Asia Light

Crazy! We have now been in Singapore for over a month now.  Routines have started and all of us are starting to figure out the ins and outs of at least the area we live in.  I have found where to get good meat, baking items, the closest mall, how to get around (fast vs. cheap), and a lot of other little things that making living easier.

This past month has also shown to be true when they call Singapore "Asia Light".  For Asia, it is the closet place I can find to a Western civilization without having a Target or Costco.  Where Thailand is the "Wild West" of Asia and anything goes, Singapore is orderly and predictable.   At times I may say boring, but it is also comforting.  Having young children, I can definitely say why it is one of the best places to be an expat family.   It is safe....just follow their laws.

I find it ironic that the initials and what most people refer to the Ministry of Manpower is MOM.  Singapore government is a MOM.  It is always watching and making sure you do it right and it's in the system.  The first couple of weeks the hoop jumping was driving me crazy, but like child birth, now that it is over, we are enjoying just being here.

The one thing I am struggling the most with is how expensive it is here.  Being someone who is cheap, I struggle rationalizing paying big bucks for things I know shouldn't cost much.  Singapore is living up to its title as most expensive city in the world.  The perk?  Everything is imported and I can find most anything I want or miss.  I just have to find it for the right price.

I have struggled to find things to post about that are interesting while we are here.  I promise to search, but you may have to be a little bored as I figure it out.

BKK weekend

It was less then 48 hrs, but the tiredness I feel today was worth it.   The kids and I boarded a plane late Friday night for a quick two days in Bangkok to see old friends and meet a new one.

We spent the whole time in our old neighborhood.   It made me miss what I once knew and the best relationships we have there.  I also filled my suitcase full of stuff from a morning of shopping.   I have enough chili powder for a year.

The whole reason for the trip was to get some baby snuggles from Sidney, who arrived three weeks earlier.   Liam also got to hang with his BFF and Sid's older brother Ryley.   Amelia also scheduled in a bday party and a sleepover.  Food a major area in my life,  I ate as much Thai as I could.   But don't worry, I also brought seasoning packets back to get that fix when needed at home.

They partied hard....then crashed.

TROUBLE

It was hard not getting a picture of Rye not naked.   Natural born nudist. 

Baby Sidney.  What a cuddle bug.

First Days of School

On Thursday, Amelia started her first day of kindergarten.  After she got over the initial shock that her teacher was a Mr., she was super excited to get started.   She came home from school that day on cloud nine.  She was very disappointed Saturday came so fast.  Amelia also said she now can write and her BFF is a boy named Alex.

Liam started preschool on Friday.   He was such a big boy when he loaded the bus in the morning and didn't even look back to say goodbye.    His teacher said he talked a lot....especially about Thailand.   When he had lunch with me after his day, I asked him what he liked the most.   Like a typical boy he replied "the bus and the playground". 

This will be a great year.  I am just a little nostalgic about how fast life has gone to get to this point.  Slow down time!!!

Singapore Zoo

Today was National Day and to celebrate we bought an annual pass to the Singapore Zoo.   We only have to go 2-3 times for it to pay its self off and knowing that we are only 2.5 km away, that should be easy.

Leave it to Singapore to have the cleanest, nicest smelling zoos I have ever been to.  Unlike the zoo in Bangkok, it wasn't full of animal shows where you second guess safety and how the animals were being treated.   The Singapore Zoo is a good balance of seeing the animals, education,  and natural habitats.  It's probably the nicest zoo I have ever seen.

The zoo also has a splash park and playground.   We spent a good amount of time there and didn't make it to all the exhibits.    That's alright because we have a year to do so.

The kids love their animal statues. 

Kis Play Zone: water area.  The pass will be used mostly for this area.

What is so cool about this zoo is not all the animals are in cages.  Some are free roaming. 

Feeding time.

The lemurs FREAKED Liam out. 

The cutest baby orangutans.  I wish the picture was better. 

Our new home away from home.

We are now into our third week of living in Singapore and I would say 100% settled into our new home.   I am still working on finding all the comfort foods we love (or at least the ingredients), but we have all the household items we need plus more.

In June, Wade was in Singapore and took a day to look at places.    My criteria was it to be near other young families and close to school. That day he saw about 10, but one stood out.  So trusting his judgement and advise from the realitor, we signed for it then.  Thank goodness we did, because when I arrived pickings for good places were slim.  Wade did good....really good.   I have never lived in a condo/apartment before, but the place has a homey feel and is very comfortable.    The big TV and surround sound left for us also helps. 

We are not near other families from our "pledge class", but as more families have trickled in this past week and weekend I am already seeing a community transpire. 

I was also able to find for cheap the bunk beds I had promised the kids!!!!

Goodbye...Hello

I started the below post in June.   I just never got around to posting it.  So here is our big news and next adveture....a little late.

We have moved to Singapore!!

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The last week of school is crazy.  You are finishing assessments, wrapping up reports, and cleaning.   Add moving and saying goodbye to the friends you have made makes it a little mind numbing.   I have hardly had a chance to stop and reflect about our time here and the next path we have chosen.  This blog puts it way better then I could have...here. 

Wade and I had to make a decision in November about whether we are going to stay another year in Thailand or move on.  We evaluated ALL options and decided that staying was probably not the best choice for us.  Now this left us two more options we needed to decide between....move back to the US or go somewhere else.

We decided to put our resumes out there and see what starts to evolve the best.   This went on for MONTHS.  It caused many sleepless nights and discussions of the pros and cons of both choices.  Our ultimate goal is to be back in Bellingham, but on the other hand we like this lifestyle and the opportunities being overseas has allowed for. There was times I was 100% sure we were going home.  There were times I was 100% sure we were staying overseas.   Our poor family probably wanted to kill us over the seesaw we were putting them on.

Since we have made our decision, I feel a calm knowing what our next step looks like...Singapore (the most expensive city in the world).  I am sad knowing we are going to miss another two years of growing with family and friends, but I am excited about the school my kids will be going to, the business connections for Wade, and the doors it'll open for me.

Summer

I did it again, back in the States and never post on the blog.  Now that life will start to be more routine being back to work, I am back.  

More to come about our latest transition.  In the meantime...I am calling these past 6 weeks the "Summer of the Cowboy".