Excuse Me! I Was Next!

Just a brief comment on something interesting that has happened to me 3 times now in Singapore. I am standing in line for something (to order food, order Starbucks, check out groceries) and then when it is my turn an older Chinese gentleman (maybe not correct word choice here) will walk up to the cashier, ignoring my presence as well as the line behind me, and attempt to order his food or beverage or pay for his groceries. In all 3 situations, the men appeared very annoyed and even surprised when I spoke up and was then waited on instead of him. I assume it is because I am a woman and have less status than a man in Chinese culture. But I still find it so odd that someone sees that there is a line and has no consideration for the fact that others were there first. Also that they aren't embarassed to act that way. A line or "queue" seems to be a pretty universal concept. I can't help but wonder if Chinese women do not generally speak up in this situation and allow the men to cut in front.

Driving in Singapore

My blog of life in Singapore would not be complete without a post on the driving situation here. This was undoubtedly the second biggest challenge I faced while trying to adjust to life here (the biggest one was the house and I'm still working on that one). It took me two months to get brave enough to even start driving. First of all, they drive on the left here. This alone would be bad enough, but then you have throw in a few other complications:

• Singapore drivers are extremely aggressive, impatient and inconsiderate. Living in Singapore sums it up well: "If you wish to change lanes, almost invariably the motorist behind you in that lane will go to any length to prevent this from happening." If another car wants in your lane, they will just come over into it and expect you to get out of their way. Merging or taking turns just doesn't happen. If you don't turn quickly enough at an intersection, they will just pass you and expect you not to hit them. And you have to watch for the other drivers who constantly drift from lane to lane without rhyme or reason or consideration for the fact that there might be another car there. In summary, it's pretty much a free for all.
• And then there are the motorcycles. Thousands of foreign workers come over on them from Malaysia and they don't follow any traffic laws whatsoever. There are hordes of them on the highways at rush hours. They drive in between the cars on the expressways and cut in and out of the cars at very high speeds (all while wearing flip flops), not paying any attention to cars changing lanes and oblivious to any risk of being smashed like a bug. And this does happen occasionally and I've heard it's not pretty. So when changing lanes it is imperative that you look out for any motorcycles zinging past because they do not seem to recognize turn signals.
• And to make it more complicated, roads in Singapore constantly change names at intersections, thus making it impossible to navigate with a map. And then in several areas of the city, the roads all have the same name with a number stuck at the end of it. So where we live, in the Woodlands, all of the streets are Woodlands Ave. 1, Woodlands Ave. 2, etc. all the way up into the 40s. This means that I can't remember the names of the roads and if somebody says, "it's on Woodlands 38," I have no idea where it is.
• And one more pet peeve of mine is the tendency for cars and buses to just stop in the middle of the road for any reason with complete disregard for the fact that they are blocking traffic. Taxis love to do this to pick up/drop off passengers. This happens in town as well as on the expressways. My worst driving experience was suddenly driving up on a bus stopped in the middle of the expressway, being unable to change lanes due to heavy traffic, and being stuck behind it in rush hour traffic in the dark for several minutes with traffic whooshing by us on both sides. I would have been there all night had the bus driver not come out and started directing traffic so I could get out. I was just waiting for someone to come hurtling into the back of my minivan and kill my two children!

When I moved to Manhattan, I drove around with the map in the phone book on my steering wheel and generally was able to find where ever I needed to go. Unfortunately, the detailed street map of Singapore is a whole book itself and isn't conducive to driving. My saving grace is "Charlene" (named by Anna), the lady in my GPS who tells me "in 500 meters turn right." I admit to getting frustrated with her when I come to a Y in the road and she says nothing (which seems to happen quite a bit), but if I pick the wrong way (which also happens quite a bit), she says "RECALCULATING" and eventually I get there and it is all because of her. I absolutely cannot imagine trying to navigate this city on the left side of the road without her. She is priceless.

But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I have also learned that it is all relative. Compared to India and Malaysia, I am told that Singaporean driving is very civilized. In India (where Darrell recently traveled), for example, the roads don't even have lanes painted on them (talk about a free for all), lots of them are unpaved in the city, and then you have to watch out for the wandering cows. So I guess it's really all what you're used to! But then again, I'm not planning on driving in India anytime soon!

Monkey Spotting

The other day we were driving on the expressway here in Singapore and happened to be discussing the possibility of seeing a monkey at the polo club, where the girls take horseback riding lessons. Suddenly Darrell says, "Like that?" and points and, sure enough, there on the guardrail casually sits a monkey watching the traffic whiz by and looking rather bored. As this was an unexpected sighting, we didn't have the camera, but he was a long-tailed macaque and looked something like the one in this photo. Certainly not something you'd see at home!

Halloween in the Woodlands

One of our most memorable experiences so far in Singapore was Halloween evening in our neighborhood, the Woodlands. Primarily comprised of Americans with children attending the Singapore American School, our neighborhood is truly the trick-or-treating headquarters in Singapore (local Singaporeans do not traditionally celebrate Halloween). An estimated 3500 people visited our neighborhood that night. It was truly a crazy experience. Traffic was blocked from entering or exiting the neighborhood for two hours and there was even a first aid tent and security guards. I would compare it to a crowded street festival in Chicago. We purchased about 3000 pieces of candy in preparation. This was a little challenging since Halloween candy isn't sold at many places in Singapore.

Due to the huge number of trick-or-treaters, it is understood that trick-or-treators only get one piece of candy at each house (although many try to come back more than once!) What was most interesting was seeing our holiday through the eyes of another culture. Many of the attendees were local residents of nearby gov't (HDB) apartments (free candy - why not?) and it was obvious that they didn't quite get that the holiday is supposed to be for kids in costumes. We got all sorts of people of all ages carrying grocery bags and wearing no costume. Even a few elderly grandmas. Some people didn't even have bags - one lady just held out her hands in front of me like a beggar. Something you really have to see to believe.

Also interesting was the fact that at least 20 people took pictures of our golden retriever. Apparently, big dogs are something of a novelty because they can't have them in the government apartments. And please appreciate those midwest pumpkins! Pumpkins are very expensive here because they have to be shipped in from the states. And then, as Megan found out the hard way, they start to mold and rot almost immediately after being carved because of the heat and humidity!

All in all, it was interesting, but I have to agree with Anna that Halloween is better at home!!

Fun Things We've Done

Megan and Anna petting one of the pink dolphins on Sentosa Island.

Anna and her friends Erin and Andrew at the Singapore zoo with some other new friends! Singapore has a very fun zoo. They even let you feed the elephants!

Some exciting moments from the Singapore Bird Park. Both girls were picked as volunteers in the shows.






Anna at her class field trip to a bazaar and a temple in Little India.

Our Creepy New Roommates

At some point when we have returned to the US and think back to our days in Singapore, undoubtedly we will remember the geckos. During our first days in our Singapore home, it seemed that they were everywhere: on the ceiling, on the walls, in the kitchen sink, in the kitchen cabinets, in the kitchen drawers, behind the curtains, in the bathroom, on the floor........... There were at least 2-3 spotted per day. As a result, despite the 7 bedrooms, all 4 of us slept in one room for about 3 weeks. We were all a little freaked out by their sticky feet, beady black eyes and fast, jumpy movements. Thankfully, our faithful golden retriever was soon released from doggy jail (quarantine) and came to the rescue. Our crazy dog finally has a purpose in life: hunting geckos! Every night, our brave dog searches all of the ceilings throughout the house, making sure our house is secure. In the exciting event that he finds one, he is ready to go in for the kill. The little ones he swallows whole! Thankfully we now only see about 1 a week. And one morning he found this lovely little critter on the kitchen floor - a 3 inch centipede - yuck!! So far there has only been one of these. Supposedly giant pythons live in the Singapore sewer and monkeys live in the woods by the polo club. If either one of those moves into our house, we are outta here!!!

Megan in Middle School

Megan was very sad to leave her very best friend, Angelica; her favorite horse, Reba; Ashley, her riding teacher; and Red, our adopted old dog. But she's adjusting well and making new friends. She even convinced mom and dad to adopt a new Singaporean kitten named Gracie. She's tried tennis, continued piano and violin, and finally started taking riding lessons at the polo club (after a very long waiting list!). She's also enjoying her new suite of rooms on the 3rd floor of our house here, having claimed not one but two bedrooms with a connecting bathroom.

One of the biggest adjustments (for mom and dad anyway) was that Megan would be attending middle school. This seemed like a big step for our 10 year-old daughter, mature as she is. Mom admits to tearing up quite a bit in the new student middle school orientation, just thinking about her baby having homeroom, switching classes, eating lunch in that very big cafeteria, and just finding her way around that huge school.

But Megan seems to have taken it all in stride. Other parents at the new parent coffee reported their kids getting lost, going to the wrong class at the wrong time, not having anyone to sit with at lunch, etc. But Megan didn't seem to have any of these problems. I think she likes changing classes and the challenges of her new school despite all of the additional homework. She worked very hard first quarter and was very proud to have made the honor roll.

Anna in Singapore

Anna is in first grade this year at the Singapore American School. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Riley, and she is settling in very well and making lots of new friends. Every afternoon after school and on the weekends, our doorbell is constantly ringing with inquiries as to whether Anna can play. The kids ride around our circle on their bikes and scooters in a little pack. Anna has recently lost both of her top front teeth, so her smile looks a little different these days!


Anna is very busy with lots of activities here, too. She is participating in an after-school choir and taking swimming lessons after school one day at week. She has also started piano lessons (yes, we brought our piano all the way to Singapore!) and loves them and is catching on quickly. We have recently joined the Singapore Polo Club so that the girls could continue their riding. They are now participating in the Pony Club there and have just begun taking lessons again. Although Anna misses the nice horses she rode in Kansas (Sammy, Nina, and Reba) because the ponies she has ridden at the polo club are a little ornery and unpredictable! (Thankfully they have very soft sand!)

Most importantly, Anna has found her true love here in Singapore: SOCCER!!! She has been playing on a girls 1st/2nd grade team at the school on Saturday mornings and absolutely loves it. Running, kicking, scoring goals, getting sweaty and dirty on purpose...what could be better? Except when they lose, of course, because she is very competitive. Dad really enjoys watching her play as well and does quite a bit of coaching from the sidelines.

Daily Life in Singapore

Now that we've been here 3 months, we are finally settling into a daily routine. The girls attend the Singapore American School, which is right down the street from us. It is about a 7-8 minute walk, so they walk to school each day. Had we chosen to live downtown, they would have had about an hour bus ride each way. The school is incredibly huge. It houses 3800 students, grades PreK - 12, on 37 acres and is similar to a small college campus. About 100 buses come each day to drop off and pick up students. It is amazing how they coordinate it all. The diversity of students there is also amazing. I expected it to be predominately Americans, but there are students from all over the world. It has wonderful libraries, cafeterias, sports facilities, swimming pools, after school programs, state of the art classrooms, etc.

While the girls are in school, I have mainly been trying to get the house organized and catch up on the exercise that I never did in Kansas. Our sea freight arrived about 6 weeks ago, and it has been rather difficult to get motivated to unpack since it is hard to find room for everything here. But we have gotten through most all of it. Two days a week I usually go downtown to the American Club to do bodypump and then maybe lunch with two other friends. This does take a big chunk out of the days since it can be over 30 minutes to get there and you have to arrive about 30 minutes early to sign up for the class before it is full. I have also been trying to go jogging a couple of days a week with our dog. This is always interesting because many of the local Singaporeans are very scared of dogs, even friendly golden retrievers. Because they all live in apartments, I don't think they see them very much. So every time I go jogging, there are always a couple of people who jump at the sight of my dog and scramble to get out of my way like I am leading a rabid hyena.

I do have a maid come once a week to clean the house, which is very nice, especially since this house is so big and has so many bathrooms! I have recently started volunteering once a week in the middle school library to give me a little something else to do. I am also the room mom for Anna's class, so it is fun to be involved that way with her class. And for some reason, I also signed up for a beginning mandarin class at the school. Not sure what I was thinking because this is a difficult language! I'm glad mine is just for fun and not for a grade like the girls'.

Sometimes I go to the grocery store during the day, but there is a grocer who calls every morning to see if I would like for him to deliver me anything that afternoon. He can get most of the western food, so it is nice to not always have to go to the store. There is also a small grocery store right down the street from our house, so we are always running down there for necessities. Packaged, American food, like cereal and chips, is very expensive here. About $7 USD for a box of cereal. However, if you eat local food and fresh vegetables and fruit, it is reasonable. The food is definitely the best thing about Singapore for me. They have wonderful fresh fruit and very good restaurants and food courts everywhere serving local dishes.

Darrell seems to like his job here for the most part. I think it gets a little lonely since he is mostly dealing with others on the phone in other locations, but his hours are much better. He is generally home around 5:30 these days, which is pretty early for him. So one nice thing about being here is that we've spent more time together as a family. We aren't as busy with all of the things we used to do, so it seems like we're together more. He has been on two business trips - one to Tokyo and one to India. Tokyo made Singapore look like a "little village." It was very huge and confusing and difficult to navigate because no one speaks English. India made Singapore look like "paradise" with its unpaved roads, wandering farm animals, extreme poverty, chaos, etc. He was very glad to return safely home!

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

We arrived here in Singapore on July 29th. Already, our life back in Kansas seems like a lifetime ago. Here are a few facts about our new city:

• Singapore is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

• It lies 85 miles north of the equator and has a tropical climate. It is hot and very humid year-round with frequent short and heavy rainfall. Temperatures range from 77 to 90 degrees with a mean humidity of 84%.

• Singapore is one of four remaining true city-states in the world. Singapore is among the 20 smallest countries in the world, with a total land area of only 273 miles.

• The population is 4.84 million, 24% of which are foreigners. The local residents are comprised of 77% Chinese, 14% Malay, and 8% Indian. Apart from Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated country in the world, with 6,430 people per square kilometre.

• Singaporeans declare their national pastimes to be shopping and eating. Singapore boasts a whopping 250 shopping malls.

• Singapore is 9,345 miles from Manhattan, KS.

Our house is an attached home in the northern area of the island, called the "Woodlands." Our neighborhood is adjacent to the Singapore American School, where the girls go to school. We chose to be convenient to the school and live in more of a neighborhood area than to live downtown, where most of the restaurants, shopping, and other attractions are located. There are many other children in the neighborhood, which is wonderful, especially for Anna, who didn't have friends her age in our neighborhood in Kansas.

Our house is 3 stories and is attached to 3 other homes. Our street is a circle, with 6 of these attached 4-home buildings in the middle, back-to-back, and surrounded by very large detached homes on the outside of the circle. As our house is on the corner, we actually have a small patch of yard in the front (maybe 10'x10') and a sidewalk that leads from the front of the house to the back. The houses in the middle don't have access to their back door from the outside. All of the houses have gates in front and walls surrounding them. There is room under the front carport, inside the gate for 1 car. We have to park the other car on the street. There is no outdoor storage, which is quite a change from our 3 car garage.

Our house has a whopping 7 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, not including the maid's quarters. So, plenty of room for guests willing to brave the 18 hour plane ride from L.A.! But don't be too impressed. While huge by Singaporean standards (90% of citizens live in gov't apts), the house has been an adjustment. The bathrooms and especially the showers are very small. There is only 1 tub in the whole house and I have to turn off the water in the shower to shave my legs because it is so small. There is very little storage in the house. The houses here do not have closets - I think because they are made entirely of concrete. But we are lucky because our house has built in wardrobes in the bedrooms. Many of the houses don't have anything.

Each large room in the house has its own separate air conditioning unit that hangs on the wall. In Singapore, they call it "air-con." All of the floors are either marble, tile or hardwood. No carpet whatsoever because of the humidity. It would just get moldy. Each bathroom has its own water heater, which you have to turn on several minutes before you want to take a shower. And they don't seem to have very many electrical outlets in the house, so you have to buy lots of power strips. There are no outlets at all in the bathrooms.

The kitchen is quite different from what I'm used to. Instead of being the center of the home where everyone gathers, it is a small separate room in the back of the house. It is big enough, but certainly lacking in amenities. There is no garbage disposal (I never realized these were a luxury!), so every morning I am scooping soggy cereal out of the bowls into the trash. The dishwasher is not in the kitchen, but outside the back door with the washer and drier. You cannot run the washer and dishwasher at the same time because they share an outlet. The oven is very small. U.S. size cookie sheets will not fit into it.

Out the back door in the kitchen is the laundry and the maid's room. Technically, they are in the house, but it is not air-conditioned in these rooms and the back door is wide open, without even a screen to keep out bugs. The maid's bedroom is very, very tiny. It would barely hold a twin bed and dresser. The maid's bathroom has an asian/squatting toilet and the whole room is basically the shower. There is a drain in the floor and the shower head comes out of the wall - very strange. Currently, we do not have a maid, so the maid's room has become bicycle storage!