Category Archives: Singapore

No….I didn’t eat a cat’s tail.  Don’t get excited.  Well, at least knowingly, I didn’t;).  We’re just wondering where all of the cats’ tails have gone.  Mostly because they’re not on the cats.

John and I had been here for only a few short days when we began to notice this strange phenomenon.  Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to capture the tailess cats on film.  As you can imagine, they are a bit skittish.  And, we forget our camera quite a bit.

Perplexed by these felines, John and I decided to investigate.  We surveyed our Singaporean friends asking them one simple question:  “why do many of the cats in Singapore not have tails.”  They are responded as if they were surprised that we noticed these cats and then asked if the cats in the US were like this.  The only tailless cats I can recall having seen in the US are stray cats that have gotten into fights and lost.  Or barely won.  Anyway, our friends had no idea why some cats here have tails and some cats don’t.  So we went to a wise source where anyone in their twenties would go to find answers life’s perplexing questions…

…Google.  To our dismay and befuddlement, Google did not have the answer.  Instead, it had a listing of possible reasons Indonesian cats don’t have tails.  You can see Indonesia from the shores of Singapore so I figured some of the reasons had to be the same…right?  Wait until you see these.

1. Because the evil people of Indonesia cut them off. For fun.
2. It’s a genetic defect caused by inbreeding.
3. Because the weird people of Jakarta cut them off. For aesthetic purposes.
4. Because they fall asleep on the roads and cars run over their tails.
5. The large number of strays leads to large numbers of particularly vicious catfights, in which tails are lost.
6. The maid shut the door on their tail.
7. Children put elastic bands around their tails when they were kittens.
8. Jakarta’s monster rats prey on stray kittens, preferring the tail as a delicacy.
9. An ancient queen put her wedding ring around her cat’s tail for some unknown (but presumably tragic) reason. All Indonesian cats are descended from this regal (but truncated) feline. This story can be eliminated due to Lamarckian evolution being disproved in the 19th century.
10. They want to be as cool as Hello Kitty, who has a tiny stub tail.

The only other story I found was from Malaysian folklore.  I could find no scientific research.  Maybe it’s just a species of bobtail cat.  I’m sure they have that in Malaysia (the other country you can see from the Singapore shore).  The tail length is so varied, that on “Lost Cat” posters, “tail length” is a point of identification.  Our dilemma really is quite frustrating!

As soon as we discover the answer to our cat cunumdrum, we’ll be sure to let you all know!  For now, I’m off to give the apartment a good cleaning and to by some milk (not from China, I assure you).  I start my new job tomorrow and I want to be fresh and ready to take on the world.  Or, at least Singapore.

Until next time…we miss you!!!!

Yes… the title is true!  Today, for lunch, I tried chicken feet soup.  Actually, I didn’t know what it was when I first saw it.  My mom has a friend at church who has a friend in Singapore (it’s amazing how we’ve met people here…).  Her name is Carol.  Carol and I meet up every few weeks and she teaches me a little bit about Singapore culture, where to shop, and how to make it in this tropical concrete jungle.  Today, we went for an authentic Singapore lunch!  Again, we both ate a full meal for under S$10 which is fabulous!!!

Carol ordered us some chicken fried rice and fish ball noodles.  Fish balls are basically pieces of fish mixed with dough and then baked into a ball.  The main dishes were both delicious and must haves when you come to this part of the world.  They’re not weird or scary…just yummy:)  Today, the scary part came with the side dishes.  Both of the dishes come with soup.  Including the chicken feet soup.  At first, I saw the dark broth and saw something floating around in it.  I took a spoonful and tried some of the broth.  Pretty good.  Carol then told me that there are peanuts at the bottom.  To be honest, they taste just like boiled peanuts you’d find in Charleston, SC.  Then, I noticed something that looked like a root floating around in the soup.  “What’s that?” I asked Carol.  She then informed me that it was a chicken foot!!!  I asked if it was just for flavor or if it was actually supposed to be eaten.  She told me that it could be eaten, but she wouldn’t eat it today for fear of grossing me out.

Then, to her surprise–and mine–I offered to taste it.  Boy, have gotten brave since moving here.  She had to explain to me how to eat it.  How would I know?  In Kentucky, we fry the chickens’ wings and legs…not their feet and toes!!!  Before I knew it, there was a cooked chicken foot sitting on my plate ready to be consumed.  Carol instructed me:  “It’s very soft…just eat it toe by toe, chew on the cartlidge (it’s good for you!) then spit the bones out.”  Spit?  Me?  Not very lady like.  But, when in Rome, do as the Romans do….or in Singapore…you get the picture.

So, I took my chopsticks and spoon and pulled a “toe” off of the rest of the foot.  Then I put it in my mouth.  It was much softer than I had expected it to be, and almost chewy.  And, to further perpetuate the cliche…it tasted like chicken.  And, what’s even weirder–it wasn’t that bad.  In fact, it was almost good.  Not that I’ll be making that a regular part of my diet anytime soon.  But, I can always say that I have eaten the foot of a chicken.

Also, along with the chicken feet stew boiled peanuts, I have discovered another parallel between Singapore culture and American southern culture–chrysanthemum juice.  Again, Carol introduced me to this delicous flavor–it tastes JUST LIKE southern sweet tea.  It doesn’t really compare to that of the Beacon in Spartanburg, but it is very freshing and very sweet.  So, WHEN everyone from the south comes to visit us here…no worries…we’ll find you a sweet tea substitute.  Nothing can replace it, but, it’s amazing how close it comes:)

Hopefully, I will be eating some normal, familiar foods this evening…more adventures to come!!!  Stay tuned!!!

Tonight, we did the third leg of our zoo visits and went to the Singapore Night Safari!  The Night Safari is a zoo dedicated to nocturnal animals and observing them when they’re the most active–at night!  When we arrived, we were greeted by Malaysian tribal dancers wearing loin clothes and spitting fire while chanting.  They then did some Chinese acrobatic/Cirque de Soleil type maneuvers.  It was definitely the best tribal dance we had ever seen!

Somewhat bored after the fourth “number,” we entered the park and attended the “Creatures of the Night” show.  The show opened with a giant Binturong (think giant 50 pound possum) walking on a vine suspended only a few feet above the crowd.  The Binturong then entertained us by hanging upside down mere inches from some of the spectators.  This thing was awesome!  John wanted one:)  A few acts later, the crew had claimed to have “lost one of the animals,” and told us all to watch our feet and check in our bags.  Of course, this made me nervous–it’s very dark and there are strange Asian animals I had never heard of running around!  Then, suddenly, the crew knew exactly where it was!  They marched to a couple of compartments under the audience members’ feet.  They checked one–nothing there.  They checked the second compartment and many of the female members of the crowd began to scream.  A giant python was pulled out of the compartment–he had been sitting under the audience for the entire beginning of the show!!!  Now, if you know me well, you know I HATE snakes.  I was suspicious for the rest of the evening:)  The rest of the show was fabulous and fascinating with a cat that could jump 15 feet to catch low flying birds and otters that knew how to recycle.

From there, we started to explore the park.  All of the exhibits are outdoors and therefore, very dark (remember, it is night time) with a few stragetic spotlights to display the animals.  We saw giraffes, zebras, flying squirrels and many other animals who took a cue from the darkness and went to sleep.  Then we made a pit stop at the Z’bar.  See for yourself:)

We were tight with the Zebra!

Next was perhaps the most interesting part of the evening–the Mangrove Bat walk.  Again, the walk was dark with only a few lights placed so that you could view the bats in their simulated natural habitat.  We were on a boardwalk suspended about 10 feet above a swamp (even with the tree tops) looking for bats!  Little did we know (until we read the informative posters) that these bats were Malaysian Bats–the largest in the world!  Boy, they were a sight to see!  They were hanging upside down in trees and eating fruit the zoo keepers had put out for them.  There were also smaller, more spastic bats in the enclosure that liked to fly very close to our heads.  One brushed my leg while I was looking at a massive bat–from that point on I had an iron grip on John’s arm.  We even saw two big bats duke it out over territory.  Their screams are deafening and those big wings mean business.  The loser had to fly to the other side of the swamp.

All of a sudden, we saw a stream of rushing water coming at us from the sky.  We were still in the Bat Cave and had no idea what this could possibly be.  Then, we looked up.  One of the giant bats was relieving itself onto the pathway directly in front of us!  Grossed out and laughing so hard we could hardly stand it, we exited trying to avoid the inevitable splashes of this “natural” occurence.  We were successful.  Well, mostly.

The rest of our tour consisted of lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), leopards, warthogs, hyenas, deer, and even a strange fish that looked like a bass/eel hybrid.  That’s the beauty of going to zoos on the other side of the world–you never know what you’re going to find!!!

Our first safari in the darkness was successful–more adventures soon!

On Saturday, John celebrated his 23rd birthday.  What was the one thing he wanted for his birthday?  Wall-E.  Yes, as in the robot Wall-E.  So, on 11:30 on Friday night, we went to see the movie (for the third time–twice in the US and once in Singapore) so that as his birthday began, he would be looking at Wall-E.  Interestingly enough, Wall-E came out here only a few weeks ago, whereas it has been out in the US for almost three months.  The amount of American popular culture in Asia is incredible.  I can’t walk into a store without hearing the latest rap hit (I really really miss country music) and on the bus ride downtown, many of the buildings boast ads for upcoming movies.  Which movies?  Hollywood–and maybe a few Bollywood:)

The other part of John’s birthday present was a visit to Sentosa (a resort island on the south side of Singapore) via monorail and a day at Underwater World–Singapore’s aquarium.  To borrow words from Lucy:  it was fabulous!  There were several displays where you could touch the animals including sting rays, puffer fish and starfish.  Then, there was an entire display of a favorite Singapore culinary delight, crabs.  There were probably more than 15 species represented in the exhibit…the largest measuring 3.7 metres!  Yeah, that will give you nightmares.  The highlight of our trip, however, was the “travellator” a moving sidewalk that talkes you through an underwater tunnel.  Sharks and Dugongs (a relative of the manatee) were swimming overhead.  Needless to say, the trip was very exciting!

John trying to grab a stingray

The beginning of the week brought a real treat–my friend Abby Rigney from high school!  She’s in the US Navy and had a brief stop over in Singapore.  Also, she is our first visitor from the US!  John and I really enjoyed seeing her and meeting all of her friends from her boat.  We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a Mission turned bar/restaurant centre, drank the ORIGINAL Singapore Slings at the Raffles hotel, and went shopping on the famous Orchard Road.  Although Abby and I haven’t seen each other since a year after high school graduation, it was like we never skipped a beat.  I am so thankful she was able to stop here and–for once–I got to show someone around!

Singapore Slings at the Raffles Hotel---SCHS Style:)

My last comments will involve my exercise regiment.  As I’ve mentioned before, one of the favorite activities of Singaporeans is to eat.  In attempt to adapt to my new culture, I’ve tried to perfect this skill (eating) even though I was already pretty darn good at it!  Anyhow, John and I decided to join a fitness center to keep ourselves in shape!  Today, I decided to try a group class–my first one besides my cheerleading workouts.  I picked “Body Combat.”  I get to the studio, which overlooks Sentosa, the island I mentioned earlier, and start to stretch before the class is to begin.  In comes “Margaret,” a Singaporean Chinese woman wearing a camouflage tank top and cargo shorts.  She showed me a few punches and kicks and then off we go.  The great thing is, Body Combat in this part of the world borrows heavily from marshall arts moves..much more so than I’ve seen in the US.  Granted, all that I’ve seen are videos in the US.  Well, an hour later, my body was aching beyond the point it’s ached after any cheerleading practice.  Everyone should try Body Combat.

John and I are off to dinner!  Hope to hear from you all soon!

Greetings to all of our blog followers!

Last night, I successfully baked cookies in our new apartment.  The road to success, however, was not easy.

As you saw from our apartment pictures, our apartment is quite cozy.  And, being a studio apartment, did not come with the complete appliances of a typical American kitchen.  In fact, we only had a refrigerator, microwave, and a hot water heater (yes, you have to turn on the hot water everytime you want to use it)!  I love to bake and cook meals, so, John, with the Candeto twinkle in his eye, decided we were going to “build” our own kitchen.  This, of course, made me very very happy because I want to perfect my cooking skills and even pick up some Asian flare!

Off we go to Carrefour, France’s version of Wal-Mart (they’re all over Asia, apparently) to find a countertop oven and electric burners.  After much price comparison and economic valuation we decided on two products to complete our first kitchen–and, we even remembered to pick up the appropriate powerstrips and surge protectors so as not to start a fire in our apartment.

Finally, our kitchen was set up and I was planning an old fashioned American meal for John.  I was going to make Campbells Tomato Soup and grilled cheese.  Not really gourmet, but hey, we miss that.  I had also decided to bake some bread to dip in olive oil and red wine vinegar–just like at Liberty.  I baked the bread in my new oven and it came out great.  The only problem was, the directions on the package listed the temperature in Fahrenheit and my oven is in Celsius–awesome.  I’m becoming a conversion whiz in the process of baking bread.  The bread came out fine, thankfully.

Now, time to put on the soup and start making the grilled cheese.  I put the soup on the burner and turned it on.  A second later, the entire apartment went black.  I had blown a fuse.  By this point, John was home.  We both thought:  no problem…we’ll find the circuit breaker box and flip the breaker.  Because we don’t have a flashlight–note to self, pick one up at the French Wal-Mart–John had to turn on his battery powered laptop and use the screen for light in our dark hallway.  He looked everywhere–no box.  At this point, walking by laptop light seemed a bit ridiculous, so he went to the condo market to buy a lighter (we had candles, but no fire).  And, I called the landlord.

Our landlord is a very sweet man from Burma.  But, let’s just say that usually, most of what either of us say to one another gets lost in translation.  It was about 8:00pm when I called him to tell him that I had blown a fuse.  I told him that our apartment was completely dark and we had no electricity.  His initial reaction was to tell me to just turn the lights on and he proceeded to instruct me as to where to find the light switches in our apartment.  I then tried to explain that the power wasn’t working–our TV wouldn’t turn on, our air conditioning was off, and the light switches didn’t work.  At this point, he told me that I must have blown a fuse.  At least we were on the same page.  Upon asking him where the fuse box is located, he told me exactly where.  I thought the problem was solved until he told me the room where it was was locked.  Our unit is a part of a larger penthouse and that particular apartment is vacant.  That didn’t really help our situation.  He told me he would think of what to do and then call back.

About five minutes later, our landlord called me back.  He agreed to come by our property and open the door so we could access the fuse box.  Our landlord has been fabulous–but our interactions have been extremely entertaining.  When John returned with the fire, we lit some candles and decided to go on and eat our bread by candle light.  Very romantic.  We even put a movie into one of our laptops and watched it by candle light.  It was quite the sight.

Suddenly, we heard foodsteps in the hallway and assumed our landlord had arrived.  We went outside to discover that he had sent a colleague to unlock the door.  This particular colleague, however, did not speak English–only Mandarin Chinese.  We attempted to explain to him, first in English, what the problem was.  Then, in Mandarin, John told him that we don’t speak Chinese and asked if he spoke English.  He saw this as a sign that John DID speak Mandarin and proceeded to explain the entire problem to him in that language.  Having been a Spanish scholar during my high school and college years I helplessly listened and laughed when everyone else was laughing.

Finally, he got the door to the apartment open and flipped the fuse.  Our air came back on and so did our lights.  I then, attempted to use my stove again–before the man with the keys left–and blew the fuse one last time.  Upon fixing it again, the Chinese man came into our apartment and knew enough English to point at my burners and say “no.”  I got the picture.  My burners cannot be used in our apartment.

John and I proceeded to go out for Mexican food at this point.  It was 10:00pm, he had been at work all day, and we were both tired and frustrated.   We were waiting for the bus to take us to Holland Village–where much western food is located–when who pops off the bus we’re about to get on?  Our landlord.  We explain what happened and that the problem was solved.  He said he would go “check it out,” but we decided to head on to dinner.  We were hungry and tired.

I will say that I successfully baked cookies last night, so the cooking skills are progressing.  I’ve been guessing measurements (butter here is sold in chunks, not in sticks) and converting to the best of my ability.  My record is 1-1…I guess that’s not so bad;)

Our adventures continue….

A brief recount of my haircut last week:

On my way out of the office, I began asking several friends where they had their hair cut.  “There’s several places downstairs.” I was told.  Being in the middle of the Central Business District (CBD) I figured they might be a bit pricey, but I was none the less shocked when I found that a simple male haircut would cost either S$48 or S$42, depending on where I went.  Other suggestions ranged between S$25 – S$35.  Unwilling to break my longstanding tradition of sub $15 haircuts, I held out until I heard of a “place where they’re only S$6.  Attracted by the price, I followed my buddy Projjal to the top of a large technology mall, where I found Kimage Hairdressing School.  My nerves were a bit shaken, but it would only cost S$6, and worst case they could shave it, right?

Payment was taken up front (clever), and the receipt had a five line disclaimer ensuring one would not receive indemnity payments should things go haywire.  “This will make a good story.” I thought.  I was led to a chair facing a mirror with several diagrams of what I assume was a “proper” (albeit very generic) haircut.  After staring at a combination of the diagrams plus the disclaimer for half an hour, a very nice Singaporean girl wheeler her cart of “supplies” over to me, and asked “how you like?”  While smiling and patient, I assume these were the only English words she knew, because every description I attempted did not seem to compute.

I suppose some gesture that I made during my descriptions caught her fancy, because she started straight away, busily trimming and rapidly learning that Italian heads hold roughly three times the hair of most Asian heads.  Her scissors seemed to be suffering.

I was amused, though slightly nervous, when Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” came on the radio.  Allow me to quote a few lyrics:

“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?”

“Please don’t slip.” I thought.  As far as one’s haircut goes, I think “one opportunity” an accurate description.  The lyrics went on:

“[Her] palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on [her] sweater already, Mom’s spaghetti
[S]he’s nervous, but on the surface [s]he looks calm and ready…”

By this point, “palm sweaty” and “nervous” seemed to be fairly accurate descriptions of my hairdresser.  She made attempts towards “calm and ready,” but I was unconvinced.  However, encouraged by the lack of regurgitated spaghetti on her sweater, I let things continue, and the song played on.

“[S]he’s chokin’, how everybodys jokin’ now
The clock’s run out, time’s up over, blah!”

This was about the time she got the the sideburns.  Either she was trying to resurrect Elvis’ eternally popular mutton chops, or she was afraid to cut any more.  Either way, I was left with fashionable ear trimmings and a jagged line of hair extending from the chops all the way back to my neck.  More lyrics:
“You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You want it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime”

This was certainly turning into a “once in a lifetime” haircut.  She was now refusing to cut any length off the front, despite the fact that the back was now sporting a nice conical cowlick of shorter hairs.  The sides (above the chops) were chopped, and I think there was some attempt at a layering technique, whatever that means.  The only information I really gleaned from the situation was that I was being mocked in Mandarin, because “Wai guo ren” (translated as “foreigner”) was being used by nearly every observing nearby party, and I was clearly the only non-native in the room.

When all was said and done, the nice woman’s teacher came by and straightened up a few things.  He taught the girl some techniques for “Wai guo ren’s hair,” and she practiced several times before proclaiming my hair a finished work.

At the end of the day, I was exceptionally pleased.  A hair wash, cut, and wash again riddled with comedy for the low price of S$6.  I’ll be back in the near future.

Hello again and Happy Monday!

We hope you had a fabulous weekend and that you were able to enjoy some good old fashioned American football–we miss that here!!!  Our weekend was wonderful and relaxing.  We enjoyed waking up late both days and then getting out in the city.  On Saturday, we had a “date night.”  We found a delicious Italian restaurant and then a bar with a band playing Blues music.  Who would have thought, all the way around the world, a Blues band’s favorite song to end with is “Free Bird.”  Granted, the lead singer spoke like an American–a southern American at that.  And most of the club was filled with western expats.  Sometimes it’s great to have a little taste of home:)

Yesterday (Sunday) was a wonderful day of rest.  We slept late (again) and then set out to find lunch within a few minutes walk of our condo complex.  We stumbled upon this cute two week old coffee and sandwich shop and had one of the best lunches we’ve had on the island.  And, to top it off, the lady who runs the place–Aileen–was very sweet.  She wants to bring books from home to her shop so her customers have something to read while they dine and wants to create an environment of good conversation and friendship.  We’re excited to see where this place goes.  Perhaps the best part of our dining experience at Aileen’s restaurant was the dessert.  We had some delicious apple pie and ice cream that “tasted like America.”  It was a wonderful treat!

Last night, we went back to Orchard Road Presbyterian Church–the first church we visited when we got to Singapore.  The minister is from Austrailia and has a real gift of bringing the gospel to life and applying its teachings to everyday life.  John and I have left–both times–feeling invigorated and renewed for our new week in a strange country.  We were certainly blessed to have found such a wonderful church so quickly.  We may continue to church hop for a few weeks, but there is great comfort in knowing we have found such a wonderful place to worship.

Just a side note.  One interesting thing about Singapore is how prevalent American culture is here.  For example, we were taking a cab back to our apartment one night and happened to ask our cab driver about his favorite music.  He told us “John Denver.”  Next thing we know, “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane” is playing on the radio and we’re being serenaded–no extra charge.  The democratic national convention was aired here real time and people discuss Barack Obama as if he is someone running for office in their own country.  To be honest, the prevalence of American culture makes being this far from home a little bit easier:)

That’s all for now.  More good stories to come.  Soon.

Here are a few pictures of our first place!  John doesn’t know that I’ve painted it yet–I’m hoping to surprise him when he gets home today!!!

Our apartment location is great!  We have a bus stop just outside the gate with five buses–one of which takes John straight to work in the Central Business District (CBD).  Most of them also go to Holland Village–an area of Singapore that is heavily populated with expats.  We’ve heard many Austrailian accents here, some British, and even a few from the states!  Holland Village has a great grocery store filled with products I recognize.  I found Ritz Crackers (they’re called “biscuits”here…that took me a few minutes to figure out;), Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Frosted Flakes, and even peanut butter and jelly.  Holland Village is also home to many fabulous restaurants.  So far, we’ve had Italian and Mexican food there.  Tonight, I think we’re going to go for Thai.

One of the most unique Singaporean dining experiences one can have is to visit a “Hawker Centre.”  A Hawker Centre is essentially a free-standing food court with many dining options.  Most of the choices are Indian, Chinese, Malay, or Korean.  John and I love to get Roti Prata with cheese–an Indian  pita type bread that is filled with cheese and then cooked.  A spicy sweet potato tasting sauce is provided for dipping.  It is delicious!!!!   With all of that spicy food, a good drink is absolutely necessary!  Luckily, in Singapore, fresh fruit is readily available.  The locals take the fresh fruit, put it in a juicer and then serve it immediately!  No sugar, flavors, or any extra bells or whistles are added.  The variety is impressive–you can have everything from sugar cane juice, honey dew juice, pineapple juice, orange juice, or our favorite–watermelon juice.   Perhaps the best part of all of this is the cost.  John and I can both eat and have a tall glass of juice at a Hawker Centre for under $10 Singapore.  In US dollars…that would be around $7.00.  We love to eat, so it’s a dream come true!

I’m off to meet John for a quick meal before we settle in for the evening.  It’s going to be a rainy one.  I’m thankful, because it will cool it down a bit:)

Thanks for reading on!

Hello family and friends

A lot has happened since many of you have heard from us…we’ve flown for twenty-eight hours, randomly visited the Mall of America, arrived in Singapore, found a condo in Singapore, etc. etc. etc.  Whew–these past few weeks have been exhausting.  Many of you have been asking for funny stories, experiences, and a play-by-play of our time here so far.  We’ll try to regularly update this blog, so you can know what your favorite Singaporean friends are up to!  Here it goes!

The morning we left the Carolinas to come over here, we had a five hour layover in Minneapolis.  A five hour lay over is the last thing we were looking forward to before 12 hour and 7 hour flights, respectively.  When we arrived in Minneapolis, we were delighted to remember that it is the home of the Mall of America and there is a subway leading directly from the bus to the Mall entrance.  That’s all we needed to hear.  With that, we had rented lockers, stowed our carry-ons, and were on our way to the mall.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by the most massive shopping structure either of us had ever seen.  To top it all off, there was a theme park inside.  We toyed with the idea of riding a few roller coasters, but then decided to shop and grab some last glorious bites of American food before boarding our plane.  We chose Chipotle (just for you, Lucy!).

The plane flights were a blur of new release movies (Kung Fu Panda is awesome!), mediocre airplane food, and trips to the bathroom to stretch our legs (don’t worry, grandmother!).  Surprisingly, the seven hour flight didn’t seem so bad after the twelve hour flight and all in all, the traveling was not that bad.  It was quite a delight to touch down in Singapore early Thursday morning after leaving the States early on Tuesday.  Gotta love the time change:)

We were greeted by Rev’s roomate–Rangga–at the airport, who had a picture of us in hand, so we’d know who to look for.  Exhausted, we made our way back to Rev’s apartment and slept until early the next morning, when our exploration of our new city began.

Our first week in Singapore was kind of a blur–and a lot happened.  I’ll just hit a few of the highlights!

Rev was very kind to let us stay in his apartment.  Little did we realize, we were actually kicking him out of his room.  To top it all off, he is currently in the middle of a bit of a spat with his landlord.  Currently, the water in the shower doesn’t drain until at least 12 hours after the shower has been taken, nor does the toilet flush.  His latest saga involves an air conditioner with a shorting compressor.  Needless to say, only one degree north of the equator an air conditioner is quite essential.  We wanted to give Rev his room back, so he would have one less thing to worry about, so we began our apartment hunt on our second day in the country.

To find apartments here, one must hire an agent.  Unlike real estate agents in the US, these agents are your advocates for the term of your lease, going to bat for you if your landlord tries to neglect your clogged drain or your air conditioner:)  We had several agents searching on our behalf, and saw a total of seven properties before finding the one we now call “home.”  Most of the apartments were rather large, but seemed dirty and desperately needed a fresh coat of paint.  Aesthetics didn’t seem to be a top priority.  Since we are both OCD about things being clean, orderly, and looking nice, we became discouraged in our apartment pursuit.  Then, by the grace of God, we toured a little studio apartment at the Pandan Valley Condo Complex.  Our prayers had been answered!  We toured the apartment and the grounds and decided to take it on the spot–after a few negotiations!

Our first home together is a studio apartment that used to be part of a larger penthouse unit.  We are on the 14th floor and enjoy a view of the Singapore skyline (and our complex’s pool) from our window.  Since our apartment is part of a larger penthouse unit, we share a washroom (complete with dryer–the first one we had seen!!!) and a patio with three other units.  The patio isn’t just any patio.  It’s a two level rooftop porch with a 360 degree view of the island!  We are looking forward to many evenings of dancing under the tropical stars and enjoying dinner while looking at the lights of the city.  If you would like an apartment tour, call us on Skype!  We have a webcam and would be happy to show you around!  We’ll also post some pictures here on the blog.

I don’t want to make this blog entry horribly long, so I will stop here for now.  We have many many more great stories to share and I’m sure we’ve got many more great memories to make, so please check back frequently!  We hope you are all well back in the States.  We miss you!