Volunteering for SANA

SANA stands for Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association. When I signed up for the job at this office I was not sure what to expect. The job disruption stated that I would be archiving photos for the association that would help the general public and historical moments for the association. For some reason I thought I would be archiving photos that had to deal with drugs, I mean it does say Anti-Narcotics.

I took the 25 minute train ride and Lucky for me the building was right next door. I got into the office and was shown a computer and a ton of boxes with photos. There must have been five boxes just for me. There were three other people there as well doing the same thing (they had boxes as well). We were told we were going to scan in the photos and file them according to event. Easy enough, I have done this many times. They also said lunch and afternoon coffee was on them so again, I didn't mind.

I was to spend from 10am to 5pm scanning photos. At first I didn't think we were allowed to go on the Internet or anything so I was not entertained, but lucky for me my scanner was fast and there were card games on the computer. Once the guy in charge of us walked by he told me that I could go on the Internet and listen to music, do whatever to entertain myself while I was scanning, bonus! As I was looking at the photos, there were no pictures of narcotics, it was pictures of the past events that they had for volunteers and at risk kids, dating all the way back to 95' (yes I know not that far, but still)

For lunch they treated us to fast food, which I was less then pleased with but I just got a sandwich and coke light so I was set. Once we got back from lunch I hit a wall of being tired, thankfully coffee was on its way. The guy in charge had to leave early and told us that there was another person who wanted to talk to us about another volunteer opportunity.

Once the time came to leave we had a briefing of what this woman wanted. She explained that there was a camp where we would work with at risk children to help prevent them take the wrong path. Its working with younger kids and it's only one day, but it's all day. What they were explaining was doing activities with the kids, being like a big sister/brother and trying to get the word out about how using drugs is bad. This reminded me of the program that is in the public school system in Loudoun County, D.A.R.E - Drug Abuse Resistance Education.

This was in the elementary schools and an officer would come in and talk about how drugs were bad and we would do different activities with him and each other leading up to our fifth grade play about how drugs were bad (If you are reading this and you went to elementary school with me you know what I am talking about and thinking of that damn play, makes me laugh as I am typing this, god we were NERDS)

When I told the person who is heading this volunteer opportunity she was very excited because she was researching D.A.R.E on the Internet and told me what I just told her. So needless to say, I am going to keep my eye out for it on SG cares because for some reason they can't just put me on the list and I am most likely going to do this. I am looking forward to it and am sure I will meet lots of people.

I also volunteered to go back and help out with more archiving. I felt so bad because the guy in charge was so stressed and I told him that I didn' t really mind doing it and ensured him he does not have to buy lunch for me next time, or coffee. He was grateful and will be getting back to me.

I will also say all of the places I have volunteered at so far, I have been the only Caucasian person there. I find it odd but oh well, I don't mind it and get to hear all about different people and their lives in Singapore. One guy I worked with today, he is 18 and just finished his secondary schooling and is going to take his SATs. He asked me about the Virginia Military Institute and I got a little excited because my stepbrother is currently going there. In Singapore once the young boys are 18 and out of secondary school they must enlist in the military and stay for 2 years until they go to 'university'. This guy really wanted to go to the states but was not sure if funds would allow him. (sorry that was a side note I thought was interesting and something you all should know).

Again, this is such a wonderful experience and I am so thankful for each one. It gives me a new perspective :)

Dragon Boat Racing: Experiance and Spectating

Before Dustin and I got here we got information on a sport that I could try out, gets me out of the house and I can make some friends. Paddling here is a big sport. I looked it up on the website, and it didn't look that bad, kind of fun so I went to a practice awhile back when we first got here.

The team is Gaelic Dragons and they are paddling team that boats under the Irish flag. When I got to the boating house I was excited but didn't know what to expect. I knew it wasn't anything like rowing just by the pictures. I figured I could paddle because well I have paddled in a canoe, but not like this.

I got into my gear, stretched with the team and walked down to put the boats in the river. I was told that they were getting for the big race (Singapore River Regatta that we saw this past Sunday) so the practice was going to be hard. I had started to hit the gym I figured I would be okay and could keep up. BOY was I wrong!

We all get into the boat and for the new ones told how to paddle. We have to twist to the side (facing the inside of the boat) and have our arms straight, then pull the paddle with out bending your arm until you were lifting it out of the water. You had to use more than just your arms, you had to use your core. I was paddling lefty to see if I could do it but I was wrong. Half way though paddling to Marina Bay (from Kallang, look at it on a map its kind of far) I was tired and went to go down for another stroke when I had a ripping pain in my left shoulder. I can't, till this day, tell you what it was but I could not paddle with out almost bursting into tears. Luckily a sweet girl named Beth switched sides with me and I was a lot more comfortable.

I will say that the people on that boat were wonderful. They told me to stop paddling for a bit so I can rest up my shoulder. But I will tell you I felt like a coward so I sucked it up and said I was fine, and I was it didn't hurt to paddle on that side as much as the left side. We got back to the drop point and unloaded. After we got the boat back we had some 100 plus (like carbonated Gatorade) and then some beers afterward on the river.

I will say this, I had a lot of fun. (Minus my shoulder) But I felt bad because my paddling skills SUCKED. Like super sucked. I wouldn't have been so negative except the fact that the team was getting ready for a big race and I didn't want to bring the team down with me being in the boat, wouldn't be a very productive practice. So I decided to wait until there was a break in between races so I could get the proper coaching. Luckily after I talked to my friend Jax who is a captain on the team, I found out that it's the end of the season and next week they will be going back to basics, a perfect time for a beginner to come in.

I will also say that it takes a lot of endurance to paddle a boat. It takes a lot of strength as well. The next couple of days after that one practice I was so sore I could barley walk. I was surprised because I had been hitting the gym, I should have been fine. But I was wrong.

So the River Regatta was this past weekend. The team did great. They came in second in the final heat. I had so much fun. Dustin and I sat with our friends at the Penny Black (they sponsor the Garlic's and it's right next door to Harrys at Boat Quay) and I said hi to the team, had some beers and had a great time. I was amazed at the amount of teams there were at this event. It had gone on all weekend but Dustin and I only went on Sunday (the last day). We did get to see a boat flip, I felt bad for that team because it was right before the finish line, Plus that river is NASTY.

It was definitely a great experience to see the team compete and made me want to try this paddling thing again. I will be going next Saturday to try once more and see how I do, I have met a lot of good people on that team already and know I will have fun.

Stay tuned for updates, I will am sure it will be all about being sore! Also I don't have many pictures on my computer, they are on Dustin's and he has yet to post them, once he does I will post the pictures on here :)

Volunteering at the Institute of Mental Health

When I signed up for this volunteer job I was not sure what I was going to get into. It just explained that we were going to exercise with the patients and help the move. I figured it was to help the physically disabled get mobile, but I was wrong.

I took this job because back at home I worked in the special education department of a high school I really enjoyed it. I was in what was called adaptive PE and this was a PE class for the mentally and physically disabled. It was a lot of fun and I would do it again if I could. Once I saw this volunteer job I knew I would enjoy it.

When I got to the institute we were to meet in the main lobby. I got there and was expecting an older person in charge who has done this before. The person who was in charge was a boy who was about 18 years old. He had no experience at this job but was very positive. I told him what I was involved in when I worked at home and he didn't say much, just "oh well thanks for coming out today".

When we got into the gym the doctors and nurses were all there. There was also a group from a bank company that was there for the day doing volunteer opportunities instead of working that day (I do think this should be implemented back home for most workers). I was anticipating helping the patients exercise and working with them. The first activity we were involved in but we were just cheering them on, the nurses were doing the job I thought we were going to do, walk beside them and show them what to do. After the second person went, I decided to step up and join one of the patients and the nurse. The nurse was surprised and I said that I felt comfortable, so she let me do what she was doing. I was in my element.

The patients took a break, we passed out water and snacks and helped them open up the food packages and took their trash. After that we got time to sit down with some and talk and there was one man who was very sweet. His smile and the way his eyes lit up reminded me of one of my students (the man was older, about 65 years old) but the way he was cheering on everyone and being such a sweet man made me think of the kids I worked with back at home and it warmed my heart.

He said that he was there because his mom and dad died a long time ago in the war (didn't tell me what war) and that he had a daughter that moved out of Singapore to California US. I told him I was from the US and he didn't believe me, He thought I was from the UK. He told me that he had a hard life and he had no where else to go when his parents passed away so he went to the home (that's what he called it) and that he had plans to go to California and reunite with his daughter.

I am not sure what his disability was but I know it was something. He was so funny, cheering everyone on during musical chairs and when I got out he gave me a high five and told me I did well and to cheer on with him. I was just amazed at his personality.

After the activity were over I said my good byes and he wanted me to come back next time. I told him that I would if I was able to sign up for it though the program. He was very excited. One of the doctors came over to me as I was gathering my stuff and said that he noticed I was talking to the man I told you about. The doctor informed me that they don't really know his story, it changes every day. He said that they found out that the man does have a mother but she had recently passed and so the man has been depressed most of his time at the home. They say they see excitement in the man when he is at the gym doing activitys but when he gets to talking he starts to get sad and depressed and starts spouting off stories that were not true compared to the stories he told the day before.

The doctor also informed me that they need more volunteers to do arts and crafts and things like that. I may do that as well and go back for gym but the only reason why I would not is because this institute is so far away. If I had a car it would be different. It is about a 30 minute train ride, from the MRT station it was about a 15 minute walk. I don't mind the walk so much but it looked like it was going to rain and I was HOT! I did decide to take a cab back to the MRT station and only had to pay 3 sing. We will see I would love to go back, maybe I will just figure out if the bus goes there and take the bus from now on.

Volunteering at the Thrift Shop

As you all know in order for me to occupy my time here while Dustin is at work, I have signed up to volunteer. Dustin found the program SG cares. This program was designed to cater to all sorts of people, ones who are like me and don't have a job, ones who can only volunteer on the weekends or as little as once a year, the volunteers get to pick and choose when, where and what they want to volunteer for. They have a calender that is full of different opportunities every day.

The first job I did was volunteer at the HI Community Thrift Shop. The job descriptions explained that it was just going to the store, go though the different clothing that was donated and decided if it is worth keeping or if it is damaged. If the clothing is good enough to keep it is put out for sale. I don't know what I was expecting when I got there but I knew I was going to enjoy myself.

Walking to the shop I realized that I was in an area of Singapore that didn't see a lot of expats, it was 'local' and I was definitely getting some looks, I can only imagine what some were thinking. I got to the shop and was met by one of the paid workers and he showed me what to do. I was there with another woman who was rather young, I'd say in her late 30s early 40s. She was a business woman who had her own business and retired. She wanted to give back to the community and thought that the way to do it was though SG cares. We got to work and started to go though and arrange clothing.

Though out the shift there I was met by a lot of people and was introduced to what the HI Thrift shop really was. This shop was on a compound and I was told it was a rehab center for drug and alcohol abusers. In Singapore if you are cought with drugs, even marijuana, it's certain that you will get the death penalty. The rehab center is like any other rehab center and the thrift shop helps generate money to have social gatherings for the center and it helps the people at the center get reintroduced into life outside of rehab life.

One man I met was an older Indian gentleman. He was there as a councilor, but told me that he use to be a resident at that center. His story was very interesting, he said that he was hooked on heroin and was a trafficker of marijuana. He told me that one day he was very high and stumbled into a church for some shelter because it was raining (this man was also homeless). He said that he saw Christ on the cross bleeding, it was like Christ was right there in the flesh. Of course Christ was not but the man said that he wrote it off and went on with his day. He eventually got arrested, and had to do jail time.

Now I know what your thinking, why didn't he get death? Well the penalty for drugs back when he got caught was just a certain amount of strokes of the cane. He said he did his time and ended getting 3 painful strokes of the cane. He finally realized his ways were not good and decided to go to the rehab center that I was at. He told me that he found God there and really cleaned up his act but he did relapse after he was released. He was allowed to go back to the same center and stayed for longer and really got clean. He is currently 11 years clean and a very faithful Christian.

This man was the only one I got a story out of, the other people who came in and out of the store just passed me by. I did say hello and they nodded. I know they knew what I was saying because it seems that everyone knows some English. I am not sure if they were comfortable talking with me because they were not confident in their English or not. Either way I had a great time and really enjoyed myself. I was asked to go back and I am sure I will be going back soon.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is a day to spend with your family and friends. It can be a very eventful day, visits to see parents, grandparents, sisters, everyone. Back home we usually go to at least three Thanksgiving meals from Thursday to Sunday. Dustin and I have celebrated the day after due to him working EVERY Thanksgiving since we have been together.


This year was different. Thankfully Dustin was allowed to get off work early and spend the holiday with me and our good friends here. We did not host or go to anyones house. Thanksgiving is hardly celebrated here and you really have to hunt down the expat websites to find it or know someone. They do have turkeys here for the holidays, and they want 8.50 a POUND for them, so no, no cooking turkey for us this year. We went to a resturant that was a microbrewry. There was an American club there and had information on Thanksgiving and the story of why we celebrate it. I found it interesting, there were a lot of people there to celebrate, and not all were Americans. It was good to see that everyone was taking an interest and enjoying the food.

Now we all know what to expect when we think about a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, gravey, mashed potatoes, green bean cassorole, stuffing, the works. I will say that this place had an alright spread considering. They offered soup, salad, rice, stuffing, veggies turkey, ham and pies. Of course, I skipped over the salad, and went stright for the carrotts, mashed potatoes and green beans. I was disappointed that there was not a green bean cassarole, it is my favorite part of Thanksgiving meal! The stuffing was alright, it was not stove top but home made, with big chunks of bread. It was good, but again, not what I was used to. Everything else was amazing. I did have pumpkin cheese cake and it just did not taste good, it looked like they cut a cheese cake and pumpkin pie in half and put them together. Oh well.

I will say over all it was a great time. We had good food, good beer and great company. There was one American couple that we have grown close with, Clint and Meghan, that invited us. Others were from the UK and Aulstralia. Some were there experiancing Thanksgiving meal for the first time and from the sights, they fully enjoyed it. Conversations were wonderful, talking about holidays, travel and who was doing what for the weekend. I really felt blessed last night to know that I have such a wonderful fiance and that we have met such good people here already.

I will say that this was the first Thanksgiving that I didn't spend with family. My whole life I have always seen my parents, all three (mom, dad, stepmom) and I felt a little empty yesterday. I did get to see my dad and mom on skype which was nice but it's not the same. I knew it was going to be hard to deal with, not spending time with family. I feel that it would have been a lot harder if we did not go out with our friends and if Dustin had to stay at work the entire time.

I hope everyone at home had a wonderful day, full bellies and great conversation. Know that we missed each of you and are so thankful to have you all in our lives. I expect to have a great Turkey day next year back at home with our friends, neighbors and family! Happy Thanksgiving everyone, we love you!

What comes with the food

Hawker stand or food court (which is considered a hawker stand) are mostly where we eat when we eat out. It's cheap and so good. Of course, we are in Asia and you can imagine we eat a lot of rice (we are okay with that!). If you really know us you would know that we eat a lot of rice back in the states, more so than anyone that I know.

What we have noticed since we have been here is that if you eat at the place, you get a lot of food. If you order it to-go or here they call it take-a-way it's a little less and they tend to charge a little more (by thirty cents). If we end up getting rice and some kind of meat, we not only get the meat and rice, but a fried egg, one cucumber slice, one tomato slice and a leaf of lettuce Now, when we order the food and eat it at the place sometimes we also get miso soup to go with it, when we order take away we don't get the soup. It's a lot of food for a little price either way.

At first I thought that the fried egg mini salad thing was only at the certain stands/food courts we eat at but it is not. If you want local food (not so much Indian) you will get at least a fried egg. I am not sure why fried egg is served with most things but I will say that it is good. There was a night when Dustin decided to cook up some rice only and then said to me that he was going to go local and fry up an egg, I thought it was funny.

You also get a choice to put sauces on your your meals. Dustin has been here before so he did tell me about chili sauce. You can get chili sauce at McDonald's, and he brought home some packets for me to try. At first it was spicy and I didn't really like it when he brought it home. He on the other and was in love with it. When we first got here and ate chicken rice (a common dish) I was looking for soy sauce, because I was use to putting this on my 'Asian food' back at home. Dustin, of course, put chili sauce on his food. I wasn't a fan of the soy sauce so tempted to try the chili sauce. I will say that it was VERY hot. I can't have very hot foods, it just messes with my system and gives me acid reflux. So to me this chili sauce was VERY hot, but now looking back on it, not so hot.

I then started to try the different chili sauces. Every place has their own version of it and Dustin usually trys it before me to see if I can handle it (such a good ficane). Over the past 2 months I have began to fall in love with Chili sauce, even the one from McDonald's. We were saving up packets of chili sauce from McDonald's so we could take it home and some friends/family members have requested it. Well, we went to Fair Price (our local grocery store) and bought the Fair Price brand Chili sauce. I will say that it is wonderful, it tastes like the one from McDonald's but a little spicier and I have found myself putting this sauce on everything. We have almost gone though the whole bottle and we have only had it a month! I will say that I expect to bring it home because I do use chili sauce in my amazing meat loaf and I feel that this fair price chili sauce will make it even better!

I will also say that since being here I have been braver about eating spicy foods. Don't worry, I shipped a huge bottle of tums with me just incase and it did come in handy the first two weeks of being here. I have been eating spicy food and now not relying on tums, I am sure when I get back home some spicy things that I neglected to try, I will try when we get back. But not all the spicy things, I am still fearful of some them (DOA wings from main street wings)

Television..

After being here for two months we have ralized that television is NOT what we thought it was going to be. Yes, most of the channels are in English and we are greatful for that, otherwise we would have to learn a new language and with this being a meltingpot, not sure which one we would have to learn.

Anyways back at home we all are use to current television shows, including E news. Here the do have E news Asia but are lacking on what is going on with the celebs out in the US. I hate to admit it but it is a guilty pleasure of mine, knowing what the celebs are up to but just though E news. We have found that the television shows on Singapore television is a little behind. The different channels show different shows that are mostly American based (per our cable package) but the shows are far behind to what we are used to. Some are behind only a season and others two or three seasons. This does exclude the news shows, I do get my CNN fix, that is current.

The channel I mostly watch are the Fox channels, but they are totally different from home. They have Fox Crime, proving to be the top runner for me to watch. This shows all the CSI's, Law in Order and the most West Virginian show or Redneck show, COPS (which puts me more in a negative light being from the 'country') The funny thing and annoying thing is, is that I see one CSI episode and it's on again in two hours. Reruns are the death of television over here. If it's not on in two hours, its on the very next day at the same time.

It is nice in the fact that we have discovered the show Dexter. We don't get the channel that it is on in the US so we get to catch up on it. But that's about the only nice thing. I will say that I am thankful that Dustin purchesed the Slingbox for our television at home. At first it didn't work on our computers, so we had to resort to our iphones. Yes I watched the first skins game on my iphone and I am proud of it. We watched a lot on our little iphones, annoying yes but we got our fill of our regular shows that we are use to.

Yes, I know what you're thinking, Your living in Singapore, why on earth are you watching TV? Well I am living, not visiting I don't want to see all of Singapore in two months, I have a year and we will take advantage of it. Also, we still have to do laundry, cook food, clean the apartment, all the domestic things we do at home. Also, who doesn't like a lazy day every once and awhile?
The other advantage for the reruns and behind the time episodes is that there are hardly any commercials, maybe two breaks in a half hour, which is something I am not use to!

We finally had the problem fixed to where we can now watch episodes from our slingbox on our laptops, apparently there was an error and the only thing that could reach our slingbox was our iphones at first, now it's all better. With that said dustin got a cord that goes from the computer to the tv so we are all set now. Sometimes you will see on facebook that it does not work. It's all about Internet connection, speed all that tech. crap that I don't understand so we will have to reset or wait a day and it works. The only thing that has yet to work, are my American football games, yes for some reason it won't work when I want to watch my skins play, no matter how poorly they are doing, I am a true fan and want to see them play but alas so far I have only watched one game since we were here and maybe it's for the best considering the skins current status...

Conserving some Energy

These days everyone is concerned about conserving energy. We have fuel efficient cars, energy saving light bulbs, energy saving appliances, heck I know we try to conserve water as much as the next person. Over here they are also aware of conserving energy and going green. This is down to the air conditioning units, outlets and switches.

We noticed, even in our hotel for the first month, that there are switches for everything. We have to turn on the switch for the water heater; there are three different water heater switches here, one for each bathroom and one for the kitchen. There are also switches for our fridge, oven, cook top, washer, dryer and dishwasher, not to mention for the lights. It’s all about conserving energy and I think it's great but question if it really works. Even on the outlets there are switches that cut off the power to them so if you are not using the outlet at the time, just flip the switch and the current will be cut off. Our realtor told us that he did that and he saved 7% on his electric bill.

It is also common for people to turn off the air conditioning units when they leave the house to conserve energy (the air conditioning units are turned on and off with remotes, one remote per unit). It is also common to only have one air conditioning unit on at a time, so currently I am in the living room and yes there are two units but we only turn one on, it works but while I am in the living room the air conditioning units are off in the two bedrooms. We turn off the living room air conditioning when we go to bed and turn on the one in our bedroom. We have forgotten a couple of times to turn off the one in the living room but hopfully after a month here it will become second nature. It’s very interesting, but we have yet to see an electric bill. Of course it is going to be less than what we were paying at home just because of the size difference but still I hope it is significantly lower, we shall see.

We realized that if we keep most of our shades drawn when we are gone the rooms are not as hot when we come home so it does not take much for the air conditioning to cool the rooms down, but that’s common anywhere. I will say that it takes some getting used to with all the switches. There have been times where I forget to turn on the water heater before I get in the shower so when I walk into the bathroom I realize I have to turn it on and wait about five more minutes, and then there are times when I forget to turn off the water heater from using the shower. Hopefully I will get better at remembering all of the different things I have to turn on and off!

Another thing, this has nothing to do with conserving energy but we still found it odd. There are no outlets in either bathroom. If I want to dry my hair it has to be done in the bedroom, and thank goodness we have a mirror in there. There is also not an outlet in the hallway. Also the switches for the bathrooms (this includes the water heater switch) are on the outside of the bathrooms, that is another thing that I have gotten use to, I do forget from time to time but not as often as we first got here.

The pictures (from the top) Switches outside of the bathroom, including water heater, air conditioning unit, Outlets, see the little switches? the orange line means that there is current going to that outlet, this one is by the tv so it is always on, and the last picture are all the switches in the kitchen, the one that is not labeled is the one to turn on the lights.

Culture, or something else?

Walking

One thing Dustin and I have realized around here is it seems like the people are just oblivious to what is going on around them. I have never seen this before in all my travels, granted other than this I have only traveled outside of the US one other time and went to Italy but still. This happens anywhere and everywhere around this country, on the streets, in the MRT station, stores, everywhere. People are walking and all of a sudden with no warning just stop, right where they are. I have run into them a couple of times because I wasn’t expecting them to stop so abruptly. Or you will be walking and then out of nowhere someone just comes from where they were standing and walk in front of you and then stop walking, for no reason! This happened to us a lot and one time Dustin and I were in a hurry and the person stopped and stared at us, dumbfounded and didn't move, we were letting them go by us and nothing until I got so frustrated I just told them with a firm voice (no not yelling) to go and waved them to move, and thankfully they did. Now in stores I can understand this, you’re looking for stuff that’s fine I am use to it there but not in the middle of the sidewalk or walking to the MRT at the station. If anyone can tell me why people around here do this, great awesome I want to hear about it because honestly, I just don’t get it.

People here, we have noticed, are really slow walkers. I know we all shouldn’t be in a hurry to get somewhere when really you don’t have anywhere to be but Dustin’s legs are long and so are mine and we are just fast walkers, especially compared to people here. You get behind a group of people more than three and you have a hard time getting around them. It was explained to me from our friend Andy that the reason why people walk so slowly is because of the heat. The faster you walk the hotter you’re going to be. I get that I do, I even gave this slow walk a try and yes its nice but my natural pace won’t let me go THAT slow, I could only stand about five minutes of walking lake that and I had to keep reminding myself not to get frustrated and not be in a hurry so much, after all, half of the time I have no place to be but out walking but I tell ya what I just can’t go that slow.

Utensils/napkins

The first thing I noticed the second day I was here was that most restaurants (local ones) don’t have knives. All they give is a spoon and fork. I was really confused how I was supposed to cut chicken and such with it until Dustin showed me how to do it correctly. I don’t know if this is a culture thing or not. Maybe everyone is just scared to give knives to people around here, but again this is a safe city and hardly any violence so why should that matter? If the place does not offer forks they offer chopsticks and a spoon. Now that was some kind of challenge. I do have trouble with it still but I am getting better at cutting things. I am happy that they offer chopsticks; I use them most of the time if they are offered. We also bought some to have here at the apartment and bring home with us. I love using them and am probably going to have great skills when I come home.

Most hawker stands don’t have napkins either. Napkins seem like a luxury. Even at McDonalds the paper napkins, you are only supposed to take one. Dustin saw me taking more than two and he told me not to take more than two there is no reason behind it, thats just how it is around here. There are older gentlemen who walk around the area trying to sell packs of tissues (considered napkins) and you can buy them from the older men but Dustin and I get them from the store and learned never to leave the house without a pack of them.

Local Slang

At the end of our tour with the guide from NCompass and our realtor they let us in on a few slang words we can use around the locals so we don’t look too American. They use the word LA a lot. So say someone comes up to you and wants to sell you something you say no-la and they will walk away. Or saying okay-la sounds good-la. There is also donwanla basically saying no you don’t want it thank you. The other one is Kan or Can, I don't know how it's spelled here. This one is a little hard to explain because it can be used to say yes I understand or yes, like yes you know you want to come with us to the movies or it's asking you if you able to do something.

Bless you?

I know growing up I was taught to say excuse me either for burping or going around someone, saying please, thank you, have a good day, covering my face when I sneeze or cough, being polite basically. I don’t know if it’s culture or not but I have yet to hear someone say bless you when someone sneezes. People also hardly cover their faces when they sneeze. They just sneeze right in the open and everyone will get the germs on them from that. I am not an ocd germaphobe but I am not comfortable walking in an area where someone just sneezed in the open. This also happens when someone coughs. They don't cover their mouth and I don't know why they think it is okay. They are spreading germs and most of the coughs I hear are just nasty and you know the person is sick. I fear that this expericne is going to make me a germaphobe like Howie Mandel or Donald Trump, espically dealing with all of this on the train where it has no where to go but around you.
I have also noticed that people don't say excuse me when they are trying to pass you they just push you aside. When I am in a store, and 90% of the time it is really crowded, when I can't pass though but need to I say excuse me and the people look at me like I have two heads. At least I can say that I tried to be polite but apparently it's not appreciated and that's okay, again this is not the states, it's Singapore, a totally different culture

What Singapore does Not have..

Surprisingly we have discovered that Singapore doesn’t have a lot of things. Mostly our favorite food items, but some other things too. When we got here, we found out that the phone Dustin had for work, the Samsung Galaxy S was not even heard of around here, they had the Galaxy S2 before they had it in the States. We thought that we would be able to get a phone case for it but the first store we went to looked at the phone and laughed because they don’t have that phone here in Singapore

(This gets a little tmi) They also don’t put exhaust fans in the bathrooms here. That is one thing I will never understand. The bathrooms have no air conditioning in it (there is air conditioning in the apartment, just not central air its sophisticated wall mount units, I will post a picture) so with the added steam coming from the hot shower and no air circulation it’s miserable! The master bathroom has windows in the shower so I open the window a crack (the window is frosted so no one can see in) and I leave the bathroom door open just a crack to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and steamy in there but our other bathroom has no ventilation what so ever so, no window no nothing. I haven’t showered in there but I can imagine when we have our guests over from the states it will be interesting. Plus when someone has to use the bathroom, in the states no matter what you’re doing in there, people usually turn the exhaust fan on, and most use it when they are in dispose so people can’t hear your business. With no exhaust fan there is no privacy, honestly you hear everything that goes on in a bathroom and it sometimes is just too personal. (I told you I was going to be honest about everything!)

There are a lot of food items that they do not have here. They don’t have goya Mexican seasoning.We usually put this with our rice to give it a little Mexican flair but no dice the only Mexican related food they have here is salsa, taco dinner kit (that is like 15 sing dollars), Taco sauce and mission brand tortilla wraps that are also expensive (Brand Name). They don’t even have an international food section and if they do I passed it. Worchestire sauce is something you would think most countries have especially because they have Food Network Asia and they have recipes that all for it. But no, the closest thing we found was worchestire steak sauce, which is totally different; you definitely can’t cook with it. They also don’t have one of the best and cheapest meals you can find, Mac and Cheese. They have macaroni pasta but they don’t have mac and cheese, they don’t even have velveeta cheese so you can make your own and I am not about to buy good cheese here and pay double what I would pay back in the states for good cheese just to satisfy my craving.

They also don’t have turkey here on a regular basis. We just saw an ad for one at the grocery store recently and they want around 50 sing dollars for a small bird and I think they are only doing this for the upcoming holidays in December. Dustin is working on Thanksgiving, and I know that it’s an American holiday but I’d still like to eat turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green bean casserole on that day for myself but I will have to nix the turkey because it’s just going to be me, I could deal with a turkey sandwich but they don’t have turkey lunchmeat. They don’t have the crunchy onions you put on the green bean casserole and possibly gravy. You better believe we are going all out next year!

One last and maybe one of the most important things they don’t have here are the flushable wipes. If you have not used the Cottenel wipes in the bathroom, you are seriously missing out on being fresh, and they are amazing. They don’t have them here and I hate that! Okay that’s enough complaining about Singapore and what they don’t have.

Some things I have learned in the past two months

Talking Elevators

We discovered that it seems like every elevator here talks to you. At first when we arrived in Singapore I thought it was just the hotel we were staying at because it was a fancy hotel, but I was wrong, it turns out to be every elevator in Singapore. They tell you when the doors are opening, when they are closing and what floor you are on after it says doors opening. I guess it’s so that you are aware that the doors are opening so you can prepare yourself to get out and when they are closing so you make sure not to get stuck in the doors, I don’t know it’s odd. Some voices were nice, all of them have an UK accent, but some of them can have an attitude or sound mean even. The one in the mall across the street from us, 313, was very demanding “DOORS CLOSING, DOORS OPENING” like it was yelling at me, but when it announced what floor you were on it was very polite. This is the worst elevator I have encountered so far.

Help please

As most know, Singapore is a true melting pot. I don’t know if it’s culture or if it’s just this area but people around here are very nice and helpful, especially in the retail stores. You go into one store, does not matter where or what time it is, there is always someone there willing to help you. At first they don’t ask if you need help, they see you walk into the store and walk to the place where you are standing (with some space in between) and then after about a minute, they come right up next to you and ask if you need help. If you don’t need help they still follow you around the store until you buy something or leave the store. It’s nice but when I first got here I thought it was weird. Now I am use to it but it took a while.

Auntie and Uncle, not what you think.

Back in the US when when someone is talking to an older person they are addressed as Mr. Mrs or Ms., whatever their title it was formal. We were told by a couple of people that the older people around here are called Auntie (for older women) and Uncle (for older men). Now I thought that this was weird, but when we were at Harrys we took a cab home and I called the guy Uncle and it stuck. I was also on the MRT and there was a very old gentleman standing, so I got up and said Uncle, and the rest of the women around me tapped him and called him Uncle and gave him my seat. Honestly I don’t think he would have lasted the ride to the next station but he wanted to try so at first he didn’t want my seat. The first jerk of the train came and he immediately went to the seat and thanked me. Now, I am not THAT old but I was at lacrosse practice and the guys asked me how old I was and it turned out that I was the oldest. Once the guys found out, they started calling me Auntie because they were all ranging from the ages of 20-25, I am only 27 I am not old enough to be called Auntie, unless I am back in the states and my friends kids or my actual nieces call me that, then it’s fine.

Flat sheets.

When you go into a store to buy bedding there are many sheets we can buy. On beds we usually find a fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillow cases and a comforter. We went to Carefore after we knew we were getting our apartment because we needed King size sheets and we walked around and found the bedding section. We knew we needed the works, including a comforter. We were looking at comforters for a little bit and bam, someone to help us. We told them what we needed and they handed us, what I like to call, the package deal. It had it all, comforter, decorative pillows, pillow shams, pillow cases and fitted sheet. There was one thing missing, the flat sheet. We told the sales person that there was no flat sheet and she took us over to the section of flat sheets. You know what they wanted for a flat sheet? 45 DOLLARS! I am not kidding you. I about died. I said out loud that I didn’t understand why the cheapest flat sheet was that much and the person who was helping us let us know why. She said that it is the culture around here because it is so hot that they don’t use it. So if they don’t use it then why is it so damn expensive? It is most likely because they are trying to cater to the expats, but who knows. I will never understand it.

Food items and the expense.

I have also discovered that it is a lot cheaper to eat out at hawker stands than going to the grocery store. Hawker stands are places where you can get local food for a cheap price. I can go around the corner and get sweet and sour pork, chicken and rice for 3 sing dollars, which converts to 2.30 us dollars! Dustin and I ate dinner for a total of 6 sing dollars which is 4 us dollars and both of us were full! There are certain things that are so expensive in the grocery store, it makes me realize how much I took for granted back home in the states. Anything dairy is astronomical. Milk is about 6 bucks, and that’s for a half gallon. I am afraid to see what a gallon costs! A ten pack of processed cheese slices (Think Kraft cheese slices) is 7 dollars; the Kraft brand is 10 dollars. Don’t even get me started on ice cream, yogurt, sour cream and ricotta cheese!
Ground beef and things like that are expensive as well, but here they call it minced meat instead of ground beef. They also don’t have a big selection of meats in general like we are used to back in the states. Pasta sauce, a small jar of it is about 8 dollars and if it has cheese in it, it’s even more! Salsa and things of that nature are expensive as well. Orange juice is even expensive, it’s almost as expensive as milk, and actually, it is as expensive! They have something called an orange drink, I haven’t tasted it but I am assuming it’s like Sunny D or Tang (think tang being sold already made).
The most expensive thing we have run into here is how much alcohol is. For wine that I don’t care for at home (yellow tale, sorry mom) is about 27 sing dollars. The cheapest bottle of wine so far that we have found is about 13 sing dollars which is about 10 us dollars. I am used to buying a bottle of wine for 6 us dollars tops! I mean when we are having company we buy wine around 8 or 9 dollars, but for normal every day wine, 7 tops.

Finding a place to live...

After about a week of me playing tourist we knew we had to look for a place to live. Luckily the company already had that covered and hired a realtor for us. Before that though, we were in touch with another company called NCompass that took us around Singapore and introduced us to the local culture. This was about the third week we were here. The first day we got to go around with a driver around the different areas of Singapore. I thought this was so cool because my Grandma (Dad’s mom) and Grandpa John came out here for a visit a long time ago and had car tour of the country as well. We got taken by different parts, hospitals, the US embassy, drove by the botanic gardens and also different markets.

Singapore does have grocery stores. The ones we were introduced to were Cold Storage and Fair Price. We know of another store that has food too but it’s like a super Walmart called Carefour. They also have different wet markets as well. Wet Markets are the real local markets that not only have clothing and things like that but the fresh fruit, meats and fish. It was definitely an experience. I didn’t really see many expats there but that could be that it was the morning of a week day but we were also in an area that had more locals than expats. We went from there to around the area we were staying we had lunch and coffee or as they call it here, kopi and got to know the area a little more.

The next day we met up with the woman from NCompass and our realtor to go around and see the different apartments they had in mind for us. We were warned that when we go into the different apartments we were not to speak to the landlord’s realtor, even if we had any questions about the apartment. If we had any questions during the viewing we were to write them down and ask our realtor after we got back into the car. We also had to take our shoes off at all the apartments we went to. It is part of the culture here that any home you enter you must take your shoes off either at the door or in the entry way. We also couldn’t take pictures of the place unless it was okay with the landlord’s realtor.

We went to about 16 different apartments and were really surprised in what we saw. There were some buildings that were older but bigger than the newer apartments. We went to The Sail apartments, now this complex was where we were supposed to live when we got here but the people didn’t end up moving. The complex and the views were beautiful, but the rent was at the top of our list and they weren’t furnished. Most of the places we looked at did not have the option to be furnished except for 2. At the end of the second day we knew where we wanted to live and thankfully it was literally across the street from the hotel that we were staying at. We told the realtor that we wanted The Metz, it had a great layout and high ceilings, unusual for any apartment that isn’t on the top. The view also had the famous Marina Bay Sky Park that puts on a light show every Friday night and it also is where the fireworks are for the different holidays so we could watch it from our home if we wanted to.

It took a while for us to get everything sorted and unfortunately The Metz was looking like it was out because the realtor for the place had yet to get back to us. We would have had to be in an apartment we liked but didn’t love. We waited for a little over a week and finally we heard something before our realtor had to start looking into our other options. We were upset because we really liked The Metz but knew that if we don’t make a move now, or we may have to start the apartment hunt all over again. We decided to let our realtor go ahead and write up an offer for the apartment that was second on our list. The very next day we got an email saying that we did get the Metz, we were relieved and stated that this was going to be the shortest move ever!

Fort Canning Park

I had heard about Fort Canning Park from Dustin and saw signs for it numerous times so I decided to see what it was all about. I know that there was the Battle Box there that I wanted to see. So I made my way over to the park and found that there were lots of art sculptures there. It was very interesting and of course I took pictures of them. It was like any other park with the exception of the ‘old married couple’ bunks and the Battle Box.

Now walking around, I didn’t have a map of the park so I was going off of sense of direction, and we all know that it’s not very good. I did find a map and luckily went the right directions this time. I found the box but I had to go pay to go inside it. I went to the window and made half of the movie that was playing about WW2 and Singapore. After the movie I went into the battle box and found it interesting. It was an underground command center during World War 2. It was also a bomb shelter.

Each room had different reenactments with manikins that had a scary resemblance to real people. It was very interesting, I would suggest going on the guided tour rather than taking one yourself because you find out what happened down there during the last days before surrendering. I did have to pay about 8 dollars and I thought that it was a little much to pay but that’s okay, I enjoyed it. So after I got out of the box I decided that I had seen enough of the park, again going alone isn’t as fun as going with someone else and bring some lunch with you and enjoying the park.

Chinese and Japanese Gardens

Now I heard that this was a beautiful place to go so I decided to hop on the MRT and take it to the Chinese gardens stop. Again, not sure where I was going to go once I got to the station but I was armed with my map so I felt I would be okay. After the 30 minute ride (which to most Singaporeans is a far ride and no one ever does that unless they have to) I got off and saw that there was an exit that showed the way to the gardens. It was a beautiful, hot day. Not a cloud in the sky and this is when I wanted clouds because the Gardens hardly had any shade/cover from the sun. I went on and walked around.

I don’t know what I was expecting but I saw observation towers and different trees and statues. Now when you hear the word garden you think, statues, trees, flowers, fountains. I only saw trees, some had flowers on them but not many and statues. It was by a lake and at that time there were boat races going on. So I was walking and in the Chinese part of the gardens I saw statues that dealt with the different animals that represented the years. That was interesting but I was getting hot and needed to find a place with some shade.

I walked around and found a turtle museum. I had to pay five dollars but it went to the care of the turtles so I didn’t mind. When I walked in I was a bit worried, the big ones were in just large tanks, with nothing but a concert floor and some water. It was cool to see the different turtles and then I went in to a room with a lot of tanks. All filled with a lot of different turtles. Once I have never seen before. The freakiest turtle I saw in there was the snake head turtle. Oh my gosh, when it moved its head it looked like a snake (hence the name) it was just weird. Anyways, I left and started heading my way out of the gardens. As I was heading out I went to one of the towers and took pictures of the view at the top. It was very beautiful but vertigo gotten the best of me and I headed back down and back to the MRT station. I am happy I went to the gardens but I really wouldn’t recommend going alone. It was beautiful and I would go back with Dustin if he wanted to go there and possibly bring a picnic lunch and have it down by the water but that’s all I would do.

Temples in Chinatown

After Dustin got up and left for work I decided to go to breakfast with my books in hand to decide where I was going to go. I didn’t want to go too far because I didn’t want to get lost and have an astronomical cab bill. I decided I was going to venture off to Chinatown. I have a love of temples and different places of worship, I don’t know why, I just do. So I set out on the MRT and headed to C-town. When I got there I wasn’t really sure what road to take. I stood there for a moment and wanted to pull out my map but I didn’t want to look too much like a tourist. So I looked at the different exits from the station and just decided to go right. Apparently that was the wrong way. I popped out on the street and was not sure where I was or what direction to head. Thankfully I was in Singapore and not a city like New York because I know I won’t get mugged here in broad daylight. This is the safest city in the world. So I started to walk when I realized I should probably get my map out so I know where the temple is.

I got my map out and discovered that I was going in the totally wrong direction. I started walking back the way I came and taking different roads to get to the first temple. When I got there I was immediately in awe of it. The building had so many statues on and around the building, and some of them had very scary faces on them. I was at the Sru Mariamman Temple, this temple was a Hindu temple and I know that this particular Hindu temple is the oldest one in Singapore. As I was walking up I noticed that everyone was taking their shoes off before they entered. Now, I know that it was because it’s a sign of respect because shoes are dirty and you don’t want to disrespect Gods house by getting it dirty, but I did wait until I got right up to the door. I don’t want to walk on the city sidewalk with no shoes one. Everyone was leaving their shoes outside, I did not, I put them in my purse with the soles facing each other. I did this because I didn’t want anyone to take my shoes. I know what you’re thinking, it’s the safest city and no one would take my shoes BUT my mind went to the Sex in the City episode where Carrie lost her shoes at a friend’s house because she had to take them off and someone else ran off with them. I was not about to walk around Singapore without shoes.

Anyways, there were things going in in the temple but I could not take part of because I was not Hindu. People who were would go up and wash their feet and their hands and meet. I walked around and took pictures and realized that there wasn’t much inside but still felt something spiritual about it. I didn’t stay long because it wasn’t a very big temple and there wasn’t much to look at but the different statues all around.

I walked around and once I was done I went out put my shoes on and headed in the direction of a Buddhist temple. As I was walking I saw the different touristy stands and I had to tell myself that I wasn’t going to be that much of a tourist, not until we get closer to going back home because I wanted to bring stuff back with us. Anyways, I was walking and got turned around and realized I wasn’t going in the right direction. I pulled out my map and looked at the street signs and figured out that I was only a block away. The temple I was looking for was the Buddha Tooth Relic temple and museum. As I got there it was breath taking. Without thinking I started to go into the ceremony room when I was stopped abruptly and told that I had to put on a shawl to cover my shoulders. I felt so dumb because I knew I had to cover my shoulders but I was in such awe of what the inside looked like I didn’t think. So as I was going to put my shawl on there was a monk who came over and told me that I was going tough the temple in the wrong order, we had to start at the top.

You would think that I would be hesitant going with a total stranger around this temple, but he was no ordinary stranger, he was a monk and we all know that monks can do no harm, especially in Singapore. We got up to the top and I realized this was the museum part of the building. It was full with different Buddha’s and statues. As I went around there were also gifts to the temple from different parts of the world. I never knew there were so many different Buddha’s and all had different meanings. There were also statues of the protectors of the temple. As I was walking along the monk was praying, and every once in a while his cellphone would go off. I was surprised; because I turned mine on vibrate for respect purposes. The monk also did his best to explain different things to me but there was a bit of a communication barrier, we both tried our hardest and got though.

We got though all the floors and then went into the ceremony room, or rooms, don’t worry, I had my shawl on and ready. There were thousands of statues covering the walls and before them were different offerings from flowers to oranges to incense. People were running around bowing their heads, hands in prayer form shaking their hands from their heads to the different statues saying something I couldn’t understand. All I know is that they were giving thanks to their protectors and Gods. Again, it was such an overwhelming vibe of spirituality in there; it was interesting and amazing all at the same time. Once I was done, the monk asked where I was going and I said home. He then took my shoulders and then started saying a prayer touching my head and saying things in a language I could obviously not understand, He then said that I was blessed and may go safely home. It was really cool.

Hello Singapore!

We landed in Singapore at 3am Sunday morning Singapore time, 3pm Saturday West Virginia time. Tired and ready to go to the serviced suites we de-boarded and headed to baggage claim. Once we got our passports stamped we headed to the duty free shop as we knew that alcohol was expensive in Singapore. Dustin got his scotch and I got a bottle of rum. There was one girl at the register and a huge line. We waited and slowly approached checkout when the baggage claim belt started up. Now I would have one out and gotten our bags but in Singapore, one bottle of spirits per person so I waited, watching our bags go round. When we were in line, getting impatient, we noticed it started to get really hot and both Dustin and I were sweating. We asked if it was worth it, and then realized it was. We reached the counter and started to pay but our cards were not working for some reason, but luckily they accepted US dollars so we got our alcohol and got out of there. Once we picked up our bags we headed to the money exchange and found our driver, and yes he was standing there with a sign that said “Kuzma”, it felt so VIP.

We headed out of the airport and as soon as the door opened there was the heat, it felt like a gallon of water was in the air it was so humid. The drive seemed like forever and I was confused of what it really looked like out there because it was dark out. We got settled in at the Pan Pacific and were wide awake. We got our skype going and called our family to let them know we landed safely. 6am rolled around and we thought of just staying up and walking around but decided to give sleep a try, needless to say once both of us hit the pillows of the big comfy bed we passed out until 12pm.

We woke up still a bit dazed and realized how hungry we were. So we decided to get cleaned up and head out to see what was around the area. We found a Thai restaurant to eat at that was close by, it was alright, a little expensive but we were starving. Once we were done with lunch we decided to go walk around for a bit, find what’s around. Now during this time I started to get dizzy at some points. I wasn’t sure if it was from lack of sleep in the past 24 hours or what but we didn’t walk far. Orchard road proved to be a very expensive road. It had places like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior, so I figured we were in a very nice part of the city. We went back to the hotel and wondered around, to see what the different amenities were. Their pool was beautiful; they had a gym and a therapeutic spa room where you had hot and cool pools along with steam rooms, very nice.

Then we found it was about that time for dinner so we went out to find some. I am not sure where we ate but I know the food was good; it’s always good around here. We stopped off at 7-11 and picked up a six pack that cost about 17 Singapore dollars, I had to pick up my jaw off the floor because I guess I didn’t believe it till I saw it. The night wasn’t very exciting. Filled with unpacking and relaxing trying to get over the jet lag, needless to say we went to bed early.
The next day we woke up and got some breakfast at the hotel and went back to get our day started. I was very excited to go around and explore with Dustin. We had to go and get our MRT cards so we decided to go down town. We walked around down by the bay and stopped off and got some lunch. He showed me where he stayed the two times before he was here for business trips, the Swiss hotel, and the tallest building, very distinct. During the day I still got my bouts of dizziness. The feeling was weird; it felt like I was still on the plane. We decided we should walk by Harrys at Boat Quay to see if anyone Dustin knew was around. Most were there, and welcomed us with some beers. It was very nice, they all were so wonderful and assured me that the dizziness I felt would go away in a day or two. The one thing I found interesting is that everyone was pulling beers from buckets and passing them around. Five beers in each bucket and once it was empty someone else would order a bucket, so it would get to where each of us had bought a bucket but shared with everyone. It’s something I would have never expected. We were also informed that if anyone asks where we are from we must tell them that we are Canadian, not American. Not a lot of people like Americans, but so far we haven’t ran into that yet.

The next couple of days were filled with sightseeing and food experiences. We walked by little food shops and noticed chickens hanging up, fully cooked, feet and heads still attached. Yes, that was something I had to get used to. The city is always busy and we discovered that there were lots of shopping malls. I had never seen so many malls in one area, and it wasn’t two story malls, it was five to six story malls. It’s absolutely amazing.

We got to Singapore just in time for the Formula 1 car race. The city was decorated with formula 1 advertisement and side shops and even cars parked in front of stores. When we would do our walking around you would see different barricades going up that was marking the race course. Fences and grand stands were going up as well. This was a big deal and I wish we would have had tickets to see it. Dustin did bring up a good point, why get tickets when all you see are black blobs going by and possibly go deaf from how loud the cars were. But there were other things going on with in the tents, not sure what but I know stuff was going on. It was cool to be around the city during the practice runs. We were sitting at Harry’s and it was very cool to see the race on tv and hear the cars in person. There were also lots of concerts going on from Shakiera (spelling I know) to Boy George. We personally didn’t go but we heard that the shows were good.

After we got all settled in Dustin’s time off of work came to an end. Dustin went back to work and I decided it was time for me to venture out and be a tourist. I went to breakfast the next day and took my tourist books with me to plan out my next couple of days. Heck, thanks to everyone back home those books could last me a month! (Trust me, I am putting them to good use, thanks again).

Longest Plane Ride EVER but a fun one!

Once the movers left everything started to move way too fast, and this included time. Before we knew it, it was the night before we left and we had to make sure everything was packed and ready to go. I never knew I could pack so much into one little bag, but I was able to pack enough clothing lasting for a month in total, I must say I was very proud of myself. We woke up and it was time to go to the airport, and I think that I would have been a lot more nervous if I were going by myself, but thankfully I had my best friend with me, our adventure was starting.

Once we got to the airport I got really excited. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew it was going to be an interesting flight. We were scheduled to fly economy from Dulles International to LA and from LA to Singapore we were going to fly business class. I have only ever flown economy so I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got to LA. Dustin on the other hand had flown business class on a trip like this before. So he was not looking forward to fly economy the first leg of the trip, but I don’t blame him, he is 6’1. Thankfully we got to upgrade to economy plus, which means that we got a little more leg room than the rest, but we had to pay for food on the flight. Now I haven’t flown in a long time and the furthest I have flown was Florida, and on the flights all we got was peanuts. So I was expecting some kind of meal to come with our flight, but I was wrong. We had to pay for one, and of course you know on a flight it’s more expensive than it really should be.

Once we got to LA the business class treatment was in effect. I was so excited to be in LA. Not only because it was the furthest away I had been from home but I also knew that one of my best friends Jocelyn lived there and for some reason I hoped that she could swing by the airport and see us, but she had tickets to a game and it was also unrealistic with an three hour layover for an international flight. We walked to the international fight terminal and went to the business class lounge. Let me tell you it was F A N C Y! We checked in and they took our passports and boarding passes, I was thinking it was because they wanted to make sure that we weren’t lying about being in the business class lounge. Dustin thought it was weird because every time he had made this trip, the people in the lounge never took his passport, let alone his boarding pass.
So we went back, and there was a wonderful spread of food and drinks with relaxing chairs/atmosphere. Once we put our carry-on bags down we went straight for the food. I asked Dustin how much this was and the best words came out of his mouth, free! You better believe that I took advantage of that! There were wonderful sandwiches, soups, cheese spreads, fruit, and drinks, yes this included alcoholic drinks! So I helped myself. We ate, a lot, and settled down to watch a movie on my laptop. Before we started the movie I decided to go check on where our passports were and tickets, as we all know passports are precious property when one is traveling internationally. I went to the counter and the girl behind said that the other woman had taken them downstairs to get us checked in. I asked why they didn’t check us in when we came into the lounge and she said it was because their computers were down. So I asked why they didn’t just tell us to go downstairs to check ourselves in and she said something along the lines that they didn’t want to inconvenience us. I stated that it wasn’t going to be an inconvenience because I didn’t mind doing that; I minded that someone we didn’t know had our passports. She reassured me that it would be okay and the woman should be back in 10 minutes.

I went back and told Dustin what was going on and we started the movie. After a little while we realized that we had to get ready to head to the gate to board our plane. So, we got our stuff together and headed to the counter. We found that there were a lot of people there; I waited my turn only to find out that the woman who had our things was not back yet. I complained that we only had an hour till we boarded our plane. She did explain that there was something going on and no one was boarding planes or getting past security so not to worry. I also reminded her that she had the most important documents that we had (other than our passes to live in Singapore) and that put us on high alert. Now we all get heated when we know we need to be somewhere and don’t have the proper documents. I was not the only one who felt this way everyone else who was on the business class flight to Japan felt the same way. Dustin, being the most wonderful man ever, stood to the side and let me give the girl behind the counter my thoughts. I told her that if we miss our flight that her company will have to pay for it. It was not our choice for the woman to leave with our documents, she could have told us to go downstairs. Once I paused someone else came behind me and started saying the same thing. We were all mad and upset and after a half hour the woman appeared with all of our items. Once we had our passports and boarding passes I was relived. I was even more relieved when we got to our gate and they had not started boarding. We waited about 15 minutes and the boarding started.

Once we got on the plane I was truly impressed. The seats were HUGE. It was like two seats combine, not only that but they transformed into a single sized bed, laying down flat. Luxury?, I think so! I was looking at all the stuff that we got. Eye covers, ear phones and even socks! Yes, that’s right, I said socks! The flight attendant came around and asked what I wanted my preflight drink to be. I look at Dustin, surprised, and stated Champagne. After all, we had to celebrate the exciting adventure! Once the plane was loaded and we were done with our drinks the flight attendant came around again and asked what our post take off drink was going to be. Taken back a bit, I told her that I would love my very first Singapore Sling, I thought it was an appropriate drink! After the plane took off I looked at the menu of what was offered for dinner. The food I ate on the plane ride was five star quality. The flight to Japan was mostly me watching movies, talking to Dustin, eating wonderful food, drinking and sleeping. The one thing that did happen was that my TV went out a little more than half way to Japan. I got the attention of the flight attendant and let them know that my TV wasn’t working. They tried to reset it but it didn’t work so they apologized for the inconvenience and would fix it when the plane landed. So for the rest of the flight I read a book and took a nap.

Many hours later (like 13 or 15, I can’t remember) we got up and got ready to land in Tokyo. We knew we were going to be on the same plane so we didn’t think about getting off, until the flight attendance came around telling us we had to get off. So we collected our things and deplaned. Unfortunately we had to go through security, again. So as we approached I knew the drill, I opened up my bag, took out my lap top, emptied my pockets, took off my belt and started to take off my shoes when I realized that everyone around me didn’t take off their belts or shoes. I realized that the protocols that we are used to in the US are not the same in every country. I felt a little embarrassed but oh well, can’t be over prepared right? I mean they did have the 3oz liquid bottle rule. So we waited in the airport for about an hour and boarded again for a six hour flight. The same treatment drinks and food to die for and movies. We had about 3 hours left and I got my tray out again so I could support my book on it and so I could write down what I had to declare. I went to put it away and it would go down all the way. Dustin looked at me and stated that he couldn’t take me anywhere and that I couldn’t have nice things because they break (ha, ha). I looked further into the problem and there was a book stuck down there, it was not from me because when we got back on the plane we were in different seats. Hopefully this won’t happen when we come back home.

Okay, Asia it is! What now..

So, you can understand why going to the beach with our dear friends was such a relief. We could have one week where we weren’t stressing about wedding stuff or when we were going to move to Singapore, we could just relax and soak it all in and that’s exactly what we did. Of course the week went by way too fast and we had to say good bye to everyone and realized that it would probably be the last time we saw them until our wedding day. It was bitter sweet because we knew that we were that much closer to going on our adventure but we had to realize that it would be awhile till we saw our good friends.

Once we got back home we knew we had a lot to do. We had his youngest sister lined up to take over the house and our dog, thank goodness because we wouldn’t be comfortable having someone we don’t know living in our house for a year. We had to move our office from up stairs to the downstairs incase his sister wanted to have a roommate to help with bills and care for our dog Bandit. We also had to pack, not only clothing for a whole year but kitchen stuff, bed linens, and towels. Stuff to make an apartment home. We knew at the time that the company was providing an apartment for us, we lucked out and another person from the company was getting relocated so we were going to swoop in and take the apartment the company was stuck paying and it was fully furnished so we didn’t have to send furniture. About the time after we got back from the beach, say the second week in August we found out when we were leaving for Singapore, and it was going to be in the beginning of September so we had about a month to get everything together.

I was worried about what I was going to do as far as a job goes out in Singapore. I wasn’t really sure if I could work out there because I was on what was called a dependent pass, not an employment pass so I was not sure what the legal issues were. We weren’t too worried about it right then because we knew we would figure it out when we got there. A couple of weeks after we knew when we were leaving we decided to have one last party. The turnout was great; friends and family were all there to say their goodbyes and best wishes. It truly was a great party. The next morning we woke up abruptly because Dustin got an email saying the international movers were going to be there in an hour.

Now we knew they were coming that day, just not when. Of course you can imagine that we were a in a bit of a fog from the celebration the night before. Once we splashed some water on our faces and brushed our teeth we got to it. We put everything we were bringing to Singapore into the bar room to make it easier. As the movers were going in and out and packing us up Dustin got an email explaining that the apartment we were going to get was no longer available due to the fact that the people were not moving anymore. The first words that came to mind were AWESOME. The movers were just finishing up and we had already signed up for the smaller moving containers due to us moving without furniture. So we were kind of screwed in a way because we were limited to looking at apartments in Singapore that were furnished and we didn’t know what to expect.

Singapore? It's a possiblity

When my Fiancé, Dustin, first approached me about moving to Singapore I first thought no, we can‘t leave the life that we have built in Charles Town WV. I also know that Dustin does not like cities so I knew he couldn’t live in one. When I told my girlfriends about it, they too thought that it was a crazy idea because we had too much invested in our home and we couldn’t leave in the midst of all the projects that we had going on, not to mention that we were planning a wedding on top of everything.

After a couple of months we put the whole offer of Singapore behind us and moved on with the different projects that we wanted to accomplish around our house. I was not only excited of our house becoming a home but I was excited to plan a wedding that I knew was going to be wonderful. I have been thinking of this day since I was young, and really thinking about it since Dustin and I decided to live with each other.

Busy was an understatement for the end of Winter/beginning of spring. I was finishing up coaching gymnastics and starting to coach girls lacrosse. Between being a coach, working and planning a wedding I had forgotten all about Singapore. I had found my wedding dress, and we had booked the venue when Dustin’s yearly review came up at his job. His boss decided to bring up Singapore once more. Dustin handled it well and came home to tell me that Singapore was mentioned again. I looked at him and said, "I will follow you anywhere and if that is where you want to go, I am in." My only stipulation was that I didn’t want to be in Singapore for more than 2 years because I didn’t want to start a family in a country I knew nothing about, miles away from our family.

Once Dustin and I gave Singapore a green light, he told his boss. After that the ball started to roll, but for me it was rolling slowly. Knowing that we could move, I was excited but scared. I had all sorts of questions, what are we going to do with our house? Our dog? Our cars? When will we know that we are definitely going? What will I do over there if we move? Like I said, I had questions, millions of them. I also wondered what our family would say. Surprisingly they were all very supportive and told us that if we didn’t go, we’d be crazy.

Dustin put up with so much with me from the time that Singapore was on the table till the actual move. He handled my stresses and freak outs very well. Any other person would have strangled me. I was very excited but I was also very sad because I was leaving my friends and family behind and live in a country I have never been to before and starting fresh with only knowing Dustin. I was also concerned that we wouldn’t be able to afford to come back home to get married, I knew that the company was going to pay for us to go to Singapore but was not sure if they would pay for us to go back home for a couple of weeks for us to get married. (we worked it out)

As work went on and the summer neared we still didn’t know if we were moving to Singapore. This didn’t help because if we were going to move to Singapore we were going to be leaving at the end of August or beginning of September, and I didn’t want to plan a wedding that was supposed to be in Pennsylvania USA while I was living in Singapore, it would just be too much. So the big dilemma I was going though was if we don’t move, I need to get a summer job, but if we do move I can’t get a summer job because I would need to plan the wedding in three months, oh and did I mention we were estimating for a guest list of 200 people? Yes, stress has set in. Dustin could see that and every time I asked if he had heard anything he said no, it was frustrating for the both of us. So I did decide to take a summer job but it was for only three weeks, because that is really all I could spare, IF we were going to Singapore.

The three weeks had gone by from working summer school and we got some news, but it wasn’t want we were expecting. The company first came back with an 11 month contract but I could not go because apparently 11 months in the world of his company was not a long term assignment (insert laughs and a pshh). Apparently who ever made that rule is either single or hasn’t been in a long term relationship or has never been engaged. Once he told them that he would not go without me (aw so sweet) it was changed to 13 months. So we had the word that we were going, but we didn’t have a leave date and we didn’t sign a contract yet. This was about the end of June first week of July (2011).

Once we got that we had to get our affairs in order. About a week or two after we knew we were leaving, there were phone conversations about moving, what to expect and a list of things we had to submit to the Singapore government so we could get the right passes (or to Americans, Visas). After that was all said and done, we officially got our passes to live in Singapore for the year and signed a contract, again very excited but sad and scared. But we still did not get a leave date.

Not to worry, with the help of my friends/brides maids I had gotten most of our wedding plans set. I had so many meetings set up I wasn’t sure if it was all going to be done in time. The girls got their dress, I had cake appointments, florist appointments, photography appointments, everything. We also had a planned vacation to Hatteras for the first week in August, we couldn’t cancel because it was with our near and dear friends from Rhode Island, it had become a tradition and you can’t back out on tradition. Plus there were lots of new little ones who arrived into the world and we had to meet them. By some kind of miracle we had done it. We had booked everyone for our wedding, down to the florist. The one thing we had left to do was to meet with our photographer for an engagement photo session and that would have to wait till after our beach trip.