27/1/14

This week caused me to step slightly out of my comfort zone. I visited the University I will soon be attending, which filled me with great amounts of nerves as I was led on a tour throughout it. In addition, Chinese New Year is fast approaching. The streets which surround my home are dominated by red lanterns, the waft of incense, streamers and small mandarin trees located at the door of each home. At this time of year, they are symbols of abundance and good fortune. I will be venturing into the festive area of China town this week as the celebrations begin to unfold and will post photos.

Also during the past week, I spent an evening understanding and experiencing an East Asian meal called steam boat. It is basically a metal pot which sits in the middle of the table. When the broth is simmering ingredients are placed in the pot and are cooked at the table. Our friends bought ingredients ranging from mushrooms, tofu and fish balls to dumplings.  The majority of foods I was not used to and took a while to understand how it could be part of a pleasant eating experience. Although it was exciting to try something I had not before. 

The weather in Singapore is at its coolest at the moment, with a cooling morning and afternoon breeze. My mum and I took advantage of this this week and went to the Botanical Gardens for a walk. The gardens are quite the spectacle and the bright colours are gorgeous, making the walk through the gardens almost dreamlike.