First topic: Durian, the King of Fruits!

Have you ever heard of durian? This tropical fruit is the one that smells like stinky feet, or worse (some would say) and is even illegal to carry on a bus here because of it's very strong and offensive smell! 

The taste is equally unique...and I have yet to meet a non-Singaporean who likes it. Most cry out in disgust when I mention the name! Yet the locals are crazy about it, proudly.

Well, needless to say, I was dying to try it. The smell I found quite int resting, but not grotesque..just different. I started discussing and planning my "durian initiation" as I called it, with a my Indonesian buddy- the father of a dancer friend from NY- months ago, back in September. But the timing, you see, has to be right. Durian are in their prime in November. So, months I waited and finally the date was set. I just knew in advance that I would be one of those bizarre people who LOVE Durian...mainly because I like things in general that others would find a bit odd...lol

I think the pictures tell the rest of the story...

 Lots of Durian....how exciting!

 The chosen one...

 Evaluating very intently..notice the closed eyes

 Not too bad!

Quite delicious, actually!

Part 2: Thanksgiving.

2011 marks my first-ever Thanksgiving away from my family, and away from NYC.

Finally, a change! (hehe...just kidding)

Although last Thanksgiving, I remember thinking very clearly that I was "over" this holiday,

perhaps because I had volunteered myself to cook everything and it was a ton of work!

But anyways, to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Singapore, I had a rendez-vous with my French/Moroccan buddy,

who was very adamant upon having a feast to commemorate the American holiday.

So, after much debate, we decided to forget the turkey and instead have a Japanese feast of salads, sushi, and sashimi,

after a rainy walk through the Botanic Gardens where I joined in on some tai-chi, of course.