Apologies for the silence: February was one of the most manic months I’ve had in ages. Not only am I teaching two classes this semester, but I am also taking two classes, so traveling has become quite the juggling act. Two weeks ago, I did one of my craziest trips ever: flew 24 hours to Singapore, stayed 48 hours, and then flew 24 hours back. Between the jetlag and the uber-futuristic architecture, it felt a bit like time-traveling!
So what inspired this journey? A travel writing conference sponsored by the beautiful people at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. Sixteen scholars and authors from Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, England, and Iowa (!) gathered to discuss the state of travel letters from a variety of lenses and perspectives. Topics included everything from a Bakhtinian reading of nineteenth century women’s writings about Italy to war diaries by Japanese conscripts in the Russo-Japanese War. I gave my first-ever academic paper (well… an essay with a lot of footnotes) called “Wayward Woman: On the Road and on the Page.” In between sessions, we feasted on the single best conference catering I have ever sampled: tiger prawn curry, fish cakes, samosas, fried rice, green papaya salad, drunken noodles, tom yum soup, and pandanberry juice, all liberally spiced with lemongrass, ginger, coconut milk, and chilies. Aye!
I’ve long been curious about Singapore. Back when I was living in Beijing in the late nineties, a friend spent a few months there… Read the rest of this entry »
