Gooood Morning Vietnam!

As most of you know, Dustin and I traveled to Vietnam for 3 nights (4 days). We were suppose to go back in April but we had to move it due to Dustin going to India for work. It worked out to be a good move because we were able to spend more time in Nam this way.

When I knew we were going to be moving to Singapore I knew travel was going to happen. I was dead set against going to Vietnam because of what I learned about it in history and was unsure how it would be like for us to go. But apparently I was wrong, the newer generation in Vietnam does not really know enough about the war to have an opinion and the older generation has nothing against us because their mind set is they won and no big deal to have Americans come and visit. I also got advice from friends here who went and loved it, so that helped!

We flew into Hanoi and had to get our visas. We applied and paid for a 30 day visa so when we got into the airport we had to turn in the paperwork and approval letter, after that we went though customs, picked up our bag and got our ride to the hotel. The hotel was called the Charming 2 hotel. Dustin looked it up on Tripadvisor and it came up as one of the top rated hotels in the old quarter. The old quarter is self explanatory, it's the older part of the city where life is a lot slower to the locals than it is to 'regular city life'.

The hotel room was small, but so adorable and Charming seemed to fit! We had a tiny balcony and wifi so we were set. Once we got settled in we decided to venture out. The customer survive at this hotel was fantastic! We turned in our key to the front desk before we left (love this idea so you don't worry about loosing your key) and the person behind the desk asked where we were going. We admited that we didn't know but weren't worried. The person gave us a map, on the map it had landmarks, museums, and obviously road names. On the back it had suggestions of good shopping, site seeing and restaurants. They also gave us their business card in case we got lost we would have the address.

Now before we left my friend Shopie (and others) had warned us about the traffic and that no one stops for you to cross the street and if you stop in the middle of the street, you could cause an accident, they know how to drive around you. The best way to explain it (thanks Jason) is that it's like the game Frogger. (If you are one of my former students or lax players, it's a game that was played back in the day lol) I didn't think it was going to be that bad but wow was traffic amazing. There were TONS of motorbikes, and just like Bali, there were more than two people to a motorbike half of the time. Also, I saw a mom on the back of one holding a tiny baby, the baby was not strapped to her, she was holding it, and luckily they had a tiny tiny helmet on the child. More than half of the people (including children) had masks on, we are assuming it's because of fumes from cars/buses. We noticed that the traffic there was crazy. According to Dustin it was nothing compared to India but to me it was worse than Bali! There was lots of beeping, I am assuming it was to let others know that they were about to get passed and the lines on the road for the different lanes were just guide lines. Crazy drivers over there reminded me of Bali and Rome, just doing what they want in order to get around.

Walking we noticed that there was a sidewalk, but it was mostly used for store fronts, people sitting around a table eating 'street meat' or for parking your motorbike on. So needless to say, we had to walk on the very edge of the street where it met the sidewalk and had to walk one behind the other. Again, I was use to this thanks to Bali.  We also took notice that there were different stores catering to different needs. From fans to touristy stuff. It looked like that the people who ran the stores also lived in them or above them depending on how big the store was. There were also ladies who would carry two baskets with some type of food on it going from store front to store front selling it. Also, the people of Vietnam do really wear the pointy hats (see pictures below)

The first day we took it easy because we arrived in the afternoon, we did a walk around the lake, and then found a restaurant called Legend Beer and decided to sit there on the balcony and people watch. We found that the beer was about 58000 dong which is equal to about 2.00 USD. HELLO CHEAP BEER! We had a couple of beers and amazing food. What I have found on this trip was that every time we went out for dinner, I always ended up with the spicy food (food on the menu was not labeled if it was spicy or not).

The second day we did sight seeing around Hanoi. We went to the Hanoi Hilton Prison and the Military Museum. Both were very interesting and honestly I can't put into words how I felt. Some of you know that I majored in Social Studies when I went to University so I obviously learned a lot about Vietnam and wars. I also took an interest in wars and took a class on battle tactics and learned a lot more about the different wars that the US was involved in compared to basic history class that everyone else had to take just for general ed.

The prison was interesting. To see what the jail cells looked like and how they treated prisoners made a chill go though me.There were some cells that were open and we could walk into them. Of course that is what I did and it felt so freaky, I can't explain it. They had a lot of information and different items to look at like every other museum had but it was just different for me to be there where it all happened. We saw John McCain's flight suit and pictures of him when he was in the prison. I am glad we went there, it is definitely a place everyone should see if they are ever in Hanoi.

Next up was the Military museum. This place had different weaponry from different wars and also explained who it was taken from (country wise) and it also had different planes/helicopters that were captured in the wars. Dustin and I got approached by a man who asked if we wanted to sell us tickets, Dustin said no so and kept walking, then the man came to me (I was walking behind Dustin) and tried to get my attention by trying to grab my arm (not in an aggressive way) and I gave him the look of death and he walked away. It was a hot day and Dustin and I decided to get a beer before we went into the museum.

Once we were done with our beers we went over to buy tickets (5 usd a person) but they were closed for lunch. So we decided to go see the different planes that were captured that were obviously outside of the museum. It was interesting to see the different planes from the US. There was a sculpture of three different planes that belonged to the US that got shot down in the Vietnam war and that obviously hit home for us. We definitely realized that at least one person died in the planes. We were able to go into one of the big helicopters and saw where the bullet went though the front windshield of the plane, that person definitely took a shot to the head. Just seeing the different bullet holes in the planes was weird.

Once an hour passed we went though and saw the different weapons, flags and things like that. It was was really cool to see what they used though the years. It was also funny because Dustin and I caught different spelling errors. Apparently we didn't have a president Johnson, according to this place, it was president Fhonson. It did make me laugh out loud, and of course there were weird looks around wondering why I was laughing at a museum about death and war.

Again a lot of stuff hit home and made me realize what everyone went though and how tough it was back then. After we were done we went walked around and went back to the hotel to cool off. We went out and about later for beers and dinner and walked around to the different shops. We also got tickets to the puppet water show. It is a puppet show but all in the water. Again, it was 5usd a person for front row tickets! It was an amazing show, even though I couldn't understand a word, I enjoyed it!

We booked our trip to Halong bay though our hotel. It was only 40 USD per person to have the company come pick us up, have lunch on the boat and to kayak in a fishing village. At first we weren't going to do it but we just heard too many good things about it. The drive from the hotel was going to be about 3.5 hours. We got on the bus and picked up others from their hotels and were on our way. It was a long and bumpy trip but we got to see the 'country side' of Vietnam and it was beautiful. We did have one stop along the way to use restrooms, shop and eat snacks if we wanted. Where we stopped both times (once there and once back) had very expensive stuff, like statues and stuff like that. We saw rice patties, people farming and little villages. I say it was a bumpy ride because the roads around the villages were not the best.

Once we got there we were talking to others on the day tour and got to know them. It also made us how small of a world it really is, there was a couple on the bus who were from DC! We all ate lunch and looked at the beautiful views. Once we got to the fishing village we were told not to leave money on the boat so we left our good camera and wallets with the tour guide. Once we docked boats full of fruit and such were pulled up to where we docked asking if we wanted to buy anything. I say it was annoying because they wouldn't stop asking us, even after we said no the first three times. After we got ready we went into the kayaks and Dustin and I paddled around. It was so beautiful. We had the intention of going in the water until we saw how stagnate it was. There was also trash and HUGE jellyfish in it, so we did not go it but still loved the fact that we got to do it. After we got back we were on our way to a cave that was discovered only in 93'. We were all surprised that it wasn't discovered that long ago, but then I thought about it and 93 really was awhile ago.

We got back on the boat and headed back to the bus. It was truly a breath taking experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. The fishing village was really amazing. It didn't appear that the kids went to school, their houses were not on land, they were floating, and the transportation was by boat (obviously). It's a way of life I never thought I would see and it gave me more appreciation of the life that I have. 

The drive took a lot out of us and we were leaving for Singapore the next day. All we did when we got back was go out to dinner and look around the different shops. The dinner we had was wonderful, I had the BEST sweet and sour chicken EVER and we didn't really find anything shopping so we called it a night and relaxed at our hotel.

Like I have said before, I am so grateful for the life that I live and don't take anything for granted. Dustin and I are on a trip of a life time out here and we are trying to live up the expat life while we can because in just a few short months we are heading back home for good.  Thank you all for being so supportive and taking interest in how our life is like living over here.

Video of us crossing the street. 


In just a few days our neighbors Jason and Rob and friend Matt will be here and we can't wait. I am sure it's a blog you won't want to miss out on :) 

Pictures Below. The one under the bridge is a random stop for people to get things like food and such. Others are self explanatory.

Thanks for reading and take care!! 

Visitors and a trip to Phuket Thailand!

Our second round of visitors have come and gone. It was so exciting to have Nicole and Sarah come and visit. I haven't seen Nicole in almost four years, I haven't seen Sarah in almost 5 and to be honest, I was nervous at first when I told them they could come stay with us because I haven't seen them in such a long time. But I took a note from past experiences, life is busy and if you really are good friends, you can pick up where you left off. After thinking this, I got super excited to have them here.

The timing was perfect because a couple of weeks before the girls got here, Dustin got notice that he would be leaving for India the day the girls got here so with that, I wouldn't be alone while Dustin was out of the country for work. I met the girls at the airport and we really did pick up where we left off. They talked about their experience in Bangkok and the flight over and I talked about planning a wedding while over here and then started to get into what they wanted to do while they were here.  

I knew that they had already made arrangements to take a city tour and go to the night safari. I took a pass on the city tour because honestly, I don't need to go on one. But I did go on the night safari with them and it was neat. They had the same concept of the zoo as they believed in open spaces and natural barriers. We took the trolly around and there were some parts where the animals could come right up to the trolly, but it was only like deer and harmless animals. I did notice that there were a lot of different types of deer but it was still good.

While the girls where here I took them around the bay, to see the merlion, I took them to Harrys and around boat quay and clark quay. I also took them to one altitude at sunset so they could see the city in a different light. It was such a beautiful view, we saw the sun set on one end and a storm coming the other end, but thankfully we didn't get caught in the storm because for some reason it passed us. I also took them to Chinatown where I learned that it was a lot better than NYC Chinatown. We did some shopping and ate some authentic food as well. The last night they were here we went to our friends apartment for a dinner get together to welcome back our friends who had been in the states. It was so much fun and I am sure they had a good time here in Singapore.

The day they left, Dustin's dad came into town. Lucky for us, he works for the same company Dustin does so he got a free flight over here. His dad has been here before so I was not expected to play tour guide. We went out to dinner, met friends out at Harry's and then to wrap up his dads stay we went to Phuket Thailand. The day we left for the beach, was my 28th birthday and I couldn't have asked for a better present.

When the plane was going in to land, it was beautiful. The water was very blue and it was cool to see random islands sticking out of the water off the mainland. Once we got though customs and such we got to the resort and it took my breath away. We were staying in a 2 room villa and it was amazing. A short walk and we hit one of three pools and then the beach. The beach was so beautiful. The water was rough because of storms coming in and out of the area (it's monsoon season there) so we only went up into our knees. Once we did that, we felt like we were going to get sucked in, the undertow was very strong.

We didn't travel far off of the resort because it was mostly secluded. there was a small shopping center that we went to that was cute and we did get some stuff that was reasonably priced so it all worked out there.  We ate wonderful food and had great drinks and just relaxed by the pools and caught some rays when we could. The weekend went by fast but I am thankful that we got to go. The taste of this island makes me want to go back with Dustin and friends sometime soon!

Once we got back we just hung out with Dustin's dad until he had to leave. I was so happy to have him here because it truly did feel like home with him here. I was sad to see him leave but know we will see him soon when we come home for a visit. It also reminded me that we only had weeks left until our next visitors and adventures.

Tomorrow we leave for Vietnam for three nights/four days and when we come back to Singapore, we will have four days till our neighbors Jason, Rob and our friend Matt come for their visit and it is going to be a blast and possibly a two blog story!

Hope my readers are doing well! Will post about Vietnam when we get back, promise!

Movie Dates

Dustin and I really enjoy going on movie dates. There are some obvious differences between the movies in the states and here in Singapore. Some good and some annoying.

 Back in the sates we would get dinner and then see a movie (or the other way around depending on the movie times). If we are planning ahead we would buy tickets online, from there we would go to a kiosk and pick them up, but sometimes we just get our tickets from the person in the booth if we are not planning a head.  If we don't get dinner and just go to an afternoon movie of course we hit up the snacks, popcorn and drinks of course. In the states, when the movie is getting ready to start there is a reminder to everyone to not talk during the movie and to silence your cellphones.

Dustin and I have been going to movies here, it's become our thing. We love movies and go usually twice a month. Here most movies that have just come out are about six weeks after they come out in the states. I can't tell you what the first movie we saw over here but I can tell you that when we walked up to the ticket booth to get tickets I was excited. The reason is because when we told them what movie the person turned the screen around and asked what seats we would like. Yes, we got to pick our seats! That was just an amazing option to have.

Once going though the first movie, we found that we can also buy tickets online here. The coolest thing out of all is that after you pick your seats and buy the tickets they can either send an email to you that you take up to the ticket booth line that is spacific for online bought tickets or you can have it sent via text to your cellphone. At first I thought that we would have to take it up to the ticket booth but no, they have a scanner in front of the different halls. All you have to do is bring up the text on your phone and put your phone on the scanner and the tickets print out, so no waiting in line!

The think that I have noticed since being here is that the theaters don't have a reminder to be quiet during the movie or to silence cellphones. I found it a little odd but thought nothing of it. During the previews, everyone mummers something and it's usually along the lines of wanting to see the movie when it comes out. I honestly was not bothered by the talking during this time. The think that is the MOST annoying is talking/kids crying/cell phone rings during the movie that you paid to watch. I don't know if it feels the same to you but to me, it's just rude.

I have found that there is a reason why there isn't a reminder before the movie starts, because it's just not a thing they care about here. It seems like everyone is talking, and it's not whispering! It's the most annoying thing because they can be loud, trying to talk over the movie. Honestly if you wanted to talk like that wait till the movie comes out on dvd and rent/buy it and watch it at your house where you can talk all you freaking want. Cellphones have gone off as well while we are watching a movie and it does not vibrate it rings, and does the person go out of the theater to answer it, NO they answer it right there! It's so rude because they are disrupting the movie and being distracting.

I don't know about you all but I get upset when people are talking in the movie are talking on their cellphones. It's just a known no-no because you don't want to disrupt others or frankly miss what is going on in the movie. There has been points where I feel the urge to shush people but I am not sure if it's okay. I have done it once but they ignored me.

So all in all the movie experience has it's pros and cons. I really do hope that the US theaters take a note from Singapore and get the technology for the online ticket scanners via text message and picking seats.

Thanks for reading. I should be putting up a blog about our current visitors tomorrow or so! Take care all!

"A Man's Best Friend"

"A Man's Best Friend", when you see this quote or hear it from someone you automatically thing Dog(s). Now not everyone is a dog person or owns a dog but they know what it is like to own a pet. I don't know about you all but our dog Bandit has become our son over the past two and a half years we've had him.

What really inspired me to write about this was our friends Dave and Colleen just lost their German Shepard Sieben whom they have had (Dave mostly) since he was a puppy. Siebes was such a great dog, well behaved and just a big bear of love! Bandit and Siebs went on many a camping trips and chased many tennis balls together with Siebs brother Jack. These three dogs together was great and entertaining! I am truly sad knowing that when we get home Siebs will no longer be there but know he is in a better place now.

Dave said it best, Don't take any time for granted with your best friends and loved ones. He is so spot on with this comment. This is comment is not only for humans but for our pets as well. Pets have a special place in our hearts. Honestly if you are a pet owner you know what I am talking about. Our pets listen to anything we have to say. I know I found myself talking to Bandit when it's just him and me at home (Now I talk to myself here in Singapore and I think Dustin is thinking I am crazy and that I was covering it up by saying I was talking to the dog when I was really talking to myself lol). Our pets are there for us when we need to cry and don't have a human to hold us, they are there to sit in our laps or lay a head on our legs and show that they love us. It is said that our pets are very sensitive and know when a person is depressed, sad, happy or about to (to some) have an epileptic episode.

Pets are loyal. They do something bad, you yell at them and then ten minutes later they are loving you again. When we first got Bandit he was really scared and sad because to him we ripped him out of his home that he had known his whole life and brought him to our house that does not have any other pets. Once he warmed up to us, he has never left our side. He has eaten stuff he should not eat and had accidents in the house (not his fault, Dustin was sleeping and I was late getting off work) he's been a typical dog and has won our hearts over.

You all know being away from home has been hard for us in different areas. The absolute HARDEST thing we have had to deal with is not having our Bandit with us. If you all have been keeping up with the blogs you know that Bandit got really sick and had to have surgery. We were so thankful that Dustin's sister Emily, her roommate Krystal, her boyfriend Justin and our neighbors Jason and Rob were there to help care for him. Knowing that he could have not survived made me miss him even more. Luckily he survived and healed well, but if we would have lost him while we were away, I don't think I would have forgiven myself about being away.

When we heard the loss of Mr.Siebes we took it hard and really truly miss Bandit and can't wait to get home and see him. My fear is that he has forgotten us, but I am staying positive that he has not because when we skype with Emily we ask to see him or she calls him over, we say hello to him and he doesn't make the connection but just seeing him eases our feelings. I have never taken our boy for granted and never will. I can't wait to play ball with him and take him on long walks when we get back.

My heart hurts for our friends who lost their best friend, their son, their Siebes. Nothing will ever replace him and no one will ever forget this wonderful dog. If Dustin and I were home we would be right there with our friends helping them heal the gaping hole in their heart. We know that if the roles were reversed, they'd be there for us. I know they will heal but they will never fully get over the loss of their pup. Dave and Colleen, stay strong and know he will always be missed. It is really tough right now, I am sure but soon the wounds will heal (never completely) and with each passing day you will remember him without being so bummed out compared to right now. We love you guys very much and can't wait to be home with you two!

To all of you out there reading this. If you are a pet owner take five minutes to love on your animals. They love you unconditionally, show them how much you love them. You never know what will happen, live every day to the fullest and love unconditionally. Don't get too upset with your animals when they do bad things, just enough so they won't do it again because trust me, you will laugh at the things they do when time has past. I know Dustin and I still laugh at Bandit when he ate an entire pan of jalapeno corn bread that was resting on the counter, he only ate the middle, not the edges! Yes we were upset, but now we look back on it and laugh, and never leave the kitchen unattended when there is food within Bandit's reach (we usually baby gate the kitchen so he can't get in) Laugh off the animals mistakes and enjoy the ride of being a pet owner. I know we have and when the time comes, I will be a mess but know I will have people there to be by my side. (including friends animals). I know I have said it a lot but I do miss my boy and am lucky to come home to such a sweet and wonderful dog. I can't wait to give him LOTS of hugs when I get home. He may even get to sleep on the bed the week before Dustin gets home, just don't tell Dustin I said that ;)


Bandit boy Camping
RIP Siebes, we love you!

6 Months already

St. Patrick's day marks our 6 months in Singapore. A lot has gone one in the past six months and I can't believe our adventure here has reached the half way point. It really seems like yesterday that we landed here and started this crazy time.

I look back and realize why (for the most part) the first couple of months were so slow for me. The first couple of weeks were entertaining because I was getting to know the area and learn how to live the city life. But as life slowed back down and we were settling into the life I realized that, in the beginning, I didn't have friends and so I was lonely for the most part because our friends here work during the day and I was not working or volunteering yet. (This by NO means is a pitty party for myself, I am just explaining how I feel/felt because it is about me and adjusting to living here.) Not to mention that the Holidays were approaching and it was the first time I ever spent holidays away from all of my family.

I think that after the holidays was when things started to really speed up around here. We were booking trips and I was really settling into the life around here, making a lot of friends though volunteering and not being shy when our friends (you know who you are) invited me out on nights that Dustin was working, I just accepted that I need to live here like I would live at home and go out with my friends even though Dustin can't make it (That was huge for me too). I have tried and failed at Dragon Boat racing because my shoulders can't take it, but I have made a lot of friends from the team. RDA is also helping with friends and as you all know, I always look forward to Wednesdays because I not only love the kids I work with but the volunteers and our girl catch up time at the polo club after for lunch. I am considering stepping it up to two days a week. I have also started rock climbing again with friends who do that as well and am looking forward to once a week with possibly Rich and Will if the are interested (already climbed with both, looking for a once a week thing)

We are also booked up with visitors from now until we come home for the wedding. We had our first visitor, Jinsoo, in Feb and it was absolutely amazing. I am looking forward to my high school friend Nicole and my college roommate Sara to come in visit in April. Dustin and I are going to Vietnam and we come back two days before Nicole and Sara get here. Dustin's dad is coming to visit us from April 20 to May 2. Now this is no vacation for him, he and Dustin work for the same company and his dad worked out a business trip. I can't wait for him to come visit!

After that in May we are having our Neighbors Rob and Jason come with Jason's friend (now our friend) Matt and we just found out that our friend Todd will be coming out here on business in May as well, such a great surprise and we can't wait for him to come. After them it's my Co-workers the Jen M and Jen F and Jen F's daughter for two weeks, The girls and I are planning on going to bali while they are here so that should be fun. After they leave, a week later my friends the Jacobs (Kara and Gavin) are coming to visit. They will be in Singapore for a week and then they are taking a trip down to Bali. I go home three days before they come back to fly out of Singapore. We are so blessed to have so many people to come out and visit us, it truly is amazing :)

I have a feeling the next six months are going to go by fast (too fast if you ask me now), with visitors, us taking trips in between visitors, our trip home, before we know it October will be here and we will be heading home. I have said it to our friends here, it will definitely be bittersweet to head home. Dustin and I will be excited to continue the life back in the states that we put on hold but we will be missing our Singapore life as well.

Dustin will be coming back to Singapore for work about once a year and I am hoping to save up money every year to make the trip back with him so I can see our wonderful Singapore family. That's just what our friends out here in Singapore have become, family. We have celebrated/will celebrate holidays with them, birthdays with others, house parties, rugby games/celebrations and an engagement (yay Will and Sophie!). With each day that passes I feel so blessed to live the life that we do and to have the opportunity that we have over here.

Thanks so much for reading! Until next time!

First full session of RDA

As you all know, I have been doing Riding for the Disabled for awhile now. This past 8 weeks have been so wonderful and have gone by way too fast. Being in the special education field back at home I know that the kids can teach you something new every day and make you really appreciate the life you have.I really do look forward to my Wednesdays with the kids and the other volunteers, it's such a great day!

Though the weeks we got the kids to not only learn how to ride a horse but about horses and riding. We saw the kids improve and grow as riders and knew that if the term was longer than 8 weeks we would have been even more impressed with their abilities.


We set up zig zag courses for the kids to learn how to steer with the hopes that by the end of the 8 weeks that they would be able to steer the horse with no side walkers and no leader. Some students didn't get to reach that point but they did reach it to where the side walkers were watching at a distance. We went on trail rides or the Jungle walk, it is shared with the polo club. The kids really do love this walk, and to be honest, so do I. We usually took the short route but the last walk we did was the long one and all of our riders were amazing. Sophie, Kathy and I only had to tell our riders (girl and boy) once how to sit while going up a hill and down a hill.

It wasn't all sunshine and butterflies, we met challenges with both the riders but were able to work them out. Keeping one of our riders focused was a challenge in the beginning, yes a lot of it had to do with the child's disability. Between the three of us we were able to get him to focus more on the tasks at hand than what was going on around him. It was exhausting because we had to constantly say the his name and make sure we had his attention. But with that, at the end this he made great progress.

From what we found out this child was in the program last year and all he did was sit on the horse and was just there along for the ride. Knowing that and seeing how he ended this term was amazing. He knew the different parts of the horse, the different equipment that goes with horseback riding and he also knew how to steer the horse but the student wasn't ready to meet that task with out us and the leader Kathy. I am sure that he would have gotten to that point if the program was a little longer. Just to know how far this he has come made me smile. What also made me smile is on the last day there his parents were there encouraging him and happy to see him on the horse. At the end of the session he ran up and gave us hugs saying thank you to us and said that he would see us next time, such a sweetie that I won't forget.

Our other rider had come very far as well. This girl was not interested in the games or the naming of the different parts of the horses/equipment. All she wanted to do was ride the horse. Her skills were amazing but we did also run into challenges with her as well. When she didn't want to do something and we had her do them she would get upset. We let her know it's because she has to be involved in all of the program, not just the riding part. We did calm her down and got her back on track but it did take some convincing. But at the end she did very well, to the point where she was steering the horse by herself down the path.

It was so amazing considering last year she was in a wheelchair. I will say that her mom was there and her mother was just as determined as her little girl. She was taking pictures and tearing up at the sight. We did get to talk to her because the little girl does not talk and we asked the mom if the little girl was going to talk. The mom answered and said she wasn't sure because the doctors said that the little girl would never walk, and she is walking, this makes you believe that anything is possible.

The last day was nice but sad because we knew they were leaving. At the end the students got their progress card and a picture of them on their horse. They in turn gave us a poster that had every one of them on it with horses in the background. We thanked them and told them we hoped to see them next year. There were tears of sadness, some was because the parents were going back to work and the children wanted to go home with their parents. Some of the kids were crying because they didn't want riding to be over. It was definitely sad for me because it is most likely that I wont be seeing/working with these kids.

We don't realize it but these kids can teach us a lot about life. They are just so sweet and amazing and I know how lucky I am to have been able to work with them. I look at the different challenges they have over come and realize that the tough days that I have, aren't as tough as their tough days could be. They are very inspiring and I know that when I meet challenges ahead in my life, I will think of them and what they had/have to over come and realize that I can handle them.

I do look forward to the next session and what new students we get to meet! :)

Our First Visitor!

A lot of you know that Dustin and I were graced with our first visitor from the US, Dustin's friend Jinsoo. We got an email about a month and a half ago letting us know that he wanted to visit us and of course we said yes. Jinsoo is a guy who has traveled to different places and has the luxury of a great work schedule. He had a layover in Hong Kong so he decided to stay there for four days before he came to visit us.

Of course knowing a person was going to stay with us I went into clean mode. I was so excited I couldn't really hide it. He arrived on a Wednesday and I knew that I wouldn't beat him to the apartment because I had RDA that day, lucky for us Dustin was off of work that day. I had a good bye lunch to attend after my RDA session to say good bye to our RDA mate Kim. She was moving back to the UK with her family and I wanted to thank her for being a wonderful person even though we have only been friends for a short time.

After I left the lunch I got really excited so instead of taking the bus I took a taxi home. Once home I was so excited to see Jinsoo because it was a familiar face in Singapore. We haven't seen him since the beach in Aug. I hurried to the shower and was just excited to go out and show Jinsoo what this City has to offer. The one thing I was appreciative of was that he brought a care package with him, the only thing I asked him to bring was pepto because I have stomach issues with some of the food here. He not only brought that but he brought food that we haven't gotten since we were home. (Yes Sophie, Kathy and Ester, I am going to Tanglen mall this weekend! LOL) I couldn't believe it and was so thankful for the package.

We wanted to show him everything about Singapore. Unfortunately Dustin could not take off work so the days that Dustin was working I tried to play tour guide the best way I knew how. We gave Jinsoo books that we accumulated about Singapore and told him to look though those and see what he wants to visit. We asked what he wanted to eat and he stated, the craziest thing Singapore has to offer. Well Singapore does have some crazy foods, especially at hawker stands so we were up for the challenge.

We took him all over. Him and Dustin walked down Orchard road, we took him to Marina Bay and Marina bay sands sky park (that was the first time we went up to the sky park) and from there we could see all of Singapore, it was beautiful. We walked to a street that was mostly Muslim because he wanted to see a Mosque, he wanted to see if we could hear the call to prayer. Little did we know that we went to the Mosque at the right time, once we got there the call started. It was the first time I heard it in person and was in awe, I thought it was so cool to witness.

I am not going to go day by day with what we did because well that's boring to read. We took him to all the spots, Chinatown, Little India, down town in the Colonial district, Orchard Towers and even the zoo. We wanted him to experience the city how we did (some times).

The food that he ate was interesting. He ordered curry fish head. Yes it is exactly what it sounds like, fish head cooked in curry. We did take away and he didn't get rice so I made some for him. I almost threw up from watching him eat the eye of the fish! It was something I will never try. The next dish I saw him eat was mixed pig organ soup. Yup, he ate a mix of pig organs, from liver to intestine. I can't believe his guts to eat what he did. When him and I went to Chinatown he decided to get frog legs. Now I use to live in Florida when I was younger, so I was familiar with frog legs, I have eaten them before but honestly have no taste for them anymore. He ate pig organ congee, pig brain soup, satay prawn, head and everything! He definitely concord his goal of eating interesting food. He did eat some things that was normal but some times not so much, but when's the next time he is going to be here? I am glad he was eating 'outside of the box'.

We did fun things like wake board, ride bikes on the east coast and him and Dustin did the extreme bungee with Dustin at Clark Quay. He also enjoyed the zoo, I enjoyed the zoo. It was one of the coolest zoos I have ever been too. They believe in natural barriers between you and the animals. The animals were beautiful and we lucked out with the weather. Jinsoo and I went out during the middle of the day and if it is bright and sunny, you are toast if you don't have proper sun protection and water. Thankfully for us it was over cast and we weren't feeling like the sun is pounding on us. But we do know that even though it is over cast we can still get burned by the sun, we are only 50 miles from the equator so I always make sure I have the proper sun protection on.

I am glad that Jinsoo came out here. Yes he did go out on his own on some days and I was kind of thankful for that because I do enjoy my 'me time' which only lasts about an hour or so, then I am ready for some company, call it selfish but I am sure there are some of you out there who enjoy their 'me time' every once in awhile too.

Having Jinsoo here reminded me of home. I don't know what it was but it made me more at ease and made me feel more at home here in Singapore. I do have to say that I have come far since the first month of arriving in Singapore. I think it had to do with the Holidays. But I am enjoying Singapore more and more, and having Jinsoo here really made me realize that. I have made lots of friends here and it makes me realize that it will be bitter sweet when we go home. I will be happy to be home but I will be leaving my Sing family behind. I know that all of us will be keeping in touch and Dustin will be making it back to Singapore for work so I am hoping that we can save up enough money to where I can tag a long with him as well so I can visit our friends.

I am looking forward to our visitors coming up. Trust me there are a lot coming. March is the month where we have a break from visitors. April we are having my high school friend Nicole and college roommate Sarah visiting us for four days (they are visiting Bangkok first) then the day they leave is the day Dustin's dad may be coming to visit us for awhile, yes he will have to work and he's been to Singapore before (D's dad works for the same company D works for) but it will be amazing to have family here. After that in May our neighbors and Matt are coming to visit us for two weeks, My co-workers and friends Jen M, Jen F and Jen F's daughter are coming in June, then Finally my co-worker and friend Kara J and her husband are coming in July, they leave for Bali two days before I leave for home. So needless to say, we are going to be busy and I can't wait to see everyone and introduce them the Singapore I have come to know and love :)

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!