It's the end of an era. The Singapore era. It is time for me to move on to my next venture. I have no idea where that is right now but it will all work itself out in the next couple months. :) I will be home sometime within 2 months-ish.
Due to some changes a couple weeks ago, I had a very tough choice to make between staying here in Singapore or moving on to whatever comes next. It was the easiest decision of my life to come to Singapore. I got offered the job on a Friday night and by Saturday morning I knew without a doubt in my mind that I was coming here. This time around, it was one of the hardest decisions to choose to leave Singapore. The experience has been above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I am grateful for the time I have had here and every moment that I have left here. In the end though, I had to go with my gut. I knew my time here was coming to an end.
It's time to make that "must see/do" list of things I haven't seen/done yet in Sing. Coming soon to a blog near you....:)
When you have a tough choice to make, do you go with your gut or logic?
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Breaking up with Facebook
Dear Facebook,
It's been a long journey....a very long journey...It all started when we met senior year of college at THE Ohio State University. You let go of your pretentiousness for only those that attended Harvard or Yale. Oh how fun it was in the beginning, setting up our profile, putting our relationship status, checking out everyone else's relationship status, adding our friends who went away to different colleges, 'friend-ing' each new sorority sister, and then we decided it was perfectly okay to 'friend' every random dude that we met at frat parties who we may or may not ever run into again (it was senior year after all). We proceeded to post every drunken picture from tailgates, house parties, and sorority functions. No worries about privacy in the early days. Then we celebrated our first milestone together....graduating from college, along with all of our other friends, sorority sisters, and 'friends'. Then we packed up and moved to Iowa for chiro school....This is when the real fun began...
Grad school was the start of our long emotional journey together. We met so many new people during the first trimester alone. 'Accept', 'accept', 'accept' with each new friend request. Every new class member we met, every person we met at the bars downtown on the weekends, every single person we had a conversation with. "Are you on facebook?" became the standard question after every new association made. We posted silly quotes and more drunken pictures from our crazy weekends after studying so hard all week. We kept in contact with our friends from other chapters in our life who moved all over the US. At some point during those glorious 3.33 years of grad school, we received a friend request from John Smith and Jane Doe from high school. Did we ever talk to John and Jane in high school. Pretty sure that's a no. John however did manage to spray paint on my basement walls when him and his 'gang' crashed my party in high school. Yes John, let's become friends 5 years later on the computer. Makes perfect sense. Sometimes he even 'likes' my status. My how we've become close. The high school friend requests doubles over time. Tell me again, why do we want to go back to high school? Oh the dilemma of whether to 'accept' or 'decline' those friend requests. As we got sucked in deeper and deeper, we hit 'accept' repeatedly.
We had lots of fun dating in grad school. With each new beau, each boy we dated, and "dated", we added as a friend, failing to de-friend when we were done dating. Oh no of course not. We are absolutely okay with being friends with our exes on facebook. No problem, really. It's perfectly okay when we come home drunk at 2am to go on the computer and proceed to stalk---seeing who the ex's new "person" is, looking at pictures, checking out their wall. This never bothered anyone. Let's just hope we were too drunk to remember what we looked at the next morning. Oh but we had some good times with some great guys.
Then came the very bittersweet day of graduation. Status after status of, "Congratulations class 091!" and "Good Luck!" and "I will miss you class 091!". Oh what a glorious journey we had in Iowa...
We headed down the road to the real world. We started to realize that maybe all those drunk pictures, silly quotes and zero privacy aren't such a good idea before we headed to the job scene. Delete. Picture after picture. Whole albums gone with the click of the mouse. Cleaned up the profile just in case the prospective employers checked us out. Learned how to set up the privacy settings. Then we entered the professional world of facebook. We learned about networking, making a 'page' for our business, and posting informational videos. The new dilemma--Is it okay to 'accept' friend requests from patients? As long as we privatize some of the pictures and wall feed, sure we can add some patients. We'll teach them a lot about health and chiropractic. We did a great job of this our first year in the real world. We had wonderful wellness patients who actually watched our informational videos and 'liked' them.
Then we moved to Virginia. We met lots of new people down in the mountains. One day we had 666 friends. Was this a warning sign?? We had a job with too much free time which led to constant checking of the wall feed, the photos, and what's this person up to. We became a little obsessed with each other. At some point, we took a much needed break for a month. We came back refreshed, ready to hang out once or twice a day. Then the wall feed started becoming loaded with weddings and babies. With each passing week, someone else was now engaged, married, or pregnant. We never saw more belly pictures in our life! Bellies of girls we never even talked to in high school. Dare I say it's time to clean up the friend list. De-friend random person I never talked to in high school, De-friend cute guy I met at a frat party, De-friend old patient from another practice. We felt a little lighter and little less cluttered from our friend clean up.
Life continued to move on and for whatever reason we grew more and more attached to each other. We added family members that we haven't seen for years, we recover even more high school friends that we run into at our hometown bars, added more professional contacts, etcetera. Then we moved all the way to Singapore. Thank god we have each other thousands of miles away. Now we can always make sure we know what's going on back home. This was the beginning of our downward spiral (or did that begin a few years ago?) At some point, we needed a break. That lasted a month, but really it was the break before the break up...
I'm done with your pettyness and "poor me" statuses. Your life sucks? Well get off the computer and do something about it. I'm finished with your extra detailed description of every little thing that you're doing today. I really don't care and frankly, neither does anyone else. I'm done with your 500 baby pictures. Babies are adorable and you're proud of your little one, I get it. (I love babies). So post the best 50 pictures and then go spend time with your little one who won't be so little the next time you log off facebook. We had some kick-ass awesome times together, we laughed, we cried, we even inspired others. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times....You were a huge part of my life for 7 years. Will we ever reunite? Only time will tell...
Love,
Me
It's been a long journey....a very long journey...It all started when we met senior year of college at THE Ohio State University. You let go of your pretentiousness for only those that attended Harvard or Yale. Oh how fun it was in the beginning, setting up our profile, putting our relationship status, checking out everyone else's relationship status, adding our friends who went away to different colleges, 'friend-ing' each new sorority sister, and then we decided it was perfectly okay to 'friend' every random dude that we met at frat parties who we may or may not ever run into again (it was senior year after all). We proceeded to post every drunken picture from tailgates, house parties, and sorority functions. No worries about privacy in the early days. Then we celebrated our first milestone together....graduating from college, along with all of our other friends, sorority sisters, and 'friends'. Then we packed up and moved to Iowa for chiro school....This is when the real fun began...
Grad school was the start of our long emotional journey together. We met so many new people during the first trimester alone. 'Accept', 'accept', 'accept' with each new friend request. Every new class member we met, every person we met at the bars downtown on the weekends, every single person we had a conversation with. "Are you on facebook?" became the standard question after every new association made. We posted silly quotes and more drunken pictures from our crazy weekends after studying so hard all week. We kept in contact with our friends from other chapters in our life who moved all over the US. At some point during those glorious 3.33 years of grad school, we received a friend request from John Smith and Jane Doe from high school. Did we ever talk to John and Jane in high school. Pretty sure that's a no. John however did manage to spray paint on my basement walls when him and his 'gang' crashed my party in high school. Yes John, let's become friends 5 years later on the computer. Makes perfect sense. Sometimes he even 'likes' my status. My how we've become close. The high school friend requests doubles over time. Tell me again, why do we want to go back to high school? Oh the dilemma of whether to 'accept' or 'decline' those friend requests. As we got sucked in deeper and deeper, we hit 'accept' repeatedly.
We had lots of fun dating in grad school. With each new beau, each boy we dated, and "dated", we added as a friend, failing to de-friend when we were done dating. Oh no of course not. We are absolutely okay with being friends with our exes on facebook. No problem, really. It's perfectly okay when we come home drunk at 2am to go on the computer and proceed to stalk---seeing who the ex's new "person" is, looking at pictures, checking out their wall. This never bothered anyone. Let's just hope we were too drunk to remember what we looked at the next morning. Oh but we had some good times with some great guys.
Then came the very bittersweet day of graduation. Status after status of, "Congratulations class 091!" and "Good Luck!" and "I will miss you class 091!". Oh what a glorious journey we had in Iowa...
We headed down the road to the real world. We started to realize that maybe all those drunk pictures, silly quotes and zero privacy aren't such a good idea before we headed to the job scene. Delete. Picture after picture. Whole albums gone with the click of the mouse. Cleaned up the profile just in case the prospective employers checked us out. Learned how to set up the privacy settings. Then we entered the professional world of facebook. We learned about networking, making a 'page' for our business, and posting informational videos. The new dilemma--Is it okay to 'accept' friend requests from patients? As long as we privatize some of the pictures and wall feed, sure we can add some patients. We'll teach them a lot about health and chiropractic. We did a great job of this our first year in the real world. We had wonderful wellness patients who actually watched our informational videos and 'liked' them.
Then we moved to Virginia. We met lots of new people down in the mountains. One day we had 666 friends. Was this a warning sign?? We had a job with too much free time which led to constant checking of the wall feed, the photos, and what's this person up to. We became a little obsessed with each other. At some point, we took a much needed break for a month. We came back refreshed, ready to hang out once or twice a day. Then the wall feed started becoming loaded with weddings and babies. With each passing week, someone else was now engaged, married, or pregnant. We never saw more belly pictures in our life! Bellies of girls we never even talked to in high school. Dare I say it's time to clean up the friend list. De-friend random person I never talked to in high school, De-friend cute guy I met at a frat party, De-friend old patient from another practice. We felt a little lighter and little less cluttered from our friend clean up.
Life continued to move on and for whatever reason we grew more and more attached to each other. We added family members that we haven't seen for years, we recover even more high school friends that we run into at our hometown bars, added more professional contacts, etcetera. Then we moved all the way to Singapore. Thank god we have each other thousands of miles away. Now we can always make sure we know what's going on back home. This was the beginning of our downward spiral (or did that begin a few years ago?) At some point, we needed a break. That lasted a month, but really it was the break before the break up...
I'm done with your pettyness and "poor me" statuses. Your life sucks? Well get off the computer and do something about it. I'm finished with your extra detailed description of every little thing that you're doing today. I really don't care and frankly, neither does anyone else. I'm done with your 500 baby pictures. Babies are adorable and you're proud of your little one, I get it. (I love babies). So post the best 50 pictures and then go spend time with your little one who won't be so little the next time you log off facebook. We had some kick-ass awesome times together, we laughed, we cried, we even inspired others. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times....You were a huge part of my life for 7 years. Will we ever reunite? Only time will tell...
Love,
Me
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Deleted....and more....
Just a few things.....
-That's right folks...I deleted....(dramatic pause)....facebook! I'm done with a capital D. Done, done and done. Now I truly believe facebook can be used for many good things especially when it comes to networking and business. But I did not really use it for the greater good. I will use a new website to post my pics on to share with you all. :)
-Tomorrow I am doing an intro to rock climbing course to see if it's my potential new hobby. Super excited!!
-Going back to 'nam in Sept for a weekend! I went to Vietnam in June of 2008 on a clinic abroad trip with my chiro school. One of the most amazing trips ever that influenced me to practice abroad after school. We started in Ho Chi Minh City and travelled east and a little north visiting a few different cities. This time I'm going to Hanoi which is the capital and is located in the northern part of 'nam. :)
Any good picture websites your recommend?? :)
-That's right folks...I deleted....(dramatic pause)....facebook! I'm done with a capital D. Done, done and done. Now I truly believe facebook can be used for many good things especially when it comes to networking and business. But I did not really use it for the greater good. I will use a new website to post my pics on to share with you all. :)
-Tomorrow I am doing an intro to rock climbing course to see if it's my potential new hobby. Super excited!!
-Going back to 'nam in Sept for a weekend! I went to Vietnam in June of 2008 on a clinic abroad trip with my chiro school. One of the most amazing trips ever that influenced me to practice abroad after school. We started in Ho Chi Minh City and travelled east and a little north visiting a few different cities. This time I'm going to Hanoi which is the capital and is located in the northern part of 'nam. :)
Any good picture websites your recommend?? :)
Rules and Tools of Life in Singapore
1) First and foremost, respect the locals. You are in their country after all. If they are rude or get frustrated because they don't understand you, either politely defend yourself (depending on the situation) or walk away and brush it off. Remember they were forced to become an English speaking country only 46 years ago. That's younger than most of you, or most of your parents. :)
2) It really is safe to walk in the dark at 2am by yourself, even if you are female.
3) The bus driver will NOT stop at the bus station unless you press the button.
4) If you are not familiar with a bus route, check gothere.sg to make sure you get on the right bus stop or else you could be traveling over an hour on the outskirts of Singapore.
5) No, your bag does not get its own seat on the bus.
6) Watch out for cockroaches...ick!
7) Yes, those asian girls in tight dresses and lots of make up outside the bars on circular quay are prostitutes.
8) Always carry an umbrella on you, it can rain at any given moment!
2) It really is safe to walk in the dark at 2am by yourself, even if you are female.
3) The bus driver will NOT stop at the bus station unless you press the button.
4) If you are not familiar with a bus route, check gothere.sg to make sure you get on the right bus stop or else you could be traveling over an hour on the outskirts of Singapore.
5) No, your bag does not get its own seat on the bus.
6) Watch out for cockroaches...ick!
7) Yes, those asian girls in tight dresses and lots of make up outside the bars on circular quay are prostitutes.
8) Always carry an umbrella on you, it can rain at any given moment!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Mentors
I am very lucky to have not one, but four mentors who have been a huge part of my chiropractic journey. :) Here's a little bit about the part they've played in chronological order:
-Dr. D-My first chiropractor and educator. I didn't even know what chiropractic was when I started going. My mom just kind of dragged me there saying I had to check it out. My sister worked there as an office manager and convinced my mom to come in who then dragged a curious 15 year old. I don't know how far into my care I became sold but it couldn't have been too long. I remember being excited about this thing called chiropractic and wanted to tell everyone about it. Somewhere along the journey I couldn't picture doing anything other than chiropractic.
-Dr. H-My internship doctor. She has one of the busiest family wellness practices in a small town outside of Rock Island, Illinois. She is a really special person and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Her passion for family chiropractic is infectious. I truly admire her; she is a true leader and is a female chiropractor to look up to.
-Dr. L-My trainer doctor. He is the doctor that trained me at my first job for a week before he moved on to his next venture. I learned more from him in a week than I did in a whole year from the owner at my first office. I have never seen anyone care more for their patients than this guy. He also has a passion for chiropractic unlike any other I've seen. Him and I stayed friends after I left and he helped get me my second job in Virginia.
-Dr. I-My current doctor. She is so good at what she does. She is a kick butt business woman and an awesome chiropractor. Her clinical knowledge is amazing because she was a nurse before she was a chiropractor. She really looks out for the patients best interest. Everything she does, she does for the patients. She also has done nothing but believe in me and my potential even when I was lacking belief in myself. She is always trying to help me become a better chiropractor and business woman. I am truly grateful for everything she's done for me since I've moved here and hope I can continue to learn how to be as successful as her!
Thank you to all my mentors! I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for all of you. It's been an interesting journey and I don't expect that to change anytime soon :)
Who has been a mentor to you in your life?
-Dr. D-My first chiropractor and educator. I didn't even know what chiropractic was when I started going. My mom just kind of dragged me there saying I had to check it out. My sister worked there as an office manager and convinced my mom to come in who then dragged a curious 15 year old. I don't know how far into my care I became sold but it couldn't have been too long. I remember being excited about this thing called chiropractic and wanted to tell everyone about it. Somewhere along the journey I couldn't picture doing anything other than chiropractic.
-Dr. H-My internship doctor. She has one of the busiest family wellness practices in a small town outside of Rock Island, Illinois. She is a really special person and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Her passion for family chiropractic is infectious. I truly admire her; she is a true leader and is a female chiropractor to look up to.
-Dr. L-My trainer doctor. He is the doctor that trained me at my first job for a week before he moved on to his next venture. I learned more from him in a week than I did in a whole year from the owner at my first office. I have never seen anyone care more for their patients than this guy. He also has a passion for chiropractic unlike any other I've seen. Him and I stayed friends after I left and he helped get me my second job in Virginia.
-Dr. I-My current doctor. She is so good at what she does. She is a kick butt business woman and an awesome chiropractor. Her clinical knowledge is amazing because she was a nurse before she was a chiropractor. She really looks out for the patients best interest. Everything she does, she does for the patients. She also has done nothing but believe in me and my potential even when I was lacking belief in myself. She is always trying to help me become a better chiropractor and business woman. I am truly grateful for everything she's done for me since I've moved here and hope I can continue to learn how to be as successful as her!
Thank you to all my mentors! I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for all of you. It's been an interesting journey and I don't expect that to change anytime soon :)
Who has been a mentor to you in your life?
Friday, August 19, 2011
Four months
Today is my four month anniversary of living in Singapore. :) It's strange knowing that back home kids are going back to school after their summers off and all my teacher friends are back to school too. I don't have a season change or American football to remind me that the fall season is on its way. What I do have is the magic number 19 to remind me every month that I've been here yet another month in Singy! :)
They say there are 4 stages to adapting to a new culture (taken from the two websites highlighted):
-Excitment: This is the 'honeymoon' phase. Everything is new and exciting. You love the new culture because you learn new things everyday, there are so many unexpected things to learn daily, and you have left the monotony of everyday life behind. You get a chance to experience brand new foods, language, habits, weather and lifestyle. This phase usually lasts between a few days and a few months.
The individual experiences a holiday or 'honeymoon' period with their new surroundings.
They:
. Feel very positive about the culture
. Are overwhelmed with impressions
. Find the new culture exotic and are fascinated
. Are passive, meaning they have little experience of the culture
-Withdrawl or Negotiation: Usually within 1 - 4 months the negotiation phase sets in. Frustration can occur as new ways off live become more familiar and lose their charm. Barriers from language and different cultural lifestyles become more apparent and can leave you feeling isolated. Feeling of being homesick are common at this stage and it is helpful to chat often with your friends and family back home.
The individual now has some more face to face experience of the culture and starts to find things different, strange and frustrating.
They:
. Find the behaviour of the people unusual and unpredictable
. Begin to dislike the culture and react negatively to the behaviour
. Feel anxious
. Start to withdraw
. Begin to criticize, mock or show animosity to the people
-Adjustment: Between about 6 months to a year, a person immersed in a new culture begins to grow used to living in the new culture and have a new daily routine they have adapted too. They no longer feel like such an outsider, but start to consider the new country home. They are accustomed to subtle cultural nuances and things begin to feel normal. A deeper love and appreciation of the new culture can occur.
The individual now has a routine, feels more settled and is more confident in dealing with the new culture.
They:
. Understand and accept the behaviour of the people
. Feel less isolated
. Regains their sense of humour
-Enthusiam or Mastery:
When a person is fully immersed and adapted to life in a new culture, they are participating like a language. The language and communication problems from before are gone and the person feels at home. The person does not have to lose their original culture, but can appreciate both and feels at home.
The individual now feels 'at home'.
They:
. Enjoy being in the culture
. Functions well in the culture
. Prefer certain cultural traits of the new culture rather than their own
. Adopt certain behaviours from the new culture
You really do go through these phases. The one difference with living in Singapore is there is no language barrier for me because the main language is English. I think that helped me adapt MUCH faster than going to a foreign speaking country. I am definitely at stage 3 and most of stage 4 all at once since I don't have as many barriers here. I have really come to embrace and appreciate the Asian culture and no longer feel annoyed by things that used to annoy me before. :)
Some more 4 month thoughts:
-I still love the consistent hot weather. I can even handle running in the heat if it's after 5pm. :)
-In the beginning I thought I would be at the beach every weekend. Last weekend, I went to the beach for the first time in a couple months. I've become somewhat of a 'lazy singaporean'. :-P
-Running really clears my head and always gives me a better perspective on life! I feel my joints starting to get a little worn from running though. After this half marathon, it may be time to switch to biking (which I already love.)
-I finally bought a monthly Skype subscription so that I can just call people because the normal Skype-ing hasn't worked out too well thus far. $2.99 for unlimited calls to the US.... Why didn't I do this in the beginning?? So if you get a strange US number calling you, pick up! It could be me :-D
-I've been thinking WAY too much lately trying to figure things out. My mom today said just STOP! STOP thinking. And she is absolutely right. So I've stopped. :) I am going to just live my life and let the rest happen on its own. Whew, that feels so much better!!!
After a couple of crazy weeks, I feel calm and happy again (and grateful)! Hdigabtt?
What's the best part of fall where you live? :)
They say there are 4 stages to adapting to a new culture (taken from the two websites highlighted):
-Excitment: This is the 'honeymoon' phase. Everything is new and exciting. You love the new culture because you learn new things everyday, there are so many unexpected things to learn daily, and you have left the monotony of everyday life behind. You get a chance to experience brand new foods, language, habits, weather and lifestyle. This phase usually lasts between a few days and a few months.
The individual experiences a holiday or 'honeymoon' period with their new surroundings.
They:
. Feel very positive about the culture
. Are overwhelmed with impressions
. Find the new culture exotic and are fascinated
. Are passive, meaning they have little experience of the culture
-Withdrawl or Negotiation: Usually within 1 - 4 months the negotiation phase sets in. Frustration can occur as new ways off live become more familiar and lose their charm. Barriers from language and different cultural lifestyles become more apparent and can leave you feeling isolated. Feeling of being homesick are common at this stage and it is helpful to chat often with your friends and family back home.
The individual now has some more face to face experience of the culture and starts to find things different, strange and frustrating.
They:
. Find the behaviour of the people unusual and unpredictable
. Begin to dislike the culture and react negatively to the behaviour
. Feel anxious
. Start to withdraw
. Begin to criticize, mock or show animosity to the people
-Adjustment: Between about 6 months to a year, a person immersed in a new culture begins to grow used to living in the new culture and have a new daily routine they have adapted too. They no longer feel like such an outsider, but start to consider the new country home. They are accustomed to subtle cultural nuances and things begin to feel normal. A deeper love and appreciation of the new culture can occur.
The individual now has a routine, feels more settled and is more confident in dealing with the new culture.
They:
. Understand and accept the behaviour of the people
. Feel less isolated
. Regains their sense of humour
-Enthusiam or Mastery:
When a person is fully immersed and adapted to life in a new culture, they are participating like a language. The language and communication problems from before are gone and the person feels at home. The person does not have to lose their original culture, but can appreciate both and feels at home.
The individual now feels 'at home'.
They:
. Enjoy being in the culture
. Functions well in the culture
. Prefer certain cultural traits of the new culture rather than their own
. Adopt certain behaviours from the new culture
You really do go through these phases. The one difference with living in Singapore is there is no language barrier for me because the main language is English. I think that helped me adapt MUCH faster than going to a foreign speaking country. I am definitely at stage 3 and most of stage 4 all at once since I don't have as many barriers here. I have really come to embrace and appreciate the Asian culture and no longer feel annoyed by things that used to annoy me before. :)
Some more 4 month thoughts:
-I still love the consistent hot weather. I can even handle running in the heat if it's after 5pm. :)
-In the beginning I thought I would be at the beach every weekend. Last weekend, I went to the beach for the first time in a couple months. I've become somewhat of a 'lazy singaporean'. :-P
-Running really clears my head and always gives me a better perspective on life! I feel my joints starting to get a little worn from running though. After this half marathon, it may be time to switch to biking (which I already love.)
-I finally bought a monthly Skype subscription so that I can just call people because the normal Skype-ing hasn't worked out too well thus far. $2.99 for unlimited calls to the US.... Why didn't I do this in the beginning?? So if you get a strange US number calling you, pick up! It could be me :-D
-I've been thinking WAY too much lately trying to figure things out. My mom today said just STOP! STOP thinking. And she is absolutely right. So I've stopped. :) I am going to just live my life and let the rest happen on its own. Whew, that feels so much better!!!
After a couple of crazy weeks, I feel calm and happy again (and grateful)! Hdigabtt?
What's the best part of fall where you live? :)
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Reflexology
Because of my running and wearing heels too often when I first moved here (I'm back to flats...), my feet get quite tight. I get reflexology every so often to help relax my foot muscles and loosen them up a bit. I get off early from work everyday right now, so I wandered around one of the malls and found a reflexology place. A blind man (I don't think he was 100% but pretty close) was my reflexologist today. I thought that was pretty cool and what a wonderful profession for him to be in. Usually when someone has lost one of their senses, another one of their senses is more keen. The foot massage was excellent and much needed after a long run yesterday and some stress going on in general. There's been a lot of changes lately and I can't blog about it until I know what's going to go on for sure. But for now...stay tuned for more. Tomorrow is my four month anniversary!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sights, Sounds, and Smells
Here are some of the sights, sounds, and smells that will always remind me of Singapore long after I leave one day.
-7-11 convenience stores....weird but true. There is a 7-11 about every 500 metres. Every MRT station is also equipped with a 7-11. Some of my fave items I pick up from 7-11: a bottle of water, kinder bueno chocolate, a tall can of tiger, and an ice cream cone. :)
-The Singpore National Day Song of 2011: This song played all day, everyday in the MRT stations up until National Day 2011 which was August 9th...and is still playing in the morning when I get on the train. This song will live in my heart forever. :)
-The smell of incense burning: Whenever I go for a run on the sidewalk surrounding these condo buildings, there are always incense sticks burning on the sides of the sidewalk in the grass. Or when I walk along the streets even where there is no grass, there are incense sticks sticking out of the side of sidewalk cracks and bricks. I'm assuming this is for people who pray to Buddha. I forgot to mention, there's usually a plate of food for Buddha offerings along with the incense sticks.
-The singing coming from the Ktv (karaoke) club at night across the main street from my condo.
-Curry-There's an Indian food stall on the corner of my side street that I pass everyday on my way home from work.
That's a few that I thought of but I'm sure there will be more :)
What is a smell, sound, or sight that will always remind you of where you live? :)
-7-11 convenience stores....weird but true. There is a 7-11 about every 500 metres. Every MRT station is also equipped with a 7-11. Some of my fave items I pick up from 7-11: a bottle of water, kinder bueno chocolate, a tall can of tiger, and an ice cream cone. :)
-The Singpore National Day Song of 2011: This song played all day, everyday in the MRT stations up until National Day 2011 which was August 9th...and is still playing in the morning when I get on the train. This song will live in my heart forever. :)
-The smell of incense burning: Whenever I go for a run on the sidewalk surrounding these condo buildings, there are always incense sticks burning on the sides of the sidewalk in the grass. Or when I walk along the streets even where there is no grass, there are incense sticks sticking out of the side of sidewalk cracks and bricks. I'm assuming this is for people who pray to Buddha. I forgot to mention, there's usually a plate of food for Buddha offerings along with the incense sticks.
-The singing coming from the Ktv (karaoke) club at night across the main street from my condo.
-Curry-There's an Indian food stall on the corner of my side street that I pass everyday on my way home from work.
That's a few that I thought of but I'm sure there will be more :)
What is a smell, sound, or sight that will always remind you of where you live? :)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Crazy time
I haven't been keeping up with the blog lately because a lot has been going on!
The week after Bangkok, I was sick for most of the week...:-/ Might've been something I ate in Bangkok?? This meant a lot of down time with me, the couch, and Glee dvds. :)
Then the week after that, I spent a lot of time with my German roommate because it was her last week in Singapore. :( She finished up her internship and has headed back to Germany for her last semester at the university. I had a blast being roommates with her. :) We had fun cooking dinners, heading to many ladies nights, teaching her american phrases, and learning a few German words myself. Now I have someone to go visit in Germany which is always nice to have. :)
My boss is back from maternity leave in the afternoon, so this changes up my schedule a bit. :) Now I have a little bit of variety in my day which will be nice and leave me with more afternoons to explore Sing!
Now that the crazy couple weeks are over, it's time to focus on training for the half marathon again! I only was able to get a few runs in between all that's been going on. Now I'll have more time to focus. :)
More updates coming this week! Hope you guys are enjoying the end of your summer :)
The week after Bangkok, I was sick for most of the week...:-/ Might've been something I ate in Bangkok?? This meant a lot of down time with me, the couch, and Glee dvds. :)
Then the week after that, I spent a lot of time with my German roommate because it was her last week in Singapore. :( She finished up her internship and has headed back to Germany for her last semester at the university. I had a blast being roommates with her. :) We had fun cooking dinners, heading to many ladies nights, teaching her american phrases, and learning a few German words myself. Now I have someone to go visit in Germany which is always nice to have. :)
My boss is back from maternity leave in the afternoon, so this changes up my schedule a bit. :) Now I have a little bit of variety in my day which will be nice and leave me with more afternoons to explore Sing!
Now that the crazy couple weeks are over, it's time to focus on training for the half marathon again! I only was able to get a few runs in between all that's been going on. Now I'll have more time to focus. :)
More updates coming this week! Hope you guys are enjoying the end of your summer :)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Bangkok, Thailand
I went to Bangkok, Thailand two weekends ago with my German roommate. It was....interesting. Here are some highlights:
One of my favorite parts was riding the Tuk-tuk cabs. You have to negotiate a price with the driver to wherever your going. A good price is 30-40 bahts which is about 1.50 SGD. Many of the drivers try to rip you off and take you a lot of extra places you don't want to go. By the end of the night, some cabbies wanted 100 bahts per person! The most we paid was 50 bahts total for a ride which was okay.
My other favorite part was the boat ride through old Bangkok. It was really cool to see all the little wooden shacks along the river. It was also nice to just sit in the boat and relax for an hour, without constantly getting heckled by the locals. We stopped at a floating market along the way for a snack.
The other main attraction we saw was The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha which is inside of the Grand Palace. I'm not that into architecture but the Grand Palace was very shiny and pretty :)
One of my favorite parts was riding the Tuk-tuk cabs. You have to negotiate a price with the driver to wherever your going. A good price is 30-40 bahts which is about 1.50 SGD. Many of the drivers try to rip you off and take you a lot of extra places you don't want to go. By the end of the night, some cabbies wanted 100 bahts per person! The most we paid was 50 bahts total for a ride which was okay.
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| Tuk-tuks |
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| Riding the Tuk tuk |
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| Boat ride through Old Bangkok |
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| Scenery along the boat ride |
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| More Scenery |
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| Spicy Thai food with teddy bear shaped rice :) |
The other main attraction we saw was The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha which is inside of the Grand Palace. I'm not that into architecture but the Grand Palace was very shiny and pretty :)
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| The Grand Palace |
I am grateful that I had the opportunity to visit Bangkok but it's not my favorite city by any means. It was a bit of a culture shock but it was an interesting experience (some unfortunately is unbloggable). We saw most of the main attractions in one weekend and mostly hung out on Khao San Rd which is the main shopping/food/club/hostel area where a lot of the backpackers roam. That's really all you do in Bangkok. I do have to say though that the shopping in Bangkok is awesome because you can negotiate and get stuff for very cheap. I bought some dvds for about $3.00 each. :) And only 2 out of the 9 don't work which isn't too bad. There is a lot of heckling and ripping off going on there, but that's part of the Bangkok experience and you have to expect it when you go there. I learned a lot about roaming around in Bangkok in one weekend and will be prepared if I go there again. :) It's a cheap get away if one needs to get out of Singapore for a weekend!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Homesick
Here it goes....It's finally hit. I'm going through a bout of homesickness. I went through a mild period of it a couple of weeks ago for a few days. But I think the first case also had to do with breaking away from facebook for awhile and just missing people. This time it really is a true case of homesickness. Missing friends and family and all that's going on back home. Missing lots of little things about life in the US. I know this is natural when living thousands of miles away and everyone goes through it who lives abroad. My one friend here is surprised that it took this long and said that was pretty long. I've been away now for about as long as a trimester in chiro school, which is the longest I've been away from home without visiting. So I guess that's about right for when it would hit me. The frustrating thing is that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it because you are too far away. You can't just plan a weekend drive back home to visit. You just have to work through it until it passes....
What's the longest you have gone without visiting friends and family back home?
What's the longest you have gone without visiting friends and family back home?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Ladies Night
Wednesday night is a big night for ladies in Singapore :) You can find deals at many of the bars and restaurants downtown. One of our favorites that my girls and I regularly partake in is the pizza/pasta special at an Italian place called Sailors. Sailors is an outdoor restaurant situated by the water in an area called Robertson Quay. Robertson Quay is a quieter area with some of the finer restaurants and hotels of Singapore. On Wednesdays, ladies can buy a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and they can choose from a margherita pizza or the special pasta dish of the night. This is no small personal pan pizza...I'm talking a large size pizza :)
It was my roommate's second to last week in Singapore last Wednesday before she goes back to Germany to finish her studies. She is trying to see as much of the 'must-sees' in Singapore before she leaves. We headed to what claims to be the tallest rooftop bar in the world-1 Altitude. It's 282 meters, on top of the 63rd floor of one of the downtown buildings with a 360 degree panoramic view of Singapore. The view is GORGEOUS! All the lights and buildings and then looking out into the dark sea at night. Beautiful... Being up there only enhanced my love for big cities.
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| Overlooking the Marina Bay Sands Hotel |
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| Beautiful lights |
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| One of my fave Germans |
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| 1 Altitude-Tallest Sky Bar in the world |
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| My other fave German (the roommate) |
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| Gorgeous |
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