Livin' in a Muggle's Paradise

**Disclaimer: This is a Harry Potter nerd alert. However, for all the HP haters (Mike and Ben Comer), proceed with a Harry Potter gladdittude. I won't tell anyone that you both went to the midnight book release with me in NYC and wore the HP glasses...

Today I was reminded (not that I ever forgot) about all the things I truly love about HARRY POTTER! #gryffindor4life #HogwartsExpress #IheartMcGonogall Kathryn and I went to the Harry Potter prop/costume/movie set exhibit at the ArtScience Museum in Sing. Check out the exhibit here!

ArtScience Museum

First off, let me show you where the exhibit was (to the left). It's such a cool building, and it sits among some of the most interesting and unique architecture/buildings in the city.
Secondly, the exhibit was AWESOME, especially with my fellow HP fanatic, Kathryn! We learned all the behind the scenes facts (like the fact that they actually made a mechanical Buckbeak and later, the prop designers would make it follow different cast members around as a practical joke), and we saw all the costumes and set designs...we knew we were in the presence of literary and cinematic brilliance :) Unfortunately, we could not take any pictures in the actual exhibit but I can tell you, I was officially sorted into Gryffindor and Kathryn is an expert Quidditch player!

 Today was actually the last day of Singapore being home to this exhibit so we split a chocolate frog to commemorate the occasion!



All in all, one magical day well spent.

• Singing: "Hedwig's Theme" -Harry Potter

How I felt after getting an iPhone 5 today...

  That's right...I, Sarah Kathryn Comer, am the new owner of a smartphone. I have arrived. #latebloomer This was an especially big victory for me in Sing because it is quite a process to open a new cell phone line- it took many trips to Singtel (3) and many hours of waiting in the "queue" (ANYWHERE there is a line in Singapore, you type in your info, and you are assigned a number #orderly) It felt a bit like Hunger Games- and in fact, it seemed just as likely to be called for your turn at Singtel as it would for you to be reaped for the Hunger Games. 

Anyways, the moral of the story is that I did get a phone (I'm totally digging the new iPhone...well any iPhone is new for me) If you have "whatsapp," let's chat! +65 9178 9381. Also, I'd like to point out that in Sing, having 8's in your phone number is good luck and having 4's in your phone number is bad luck...so check me out, two 8s and no 4s! :)

Business all goes through mobile numbers here. For example, here are some new things I can now do in Singapore that I couldn't without having a cell phone number: Set up a bank account, text a taxi (that's right, text them and you can map when they will be getting to you), transfer money, spend less time getting lost, pay bills, and FACETIME (for all you fellow iPhone users...)

• Singing: "Call me Maybe" -Carly Rae Jepson

"When we are listening to stories, we must enact mindfulness and suspend judgment. We must remember humility which is what I hope for all of us with CARE. When you start by being humble, you can embrace being authentic."

-Mohan Dutta
9/26/2012
(Check out our new CARE blog: http://www.care-cca.com/)

   Today was a beautiful day!...I'm talking like drinking an original Diet Coke good! I met my fellow Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) team members, and I am motivated, inspired, completely excited to be working with such a stellar team. As of now, the team consists of Daniel (MA), JT (post doc), Kang (post doc), Dr. Mohan Dutta, and yours truly. The members of my team are so smart and passionate with sunny dispositions and a true desire to see social change regarding health. Not only that, they have welcomed me in with kind words, encouraging reassurance, and fresh fruit smoothies. With the diversity of our backgrounds, ethnic origins, research interests, favorite smoothie flavor, etc., today was the start of our CARE family...and I love it. 

My first project will be focused on women diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (one of the leading causes of death for women in Sing), and I will be working with the National University Health Center of Singapore. I am excited about this project and also look forward to paying visits to JT and Kang's projects in other various locations in Southeast Asia!

The Department of Communication and New Media (where the CARE center is housed) was recently ranked #3 in the world for the subject of Communication and Media Studies! They have a wonderful faculty and everyone is so kind and they have made me feel so welcomed! The faculty and staff are made up of intelligent, quick-witted, and truly passionate scholars and teachers. Our department belongs in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences which equivalent to what in the US we call a "college" within a university.  I went to my first Faculty meeting yesterday and after the brief Sept. birthdays celebration at the beginning, I knew I'd be right at home!

 

• Singing: "Beautiful Day" U2

Me after not getting lost for the first time on the way to work today:

....even with no GPS or cell phone! I cut my 3 hour commute from yesterday down to a little over an hour today. beautiful. 

#Littlevictories

A slice of life

The last few days in a nutshell:

TODAY WAS MY FIRST DAY AT WORK! eeeek! After my 3 hour commute into National University of Singapore campus (a bit turned around without a phone...but hey, no better way to learn a city right?), I finally made it there-only 1 hour late for my first day of work. Silver lining: I have discovered 2 secret weapons to deflecting a possible meltdown/pressing of the panic button:                     

1. "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" NPR podcast-more specifically Carl Castle's voice on my iPod. A little piece of home and my connection back to the States. 

2. Hailing a taxi at anytime/anywhere (which I did unashamedly on campus... to take me somewhere else on campus)

...worked like a charm :)

NUS Campus on the walk from the correct bus stop!    

My boss (Dr. Dutta) is wonderful and the people in my department have been so good to me already! The campus is BEAUTIFUL even though I don't think this picture does it justice.I'm meeting the rest of my CARE (Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation) team on Wednesday which I am so excited and thrilled about! 

In other news...

 Chinatown in Singapore is a bit different than the Chinatown of NYC we know and love for sunglasses and handbags. Sing's Chinatown is rich with cultural history and tradition. We visited the "Tooth Relic" Buddhist temple in the heart of Chinatown. It is truly an incredible place. The emphasis to "just be" and to meditate on things that are good, lovely, and pleasing is such a treasure to remember and an honor to see carried out. There is nothing like a Chinese pagoda to really give you an Asian awe. 

It was also festival of the lanterns in Chinatown while we were there so it was especiallycolorful and decorated!

I have had the sweetest hosts, Kathryn (pictured to the right) and Ed (photographer), who have adventured around the city with me, shown me the sites, and have gone to the Singaporean equivalent of the DMV...twice #truelove. I'm so lucky to be with them here in Sing! 

• Singing: "Keep Your Eyes Open"                                         -Needtobreathe

You can get internet on Singapore Air?!

Me after seeing the sun rise for the second time while on my flight to Sing ...#timechange #marathonflight

Should be a cliche title about leaving on a jet plane or something...

   Well, I am T-minus 2 hours away from leaving for the NYC airport to hop on my flight to Singapore-what a whirlwind! eek.

 What a gift it was to spend a solid month at home in South Carolina watching football games, riding bikes, and toasting all small  victories with Anne and David at 1006. I got to see BOTH of my brothers and catch up with friends to help hold me over until the next time we get to spend time together! I had such an incredible adventure in NYC with my brother Ben, Danielle, and sweet nephew Levin, and new friends on the first stop on my way to Singapore! I love that city!!!

After packing, unpacking, rearranging, Dad and I sitting on my luggage so we could zip it up (and then of course me asking him to add just ONE more thing!), repacking a bit more and then bidding farewell to some things that didn't make the cut, I finally tagged all my bags with eclectic yet representative IDs at exactly the weight limit-the next year+ of my life in two 50 pound bags and a carryon.

  I will say, it's intimidating keeping a blog. It's hard as a rookie writer of one to separate the stellar from the snoozefest stories but I will hopefully be able to give you a glimpse of my time in Singapore through ordinary tales of living in an extraordinarily different place. Feel free to comment, ask questions, and I'll keep the songs across the top rolling-we'll be singing along together (just press play)! 

  Thinking about moving to Singapore is sort of like summer camp, while you never know what to expect you know you will come home changed in a way that allows you to see things with new interest and color, you'll undoubtedly discover your ability to eat something unusual when double-dared, and inevitably you will be SINGing a new song!

• Singing: "It's Time" -Glee