Mid-Autumn in Singapore

It's mid-autumn in Singapore! And what does that mean? Jackets and cooler weather? Nope... Football and tailgating? No (and did you mean soccer?)... It means (among other things) midterms and mooncakes!

The Mid-Autumn festival is a Chinese harvest celebration usually during the second half of September. Here's a bit of info I borrowed from a website:

The Chinese believe in praying to the moon god for protection, family unity, and good fortune. The round "moon cakes" eaten on this festival are symbolic of family unity and closeness. Pomelos are also eaten on this day. The Chinese word for "pomelo" or "grapefruit" is yu, which is homophonous with the word for "protection," yu, expressing the hope that the moon god give them protection. Moon gazing is another essential part of this festival. On this day, the moon is at its roundest and brightest. This is also a time for lovers to tryst and pray for togetherness, symbolized by the roundness of the moon. Unlike most other Chinese festivals, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a low-key holiday, characterized by peace and elegance. -http://www.kevdesign.com/midautumnfestival

NUS had a gathering at the business school and one at our dorm PGP. We went to the one at the B-school and ate dinner, devoured way too many pieces of different mooncakes, lit lanterns and sparklers, and participated in a pomelo peeling (and eating) contest. Mooncakes are AMAAAAAZING. I'm not sure how to describe them well, but it's like a dense, sugary, mass of paste inside a think pastry(?). That doesn't sound that appetizing I guess but I guarantee they are yummy! Flavors I've tried include lotus seed, red bean, durian (remember that fruit I mentioned before that is very pungent?), sesame seed, strawberry, green tea, custard, and pandan (leaves used in a lot of Asian dishes-- our tour guide in Vietnam even said they make a good carfreshener? Pandan cake is a popular dessert that tastes kind of like angelfood cake to me). Besides the mooncakes, we got to know (quite intimately) the fruit called pomelo. It's like a grapefruit, but not as tart and flavorful. The peeling contest meant we got into groups of four and broke into and ate a pomelo. We got second place, though it was difficult to really know who finished when-- it was a little crazy. That's a picture of a huge pile of pomelos in Chinatown on the right.

We also celebrated Mid-Autumn by going to Chinatown a few nights. The first time we went we stumbled upon a Getai performance. We were trying out these yam, pumpkin, and rice cakes and heard the singing coming from the stage nearby us. After David and I saw the movie 12 Lotus, we were like "We have to see Getai!" so it was cool to see some people singing. Here's a video of a lady singing a song in Chinatown.

Other than the festivals, we've been partying a bit and eating a ton. In true Singaporean style, I should mention the food again. I have fallen madly in love with tofu. People here know how to cook it and it's allllllways good. And it's not even always a main dish! My new favorite dessert is tau huay, or soya bean curd (Check out: discussion of two rival bean curd stands, and Video: advertisement for Rochor Beancurd House showing tau huay and dough fritters). I had it first in Geylang one late night along with dough fritters-- basically just deep fried bread.

Another more healthy snack is dragon fruit! I'd never had it before, but it's so yummy. The ones that I've had are red/pink on the outside and white on the inside, and it tastes like a melon/apple/pinneapple-- quite sweet. Another dish I just tried but have heard tons about (mostly from Katie as she looooooves it, too) is carrot cake, or chai tow kway. It's not a dessert-- it's a main dish made with eggs, radishes, garlic, and soy sauce... I might never eat meat again because there are so many delicious veggie options!

We've been keeping up our Wednesday Ladies' Night tradition, going for dinners (We went to a great French restaurant the other day and my friends from France were telling me all about Paris and french food! I had fromage blanc with chestnut sauce for dessert-- look at me being all Singaporean and pausing to talk AGAIN about food...), a few movie nights, and mingling with a mix of exchange students and local NUSers. I've managed to make it to Central Library a few times to study, as well. :)

The other event I found awesome was a trip to an eco-friendly temple! The environmental club I joined set up a trip to see Poh Ern Shih, a Buddhist temple that is designed to be energy efficient, accessible to those with special needs, and water-conscious. It was truly inspiring. Features of the facility include the following:

• 3 different types of solar panels on the roof to catch the energy of the sun when it's sunny and also cloudy. They are also to serve as an example to teach others about the kinda of solar panels available. The three types: 1.) monocrystalline by Sharp- expensive but collect a lot of energy when it's sunny, 2.) polycrystalline by Mitsubishi- relatively inexpensive and aren't as efficient as monocrystalline, and 3.) amorphous by Uni-solar- the most expensive but gather the most energy even without direct visible sunlight. Energy is collected at 110 volts and inverted to 220, which is what most utilities use in Singapore.
  
• Hot water solar panels. These are black panels used to heat water-- no additional energy needed! Each unit (tank and panel and pipe) is $5,000, but you can purchase a smaller one for $3,000 that will heat all the water needed for a family of 5. The system has a 35 year warranty.
• A couple of small wind turbines paired with a small solar panel to charge a battery that provides power to lights used in the evenings. Wind in Singapore is stratified, so it would be great if you could adjust the turbine's height to catch the most wind power at any time.
• Glass pagoda. There is a large pagoda being built that will be covered partially with solar panels. There will still be enough uncovered area to let light through the structure, and the solar panels will be designed to look like art.
• 80% of the visitors to the temple are over 60 years old, so there are many accessibility considerations in the design of the facility. 1.) wheelchair access and Buddhas along the ramp to encourage visitors to use the ramp over the lift (to get exercise!), bathrooms with 2.) steady bars, 3.) doors that open out (not in) in case of a fall, 4.) rough floor tiles and water gaps to prevent slipping, and 5.) easy-to-use sinks at the correct height and with easy-turn faucets.
  
• Modular bamboo furniture that's sustainable and convertible so that a 6-piece bed can convert to a table and a workstation for studying.
  
• Rainwater is collected and used for hydropower to charge wheelchairs
• Water collected is also filtered through several tanks and reverse osmosis and is then used throughout the temple.
• Check out the Wikipage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poh_Ern_Shih_Temple
  

Here's the link to some of the latest pictures from excusions and the temple, too.
tiger beer, lanterns, mooncakes... mid-autumn in singapore - SG 9
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2447710&l=6635a&id=8605287

a bit of nightlife & an eco-friendly temple - SG 10
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2450583&l=bf38b&id=8605287

When you start college, or when you talk to freshmen, the typical conversation points are usually things like where are you from, what are you studying, etc... The question most exchange students get of course is "Why did you come to Singapore?" David and I were discussing this the other night. I'm never really sure how to answer or what people expect me to say--probably because I wasn't really sure about it when I made my decision... Half the people in the world are Asian, and I've never been to Asia? The business courses I needed are offered at NUS? I knew a few people from Singapore? There's definitely no shortage of answers, but we decided the best answer would be, "Ask me when I leave." :)