Crossing off the list...Cooking Class, Volunteering, and Exploring

I have a few goals to achieve throughout my stay in Singapore.  To be honest this is actually the first time I really have set goals.  I just have to know that I take advantage of every opportunity because this is such a chance of a lifetime to be living here and it is going to go by so fast.  I feel so fortunate to be living under such great conditions.  We really do live in a tropical vacation.  There are palm trees all around and our condo complex feels like you are on a resort.  It's hard to think just a few years ago Chris asked me if I ever would want to move here and my answer to him was, "hell no."  Well life happened and it just seemed like perfect timing so we took a huge leap of faith and our answer now was, "why not?"  I am so glad we made this decision because everything just feels so right here.  It's funny when I meet people you always go through the same introductions.  Where are you from?  How long have you been here?  How long will you be here?  Most expats are under 2-5 year contracts and most all decide to extend their stays.  I call Singapore the secret world of Westerners!  It is very safe, clean, and the schools are really good!  The one disadvantage is that it is halfway across the world and very far away from family and friends.  So when I tell people that we are here for two years I get a nod, grin and remarks of yeah so were we but we have been here for X amount of years now.  It's pretty interesting! 

So back to my goals!  I have been busy trying to accomplish all of my to-do's.  I took a Thai cooking class which was pretty exciting.  It became clearly evident that I was a beginner when I did not even know how to chop an onion properly.  Luckily the ladies were very sweet, polite, and helped me chop up some of the ingredients while the onion aroma attacked my eyes!  I could barely see.  We made spring rolls, pork lettuce wraps, and chicken stir-fry.  It was all very delicious too.  I have yet to try out the 4 hour prep meal on my own but I'll save it in my back pocket for a special occasion when I can eventually get my hands on all the rare ingredients and spices.  I also started volunteering at a local hospital.  I have to try and find activities while Connor is at school and this just fit perfectly with our schedule.  We go around offering magazines to expat patients that do not have many friends or family in Singapore.  Some patients even come from Malaysia or Indonesia since the healthcare is much better here.  It's pretty cool meeting and talking to people from all over the world!  I had a great first-time experience and plan to do it again very soon!  My other goal is to explore every inch of Singapore that I possibly can in two years.  We have made a great first start and have visited the bird park, zoo, night safari, underwater world, art museum, water parks, and beaches in just the two months that we have been here.  There is much more to do so I look forward to what's to come!

 

View  of our condo from Henderson Waves Pedestrian Bridge

 

In front of the waterfall at the bird park

 

 

 

Bird show at the bird park

 

 

 

 

Watching the bird show

 

The penguins

 

 

 

 

Connor feeding the Koi at Mt. Faber Park

 

The fam at the zoo.  We lost all of our pictures from the zoo :(

 

 

These are sand sculptures found in Sentosa.  Pretty awesome and detailed.  This is one of the tram that you can take to get over to the island.

 

Connor at the water park

 

 

Hanging by the beach at night

 

 

Connor at the water park

 

 

Port of lost wonder water park in Sentosa

 

 

Chinatown

 

 

Connor using chopsticks

 

 

Daddy and Connor feeding the sharks

 

 

Dolphin Show

 

 

Daddy and Connor in the underwater tunnel

 

 

Us at the night safari.  You couldn't take pictures of the animals at night because they could go blind.

 



Going back to the beginning...

It is only appropriate to revisit our early days in Singapore just a short two months ago.  I can't believe that we have already been here almost two months.  Time flies when you are having fun!  Our flight over wasn't too bad since we broke it up with staying a night in Germany.  That was probably smart because it is a gruelling trip for adults.  I loved flying in business class since the seats reclined and it made it a bit easier with a toddler.  Also, everyone has their own personal TV with unlimited access to music, games, and movies.  Not too shabby!  Connor kept himself busy with movies for the most part.  I am not sure if night flights are the way to go because they keep the lights on for almost two hours after take off to serve dinner and of course Connor stays up and gets all nice and crazy.  We had a pretty bad moment where Connor just cried for two hours.  Nothing would make him happy.  I almost lost it and even asked the stewardess if she could open the door so I could jump out of the plane.  She just smiled and asked if I knew why he was crying.  I just grinned and tried to refrain from shaking her.  They weren't too helpful to say the least.  We eventually made it to Singapore in one piece.

It was so great to be able to see our new home again in Reflections at Keppel Bay.  I fell in love with this condo when we visited back in March.  It was the third stop on our house hunting tour and I just knew this is where I wanted to live.  The views are incredible and I thought when are we ever going to be able to live in a place like this.  I kept comparing every condo to this one and I am so glad we were able to secure this place for the next two years!  I hope some of you can come and check out this amazing place we call home!  It was kind of sad though to arrive to an empty condo filled with air mattresses and nothing more than a blue camping chair.  Chris did go out and buy a nice flat screen TV so that was nice.  We weren't expecting to live like this for 3 weeks but we made the best of it since our sea shipment was delayed.  It was actually quite nice because there wasn't much to do in the house so we explored our surroundings and became more familiar with everything pretty quickly.  I even ended up going to Melbourne, Australia on Chris' work trip.  It was cold and rainy.  A little different than our sunshine and palm trees in Singapore, so I was feeling a little homesick there.  Connor and I visited the zoo and aquarium while Chris worked during the day so that was pretty interesting.  We need to go back when the weather is nicer so we can explore some of the other amazing sites that Australia offers.

This was all our luggage!  It took my mom and I five hours to strategically pack all the goods we had with us since the sea shipment left two months before our official departure.  We were close to no longer being homeless anymore though :)

Connor listening to his movie on the plane

Another view of all the luggage!  Poor Chris had to haul all this through the airports!

My bed for 3 weeks

Our couch, table, and Chris' bed.  Multi-purpose!

King Connor and the famous blue Coleman camping chair that needs to be burned now!

 This is how Connor tells me that it is pool time!

Connor is in heaven with all the pools!

Our 4th of July!

 Like Father like Son.  Getting ready for Australia



Connor's friends

 

Getting ready to board the plane

Koala Bear at the Melbourne Zoo

Helicopters flying the Singapore flag in preparation for National Day

Cruise ship making way to Keppel Bay Marina

Moving on up.  Our tall building.

View of our Condo, Reflections, from the Sentosa Cable Car. We live in the farthest taller tower to the left

.

Singapore Sunset

 Keppel Bay Marina and Sentosa in the distance

View of the Sea with all the ships or what I like to call Battleship Bay!

Moving Day



Connor learning to ride the MRT.

No more Procrastinating!!! My blog starts now!

I just need to start writing and stop thinking about this darn blog that I created about a month ago.  If I don't then a year may pass and I still will have no entries.  I keep trying to find a good time to sit down and write but I have continued making excuses.  I have big expectations for this little project so here goes!  I would like to keep this updated on a weekly basis at least so I can remember all the adventures and experiences that we encounter in Singapore.  There has been so much going on already so I hope to catch up on everything that has been happening here.  I am going to make this public to friends and family that would like to stay in the loop of our journey and travels for the next two years.  Please feel free to pass along to those that might be interested in reading about our  time spent in 'Asia for Beginners.'

As most of you know we love visiting Siloso beach in Sentosa that is just a cable car ride away.  It is pretty nice to be able to walk to the beach whenever we want.  Now, there are no big waves like OC MD but Connor enjoys playing in the sand and there is a roped off water area so Chris feels safe to swim in what he thinks is the shark-free zone.  Although, I always scare him and start chanting the song from Jaws while he is in the water!  Well, we went this past weekend and Connor was treated like a childhood movie star.  There were two groups of girls that asked to take pictures of Connor.  Then they wanted to take photos with Connor!  Yeah, it may seem a little strange but our little blonde haired blue-eyed boy is a rarity in Asia so I tend to be easy-going about these types of things.  I am considering putting together some sort of pricing list for these photo opps.  Why not try to make some money off this?!  The people here seem to love kids though.  I can just get a sense of it as they interact with Connor.  They cater to children so much!  There have been a couple of situations where Connor is having a complete meltdown in public and random strangers will come up to distract him or give him a piece of candy.  This is a total lifesaver for a mom getting ready to have a meltdown herself!  I have also had people help me manage him get on and off the bus or helping out with the stroller when going up/down stairs.  I am pretty impressed with these types of nice gestures.  I had no idea the people here would be so friendly and helpful!

Here are some photos of this little spectacle on Saturday as well as some other photos in Sentosa.

We thought it would be funny to take pictures of the girls taking pictures with Connor. They loved him so much!

Cable Car Ride to Sentosa

View of our Condo from the Cable Car.  We live in the tall tower all the way to left on the 36th floor!



View of Universal Studios

Chris and Connor swimming at Siloso Beach

This is Connor riding in the cable car.  Some of the cars are themed with angry birds!  We even have the special pass to get priority seating in these cars.  Someone is a little spoiled!