So, we have a pre port meeting the night before we reach all the ports. It's mandatory because they have some extremely helpful information.
It can be a bit dry at times but the executive dean makes it pretty fun and interesting to listen to. He's talking to college students after all who seem to have a shorter attention span than the Smith boys!
He starts out with statistics for the last port. Ours was Vietnam:
- No one was drugged by other people
- 35 pick pocketed
- 18 stolen cards from fake ATMs
- 29 lost/stolen iPhones
- 1 Lost but found passport
- 5 people hit by scooters
- 2 leg burns from scooter exhaust pipes
These statistics were not as bad as I'd expected. From the previous ports, it is obvious that a lot of the students don't listen to the precautions, then suffer the consequences. In Japan, more than a handful of students were drugged at nightclubs and "violated". In China, there were fewer drug episodes but 3 students lost their passports and spent the entire stay at port going through the red tape to get a temporary passport. I heard they had to fly to another city to get it done! I bet their parents were a little upset...
SAS does an exceptional job giving out the warnings both in mandatory lecture form and in print. It's just up to the students to do the right thing.
Singapore pre port came with some unusual requirements and all are arrestable offenses:
- no chewing gum
- no jay walking
- you must have the license if you are carrying software
- no political paraphernalia
- no books or newspapers
- all are subject to random drug testing
...and the list goes on. If you are arrested, the punishment is jail or caning. I guess the video of caning was too graphic to show at the pre port so they put up an image instead. Good news is they do drape a protective wrap on your lower back so that they do not damage your kidneys. How thoughtful.
Anyway, it should be an interesting port. I have a cousin, 1, 2, 3, 4 removed (I'm not sure how that works), who lives in Singapore. We are scheduled to have dinner with her and her kids tomorrow night. Hopefully, we make it to the restaurant without any trouble!
"Jail or caining?" I guess a simple "I'm sorry" isn't enough! Yeah, college students have a tendency to hear faculty messages as, "way, wah, wah..." and then ask, "Why didn't someone tell us about all this?"
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Singapore and dinner with...?
BTW, my class is enjoying pics form your travels! Thanks for posting them!
ReplyDeleteToti, her name is Lillian. She came with us when we went to Nueva Vizcaya. She is my niece, the daugter of Uncle Homer's son, Rolando. Your relation with her is like with Nheeda, Nestor's daughter. My mother, Uncle Homer and Lola Rening are brother and sisters. Post some pictures Belinda on FB so that all her relatives in California will see it. Toti, you met Joy in Ca., that is one of the sisters of Lillian's father, Rolando. They are all my first cousins. Anyway, Belinda, I thought all about what you wrote about precautions that you will encounter. Lillian had been there for about maybe 5 years. BTW, I have another cousin in there on my father's side who is a sister of Tessie ( RIP ), you all met her too in the Phil and we were in a ccar with her to their house when she puked :). Remember?? Anyway her sister Ofelia had been there for more than 20 years but I do not have any contact with her. Tita Auring has but I never pursue it because you have Lillian as contact already. I am looking forward to your blog after dinner. Enjoy!
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