Our First Visitor!

On Wednesday, we were very excited to have our first visitor in Singapore! My cousin Beth's son Dougal stopped in Singapore for a day on his way to study for a semester in Nepal. He is currently a sophomore at Swarthmore College in PA. Since he was only here for one day, we weren't sure exactly what we should show him. Singapore doesn't really have any major architectural/historical "must-see" places since so much of it is relatively new. Singapore in general believes in tearing down the old (or even the 10-15 years old) and building new government apartment buildings and shopping malls.


After Dougal (and Darrell b/c he got up so early to pick him up at the airport!) took a much needed nap, we took him to the American Club for his last "American" meal for a few months. We then drove him around a little bit before the girls got out of school. After picking up the girls, we headed downtown for a boat ride down the Singapore river on a traditional Singapore bumboat and got a good view of Singapore's historical buildings as well as the new skyscrapers and the merlion. And then for dinner, we went to a revolving restaurant with great views of the city and in particular the huge shipyard it overlooked. We also had a very nice Chinese meal there, which I considered an absolute success since the girls actually ate quite a bit without complaining. Since none of us had done either of these things before, we felt like tourists instead of residents.

We all first met Dougal at a celebration for my grandmother Pearl's 99th birthday last year in Rhode Island. Both girls, but especially Anna, took a liking to him and have been waiting anxiously for his visit ever since we found out he was coming about a month ago. Anna was sad he couldn't stay longer and even got up early to accompany him to the airport before school started yesterday morning. We very much enjoyed his visit and wish him the best during his adventures in Nepal!

If anyone else would like to venture over to this side of the world, we would love to host you as well! Just think - it is warm and tropical here!!!

More Monkey Business

Last week, Darrell and the girls had two days off for Chinese New Year. While Anna was at a friend's house, Darrell and Megan and I went for a little hike at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve here in Singapore. This was a nice escape from the "concrete jungle." Located in the center of the island, the reserve is an undisturbed area of primary rainforest. The trees and other foliage are so thick, you forget that you are in the middle of a highly populated urban area. The reserve is well known for its monkey population, and it didn't disappoint. We saw a few in the trees on our hike (and thankfully no snakes!). However, the majority of the monkeys we saw were in the street leading to the reserve's parking lot. Despite many large signs instructing you NOT to feed the monkeys, there were, of course, people feeding the monkeys here, so there must have been at least 20 hanging around, including a momma monkey and her little baby. And yesterday I saw two more monkeys climbing in the trees by the riding arena at the polo club!

The Foreign Domestic Helper

One of the primary differences between the lifestyle in Singapore and the U.S. is the common practice of employing a "foreign domestic helper" or amah. Amahs are full-time live-in maids generally from the Phillipines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. About one in seven households in Singapore employ an amah, although I would estimate this percentage to be much higher (at least one-half to two-thirds) among expatriate families. These women come to Singapore to support their families in their home country. Many have husbands and children back home as well as extended family they are supporting. Part of their appeal in Singapore is their affordability by our standards, yet they earn much more here than they could at home. It is not uncommon to hear that someone's amah has a college degree or was a teacher in the Phillipines, but earns more money here as a maid.

As these jobs are undesirable to Singaporeans, the Singapore government allows these women to work in Singapore under very strict guidelines. They are only allowed to work for their employer, may not marry a Singaporean, are subject to periodic pregnancy tests and may not get pregnant while in Singapore (if they do they are immediately deported), and must leave Singapore as soon as their employment is terminated. Their employer is held responsible if they break any laws and must post a $5000 deposit (or buy insurance) that is lost if the maid goes missing. As such, most helpers are given strict curfews by their employers.

It is also not uncommon to hear of maid abuse. And while most expatriate families give their maids every Sunday off, the law doesn't require this and I have read that many Singaporean families give their maids no time off whatsoever, which is hard for me to imagine. You also hear of employers not giving them enough to eat. There was even a rumor recently of an American family in the neighborhood who allegedly locked their amah in their house after she broke curfew. Asia is much more a "class" society than the US, so I am still getting used to the attitude toward foreign workers here as second class citizens. It still seems strange to see a woman dressed to the nines shopping downtown while trailing behind her is a poorly dressed Phillipino girl with long hair and flip flops pushing her baby in a stroller.

For our first 5 months in Singapore, I resisted hiring an amah. While affordable, they are not free. (About $600USD per month - the govt gets 1/3). There are also privacy issues. Wouldn't it be strange to have someone in my home 24/7? I wasn't sure I would like this. However, with Christmas behind us, we started to plan for our home leave back to the U.S. this summer. As you know, we chose to bring our golden retriever, Chance, with us here to Singapore. I also let the girls adopt a kitten back in October. To board both of them at the local kennel costs about $35USD per day. For five weeks, this would be quite a bill when we got back. Also, I really don't want to subject them to a kennel for 5+ weeks and it would be nice for someone to watch over/take care of the house while we're gone. So I seriously started thinking about hiring a "dog sitter"/maid and watching the ads.

Unfortunately, the failing economy has forced many expats to leave Singapore and return back to the US. It is incredibly expensive for companies to pay for families to live here, so families seem to be leaving our neighborhood in droves. One such family recently posted an ad for their helper, Julieta. She has 18 years experience and loves kids and dogs, so I decided to interview her. Julieta is a very sweet and mature 50 year-old Phillipino lady who is friendly and outgoing. Some people have their maids on strict schedules regarding what chores they should be doing when. But when I asked Julieta if she was on a schedule, she assured me that "I know what to do, ma'am." (They all call us "ma'am" and "sir".) Her employer also assured me that Julieta needed no instruction and my house would reach "a whole new level of clean." Julieta also didn't seem intimidated of our crazy dog, Chance, who was trying to jump all over her. We all liked her very much, so I decided that we would hire her and see how it goes.

Julieta officially moved in 2 weeks ago. As our maids' quarters are tiny and Julieta already had her own furniture that wouldn't fit in the maids' quarters, we decided to put her in one of our extra bedrooms (remember that we have 7 not including the maids' quarters). Although this is in our house, unlike the maids quarters, which are off of the back of the house, she is very good about keeping to herself and staying out of our space and it hasn't affected our privacy. And since Julieta has moved in, I must say that my life has gotten much easier. It is truly a wonderful feeling to have been out all day running around and to walk in the door into a spotless home. In the past, I would come running in the door and be confronted by the mess that I had left behind me all day and now had to tackle. I do not feel like I am carrying around a big to-do list in my head anymore. My laundry is always done (and ironed!), the dishes are always done, my dog is walked, the plants are watered, the porch is swept, the cars are clean, Anna's lunch is made, etc. In addition, if I need for her to pick up Anna from school, she can. If I need for her to go to the store, she can. If I want her to make dinner, she can. If I need her to make muffins for the daisy meeting, she can. If we want to go out to eat without the kids, we can! If I want to read my book, I can! We definitely are more relaxed and have more free time to play with the kids, explore Singapore on the weekends, etc. I am looking forward to actually organizing my photos and to volunteering more here. And I realize that this is not reality and will not last forever, but it is definitely a nice perk to make up for some of the sacrifices associated with moving so far from home.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbIEeBM4pzM

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year, which is based on the Chinese lunar calendar and is celebrated for 15 days. This is the most important of the Chinese holidays. The traditions include giving 2 mandarin oranges, giving red envelopes containing $2 to children, decorating pussy willows, and decorating and dressing in the color red. To celebrate, my neighbor, Vicki Rooney (also a Cat wife from Peoria) arranged for a lion dance in her driveway last night. Here is a video clip of the dancers. It was very lively, festive and fun!

Happy New Year!

Kangaroo Island, Australia

Our third and final destination in Australia was Kangaroo Island. This island lies south of Adelaide, off the southern coast of Australia. It has a population of only 4400 people and a whopping 800,000 wallabies, and physically is seven times the size of Singapore. If you're looking for nightlife, shopping, and restaurants, this is not the destination for you. It is definitely a little remote. If, however, you want to see Australia's wildlife in its natural habitat, explore unspoilt beaches, coastlines and bush country, and get away from the city, then Kangaroo Island is a fun getaway.

To get to Kangaroo Island, we flew from Perth to Adelaide. From Adelaide, we had to drive an hour and a half south to catch the ferry. After 45 minutes on the ferry (and a little seasickness) we arrived at Kangaroo Island, but had another hour and a half drive to our hotel on the other side of the island. But we knew we were in for an adventure when Anna started spotting kangaroos grazing in the fields on the drive south from Adelaide. This was truly a beautiful drive with rolling hills, country farms and cottages, and gorgeous coastline.

Our first stop in Kangaroo Island was Seal Bay, home of a colony of Australian Sea Lions. For a fee, you could pay to be taken out onto this beach with a guide and the sea lions and watch them frolic, swim and sunbathe. Truly an amazing experience!

Our hotel advertised wallabies at sunset every night (they are nocturnal) and they didn't exaggerate. Every night around dusk at least half a dozen wallabies would emerge and begin hopping around the hotel courtyard, hoping for handouts. The hotel sold food that you could hand feed them, and needless to say, my girls were out there feeding them every night for hours on end. One little guy would actually show up around 4:30 pm, about 2 hours before all of his friends. Apparently he had learned that the early wallaby gets the food!

Another stop on our visit was the Parndana Wildlife Park. Here, the animals were in captivity, but we were able to pet koalas and feed kangaroos, as well as see many other types of native Australian wildlife up close. We were amazed at how gentle the big kangaroos were. One of them was stretching his neck, obviously enjoying it while I scratched him under the chin like a dog!

One of the most beautiful places we saw on Kangaroo Island was Remarkable Rocks. This incredible rock formation overlooks a stunning coastline.

And not a mile away is

admirals arch, a natural arch sculpted in the rocks which overlooks a colony of New Zealand Fur Seals.

Next to our hotel was a wildlife sanctuary where you could go on a koala walk and a guided

nocturnal tour. This was also a unique experience. They have a large grove of eucalyptus trees that were planted years ago by previous residents. As eucalyptus trees are the sole food of koalas, the trees have attracted a wild population of koalas. You are able to walk around under the trees and look for the koalas in the trees. We were able to spot several, including a couple of mother koalas and their babies. These are not very active animals. Our guide told us that they sleep 20 hours per day!

We also took the nocturnal tour, which was very fascinating. He spotted more koalas for us up in the trees. Hundreds of wallabies came out at night and were hopping all around us. Kangaroos were grazing in a nearby field. We also saw several possums.

One afternoon, Darrell and the girls explored some nearby caves. And on our last day there, we attempted sand surfing on the islands' Little Sahara sand dunes. A fun, but very gritty experience!

We spent a quiet new year's eve packing and went to bed well before midnight. On new year's day, we got up early to drive back and catch the 8:30 ferry to the mainland. This drive was amazing, yet stressful as the wallabies and kangaroos were still up. The wallabies were everywhere and would jump out in the road without warning. And a couple of times a large kangaroo went hopping across the road in front of us. Only in Australia!

Rottnest Island, Australia

On Christmas afternoon, we drove north from Bunbury to spend two nights in Perth. This was after having chinese food at the only restaurant open on Christmas day in Bunbury! We enjoyed a very nice (and surprisingly expensive!) Christmas dinner at the Hyatt. Santa even came and sat at our table and visited with Anna for a little while.

The next morning was another holiday, Boxing Day, in Australia. We got up and drove to Freemantle to catch a ferry to nearby Rottnest Island and spend the day. Rottnest Island is a small island only 11km long. No cars are allowed on the island and you can rent bikes and ride all the way around it (we only made it about halfway due to Darrell getting tired). The name "Rottnest" literally means "rat nest." The early explorers mistook the small marsupials living here for rats, which they do resemble. They are called quokkas, and we were excited to find a few of them on our bike ride. The island boasts beautiful beaches, coastline, several shipwrecks, and lighthouses. It was a very fun day in spite of some whining about having to bike so far.

Bunbury, Australia

For our Christmas vacation, we decided to venture "down under" to Australia, where it is now summer. We were all very much looking forward to this trip and it didn't disappoint. Australia is truly beautiful with wide open fields, rolling hills, abundant wildlife, pristine beaches, sparkling blue water and gorgeous coastlines. The people are friendly and laid back and constantly saying "No Worries!". The entire country has an outdoorsy, tree hugger vibe that reminded us of Colorado. We are already thinking about when we can go back!

Our first stop in our trip was Bunbury, a small, quiet seaside city on the western side of the continent. With a population of only about 30,000, Bunbury was a very nice change from the 4.8 million person concrete jungle that is Singapore. Bunbury boasts a very quaint downtown area with lots of little shops and cafes that were fun to explore. Our hotel was centrally located so you could walk to all the shops or head to either of the two different beaches. One beach was rocky and while very pretty, not so good for swimming. The other beach was great for swimming and playing in the sand and not at all crowded. Best of all, it had a section where dolphins swim up several times a day. You are not allowed to try to touch them, but you are allowed to stand still in the water while they swim closely around you. Megan and Darrell also went on a boat trip where they were able to go out farther and swim with the dolphins. Anna wasn't old enough for this, but she and I enjoyed a relaxing day on the beach. The temperature was very pleasant (upper 70's/lower 80's) while we were there, although we were told it was unseasonably cool for that time of year. And the best part was that it was not at all humid! (The second best part was that they had a Target!)

Our last day in Bunbury was actually Christmas day. We spent a good portion of it with many Australian families on the beach before packing up the car and heading north to Perth and Rottnest Island.

Christmastime in Singapore

I think our whole family was in agreement that it never really seemed like Christmastime here. Despite going through the motions, it just feels like we are stuck in some weird kind of endless summer time loop. When you are used to the change in seasons to announce the arrival of the holidays, it is a challenge to get into the Christmas spirit. Christmastime means seeing long-time family and friends, wearing sweaters, boots and heavy coats, seeing your breath, shopping while simultaneously freezing, and then going home where it's cozy and drinking warm beverages. Instead we had heat, sweat, fake soap snow, sunshine and lush vegetation.

Surprisingly, the city of Singapore actually goes pretty overboard in decorating the downtown shopping area at Christmas- time. Bordering on gaudy, cartoonish plastic figurines greet you with smiles and waves at the main intersection (photo blatantly stolen from Vicki Rooney's blog without apology). And the streets are lined with huge candy canes that I believe went up as early as October. The lights at night are beautiful and they do a great job on them. My photo doesn't do them justice at all (was taken with my cell phone but thought I should use one of my own!).

Now, of course, on a tropical island you don't expect to get any snow. Anna is amazed that there are kids in her class who have never seen snow. But a few places here try to duplicate the effect with bubble blowing fake snow machines. One is an upscale mall that does it every night (we never made it there) but another is the American club, to which we belong. We happened to be there the night they brought out the "snow." The girls had fun playing in the bubbles, but let's face it, soap bubbles are NOT snow.

And we had some nice, normal holiday experiences. One was a very well organized gingerbread house making event at the American club to which I took both of the girls. They had a lot of fun building and decorating their houses. Unfortunately, Megan's house had some structural problems and didn't survive the drive home intact. Fortunately, I had some extra frosting and Megan was able to resurrect her house again to most of its former glory.

Other holiday events for our family included Megan's orchestra concert in which she played the violin. I have no photos from this as we couldn't actually see her from our seats. But she sounded great!

Anna participated in an after-school choir last semester, which culminated in a holiday concert. As many of you know, Anna LOVES to sing. She is singing constantly. In Kansas, we were treated to her renditions of Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Tim McGraw. She would often stand in our front yard and serenade her 12 year-old crush next door. In Singapore, we are subjected to, I mean treated to, reinactments of all of the songs from Mamma Mia, after we took the girls to the movie here in Singapore. So it was fun to see her up on stage, belting her heart out (she is in the middle in light green).

Also, five of the 12 first grade classes at SAS got together to have a holiday program one afternoon and Anna had a speaking part and made us proud parents.

And let's not forget her class holiday party on the 19th, for which I am one of the room moms and helped organize. Refer to photo of Anna with Santa above! So, we were definitely busy doing lots of the same frenzied but fun holiday rituals we would have been doing back home in the states. We even managed to put up our Christmas tree after discovering that the movers accidentally sent our tree stand to the storage unit. Thankfully, Darrell was able to buy a replacement, but we were a little worried as many things are difficult to find here.

And one more thing...if you were expecting a present from us, we apologize. We actually managed to do some shopping but after discovering it would cost about $450 to ship them, we decided that you could wait to receive your gifts until this summer. Another lesson learned the hard way about life as an expat!

Christmas day itself was actually spent in Australia. So, stay tuned for my next installment regarding this very awesome family trip!