Singapore.
A busy, wonderful day. My morning began with this question
from a second grader at Stamford American International School.
Then I spent the afternoon at Raffles Girls’ School. There
aren’t any good photos that I can share, (as many of life’s
most important experiences often lack photographic evidence,)
but I think my heart grew a few sizes thanks to those young ladies.
Nighttime was dedicated to our show at Home Club. 300+ people
showed up, many of whom you can see crammed in this photo.
But what you can’t see is the extra hundred people who couldn’t
fit in the club and waited outside the club on the sidewalk,
listening to our show through speakers. We’ve never had such
an overwhelming audience before. Plus, from backstage I stole
a sneaky peek through the curtain and spotted this girl’s t-shirt.
If you can’t make it out, it’s a handmade “I <3 Sarah & Phil Kay" shirt. All in all, an unbeatable day.

Singapore.
These are two of the best student artifacts I’ve ever seen,
both by students at the Stamford American International School.
The first one is a letter written by third grade Carlotta,
the day after she saw Phil and I perform. Here’s a transcript:
“From when I was little I started writing before even biting my food.
I loved writing before I understood that I was no good at it.
I was told by my mother that followed my father and then the giggles of my brother.
After that I stood up and thought about writing again.
At school I was a fool to think I would sink because of my madness.
Until I saw Philip Kay [sic] followed by Sara Kay [sic] I decided
I would put some flare so it would be good to share.
I hope you liked it Sara. I hope you enjoyed it Phil.
But this is only a try before I start to fly.”
The second one was not addressed to me. I spotted it tacked
to the wall in a fourth grade classroom. The text reads as follows:
“A rubber ducks [sic] are fun to play with. A lot of kids love
to play with rubber ducks in the bathtub. Rubber ducks are
made out of rubber and even some adults play with rubber ducks
in the bathtub. You might be wondering what does a rubber ducky
look like. I will tell you what they look like. Rubber ducks have yellow skin and——”
The rest of the text is obscured by images of large rubber ducks
taped on the paper. Until the end:
“This is my sorry for losing my homework.”
I was overjoyed by this discovery and asked the teacher whether
this student had been told to write an essay on a topic of his
choosing as penance for losing his homework. The teacher told me
that she had done nothing of the sort. This boy had come up with
the assignment on his own, feeling it was a fitting substitute for
his lost homework packet. Utterly brilliant.

Singapore.
Stingray. Before. After.

Singapore.
This is a booth that exclusively sells Joss Paper.
I learned that Joss Paper is used as burnt offerings
to the dead. It used to be that you would burn paper
money at funerals and graves to send into the afterlife
with the recently departed. Nowadays you don’t only
send them off with money, you might include a few
cars or a nice pink phone as well (all paper).

Goa, India.

Goa, India.
Early morning visit to Basilica of Bom Jesus, where the body
of Saint Francis Xavier is located. It’s also where this
sun-bathing stray dog is located. Later, a late afternoon
visit to a spice plantation, where a young visitor demonstrated
how to properly shimmy up a palm tree.

Goa, India.
You never know what you’ll find when you peek
into nooks and crannies. For example, this
first photo is what I saw when I peered through
a tiny hole in a storage shed behind a Hindu
Temple. (That’s Ganesh carved into a wooden
throne. (He’s my favorite story from Hinduism.)
At another temple, I found this banyan
tree. At a third, this monk wandering this hallway.
I rewarded myself for all my temple finds with some
mehndi near a beach.

Goa, India.
As I learned yesterday, Life Jacket is Must.