Hello friends!
Every day that passes brings new experiences-some good, some not so good, some just plain strange! We hear things and see things that seem very peculiar to us, but that are so commonplace here in Singapore. Keep in mind that Singapore is truly a melting pot of many cultures - Chinese, Malaysian, Indian - and it's the blending of so many different people that makes Singapore so unique! I hope I don't offend anyone by sharing my random thoughts on random daily occurences that we've observed since we've been here. So here it is, the IRKS, QUIRKS, AND PERKS of life in Singapore!!! (and I'll let you figure out if it's an irk, quirk or perk, ha!)
GUM - you are allowed to chew it here, but it is not sold here and considered illegal to sell gum.
CLEAN CITY - Singapore has a reputation of being such a clean city and at this point, I would beg to differ! Littering is discouraged, yet they do not provide very many trashcans in public places so that you can throw away your trash! In our neighborhood the garbage collector comes by daily-even on Sunday! Recycling is big here. There are even "dumpster divers" who come down our street on a daily basis, open up our trash and recycle bins, and collect anything made out of cardboard to recycle.
LUCKY DRAW - Singaporeans love a lucky draw. Most events include a "lucky draw" as a way of attracting people. It doesn't matter what it is, they love anything that is free.
QUEUE - for those of you who don't know what a queue is, it's a line. You don't "wait in line" for a taxi, you "Q" for a taxi. There are "Q" signs all over the place! You "queue" to place your order at McDonalds, for instance. They are very "Q" happy. I have "Q'd" to check in at the doctors office, then Q'd to be seen by the doctor, then Q'd to check out and pay my bill, then go to the pharmacy where you take a number and Q yet again!
Speaking of doctors visits, you check in (no nurse to ask you about your medical history), walk directly into the doctors private office/exam room. If you require a prescription it is filled on the spot and you walk out with it. No taking a prescription to a pharmacy to have it filled!
McDonald's - McDonalds is big here. They are called "McCafes" because they are usually outside on the sidewalk. There are only TWO drive-thrus in all of Singapore, and they are both McDonalds, neither of which are near to us. We haven't been thru a "drive-thru" since June!
It's so strange that I used to do that all the time, and now we either have to park and go in, or we don't go at all!
HAWKER STANDS - instead of fast food as we know it, Singapore has "hawker stands" all over the place. They are a cluster of food stalls offering local food, everything from shark fin soup to pigs organs to Indian food and Muslim food, lots of chicken and rice. These stalls are usually near a housing development or apartment complex. Singaporeans eat out all the time, some three meals a day. Hardly anyone cooks at home (tiny kitchens) The food at the hawker stands is cheap so families eat there instead of at home. The hawker stand around the corner from our house is open 24 hours a day, and we've seen it very busy at 1:00 in the morning! So far we have not found a hawker stand that appeals to us very much. At lunchtime Shelby does eat many meals at the hawker stands near the Siemens building. His favorite thing to order is curry chicken and lemon ice tea. By the way, there are no free refills on drinks in Singapore that we have found. They charge you for everything! Some places even charge you for a wet wipe to wipe your hands! It is quite commonplace to see people eating with their hands at a hawker stand. Indians typically do not use utensils and will eat all their food with their right hand (including rice!) Using the left hand is taboo for Indians-they believe the left hand is to be used for toilet purposes only!
Don't ever ask for a napkin in a restaurant. In Singapore, a napkin means a sanitary napkin and they will look at you like you are crazy! Instead you have to ask for a "tissue" or a "serviette".
Most of the time they won't even offer you one (again, the litter issue) so you almost always have to ask!
Terminology is different here. An elevator is a "lift". A shopping cart is a "trolley". If you want to place an order to go, it's called "take away". Drinks that are "take away" are placed in a drawstring bag with a straw. The yield sign in traffic says "Give Way" instead of yield. An overpass on a highway is called a "flyover". Sometimes in a parking garage, instead of an exit sign, it will say "Way Out" with an arrow. There is no Home Depot or Lowe's here - no lumber actually. The closest thing to a hardware store is the "DIY" meaning "Do It Yourself". Peanuts are called "groundnuts". Cotton candy is called "candy floss". A bathroom or restroom is simply called a toilet!
Older Singaporeans like to be greeted as "Aunty" or "Uncle" even though you are not related! Wesley said all the kids at the school call the cafeteria workers "Aunty" out of respect.
Gas stations are all Full-Service. We haven't pumped gas since we've been here.
There is a serious lack of sugar in the baked goods here. The bakeries sell such beautiful cakes and pastries, but do not be deceived! They don't even taste sweet!
Eggs are not refrigerated in the grocery stores. That freaked me out the first time I saw them. Also they are all brown eggs, no white eggs.
GROCERY SHOPPING - okay this is something that challenges me and frustrates me on a daily basis. I guess I used to take for granted that I could jump in my car and drive to Kroger or Tom Thumb and find everything I needed. Not so here! First of all, I WALK to the nearest grocery store or "wet market" and pull along my little metal cart like a bag lady. Then you never know whether or not they will have what you're looking for! Many times they do not have the milk we are looking for (most of the milk tastes yucky), they are out of hot dog buns (which by the way come only FOUR to a package), no canned chili, no fritos, etc. You can't just make a grocery list and hope to find it all in one place! I have a "provisioner" named Richard who calls me every morning to see what I need. He is wonderful and has found many American products for me. An added plus is that his English is fairly easy to understand! He brings us Tostitos and poptarts and vanilla wafers. Yep, we love Richard! When I go to the grocery store I usually can only buy a few items at a time since I am wheeling it home (and half the time it's raining). However, when Shelby is home and can drive me to the grocery store, I try to stock up and fill the cart. Inevitably when I get to the check-out, the cashier will ask "Having a pah-tee?" They just aren't used to someone buying so much stuff at once. I just tell them yes, I am having a party! :) Oh and when you get a shopping cart (oops I mean trolley), you have to put a dollar coin into the lock on the trolley in order to be able to use it. The coin is returned when you return the trolley. In the produce section, they have someone who stands by the scales and weighs your produce for you and puts a sticker on it. I always forget to have them weigh my produce! Then I get up to the checkout and they make a huge deal out of it because they can't weigh it at the check-out and you have to go back to the produce section and have it weighed! The groceries here are insanely expensive and that's just the way it is.
The shopping centers and malls are busy all day every day. A typical Saturday or Sunday shopping trip here is like Christmas shopping at Walmart on a Saturday in the states. Absolute chaos! We try to avoid going near the shopping centers on the weekends. There are just SO SO many people here and it's so very crowded wherever you go! The sidewalks are crowded, the stores are crowded, the lines are long. We have seen lines at the ATM machines that are twenty people deep. The MRT (subway) is usually packed. You're lucky if you can find a seat when someone gets up. So everyone ends up standing and holding onto a pole or strap to keep from falling over when the subway jerks. Keep in mind that it is hot and sweaty here all the time, and people pushed together in a crowded subway is not a pleasant experience. I usually hold my breath for as long as I possibly can. Need I say more?
Snack stands here and there include an ice cream man who sells ice cream sandwiches with ice cream between two wafers or pieces of bread. Wesley's favorite stand is the waffle stand. They sell waffles with filling and you roll them up and eat them. Fresh lime juice is big here. Snow cones have weird flavors like red bean or corn.
Our stove runs on a propane gas tank. You never know when it's going to run out! When it does,(while you are in the middle of cooking dinner)you simply pick up the phone and call for a replacement tank which is delivered and hooked up for you.
Most kitchens here are called "wet kitchens" and they are outdoors. Or part indoors, with the sink and dishwasher outdoors. We are so lucky that our kitchen is entirely indoors! It is very small but at least it's indoors. Also our washing machine is in the kitchen too, allowing me to do laundry and cook dinner simultaneously! Luckily the dryer is on the back porch. The ovens are small so needless to say I have ordered a turkey from a caterer for Thanksgiving because I don't think I could fit one in my oven!
7-11 stores are everywhere! They sell mashed potatoes from a mashed potato machine. I tried it and it wasn't bad! :)
We have to turn on our hot water heater before taking a shower or washing dishes. Which means you wake up five minutes early, flip the switch, jump back in bed and wait for your water to heat up!
There are no outlets in the bathrooms for drying your hair. Can you say inconvenient?
The postman only delivers the mail. He doesn't pick up anything you might want to mail out. So that involves me walking to the nearest drop box or sending it with Shelby to his office!
The sun comes up and goes down at about the same time every single day, about 7:00am and 7:00pm. There is no daylight savings time here. Right now we are 14 hours ahead of Dallas time, but in April when you spring forward it will only be 13 hours difference. If you want to know what time it is here, just change your a.m. to p.m. or your p.m. to a.m. and add 2 hours! :)
Lizards are plentiful. Called "chit chats". The good news is that they eat the insects. The bad news is that they choose to make my home their home. I've gotten better about not freaking out when I see them, but finding one in my kitchen sink first thing in the morning always makes me hysterical!
The weather is never-changing. Good if you like warm humid weather and if you don't care at all what your hair looks like. It typically rains every afternoon around 3:00pm, just a brief shower. Often it will rain in the morning too. Monsoon season is Nov thru Jan and you can imagine how I'm dreading that! I never leave the house without an umbrella. On the bright side, everything is green and tropical and flowering in Singapore-no need for water sprinklers! We take several showers a day and go through lots of deodorant around here. The curly look is in, because straight hair is impossible unless you are Chinese! Kasey and I envy the Chinese women with the beautiful straight hair.
We have many holidays on the calendar where the kids do not have school and Shelby does not have work. In Singapore they celebrate all the Chinese holidays, Muslim holidays, Indian holidays and yes, even Christmas! So it seems like every time we turn around we are out of school for something or another. The kids love it! :) Most holidays are a time to travel. The American neighborhoods clear out on the holidays, with people visiting nearby Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia-there are SO SO many places to go and we are hoping to get to see them all while we are here! In the summer the American neighborhood is a ghost town, with moms and kids back in the states for the summer, and dads and dogs staying in Singapore. I'm so happy I'm a mom! :)
The closest thing to Mountain Dew here is called "Kickapoo Joy Juice", haha!
Driving on the left side of the road has its challenges. I still can't get past the steering wheel being on the right side of the car and not the left. I can't tell you how many times I get in the car on the left side and then crawl over to the other side to drive! How embarassing! And turning on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker!
Well that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure the list will grow the longer we stay!
Singapore is an interesting place, that's for sure!
This week finds me in the kitchen, making fudge, peanut brittle, and homemade caramels. YUM YUM!
Kasey made a gingerbread house 
This year I purchased a handmade nativity set called the Chinese Manger. It is crafted out of sawdust from the wild cinamon tree. It was really neat to watch the man make the figurines! My favorite piece is the camel.
This is the latest addition to my Santa collection - a Singapore Santa! 
