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After a visit that was definitely too short in Hong Kong, I once again found myself back at the airport and on my way to Singapore, the last stop of my two-week trip around Asia. I honestly wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I arrived in Singapore, all that I really knew was that I wouldn’t be chewing any gum on this particular visit.

Singapore definitely surprised me with how incredibly cosmopolitan and Western it is. Having been a former British colony, English is one of Singapore's four officially recognized languages, which made getting around and conversing a breeze.

The biggest shocker to me was the weather. Little did I realize that it is always summer time in Singapore--hot, hot, hot, and incredibly humid. Being only 85 miles north of the equator, you can imagine the climate Think Atlanta in late July or early August--and all I packed were fall sweaters! Thank goodness for ice cream bread sandwiches to help beat the heat.

With more than 42% of the population in Singapore being made up of foreigners, the diverse mix of cultures provides for a wide variety of culinary options at meal time. One of my most favorite experiences on the trip was sampling food at a local market one evening.

My culinary tour guide was the parent of a current Emory student and he wanted me to experience the real Singapore. Andrew Zimmern I am not, but tasting the local cuisine is one of my most favorite parts of traveling, so I was up for the challenge.

My dinner that night paid homage to three of the largest populations in Singapore--Chinese noodle soup, Indian naan bread with a spicy dipping sauce, Arabic soup made with goat tongue and a local Singapore dessert of gelatinous cubes made from seaweed and sweetened with yams and coconut milk. All that was missing was the Durian fruit, for which I am thankful!

While in Singapore, I also got the chance to meet up with Emory alumna Jamie Koh 07B, the winner of Singapore’s recent “The Ultimate Start-Up Space” challenge. Jamie and her business partner are co-owners of The Chupitso bar and dreamed up the winning idea for the challenge while on a backpacking adventure together.

Their entry beat out 200 others to win six months free rent in the trendy area of Clarke Quay and a nest egg to start their business. The Chupitso Bar recently made its debut and seems to be s a hit with locals and tourists visiting in Singapore. Congrats, Jamie!

After an exciting two-week journey filled with new friends in Asia, great food and many memories, my final destination is Atlanta. It has been a great trip and I hope that you’ve enjoyed following along! Where will my travels take me next? Be sure to check back here on EAAvesdropping for the latest scoop.

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After a 14-hour plane ride from Atlanta, a train ride from Narita International Airport into the city and a 13-hour time difference, I’ve finally arrived in Tokyo!

I thought I would share some of my early impressions of visiting Japan. First of all, the people are incredibly friendly. Yes, there is definitely a language barrier, but a smile and a short bow of the head goes a long way!

So far, there hasn’t been anything that I haven’t been able to communicate, even through I don't know a single word of Japanese. I’ve been able to easily order in restaurants (by pointing), navigate the city, and even track down wrapping paper and tape for some gifts.

To me, Tokyo is its most beautiful at night, when the city is lit up with thousands of signs, flashing lights, and illuminated office buildings, with employees hard are work often to the late evening. I am staying in Shibuya, the Tokyo Times Square area, which is centrally located so there are plenty of lights and signs all around.

Navigating my way from the airport to my hotel and around the city has been pretty easy – most signs that a tourist would need to read are written in both Japanese and English. There are comforts of home right outside of my hotel – a Krispy Kreme and a Starbucks! Both are extremely popular and crowded at all hours of the day and evening.

The Krispy Kreme is even two stories tall with booths and tables for enjoying the sugary goodness. I peaked in the window to see if I could notice any differences from our Krispy Kremes at home and couldn’t spot anything majorly different. If the bags and bags of donuts that I saw heading out the door are any indication, they must taste the same as they do at home.

One obvious difference that I have noticed is the smaller size and portions of food then we are used to at home. This was especially apparent at the Starbucks, where the average-size drink is equivalent to a kid's-meal-sized drink back in the US.

One of my other favorite things to do in a new city is to visit a grocery store. You can learn a lot about a location by just visiting something as simple as where they do their shopping. The most striking difference happened to be the price of fruits and vegetables. Bananas were sold individually and were the equivalent of $2 each. Grapes were selling for $15 a bunch and cantaloupes were more than $20 each.

Yesterday evening, I hosted the first of our Asia receptions. We had a great turnout of 15 alumni, parents, and spouses. The group was very gracious and appreciated the opportunity to get to know other Emory alumni in Tokyo and to hear about what was happening back on campus.

All agreed that they wanted to continue to meet on a more regular occasion. After only two days in Japan, I am about to board a plane for South Korea to prepare for our large alumni event on October 9. Thank you Japan and the Emory alumni in Tokyo for a short but sweet visit!

-- Allie Hill, director, international alumni relations, EAA

Get out of the way! Run for your lives! It's the Homecoming review blog post!

Now, c'mon ... really. Are you afraid of the Emory Alumni Association's Homecoming float? We were going about 2 miles an hour. Our rockin' red truck, though, was the only thing about the weekend that didn't move fast.

Keep reading for a few more observations about Emory Homecoming Weekend.

• Next time I work the beer tent (my job at Saturday's Homecoming carnival), I want a tip jar. I swear with the volume of patrons we had ... at normal tipping rates ... I could have financed a vacation. Emory alumni do know how to have fun. And they're polite and patient. Didn't hear one complaint from our guests about waiting in line.

• The Homecoming Hospitality Center on the first floor of the new Emory bookstore was a popular place. Could have been because of the free stuff. More than 2,000 Emory shirts were given away to excited alumni and their children.

• For the second year, I got to drive the EAA's float in the Homecoming Parade. For 2010, it was a bright red Chevy truck. The kind of red that, if I was actually driving it on the road, I'd have to pay extra insurance.

• I need to work on my Frisbee throwing from behind the wheel. Way too many off-target ducks. Our students and alumni did a great job -- throwing t-shirts and souvenir cups from the bed of the truck. Part of that ineptitude, though, was my concern about running over the We Are Emory walkers immediately in front of me. Walkers in a parade? What's up with that?

• Yes, my throwing need a bit of work, but I could have used a better receiving corps, too. On more than one occasion, parade-goers were hit square in the chest by a Frisbee they were blissfully unaware of. And it's not like they were thrown hard. Open your eyes behind those shades, people!

• Every year, the Homecoming parade gets better. Several young alumni I spoke with were amazed at the event's growth. For them, during their student days, Homecoming was an afterthought -- a birthday party for the kid no one liked. People may have shown up, and they brought a present, but it wasn't like anyone had any fun. The 2010 parade, though, was a capital-E Event. High-concept floats. Complicated accompanying dance routines. Streamers and balloons and face paint and lots of skeletons. Those young alumni may not have thought much of previous Homecomings, but to a person, they told me they'd come back for the next one and the one after that. And that's what we like to hear.

• Random memory ... the song playing on the truck's radio as we cruised through Asbury Circle was Brad Paisley's "Water." As festive a song as any.

• One of the best places to watch the parade was the Residence Life reunion at Dobbs Hall. At least that's what we heard. Once the sun went down, the best views were had at the Class of 1970's 40-year reunion atop Woodruff Library.

• Kids had a blast at Saturday's festival. The super slide was particularly popular. Every time they got to bottom, they just got back in line. Kind of like the adults in the beer lines.

• The Shadowboxers opened Saturday's concert and they were tighter and more polished than 90 percent of the bands touring at this moment. Visit their Facebook and MySpace pages now (their hooky brand of guitar/keyboard-driven rock is reminiscent of Maroon 5). The quartet of Scott Schwartz 11C, Matt Lipkins 11C, Adam Hoffman 11B, and Jamie Reilly 11C clearly have a bright musical future ahead of them.

• It was a Homecoming in every sense of the word for the headlining Indigo Girls -- Emily Saliers 85C (who had already participated in several Homecoming events earlier in the weekend, including a creativity conversation with her dad, emeritus professor Don Saliers) and Amy Ray 86C were in great moods. Their stage banter included Emory memories mixed in with favorites both new and old. And they drove their own cars to the show, too.

• We don't have a solid concert attendance figure yet, but we ran out of Emory buttons (which doubled as tickets) very early (we had 1,500 to start). Many of the late-comers got "Future Alumni" buttons. I must admit, I chuckled inside whenever I saw a 30-, 40-, or 50-something wearing the button we had originally designed for the kids.

• Dooley was all over the place. He visited several reunions, stood in the front row for the 25-year reunion's class picture (and ended up in dozens more personal photos across campus). His favorite, though, was probably the Class of 1995's 15-year shindig. He arrived, hung out for awhile, left, then came back for an encore.

• The Class of 1965 was overheard planning for 2015. That's when they celebrate their 50-year reunion and march in Commencement as part of Corpus Cordis Aureum.

• You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Saturday night's class reunions all ended somewhere between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. The official part anyway. Alumni after parties continued at evening haunts like Johnny's Hideaway, Eclipse di Luna, Loca Luna, Sutra, and, of course, Eagle Row.

• The weather throughout Homecoming Weekend was spectacular. Until Sunday. Dreary and rainy all day though it was, a great crowd helped dedicate the Marcus Hillel Center and more than 70 guests turned out for the annual reception for the Emory Travel Program, where our trips for 2011 were introduced. Given the weather, it was a good thing our visitors could see the world without stepping outside.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

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No matter where in the world you live, Emory is always within your reach.

The Emory Alumni Association (EAA) instills this message in graduating students each May before they become our newest alumni, leaving campus for wherever the future may take them.

Many of Emory's 110,000 alumni end up in Atlanta, Washington, or New York but approximately 2,800 move outside of the United States after graduation, either returning to their home country or perhaps on a temporary or even permanent assignment for work.

Given the geographic distance, time zones, and cultural differences, you may wonder how Emory manages to stays relevant in the lives of its international alumni. That is where I come in.

My name is Allie Hill and my role here at the EAA is director of international alumni relations. I work with our 18 international alumni chapters around the world, helping alumni stay connected to Emory through social and educational programming in cities from London to Hong Kong.

As a former expat and lifelong travel fanatic, I’ve actually managed to completely fill my passport two times now. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to combine my love of all things international with the work that I do for Emory.

On October 4, I will be leaving Atlanta for a two-week, whirlwind journey to five countries to host Emory receptions in our target cities and meet with potential chapter leaders. My mission in Asia will be to develop our alumni chapters in Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing and Singapore.

This will actually be my second trip to Asia. My first was in 2007 to Japan and South Korea as a host with the Emory Travel Program to see the cherry blossoms in the springtime. The photo above was taken during that journey. I thoroughly enjoyed that trip and considered it to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Imagine my surprise and delight to find out that I would be returning to Asia again next month.

Follow along here on EAAvesdropping for frequent highlights from my travels, photos from my journey and updates on how I manage to survive without my daily large sweet tea from Chick-fil-A.

If you went to Emory and are living in one of the cities I mentioned above, or are the parent of an Emory student, I’d love to meet you on my trip. Email me at allie.hill@emory.edu for additional reception information. I hope to see you in Asia!

-- Allie Hill, director, international alumni relations, EAA

Emory uncovers fans in lots of interesting places. Last last week, for instance, the EAA received an email from Germany.

Thanks to my love of travel and adventure, I have been fortunate to visit many countries and even live in a few of them over the past several years. As the director for the Emory Travel Program, I am able to share my passion for travel with alumni and friends of the University through our over 20 different trips offered each year.

The weather couldn't be more perfect for Sunday's Emory Commencement Weekend festivities. The Class of 1959 started their day with a brunch at the Dooley's Den at the Depot, an open house at Lullwater with President and Mrs. Wagner, followed by a classical concert at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. The event was hosted by William Ransom and featured Katie Lee 09C on the violin, Grace Eun-'yung Oh 89C on the piano, and bass Jason Hardy 96C.

This always popular classical concert is a nice way to end a busy weekend as we gear up for the finale on Monday when the graduates officially become Emory's newest alumni. This is the first year that the concert has been held at the Schwartz Center instead of the Miller-Ward Alumni House and the change of venue has been well-received. More than 180 attendees were inside. If the lack of left over refreshments is any indication, the event was definitely a huge success and enjoyed by all.

Each of the alumni performed, Lee and Hardy were accompanied by Ransom, Emerson Professor of Piano, while Oh performed solo. The student and alumni performers were remarkable for their talent. Lee, the concert master of the Emory Symphony Orchestra, played a violin that was made in 1687. Quite an honor for the future Emory medical student.

Oh just returned from a tour of Asia, we watched her on the monitors outside Emerson Concert Hall and only after the magical performance did we learn she is visually impaired--and can read music in braille with one hand while playing piano with the other.

Hardy's dramatic bass literally shook the walls and served as a thrilling conclusion to the concert.

--Allie Hill, director, Emory Travel Program, EAA