Day 16: This is a class, I promise

So you might have forgotten that this beautiful trip to Singapore and Malaysia was actually a class. I did too, until we had to take the final. I'm just teasing. Thankfully we all helped each other review our notes, from our class spring quarter, throughout the trip. Furthermore, while we travelled throughout Singapore and Malaysia we were living, experiencing and reinforcing what we had only learned on paper back at La Sierra. Wednesday morning we took the two hour test at 10am. I was the second to last person to finish, as usual. At 12:30 we all met up for lunch close to our hotel. Most people ate as quickly as they could to go finish their presentations at 2pm. I went back to take a quick nap. I had spent the early morning hours putting together my presentation and needed to recharge my brain cells.

The presentations were in Dr. Perumals room, which made it a little less stressful. 

I focused on the Malay people and culture because before this class I did not know there was a difference between Malays and Malaysians. The Malay people are an ethnoreligious group who came from Indonesia and became Muslims around the 5th century AD. They are the people that run the government of Malaysia and that is why Malaysia is a Islamic state. Unfortunetly, my presentation went twice as long as it was supposed to-15 minutes. In fact, everyone delivered lengthy, yet fascinating, presentations on what they had focused on the throughout the trip. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's perspectives on Islam, architecture, cuisine, Sikhism, and Seventh Day Adventists and the environment.

By the time we finished our presentations and final reflections it was 5pm! We met at 5:45 for our "last supper" as an entire group. The next morning, Thursday, I was  leaving the group to head to Thailand. I was excited but also very sad to leave all my friends and tried to enjoy the night without thinking about it too much. For dinner I had the spiciest Gado Gado of my life! My mouth and lips were numb.

After dinner we took the train to the Petronas twin towers. They were amazing! The picture doesn't even come close to representing how talk they were.

My favorite part was the musical water and light show they had in front of the towers.

As I watched the show I thought about all the wonderful experiences we had all been through in only three weeks. From the urban wonders of Singapore to the amazing hospitality of the rural Iban longhouse we were able to get a glimpse of the rich, diverse culture of Southeast Asia. As I looked back on all that we had done I felt the butterflies of excitement flutter in my stomach in anticipation for the next morning. Thursday I would continue my adventure alone, in Thailand!