As I wind up my semester abroad and prepare to say “adieu” to Singapore, I find myself musing over all the things I’ll miss when I leave… and all the things I can’t wait to get home to. For this final blog, I will compile a “Top 5” of each category for your reading pleasure.

Top 5 Things I’ll Miss When I Leave Singapore:

(1)TOFU SOUP: an incredibly innocuous-looking soup made of a rich broth, giant slices of soft tofu and greens, this stuff has become a staple of my diet for the days when I’m sauced-out or want to eat comfort food. It has all the soul-satisfying qualities of chicken soup, with a uniquely Asian twist.

(2)PASS/FAIL CLASSES: without the mandatory pass/fail option for study abroad courses, this semester would not have been nearly as interesting. This isn’t to say that pass/fail gave me a reason to slack off; quite the opposite is true, actually. Knowing that the grades I receive while studying in Singapore will not adversely affect my GPA liberated me to take courses that I would be afraid to take in the US, such as Law & Economics and International Trusts. Thanks to the pass/fail system, I have learned about several subject areas to which I would never have otherwise exposed myself.

(3)HOLLAND VILLAGE: the official Singaporean expat area, where I can get everything from kaya toast to chimichangas, treat myself to a pedicure or shop at trendy but cheap boutiques. It’s as much fun as I’ve ever seen packed into a five-block radius.

(4)CRABS: it might be sacriligious of me to admit this, as I’m originally from MD, where the local crabs are sufficiently important to merit a cameo on our drivers’ licenses, but the best crabs I’ve ever eaten are in Singapore. They typically come two ways: pepper crabs, which are covered in a pepper-based dry rub; and chili crab, which are doused in a healthy (and messy) serving of a spicy chili pepper sauce. The crabs here are bigger and sweeter than any I’ve tasted before; a single crab can easily feed two if accompanied by a few side orders. Yum!

(5)TRAVEL: the knowledge that I am a one-to-two-hour plane ride away from some of the most spectacular beaches, incredible dive sites, wild rainforest, unique cultures and delicious food in the world is omnipresent here. If I had been a bit smarter about my planning, I would have arrived earlier or left later in order to take advantage of Singapore’s location to take more trips to the surrounding countries.

Top 5 Things I Can’t Wait to Get Home to:

(1)MY BED: I haven’t met a bed in Southeast Asia that wasn’t as hard as a board. As a fan of pillow-top mattresses, it’s been a rough transition, to say the least. On the bright side, it has given me an excuse to get a cheap back massage on several occasions.

(2)ESCAPING THE HUMIDITY: after surviving five years in South Florida, a summer in San Juan and a lifetime of swampy DC summers, I thought I could survive any humidity that the world threw at me. I was wrong. Southeast Asian humidity is like none I’ve experienced before; there are days when the weather forecast reads 80 degrees Farenheit with a “feels like” of 104. Ugh.

(3)YOGA CLASSES: working out in Singapore (with the exception of the limited facilities at school) costs big bucks, despite the city-states general health-consciousness, demonstrated by the yearly mandatory fitness tests for young men. Most people choose to run or participate in other outdoors activities rather than forking over the cost of a meal in an upscale restaurant for a single yoga or aerobics class.

(4)MACARONI & CHEESE: can’t be found for love or money in Singapore. I’m positive about this, having scavenged western food stores across the island.

(5)MOVING ON TO THE NEXT STEP OF MY LIFE: this has been a fantastic adventure in the journey of my life and has left me incredibly excited for the next step (after the bar exam, that is).