice during the rest of our game. All I can say is kids are funny.

After 30 minutes of games, tuition (study time) begins. I've been paired up with a little fourth grader named Pei Sin. Pei Sin is Chinese and very, very quiet. Most of the time, I can't tell if she understands what I'm trying to teach her, but then will surprise me by completing her lessons correctly. My goal is to have a real conversation with her by the time the program ends. We're making some progress... yesterday, she told me her favorite subject in school is science and that her class is learning about heat and energy. But then, I asked her if they do experiments, and she shook her head at me (this is what she does when she is too shy to try to answer my questions). Better luck next week!