I am Merlion, hear me ROAR.

I met up with David (a cool cat from UCSB) for lunch and we both had Muslim food at the food stall in the Arts and Social Science faculty. It was really, really delicious.

Today, I randomly met an exchange student from China who happens to live on the same floor as I do. I really like this whole meeting people from different countries thing.

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The Merlion--part lion and part fish--is a big trademark symbol of Singapore. Singapore used to be known as Temasek (coincidentally the name of the residence hall that I am currently living in), which is the Javanese word for sea. In the 11th century A.D., a prince from the Sri Vijaya Empire rediscovered the island and according to legend, came upon a mystical beast which he later learned was a lion. As a homage to this sighting, he changed the name of the island from Temasek to Singapura, which is Sanskrit for Lion (Singa) and City (Pura). Hence, the merlion is a symbolic representation of Singapore's past and present--the country's past as a humble fishing village and the present as a thriving port city.

Also, according to marketing research, Merlion is more feasible for the country's tourist industry than Merplatypus or Mergoat.



So I didn't take a picture of this, but I did see the Merlion from a river boat!

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Usually, I don't think much about how peasants and the rural class contribute to the greater sociopolitical and economic dimensions of Southeast Asia, but the professor who was signing my forms to add a class in the Southeast Asian studies department happens to be teaching a class in that particular subject. He also happens to be a rather young professor with stylish bifocals and a very wry, self-deprecating sense of humor. He also happens to be kind of good-looking.

If I sign up for this class, does that make me a total intellectual sell-out?

Naw.