Only a couple days late!

Um so I can't keep up with the days of the week and I missed Wednesday. Oops.

I am excited to be able to announce I am a Lego Ambassador. Prior to Covid I was selected as a Lego Master Educator and now this!

We visited the Museum of Ethnography in Hanoi. It shows a history of the people of Vietnam and has model homes of people through time outside along with a water puppet theater. We also stopped at the Vietnam Military Museum and saw the timeline of military operations and some of the planes and tanks from the battles. 

Friday while Konstantin was visiting Ninh Binh I went to the US Embassy and spoke with the Fulbright staff, checked out the American Center, and spoke with educators, students, and others interested in STEM from Vietnam. I made some exciting connections and can't wait to partner up with their students and my Hillel students when I return home. 

We went to the Lotte Center and went up to the observation deck. I was brave and stepped out on the glass floor. 65 floors and 272 meters up. It was a great view for sure.

We wandered through another street fair and Konstantin tried a burger from the one and only McDonalds in Hanoi. There are not many in the entire country, so he wanted to try it out. He said it was pretty good. 

That night I presented at Nearpod Camp Engage about Flocabulary.  I shared my favorite videos and the Flocabulary Art Director Rebecca Porter shared the behind the scenes of making the videos. It was very cool to learn how they go from idea to finished product. 

Sunday we left Hanoi for Singapore. It was a culture shock seeing McDonalds everywhere. I don't know what I expected but Singapore is a very modern country. Super clean, tall buildings, very few motorcycles…and quiet. Our driver from the airport was very nice and gave us a detailed tour as we headed to our hotel in Chinatown. Singapore is another version of Miami with expensive stores, top of the line everything…but everyone speaks English instead of Spanish. 

We stayed at Hotel Clover The Arts. It is really cool with each room having a different theme and design. We stayed in the cherry blossom room and it was really beautiful.  It was nice having a real window too. We were in a quiet spot, but walk ½ mile or less  in any direction and you find wonderful restaurants and fun things to see.

We did the Hop on Hop Off Big Bus tour. I love riding the entire route and listening to the history and info on the tour before we get on and off. I learned so much about the different cultures, history, and interesting facts of Singapore. The island is not very large (20 miles by 30 miles) but the port is one of the busiest in Asia. At any time there are up to 1000 ships waiting to unload. It is a prime spot for medical tourism, folks coming over for cosmetic surgeries are part of the main income. If you are Singaporean and want to go to the casino you must pay $250 an hour before going in. Tourists go in for free. If you don't want your relative to have access they will block their admittance. Interesting…we could've saved Aubt Deda lots of Nicole's by blocking her.

Little India is a vibrant area. The Diwali decorations were still up and the day and night view were lovely. With so many religions and cultures, Singapore could have major issues and racism problems. According to our guide the government has a panel of advisors from the different groups to ensure equal representation and understanding.

Probably the biggest surprise is if you want a car, you have to pay 100% in taxes and then more fees in addition to the price of the car. You have to get a 10 year certificate to register the car as well. You can extend it for 5 years but only one extension is acceptable. Sonyou see mostly new cars around. Many are electric or hybrid and one driver told us the malls allow free charging while you shop as an incentive.  Singapore is the 2nd largest exporter of used cars because of this. Housing is also super expensive in private apartments or condos. There is government housing that allows Singaporeans the opportunity to purchase apartments at a small fraction of the cost. 

We watched 3 different light shows while we were here. At Gardens By the Bay we watched their garden lights. I called mama and she watched with me. I woke her up, but it was worth it. Singapore is exactly 12 hours ahead of SC. We also went out to Sentosa Island and watched Wings of Time. I was floored by the amazing technical creations. Water serving as a screen foe the movie, fireworks, lasers, you name it and they did it. Superb! Then we came to the airport one night to see the Jewel. They built a mall in the middle of terminals one, two, and three. The center of the mall is a garden and waterfall. They have lights and music at night and then starting at 8 they do a laser show. After Sentosa I was underwhelmed with the show, but the whole water feature and garden was beautiful and peaceful in the midst of chaos. 

We came to Singapore for the EduTech Asia conference. It was held in the Sands Conference center attached to the Marina Bay hotel and mall. We went up to their 63rd floor observation deck. I was a bit disappointed in the lack of seating. It was really hot and no shade and seating makes for a quick visit. We did taste the world famous Singapore Sling. A virgin version, that is. It was just okay but the grape slushy was excellent and tasted very purple just like I like!
The conference was a great showcase of technology and teaching in the Asian area. I got to say hello to Nearpod at their booth. I also met up with a great VR company and hope to connect with them when I get back to Florida and bring their ideas to Hillel. I got to meet up with Monica Joshi, but Namya wasn't able to come due to passport issues. Thanks for the shirt and bookmarks! I also reached out to several Vietnam attendees in hopes of talking about my work. 

In Vietnam we are very lucky that the exchange rate is very favorable for American dollars, in Singapore it is not. This is an expensive place to visit compared to Vietnam, but not an opportunity I could pass up!

We are headed back to Hanoi in an hour. We will do a Halong Bay Cruise Saturday/Sunday and then we are meeting with the Fulbright team Monday at the embassy before heading back to DaNang Tuesday. We will only be home for a couple of days because we will go to Ho Chi Minh and Pleiku November 18-30. In between the travels I am writing and researching a bit more on SAMR and will start building my website for my project. It will be a combination of information on SAMR and teacher recommendations on tech tools. I may add a section for student feedback too. I'm going to be requesting teacher participation soon, so please look for that and help if you can!

If you have suggestions for schools or teachers to connect with in Pleiku, Ho Chi Minh, DaNang or anywhere else in Vietnam … let me know!