Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of our arrival in Singapore. We landed just after midnight on 8/11/14, stayed at the hotel next to the airport, and took possession of our condo mid-morning. We had rental furniture and only what we were able to transport in our suitcases until our air shipment and container arrived. We were jet-lagged, we didn’t know much about anything, and we didn’t have any friends. The start of school was looming, and figuring that whole situation out was pretty intimidating. Brad started his new role at work the day after we arrived, which meant the kids and I were left to fend for ourselves, getting organized and dealing with issues such as what we were going to eat, given our lack of kitchen supplies, and how to get around, given our lack of a car. It was weeks before I had a cell phone or a local credit card. We had several issues with our air conditioning that left us frustrated and really sweaty in this tropical environment. We were facing what seemed at the time to be an interminable stretch of separation from our family and friends at home. Intense doesn’t begin to describe our initial weeks in Singapore.
A year later, we are fresh off our long-anticipated trip home for the summer. Brad had been home 3 times throughout the year, but for the kids and me, it was our first time back post-move. Kylie, Jenna, Logan, and I were home for 5.5 weeks, and Brad was able to join us for the first 3. We crammed in visits with as many people as possible, arranging some ahead of time and making others impromptu, between exciting things like doctor and dentist appointments. Brad worked the first 2 weeks of the trip, as we shuffled between our parents’ homes, a hotel near Brad’s office, and nights with friends. Our third week was spent on our annual Wisconsin vacation with my family, which felt delightfully normal. Brad left on 7/13 to return to SG. The kids and I spent another week with Brad’s family and then a week and a half with mine. We got reacquainted with my 2 toddler nephews; they quickly got used to having their 3 big cousins around, and watching them play together was wonderful. We visited our old neighborhood, saw our house, and even met the new owners (who happened to come outside while we were chatting with neighbors). Driving the kids around Libertyville in our rental car was really exciting for me; we enjoyed the few days we had there to see friends and do some of our usual things, like a trip to the pool. We ate our fill of the American foods we’d been craving, visiting many of our favorite restaurants while catching up with different people. We thoroughly celebrated Independence Day, making it to 2 different firework displays. Ky and Jen even got their traditional red-white-and-blue manicures, since apparently, Mom was not allowed to take this year off from nail-painting duties, despite the fact that the morning of July 4th was spent packing up to move to yet another location. It was almost surreal; while we were home, it was hard to believe that nearly a year in Singapore had happened, and now that we’ve returned, it’s hard to believe that we were actually home for over a month.
I had always maintained that I would not be making the trip to or from Asia alone with the kids. However, as Brad’s work commitments for the summer shifted several times just before we booked our flights, it became clear that if I wanted to maximize our time in the U.S., the kids and I would have to come back to SG on our own. Approximately 9,400 miles and a full day of travel later, I’m proud to say that we did it. Despite spending the bulk of their summer fighting with each other over just about everything (because when you don’t have a house and are constantly on the move, it’s all up for grabs; throw a little jet lag into that lack of a routine, and watch out), the kids rose to the occasion and acquitted themselves quite nicely. We checked 3 bags and carried on 3 duffels, 2 backpacks, and my purse; no luggage was left behind, and everybody carried at least 1 item. One notable event from the trip back was that after countless in-flight trips to the bathroom with Jenna, who has always been too nervous to go into the lavatory on her own, my girl finally decided that going by herself was no big deal… on her very last potty break of the journey. I’ll take it, though; I’m hoping this paves the way for all future flights! My buddy Logan did not sleep at all on the 15-hour flight from Chicago to Hong Kong. At one point, after the first meal had concluded, I got everybody all set to sleep and settled in for a nap myself; I woke up several hours later to find both girls sound asleep, but Logan sitting up next to me, chatting with a flight attendant. She told me that she’d walked past us several times and noticed that Lo was just staring at me while I slept, so she decided to help him find something to watch, which is what they were up to when I opened my eyes. (Logan subsequently fell asleep as soon as we boarded the plane for our 2nd flight, and he slept the whole way from HK to SG.) There was another mom of 3 sitting near us on both of our flights (causing the flight attendants to ask if we were all together), and once back in Singapore, she and her kids ended up having to split into 2 taxis to get all of their bags home (meaning that she put her oldest daughter, who looked to be about Ky’s age, in charge of the 2nd taxi); luckily, we fit everything into a single cab for the ride home from the airport at 1 a.m. (Did I just call Singapore home? Yes, I guess I did. I need to continue to go with the U.S. being “home-home” and SG being “home,” I suppose; returning did, in fact, feel like coming home, with Brad and all our belongings, in our familiar condo, here waiting for us.)
Ky in Hong Kong
Jen in Hong Kong
Lo in Hong Kong
Since the start, I’ve considered living in our condo to be an experience akin to going to college as a family. Expats’ stays in Singapore tend to be temporary, and nobody has any family here. We all need friends. Last year was so much like being a freshman in college, meeting our neighbors in the “dorm,” and quickly becoming friends. After bonding during the school year and leaving for the summer, it was exciting to get back here and see everyone. For us, it definitely had the feel of returning for sophomore year- knowing what to expect, feeling comfortable, and having friends to come back to. It’s so much easier now than it was a year ago!
It’s also very different to know that after all this effort, we’re now in the final countdown of our Asian adventure. We will not be in SG a year from now; our return to normal life will be here before we know it. As such, we’re feeling the pressure to make the most of our second and final year away. We’re making more travel plans, and we’re also continuing to explore all that Singapore has to offer.
This weekend was a big one for Singapore, as Sunday marked its 50th birthday. They call it National Day, and because it was the big 5-0, they even made it a 4-day weekend. We wanted to take part in some way, but we weren’t really looking to go to the parade (as we’d attended something called the Chingay Parade back in February, and we figured it’d be pretty similar), and we didn’t feel the need to go see the fireworks, since we’d just done that twice in the U.S. (a good call, since we watched both the parade and the fireworks on TV, and the fireworks were impressive but very, very short- certainly not worth the effort of fighting the crowds). So, we settled on going down to Marina Bay to watch the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Black Nights. They put on a 25-minute aerial display beginning at noon each of 3 days, 8/7-8/9. We tried to go watch them on Friday, but that didn’t go so well. When we got on the train by our condo, it was sunny; when we exited the train down near Marina Bay, it had started to drizzle. One would think that after living here for a year, we would have come prepared with umbrellas, but it had already been a rainy week, and we foolishly felt secure about the sunny weather that day. We found a spot to sit near the Merlion (famous symbol of Singapore; check out the pic below), across from the iconic Marina Bay Sands (a resort- hotel, casino, restaurants, shopping, etc.). In the absence of any specific directions about where the best viewing would be, we, and the thousands of people around us, mistakenly assumed that this would be a fine spot from which to watch the planes. The drizzle became a heavier rain as we waited for the show to begin, if it was even going to begin, given the increasingly poor weather conditions. Finally, just after noon, we spotted the planes in the distance, but they were flying low, on the far side of the Marina Bay Sands. We quickly came to understand that our location was wrong, visibility was poor anyway, and the rain wasn’t stopping. So, the crowd began to disperse, and we headed home, soggy and not sure that we were going to try this again. We skipped the opportunity to go back on Saturday, as it had rained all morning, and we didn’t quite trust that the weather would cooperate this time. After talking to friends who did go on Saturday and enjoyed it, we tried again on Sunday. It ended up being fantastic. The train was free on National Day, which was a nice perk. We stationed ourselves on the other side of the MBS this time, and we managed to stay pretty close to the train station’s entrance, so we could get back on the train quickly, once the show was over. Promptly at noon, 6 fighter jets headed our way, and a very impressive display of aerial maneuvers ensued. Jen hadn’t been too thrilled about standing out in the hot sun, waiting for the planes, but once they appeared, she was as enthralled as the rest of us. At one point, one of the jets roared by so low over our heads that we could feel the vibration in our chests; a number of babies right around us immediately burst into tears, but for those of us who understood what was going on, it was pretty spectacular. Pictures don’t do it justice, but I’ve included a few. This was by far the best event we’ve attended in Singapore.
Our first attempt at watching the planes, down by the Merlion; that’s Marina Bay Sands behind the Merlion
Better prepared on Sunday, and just like true Singaporeans, using our umbrellas as shade
Jets heading our way as Logan watches
Pretty awesome (and so close!)
Can you guess what they’re drawing in the sky?
Making progress
Almost done
2 hearts! (I didn’t quite get the bottom of the big one; it all happened so fast.)
Our holiday weekend is over, and yesterday was the first day of school for the kids (thus, my ability to sit down and write this blog post). We went to orientation last week, and it was so nice to know where to go and what to do. Everyone came home happy after school yesterday afternoon, so the year seems to be off to a good start. The adventure continues!
Simpler in Singapore? 