4/27/08
Hello dears!
Disjointed message of various things:
We have arrived safely in Singapore and already walked
all over the area where our little hotel is -- near Chinatown, many
air-conditioned shopping centers, alongside the Singapore River, over to
Victoria theatre where the show and seminars will be, and met all the ladies
associated with "Claribel's Raqs Sharkis Studio" -- www.bellydanceinsingapore.com. The studio is really beautiful and right next
to our hotel. I will be teaching the seminars next week over at the theatre
however. They are used to importing
teachers of arabic/egyptian style so I hope they go for the Greco-Turkish
fusion.
Nobody does floorwork or props here so they are excited
about that.
Our host Susanna picked us up at the airport and we took
a taxi back to the hotel. Miraculously, all the bags made it to Singapore in
one piece and fit in the trunk of the little taxi. The taxi was a SKODA for those of you
interested in vehicles. Everywhere I go
I see things Zoe would like like little mechanical barking dogs and light up
sticks. There is a giant bungee ride by
the river that crazy young people go on for 40 bucks a shot.
We ate breakfast in Chinatown --little dumplings from
small vendor for.
Of course Starbucks is right across the street from our hotel and we
also had a latte there...
Hotel has internet so we can be reached at any time
through email..We have a Singapore cell phone number 81157365 but I'm not sure
of the country code/area code. For
dinner we ate out at the trendy riverside touristic area. We learned that
Singapore has the same belly dance dramas and politics as the rest of the
world...
Tomorrow is dress rehearsal and we will rig the theatre
for aerial stuff which the engineer will hopefully approve.
OK that's it for now.
More to come.
Love Melinda
5/5/08
It's
2 a.m. at the Summer Tavern on Carpenter Street in Singapore and once again I
can't sleep. Sacha doesn't seem to suffer from the same jet lag issues,
as he is sleeping away already. He has caught a slight cold from going in
arctically air-conditioned shops and out again into humid boiling sun
conditions. I am hoping that my pomegranate iced tea from the local 7-11
isn't the true cause of my insomnia. I just realized it probably had a
black tea leaf base.... caffeine....caffeine.. my friend and foe.
Today
was my first "free" day after teaching a marathon set of classes the
last few days - 5 hours a day for 4 days in a row. The beautiful students
of Susanna Lawren AKA Goddess Motion and Claribel's Raks Sharki studio (www.bellydanceinsingapore.com)
barely flagged under my energetic forces! They wanted more! More!
Dancers are in great shape over here! Local professional dancer and
recent finalist of a Miss Singapore competition, Angelina Tay came to all the
seminars and then went on to dance four sets at Shiraz restaurant in the
trendsetting hotspot area called Clarke Quay. She always finds the energy
to shimmy - could the secret be her daily dose of chocolate? Women (and a
couple of men) from all over Asia came to the workshops -- from Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Japan. Back in Boston I'm always impressed when students drive
to class on a regular basis from Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine, but
flying in to Singapore for class from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan? Its a
whole new map for the mind over here. I have been invited back for next
year and I am already looking forward to the next trip. It is such a
pleasure to see how belly dance strengthens and empowers women -- how it seems
to change lives for the better -- all over the globe. And it is also
gratifying that the Daughters of Rhea Way is received so positively even on the
other side of the earth one degree above the equator. Greco-Turkish-Vintage-Oriental-Manouche
Style with creative spirit and colorful family stories makes for happy feet,
hearts and hips (plug, plug). The gorgeously petite Japanese dancer Kyoko
wanted yet another workshop today, even after she taught her own classes at Claribel's
she was ready for more. Singapore Energy! Is it the equator? Is that why
I'm still awake at 3:30 a.m.?
Besides
hours upon hours of belly dance, in Singapore Sacha and I have shopped and
dined, dined and shopped, shopped and dined. Protectively guided around
the city by our phenomenal sponsor/host, Susanna Lawren of Goddess Motion, we
have seen nearly every inch of Chinatown, Clarke Quay, the other Quays, the
shopping centers around our hotel, - had shiatsu massage on body and foot
reflexology session, bargained with every shop keeper ("that your best
price?" mantra drilled into me by Susanna). I am not prone to
bargaining but since Susanna is by my side I don't want to let her down so I
always say "That your best price?". Sometimes I get a couple of
dollars off, or they throw in a gift. It never hurts to try. Even if its
just a snow globe. On the other hand, Susanna encourages me to price my items
for sale in the seminars quite high -- great business women here! Buy
low, sell high! Make good business! Everyone in the Claribel Raks
Sharki studio coterie has been of enormous help and support -- we are
constantly treated to magnificent meals and experiences: Serene has sported us
around town in her zippy little alpha romeo: just after we arrived and
were still ridiculously jet-lagged, following our concert gala, she whisked us
off with Claribel to Mustafa's 24 hour department store in the Indian
section of town at 2 a.m. We wandered through miles of aisles crammed with
videos, make up, electronics, toilettries, kitchen items, books, fabric,
clothing, just about everything except the Turkish coffee pot that Claribel was
in search of. Another night Serene drove us to the most incredible fish
restaurant in Singapore where you go choose the live fish you want from the
tank and then the restaurant prepares the fish in delicious sauces -- ginger,
chili, garlic.... She and Claribel treated us to lobster, chili crab,
scallops and some kind of trout-like fish. Hsiao Min treated us to an
exquisite Singapore Sling at the Regent Hotel (sister hotel to 4 Seasons - live
jazz trio as you sip your drink on comfy couch experience) -- the next day
Serene guided us over to compare their concoction to that that of the Long Bar
where the original Singapore Sling was invented. The Long Bar is part of the
Raffles Hotel, and colonial-style building dating from 1887, named after
Singapore's Founder Sir Stamford Raffles. It is also famous for the
peanut shells you are supposed to throw on the floor after you have shucked your
nut. In a city where littering carries the possibility of imprisonment,
throwing your peanut shells around is a bit of a thrill.
Back
to the food, the food: Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian, Thai,
Arabic, Nepalese, Greek...you name it we have eaten it on this trip. Turtle
soup, shark fin egg stir fry, satay, bean curd mango desserts, chili crab,
strange hairy fruits that taste lychee-like, a s, Nepalese version of a greek
salad, bean curd this and thats, lots of icy fruit juices on the street (as
rumored, it is quite hot here near the equator). Everywhere we go to eat
Susanna orders chili on the side. She is Indonesian-born and says she
could live on rice and the hottest chili in the world. Our western wimpy
tongues can't take the heat, but we have been pretty adventurous even as we try
to avoid having what Dav Rue, Susanna's marketing/editing/backstage director
guru, called "Running stomach". So far have avoided Running
Stomach, although I must report it sometimes feel its warming up a for a run.
Singapore
Sling
- 30ml
gin
- 15ml
Heering
Cherry Liqueur
- 7.5ml
D.O.M Benedictine
- 7.5ml
Cointreau
- 120ml
Pineapple juice
- 15ml
fresh lime juice
- 10ml
grenadine
- dash
of Angostura bitters
- Garnish:
maraschino cherry, pineapple chunk, and orange slice
Last
night Susanna with Serene and Claribel's help organized a hafli at a new
arabic/nepalese/greek place (ethnicities abound here after all).
Beautifully decorated place where you sit on cushions and the ceiling
looks like a tent with fabrics billowing all around. Dancers and their
family members came who had attended my seminars and after eating delicious
appetizers of all sorts (I can't even figure out what we ate anymore) a dance
fest ensued including Indian dances, raks sharki, humor dance, wild dance,
finger cymbals riffing, dance-with-teapot-on-head (more on all this another
time).
Today
I made the grave error of trying on a couple of the costumes from Claribel's
belly dance boutique... Had to get one! I chose the classy and sexy black
elegant Egyptian style one over the zippy purple and gold "flamenco"
style creation (I have more gypsy stuff in my wardrobe) - but then Claribel
gave me the purple costume as a gift! Talk about generous souls. We
have definitely been spoiled in Singapore.
I am
finally tired at nearly 4 a.m., so good night to you all.
Love
M
p.s.
Random Facts
Public
restrooms are everywhere - and free and clean -- in public shopping areas.
Great for those of us who like to go a lot.
Toilet
paper often not in stall, you have to get it outside by the hand dryer first.
Important to remember this.
Internet
free at Starbucks and McDonald's (starbucks is EVERYWHERE)
The
U.S. dollar is slightly higher than the Sing Dollar
Shiatsu
is great
Lots
of umbrella use to shield people from the sun, not many people wear sunglasses
Everyone
speaks English
Belly
dancers everywhere are wonderful, talented, warm and funny
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