Adventures, Musings, Commentary, and Associated Fun

back in Oz

I touched down in Sydney this morning.  It's been an eventful 2 weeks to be sure.  Bali was good; I'll post some pictures and a few impressions once I get a bit more time and bit less jet-lag.  The short version is that it was good, though the hyper-catering to the almighty tourist dollar was both distracting and off-putting to varying degrees.  I'm somewhat reluctant to comment in depth given my (very) brief time there, but I don't know that more time would have substantially changed my impressions - unless I explored other parts of the island.  Regrettably, due to time constraints I wasn't able to go very far or see too much away from the main tourist centers.

I don't know if I posted it before, but the justification for being in Sydney this weekend is that this weekend marks the beginning of the selection process for the Aus National Team, in anticipation of the World Country Championships in Vancouver next year.  Fingers crossed.  From here I'll head up to Brisbane, as there is a(nother) tournament up there next weekend.  Hopefully the groin strain I managed to pick up in Singapore and exacerbate surfing in Bali (not particularly well, I might add) won't act up too much.  Signing off for now...

change of plans...again!

Have to keep this one short as there are a number of errands I'm trying to complete before heading to Bali later this evening.  Due to a change of plans - the US friend I was hoping to meet up with in Bali, Eileen, won't be able to make the trip - I'll only be in Bali for about 24 hours instead of the week I had initially hoped for.  While this is of course regrettable (and means I won't be able to do my Open Water SCUBA diving course), it means that I'll be able to get to Sydney for the National Training Camp, which is the first step in the selection process for the Australian Ultimate Frisbee National Team.  I think it's the right decision, even though I do feel the inevitable regret of not being able to do both.

My time in Singapore has been productive and useful, even though I haven't done as much writing as I had originally hoped to.  I've managed to meet several interesting folks at the National University of Singapore (where I'm staying with my friend Angus) and hopefully can build upon that when I come back in Jan/Feb for my official research trip.  Jakarta is also in the cards for that trip, and while visiting the National Mosque of Singapore I even managed to randomly meet an Indonesian academic who seemed quite excited when I told him that my thesis concerned US Foreign Policy towards Indonesia, and even mentioned the possibility of me giving a seminar once I get there.

For a trip that has mercilessly mocked my initial plans, it's still been very interesting and productive.  It's a bit crazy to think I've only been away for about 10 days total as it feels like it has been much longer.  The side trip to Malaysia last week remains one of the big highlights, but having a base in Singapore has been extremely valuable as well.  It's also gotten me thinking about whether I might want to call Singapore home for at least a little bit somewhere down the line...but that's another conversation for another time.  Off to plan my accomodations in Bali!

Update from SE Asia

The short version of the story is that Southeast Asia is very warm (and humid), and I'm enjoying it a great deal.  Networking and chatting with folks here, which were the two main goals of my trip, have been quite successful.  And there's a superb offer to come to Australia via Travelzoo, even if it ports in that "other city" in New South Wales instead of Melbourne.  (The Melbourne/Sydney rivalry is quite an interesting side-discussion for another time.)

This won't be the main post detailing my adventures in SE Asia, but rather a (short-term) update on my life so far.   Missing my flight to Jakarta doesn't require too much further recap.  Not feeling all that great about 9 days in Singapore while SE Asia beckoned, I managed to plan - more like stumble through - a 3 day trip to Melaka and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.  Once again, the short version of the story is that it was appealing, interesting, and perhaps more than anything *real* in a way that Singapore is not.  Singapore, for all of its comfortability and easiness, has a very different feel to KL.  Singapore would certainly never be mistaken for a European, Australian, or American city, but it still feels "easy" when it comes to a visit.  KL, and Malaysia more generally, actually feels like travelling in a way that Singapore doesn't.  It's my intention to give the full run-down once I get a bit more time; give me grief if I don't.

Singapore

It's certainly been an eventful couple of days.

Saturday started out less than ideally, as I attempted to fight both a hangover and the clock on my way to the airport.  I managed to get there with plenty of time, though the fact that I was the last one in the queue to check-in (and only just beat the flight's closing) was hardly reassuring.  I quickly made my way to the gate, only to find the flight delayed by 40 minutes.  I, of course, was actually quite happy with the turn of events as it allowed me time for a coffee and muffin.  I was quite excited about flying on Singapore Air, which consistently scores near the top of the table for passenger satisfaction.

I then heard my name (actually, something closer to "Christopher Reez", which I of course recongnized as "Chris Freise") announced in the gate area.  Not knowing what to expect, I approached cautiously - as if walking up slower would somehow change whatever was about to occur!  With eyebrows raised and a bit of nervous sweat (though probably more due to the hangover than anything), I was asked to present my boarding pass to the smiling but clearly preoccupied Sing Air gate agent.  I awaited his response, having no idea what was about to happen.  I prepared potential responses - "I checked in on time, I swear!", or maybe "but somebody has to be at the end of the queue, don't they?!"

As payoff for my suspicion and uncertainty, I was upgraded to Business Class.  The attendant must have seen my surprise, as he snarkily smiled, even as I unsuccessfully tried to feign coolness and expectation.  Act like you've been there before, right?  What followed was one of the best airline experiences of my life.  While not flawless, it was pretty spectacular, as were the flight attendants. :)  If you have the opportunity to be upgraded, for no particular reason, from the cheap fare you bought on the most satisfying airline flying today, I recommend you take the opportunity.

Upon arrival, the airport proved pretty spectacular as well, which shouldn't have come as much surprise.  It did seem a little strange to go straight from an international flight into the main part of the terminal without first passing through customs...and then I remembered that *every* flight to Singapore is an international flight.  Ah, the joys of being a city-state.  I was in a cab, chatting with my friend (and host) Angus within 25 minutes of touchdown.  Pretty surreal, all things told.

Following a very enjoyable Saturday night in which Angus purposefully showed me extreme examples of "local" and "expat" Singapore,  fate began to turn.  It was inevitable; the cosmic law of karma conservation (karma can neither be created nor destroyed) simply required it.  A slow start to Sunday and the need to repack my bag for my trip to Jakarta ruled out taking public transport, and it took about 10 minutes to finally book a taxi to the airport.  Stupidly, I didn't look at my flight receipt, which clearly said I was to go Terminal 1.  The driver took me to Terminal 2, which is where Angus has told me to go.  Amazing that he couldn't read my mind.  By the time I realized my mistake and got to where I was supposed to be, the flight - MY flight - to Jakarta had closed.  It's safe to say that it resulted in a rather big emotional swing.

After allowing myself a bit of self-pity once I checked successive flights and found that the earliest I could get to Jakarta was Tuesday - for approximately A$200/US$175 - I got the hell out of Dodge.  What does one do in such situations?  Play ultimate, of course!  I managed to find where Singapore Summer League was being played, flagged a taxi, and made my way.  Yet again - it shouldn't really be a surprise anymore - the ultimate community came through.  I was able to pick up with a team (though unfortunately we lost), which led to meeting and chatting with a bunch of people, and by the time I left for dinner with a few of them over 3 hours later I had a stable of friends.  I was even asked to help coach a session on Saturday for one of the local University teams.

With my original plans in shambles, I'm planning on going to Malaysia tomorrow for 2-3 days, with Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Melaka the main targets.  I'm pretty gutted about missing out on Jakarta, as that was one of the main goals of my trip, but it does open opportunities to see a bit of Malaysia as well as to hunker down here in Singapore once I get back for some writing and research.  Stupidly, I forgot my camera in Australia and therefore need a friend to send it here;  thoughts more directed to impressions and culture to follow, as well as photos.

pre-trip chaos

I've been running around like crazy trying to get everything sorted before my trip to Singapore, Jakarta, and Bali.  No real surprise there...Looking at the 48 hours between now and departure time, I really have no idea how it everything is going to get done.  Yikes.

As Indonesia is heavy on the mind these days (most days, in fact, given that it's a main part of my thesis!), here's an interesting NYT article about the growing religiosity amongst Indonesians, as opposed toan increase in support for political Islam or radicalism.   Unfortunately, the picture often gets muddled by conflating the terms and using them interchangeably.  The article fits with my understanding and reading of trends within Indo.

As of July 1, Melbourne's pubs became smoke free.  Finally, you can go out for a couple of drinks without feeling like you're licked a couple of ash-trays in the morning due to the second hand smoke.  While there were a few protests from the likely suspects, it's been very well-received overall.  Remember a few years ago when the thought of banning smoke from bars was considered controversial?  Perhaps those with longer memories can remember a similar debate when the ban on smoking on airplanes was introduced.  I know Mom (a flight attendant who flies heaps to Europe) was very excited about it...

We had a frisbee tournament here in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday; I won't go into much detail about why it was called the "Boycott City Challenge", but the short version of the story is that Melbourne University finished 2nd, losing the final to Monash University (our main rival).  It would have been nice to win it, but overall I don't think we can really complain too much about the result.  Next thing up for the University team is the Australian University Championships (to be held in late September on the Gold Coast in Queensland - described to me as the "Florida of Australia").  In between, we'll be beginning the selection process for the Australian National team for the World Championships in Vancouver next year.  Unlike last year, only one team from each country gets into this tourney, so competition for slots is very intense.  No doubt you'll be hearing about how it's going for me along the way.  I haven't really had a break from frisbee for a couple of months now, and while I'm obviously geared up and excited to make a run at the Aussie team, the prospect of 2-3 weeks of rest while I'm traveling makes my legs and feet happy.

busy busy...

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, with lots of deadlines and more than a few balls that require juggling and constant attention.  Quite rude, actually.

Last weekend, His Holiness the Dalai Lama stopped by for a chat with me and a few (approximately 20,000) friends.  The talk itself was interesting if relatively predictable, thought the political backflips that PM John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd pulled off about the visit were pretty incredible.  I suppose that it's an election year here only magnifies it, though the relationship with China is also a major motivating factor.  "A busy schedule" seems to be the preferred excuse.  John So, the mayor of Melbourne (and a generally lovable if whimsical character) and of Chinese background, joined the fun and got himself in a big fix over the visit - apparently he met the Dalai Lama twice in the '90s, and therefore has no plans to hang out this time.  Oh well - he's only a major worldwide religious figure, and once you've small-talked over coffee a couple of times, what's the point?  It's been fascinating, and more than a bit ridiculous, to watch.  At least political spinelessness is a global phenomenon.

While I made a self-promise somewhere along the line to NOT make this an online diary - how indulgent and horrendously self-absorbed! - this weekend I went out for drinks on Friday for my (alleged) birthday a few weeks back (pictures on Facebook, I'm sad to report), as well as taking part in a wonderful trivia night on Saturday with a bunch of frisbee folks at the pub that is sponsoring my team for Mixed Nationals in October.  Great fun, and I'm not just saying that because my team won and I managed to win two jugs (i.e. pitchers) of beer over the evening.  Honestly.  We won by one point...to win the game, could YOU recognize this country with the game on the line? :)

Weekend before last, I attended a coaching clinic here in Melbourne that, once I finish the appropriate paperwork, will result in me being a certified Level 1 Ultimate Frisbee coach.  It was great fun, and though we already have a coach for the Melbourne University team (Steve Wealands, a fellow Chilly guy and a damn good photographer), I'm already putting the training to good use by hosting a "Frisbee 101" class for Melbourne Uni players; we had 10 for the first week, which I was pretty happy with given that we were still in the middle of the final exams.  Then again, maybe that's why we had people show up.

At the moment, I'm listening to "The Reminder" by Feist. Bruce Springsteen's The Seeger Sessions and Live in Dublin, The Hold Steady "Boys and Girls in America" (cheers Ben for the rec; wow's it catchy), Beirut  "Gulag Orkestar" (listen to Postcards from Italy, then listen again straight away), and The Killer's Sam Town (amazingly good for a heavily hyped "follow-up" album).  The aggregate effect has been to make me think, wistfully and fondly, of home.  More on that later, perhaps.

*If you're interested, Angola is the country in question.  (My answer had NOTHING to do with vague recollections of country profiles during last year's World Cup, I swear.)  We got a $50 gift certificate at a French restaurant for winning...admittedly, a somewhat trivial prize once split between 5 people, but there was plenty of tension in the last round when we knew it was close...we're pretty excited. :)

I'm a coach!

This weekend, I attended the AFDA Level 1 coaching course, which entitles me to be an accredited coach.  It was a pretty awesome thing, with lots of Ultimate talk augmented by discussions of teaching methods and knowledge transfer skills (yippee for being a teacher!).  There were a couple of Chilly boys (and former ones) present, and in conjunction with a lot of familiar faces from the ultimate community it had the feeling of a get-together of friends.  I'm not sure that it was quite the same vibe as being at my 5 year college reunion - which I was very upset to miss, in part because of Charlottesville at this time of year but far more because I haven't seen folks that did, and continue, to mean a considerable amount of time.  That's the way the cookie crumbles, I suppose.  Nonetheless, it did drive home "the distance thing", which when you're on the other side of the world can be rather significant.  In Australia they even have a name for it, namely the "tyranny of distance", which refers to both internal geography as well as being a long way away from a lot of things.  More on that later, I suppose.

Other than that, I'm working on writing a chapter for my supervisor, as well as pre-planning my trip to Singapore and Indonesia.  I'm really, REALLY excited about it....

that day again

Apparently the earth has completed another rotation around the sun since last May 29, marking another birthday.  I wish I could say that I had something fun and exciting planned to celebrate, but unfortunately after I finish teaching tonight I will be working on the chapter that is due to my supervisor by the end of the week.  I was actually reminded by a friend that today was my birthday...a pretty bad sign, I think.  Hopefully next week will allow for some proper celebratory hype.  Besides, when was the last time I did something on time? :)

While I find birthdays a far more useful time to reflect and make resolutions than New Years, that will have to wait until I finish my thesis chapter.  Nonetheless, as always, I eagerly await the adventures, excitement, and experiences of the upcoming year - if they are anything at all like those of the past 12 months, they will involve laughs, reflection, wonderful memories, and lots of personal growth.  Cheers to that!

heading to SE Asia

In what will be my first trip to our largest continent - I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that - I'll be heading to Singapore and Indonesia in July.  I'm crazy excited about it.

In addition to being a nice way to spend several weeks of "winter" break**, the official purpose of the trip is to do some unofficial research for my thesis.  (Perhaps reflecting the litigious times in which we live, an "official" research trip involving interviews requires full authorization from the University.  If I HAPPEN to run into a few academics/potential interviewees while on a "personal" trip, so be it, right?).  Singapore is the academic center of Southeast Asia - as well as a place that I am extremely intrigued to visit in its own right.  In addition to meeting a few people and developing some good social networks (very important, particularly in Southeast Asian culture), it will hopefully give me a reasonable idea about what I've gotten myself into.  If all goes according to plan, I'll be heading back to Singapore (and definitely Jakarta, which remains a side-trip possibility for this trip) in January/February for the official business.

Here's the Lonely Planet guide to Bali, as well as the Rough Guides guide to Indonesia generally.  For those that are  interested, here's a collection of photos from Bali, plus one to the right. :)  By all accounts, Bali is one of the more beautiful and serene (populated) places you can visit on the planet.  It's a big destination for a lot of Aussies on holiday - perhaps the US equivalent of the Bahamas, or Acapulco -  though the native culture (unique for Indonesia, heavily Buddhist) has remained resilient in the face of the tourist hordes, and in fact has remained a major attraction, though also a regrettable if unavoidable source of commercialization.

It also has some of the world's best SCUBA diving, which I plan to partake in with my good friend Eileen Dietrich.  She will be in Bali at the end of July as well, and is the proximate reason for me making the side trip.  I'm REALLY glad she's given me a good excuse! :)  Signing off for now, with dreams of Bali floating through my head...

**Australia does have winter, contrary to popular belief, even if it never drops below the freezing point here in Melbourne.  Snow is an extremely rare occurrence in the city, though it should be said that I felt colder last winter than I have during most DC/VA winters.  Acclimatization  to (almost) year round warm weather can be a very powerful thing.

Worlds 2006 trailer

It takes a little while to get going, but this is the trailer for the Worlds DVD from Perth.  Mostly D's to start, then some really big catches.  (If you want to see some more crazy highlights of this crazy sport I play, check out Ultivillage, and click on "Clip of the Day" in the top right - it should answer any questions you have about Ultimate being a "serious" sport!)  There are couple of shots of Chilly (though none of me), found at 1:21, 2:14, 2:52, 3:06, and 3:32.  The last one is probably the most consequential, as it was the winning point in the quarterfinal.  The guy who caught it, Lee Baker, is one of my closest friends on Chilly; here's a photo of us following Nationals.

Basically, for those of you that are wondering what it is that I do with all my time, here it is. :)  We had a viewing party of the DVD following Nationals, and while it doesn't change the overall result from Perth (and yes, we are still bitter about losing a very win-able semifinal), it was nonetheless pretty damn cool to watch all the same...last post about frisbee for a while, I promise!

I've booked my flight to Singapore in July, and it looks like I'll be able to stop in Bali for a few days on my way back, where I will be catching up with my good friend Eileen.  From there, I'll be heading straight to Brisbane for a(nother!) frisbee tournament; by the end of this year, it's likely I will have traveled to all of the capital cities of Australia (save Darwin, capital of Northern Territory), in the name of chasing plastic...

(I've used the YouTube link because it embeds easier, though the version of the Ultivillage site is better quality.  Check out the original!)