I am clearly a white person, which means I get lots of stares in Singapore unless I'm in the central business district (where all the expats roam). On the bus in the morning, I'm usually the only white person; then on the train, I'm one of maybe two white people on that section of the train. The first few weeks that I lived here, this made me very uncomfortable. It was a challenge for me to overcome getting looked at all the time and to gain that confidence back of being comfortable in my own skin. I think it's a great lesson to learn what it feels like to be a minority. I feel that I have overcome that challenge and feel comfortable and confident with who I am now when I'm outside of the cbd. I laugh because I do the exact same thing whenever I see a white person outside of central Singapore. I look at them with amazement that there's another white person besides me.
Have you ever been in a situation or place where you were the minority? How did it make you feel?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Acting
I don't feel like an adult. I still feel like a kid, maybe in my early twenties. I feel like I'm just acting...playing the role of a grown up and a doctor out here in this big (but oh so small) world. I'm still waiting for that moment when I feel like an actual grown up. When does that moment come? Do I even want it to come? Is it because I have no ties or attachments to anything? It's very freeing. Not having a house with my name on it, no kids or husband to take care of, not having an apartment full of furniture, not even having a car (ok I still partially have a car). Knowing that I can just up and leave at any given moment and go anywhere at anytime. It is such an awesome feeling. :)
Do I want some of those things in the future?? Absolutely! :)
When did you start to feel like a grown up (if you do)? What was that a-ha moment for you?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Dedication
This post is dedicated to my dearest, good friend Nicole. I just received news that her mother in California has suddenly passed away. ALL of my love, thoughts, and prayers go out to her and her family. Love you girl.
Thought Bubbles
Here are random thought bubbles that have popped up since I've been here pertaining to things back in the US:
-A few weeks ago: Does my cat miss me? :-P Is that even possible? Do they even have any complex thoughts?
-Last week: I wonder if anyone back in the US has called/texted my old number that's been disconnected for a month?
-Today: I haven't driven a car since April 17th. I wonder if I'll be a bad driver when I go back to visit at some point?
-Every now and then: I wonder if I will ever work in the US again?
That's all for now :) Have a nice day/night ahead!
-A few weeks ago: Does my cat miss me? :-P Is that even possible? Do they even have any complex thoughts?
-Last week: I wonder if anyone back in the US has called/texted my old number that's been disconnected for a month?
-Today: I haven't driven a car since April 17th. I wonder if I'll be a bad driver when I go back to visit at some point?
-Every now and then: I wonder if I will ever work in the US again?
That's all for now :) Have a nice day/night ahead!
Ch-ch-changes
Whenever we go through a big life change such as moving, changing jobs, having a baby, going to grad school or whatever it may be, we have to learn to adapt our lifestyle to our new life. I know many of you reading this have experienced at least one or more of these types of changes in the last year. During periods of our lives we develop certain eating, working out, sleeping, activity, leisure and social patterns. When we have a major change, we have to figure out how to adapt our patterns to the new life, and sometimes we even change certain patterns.
I have moved and changed jobs four times in the last two and a half years. Once I graduated from school and started working I developed a certain lifestyle which stayed pretty consistent throughout my many moves. This move however was the biggest and has required the most adaptation for me, especially eating and working out patterns. When I first moved here, I had fun trying all the different types of food, no matter what it was. Most of the local food here is not exactly the healthiest. My kitchen consists of a stove top range, a microwave, and a crockpot so I don't have a full kitchen or a kitchen full of supplies to cook with either.
Let's start with breakfast...In the beginning during my first two weeks of training, I would eat fruit for breakfast and during a mid-morning break, my doc would buy me these amazing pastries from the Swiss bakery downstairs everyday. For lunch and dinner, I tried a new place almost every day, many meals involving way more refined carbs than my body has ever been used to (white rice, noodles, bread, etc). Due to the expense of alcohol here, I have switched to beer (cheaper) instead of my usual liquor drinks back home. Since my body is not used to this lifestyle, I could feel the changes in my body the first few weeks of being here. Before I left Cleveland, I was eating the Slow Carb way, just as an experiment, NOT to lose weight. I was also on a heavy lifting plan to gain more muscle. This new lifestyle was a dramatic change for my body.
After a few weeks of this and finally getting settled in here, it was time to get back into a healthier lifestyle again. I am back to eating eggs for breakfast and a fresh squeezed juice mid-morning. For lunch, I am making healthier choices; vegetarian cuisine, salad with protein, or sandwich with protein. For dinner, if I cook at home, I'll make a piece of fish and sauteed vegetables. I still go out for dinner a few nights a week to try new things and for social time. :) For now, I try to walk a lot on the weekends for my cardio. I rented a bike for the first time last weekend at a place called East Coast Park and rode for an hour and a half. Once July hits, my goal is to invest in a good pair of tennis shoes and start running again. A gym membership will be in the future when I've been here for long enough. :)
I did not make all these changes at once, but took one step at a time back into my healthier lifestyle. I still have some more goals to get me back to the level I was at before health wise. I feel more comfortable with the changes thus far and finally feel more settled into my new lifestyle. :)
Happy healthy living! :)
I have moved and changed jobs four times in the last two and a half years. Once I graduated from school and started working I developed a certain lifestyle which stayed pretty consistent throughout my many moves. This move however was the biggest and has required the most adaptation for me, especially eating and working out patterns. When I first moved here, I had fun trying all the different types of food, no matter what it was. Most of the local food here is not exactly the healthiest. My kitchen consists of a stove top range, a microwave, and a crockpot so I don't have a full kitchen or a kitchen full of supplies to cook with either.
Let's start with breakfast...In the beginning during my first two weeks of training, I would eat fruit for breakfast and during a mid-morning break, my doc would buy me these amazing pastries from the Swiss bakery downstairs everyday. For lunch and dinner, I tried a new place almost every day, many meals involving way more refined carbs than my body has ever been used to (white rice, noodles, bread, etc). Due to the expense of alcohol here, I have switched to beer (cheaper) instead of my usual liquor drinks back home. Since my body is not used to this lifestyle, I could feel the changes in my body the first few weeks of being here. Before I left Cleveland, I was eating the Slow Carb way, just as an experiment, NOT to lose weight. I was also on a heavy lifting plan to gain more muscle. This new lifestyle was a dramatic change for my body.
After a few weeks of this and finally getting settled in here, it was time to get back into a healthier lifestyle again. I am back to eating eggs for breakfast and a fresh squeezed juice mid-morning. For lunch, I am making healthier choices; vegetarian cuisine, salad with protein, or sandwich with protein. For dinner, if I cook at home, I'll make a piece of fish and sauteed vegetables. I still go out for dinner a few nights a week to try new things and for social time. :) For now, I try to walk a lot on the weekends for my cardio. I rented a bike for the first time last weekend at a place called East Coast Park and rode for an hour and a half. Once July hits, my goal is to invest in a good pair of tennis shoes and start running again. A gym membership will be in the future when I've been here for long enough. :)
I did not make all these changes at once, but took one step at a time back into my healthier lifestyle. I still have some more goals to get me back to the level I was at before health wise. I feel more comfortable with the changes thus far and finally feel more settled into my new lifestyle. :)
Happy healthy living! :)
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Singlish
I am very behind on blogging because I struggled all week to get some pictures posted into my blog. After several attempts, several different ways, I give up for now. I don't have enough patience right now. :) So for now, please refer to Facebook for pics on Singapore.
Singlish is a term that we expats use to describe the English spoken in Singapore. Here are some terms that they use that are not as common in the US:
the lift-the elevator
alight-exit (i.e.-please alight to platform b)
lah-phrase inserted randomly after speaking
to take away-instead of 'to go' (i.e.-I would like my meal to take away)
go on holiday-instead of 'go on vacation'
ahead-used after phrases referring to something in the near future 'have a nice weekend' (i.e. Have a nice weekend ahead)
Singapore money:
coins-.05, .10, .20, .50, $1
bills-2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000
Last exchange rate I got from the bank was 1 USD = 1.25 SGD. Here's a list of random items and their average cost in Singapore dollars for comparison:
A dozen eggs-2.50
Bag of mini bananas-1.00
Fresh squeezed carrot juice-2.00
Fresh squeezed carrot, ginger, and apple-3.00
A piece of fish from grocery store-2.35-8.00 (depending on kind)
A local vegetarian place with 3 picks-3.50
A meal from a local place-5.00-10.00
Smoked salmon sandwich from the Swiss bakery-8.00
Pastry from Swiss bakery-.95-2.95
Starbucks fancier drink (i.e.-tall white chocolate mocha)-5.50-6.35
Tall can of beer from 7/11-3.00-5.00
Large bottle of Tiger from local food places (500-600 ml)-5.50
Beer from nicer bars/restaurants-10.00
Mixed drink from nicer bar/restaurant-14.00
McDonalds fish sandwich combo meal-6.35
A meal from a sit down average priced restaurant-15.00-29.00
A meal from an expensive restaurant-? Haven't made it to one of these yet :-P
My bus and train ride to work combined-1.33
The tram to the beach-3.00
Have a nice day ahead! :)
Singlish is a term that we expats use to describe the English spoken in Singapore. Here are some terms that they use that are not as common in the US:
the lift-the elevator
alight-exit (i.e.-please alight to platform b)
lah-phrase inserted randomly after speaking
to take away-instead of 'to go' (i.e.-I would like my meal to take away)
go on holiday-instead of 'go on vacation'
ahead-used after phrases referring to something in the near future 'have a nice weekend' (i.e. Have a nice weekend ahead)
Singapore money:
coins-.05, .10, .20, .50, $1
bills-2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000
Last exchange rate I got from the bank was 1 USD = 1.25 SGD. Here's a list of random items and their average cost in Singapore dollars for comparison:
A dozen eggs-2.50
Bag of mini bananas-1.00
Fresh squeezed carrot juice-2.00
Fresh squeezed carrot, ginger, and apple-3.00
A piece of fish from grocery store-2.35-8.00 (depending on kind)
A local vegetarian place with 3 picks-3.50
A meal from a local place-5.00-10.00
Smoked salmon sandwich from the Swiss bakery-8.00
Pastry from Swiss bakery-.95-2.95
Starbucks fancier drink (i.e.-tall white chocolate mocha)-5.50-6.35
Tall can of beer from 7/11-3.00-5.00
Large bottle of Tiger from local food places (500-600 ml)-5.50
Beer from nicer bars/restaurants-10.00
Mixed drink from nicer bar/restaurant-14.00
McDonalds fish sandwich combo meal-6.35
A meal from a sit down average priced restaurant-15.00-29.00
A meal from an expensive restaurant-? Haven't made it to one of these yet :-P
My bus and train ride to work combined-1.33
The tram to the beach-3.00
Have a nice day ahead! :)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Travel Bucket List cont...
My friend pointed out that I did not put her city on my bucket list :) So I should mention that I did not include cities in the US that I will be visiting no matter what to see all my awesome friends across the country. Animosa, Milwaukee, St. Louis just to name a few :)
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