Fun in Singapore pt.2

As my time in Singapore is dwindling to a close, I have been trying to go out and cross off everything on my "things to do in Singapore" list, which is an actual list on my phone.  Over Singapore's Labour Day, me and James went to East Coast Park on the other side of the island to be able to notch off two of those things.  The first was Ski360, which is a cable guided wakeboarding course.  Although I am experienced at wakeboarding, I was a little apprehensive about it because I had never started this way and I really did not want to eat it at the start in front of all the people.  Instead of starting in the water and then standing up once you start like you would behind a boat, with this you start with your board just sitting on top of the water and you on a seat.  Luckily, I was able to get started just fine and everything was normal until I got to my first turn.  The turns were not gradual curves but rather sharp turns which caused my ski rope to slack, which any skier knows will yank you once the rope is taut again.  For the first couple of turns I was able to recover despite being yanked, although it was far from smooth.  However, when I got to the last turn, back at the starting line where all the people were waiting or watching, the turn was so extreme that this time I was yanked straight out of my boots on my board.  As I was flying through the air head first like a human torpedo, I could already start to hear the crowds reaction with a synchronized "ohhhhhh".  Luckily nothing was hurt except my pride and I quickly gave the lifeguard a thumbs up to let him know I was fine and I swam to the edge.  By the end I eventually was able to overcome the turns, albeit still not comfortably, and could go for a few cycles before getting tired and dropping off at the start.  Fun experience.

Immediately after, we got a quick bite to eat and then headed over to a prawn farm to try our hand at catching some prawns.  Almost immediately after putting my bait in the water, I snagged a MONSTER prawn, but as I was pulling it out of the water it dislodged itself and fell back into the pool.  In the end, I caught two prawn, and James caught zero (he had caught one but as he was putting it in the net it jumped out).  Definitely not enough to make a meal out of, but that is just fine with me because prawns are disgusting!

A few weekends before the end of school, some of the parents put together a send-off party for me and some of the boys I teach.  It was an all day event with tons of fun activities with many of the kids I have gotten really close to over the past 3 years, with the 8th graders (many of which I have taught since tiny 6th graders 3 years ago) in particular.  We all met at noon to play a few hours of laser tag.  I was half expecting this to be a little childish, but planning to play with a good attitude and just have fun with my students.  However, it turned out being totally awesome!  I lost myself and reverted back to a little child again.  The laser guns and sensors were super accurate, and you could even see your laser as you shot it.  And yes, it is safe to assume that I completely owned my students too.

The next activity was to go to Turf City, where they have many mini-soccer fields to be rented out.  This is a popular activity among my students for their birthday parties, and this was the first time I was getting to go along with them.  We had enough people to form 3 teams of 6, and we played a cut-throat/winner-stays style for over two hours. I'd also like to point out that I scored the most goals for my team :)

Lastly, the parents who organized and paid for the whole days worth of fun, joined up with the whole group at a Korean BBQ restaurant where we all ate a buffet style Korean BBQ meal together.  It was a wonderful day and a great reminder of how truly special my students are and how lucky I have been to teach them.  I will definitely miss them.