It's Spicy

There is an Amish community close to where I grew up.  They have a grocery store where I buy many of our staples in bulk and most all of my spices come from there as they have good scent and flavor and a great price.  One of the major things I noticed in Singapore while visiting a few different grocery stores is that "western" spices are hard to find and if you do find them they are crazy expensive. 

Yesterday I went to the "Amish Store" and stocked up on spices to take along with us.  As I was there I was thinking to myself "which spice best describes this experience you are going through?"  I have come to the conclusion that cinnamon best describes how I am feeling about our move to Singapore right now.

Why cinnamon?  Well think about it, cinnamon can be very mysterious, when it is used in chili for example, it is there but you can't quite put your finger on what that flavor is.  There are certainly things about this move that are very mysterious.  We are moving to the land of the unknown, a land where things are not hidden but yet they are waiting to be discovered.

Cinnamon can also be hot and spicy, sweet and savory all at the same time.  I am thinking of a red hot cinnamon ball, at first I just want to spew it out of my mouth as it is burning my tongue but the more it lingers the more I like it, the sweeter it becomes.  I have had some very spicy moments during the prep for this move in fact I have cried more in the last three months than I have in the last 15 years!  Why?  Well I am a woman for one and we have emotions and sometimes those emotions just become too much to hold inside.  We are facing a separation from all we know, both people and things.  I know that my husband still will have to travel once we are there leaving the boys and I in this foreign land and I can't just get up and go to my parents for a visit or my grandparents.  These are the thing I want to spew out of our move.

 On the other hand as I linger in the reality of our move it is sweet and savory too.  What an opportunity for our family!  God has already laid in our path two families, the Goetz and the Lee family who have gone above and beyond to make us feel comfortable with our move, they have been amazing with answering questions and offering much welcomed advice.  We are really looking forward to developing relationships with them.   These are the things I savor about our move.

Cinnamon can also be front and center and really enhance the flavor of a dish, for example french toast, french toast just is not the same with out cinnamon.  I do really think this move of 2 years is going to enhance the flavors of our lives and grow our family closer together.  As we go through all the emotions and all the practical steps to get ready for our move I am just going to choose to think of cinnamon and how it really adds a dash of fun to my coffee in the morning.

Bike For Hire

The way we phrase things tells a lot about what area of the world we live in.  When we were in Singapore we noticed that they do not use the word "rent".  As the housing agent was driving us around she would point out areas where we could "hire" a DVD for the night.  I was thinking hmmmm just what will that DVD do for me if I hire it?  In reality it will entertain us but I just found it odd that we could "hire" a DVD, we could "hire" a bike for the day etc...

We also noticed that when you do want to "rent" an apartment it is very different than how it is here.  Usually in the states you see the apartment, know what the rent is,  sign a lease if the landlord likes you and then pay the first months rent with a security deposit.

 In Singapore you see the apartment and then ask for a second showing of the ones you like.  At the second showing you make a list of the things you want the landlord to do before you rent their apartment.  We asked for some blinds and curtains and for the installation of ceiling fans in the rooms.  It is new construction so this is not a big deal to ask for these items.

  After you have your second showing and your list, the housing agent writes up a "Letter Of Intent" which you present to the landlord.  In our LOI we offered less rent than what they were asking as rent is a negotiable item over there.  The landlord then made a counter offer of which we accepted.

When presenting the final Letter Of Intent you must include a refundable check for the first two months rent plus an additional months rent for the security deposit.  We discovered today that the landlord still has not signed our LOI that was accepting her counter offer.  This means that we do not for sure have a place to live yet.  We are assuming that she will sign it since we agreed to all her terms however, she can still show the unit and if someone else makes a better offer she can accept that even though she has our check but she would have to give the check back to us if we do not actually move in.  It is very weird to me that there is no time limit on her to sign the LOI that was submitted to her.  I am sure after we live there a bit we will understand this better. 

In the mean time we are happy we can hire a bike for the day so we do not have to ship ours.

Just Let It Go

The lady from the Moving International Group came this week to assess how much stuff we think we are bringing and help us decide the important things to take.  She was helpful and had some really good points for us to consider.  I did get a bit nervous though as I thought we would be well under our shipping allotment and she informed us that we are right there and really can not bring much more than what we told her we were planning to bring.

 I think I have come to the conclusion that I am "nesting", you know, it is what pregnant women do before the baby comes.  You want to have everything just right and all prepared for your little birds when they come home.  Well I want to have everything just right so that when we reach Singapore it will be just like home.

The reality is it will not be just like home it will still be home but not just like home.  I can not escape the fact that we are moving to a whole new culture, a new and challenging climate, a high rise apartment, public transit, noise, lots of people and chaos all around.  The realization that I am trying to avoid that by bringing just the right stuff with has come to light. 

It will not matter the things we have with or don't have with.  It matters that our family is together, that we will have a place "to hang our hat", that Scott will not have to be away from us all the time and that we have a God who loves, cares for and provides for us beyond what we can imagine.  It matters that we have family and friends who love us and care for us and pray for us and that is not going to change based on weather or not we remember to bring the zip locks into a zip lock less country.

So today my friends I am trying to just let it go and go where we are being led and trust that if we need a plastic bag, we will find a plastic bag.

Just A 6 Pack Will Do

It is funny how different things can pop into your mind while you are at Target.  We are out of paper towel and with a family of four and all the cooking I tend to do I use quite a bit of paper towel, not the greenest thing I know but we do go through it fast.

 As I was looking at all the paper towel options in Target, it dawned on me that I really did not see any paper towel in any of the stores that Scott and I visited while we were in Singapore last week.  In fact, I really did not see packages of napkins, paper plates, paper cups etc.... I am hoping I just was not looking in the right spot!  I did use a paper napkin at The Coffee Bean, so I know they exists.

  What we did see were big packages of those little travel size tissue packs, they are very cheap.  These are the tissue packs you use to mark your table at the Hawker center and I am told that in Singapore they are used for "everything".

  So maybe they don't have paper towel, we will have to investigate further upon our arrival in the country.  In the mean time it hit me as I was searching for the paper towel I usually purchase that I only have about 6 weeks before we move so it is foolish to purchase a big package of paper towel.  For now, just a 6 pack will do.

Hot Water and Air Cons

Air conditioning is essential in Singapore, IMHO.  As we were meeting with our relocation company they were talking about how we will be responsible to have the "Air Con" serviced then she asked how often we think we would run it.  I had to laugh to myself as I said "we will run it 24/7"  she replied "oh no, we do not use it that much over here, you only turn it on when you sleep in the bedrooms"  WHAT??  Well as we learned more about the air con in Singapore we discovered that every room in the house has it's own air con with individual control, so you can turn the temp up in the bed rooms and still have the main living area be cool.  OK, that made more sense to me but seriously a lot of Singaporeans although they have air con they do not use it, even in the hotel, the "lift lobby" aka elevator had air conditioning but the hallways did not so it is common to go from a warm area to a cooler area.  I read a blog that talked about making sure there was an air con unit in your kitchen before making an offer on the apartment.  Our kitchen will have air con and trust me it will be on! 

So why not central air?  Well it has to do with saving energy and utility costs.  I mentioned before that each bedroom had its own complete bathroom.  We found out that each bathroom has it's own individual hot water heater before you get excited about that, the master bath has a whopping 12 gallons and the other bed rooms have a 6 gallon tank.  In addition you have to turn on the hot water switch before you want to shower, like 20 minutes before you want to shower.  The tub in the master bedroom will not be able to fill up with one tank of water but really I am thinking a nice cool bath will be refreshing.

They do much to conserve energy, each outlet also has its own on/off switch, just about every morning we were there I would plug in my curling iron to come back and find it cold because I forgot to turn the outlet on.

Jet Lag

You know,....... Jet lag can do some pretty funky things to you.  I am sitting in the MN airport awaiting our flight into our home town and I have to ask, "is it real or is it memorex?"  Everything is moving in slow motion right now, freaky. 

We had a great trip and upon arrival in MN we got an e-mail from our housing agent, it looks like we will get our first choice apartment.  This is really a provision by God as the market is really tight in Singapore and we offered less than what they were asking.  Of all the 11 places we viewed this was by far the best one for our family with a bus stop at the end of the entrance that will give the boys and I easy access to the city as Scott will have to drive to work.

  We are renting furniture over there as it would be crazy to buy for just two years and it is cheaper to rent furniture than it is to slow boat ship furniture from here so ours will just stay stored until we get back.  I guess it is common over there to rent a temporary set of furniture so it is there when we arrive, the furniture company will come in and set everything up for us.  Then you go to pick out your rental furniture and the furniture company comes in and switches everything out for you.  This is a new avenue for us but we really have confidence in our relocation company they were great this week in helping us get orientated to Singapore. 

Luckily jet lag will only plague us for a few days then we should feel "normal" again.

Coming and Going

Well, that's it.  In a few hours we board the plane for our 28 hour trip back to WI.  This week has been a very busy, very informative, very difficult, very hot, very tiring  and yet a very good week.  We are definitely ready to come home!
We went to a HUGE department store tonight in Little India, we were told about it by our housing agent, it is called Mustafa's and it takes up two city blocks and is 4 stories tall and is open 24/ 7.  The taxi guy said "they have everything in there" and he was not kidding we found stuff in there that we were told Singapore does not have including Snickers candy bars.  The tooth brushes we saw early in the week at a store were 9+ dollars, at Mustafa's they are $3.50.  It is one of those stores that you have to take the time to look but if you are willing to dig a bit you will find treasure.  We checked expiration dates etc... and it was all good stuff.  We took the taxi there but when we were ready to come home there was a huge line by the taxi station when we realized that all those people were waiting for a taxi we decided we should walk a bit and try to find a different taxi station.  We walked about 3 blocks and found an MRT station, we are getting pretty familiar with taking the MRT so we navigated our way back to the hotel via MRT and saved about $8.00 by doing so.  It really is easy to get around this city if you just take the time to learn it.
We also put an offer in on an apartment for our family to live in, we should know by next week if it was accepted or not.  I got a very long and encouraging e-mail from our new friend here she has just been great and is a wealth of information as she has lived here for 13 years.  She even had a contact for a violin teacher for the boys that she knows personally and he will come to our apartment to teach them, I Will be contacting him soon! 
While we have been here we have been handed the name of a Diabetes Dr. with personal reference from our housing agent, the name of a violin teacher, and numerous store and business contacts.  Not to mention our whole hair cutting adventure. 
Final survey, Singapore will be a fine place for our family to live, if we have to move away from all we know and love this isn't a bad place to move.  It will be hard to move as we will miss our family and our friends and I am sure be homesick but having been here this week, it will be a little easier as we have a better idea of what to expect.

Chili Crab

Chili Crab is a national dish in Singapore. It was created in Singapore and is well known. Scott has been to "No Sign Seafood" with work while here on business so he knew it was a good place to experience the Chili Crab. It is a full chop stick only restaurant so it took a bit of practice but before long I was able to actually pick up even the rice with my chop sticks.  Please note we walked to the restaurant to eat this Chili Crab and anytime you walk anywhere over here you can say good bye to the hair style so I am thinking I am going really short when we get back next week, I notice most women over here have very short hair :)

We ordered some Lemon Chicken first as I am not a sea food eater so I knew I might not like the Chili Crab.  It comes as a whole crab in a dish of chili hot sauce and you crack the shell off and dig on in.

So I took a bite, hmmm, no thanks, Scott was pleased to eat the whole crab

and I really enjoyed the Lemon Chicken.  Maybe this will be a taste I will develop over time?  It really was a texture issue, not really rubbery but just not quite right.

Little India Adventure

We decided to go and walk around Little India, a neighborhood in Singapore, it is amazing  how you can cross the street and be in a whole new world in this city.  Little India was a MRT ride from our hotel, think subway system, of which I continue to be impressed by the efficiancy and cleanliness of, men even get out of their seats to allow women and children to sit down.  Most of this blog is pictures the buildings were beautiful in color, the people were many and the shops were plentiful definately a fun place to visit if you are in Singapore.  We found a vendor selling fresh coconuts that they crack open and you can drink the cold milk it was very refreshing and just what we needed to energize us, we figured that since it it all contained and he only cracks the shell with the tip of his knife it was safe to drink and for one dollar, you can't go wrong!  I hope you enjoy these photos as we surely enjoyed our time although a bit sweaty but that is our new norm over here.

Little India will be a great place to get some good produce

one hour of internet for about 75 cents

Man selling coconut milk

Yes that is the look of sheer delight on my face, that coconut milk was sooo refreshing

This is the big "open space" area in Little India

colorful building in contrast to the modern highrises in the back ground

Meet the Lees

Meet the Lees' . Maureen is a contact person I found on line for Community Bible Study in Singapore. I went to Community Bible study last year where we live and really enjoyed it. It is an international program so when I found out we were moving I went on line to see if there was a class in Singapore, well I found out that there are six classes in Singapore and was given the name of the lady that helps coordinate all of those classes. I e-mailed Maureen and simply introduced myself and asked about the class, her response was a blessing. She gave her cell phone number and asked that I call her, so I did. We spent 45 minutes on the phone she was in California at the time of the call but she has been an expat in Singapore for 13 years. She told me that when I come she would be happy to help us find things and to answer any questions we may have. After a few more e-mails, I could tell there was a bond forming and that God was providing this wonderful woman for me to relate to in Singapore. When we got to our hotel it wasn't but a day or so and she e-mailed asking if we were here and could we get together for coffee.

Scott and I spent a good part of the day yesterday looking at apartments, we liked one more than all the rest so we went on line to see if we could find a Church that was close to that apartment and we found the International Baptist Church, it is just about two blocks from the apartment so we talked about checking it out today. Maureen called to arrange a time to meet and we said how about lunch on Sunday so Scott could meet her husband, well it turns out they live right by the apartment we like and they go to the International Baptist Church. Whoa. Anyway we met with them after Church and went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch and to chat. It seems that God if making lots of provisions for us with this move. Maureen personally knows a violin teacher who is great with teaching kids, he is 21 and he will come to our home to teach the boys. She told me about QB Foods in Singapore where you can get awesome fresh beef for like 4-8 dollars a pound, and the ground beef is only $3.00 a pound. I guess QB Foods is the distributor to the local stores and restaurants but you as a consumer can just go there and pay wholesale prices. Awesome!! I looked it up on line, it looks great, she will take us there when we come in November and they deliver so that is awesome since I will have to take public transit everywhere. Anyway we are seeing the hand of God in a lot of different areas and really had a lovely talk with the Lees' today. Thanks for praying for us!

Fines and Signs

Today's blog will speak for its self.

Bathroom Talk

I am intrigued by the bathrooms in Singapore.  Yesterday we were at the mall and I was standing in line in the ladies room when suddenly I noticed that there was a picture on the door of the stall.  "That's unusual" I thought to myself until upon further examination I realized that not all the pictures on all the stall doors were the same.  Asian toilets or squatty pots as they are known are really just a hole in the ground surrounded by porcelain and hooked up to water for a cleaning flush.  This ladies room in the mall had both the squatty pots and the normal western toilets, the pictures on the stall doors were either a person squatting or a person sitting.  Ok so I am next in line and the stall that opens is a person squatting stall so I turned to the lady behind me and told her she could go ahead of me from the look on her face as she turned around  when she entered the stall, she had not noticed the pictures on the doors.  Lucky for me the next stall was a "normal" stall. 

Today we looked at 5 different kinds of living options for our family when we move to Singapore, one of which we liked so it is an option.  Here is the crazy thing, EVERY bedroom has a full bathroom sometimes two bedrooms would share a bathroom but usually every single bed room had a bathroom plus there is a powder room off the kitchen and what they called the "common" bathroom.  So the 4 bed room places we were looking at today had SIX bathrooms!!  We were told this is how they do it over here, each bed room has a bathroom otherwise it is not listed as a bed room. 

Another weird thing is the listing of the square footage, they basically take the perimeter of the apartment and that is the square footage so all the closet space bathroom space, hall ways etc... are in that square footage listing and some even include the balcony in the square footage listing, so it is really hard to tell from a description just how big the place really is.

A Snap Shot Of Our Day

Whew, what a day, it is a national holiday in Singapre so Scott and I were on our own today as the relocation company had the day off.  We decided we were going to go out and do some exploring so we walked from our hotel to China Town

In China Town we got on the MRT, Mass Rapid Transit and took it over to Jurong, this is where Scott's office is and we will be using public transit quite a bit while we are here so we figured we better know how to do it.  We found the MRT to be very easy to use and very efficent and clean.

We went to a pharmacy and a grocery store, well actually it was a few pharmacies and a "Giant" the Singapore version of a Super Wal Mart.  We were able to find lots of items that we would use while living here and also learned a few things.  For one we will be bringing all vitamins with us when we come, check out the price of this Vitamin C and tooth brushes are crazy expensive.  We were surprised to find gum!!  And it is Orbit, we like Orbit, it was at a pharmacy so we asked if this was legal, they said yes but do not put it on the ground, of all the places we have been this is the only place we have seen gum, Menthos seems to be a popular brand of mints over here.

After the pharmacy we went into the Giant and realized that we were going to be enjoying alot of fresh Salmon, it is only $2.00 a pound, as well as fresh shrimp for 75 cents a pound and blue crab for about $4.00 a pound, these prices I am giving you are the converted U.S dollar prices.  The store was loaded with fresh fish of all kinds to pick from so I guess I need to learn to cook this stuff as it is healthy and super cheap.

By this time we were hungry so we stoped at a place and got some Chicken Satay and I had some spicy pumpkin soup, it was delicious..

After lunch we took a cab and went to the Jurong Bird Park, we think the cabbie ripped us off, but that is a whole nother story, the bird park was great but the birds were not too active as it was a light rain outside.  The bird park has the largest man made water fall in Asia so we hiked to that and we realized we may be coming to this park often just to escape the noise and business of the city.  Today was a holiday so they were busy but during the week it should be quiet.  The stain glass window is on the roof when you walk in, I immediately thought of my Mom and the beautiful stain glass she does.