As always, there is never a dull moment in Singapore! A lot has been happening, and I am really excited to get rolling at school tomorrow (Monday). I am the first violinist in a string quartet with 3 lovely Chinese girls, and we have our first coaching with the T'ang Quartet on Tuesday. I am also so honored to say that I am on the first stand of second violins in the orchestra, and we start rehearsing Brahms Symphony No. 2 tomorrow! What a great way to start the year :). I also meet my violin teacher tomorrow, which will really signify the start of everything. I can't wait! Everyone at the music school has been really nice to me, and I have been making some new friends. The school is about 80% Chinese I believe, and the students have taken to thinking that my name is "Greenfield",which I think is so funny! In China, your last name is written first and then your first name is on the end, so when they see "Leah Greenfield", they think that my name is Greenfield and call me that. It's an entertaining change.

As some of you may know, I had an amazing 3 days in Malacca last week! This small state in Malaysia has a fascinating history, but I will let you click on the Wikipedia link above to read about it because otherwise, I will be sitting here writing forever! I'm having a really difficult time writing about this trip, because I was shocked to the core with the drastic change of city conditions, culture, and history. Singapore is so built up and developed and secure, that I almost forgot that the rest of Southeast Asia is quite different.

Malacca is certainly in the process of developing- it has a beautiful historical center and a lot of cultural landmarks such as museums, churches, mosques and temples. We stayed in a 5-star hotel (for very cheap!), and they just built a large beautiful new mall and movie theater close by. They also have a nice outside theater and outdoor market areas. However, on the fringe of town, there are many abandoned buildings that are just standing there, slowly falling apart, giving the area a feeling of disquietude.

I read a story in the paper about an average family in Malacca that lives on 2,000 RM/ year, which is the equivalent of $606 USD/year. I can't even imagine that! The parents, in this article, said that when their son had the flu for 2 weeks, they splurged to buy him some pork, because all they had been eating for weeks was porridge. What shocked me the most about this story was the fact that the mother in this family was a clerk and the father was a plumber. Compared to some jobs, those are relatively skilled professions! I can only imagine what the lifestyle is for unskilled workers.

However, despite the fact that many people live in obvious poverty, we could not have been treated in a more friendly manner by the locals! Our group consisted of Emily (from Singapore), Kirstine (from Denmark), and Jolene and I (USA). They could not have been happier to be "serving" us foreigners! People would jump up to explain the history of Malacca as we toured the ruins- they never asked for money, they only wanted to talk to us. One street vendor swelled with pride as he said he knew about the "Philadelphia Philharmonic", when I told him I was from Philadelphia. One policeman told us that when he woke up in the morning, he never would have imagined having the opportunity to meet us that day.

My camera was practically out of batteries during the whole trip, so I am relying on my friends' pictures to illustrate our adventure! I will post pictures as soon as I get them all and sort through them.

I believe monsoon season is starting in Singapore, there was just a huge flash of lightning/immediate thunder and the sky is dark gray. I should probably turn off my computer!

Until next time,
Leah