1 Degree and 22 Minutes North of the Equator

Brotherly love in Southeast Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:48:00 +0000

My brother, Chris, came to visit me for 2 and a half weeks, so fun! Yeeeeeee. I introduced him to Singapore and showed him my stomping grounds: the local hawker center, local bar, swimming pool, basketball court, etc.

We also took a 5 day trip to Bali and a 3 day trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Both were truly special.

The welcoming party for Chris!

Zoran and Chris

Peeps.

Chishiho and Shaundra

Maya and a captured Greg.

I'm bringing Chris's first meal at the hawker center!

Practicing his chopstick skills.

Chris checkin' out my local shopping center, Bukit Timah Plaza. This is where I get my groceries, haircuts, sporting goods, dry cleaning, etc.

We played some ball (there's my apartment building in the background).

Soo... we flew from Singapore to Jakarta, stayed at a random hotel near the airport, and took off the first thing the next morning for Bali.

Welcome to Bali Chris... breakfast in Ubud.

We bicycled through some rice paddies outside of Ubud. (day 1).

We spent the afternoon in Ubud, but then booked it to the north of Bali for the volcanoes!

We got some food and drinks at a wonderful and friendly bar. And I quickly made friends with the bartender! Not surprisingly, Indonesians adore Barack.

The first of many chess games on our trip...

Day 2. 3:30am. It's time to hike to the top of an active Volcano - Gunung Batur. Chris is ready!

Unfortunately, my camera wasn't able to capture the early morning segment of the trek. It was early, a bit chilly, and pitch black (except for the beams of our flashlights). And above us was a canopy of the most amazingly bright stars. Unbelievable!

6:15am. Likely the most incredible sunrise experience of my life. On top of a volcano, above the cloud level, and soaking it in with Chris. Wow.

I'm loving life.

Chris enjoying himself.

Brother love. More volcanoes behind us.

The steam emitted from the volcano is so hot that it cooked our breakfast, eggs and bananas.

Us enjoying our delicious melted banana sandwiches.

Our guide leading the way down the volcano and into the clouds.

That's me!

Looking up at the volcano and towards the end of our trek. The peak to the right is where we watched the sunrise.

So this is what was hiding below the cloud level, a beautiful lake. Our accommodation was lakeside.

A different view of the volcano and lake (as we left to head towards the beach).

Back through the beautiful rice paddies on our way to the coast.

Beautiful temple on the coastline. Chris and I enjoyed a couple drinks while watching the sunset.

And we arrive to the Bukit peninsula, yeeee! Overlooking the break Impossibles.

Walking into our "warung" (beachside bungalows/shacks) at Bingin. We stayed here for the last few days of our time in Bali. $6 per night. Not bad for staying on a beach with one of the best waves in the world. Wooooweeeeeeeeee.

Chris and I played countless games of chess. But we also made friends with the local ice cream man who would excitedly take breaks to play with us. Chris plots his next move...

Made a trip to Uluwatu for sunset...

Chris's best impression of The Joker.

In the distance, Bingin is going off! I couldn't believe it. Garrett and I got skunked last time, so I relished this amazing session. I woke up at dawn each day to beat the crowds of some insanely good locals, got a few hours in, and then enjoyed the days relaxing with Chris (aka: drink Bintang, eat ungodly amounts of mie goreng, and play countless games of chess). Perfection.

Uluwatu Temple. Beware of the monkeys! Chris and I saw one steal an mp3 player straight from the hands of a woman. A monkey also stole my hat the first time I came here in February. They're sneaky and devilish I tell you.

Chris and I at the temple.

Sunset at the temple, just before going to the Kecek dance! I really do love Kecek (see my photos in my February post). Chris and I got a kick out of it from the front row.

Chris picks out his dinner!

Our dinner table on the sand. No big deal.

And before we know it, we're in Cambodia! Dear Kevin and Chris, welcome to your first Cambodian sunset. And we somehow managed to have some locals guide us to the top of a treehouse to watch the sunset. Awesome.

So, just a little background. We are currently in Angkor, Cambodia (outside of Siem Reap). The area was ruled by the Khmer empire from the 9th-15th century. Angkor is said to have been the largest preindustrial city in the world (400 square miles)! There were over a thousand temples built in the area, with the most famous being Angkor Wat. Apparently, Angkor Wat is also the world's largest religious monument.

I found the variance in architecture styles to be fascinating. Much of the differentiation was due to the periodic alternations between Buddhism and Hinduism as the empire's dominant religion.
If you've seen the film Tomb Raider, then some of my photos may look familiar. Chris and I watched the film together when we returned to Singapore as we were excited to pinpoint the temples we had explored! And I guess Angelina Jolie is an added bonus.

Chris climbing to our first Cambodian temple! 6:00am.

And there's the silhouette from the ground looking up...

Temple #2. Can you find Chris in the photo?

The amazing temples of Bayon. The buddhist faces were highlights for me.

More temple.

The end of a long day of bicycling and temple exploration deserves a tasty Thai/Cambodian meal! However, Chris isn't sure what to make of his dessert.

Chris and his martial arts

Chris and his fear of "danger" (see the sign)

Chris lookin' hot and mysterious!

Inside a temple, looking up.

The Shaw brothers modeling shoot (in a temple that's 1000 years old)...

Angkor Wat sunrise. See the three pillars?

More temples...

And then Chris and I returned to Singapore...

Here's the sunset view from the "Singapore Flyer" - currently the tallest ferris wheel (541 feet) in the world, although soon to be outdone by China.

Abi + Singapore + Thailand + Laos = happy Kevin

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:04:00 +0000

The month of June was a special one. My girl, the lovely and talented Abi, made her way from Wyoming to Singapore. Yeeee! I showed her the ways of the hawker center, brought her to my favorite economics class (she endured two hours of my lecture, eeek), and introduced her to my Singapore crew. But we both had the itch to explore more of southeast Asia. And off we went for a two week journey through Thailand and Laos.

Abi appreciating our introduction to southern Thailand (Ko Samui).

Yes, this is the balcony to our room at Au Muong. Mango Bay, Ko Tao.

The view from our room. Ridiculous.

Scuba diving in Ko Tao!

Thai cooking class. We made a mean red curry! And a motley of other tasty dishes.

Abi enjoying our curry!

A quick tour of Vientiene, Laos...

A $4 feast of food and Beer Lao.

After Vientiene, we made our way to Vang Vieng...

Abi killin' it at rock climbing. It was my first legit rock climbing experience. So fun!

And here's a sample of our view while climbing... amazing.

We rode bicycles in the rain with some cows.

We had an amazing cave exploration outside of Vang Vieng. It was absolutely pitch black (though we did have some flashlights) as we waded through water and ducked under crevices. It was a fantastic adventure that neither of us really anticipated. We were very thankful that we had a guide!

Here are a couple of great shots (the light is due to the camera flash).

Me and the guide.

Our guide's daughter that we met after caving.

Crossing the river, post-cave.
After Vang Vieng, we ventured to Luang Prabang. LP is the cultural epicenter of Laos and Abi and I quickly became enamored with its charm. The architecture blends traditional Lao wooden houses with European flavors (influenced by its French colonial history).

Fun at the market in Luang Prabang. Many fun and "interesting" smells, colors, sights, ...

The products of our Lao cooking class!

Teamwork in preparing the rice.

Monks receiving alms (typically rice) from townspeople in Luang Prabang. This happens every morning around 5am.

Hey buddy...

Sunset from a hill in LP.

Abi, monk, temple.

These little girls were too cute for Abi and I to resist buying bracelets from.

A monk about to ring a bell. A bell made from an American bomb that was dropped during the Vietnam War. Wow. What a bizarre juxtaposition.

A beautiful waterfall outside of Luang Prabang.

at the top!

Monks chillin by the water.

Kuching (Borneo)

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:01:00 +0000

We got a bunch of the Princeton group together for a big group trip to Kuching -- the capital of the Malaysian state, Sarawak (which is on the island of Borneo). I'm still amazed that this is what I get to do on my long weekends. I am ridiculously lucky.

Kuching has a wonderful boardwalk that lines the more popular area of town. Sunset drinks overlooking the river...

Elizabeth (aka PoPo) and Shaundra

Dan and I cruising the markets... (Zoran the photographer)

And we played games...

Dan and Maya (aka "The Dude")

Great hike to the beach...

Us boys explored the Fairy Cave and the Wind Cave...

Mosque and cemetery.

The last night of the trip.

Tioman

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Dan, Greg, Zoran, and I had an incredible 4-day diving trip in Tioman -- a tropical island in Malaysia only several hours from Singapore.

Hello Tioman!

Where we ate most of our meals.

Post-dinner sunset

We hiked to the opposite end of the island and arrived at this beach. It took us a few hours to venture across the entire island.

Here was our diving crew

It's time for me to go diving! (Rolling off the boat).

Our dive master, Abect.

Bali revisited!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:49:00 +0000

I ventured over to Bali for the second time this year. Why you ask? Well, for one, the place is amazing. Two, April marks the beginning of the prime surf season. And three, my boy -- the infamous Garrett Clanin -- met me there!

Here's the view from one of our bungalows, overlooking Bingin and Dreamland down to the right. $5 per night. Not bad, eh?

Garrett killin' it at Uluwatu. Such a fun day!

I'm certainly enjoying myself at Uluwatu. It had been awhile since my last barrel. Amped!

Garrett is a very happy (and tired) man after our third marathon surf session of the day. The sunset sessions at Uluwatu were unforgettable.

You gotta treat yourself well after 3 long sessions per day.

Uluwatu, you make us happy! Don't worry, we were just taking a quick lunch break... we quickly got back out there. Rob Machado and other pros were out there destroying. A great day in the water.

Dreamland sunset

Our bus+ipod buddy. He was psyched on Garrett's reggae collection.

Garr and I went on an amazing bicycle journey through the outskirts of Ubud.

Motorbikes: transport around the Bukit Peninsula.

At the Uluwatu Temple

We left Bali for a couple days to go to a nearby island, Nusa Lombongan. Garr got some small but fun waves, we both did some amazing snorkeling, and I did a day of diving. Nice!

Lombongan sunset (the view from out in front of our patio).

We met some good people on Nusa Lombongan. The group representing USA, UK, Germany, and Australia.

Back to Thailand... Chiang Mai!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Dan and I really enjoyed our several days in Chiang Mai. It kinda reminded me of Thailand's version of Kyoto, Japan. It's certainly a bustling city, yet it has many pockets of cultural intimacy. Stray from a busy street, walk around a corner and you unexpectedly find yourself at the base of a stunning temple. Examples of this (in various manifestations) seemed to routinely happen. I love that.

Just one of the many...

I like.

the Three Kings Monument

Munchkin monks playing with the pay phone.

Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep

Wat, part II.

Beside the Wat, overlooking the city on a hazy day.

Muay Thai fight! (the national sport of Thailand). Have I ever mentioned that I'm training in Muay Thai in Singapore? Yes, I'm serious... watch yourself.

Durian! Gotta love that smell...

Orchids!

We managed to get outside of the city. And look at we found: elephants!

Long neck tribe. I forget the Thai name for the tribe, but that really is the translation. You can see why.

the Gibbon Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:29:00 +0000

After Chiang Rai, Dan and I crossed the Thai-Laos border (just a 5 minute boat ride across the Mekong River).

Our primary destination in Laos was the "Gibbon Experience" -- an eco-tourism forest conservation project. We spent 3 days and 2 nights living in a nature reserve. We slept in treehouses and spent all day trekking and zip-lining through the jungle. Awesome! Unfortunately we didn't get to see any of the Black Gibbons (cute little apes), but it was a great few days.

Border crossing (Mekong in the background).

An early-morning view from our treehouse.

Here's a glimpse of one of the medium length/speed zip-lines. So fun!

Stunning scenery.

Chiang Rai and the White Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:47:00 +0000

After the hill tribe, Dan and I explored Chiang Rai (on my birthday!). I must say, a pretty sweet birthday...

White Temple: the most impressive temple I've seen in SE Asia.

After the White Temple, we motorbiked to a waterfall outside of the city.

I was excited!

Went for a swim (a little chilly).

We met some local Thai friends along the way! We taught them "bullhorns."

the Lahu Hill tribes...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:57:00 +0000

My roommates (Daniel, Greg) and I left Singapore to meet up with a couple of Greg's friends in northern Thailand. One of them, Charlie, was Greg's best friend from Princeton who was starting a project based near where he was living and teaching (Chiang Rai). This project, led by Charlie and another lecturer at the university, is an effort to offer a glimpse of the ways of life of the Lahu hill tribes to those of the "developed" world. As a result, contributions are made direct to the villages in order to help sustain their way of life, which is becoming increasingly difficult.

This other lecturer that I speak of is quite the interesting character. He's an extremely bright yet eccentric and quirky American. He was educated at MIT and Oxford, but fled the traditional academic path. While traveling through southeast Asia, he somehow met a young Lahu woman. His first Lahu marriage went awry, but he's been married to his second Lahu wife for 8 years now. He has become immersed into the Lahu way of life and is now a well-respected member of a tribe in northern Thailand. He lives in the rural village half of the year when not teaching in the university in town.

Historically, the Lahu people are nomadic hunters and gatherers, settling in southern China, Burma, Laos, and Thailand. Us boys would comprise the first guinea-pig group of visitors to several of the northern Thai Lahu tribes.

The journey was beyond anything I've ever experienced. We spent five days trekking through the rural hills of northern Thailand living with three different Lahu tribes. And when I say "rural," I mean it. These communities are completely removed from Thai cities and seem to be in a world of their own. Below are some photos to attempt to capture what I was able to witness.

A couple of amazing experiences that aren't captured with photographs:
- sitting around a fire in a hut, chatting (via translator) with the village chief for hours late into the evening. One classic example of the conversation, the chief asking us young men what kind of dowries we would have to pay for our wives.

- attending a Sunday church service in the village. Several of these Lahu tribes were introduced to Christianity about 100 years ago by missionaries. The service was fascinating, seeing the blend of ideas and faiths.

- the general hospitality and grace amongst the Lahu people was so heartwarming. I was a little cautious and distant at first, being careful not too encroach on their sense of normalcy (as our group of 5 guys were extreme outsiders). But the villages really did have open arms and embraced us as visitors. My eyes were eagerly wide open during these five truly special days.

The view as we enter the first village, about 15 families large.

Big brother cooking up some bullets for his slingshot, while also comforting little brother.

We brought balloons for the children. A big hit!

On another one of our treks from village to village. Scarecrow? Check. Guide dogs? Check.

Several villages are able to get some electricity, courtesy of these solar panels that were donated by the Thai government.

Cooking in the hut.

Mother and child.

On one of our treks, we brought along "homemade" rifles. Our hunting leader sniped a bird like it was nothing. Here is me struggling to hit my stationary target (a tree).

This kid is an absolute stud. On our longest and most difficult trek of the trip, this little guy was forging ahead with more energy and enthusiasm than I thought was humanly possible. We all loved this guy and had a great time with him.

Crossbow.

Me and the stud under the waterfall. (The journey to the waterfall was a tough trek, but well worth it).

Lunch at the waterfall. I much prefer banana leaves over plates.

We went on a walk with the village medicine man, picking out herbs for a shoulder-injury remedy.

Hannah -- the daughter of the eccentric MIT+Oxford American and his Lahu wife. She's a cutie and trilingual at the age of 6 (Lahu, Thai, English). Here she is helping to sift the rice.

Here's "Andy" (English name) taking a stroll. He was one of our guides/translators.

Jacob, Charlie, Dan, me. Hiking to the third and final village.

I'm checking out the village soccer field.

Dan and I soaking in the evening view. Is that a Thai cigar in Dan's hand? I think so.

A friendly village game of Sepak Takraw -- a variant of volleyball, but played only with your feet!

In the third village, we were able to witness a tribal wedding! We had the privilege of taking part in the morning feast (it's a ritual to slaughter a pig -- very valuable -- the morning of the wedding to share with the whole village).

One thing I learned... there are two types of Lahu marriages: holy marriages and unholy marriages. Holy marriages are held in the village church, while the unholy marriages are held in the village meeting center. Do you have a guess as to what would make a marriage be "unholy?" Yep, you guessed it... premarital sex. You may wonder, how would the village know whether it's holy or unholy? Well, every couple has to take an oath in the church if they're to proclaim it a holy marriage. And apparently, honesty is paramount and this rule is never disrespected. And to clarify, "unholy" marriages are not necessarily looked down upon so long as the couple is well-received by the village. The wedding that we witnessed was "unholy."

Here's the lovely couple.

The bride, groom, and family walk through the village towards the ceremony.

The wedding is underway!

One of our last treks of our amazing trip.

The trip is near complete, driving back towards Chiang Rai. Andy and Greg's smiles speak for the rest of us with our feelings toward this once-in-a-lifetime journey.

Scuba!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:45:00 +0000

The beginning of my month long break led Greg, Dan, and I to Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo). The motivation for this journey was primarily focused on scuba diving. Five days later: I'm now a certified PADI diver and did 7 dives in one of the best dive sites in the world (namely Sipadan Island, but also dove off of some other amazing islands: Sibuan, Mabul).

Really, it was magical. I saw countless tropical fish of all shapes, colors, and sizes, morey eels, a blue-spotted ribbontail sting ray, dozens of sea turtles, and a number of reef sharks! (but don't worry, they don't attack humans). The visibility was terrific and diving along the coral reefs was simply incredible. A couple of the diving highlights were:

1) diving into a channel with walls of reef to both the left and right, allowing the current to guide me down the channel with countless fish and turtles while gazing down a couple of meters at sleeping reef sharks along the bottom.

2) entering into a large cave, an abyss of darkness... and exiting into the most surreal vibrant blue, an image that will never be forgotten. Shortly after exiting the cave, a school of hundreds of jackfish circled around our group of 5 divers creating the feeling of being in the center of a tornado, but a tornado of fish.

There's simply no way my words can do justice to any of this. So here's a better, yet still feeble attempt to portray my experiences...

Diving off of Siduan Island.

Local kids at Siduan Island.

Boys will be boys...

A few photographs from my last dive of the trip...

The entrance to the cave... no joke.

Appreciating the view as I near the exit to the cave... one of the most amazing images I've ever seen in my life.

Coral

One of the dozens of turtles that I got to know...

Celebrating Chinese New Year...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:39:00 +0000

... in Bali! Simply incredible.

Hiking through rice fields. Excitement!

Father and daughter returning from a fishing trip.

Kecak dance (and choir) at the Uluwatu temple. And yes, that's the ocean in the background.

In between Padang-Padang and Impossibles. Unfortunately the waves weren't up to par.

More rice fields. Amazing hike.

Women and child

The view from our room up in the mountain village of Munduk. Are you kidding me?

The crew: Greg, 'Lil, Me.

Students.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:33:00 +0000

To be frank, a reason why I've been slacking on the blog is because I've been pretty busy with wrapping up this first semester of teaching. Well, here is some evidence of my students and I letting loose a bit on the last day of microeconomics tutorial/lecture. (These are a few students from my best micro class; 1st years, age 17-18).

Friends + Singapore + Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:12:00 +0000

My good friends Sean and Betsy (from DC) came out to Singapore! We explored Singapore, then they headed to Thailand for awhile before I met up with them again in Bangkok.

Me, Sean, Betsy. Clarke Quay (the hub of the "trendy-cool" Singapore nightlife).

The best Pad Thai of my life. Sukhumvit Soi 38, Bangkok.

And I thought the juice stands in Singapore were good!

Beautiful temples and architecture.

New Years Ball for Ngee Ann (my school)

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:58:00 +0000

Yes, I was dressed a little foolishly, but the theme was "kaleidoscope." What do you expect?

Oh, and a few drinks later, I somehow ended up dancing with the director of the business school. Huh? She's about 55 years old, but big time I tell you. Sorry Abi :)

And then I headed west...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:47:00 +0000

Family + Christmas time... (San Francisco and Orange County).

Cousins and siblings!

Declan, Me, Liam.

T, Mari, Me, Chris

no longer the east side of the world, but the east side of the USA...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:24:00 +0000

I live in Singapore. I own no "winter" clothing.

I visited the states for the holidays. First stop: Boston.

I transitioned from 90 degree heat + humidity to 30 degree cold + snow.

I walk out of the airport in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals at 7pm. I watch the snowfall. I feel my body stiffen. The body sure does respond to contrasts, let me tell you.

The reason for my Boston trek? One simple answer...

Kelong fishing!

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:24:00 +0000

The weekend following the KL trek, a few of us journeyed back to Malaysia for a kelong fishing trip! A kelong is a large offshore wood platform designed for fishermen. The kelong we visited has now been modified to accommodate people looking for a fishing getaway. Imagine a very rustic open-air cabin with a lot of bunk beds (not sure how else to describe it), but just in the middle of the ocean. Awesome. There was a solid group (30+) from my school who went along with their families. I caught several smaller fish (I have no clue what kind), but subscribed to the catch-and-release strategy.

The ocean breeze and salty smell quickly evoked feelings of Pacific nostalgia. I can't wait to soon visit you my friend, Mr. Pacific Ocean.

Beautiful sunrise.

Mahjong! I got an introduction to the game, but I really want to learn it well.

Night fishing.

Pretty excited after my ocean swim.

Dan's got one!

mysterious graffiti in KL...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:15:00 +0000

I don't have any good explanation for this, but I consistently found perplexing and disturbing graffiti around Kuala Lumpur. I don't know all too much about the current events and local youth culture of the city, so I won't comment and will simply share some photos.

If you have any insight, please let me know.

KL

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:30:00 +0000

I recently ventured off to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. While the city is certainly more decrepit and unorganized than Singapore, it has plenty of character. I had a great time exploring the Batu Caves, scavenging for christmas presents, checking out the tallest twin towers in the world (Petronas), again mingling with local artists, and simply wandering the city.

The Batu Caves were the highlight of the trip, simply incredible. It's home to one of the largest Hindu temples outside of India. Many of the shrines are dedicated to Murugan -- the God of war, who also always comes to the aid of his devotees.

One note on the Petronas towers: they are currently the tallest twin towers in the world. They once were the tallest towers period, until Taipei 101 was built in 2004 in Taipei, Taiwan. I feel pretty lucky to have visited both Petronas and Taipei 101 over the last few years!

Murugan and the steps leading to the main temple within the caves.

The patterns of candles that lay on the temple floor left me gazing for a loooong time.

The colors of the temple ceiling also demanded my gaze.

I don't know much about this guy, but I loved the statue!

Petronas Towers.

Giving thanks, Singaporean style.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:04:00 +0000

Who? Princeton-in-Asia crew + friends.
What? Thanksgiving potluck feast.
Where? La casa de Greg, Dan, y Kevin.
Why? "Thank you, thank you, thank you." And feasting.

Our gathering had a familial touch. It was precious. Everyone in our group went around the table to express one aspect of their own personal thanks. I have countless things to be thankful for, but on this evening, I gave specific thanks for "exploration." As I've touched upon in this blog, I've been afforded the invaluable opportunity to explore new culture(s), geographical landscape(s), friendships, a rewarding job that consistently challenges me, and deeper probing into emotional, intellectual, and physical dynamics of myself. This word, "exploration," summarizes the general breadth of my personal aspirations for this time spent in Singapore and beyond.

In addition to this one single word, I say thank you to all of you. It's beyond words to even attempt to express my gratitude for what you -- my friends, family, and even acquaintances -- mean to me and have provided for me. It's with eager excitement (understatement of the year) that I look forward to seeing many of you in California and the special someone in Boston over the holiday season.

Juice. Running.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:50:00 +0000

One quiet weekday afternoon found me working at my desk and drinking my fresh apple juice. As an aside, my love of juice has now become an addiction. It's available everywhere, it's cheap, and it's fresh! Literally juiced right in front of you. How can I resist? I can't. Really, I'm addicted. My standard is straight green apple, but I often mix it up with apple-orange, apple-pineapple, etc. I actually have an apple-orange juice beside me right now to go along with my pad thai.

So where was I? I was working at my desk and drinking my fresh apple juice. I get a visit from from a friendly colleague. Several minutes later, I somehow have become the "lead" runner for the business school's relay running team. Huh? How did that happen? My thoughts exactly. When was the last time I went for a run? Maybe a year ago in DC with Sam or EJE -- the running maniacs. Before I know it, I'm "training" with the captain -- a really sweet middle-aged Singaporean man named Sonny. Apparently, there is a schoolwide relay running that incorporates student, faculty, and alumni teams. It's casual for some, competitive for others. All in all, it's a great way to connect all the different demographics of the school together.

However, once your captain starts bragging to the other faculty members in the locker room about the business school's "foreign talent" (a.k.a. me), feelings of pressure start to creep in. Granted, I am significantly younger than the members on the team, but that doesn't mean I'm an all-star runner! Despite the somewhat awkward situation of being touted as a running talent, it was refreshing to revamp my implicitly competitive spirits.

At the end of the day, the race was terrific. The cohesion of students, faculty, and alumni was something I hadn't seen since high school. It was refreshing to see. Also, our team did very well! We even got trophies! Honestly, I really impressed myself (and apparently my teammates as well) with my run. I never knew I could run (relatively) well... maybe this whole running thing ain't so bad after all.

Our team! My boy Sonny to the left of me.

The director of my department finishing the race!

Our staff team with the business students' team (1st place)!
Note the trophies :)

the trek to Malacca...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 06:13:00 +0000

Last weekend marked another new stamping on my passport: Singapore's northern neighbor, Malaysia! Several of the other "international fellows" and I made the 4-hour bus ride up to Malacca, Malaysia. Malacca (or Melaka in Malay) is historically a colonial state. The Portuguese ruled the region beginning in the early 16th century, and then was later ruled by the Dutch and then the British. The post-WWII era yielded anti-colonial sentiment in Malaysia, and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia declared independence of Malacca in 1956.

Now, the colonial influence is most noticeable in the architecture. The Malacca town has an interesting blend of both eastern and western architectural flavor.

Weekend highlights included:

- Harmony Street. A quiet road, home to a Chinese Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple, and a Mosque. All were within a short walk from each other. It was fascinating to witness the distinctive moods and energy of the temple-goers, all of whom were seemingly content in this harmonious microcosm.

- Dan and I scoring front-row seats to the local Karaoke contest (with hundreds in attendance). Most of the performers sang modern Malay songs. However, our favorite was the Malaysian Frank Sinatra. He owned the crowd.

- My conversation with Charles Cham -- a local artist. I wandered into his gallery (the Orangutan House) and struck up some small talk with the man, eventually realizing that he was actually the artist. We discussed the themes of his art -- largely dependent on the philosophy of Yin and Yang-- which I just loved listening to. I bought one his Orangutan t-shirts as a memento.

- Wandering the night market! My one purchase from the market? Chocolate covered grapes on a skewer. Yum!

A portrait: Princeton-in-Asia crew in Malacca.

A guitarist at the ruins of St. Paul's Church (Portuguese).

Charles Cham (the artist) and I.

Buddhist temple, Cheng Hoon Teng.

Just a wee bit of western influence.

Karaoke!

Night market.

This walk made me smile.

"Good morning Mr. Shaw!"

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:53:00 +0000

Several of you have asked for more clarification about what it is I'm actually teaching out here. Well, here ya go.

Technically, I'm an International Fellow in the School of Business and Accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. This simply means that I'm a full-time lecturer (the term "professor" isn't used over here), but at the very bottom of the totem pole. Mind you, as I described earlier in my blog, Singaporean polytechnics are similar to that of American junior colleges.

I'm teaching five microeconomics "tutorials." They each meet once a week for two hours. They are supplemental to the lectures and are broken down into groups of 20 students. This is similar to the American university system, except that even the senior lecturers also teach these tutorials. As many of you know, American universities usually pluck graduate and even undergraduate students for teaching these tutorials (I once was one of these indentured servants; yes, I'm looking at you UCSD) .

I also teach two "Business Communications" workshops that meet twice per week for two hours each. What does a Business Communications workshop mean? Well, these classes are simply designed to improve written, oral, and listening communication skills within a business context. It's essentially a remedial applied communications course. This is especially important for these students as most are bilingual (in English and Mandarin), but are not completely confident in their English communication skills when approached with the tasks of speaking in front of an audience, writing a formal report, etc. Our department has witnessed many of its students excel in the quantitative and analytical arena, but struggle when faced with the challenge of internship/job interviews and well, just communication in general. This course hopes to help remedy this dilemma.

Originally, I didn't know what to think about teaching a "Business Communications" course (they actually surprised me with it, "surprise!"). However, it has proven to be a refreshing contrast to teaching microeconomics. I enjoy and embrace this contrast as I'm able to implement distinctive teaching styles and strategies in each.

So, if you want to do the math, I'm teaching five micro classes (two hours each per week) and two groups of BComm students (who meet twice for two hours per week). "Now class, what's (5X2) + (4X2)? 18!? Correct! Very good!" No, that's not what I sound like in the classroom. But yes, I'm in the classroom 18 hours per week while the other 55% of my workweek is spent making lesson plans, grading, dealing with admin bulls@!t, and going to department meetings.

All in all, it's a great job and I've really enjoyed my time so far here at Ngee Ann, especially when I'm in the classroom. An no offence to you Fed folks (I know you're out there), but the classroom excites me more than FAME ever could. And for you non-Fedites, I'm not referring to "fame" as in great renown, but rather, umm... let's just leave it at that.

just a simple weekend getaway.

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 09:30:00 +0000

My weekend getaways no longer entail taking the Chinatown bus from DC to NYC, or a quick Jetblue flight from DC to Boston. No no, how about taking a ferry from Singapore to a tropical beach in Indonesia. While those east coast visits with all of you special New Yorkers and Bostonians will forever be dear to my heart, my current weekend treks are now of a different breed.

Cheers to Greg, Dan, and I (the roomies) for a capricious adventure that ultimately led to a relaxing series of:
1. lay on beach
2. stare at palm trees
3. eat delicious fresh fish and crab
4. eat pineapple
5. read book
6. walk/wade/swim to island (depending on low/medium/high tide)
7. drink beer
8. repeat steps 1-7

Our weekend getaway, at low tide. Really low.

the beginnings...

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin William Shaw) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:44:00 +0000

Well, after a busy summer of relocation (DC to CA), studying (take a seat Mr. GMAT!), and travel (Lake Tahoe. Boston. Wyoming. Iceland, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Venice, Florence+Chianti, Rome, Barcelona, and Paris.), I picked up and moved east, far east. My new location you ask? Well, 1 degree and 22 minutes north of the equator, of course.

I'm just about a month into my new life situation here in Singapore. For those of you who are a bit out of the loop, I am teaching microeconomics and "business communications" at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, which lies in a suburban area of Singapore. The majority of my students are first years at this polytechnic (a close parallel to an American junior college).

I'll be living here in Singapore for a year. I live in a 3 bedroom apartment with two of the other "international fellows," who turn out to be very pleasant fellows indeed. The apartment is a 10 minute walk to my office on campus, and a stone's throw from 3 basketball courts, 3 tennis courts, a soccer field, and a "hawker center" -- see below. Much to my joy, there's also an Olympic sized swimming pool on campus which I've happily taken advantage of for my daily exercise.

Singapore is generally well-known for the cuisine. This fame is largely derived from the cultural diversity that exists in Singapore (will get to this a bit more later). Also, it's the casual food that makes Singaporean cuisine famous, and that's perfect for me! I absolutely love visiting the "hawker centers" -- open air complexes that house many many food stalls that serve food (both inexpensive and delicious!) from all over Asia. I eat the majority of my dinners at such places. For example, just tonight I had a generous serving of a curry chicken noodle dish, with a lime juice for about $3 (US). This is quite the bargain for a relatively expensive "city-state" that sports high-end shopping just as naturally as cheap servings of chicken rice. If all you really know about Singapore is to not chew gum or spit in the street, well, let's have a quick lesson. Yes, Singapore is one of the Asian "tigers," or as the Economist recently described, "a developed country that grows at developing-country rates." Check it.

I'm genuinely enjoying the opportunity to interact with a culture that is -- for the most part -- simply different from what I'm accustomed to. Singapore is a culturally diffused locale. There exists a seemingly harmonious blend of ethnic Chinese (over 70% of the population), indigenous Malay, Indian, and yes, some of those Westerners... they seem to be everywhere, don't they?

For all of your other Singapore info needs, Wikipedia is awaiting you. “Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information.” - Michael Scott, The Office. (In case you're unfamiliar with either The Office or Wikipedia, there is humor in that statement).

I'm several weeks into my classes, and they're going great. Really great. Like I mentioned previously, I really am enjoying the opportunity to teach within a culturally distinct environment. It's still very fresh, but I'm simply excited. I have many initial perceptions, but I will reserve my opinions for future blogs once those perceptions are more refined. But so far, I'm most proud of my head first slides across the tile in my business communication classes (yes, that's plural. I did it not once, but twice. Long story).

Aside from the excitement of the new job and the intrigue of the new "exotic" living location, a newly realized focus and calmness could be the most appreciated development so far in my time in Singapore. I've been leading a fairly simple life: wake up, teach, swim, eat delicious food, socialize, read, think, sleep. As a result of this global transition, my lifestyle has untangled the previous web of constant errands, engagements, and general hustle and bustle. I've been afforded the luxury of time to reflect. I view this year in Singapore as both a cultural and personal exploration. I look forward to my future travel opportunities to peruse the SE Asian region, but I'm also eager to explore my interest in teaching while also advancing my abilities to communicate and lead. Furthermore, this personal reflection I speak of is not without self-derived motivation. While much of the reflection has led to very organic and spontaneous introspections of personal values and unearthed emotions, the reflection has also possessed a self-driven pursuit of what is ahead for me beyond this year in Singapore. That's certainly not yet realized, but it seems that "life" (such a small word for such a big concept) has gotten to be a bit more clear while over here. Of course, that is so very vague... but there's good reason for that. I can't just divulge everything on this site, now can I?

My apartment building (to the left) on the walk home from campus.

Sunset view from my bedroom balcony.

Sleep.

Swim.

Tennis.

View from the bridge (connecting staff apartments to campus).