Just a Few Thoughts for Today

Here is a laugh... I was going through my 'drafts' and this one was there.  Apparently I never posted it while living in Singapore... 

Living here I have noticed a few things, and there are other things I am getting used to:

Fahrenheit vs Centigrade. Yikes. I have a long ways to go there. Steve says multiply by: and I hear blanglkgniohgiohyaghagt. He is incredible! He made me a chart so I know where to set our air conditioners.

My taxi driver was going 120! What is THAT in MPH?

Cenitmeters vs inches - yay for my tape measure :-)

The people in Singapore are so very friendly here. I have yet to find a rude person - well, the other taxi drivers that run us off the road might be considered - but we are safely in the other taxi...

Our bed. We have a fitted sheet, but there is no flat sheet on the island to be sold. So here is the Singapore alternative: Make a comforter and make them all white. Make slipcovers for them to match the bottom fitted sheet. Make it snap at the bottom, Slip the sheet slipcover over the comforter and toss it on the bed. Flat sheet and comforter - that is our bedding. I just take the slipcover off and wash it. Now I don't think this is a half bad idea, if I want a beachy room today I can have beachy. If I want an asian room, I can have asian - just by changing my bedding.

My printer paper is size A4 Steve says. I know it is longer and narrower than the paper in the US.

There are no greeting cards to be found. Happy Birthday everyone - if you want me to send you a card, pick it out and mail it to me ;-) I promise to send it back with a Sing postmark and my autograph - complete with a friendly note from me.

Stationary? Yeah, consider that a no go as well - cannot find anything but computer paper here - darn, if I just had some stamps and ink...

In Singapore and Homesick as Hell... It's an Old Post...

A blast from the past that didn't get posted... probably because I didn't want others to see my pain, but today I don't mind.  There were difficult days being away from home and this is one of them...  Dated October 16, 2008:

My computer is still acting weird and I cannot get these lines out of my blog no matter what I do; not in blogger, not in Word and not in Outlook - sorry for the inconvenience of reading with lines, pictures in random places and odd colors I am tired of worrying about it. I am going to post this now and edit tomorrow if I can.

Expat I am, but I admit not willingly. I am honestly trying - I do see good in everything possible most of the time, but some days it is more difficult than others. Today is one of those days.

On the weekends in the states we always looked forward to with anticipation - where we’re going to go for the day and what were we going to BBQ on Sunday? Who would show up unannounced? We looked forward to the 'drop ins'. Steph’s, Jeremy’s and our friends showed up because they knew BBQ or plenty of good food was on the menu they knew that door swung open for them with open arms and laughter waiting.

My mood lately sucks. I guess I am homesick to the core. I don't think I was made to be an expat. Some people graciously fall in to that place and do so with so much grace that I feel 'out of place' to be a part of such a great group of people. I wish I had it in me to adore every morsel of where I live and the circumstances surrounding our expat life. I wish I could embrace every single moment I am in every place we get to explore. While I do enjoy the change and adventures of getting to know the new place, I never want it to be permanently - heck, not even semi permanently.

Vacations are wonderful - but you know how it is always nice to go home at the end of them? That is right where I am. I know I should feel blessed to be 'living in paradise' but I don't feel that way. I feel isolated from my natural world.

The fact is I don't feel 'blessed' to be away from my children and grandchildren, my car and my backyard, or away from our family or my friends or my home or heck, even my country. I don't feel the need to live a life of paradise or the life of an expat - I was completely content living in the modest home we have with weekends filled with family, laughter, bbq's, good food and giggles and tickles. I miss cooking for our daughter and her cooking for us. I miss our guys fighting over the checks, I miss my Saturday night 'manicures' with our granddaughter, her McDonald's distress calls and I miss her sleeping on papa's pillow just to make him come tickle her.

I miss my pots and pans, my own kitchen utensils, my pictures, my tv shows at a click when *I* want them, and I miss Steph, Jeremy, Liz and Shari calling me just because it was their daytime and my daytime all at the same time.

I miss Tampico dates, women wars (she knows who she is) and not having to fight for a prescription refill. I miss my Friday morning hen session, my Bible and I miss grands’ secretary that I can touch and feel generations of love flowing through. I miss cuddling up in Steve's recliner and watching tv because I can. I miss the pillow fights, the water gun wars (loved the reminder yesterday – sorry if I scared you. I know you have never seen that side of me), the occasional camping and I miss just LOOKING at my camper when we can't camp. I miss my cat, our patio, my porch swing and the swing. I miss our chiminea, sitting outside and chatting in the heat while watching our chiminea fires and marshmallows roasting over that fire, and I miss my darned pillow!

I miss my scrap room to putter around in when no one is home - and going to my daughters to collect my 'missing' loot. No I cannot pick this up and bring it here - how in the world would I chose what is important enough to bring? I NEED it ALL! If you scrapbook - you know what I mean.

I am not sure anyone can wrap their mind around my homesickness or if anyone even has an interest to understand. Every expat gets homesick - I understand that. Most, in the same instance, can look around a room full of their very own belongings that they moved from their previous home and know that home is now here for them - and it is all with them. My home is still living in Louisiana. *I* live here. *Steve* lives here - but the stuff that makes our home what it is - well, it is not here - it is right where it belongs.
I feel like I was plopped on to another planet and the rest of the world expects me to be absolutely thrilled that I am living on an exotic island and in a beautiful condo half way around the world with an outstanding view - and I should just shut up and be content. What is not as obvious is that we can't even get in a freaking car and go for a drive around the block! THAT is not fun, romantic or living in luxury. 

It is on vacation in a far away land, staying in a nice hotel with a great view, with only taxi's to take you to do all your sightseeing, grocery shopping and visiting. We cannot even rent a car here :-(

It. Is. Not. Fun. The vacation is over. Don't get me wrong, there are many times of great fun; we still have lots of laughter and love the new friends we have made - and yes, there are good times. The homesickness gets me most during the week when Steve is working, or when I don't have something to occupy my time – like today. Steve is busy typing out his crawfish boiling technique so the family can do it at home without the ‘pro’.
I dearly love the friends I have made here. 

I thank you Pam and Sarah for trying to understand and for making me as comfy as possible in this new life. I love you both and I love going out with you to the shows, shopping, and eating lunch out. I am sure you are sick of my lack of... belonging, and I hope I don't bring you down - I hope I am cheerful when we are together; I surely try to be. I love you both and thank you so much for making it easier on me – I cannot imagine not having you to be there for me. I hope the lack of interest you see here does not always show – and it is not always as bad as it is today. You truly do make my life easier.

With all of this having been said, I have showed you a few pictures of what I miss about south Louisiana. Of course I miss everyone else that I can get in a car to drive or easily fly to see; but of all of it, home would make it all better. I hope you can feel the love I so desperately miss – and most of all I hope you understand today is just a homesick day and a way of life I would not chose to live, but a way of life we must live. It is not bad, expat living is just not for me.

My rant is over - tomorrow I will be waking to new sunshine and all will once again be right in my world.

Americans Moving to Singapore - What To Bring/Leave

Well, hopefully by now, we are on a jet plane leaving paradise.  We have had a wonderful adventure; we have met many incredible people, seen some amazing sights and embraced our time on a little red dot by exploring its wonders.

Singapore is a wonderful country.  It has taught me that we can live in harmony; all religions and not, all races as one, all languages but we still communicate, rich with the poor and elders with the young.  Respect is huge here in Singapore - the elders are regarded as precious; I see teens and twenties holding mom's, auntie's and uncle's arms in protection.  It moves me to my soul.  I am gonna miss you little red dot.  More than that, I am gonna miss you my very dear friends.  You are what made my life exciting.  Waking in anticipation of the adventures we could get in to, the places we went, the lunches we shared and the laughter.  Oh!  The laughter.  Yes, my friends, I will miss you. 


As we were preparing to be off on a new adventure, I was thinking about what made my move here so easy and the transition so smooth.  When I first found out we were moving to Singapore, I found a contact that led me to Pam.  Pam lived in Singapore and was instrumental in helping me bring what I needed, leave what I could get here and get through the culture shock of being here.  I thought it might be handy to tell you the comfort things we found vital to bring over from the states when we visited, what to leave and what you need to know.  If it had not been for Pam, I would have gone nuts.

For the next couple of days, I am going to be sharing lists... I could find the absolute necessity list, but not the comfort list.  So here goes:

Here is our all important list - and a few of our friends have added to it:

Misc Stuff

~Tylenol

~Aspirin

~Motrin

~Advil

~Imodium (buy the bottle, not the packets - you will be doing a lot of travels on this end - you don't want to be without it.  They give charcoal pills here... lol...)

~Sinus Medication

    ~Sudafed

    ~Benadryl

~Rolaids (none here)

~Tums (none here)

~Vitamins (very expensive here - and Sue swears by the gummy ones)

~Swim Ear

~Pepto Bismol

(most over the counter stuff in the states is not over the counter stuff here - often prescription only or they do not sell)

~Toothpaste and tooth brushes.  Yes they have them here, but they are expensive and the chances of you toothpaste tasting the same is slim to none.  It works, but if you like yours... 

~Feminine items if you are picky

~Shampoo and hair products, again if you are partial to yours.

~Band-aids (they have plastic ones that don't stick well - they call them plasters here)

~Antiperspirant - you can get antiperspirant here, but we like our brand; Arrid.  If you love yours, bring it.  :-)

~Bounce (they do have a very good liquid softener here)

~Bounty paper towels - they do have them here if you want to pay the price - if you are bringing a container they don't weigh anything, so toss them in!
~Gift bags and tissue paper - (we recycle - they are nearly impossible to find, and again... the price)
~Greeting cards.  Ditto the gift bags.

~Gas BBQ Grill!!!  (my hubby will tell you this is the number 1 thing.  If you don't want one for yourself, buy one to sell here - you would not believe the prices!  Thousands of dollars - and no I am not exaggerating).  You can get the small charcoal grills though.  I don't know how much they are.  Propane is delivered within an hour to your door after your phone call - so no worries there.

~Smoker if you like to smoke meats

~Small throw rugs (they have them here - the prices will stagger you)

~Make-up items if you are finicky

~Clothes and shoes if you are large or tall size - over size 14 womens is xxx-large here - beyond it is hopeless... lol... or you have to be very ready to give large quantities of money away)

~Top Sheets.  You can get fitted sheets here.

~Ice Trays

~Seasonal Decoration

~Good liquid measuring cups - the ones the writing does not wash off of.  We love glass ones - difficult to find here.

~Good rubber spatulas

~Cast Iron Skillets

Foods

~Miracle Whip (they do have it here, made in Malaysia and has a totally different taste - however a friend told me she has found it made in USA a couple of times in the 3 years she lived here)

~Kool Aid packets (they occasionally have the canisters)

~Soft Corn Tortillas (there is a couple of places that sell them, but they are not as good as the states ones)

~Velveeta Cheese (can get 1 lb of Mexican Velveeta if you like the $20 price tag)

~Rotel (sometimes you can get it here)

~Special seasonings like Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt, seasoned salt, and Tony Cachere's.  You can get all normal seasonings here,  and small bottles of seasoned salt if you like the price.  Trust me, bring your seasoned salt.  Also any seasonings you use in large quantities...

~Honey Nut Cheerios

~Fritos (non existent on the island, but they do go stale, so don't bring a lot)

~100 calorie snack packs

~Crystal Light

~Jello

~Pudding

~SOS Pads

~Canned chili (only have turkey chili here)

~Dryer Sheets

~Pecans (do yourself a favor - go get several large bags at Sam's or Costco if you use them.  They freeze well.)

~Mosquito Spray and wipes

~Thermal water bottle covers with silver lining.  What they have here sweats and gets everything wet. The water bottles are generally 600 ml size. We hike a lot so we like to have extras to pack in a back pack, which reminds me...

~Backpacks

What to leave:

~Most of your winter clothes, the only time you will ever need them is traveling or holiday - never, ever in Singapore.  Don't bring a ton of winter wonders, you will only have small places to store what you do bring.

~Do not bring BIG furniture.  Land is hard to come by here, so the condos are not made for big sectionals, dining tables, kick back recliners, large dressers, etc.  Leave 'em at home.  Everyone I know that brought furniture wishes they left most of it at home - at least the big stuff.  It is stacked in halls and bedrooms unable to be used.  It is basically stacked to the ceilings taking up much needed space.

~Leave  your great big baking pans.  Our ovens are barbie sized.  You can buy turkeys here, but you would not believe the people we see here with tape measures buying them.  The ovens are really, really (lucky to bake a chicken) small.
~Leave most of your jeans at home.  Believe me, you will not use them.  They adhere to your body like sticky shelf paper.  The heat is just too much for jeans.  And you will run into another problem here - there are no big, roomy washers and dryers here.  You are lucky to wash a pair of jeans and a shirt in the same load.  No kidding.  You will also spend half a day washing said pair of jeans and that shirt.  Washing is s-l-o-w here.

That  is all I can think about now... 

I have a friend who has also blogged about moving to Singapore.  HERE is her moving blog and HERE is her school moving blog.

Just For Today - A Poem for Me

My dear blog.  How I look forward to updating you every day.  However, there are just some days, I don't feel like talking the talk.  

So I wrote a poem for me today, a bit of my life I will send your way.

Just For Today

I love living in Singapore - this part is true

But if I had a choice, I would rather be with you.

When I wake in the morning the first face that I see

Are the ones that are over half a world away from me.

The giggles of your laughter, the smiles on your face

The twinkle in your eyes, the ease of your grace

Make most of my days shorter and easier to bear

But they also make me wish I were there.

Some days it is easy to put forward the walk

Lift up my head and talk the talk.

Some days it is okay to fill the void

With friends from far places and not get annoyed.

Some days it is fun to walk in the sun

Dance with the stars and not want to run.

Some days it is an adventure waiting to happen

An experience I wouldn't trade and plenty for scrappin'.

Today I am wishing I were home with you

And wishing that makes me feel a little bit blue.

Today I will allow for a moment of sorrow

Allow myself time for dreams of tomorrow.

Today I will long for the day when we move home

No longer filling our time with places to roam.

Today I will dream of our lunches together

Laughter and tears no matter the weather.

Tomorrow again I will live for each day,

Looking for things to pave our way.

Tomorrow again I will move forward

Discovering new lands and start looking shoreward.

Tomorrow again I will walk the walk

Start once again to talk the talk.

But today let me mourn what I have left behind

Mourn what I miss most and miss what was mine.

                            
                                 ~ © Euvah Bryant 13 April 2010

Remember This?

1.5 years ago (yes it has really been that long) I posted THIS and said it was going to expire in July 2010.  Guess what?!  July 2010 is coming upon us right around the corner.  The big question is do we get to stay or do we get to move on?  Who knows?  We have no real idea - and since our contract on our flat is also going to be running out at the same time - well, suffice it to say, there are a lot of questions up in the air right now.  Ones we have no answers for  :-(

Here is a huge statement:  this last few weeks break has given me time to really contemplate that question and be ok with what happens.  I am good in Singapore.  Yes, yes, of course we miss everyone at home and much about the good ol' USA, but Singapore is an awesome place to live all in the whole scheme of the world -if of course we can't live in the USofA.  We have friends over here that helps make our world twirl in the right directions, and our expat friends know what it means when we say our day sucks.  You can see or hear when an expat friend needs a shoulder to lean on.  Thank goodness those times are getting fewer and fewer, but they still do come.  And those friends simply know.  

Something I like about Singapore.

On our flight back this time, there were some things in my heart that I realized have changed over the last 18 months.  

One of them is that I have honestly come to terms that home is where this man is:

I used to say that, but it gets more and more obvious.  It has never been my idea to travel the world.  I never, ever, in my life cared about doing that.  My 'bucket list' from when I was 16 years old contains traveling the US - not the world.  I think God knows what we really need.  I needed to see how the rest of the world lives and how spoiled and ungrateful most American's can be.  Going back to the states reinforces that.  Most people don't have the opportunity to see what we have seen - the poverty.  No, not poverty - the destitution - we have seen.  Poverty doesn't even begin to cover what we have seen - and have yet to see.  

Now when I went back to the states and hear cashiers at THAT STORE complaining about someone not coming in and it reminds me of the lack of responsibility both parties have.  The one that did not come in not caring about the one that had to pull a double and the one complaining not being happy she had a job in a nice cozy store.  

In other countries, they realize how precious those jobs are.

Humble still lives here.

Something else I like about Singapore.

You see?  I am seeing the light.  God knew what he was doing sending us here.  I do like it, I like the consistency of the lifestyle here and I love the people that come through my life every single day.  They are what makes it worth being here.  It is because of them that I can make it.  

It is because of God that I have that opportunity to do so.  

If we can't live in the US, Singapore is good to us.

I have made great strides in a few weeks.  

Coming 'home' was much better this time - so far.  

Now on to the rest of the story.  Getting here.

The flight... lol...

Due to the fact we were leaving out early in the morning and Todd was not in, we spent the night at the hotel before we left so the girls would not have to be on the road in the middle of the night.  All comfy & rested, we got up and to the airport in a fair amount of time to catch our flight out.  

Laugh.  Laugh.  

It was late getting out to de-icing.  What?  We were leaving New Orleans!  

The week we were there was COLD!!  The week we were in Oklahoma was frigid!  No one was used to this kind of weather in the south.  

So I scooped up some of the cold to bring it back to Singapore.

Finally the plane leaves and it was obvious we were pushing it to get to the next flight.  

We needn't have worried.  The next flight was delayed "because it didn't get there" - whatever that means.  So, we waited hours for it to finally arrive to pick us up, which made us miss the next flight - of course.  

Japan (Narita airport) has a way of making everyone go with the flow as painlessly as possible.

That is something I like about Asia...  

We were put up in the ANA Hotel Nikko Narita for the night and given 2 food vouchers and a slew of other stuff for our delay.  We slept well, ate breakfast and went to the hotel lobby with this:

(Have I said lately how much I love this man?)

Those suitcases held our precious Velveeta, Miracle Whip, Pecans and Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt... and whatever else we felt the need to bring.  

Our 4 suitcases always get full coming back to Singapore  :-)

And what do we find?

Sleet.

A fair amount of sleet was sheeting down.

So I scooped up the rest of the cold to bring as well:

Was the sleet going to delay our next flight?  Lucky for us it didn't - Japan was more prepared than New Orleans - they actually get cold weather there!  lol... Don't worry, I was not upset with New Orleans.  They never see cold like they had for that amount of time.  We got to catch our flight out uneventfully.

Unless.  You consider the food:

It smelled like smoked peanuts and looked like it had worms on it:

And... ?

They said it was sticky rice and tomato pork and beans.  Ugh.

We were hungry.  We both tried.  Somehow, I don't think the Asians even think this is yummy.  ?

We played Uno.  Connect 4.  And crossword puzzles.  And blocks.  And lots of music.  

But we didn't eat.

And it is a good thing we bought this Kensington Battery (Model K38021 or K33396 in case your are interested) for our iTouch.   (Thanks for the idea Steph - we love it)

(You are still going to be my new products girl when we open that retreat right?)

Anyway, the trek getting here was long, but even though it was long, it was pleasant.  We are home and our life continues to twirl.  We miss you at home though - never think we don't.  

We just have to make the best of our life and embrace the journey.

Oh!  Can you believe the flight lost our 'cold' between here and Japan?  Darn.  

Welcome back to Singapore.  

Our little dot on the equator on the other side of the world.

Good night all.  I will start my day saying a prayer of thanksgiving for you at home - 

and another prayer for you greeting me here.

We are here.  Safe and sound.