Repatriation

What a month and a half it has been! Moving is never easy and moving half way across the world, even when it is back home is tough. We had an idea that we would be moving for quite sometime but only found out when and where shortly before. We really had to scramble to get everything prepared and we are happy to say that are all doing well now in Baton Rouge, Maddie included.

Our last week in Singapore was spent packing up the apartment, spending time with friends, and saying our final goodbyes. We made so many wonderful friends while living in Singapore and it was difficult to leave but fortunately we know so many of them we will see again. Moving out of the apartment was a three day affair. This was surprising to us as it only took us two days to move out of our Houston house that was more than twice as big but now that we have watched them pack, we understand. They cover everything with cardboard. They are box cutting, origami masters. They cut, folded, and taped cardboard around every piece of furniture we had. It was truly amazing.

Derek buried in the mess of packing.

No need to take apart the crib when you can just box around it

I believe there is a glider in there

Last picture in her first home

Our last Saturday in Singapore was spent doing our favorite things. We started the morning off with a run and breakfast in the Botanic Gardens. Our friends started the Fiscal Cliff Running Club when we first arrived and we enjoyed many Saturday mornings in the Gardens with them. We are so thankful that they shared this healthy habit with us and we will continue to do this wherever we go. Saturday night we met the White's and Alexander's who both moved to Singapore about the same time we did and were the first people we had dinner with since we all lived in temporary housing together. We went to dinner at the Marina Bay Sands at one of my personal favorites, Pizzeria Mozza which is a Mario Batali restaurant. Yes I know, it isn't Asian food there is all kinds of great food there and I wanted to eat here just once more before we left. After dinner we went outside to take some final Singapore skyline pictures and managed to catch the Wonderfall water show. Standing at the edge of the Marina Bay watching the colorful water sprays against the bright lights of the city was such a perfect moment for the end of our adventure. It was a moment of reflection and we realized just how much we would miss living on the Big Red Dot.

Our flight to Baton Rouge began early Sunday morning. We had stops in Tokyo and Houston before finally arriving in Baton Rouge 25 hours later. Caroline did an amazing job on all the flights and got a lot of compliments from the crew because she never let out a peep on the long haul flights. She fussed a bit on the short flight from Houston but after 24 hours, we were all a bit fussy. My mom was waiting for us when we landed and helped us get our 9 bags, troller, and carseat to the Residence Inn that has become our home.

Strapped in and ready to go!

Playing in her seat.  Thank goodness for business class!

When you won't see the rest of your possessions for 2+ months you have to pack a lot of stuff!

With a trip to Mexico planned just three weeks after our arrival, we had to get moving on finding a house, two cars, and a nanny. We had already narrowed down our car choices and after a couple days of test driving, I decided on the Volvo XC60 and Derek on the Suburu Outback. Having safe vehicles was our first priority and both of these top the list. We bought my car right away and had to order Derek's so we could get all the safety technology installed. We will hopefully get it the first week of December.

My new wheels

Caroline's new wheels

With the cars handled, we turned to the home search. After a day out with a realtor, we settled on a newly renovated home near the LSU campus and lakes. The house has a lot of character and its proximity to the lakes for our weekend family walks was one of the many advantages of this house. More to come on the house once we move in!

Our nanny search took a bit longer as we had a difficult time finding the right individual. We were originally interviewing candidates who applied with us on Care.com but after a few suspect interviews decided to go with a nanny service and with them were able to find a wonderful new nanny for Caroline.  She is now going to the library, Gymboree, doing arts and crafts, and various field trips.  I look forwarding to sharing some of the pictures of her activities and artwork!

We are still living in the hotel as our furniture is still making its journey across the Pacific. We are hoping to be moved in by Thanksgiving but with recent shipping delays, we might not make it. Life in the hotel has not been easy but we are trying to make the best of it.

We are on the move!

Sporting the American flag she got from the U.S. Embassy when she got her citizenship.  Back to the homeland!

We have now been in Singapore for two years which in our company can only mean one thing...it's time to move!  On Sunday, we will make the long journey back to the U.S. to begin a new assignment in Baton Rouge, LA.  It is hard to believe our time overseas is coming to a close but we are really hoping we will get the chance to do this again.  We have loved the time we spent in Singapore and will miss many things about life here but most of all we will miss the friends we have made.

I lived in Baton Rouge over 5 years ago when we first got married.  I had an apartment there while Derek lived in Houston.  For 18 months I made the drive back and forth every weekend to spend time at home.  We are really looking forward to getting to live in Baton Rouge this time as a family.  I'm sure it will take us a while to settle in and only an hour to make our first Amazon order. Oh how we have missed the convenience of online shopping!

Below are the answers to some common questions we get about the upcoming move:

How long will we be in Baton Rouge?
As far as we know, 1 year.

Where will we live?
At first, we will be calling the Marriott Residence Inn our home.  Like when we traveled to Singapore, it will take 8-10 weeks for our things to arrive so we will have to stay in a hotel.  When our shipment arrives, we will move into a rent house because of only expecting to be there about a year.

Who is going to take care of Caroline since we will no longer have a helper like we have in Singapore?
My mother will be helping for the first couple weeks until we can interview and hire a nanny.  We tried the daycares but the waiting lists are 9-12 months long.

What will we be doing?
Derek and I work for the same company so he will be doing something similar to what he was doing here but supporting the US.  For the moment I will also be doing the same thing I am doing here but supporting a different regional office.

I will do my best to keep the updates rolling.  We did not have a lot of time to plan this move so everything is rushed and we are just trying to make sure we remember everything.  Moving half way across the world with a 6 month old is bound to be a challenge but we are looking forward to another adventure!

Dragon Boat

One of the biggest employee events that the company recreation club hosts every year is the Dragon Boat Carnival.  All the groups and divisions are encouraged to enter teams into the race to compete for prizes and of course pride.  There were over 1,000 employees there competing in 72 boats.  Dragon Boat is quite a popular sport throughout Asia and we were really excited to try it out at the carnival.  Last year we were in Vietnam so we missed it and I was determined not to miss it again this year.  Unfortunately they weren't going to let a 36 week pregnant employee row a boat so Derek would have to do it for me.  He of course came down with a stomach virus a few days before the race so he wasn't able to compete but we still went out to see it and cheer on my group.

Dragon boat is like crew rowing but with rafting paddles and instead of a coxswain there is a drummer.  It looked like a lot of fun and if we are still here next year, then we are definitely going to participate!  Our group didn't win but they certainly had a good time!

My group!  We had just enough for two boats.

Not a bad backdrop for the competition.

One of our groups competing in boat 2.  Notice the drummer in the front and someone to steer in the back.

Life with a Helper

Back when I shared how we will manage to have a baby in Singapore, I mentioned that we would have to get a live-in helper.  We started our search before Christmas as we wanted someone to start around the first of the year so we could get settled in with them before the baby arrives in March.  We found a sweet Filipino woman who was working with a German family and taking care of their two-year-old.  This family was leaving Singapore and so she was happy to come work for us.  While we were in the US for the holidays, Fedelynn moved into our apartment and has been taking care of us ever since.

Derek was uneasy with having someone we don't know live with us but after a month he has gotten pretty accustomed to it.  I am not sure who enjoys having a helper more, me or the dog!  Maddie has fallen in love with Fedelynn and enjoys having her home all day.  I love having my breakfast ready when I walk out of the bedroom in the morning, snacks for me and lunch for Derek packed, and the dog on the way out the door for a walk.  Our helper does all the grocery shopping and errand running so when we get home from work, we get to spend our time together.  I think for the first time in our marriage, we sit down at the table and have breakfast and dinner together almost every single day.  This makes me excited to have the baby come because of all the quality time we will get to spend with her instead of worrying about cooking and cleaning.

I enjoy cooking and baking again because I have an extra set of eager hands in the kitchen.  Our helper is actually a pretty good cook and I admit is better than me at cooking many things.  Our clothes are always washed and put away, the bed is made, and the dishes done.  I know that she is really going to make the transition to life with the baby so much easier! 

I will share a funny "helper problems" issue we have had.  Derek and I realized that we have been wearing the same three pairs of underwear over and over again because our helper is so on top of the laundry and it is getting washed as soon as there is a full load which is about every three days instead of waiting two weeks to do 6 loads like we got in the habit of doing.  I guess it is time to start rotating the underwear (which is now folded and perfectly stacked for the first time ever). We are beyond spoiled!

Confinement: Local Post-Birth Practice

One of the questions I often get from locals about giving birth is who will be helping me during my confinement.  I had heard of confinement before I got pregnant and knew it was something I never wanted to do.  It is a fairly common practice here for Singaporean Chinese, Malay, and Indians and they don't always realize that this is almost unheard of in the US.

So what is confinement?  After giving birth and returning home, the mother is to observe confinement for 30 - 44 days to recover.  During this period she must not shower, use air conditioning, or leave the home.  There is also a special diet to avoid 'cold' foods like apples, pineapple, cucumbers and to avoid 'windy' foods like onions and jackfruit.  There are lots of recipes that are special for confinement and the objective is to 'warm' the body and increase circulation to speed recovery.

In order to do confinement, a relative or confinement nanny is required.  This person will prepare all the food per confinement practices and also cares for the baby, night and day.  The mother is only supposed to feed the baby if she is breastfeeding.  Otherwise she is to stay in bed and recuperate.  I think spending 30 days in bed is much easier when you have 16 weeks of government mandated paid maternity leave like they do instead of the 6-8 weeks that we get.

Most of the Singaporeans I know that have done confinement do it because their mother or mother-in-law insists and are either there the whole time or often come to check up on them.  I know many will hop in the shower as soon as they get a moment alone and I certainly can't blame them for that.  I can't go 30 hours without a shower, less 30 days.

One of the things I like that they do is at the end of the 30 days, they have a full-moon party which is to celebrate the baby being 1-month old and the end of confinement.  This is when friends and relatives all come to meet the baby and give red packets.  Red packets always contain money and are given at various celebrations.  This is what they do instead of baby showers prior to the birth of the baby.  My coworkers have asked if we are going to do a full-moon party and that may be one local practice we decide to follow, minus the red packets.

So would you ever do confinement?

Having a Baby in Singapore

One of the cute onesies I found for our baby!

Preparing to welcome our first child in Singapore has been quite a challenge.  When we found out that we were expecting we had so many questions that needed to be answered.  How is the medical care? Where will we deliver? Will my baby be a Singapore citizen? Who will take care of the baby while we work? Where do we buy all the things we need? The list goes on and on!  After lots of research and talking with other expats, who have gone through the same thing, we are starting to feel like we have it figured out. 

Prenatal Care:  I found a local doctor through recommendations by other expats.  She has been fantastic!  I go for a checkup every ~four weeks and get an ultrasound each time.  I know you do not get that many scans in the US so I feel lucky to see my baby so much.  As for insurance, I have US expat insurance so I pay for all my healthcare expenses out of pocket and then have to seek reimbursement from the insurance company.

Delivery:  I will deliver at Gleneagles Hospital here in Singapore.  It is a private hospital with excellent facilities and we know others who have delivered there.  My mother will be coming over two weeks before my due date and staying for at least a month so that she can hopefully be here for the joyous occasion and help me make the transition into motherhood.

Citizenship:  100% American.  Singapore only grants citizenship to babies born to citizens and permanent residents.  Derek and I are neither so our child will not be granted any status by Singapore.  We are both American citizens so our child will also be an American citizen.  Once the baby is born, we will get the certificate of birth abroad and go down to the American embassy to apply for a social security card and a passport.

Maternity Leave:  As an American expat, I follow my company's American maternity policy which means I get 6-8 weeks paid time off and then I will be returning to work.  Singaporeans get 16 weeks of paid maternity leave and I must say I am very jealous.  Two weeks before my due date I will work from home in case I go into labor early.  No one wants their water to break in the middle of the office.

Childcare:  One of the biggest benefits of having a child in Singapore is the affordability of a live-in helper.  This helper is someone who will take care of the baby while we are at work while also helping with cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and pet care.  The cost of a helper here is equivalent to the cost of daycare back in Houston.  We found our helper last weekend and look forward to her starting in January.   We want to all get accustomed to one another before the baby arrives.

Stocking the Nursery:  We are very fortunate that our company provides a shipment of goods from the US when you have a child.  As I have said before, everything is expensive in Singapore so we are going to fit as much in this small container as we can!  We will be shipping over the crib, glider, car seat, stroller, highchair, changing table, rug, bedding and more.  We are going home for Christmas and will fill our suitcases with baby clothes, blankets, towels, and other gifts.  I already brought back three full suitcases when I was in Houston last month.  Amazon recently started shipping for free to Singapore when you purchase $125+ of eligible items.  We have made full use of this and are trying not to buy anything in the US that Amazon will ship here for free.  By maximizing all of these things (yes, I made spreadsheets), we should be able to avoid buying any baby items in Singapore, besides the secondhand items I have already bought from other expats. 

Feeding and Diapers:  I have always planned on breastfeeding my children so I will be doing a considerable amount of pumping at work.  I know it won't be easy but I'm determined to follow through.  To avoid the high cost of diapers here, we have chosen to go with cloth.  Cloth diapers have come such a long way and now fit and function just like disposables. I did a lot of research on cloth and in the end decided the Gro-Via Hybrid diapers would be the best fit for us.  I'm actually really excited about some diapers!

First Trip:  With the baby expected in late March, we will be in a rush to get their passport in time for our trip to the US in early June for my little brother's wedding.  I will be taking a two to three-month-old on a 24 hour flight so prayers are needed.

Less than four months to go!  Baby will be here before we know it!

One Year in Singapore!

Today marks our one year anniversary in Singapore!  It is hard to believe that a year ago we began this crazy adventure as expats.  Time has flown by and we know our next year will go by even faster.  We are already halfway through this assignment.  In honor of being here one year, we decided to put together the top ten things we love about Singapore and the top ten things we miss about the US.

Why we love Singapore:

1. Safety - it is one of the safest places on Earth
2. Proximity to great travel destinations, and we have taken full advantage!
3. Walking to the grocery store - makes forgetting to buy milk or butter less of a pain
4. Knowing what to wear everyday because the weather never changes
5. Cleanliness of public places
6. Religious harmony - Everyone can practice whatever they want without ridicule.  Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Taoists all get along. 
7. Ease of use for public transportation
8. Government effectiveness due to little bureaucracy - they see a problem and try to fix it, immediately
9. Ethnic cuisine. We love to eat Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese
10. Less housework and no lawn work - Living in an apartment has its advantages.

What we miss about the USA:

1. Family and friends (of course!)
2. Amazon Prime and online shopping
3. Restaurants - Chick-fil-A, Jason's Deli, Torchy's Tacos, Churrasco's, Chuy's, Buffalo Wild Wings just to name a few
4. Food - white meat chicken being the default chicken option, salad, vegetables, Mexican, buffalo wings
5. Good grocery stores.  What I would give to have a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, or HEB
6. Convenience of life - we hate having to go to a shopping mall for everything.  No convenient parking, traffic is terrible, stores are more crowded than Christmas time in the US, almost no drive-thrus.
7. Having more than one season
8. Kind southern manners.  The people here are nice but the majority are not polite or considerate.  Holding a door open for someone goes a long way in my book.
9. Having a patio for a grill and a yard to let the dog out
10. Watching college football at a normal time and getting to participate in all the hype, talk at work, and watching the games with friends.

Despite what we may miss, we would not trade this experience for the world.  It has been truly life changing and we can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us!

Singapore National Day Song

Every year, Singapore proudly celebrates its independence from Malaysia.  This year marks the 48th birthday of Singapore and they go big!  National Day is not for another two weeks but for the past several weekends they have been practicing for the National Day Parade.  Every Saturday we get to see the nine F-16s and F-15s fly around the country and hear the fireworks going off.  I was here last year and was able to watch the National Day Parade on TV and it was unbelievable.  I felt like it was a show they would have at Disney World.  Flawless, bright, cheery, and inclusive.  They execute the ceremony like the Beijing opening ceremonies.  Really a sight to see!

One of the things we find most interesting is that every year they write a new song for the National Day Parade that follows the theme for the year.  Many people don't seem to like the song this year but I will let you judge for yourself.

My Addiction: Teh Peng

I was introduced to teh peng when I first arrived in Singapore and have been hooked ever since.  'Teh' is the Hokkien word for 'tea' and 'peng' means 'iced'.  You may be wondering "what is the big deal since it is just 'iced tea'"?  This is no southern sweet iced tea, it is iced milk tea or teh tarik which means 'pulled tea'.  They brew this strong tea and then pull/pour it by making a long stream that allows the tea to cool and creates a frothy top.  The tea is a bit sweet as they mix it with sweetened condensed milk (or you can ask for it to be 'siu-dai' which means 'less sweet') and some places add a little regular milk to add to the creaminess.  No lunch is complete without a trip to the Kopitiam or Toast Box to pick up a glass.

Brewing my teh peng

I am able to confidently go up to the counter and order my 'teh peng' in perfect Hokkien although I don't even have to do that anymore as they already know what the blond girl is coming to order.  Before I can say anything, they ask "teh peng?" and I just nod my head and wait for them to brew me a cup.  I much prefer my <$2.00 teh peng to the $5.70 iced chai tea latte from Starbucks.  I think it is time to go get some teh peng!

At the hawker center it comes in a bag

Perfect, creamy, sweet, teh peng

Zonkout!

The Recreation Club from our company was throwing an event called Zonkout and when a few coworkers decided to attend we thought we would join them.  The event promised food, free flow drinks (open bar as Americans would say), and lots of fun and games.  The theme was Masquerade so we were given some nice masks when we walked in although we only put them on for a minute.

The food was terrible but everything is better with free flow drinks.  About an hour in they started the program off with a best dressed competition and then games which included modifications of hot potato, musical chairs, and scavenger hunts.  Some winners received gift cards while other winners and losers were required to take a shot or chug a glass of beer.


A few months ago I wrote about how many Singaporeans do not drink and at a party are likely to prefer juice boxes.  Well, this was not the case at Zonkout.  This was by far the drunkest we have seen any Singaporeans get since we arrived.  With free flow drinks, they were consuming tequila shots faster than they could wash the shot glasses.

Sonia and I had to do the traditional Asian photo pose.  We had a hilarious conversation
with coworkers about picture taking prior to the event so we took this one for them.

Beginning of Zonkout at the Butter Factory whose slogan is "Get Buttered, Tonight".  I can't make this stuff up.

Alok, me, Luke, Derek, and Sonia.  Apologies for the terrible photo quality.

Had to get a fun group pose

The event ended early in the night as the club needed to open up to paying customers.  After having a few drinks and little food, we were on the hunt for some great post-bar food.  Normally we would go to Waffle House, Zaxby's, or some other equally greasy and tasty establishment but in Singapore the selection is small so we landed on Hooters.  It was just what we needed! Oh, how we have missed buffalo wings!  It was another unique experience that we thoroughly enjoyed.  It was great to hang out with some friends and meet a few new people!

Our First Visitor

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our first official visitor.  We have had friends come on business so they stayed at hotels but this was the first person to use the guest room.  My friend, Ben, came to visit  for two nights on his way to Japan for his R&R break.  Ben and I worked together a couple years ago in Baton Rouge and have kept in touch ever since.  Around the time we moved to Singapore, Ben moved to Saudi Arabia.  Needless to say, we both had lots of stories to share about our experiences living abroad and it was great catching up.

Living and working in Saudi Arabia is drastically different from Singapore.  Ben lives in a compound in the desert that is protected by a high fence and guards.  He works six days a week, twelve hours a day for six weeks and then gets two weeks off for R&R.  It only rains a couple times a year and is even hotter than Singapore.  Alcohol is illegal, although many try their hand at home brewing and wine making, and women have to cover themselves whenever they leave the compound.  If you want to read more about life in Saudi Arabia you can check out Ben's blog and my favorite post of his about attending a Saudi wedding.

This was Ben's first trip to Singapore and with only one night to entertainment and show him the best sights so we decided on dinner at Jumbo.  Jumbo is known for its chili crab which is popular dish here and a must have if you come to visit.

Wearing our Jumbo bibs so we don't cover our clothing with chili crab

After dinner we headed down to Marina Bay to show him our favorite night time view in Singapore, the Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion.

This was actually the first time we have been able to watch the light show. 

Merlion!

It was great to see Ben and hopefully he will get the opportunity to move to Singapore when he finishes his project in Saudi.  We are really looking forward to more visitors in the coming months!

Surviving Life as an Expat

Being an expat is much easier than it used to be.  I have worked with many people that went on assignments 20 years ago and had a much different experience.  Expensive phone calls home, no English speaking television, wiring money, and a feeling of disconnect from family and friends.  If you have ever wondered how to get by when living half way across the world, I will share what we do.

Communication
Facetime and iMessage are a must.  Just today I was exchanging text messages with my entire family, who also has iPhones, and it didn't cost me or them a dime.  Derek uses GrooveIP since he doesn't have an iPhone and we use that along with Skype to make calls to non-iPhones.  Of course we have email, Facebook, and Google+ messenger to make sure we never miss a thing.  Besides the twelve hour time difference, it is like we never left.  We are able to maintain as much contact with friends and family as we did when we lived in Houston.

Television
Over a year ago we got rid of cable TV and began watching all of our shows on Hulu, Netflix, and AmazonPrime.  With the use of a VPN service, we are able to continue watching all of our favorite shows while overseas.  To watch Clemson football games, we are able to either watch games on ESPN3.com or stream them from my parents Slingbox.

Banking
We have a local draw amount that goes directly to a bank account we opened here in Singapore.  The remainder of our pay goes back to our US bank accounts.  We are able to withdraw cash here and use our local debit card but for the most part we use our Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card.  We got this card in the US before we left because it has no international exchange rate fees.  Absolutely love this card!

Electronics
We decided not to buy new expensive electronics and brought our TVs, KitchenAid mixer, food processor, and anything that was dual voltage with us.  For the TVs and appliances we use large 750 and 1000 watt transformers.  The smaller electronics we had to purchase here.  I wasn't going to buy an expensive transformer to use a hairdryer.

Food
We are able to get much of the same food we could get back in the States.  The price is typically much more but we can still find it somewhere.  With the large number of expats in Singapore, there are many grocery stores that cater to us with products we are accustomed to.  There are also many American food chains like McDonalds, KFC, Chili's, Outback, Baja Fresh, Mortons, Popeyes, Church's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Subway.  Most of those we wouldn't have visited before but after so many plates of chicken rice and bowls of fish soup, that KFC fried chicken sounds like a gourmet meal.  We both eat lunch with our coworkers in local food courts so that is where we get our Asian food fill.  At home we cook our normal dishes and when Derek and I go out we like to get Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Sushi, Mexican, and American/British/Australian/non-Asian cuisine.

Health Care
We have an international health plan and we are able to go to any licensed physician, dentist, or optician.  We pay everything out of pocket and then submit receipts to the insurance company for reimbursement.

Getting Home
Home is no longer a 2 hour flight but is now a 24 hour flight.  It is a long trip and involves at least one stop.  Because Singapore really is on the other side of the world, flights can go in both directions.  We have flown a few times back and it has taken as little as 22 hours and as much as 28 hours to get to our destination.  You watch a lot of movies, sleep, read, and basically write off a day of your life.  Going to the US, you land the same day you leave and when going from the US back to Singapore you land two days after you left.

The world really does feel smaller with the advancements in technology.  I'm only reminded that I live so far away (ignoring cultural differences) when I get a text at 2am or sit on a plane for 24 hours.  It is hard when we want to be with our family for an event or attend a friends wedding which we could easily once do.  Now the trip takes many days, ten times the money, and a severe case of jet lag.  Still, we are thankful everyday we got this amazing opportunity.

May I Offer You a Juice Box?

A couple weeks ago we hosted a party at our apartment and invited a group of the people that I work with. It was a potluck so we didn't have to worry too much about food but we did have to take care of the drinks. The majority of the party attendees were single Singaporeans in their twenties so we would have assumed we needed to load up on beer and wine. Before we went shopping I asked everyone what they liked to drink and the response was "juice boxes". Juice boxes? A little confused, I made them promise that was all they wanted so I didn't go out and buy cases of beer that they wouldn't drink. So, we went to the store and loaded up on juice and tea boxes. Later that day, about twenty adults sat around my living room happily sipping juice boxes.

We found out that most of our guests rarely or never drink alcohol. The main reason is that many of them suffer from the Asian glow when they drink. Their faces and sometimes whole body will become flush which can be very uncomfortable. Couple this with the extremely high price of alcohol and they choose not to drink at all.

So why juice boxes and not soda? I'm not really sure. It seems to be a tea and juice type of culture. I recall one of my first days in Singapore when I went to a lunch meeting and juice boxes were the only drink option. I sat there watching adults sipping on juice boxes and wondering the last time I myself had had one. I think it would have been after a youth soccer game when someone's mom brought a post game snack of Hawaiian-C and Little Debbie Cakes, so about 15 years ago. It's such a contrast from the lunch meetings in the US where you need about two Diet Cokes per person. Just one of those funny quirks of Singapore.

I apologize for the slow blogging these past few weeks. My MacBook crashed and Derek had to take it to the US on his trip. My computer is fixed so when I get it back next week I will share our trip to the Singapore Zoo and some shocking photos from Thaipusam. Hopefully I will have time before we head to New Zealand at the end of the week!

Spending a Few Days on MC

Derek headed to Houston on Friday so of course I came down sick this weekend. I tried to fight it off on my own but when I woke up Monday morning with a 102 degree fever I decided I should go see a doctor. I had yet to visit the doctor since moving to Singapore so this was my first experience with medical care here.

There is a group of doctors that takes care of all the expats from my company so that is where I headed. The doctor that examined me diagnosed me with a stomach virus and wrote me a few prescriptions and an MC note. In Singapore, you are only allowed to take a sick day from work if you have this medical certificate (MC) to prove you were indeed ill. She wrote it for two days and told me not to return to work until Wednesday.

The other difference from American healthcare is that I had my prescriptions before I left the doctors office. The pharmacies here only carry over-the-counter medications and so the real prescriptions come straight from the doctors office. I saw the doctor and was on my way home with my MC and medicine after only 30 minutes. That is faster than it takes just to get your prescription filled at CVS.

I'm following the doctors orders and feel like I'm on the mend. At least I have the Maddie dog to keep me company.

Our Singapore Home

We moved into our apartment almost two months ago and I have yet to post the rest of the photos of our new place.  We got the pictures hung, bought patio furniture, and almost finished decorating.  The first half of the photos can be found here.

Our living area is very open with floor to ceiling windows, marble floors, and our dry kitchen.

View of the living area from the front door.

And the windows slide all the way open.

Our entry way.  We have orchids, our tea set
from Bangkok, and a Chinese good luck symbol
we got at a local shop.

The master bedroom met our only requirement which was to fit our king size bed!  I love the high ceilings and hardwood floors.

Master Bedroom

Master Bath.  We don't keep the window open
when we shower as the people across the
way can definitely see us.

Guest Bedroom

View of the Marina Bay Sands from the
guest bedroom window.

Most of the apartments we looked at had a wet kitchen and a dry kitchen.  We weren't sure at first if we wanted the two kitchens but in the end I'm glad we got an apartment that had them.  The wet kitchen is where we have our large sink, dishwasher, and stove.  My wet kitchen is separated from the rest of the apartment by sliding glass doors and is open-air.  The benefit of the wet kitchen is that when we are cooking and oil is popping out of the pan or the salmon is giving off a fishy smell, it stays outside!  The separation keeps our apartment clean and odor free!  Now, in the dry kitchen we have our double refrigerator and freezer, oven, and bar sink.  Overall I really like the kitchens and will definitely try to incorporate a few of these things in our next home.

My kitchens.  I have a wet one and a dry one.

The yard as they call it.  We put a
shower curtain over the opening to block some
of the noise and keep dirt and bugs out. Also keeps
the neighbors from watching me cook.

Derek enjoying his tea on the porch

The apartment is definitely growing on us and it feels more like home with every passing day.  Now we just need some visitors!

A Little Christmas Cheer

When we packed to come to Singapore we tried to bring only the things we absolutely needed.  With less living space and little storage we decided to leave all seasonal decorations in Houston.  The idea was that we wouldn't be around for the holidays so there was no point wasting precious storage space on a tree.  It seemed like a good plan until we hit the homesickness wall.

This isn't the kind of homesickness where you miss your family (which we do) or want to sleep in your own bed.  It is when you have mentally, physically, and emotionally had enough with the move and miss having the feeling of home and normalcy.  For us, we became tired of all the Asian food and didn't want to eat it anymore but we also didn't want to eat any of the western food that we were replacing it with.  We found ourselves having strange dinners at home eating the only things that we could choke down.  I know one night all I could stomach was ice cream and au gratin potatoes.  Overall, we just didn't feel like ourselves which made us feel uneasy and homesick.  We just wanted to feel normal and have a routine.

To try and get over this I began to nest.  I was baking almost every night (mostly macarons which I still haven't mastered) and cooking comfort food.  I finally settled into a morning routine and began to feel better.  Derek hit the wall a week after me and he went into full "finish the apartment mode."  We hung pictures, bought patio furniture, and did a little decorating but it wasn't quite enough.  We began to realize our plan to be scrooges and not have any decorations was backfiring on us so off we went in search of a tree.

Christmas is a big holiday in Singapore so finding decorations wasn't too much of a problem.  We were able to go to the mall nearby and get a pre-decorated tree and wreath for the front door.  The tree may be small but it is just what we needed to feel like it is Christmas time and make this new apartment we are living in feel like home.

Our little Christmas tree

Our front door

We only have two neighbors so not many people will see this but we realized it isn't for them.  It is for us to see everyday when we come home and realize it is just that, home.  Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Chicken

As our family and friends are gathering back in the US to enjoy a day of food and fun, we are yearning to be with them.  Derek nor I have never missed a Thanksgiving dinner with either of our families so it isn't easy for us to miss this year.  Thanks to modern technology, we have been able to Facetime with them and share a little of the Thanksgiving spirit.

After an uncelebrated Halloween, we decided we would make a point to celebrate all of the US holidays in the future.  We just want to try to feel like we are still part of the celebration.  To do this for Thanksgiving, I baked a couple pumpkin flavored desserts to share at work.  Our coworkers weren't going to turn down cake or cookies and we got to feel like we shared a little holiday cheer.

Our big Thanksgiving dinner is going to be on Saturday with some of the other expats so Derek and I just did a small Thanksgiving of our own.  A whole turkey costs $45SGD and we could never finish one on our own so we ate Thanksgiving chicken instead.  I searched several grocery stores and was finally able to find some French's Fried Onions for our green bean casserole.  When you work that hard to find them and pay that much ($9.10SGD for fried onions!), your casserole tastes twice as good!  Or maybe it is just that taste of home.

Funny story of our Thanksgiving:

Last night I was preparing a whole chicken so it would be ready to go in the crockpot this morning before I left for work.  I was about to wash the chicken when I noticed a little paper tag. I pulled on this tag and suddenly a head popped out.  I let out a horrified scream and Derek came running.  When he asked me what was wrong I pouted "my chicken has a head."  I wasn't about to cook it with the head nor was I about to cut it off so Derek was kind enough to chop it for me.  Of course you can't have a chicken with feet so we had to chop those off too.  Needless to say, that is probably the last whole chicken I buy here.  It was delicious though!

"My chicken has a head..."

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Rock Stars Dinner and Dance

Rodeo'd up!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to go to another Dinner and Dance.  When we went to our first D&D in October we had no idea what to expect but this time we were ready.  The theme for this one was Rock Stars so we decided to go as Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley.  After discussing our plans with a few coworkers we realized they would have no idea who we were trying to be (they were familiar with Taylor Swift but don't know any male country singers).  With no backup plan we stuck with the country theme and dressed like we were going to the rodeo.  Despite a few stares walking to the MRT, we were comfortable and enjoyed having an excuse to wear our boots.
Derek's group had four tables at this event with two being for those that dressed up and two for those that didn't.  We were at the 'not dressed up' tables but seeing as how the other two tables were dressed it makes sense.

Table 1: Jackson 5 times 2

Table 2: Punk Rockers

Like the last one, there was a Chinese Set Dinner served while they had entertainment onstage.  The whole program was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  There was a live band, costume competitions, karaoke, door prizes, and a little bit of dancing.  

Derek and Alex 

Best Male Costumes pretending to rock out on the stage, Alex is playing
guitar

Emcee getting everyone up and dancing

A brave soul volunteering for the karaoke

Caught him dancing!

Our pictures from the photo booth

Another souvenir photo

It was a great night out!  Hopefully next year will bring more D&Ds or Dinner and Dress-up as Derek and I have started to call it!