Sunday 29 December 2013

Visitors and House-Warming Gifts

Tonight we had our first non-Medway visitors arrive for dinner.  As they can't come close to Daisy she had to hide upstairs (but made her presence VERY known), so when they left I gave her extra attention.
 They left us a house warming gift so I let Daisy help me open it up.  She is all about helping others...
  She loves getting her picture taken and Christmas is all about the kids...right?  
 Its behind you Daisy, turn around, the present is behind you! 
 Well, with all the excitement of opening stuff up I forgot to take a picture of the end result.  Rest assured we recieved some really delicious coffee as well as very pretty cushion covers.  I honestly couldn't have picked better ones myself, but our lovely friends did it without even knowing what our home looked like.
 Thank you again, you really spoilt us and there was so need at all.

The Truth About Culture Shock

When Mark said that he'd gotten the job in Singapore I was pretty ambivalent. It was just coming to the end of our Indian Summer and I was looking forward to Autumn and Winter. We were hoping to buy a home in 2014 and I knew the areas we were going to look in, I knew costs, and if was decluttering in the run up. Of course I knew it was an amazing opportunity, but I'm not really all that adventurous by nature.
Fast forward to the first month here and I was not very happy.....but I'd read this is the honeymoon period. I was not only not liking it in Singapore, but I was worried as this was the time I was supposed to be loving it...
One measly month later and it's all change. Once I'd learned how to use the MRT I could get about, I knew more people, had spoken to them and got invited out. We'd gotten our own belongings delivered and it was more homely, Daisy and I could go on walks, I knew my way around where we lived and I was finally able to orientate myself around parts of the city.
I was naive to believe there was a prescribed sort of culture shock, I don't think it helped at all. I am much more open to understanding that if you don't get out you won't see people. If you never leave the house of course you get bored. Singapore was never bad-being cooped up in half a square mile is bad, that's what's boring! This, although super obvious, became a bit of a revelation and I am so joyful that finally it did.

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Merry Christmas One & All

Ho Ho Ho, merry Christmas to everyone!!

We came downstairs this morning to such a wonderful sight :




Santa had obviously been to the house through the night and filled up the stockings with lots of lovely chocolate and things! He even ate his cookie, drank the milk and must have given the chocolate bone to Rudolph as everything had gone from the plate!!

Daisy immediately got into the spirit of things and put her hat on :


She really loves Christmas and was immediately in at her stocking to see all the bags of treats that Santa had bought her!!

We had a very relaxed morning with a lovely breakfast. It comprised Cinnamon Buns, Bacon and Sausages. It was soooo tasty!!

Sheila then tended to the Christmas Dinner. We knew this was going to be a quieter year than the years previous, there was only going to be Sheila and I along with Daisy!! Sheila did a fantastic job of preparing and cooking the dinner as well as setting a lovely table :






We did what anyone else would have done after a feast like this, we went and lay on the sofa and had a sleep!!

Christmas was different but still a lovely day, we had lost of lovely food and presents! Now we know how to do it it will be all the easier next year when the family come over!!

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Food Delivery

We spotted a little while ago that Cold Storage had a Christmas Food Catalogue.  In the UK i'd get stuff from Marks & Spencer, but although they have shops here, they don't offer any sort of Christmas food service.  So we started looking through the CS catalogues and picked a deal that looked good to us.
We were able to pick a package of three meats that we wanted, but you could pick turkey or a ham or beef on its own.  It seemed to us a good idea to pick one of each and put things we didn't want in the freezer.
We could pick a time we wanted the delivery for free and then also pay then too.  With our package we got a cool bag for free too, so with those 'savings' we picked out a yule log too. 
 Let me tell you...it was like Christmas unwrapping that giant chocolate cake, I didn't want to package it all up again.
 Just look at how very cute it is, and I'm surprised it didn't get squished in transit.  It was very good packing. 
 Look at that face, she knows it's going to be a good year when you unwrap a cool box like this. 
A fully cooked turkey that just needs heated up, a fully cooked (not processed) ham and beef with black pepper sauce.
I always over cater...I can't help it.  I'm used to people popping in or having lots of visitors.
It all looks so good, these pictures don't really show how yummy it all looked.  We didn't NEED these things to be cooked, but I think because regular Singaporean kitchens aren't too big it works out really well for the majority of people to have things pre-cooked.  It means that tomorrow we can cut what we like and put it in a shallow dish with lots of gravy and no stress. 
It also means that we can now head out to catch Disneys Frozen.  I am really missing not going to the Pantomime with my family on Christmas Eve this year so Mark is taking me out to a Wintery Disney film to make up for the brave faces I've been putting on.
We should have time to get some pizza first too.  Not quite the full Christmas dinner I would normally have whilst overlooking Union Terrace Gardens, but our new tradition all the same.  We are here.  This is our home and I am so thankful that we've got each other on this adventure.
Daisy says "Merry Christmas to all!"  Whats that Daisy.....?  
"This one is mine....ok?", Ok Daisy, if you say so...

Christmas Eve and All's Well.............

Hello everyone. Well here we are, just a few weeks here and already its Christmas Eve. Sheila and I had agreed to make it a nice Christmas but not to go too mad as we had only just arrived and were still in the process of settling in I suppose.

Well all of that was ignored!! We both did our shopping and there were many more gifts under the tree than we agreed.

We went out for a pizza and then headed to the cinema to watch Frozen. Back home our Christmas Eve ritual was always the Panto. Doing it this way in Singapore allows us to create our own "new" ritual and still get into the Christmas Spirit!!

We left out milk and a home made cookie for Santa, Daisy even left a chocolate bone out for Rudolph (I don't think she gets it yet??)


We made sure our stocking were hung up and visible for Santa to fill up! The picture below shows my stocking on the left and Sheila's on the right, I wonder who the middle one belongs too??????


Saturday 21 December 2013

The MRT

One thing you get told about Singapore is that its transport system is pretty good.  As food and drink isn’t allowed on the trains or the stations (and as, quite frankly, its Singapore) its very clean and feels very safe.
When I arrived a neighbour kindly gave me a spare ez-link card which would have cost me $5 otherwise.  These cards hold whatever sum of money you put on them and can be used instead of paying cash whilst on buses and at MRT stations.  You can get cards at Singpost outlets (but you only pay the $5 as you cant actually top up the card).  7elevens (which will charge you $10 all together-$5 for the card, and $5 of stored credit).  As well as at a ticket office in an MRT station (which will charge you $12 for $7 worth of credit).  The $5 for the card is non refundable so when I buy spares for visitors I will be able to pass them onto new expats when we leave Singapore.
As I don’t work and only use the MRT and buses a couple of times a week it doesn’t work out as good value for me to buy one of ez-link season passes which are sold on a weekly or monthly basis. 
The ez-link cards make it really easy to explore as there is no fear of missing your stop and being told off, or taking time to count out the new coins you’re unsure of whilst everyone is waiting to go.  Although I have been in both of those situations and everyone was actually really kind and patient with me!  When I got to an MRT station I was really pleased that it was easy to navigate too.  It works out cheaper to have one of these cards instead of always paying cash too.  For example it cost me $1.10 to get from Dover Road to Clementi Mall on the bus, but only 87cents with the card.
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You have to press your card to the barrier to be let through and follow the signs to find out which side of the tracks you have to go to for where you want to go.  I found that in the beginning, when I didn’t really know the lines, that it was best to roughly remember the end stations on your line so you knew which way was home, and which way was ‘out’.  On my line I knew that Joo Koon was home and Pasir Ris was the way to head into the city.
My station is Dover which is only on the green line, however you might have a busier station as the one nearest your home.  If you do, it will invariably be larger, but again really well sign posted for you to get about.  One thing which I didn’t quite understand until I tried to take a short cut is that the stations can be underground caverns and to change line will have you walking quite a distance.  Sometimes it’s easier to stay on the line for a bit longer and only change once, than it is to take three short journeys on three lines as you might waste a lot of time walking between routes in the station.  This is probably really obvious, however it took me quite a long time to figure this out.
One final thing to say is WE’RE ON AN ISLAND, HOW LOST CAN YOU GET?  This is another thing that took me a while to get.  When I was 14 I travelled from Aberdeen to Andover by train…via Wales.  I got lost, but I got there.  I added over 200 miles to my trip in the end, but I got there.  The thing is, you aren’t going to get too lost on the MRT, I normally have more trouble with the escalators that cover two levels at once than I do on the trains, so I urge you to get out and explore as quickly as you can! 

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Yoga in the Park

Sally told me about her yoga group Yoga Divas which have quite a few sessions in different locations throughout Singapore.
I really want to go, however the Basics classes all seem to be over periods where I have visitors and I know that I will need all of the sessions before starting classes for real.  I really hope I can get a block so that I can start quite soon.  
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I am terrible at meditation and really, really need to focus when I pray.  Apart from anything else it absolutely would not hurt to get healthy whilst in Singers!

Monday 16 December 2013

Yay...we're online again!

After being without internet for so long i have so many posts i need to catch up on for family who read this blog....sorry for all the back dated posts!!
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Thursday 12 December 2013

Things I’m glad we took to Singapore

Reading other peoples blogs gave me a wealth of information and knowledge that I am so grateful for.  One of the reasons is that its probably saved us a small fortune.  Here are some of the things I’m glad I read up on as they are disproportionately expensive when compared to Scotland…aka Things I’m Glad We Took To Singapore
  • Toothpaste
At about $8 for a small tube I’m pleased that I packed enough for 2 years.  Most tubes in the UK cost about £1-£1.50 when bought on a deal, so I in no way regret dragging Mark out to the shops the night before the movers came to pack our cupboards with the stuff!
  • Good Shampoo
Pretty much See Above.  I have long hair and like swimming which means my hair gets very tangled and can look like ‘rat tails’ easily.  For as frugal as I have always been, I need good shampoo.  It’s quite expensive here so I’m glad I stocked up.  In all honesty it’ll probably only keep me going until the end of summer, but I will have saved an awful lot by then.
  • My Own Kitchen Equipment
Ok, this is a half ‘wish I brought it’ and half ‘glad I brought it’ item.  I took most of my kitchen stuff as I knew I would have a good sized kitchen to put it in.  I took all my pots and pans and really missed them when they were still being shipped to us.  I am really grateful for everything I did bring.  However I was on the cusp of buying a really cute kitchen aid in the UK.  I thought about how I wouldn’t be working and how much more I would be pottering about in the kitchen as I really love spending time doing this.  We put it off as it wouldn’t arrive in time and just assumed we’d buy some things in Singapore where shopping is a national hobby.  We can buy these things here…no doubt about it, half a dozen shops will sell you these kitchen implements and utensils here.  They will just be very, very expensive.
  • Pictures/Things That Make Your House A Home
So many people have commented on how much ‘stuff’ we brought along with us and how they wish they had brought more little personal items of their own.  This is the only thing on this list I can take credit for.  In my opinion if you are moving somewhere you still want it to feel like home, so I brought things I’d want in my home no matter where in the world it was.  This includes Christmas things, I would have went with an empty house at Christmas rather than pay a fortune for things here.  I am so glad we brought our own trees and ornaments.

Well that’s it, but I am sure I will add things over time.  Hopefully this helps if you are moving to Singapore!

Wednesday 11 December 2013

RDA and The Polo Club

The other day I was invited to go along to help out with the Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore by Amanda ( aka, the hostess with the mostest who held the pot luck dinner). I'm pretty scared of horses and was never a little girl that just loved ponies so deep down I was a bit apprehensive. However, I did think it would be great excuse to get out and see people. With Mark being away from home I also really needed something to speak about when he came back from KL.
Amanda asked that I be there for 8am as she was organising us getting a lift there, so this would be an early start for me. I dragged myself out of bed bright and early then headed off to Amanda's early as we planned to get so coffee in ourselves first. Amanda hadn't been sleeping so well, so when I went round she said that she had rearranged plans so that she'd drive us there herself. She'd also organised for Tcina, another newbie, to come along too. At this my ears pricked up....."someone newer than myself? Why wasn't I told?" Hmmm, long story short, Mark hadn't been taking the new 'phone numbers list' home...grr.
After our shot of coffee we got in the car and headed off up North near the MacRitchie Reservoir just off Thomson Road. It's so pretty and leafy there and it's surprising to see so much space in this little island. When we arrived at the RDA we got to look around and watch the horses as well as volunteers setting up for the riders. Tcina and I got to chat a little and arrange a day out the next day as we obviously weren't allowed to jump into the arena. After filling out some forms we were allowed to shadow the side walkers which was really interesting and gave me a taste for helping out in future.
After such a busy morning Amanda invited us round to The Polo Club where her family has membership. Tcina and I were more than willing to dip into the pool or laze on a lounger and sip cool drinks. I loved the juxtaposition of swimming along, looking over the field to the sky-scrapers beyond.
After a bite to eat (satays....what else?), Amanda showed us Turf City and a really cool looking reclamation yard. Turf City is somewhere I am going to have to go with Mark, I think he will love how quiet the Giant is there and I really need to have a better look around Paserbella, which is like a really pretty market.
All in all this is shaping up to be my busiest week so far. December is certainly looking a whole lot better than November and I love how full my days are getting.

Monday 9 December 2013

The MRT and a look at Vivo City

On Monday I found out how to use the MRT and overcame a massive fear, I also got to spend the day with Sally who very kindly showed me how to use the MRT and therefore let me overcome such a giant fear.  I’d been spending a quite a bit of time around the house and had started to think this whole move malarkey was pretty boring.  It consisted of me cleaning the house and walking Daisy around Medway.  (Well duh Sheila, those things are boring.  What’s not boring is getting out of the house and exploring).  At the Christmas Party we had the most people come and chat to us since the pot luck dinner.  Along with all of the kind well-wishers was Sally who very sweetly enquired not only how I was doing, but what I had been doing.  (Possibly a very clever trick to make me prove I was doing fine and getting out of the house).  When Sally found out I hadn't been out and about beyond my local Fair Price she immediately set about planning something to keep me busy. 
Well Monday came around and we walked to the local MRT station, which in my case is Dover.  It’s quite a walk away which is why Mark got the car, but it is close enough if I don’t have shopping.  We have to walk through the Singapore Polytechnic which I had checked out on Google maps.  On seeing the path there I thought I wouldn't even dare to venture out, but Sally showed me a really easy way to get into the station.
We’re on the green line and had decided that for our day out we would go to Vivo City so we only had to switch once onto the circle line.  I’d already been given a card to load up from Claire who I had gotten chatting to at the pot luck dinner, so I didn't have to pay the $5 for that.  I only needed to top up my card and get going.  It was really easy and so well signposted I wonder what I had been so afraid of.  I love seeing everything out of the window on my part of the green line and it’s definitely helping me to orientate myself around this place.
When we’d gotten to Vivo City Sally showed me around and explained that it was set out like three interconnecting circles which she assured me would mean it would be more difficult for me to get lost.  We then grabbed a coffee and chatted before having another look around and then lunch at the food court downstairs.  I tried to order chicken rice, but think I got something completely different.  Oh well, I guess I need to do more than point in future!  Whatever I had was really delicious and did have chicken and rice as part of it, so I guess I couldn't go far wrong.  The whole court is amazing and I can’t wait to take Mark there for a very cheap feast.
On the way back Sally said she would show me the Cold Storage at Fusionopolis which isn't too far away from us by car.  We got off at One North and walked round to the shops and as Sally had organised for her husband to pick us up and take us home, I was able to get some heavier things I didn't really want to get without Mark.

I don’t quite know what was so frightening about the MRT, but I assure you it is super easy to use.  It’s so quick, cheap and there are so many signposts around it makes me wish I had gotten out ages ago.  I can’t wait to jump on and see where each stop takes me!

Friday 6 December 2013

British High Commission Christmas Party

On Friday the 6th December we attended the BHC Christmas Party at Eden Hall which is the official residence of the High Commissioner. This place is stunning and Sheila has posted about it under the post "Coffee Morning". There were just over 140 people from all areas of the High Commission (refrered to as the Mission) and it was a great opportunity for us to meet and mingle with people. We had a traditional Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings and I have to admit that I even had seconds!! I however did not have any pudding so I feel better about having another plate of Turkey!! We had a great time and arrived home just after 1am.

This is Sheila and I posing outside Eden Hall :


This is the Grand Ball Room upstairs all set up for the dinner :


Sheila looking lovely :

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Meeting New People

Being an expat is difficult in a way I just didn't imagine when I was sitting in the UK surrounded by people I knew.  When you're an expat you have to introduce yourself, not like in the UK, here- you have to introduce yourself daily.  Everyone you meet is new, and that can be really exciting.  But everyone you meet is new, and that can be REALLY tiring.  Tiring in that nobody just 'gets you', because nobody knows you.
Academy friends
I have been blessed to have met some really great people.  When I was in academy I had a little group of friends that lived in each others pockets.  When I joined the ATC that group grew.  We had adventures together and knew each other really well.  There were 'in jokes' and back stories, and classes together and walks home and hanging out.  There were camps and trips and evenings talking until our throats were sore.
University friends on my wedding day
My two best friends from University were my bridesmaids on our wedding day and they supported me 100% during my totally irrational freak outs in the run up to The Big Day.  They were there all the way through Uni and I have so many happy memories from my time then.
Night out with my Uni girlies
So many classes together, or hiding out in the library trying to find sources.  Many walks and tears and laughing so hard that my sides were sore and my stomach was hard like I'd had a workout.  They know me so well and we can sit together without saying a word or we can talk and learn and grow from those chats.

Post Grad friends
Being an expat means having nobody like that.  When you're an expat you have to start again and this is a challenge.  I'm a happy introvert.  I'm quite happy to be quiet and read or potter away on my own.  I love being with a group of people, but I am more than happy in my own company.
FLASH! But still friend from Uni Job
However, now I'm playing a whole other ball-game.  I need to get on with it and start introducing myself some more.  Nobody knows me, but I'm never going to have anyone know me if I sit quietly at home pottering about.  Its something I didn't even think about in Scotland.  It's something I totally took for granted.
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Work friends
If, however, God grants me with even one person to chat away happily with, I will try my hardest to never take them for granted.  I will remember what its like to not know anyone, and to constantly re-introduce myself.  Until then I guess I'm just going to have to get out of the front door and get talking.

Monday 2 December 2013

Its Official - We are Diplomats in Singapore!!

Its taken a few weeks but at long last our official documentation has arrived and both Sheila and I have Diplomatic Status in country! What exactly does this mean, in all honesty I don't really know. I am aware that it give us certain privileges with housing, working and the car ownership issues. I'm sure as time marches on we will learn much more!