Dwindling Days...

I have less than ten days left in Singapore. Ten days, and I will no longer be "Sent to Singapore"...

As I was walking home from work today, I thought about the things I will miss the most in Singapore. Some were obvious, like the MRT and fantastic food. Other things were less so- the fact that I am surrounded by Asians is both a blessing and a curse, for example. Or odd things like the fact that safety precautions for roadwork are so relaxed... sure, it's more dangerous, but it also means that here people are expected to take responsibility for their own actions.

Something I must confess is at the end of the day, I did not really get to know Singapore. Sure, I know Orchard Road and Woodlands pretty well, but I can't say I truly managed to grasp what it's like to be a local here. My experience here, by choice, has been one of an expat. It's not a bad thing in many ways. I've been to Japan and England and Turkey with my school. I finishing my America education without too much difficultly, and was privileged to be part of an excellent dance program. Yet, I never became really local.

Before I know it, I'll be back in a land where people don't question what language I speak. Unlike Singapore, where people can tell I'm somewhere between 18-24, in the United States people honestly don't know. While some consider the United States the greatest country in the world, I've been to enough places now to know that all are different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. I've tried to shed my ignorance of the world around me to the best of my ability, and I think I've succeeded to an extent. There's no way that three years living abroad has made me a truly global citizen, whatever that catchphrase means, but it has made me aware.

As the days here come to an end, I'm constantly wondering when things will be my last of something. Did I just eat my last Pepper Lunch today? Or the last Mochi Sweet? When is the next time I will take the MRT, if I take it again at all? Where is next place I will go that has such a great MRT (It's not Boston)? Is anyone still around?

It's also made me wonder what will happen to this blog. I'm sure in a few years I'll have to take it down, or it will get lost, or for professional reasons it won't be wise to keep it up. In the meantime, though, I'm going to try writing as much as I can, and try not to waste a moment.

Check out my new blog:  Back to Boston