JET Programme Singapore Souvenirs

this title should be the puzzle for "Before and After" on Wheel of Fortune! (and i bet no one got what i mean..)

anyway, i attended the JET farewell reception on thursday, and it was really nice to get to know some of the other singaporean JETs better before we leave, and just as nice to have had the chance to meet some JET alumni and learn more about what's in store for us :)

but perhaps the most interesting piece of information was regarding the JET applicants for 2008. contrary to rumours that there were more than a thousand applicants, the actual number was far far less - about 168 applicants in all. from these 168 applicants, about 40 were shortlisted for the interview, which means that how you appear on paper is extremely important. all the more reason to put in more effort for the statement of purpose and application form!

i also discovered that i'm the 2nd singaporean to be posted to osaka! whee! feel quite privileged :) the first one was also the very first singaporean on JET, and went as a CIR. there arent any CIRS this year, although we're the biggest batch so far. i think the previous 2 batches numbered 18 people, and the good news is that the number of singaporeans going on JET has been increasing steadily.

meanwhile, the bunch of us have been sharing what we're bringing over as omiyage too, and i just feel that i ought to make a public service announcement here regarding buying souvenirs of singapore. do be careful when buying souvenirs from lucky plaza! i'd say that apart from those stuff that are going for 2 for $10 - most of these are being sold at roughly the same price elsewhere, like in chinatown - some of the others are priced really high! for example, this rather beautiful mug featuring scenes of Singaporean culture that i bought at chinatown for $9.90 was going for $12.90 at one shop in lucky plaza, and at $18.90 (!!) at another shop in the same place! this is so clearly a ripoff, and i'd advise all to exercise caution when buying things from there.

better still, just dont buy from lucky plaza unless you've shopped around at other places or if you dont want to inconvenience yourself by travelling elsewhere. i'd say that chinatown is one of the best place to buy souvenirs due to the sheer number of stalls - even then, do check out the stalls nearest to the road along which sri mariamman temple is located before buying anything as they're generally the cheapest - although i heard that arab street and mustafa are great places as well. i dont go to the other 2 that often because they're a little out of the way for me, but i agree that the shops in arab street do sell some pretty nice things that can't be found elsewhere.

oh. and the ultimate ripoff? the souvenir shop at merlion park. buy from lucky plaza if you want, but DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT EVER buy from the shop at merlion park. and please announce this to every other person who visiting singapore too. if some things in lucky plaza can be a ripoff, just about everything in that shop is CUT-THROAT. check out that place for yourself and you'll realise that i'm not exaggerating at all!