Jill's Singapore Adventure

Parents Visit - Bali

2012-01-24T06:40:00.000+02:00

I was great that I had the opportunity to get away with Mom and Dad. All our first time, we went to Bali. We stayed inland in Ubud. Our hotel (Green Field Hotel - recommended by a friend www.greenfieldubud.com ) was conveniently located just south of the town. It was so quiet and peaceful. We had a gorgeous view of the rice paddies.

Lake Batur

The first day we explored the town - great shopping!!!! The second day we went on a bike tour (also recommend by many of my friends - and I also recommend it!) The company Eco-tours - picked us up from our hotels - there were 14 of us in the group. We were driven near the active volcano and the lake of Batur. We had breakfast up there and then toured a fruit and spice garden. We learned about Lewak coffee and tasted 6 different coffee. I enjoyed Ginseng coffee. Lewak coffee is basically coffee that a civet (animal) eats ripe coffee beans and then poops them out and what he poops out is the bean that is used to make coffee! It was really strong!

Dad planting rice

We finally got on our bikes. It was a downhill ride so we used our hand muscles (braking) way more than our leg muscles! We went through small villages and even went into a compound where a family lives. 19 people lived in this very small, 3rd world environment, unsanitary area. We also stopped along rice fields and learned how rice is harvested. Some of us (Dad and I) ventured with trying to plant the rice while we waded in knee deep mud and planted one rice grain at a time! What a difficult job - in that mud, in the direct sun and bending over all day long. No thank you!

Dad and 3 other people from our group decided they wanted a more physical workout of cycling than the nice downhill route we had enjoyed and rode the last 10 km up almost all uphill to the restaurant where we enjoyed the lunch which was provided in our tour. While they exerted themselves, the rest of us chose to take the van to the restaurant! The ride was extremely tough.

Our last day we did another activity - we took a cooking class. We met the group of 14 people at the local market and learned about different spices and produce then went to the woman's house who does the lessons. We all had different jobs of chopping, slicing, cooking, grinding and mixing. It was very well laid out and everyone had ample opportunities to participate.www.paon-bali.com Paon means kitchen in Balinese. We made clear mushroom and vegetable soup (Kuah Wong), the basic yellow sauce for curry (Base Gede), minced chicken grilled on bamboo sticks (Sate Siap), Vegetables in Peanut Sauce (Kacang Me Santok), Coconut and Snake Bean Salad (Jukut Urab), Steamed Fish in Banana Leaves 9Pepesan Be Pasih), Deep Fried Tempe in sweet soy sauce (Tempe Me Goreng) AND Boiled Banana in Palm Sugar Syrup (Kolak Biu)!

Parents Visit - Singapore

2012-01-18T05:53:00.000+02:00

It's been a busy (yet relaxing) past 2 weeks. Mom and Dad arrived Jan.12 and Dad quickly found my favorite spot on the balcony and Mom and I immediately started our Scrabble games. Day 1 they quickly learned my bus #77 route to downtown! On the weekend, we did a hop-on-and-off tour bus of the city stopping at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel to ride the elevator to floor 57 for a cocktail at the top and a great view of the city. On Sunday afternoon we had a lovely time walking around in the orchid gardens. We had cocktails on the lawn in the Botanic Gardens as we listened to the Chinese Symphony Orchestra perform. And then we had a lovely dinner at Helia in the Garden.

lawn of Botanic Gardens

While I worked, Mom and Dad did some more sightseeing, fixed some things in my apartment, discovered the wet market and therefore did some grocery shopping and found some new restaurants to try out. We went to Chinatown a few days before Chinese New Year and tried about 10 different dishes of dim sum at a restaurant called Yum Cha Restaurant. We had about 20 dim sum choices for dinner but at lunchtime, one can choose from 60 choices!

We also went to the Night Safari which was a perfect evening to go and we saw some really interesting animals!

As I had 3 days plus 2 days for the weekend off for Chinese New Year, Mom, Dad and I went to Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. See next blog entry!

Visitors from Greece

2012-01-04T04:41:00.000+02:00

Thanasis and Zacharias

Pavlina and Thanasis

No time to unpack as the very next morning I had my day pack and was heading to the bus to go downtown to meet a family I have known for 2 years in Greece. I met them for breakfast at the Fullerton Bay Hotel. Then Pavlina (mom) went shopping while Nicholas (dad), the boys and I went to Mount Faber. We took a walk to the Henderson Waves Bridge then climbed aboard the cable car to take us to Sentosa Island. After lunch we went to Underwater World (the aquarium). They have pink dolphins here but what was really neat was the underwater tunnel you could walk through with all the fish, sting rays and sharks swimming above us!

The next day I headed back down to the island and we had a jammed pack day at Universal Studios and then took a swim under the stars (it sure didn't feel like the beginning of January!) With the location and the company, I didn't feel like I was in the country I lived in either so it was like a mini-vacation for me too!

It was great catching up with the family. We had a great time!

Thailand - Last Day but first day of 2012

2012-01-01T02:52:00.000+02:00

The first day of 2012 we drove 2 hours back to Bangkok. After lunch, I took a water taxi down the river to the SkyLink (their metro) to go visit the famous Jim Thompson House.

Jim Thompson's House

Jim Thompson was an American from Delaware who volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army - he was sent to Europe and then Asia - though the war ended before he saw any action. He fell in love with Thailand and after leaving the army moved to Bangkok. The art of weaving silk caught Jim Thompson's attention and he devoted himself to reviving the craft. He was gifted as a designer and textile colorist, he significantly contributed to the industry's growth of silk.

He also became well-known for the construction of this house combining six teak traditional houses together. (Before the war, he was a practicing architect). Similar to western houses (but different than Thai house) he combined the buildings so he could walk from the bedroom to the living room to the dining room. Also he had the staircase inside the house.

Grand Palace

On March 26, 1967 Jim Thompson disappeared while on vacation in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. He went for a walk in the woods (not telling anyone where he was going) and just disappeared. Not a single valid clue has turned up on what happened to him.

For dinner we went on a river cruise and final dinner along the Chao Phraya River. It was a nice way to see the buildings all lit up and it was another lovely evening!

Highlights of Thailand Group!

Jan. 2 - I had one of the best oil massages I have ever had, then got into a taxi to the airport and was home by 6:30pm!

Day 6 - Sukhothai Day 7 - Kanchanaburi

2011-12-30T15:58:00.000+02:00

We rented bicycles to ride around Sukhotai Historical Park which is now a World Heritage Site. The city of Sukhothai (meaning Dawn of Happiness) was the original capital of Thailand's first kingdom and is believed by many to represent the golden age of Thai civilization. Then we had a home-cooked picnic before our 6 hour road trip to Kanchanaburi.

Dec. 31 - Kanchanaburi (golden city) is most infamous for the death railway that was constructed during WWII using prisoners of war and Asian labor.

trishaw

Kanchanaburi War Cementery

We took trishaws to the Kanchanaburi War Cemetry and walked through that before going to the Death Railway Museum (Thailand-Burma Railway Center) to learn more about what happened in this area during WWII. Unfortunately Hellfire Pass Memorial was closed.

Basically, the story goes that the British were the first to survey the track lines but decided it would be too difficult to build. During WWII, the Japanese wanted to establish a supply route to Myanmar and India; as the route along the river was covered by thick forest, the Japanese thought it would be better protected. The allies only bombed the railway in two places. The track is 415 km long with about 263 km in Thailand. Around 100,000 Asian laborers and 16, 000 POW died during the construction.

We then waited 2.5 hours for our 2 hour train ride along the historic tracks through the area and over the 2 famous bridges over the Kwai River. After a late lunch, we had the opportunity to walk over the metal bridge.

Since it was New Years Eve, we bought some booze and just hung out together having a great time. We went down to the river (where we could see the bridge we had walked over) and some other people had some small fireworks and had the Chinese lanterns which we set off another for the new year!

It was a great way to end 2011 and begin 2012!

Majestic Elephants

2011-12-30T15:23:00.000+02:00

I was so looking forward to this day - the day I ride an elephant. But do you know what? That was not my highlight of the day. The highlight for me was the opportunities I had to touch and feed the elephants. It was fantastic!

We were able to touch the heads of the elephants and the trunks; we took photos with them and the trainers encouraged the elephants to put up their trunks and play around with us humans! Then we watched the elephants take their morning baths and many of them came out of the water and squirted water at us. So much fun!

We then watched the elephant show which showcased what elephants can do, such as, raise a flag on a flagpole to play instruments (xylophone, harmonica and drums) to move and pick up logs to painting! Three elephants painted pictures which people from my group all bought (including me). We then had the opportunity to feed the elephants and click more photos. Then we rode the elephants for about 30 minutes in a forest in the conservation center. It was an unforgettable day!

Chiang Mai - Temples, Rafting and Cooking

2011-12-29T11:09:00.000+02:00

steps to Doi Suthep

Friday Buddha

After 13 hour train ride we arrived in Chiang Mai about 8am. We loaded up our 2 vans and headed to town for breakfast and a walk through the local central market. Then we headed to Doi Suthep, one of northern Thailand's most sacred temples. Legend has it that the king/emperor rode a white elephant and said when the elephant stops that is where I will build a temple. So the elephant walked and walked and walked. He walked up this hill, turned around 3 times and laid down and died. So we climbed the 300 steps to the temple; tried to walk around the temple 3 times as that was good luck, poured oil in the lamps to help something?, saw our personal Buddha which corresponded with the day we were born (I was born on a Friday); and walked around the area with the locals and other tourists.

bamboo rafting

off to market we go

Then we grabbed something to nibble on, loaded up the vans and drove 2 hours to go bamboo rafting. We had not gone to our hotel at this point and we were all a little irritable. However, once the rafting started our wearies were diminished as we tested our balance and skill of steering the rafts. Hopefully more photos will come as only one person had a waterproof camera.

10 out of 12 of us decided to go to the Thai cooking class (the others went for a bike ride). What a fabulous day we had. We first chose the meals we wanted to cook - there were 4 categories: stir-fry, appetizers, soups and curries; and there were 3 choices per category. Then we were all given baskets and we walked to the local market to gather our ingredients. Our leader/teacher showed and explained the differences between peppers, mushrooms, noodles and other ingredients. Then we headed back. There were 2 other groups also at the school and so when it was time to chop and cook our recipes everyone went to the kitchen and so we were all mixed up. But it was so organized. We all had our ingredients ready (to make one serving each), an individual wood block and knife to chop and then an individual wok to cook it. So I made Fried Noodles thai Style (aka Pad thai); spring rolls; chicken in coconut soup; and Chaingmai Noodle (aka Kao-Soy). So not only did we make these dishes we then ate them right afterwards too. I was stuffed! We also got a great recipe book, so there is definitely potential for me to make these again. And now I have a new outlook to my wok! The place was called BannThai - www.baanthaicookery.com I highly recommend it if you are in the area!

Esther, me, Esther - Chiangmai Noodles

Now if we didn't eat enough in one day, we then in the evening went to a traditional khan toke dinner and watched traditional dancers and entertainers. The day/evening ended with the group letting off 2 lanterns into the dark sky. We made wishes and sent them on their way!

lanterns

Christmas in Bangkok, Thailand

2011-12-25T08:29:00.000+02:00

Although I booked with a company called Adventure Company this tour Highlights of Thailand was run by a fantastic tour company called Intrepid. I look forward to using them again.
Day 1: Christmas Day - December 25, 2011 - the group of 12: a group of 4/family of 3 - mother, 2 daughters and their friend all from Ottawa, Canada (Linda, Lisa, Esther and Sean (though Sean lives in Ankara, Turkey now)); 2 couples from Queensland, Australia - one couple a little older than me (Felicity and David) the other couple older than me (Di and David); a younger couple from London, UK (Esther and AJ); another solo traveler from Chicago about my age (Kristen (Kris)) and me. And then our leader Chompooh (pronounced Shampoo). Fortunately we turned out to be a great group - all got along and everyone was happy!

So on the first day we took a boat trip along the river and then went to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo where the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is located. In the afternoon we had free time and most of us went to Wat Pho (pronounced Po - wat means temple) This famous temple is due to the Buddha is reclining "lying down".

Then we boarded the train at 5:30pm for our overnight journey to Chaing Mai.

Bangkok, Thailand - Visit with former ACS student

2011-12-24T14:59:00.000+02:00

Jill, Mew, Mao, Munin

The day before my tour officially began, I had a great visit with a former student of mine. I taught Mew at the American Community School in Athens, Greece in 2008 before he and his family returned to Bangkok.

We had a great visit. They picked me up from my hotel and we drove about 2 hours outside of Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We hopped into a traditional wooden boat (sampan) and cruised along the canals browsing other boatfuls of souvenirs and food as well as "stores" on mainland but you can only access them by boats. I am really glad I had an opportunity to visit this place.

Then we went to another place for lunch by the river where we had many seafood options. Afterwards, we went to a touristy/garden place where we watched a traditional show which highlighted many of the traditional ceremonies and activities in the Thai culture.

After a long but pleasant day, they dropped me back at my new hotel. It was really great having the opportunity to spend time with Mew and listen to all that he had to share (he hardly said a word in my class!)

Christmas in Singapore

2011-12-22T15:04:00.000+02:00

Here are some of the lights and Christmas decorations along the most popular street in Singapore - Orchard Rd.

Here are the artistic elephants along Orchard Road too.

Christmas Trip Plans

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow I am heading to Bangkok, Thailand for another adventure... last one for 2011! I am going a day earlier than the tour to meet up with a former student I taught in Athens - he should be in 7th grade now!

The tour is a 10 day trip to the hitting the highlights of Northern Thailand - beginning in Bangkok, train to Chiang Mai - a Thai cooking class, some biking and seeing some temples; H'mong Hilltribe - ehtnic minority people; Sukhothai Historical Park; Elephant Conservation Center; Kanchanaburi; River Kwai and back to Bangkok.

So stay tuned for my next blog in 2012. For now Merry Christmas to you all and to all a good night!

Christmas Vacation Week 1

2011-12-21T11:47:00.004+02:00

Christmas vacation began at 3:30pm on December 16! I have 3 weeks off. I am happy with my decision not to take off right away. I have had time to relax (update this), spend time with friends and tour a little more of Singapore.

This week a colleague of mine and I ventured down near the Sultan Mosque and Arab Street and found the neatest boutiques which I know Mom and Dad will like too. Then we went into the building some people call Batam's gothic building - it has a famous bar called Divine's. If someone orders a wine which is on the top shelves, a "fairy" - a waitress is hooked on a cable and "flies" up to retrieve it. Unfortunately, we didn't see any flying while I was there but they had a beautiful real Christmas tree!

I spent an afternoon at the Brownes making my annual butter cookies with royal icing - this making, cutting, cooking, decorating takes on average 3-4 hours! But completely worth it!

Making traditional Xmas cookies

Xmas tree in a mall

me and my Xmas tree!

Today I had a great Christmas brunch with my friends and their families who are here for the holidays. I have been hearing about these "kids" (there are in their 20s) for the past 5 months and now I can put a face to a name. As I love to entertain, I had everyone to my house. There were 16 of us! I made deviled eggs for the first time - I didn't get a chance to try one so I am thinking they were good! It was finally a sunny day and I think everyone had a good time!

Eric and Janice

Dorthe and her kids

Emma and Isabel

Out and About in Singapore November

2011-11-30T10:17:00.000+02:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I last blogged. I have been busy... let's see..

Andrea and Jill

After my friends Dorthe and Bruce and I went and saw The Lion King at Marina Bays Sands Theater - which was as good as the first time I saw it in London, my friend Andrea and I went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel for a great view and a few cocktails!

top of the MBS hotel - Singapore

The Brownes and I rented bikes and rode quite a way in East Coast Park one Sunday afternoon. Then we stopped by Long Beach Seafood Restaurant on the water and had a HUGE Alaskan king crab - it was yummy!

I have seen some monkeys and tropical birds from the Monkey Sanctuary which I view from my apartment.

Elton John

Debra and me

Debra and I went to see Elton John at the middle of November. What a fantastic concert. The venue for it wasn't too large and we had great seats. Kevin Spacey was also there as he was in town for his play King Richard III.

CIS - where I work had their Christmas party at the end of November so it was still MOvember as that was the theme of our party.

Jill and Andrea - MOvember time!

Day 8 – New Hope Village for Cambodia Children

2011-11-05T05:44:00.003+02:00

We spent an unexpected yet delightful full day withthe children and people of New Hope. John and Kathy are from Texas and began this unbelievable establishmentwhich houses, educates, loves, cares for, feeds and transports Cambodianchildren with AIDS/HIV. There are 240children at New Hope and about 235 of them all have HIV/AIDS. New Hope for Cambodian Children (NHCC) workswith the government. Most of thechildren have lost both their parents to AIDS and who are abandoned.

The children go to a local school in the morning andthen the village provides additional schooling in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the children have classes incomputers, dance, music, math, English, etc.

John - founder

We were amazed about the self-sufficiency of thisestablishment. It is well organized,kid-friendly, and environmentally friendly. New Hope breeds their own pigs as part of their income generationproject – I have never seen such large pigs in my life! They have over 10, 000 chickens which also isa part of the income generation project. The older children have a garden project. They grow their crops and NHCC buys thevegetables from the children, so they have some spending money. There is a quilt making project for thewidows that have HIV, so they can support themselves.

President Clinton’s foundation funds all themedication for every child in Cambodia!

After first, I was a little apprehensive to what Iwould see and how the children would be, but it didn’t take long to “forget”they were infected with HIV/AIDS – they are kids! They were happy and energetic andhealthy. They were running around,climbing trees, and tricking the dogs, having fun!

We had a huge dance party on the basketball courtwith all the kids at the end of the day (in the extreme heat – as one littlegirl said I better get out of the sun as my face was red!)

Dance Party!

It was truly a fantastic day!

a little boy who just needed to be held

(www.newhopeforcambodianchildren.com)

Day 7 - Phnom Penh Sightseeing

2011-10-23T04:55:00.000+03:00

On Sunday, October 23 we had a free day to sightseePhnom Penh. We took a tuk-tuk about anhour outside of Phnom Penh to the “mountain”. Oudong was the original site for the capital city of Cambodia from 17^thcentury until 1866. There were manytemples, stupas and other buildings on the tree hills. Once on the top the view of the countrysidewas beautiful. Stupas have the remainsof important people in them – the ones on these hills have several Cambodiankings: King Monivong (1927-1941) andKing Ang Duong (1845-1859),

unidentifiable food

As Eric, Janice, Dorthe and I got out of our tuk-tukwe were swarmed by many Cambodian children attempting to use their English withus and trying to be our tour guides. Being a Sunday we tried to lose the children by walking through thestreet market first, however, we did need their help to figure out all the “strange”interesting foods we were viewing. Andin the end each one of us had our own tour – 4 boys all friends!

We actually walked up the back stairs only 136stairs (versus the front stairs 563) and then walked the remaining stairs inincrements! At the top of the first setof stairs was a large temple with a giant golden Buddha in it. We also saw many smaller temples withBuddhas, some stupas, some animal temples and 3 huge stupas made for Cambodia’skings. The views from this height werebreath-taking. In one direction werejust beautiful green fields (though the boys informed us that those werekilling fields) and there was a large factory owned by the Chinese. In the other direction you could see PhnomPenh and the flood waters.

Royal Palace

We also went to the Royal Palace for a quicktour. The highlights were the RoyalPalace and the Silver Pagoda. The RoyalPalace is used for the residence for the king, a venue for court ceremonies andas a symbol for the Kingdom. The SilverPagoda is different than most pagodas (where monks live) as its entire floor ismade of silver, there are many precious Buddhist and historical objects thereincluding an Emerald Buddha. But unlikemost pagodas no monks live in this one.

I ended my day with a mojito at the Elephant Bar inthe Raffles Hotel (Le Royal) and dinner at an Italian restaurant called Pop Caféde Geogio. – Both recommendations from Andrea!

Jenny, Jill, Dorthe at Elephant Bar

House Building with Tabitha

2011-10-22T07:36:00.000+03:00

Janne - founder of Tabitha

Morning ofDay 4: We went to Tabitha and met the founder of Tabitha Janne Ritskes who started Tabitha in 1994. She gave us agood overview of Cambodia’s history. Shealso told us the do’s and don’ts in the village where we were going to build onSaturday. Things such as, not to touchthe children younger than 2 and now to pick them up or tell them they werecute. As these would put an omen uponthe family and they would have to give their child to us to take home. She also warned us about the flood waters andviper snakes.

Tabitha Cambodia is a non-profit organization. All funds are used to help the very poor inCambodia through programs that focus on personal and financial development. It was started in 1994 and has now reachedover 500,000 people. Tabitha has manyprograms such as, the Savings Program, Family Partnerships, Water Wells,Piglets, Cottage Industry, Patchwork Quilts and Housebuilding.

House #1

Day 6: HouseBuilding – We all got up and had a simple breakfast. It was about an hour bus ride to the villagewhere we were building. It was abeautiful day! Everyone was healthy andready to finally do the build. Therewere 25 of us so 5 teams of 5. Each teamhad one of the 5 guys on it and one of the 5 teachers who had done a Tabithabuild before. My team consisted of Carl,Abby, Kristy and Jasmine. We were agreat team and had a lot of fun building. There was a nice breeze for most of them time. Each of us bearing the white Cambodia buildt-shirts and the Tabitha checked scarf, we had our hammers and work gloves inhand, we balanced our steps on some floating boards until we safely reached ourfirst house.

My job nail nails into the floor boards. Our first set of nails we almost impossibleto get in straight but then we got longer nails and I was feeling a little moresuccessful!

Despite the 1 foot of water which you could not seethrough each group built 2 houses in about 5 hours. We had no injuries and everyone was able todo what they could. 10 families wereextremely happy on this day. The familyhas to save / give $30 towards the house; which takes them about 2 years tosave. 2 years! We (Tabitha/the house builders) raise therest of the money. Each house costsabout $1000.

Family of house#1

Thought of the Day:

~ Hard labor is not myforte! ~

Day 5 – PIO (People Improvement Organization) School

2011-10-21T06:17:00.000+03:00

This morning we took about 9 tuk-tuks to the PIOmain office to drop off our CIS (Canadian International School) uniforms -20(10 kg) bags of clothes. Then wecontinued to the school on the dump. Yesthis school is next to the city garbage dump and serves 315 children and theirfamilies who are forced to scavenge on the dump. There is also an orphanage of 55 childrenages 3-18. CIS has been involved helpingthis school for about 7 years.

Phymean Noun was a former United Nations workerand she started this PIO. She washonored CNN’s Heroes Award in 2008 - http://articles.cnn.com/2008-05-29/world/heroes.noun_1_trash-dump-trash-heap-poorest-children?_s=PM:WORLD She told us about the NGO and we had a tourof the orphanage. Then we all hadbrought things from Singapore to do an activity with the children. Dorthe and I had straws, pipe cleaners andclay for the children to explore and create with. Others did face painting, water colors,cards, making masks. Afterwards thechildren of the orphanage performed some traditional Cambodian dances for us.

After lunch,we all boarded 4 buses for our 4 hour caravan ride to the province ofPursat. We stayed in a sketchy hotel inthe middle of nowhere before going to the village to do our house building thenext day.

Day 3-4: Phnom Penh - Killing Fields and S-21

2011-10-20T16:54:00.000+03:00

Day 3: Day 3we travelled by caravan buses from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. It took about 6 hours. Seeing the flooded lands and homes wasdepressing. Many people had to havetheir cattle out on the street. Eventhough some houses were on stilts the water was still high. Families usually have their live stock underthe house and cook under the house.

Day 4: Afternoon: the Killing Fields and S-21

Taken from Phnom Penh Visitor’s Guide (www.canbypublications.com): “From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979,the brutal, ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge regime controlled the whole ofCambodia, then known as ‘Democratic Kampuchea.’ The Khmer Rouge was headed bySaloth Sar, who went by the nom de guerre Pol Pot. During their short reign, between one and twoand a half million Cambodians perished, some killed outright, others dying fromdisease, malnutrition, neglect and mistreatment… though the Khmer Rouge weredriven from power in 1979, they retreated to the mountains and border areas, persistinguntil their final defeat and dissolution in 1998…. Pol Pot died in 1998, neverhaving faced justice.”

Well this was a depressing day. We solemnly walked along dirt paths throughovergrown grass and weeds which now covered the many ditches which too recentlyheld Cambodian bodies. We each had aheadphone to listen to the awful, heart-breaking stories of the people brutallyexecuted at this killing field called Choeung Ek. More than 17,000 men, women and children werekilled here under the Khmer rouge regime (1975-1979).

Next we toured Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, akaS-21. Our tour guide was a 42 year oldwoman whom was 8 years old was ordered out of Phnom Penh and was sent to asmall town. Her father and brothers weremurdered and her and her mother walked for 3 days until they reachedVietnam. She lived there until she wasthen sent back to Cambodia.

Before 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school but in1975 when the Khmer rouge came into power they turned it into the S-21 prisonand interrogation facility. Those whowere educated or had some connections were tortured to extract the desiredconfessions and then executed.

2 of the 7 survivors of Toul Sleng are still alivetoday and one of them was at the museum while I was there – Mr. Chum Mey.

There are many books one can read to learn moreabout this brutal genocide. The one I amreading right now is called First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung and anotherone is Voices of S-21 by David Chandler.

Thought of the Day: ~What is so surreal is that I was alive at this time – their horrible history was really not that long ago.~

Day 2: Caring For Cambodia to Angkor Artisans to Silk Worms

2011-10-18T17:16:00.000+03:00

We ventured out before the sun rose this morning to take ashort bus ride to a school to serve the children breakfast. It was an organization called Food forThought with CFC (Caring For Cambodia). The school is for local Cambodian children and CFC is one of the manyNGO (non-governmental organizations) in Cambodia. We spooned many bowls filled with soup withrice to these children and tried to interact with them during breakfast. We were supposed to be spread between 3 differentschools but 2 of them were closed due to the floods. After breakfast we played with the childrenand had a tour of the school. Megan, awoman from Texas, told us about how the school operated and the basic needs ofthe students and teachers.

For the rest of the day we had a free day to wander aroundtown. Dorthe, Janice, Eric, Jenny and Ihired 2 tuk-tuks to see the sights. Wefirst went to Artisans Angkor and had a tour of craftsmen/women at work. Artisansd’Angkor trains Cambodians in making traditional Cambodian products. In this workshop there were many deaf peopleworking on copying paintings. Soalthough the products are reproduced, they are reproduced one-by-one. The main focus is ornamental sculpture fromsoap stone and sandstone, lacquer ware, silk weaving and silk painting. And of course there was a lovely gift shopwhich I happily supported!

Next we toured the main garden/park near the palace (whichwasn’t very impressive) but in the tall trees in the park they were packed withhundreds of bats!

Then we rode in our tuk-tuks out of town to a silk worm farm.This farm was also connected to Artisans d’Angkor. It was very interesting. We saw the mulberry bushes in which the wormsfeed upon. A cocoon life cycle takes 47days! We saw all stages of the larva,worm, cocoon and then how the people boiled the cocoon to extract the silkthread. No wonder silk is so expensive!

Jenny and I enjoyed a nice cold beer on our way home in ourtuk-tuk. We all had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and ended the day with afoot massage!

Thought of the day:

~One single balloon can open the language barrier into aroom full of fun and no barriers!~

Cambodia - Day 1 - Angkor Wat to Floating Homes

2011-10-17T15:17:00.000+03:00

Cambodia – Day 1 – Ta Prohm, AngkorWat and Floating Village Boat Tour

We arrived the afternoon before (Oct. 16) to a city full of water! Fortunately the water wasn’t in our hotel butthe street our hotel was on had about 2 feet of water on it. It wasn’t until our last day in Siem Reapthat we saw the pavement of the road!

Ta Prohm

What a day! All 21 of us boarded2 buses which drove us to the temple of Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm or Rajavihara – meaning RoyalMonastery is unbelievable. There aremassive 300 year old strangler fig trees and silk-cotton trees here which arealmost swallowing the temples. It wasconstructed in mid 12^th-early 13^th century A.D. when KingJayavarman VII was ruling. This templealso is famous for the one used in Angelina Jolie’s movie Tomb Raider.

While we were all looking around and this security guard became myinstant tour guide and suggested many places for me to take photos which I wouldhave never found on my own! Of course, asmall payment was given in the end. Heshowed me this small face carving among the roots of a tree that was supposedlyjust appeared naturally. He jumped thebarrier fence and went for a close up photo of it for me! He also showed me a tower in the temple whereif you stand in a particular spot and slap your upper chest area it echoes witha strong bold sound. The overall detailof the temple and the massive rooted trees almost brings an “out-of-this-world”feeling to it!

Angkor Wat

Next we went to the massive temple of Angkor Wat (wat meanstemple). This temple is absolutelybreathtaking both architecturally and artistically. We hired a tour guide which significantlyhelped us understand this famous temple.

bas-relief

Taken from my Siem Reap Visitor’s Guide “It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crownedby 5 lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from the ground level… At the apex of Khmer political and militarydominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of amassive ‘temple-mountain’ dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It served as his state temple, though the temple’suncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructedas Suryavarman II’s funerary temple…. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and anexterior wall measuring 1300 meters x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1 km square and consistsof three levels surmounted by a central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs andcarvings. Nearly 2000 distinctivelyrendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and representsome of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. But it is the exterior walls of the lowerlevel that has the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories andcharacters from Hindu mythology and the historical wars of Suryavarman II.”(www.canbypublications.com) Apsaras are heavenlynumphs or goddesses, also known as devadas. Bas-Reliefs - a raised sculpture technique.

In the afternoon we took an hour bus ride to board a boat to tour theFloating Villages. Since the rivers wereoverflowing it was a little difficult to distinguish between the houses onstilts and houses which were floating! Either way the impact by the floods was clearly seen here. Although it was heart-breaking to see allthese families’ homes mostly covered in water, I felt that everyone’s house wasa perfect “National Geographic” photo opportunity!

Thought of the day:

~A smile is a universal sign which goes a long way.~

Ancient History to the 80s

2011-10-09T15:45:00.001+03:00

I had a good cultural weekend this weekend. A friend of mine from the school had a private tour guide take us around the Terracotta Warriors exhibit in the Asian Civilizations Museum. The terracotta army was buried near the tomb of the First Emperor of China and over 7000 warriors were unearthed in 1974.

Then other friends from school, Debra and I went out for dinner dressed up in our 80s clothes then went to an outside concert called Retrolicious! It was SO FUN! Great 80s music and videos and dancing. We saw the Human League, Belinda Carlisle and Bananarama!

All the performers expressed how hot they were! Yep every day is like the middle of July in Washington, here!
It was another great weekend!

Amy's Private Island Birthday Bash!

2011-10-01T14:57:00.000+03:00

When one can boast, “I am going to a private island for the weekend.” Ican honestly say the bar is set quite high. Well to my greatest pleasure the private island in the middle of theSouth China Sea exceeded my ‘bar.’ What an unbelievable weekend I just had!

Andrea and Jill

My friend Amy (whom I met through our mutual friend Theresa) wascelebrating her 39^th birthday in style! She rented this island in Indonesia calledPulua Pangkil (Pulua means beach or island?).

We all met at the ferry terminal at 5pm on Friday afternoon. There were 20 of us. I had met some of the gals from a previousouting in Singapore. My friend Andreajoined me too. There was also Amy’scousin Joe (an ER doctor in Beijing), Preeti’s friend Matt who happened to bein town, some great people from the UK and Australia who all lived in Singapore. Just a really good mix of people who alldidn’t know everyone but by the end, all really great friendships were formed.

We took a long 2 hour ferry ride on a local boat to Bintan (anisland in Indonesia) went through customs there then loaded a bus to take us toanother ferry. Then rode that smallferry (just for us) for about 30 minutes. Now all this is happening in the pitch black darkness of theevening. As we approach this island of Pangkil,(one of the girls couldn’t even find it on her GPS on the phone), you see thisbeautiful beach with tiki torches ascending from the beach into the darkjungle. We then had to load onto adingy boat to be brought to shore.

Bags and flip flops in hand, we feel the fine grains of sand squishingbetween our toes and we are greeted by the staff giving us some fresh juice(which we all add some vodka to) and we are escorted to our “Swiss FamilyRobinson” rooms. There were 20 of us andwe were separated into about 8 houses. All made of wood and thatched roofs. Andrea and I were in the main house which as just above the disco ball,bar, eating area and relaxing couches. Perfect!

We all freshened up and then met for dinner about 9. The food was fantastic on the island. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner and therewere snacks all the time! And then continued to celebrate being Friday on anisland till the wee morning hours!

As Saturday morning came, Andrea and I, were up at the crack of dawnalong with Lyndon, Petahn and their 6 month old Noelle. Seeing the island in the daylight wasbreathtaking! Andrea had discovered allthe gems first – finding the pool at the other end of the island was a greatfind!

With coffee in hand, I also wentexplored this beautiful island. Ourhouse was at one end of the island and so you pass all the different tree houselooking accommodations. Each one ofcabins had views of the beach/sea and a hammock hanging underneath their cabinor a deck with chairs. The entire placejust blended so nicely within the natural surroundings of the island.

After passing all the “palaces” you come to a fork in the path and goleft through mangroves, tall palm trees, and lush jungle like trees all linedwith tiki torches. Oh by the way younever had to wear shoes on this island, nice combed sand everywhere.

After the secluded walk through the jungleyou come upon two huge boulders which you have to duck through, once on theother side there is this beautiful pool. The pool was also made to fit in amongst its natural surroundings. Cozy chairs, driftwood chaise lounges, a bar,another bedroom and a path to the sea!

By 9 am I was on my bed having a full body (and much needed) massage!We spent most of the day napping, reading, chit-chatting with everyone,swimming in the sea and pool – just relaxing!

Saturday night was the designated birthday celebration. We were asked to bring something white towear which made the evening feelclassy! After cocktails and drinks the deliciouschocolate with mocha icing birthday cake arrived and champagne was served andsome speeches were made!

We all then walked out to the beach where a huge bonfire was lit andthen we all watched with awe at a beautiful display of fireworks, just forus!

The night continued on well into the night! Sunday morning brought late-risers, moremassages, more relaxing, reading, swimming.

Me and birthday gal Amy

Andrea and I took some kayaks and paddled around the island too.

We left our world of paradise at 4:30pm and I was all the way home by10pm. I tell you this has got to be oneof the best birthday parties I have ever attended!!!!

Andrea and I are thinking of renting it for our 40^thbirthdays next spring. Anyone want tojoin us????

Where Should I Go For Christmas?

2011-09-09T01:06:00.000+03:00

Hi Friends,

So I have 3 weeks off for Christmas vacation (what a reasonable amount of time for an international school, eh?). By Christmas I will have been to Cambodia.

Which Asian country and city do you recommend I visit???

Many thanks for your input!

Botanical Gardens

2011-09-03T04:27:00.000+03:00

The Brownes and I met at the Botanical Gardens to stride around the large lush park. Some people were playing frisbee while others were having picnics and we even saw a bride and groom getting their photos taken in this beautiful gardens in the middle of the city of Singapore!!!!

It is free to go in and there is a small fee to enter the National Orchid Gardens within the Botanical Gardens. It was a great day.

Volunteering and Venturing to....

2011-08-28T16:33:00.000+03:00

In October, my school will be moving to a brand new campus and therefore we have 2 weeks off. Now some of the days (at the beginning and end) of this vacation are moving days... but for a week of it, I am going to CAMBODIA.

The school raises money and volunteers for TABITHA - an organization which builds houses for people in Cambodia. http://www.tabitha.ca there are 3 trips - the first one is for teachers who want to go, then it's for families from CIS and then students. So I am going on this first trip!

We will be flying to Siem Reap then go on to Angkor Way and visit the Bayan temples. We will then drive to Phnom Penh and do the building. We will have an opportunity to go to the Killing fields and S21.

That is about all I know about this adventure... I will keep you updated. I will be there from Oct. 16-25.

Private Island

2011-08-28T16:26:00.000+03:00

My first trip outside of Singapore will be the first weekend in October. My friend Amy is celebrating her birthday on a private island which she has booked - the entire island! Check it out!

http://www.pangkil.com/

On the Friday - will have just finished parent-teacher conferences - I will definitely need this little getaway!!!!

Are you envious?????

What are these?

2011-08-28T16:01:00.000+03:00

A) What are these reddish fruits?


B) What are these fish doing?

C) What is this fruit?

D) What do I use this for?


E) What is the English name for this fruit?

New Food and Night Safari

2011-08-21T12:17:00.006+03:00

Sampling new foods!

Last Saturday I went with about 12 gals to tour the Malay-Muslim area and walk through the bazaar – where there were many things for sale and some interesting foods! We all found a different vendor bought some food and we all stood there sampling all the different foods. What did I eat? I am not definite. There was grilled corn-on-the-cob, deep fried bananas, small quails, this pancake with corn and peanut sauce (which was quite yummy), this sub-sandwich with an omelet in it with some meat paddy and sauces – this was difficult to eat without utensils and a table! I need to practice using chopsticks!

hyena

Last Sunday night, Debra and I went to the Night Safari. It is so cool! Since the sun sets every day (365 days a year) at 7pm – by 8 it’s dark! We saw the night animal show with wolves, snakes, otters, and hyenas. Then we took a tram around the zoo – we could have gotten off but we just rode around as it was a school night. I looked mostly with my eyes rather than my camera because you couldn’t use flash and it was dark! But it was really a great experience to see the animals at night. I look forward to go back and explore more.

wolf

The beginning of the week took forever to pass but then come Thursday it flew! I definitely have a crew in my class – no one else seems to have as many issues with their kids/parents as me – good grief!

When I was in Athens on my walk to work it always made my day when I saw the wild green parrots. Now it makes my day if I see the wild monkeys in the trees by my apartment entrance. It’s the little things!!!!!

First Week of Teaching

2011-08-19T11:30:00.001+03:00

So I have survived my first week of teaching grade 2 in Singapore! It was a L-O-N-G week! Especially since I was in working on Saturday and Sunday and since it rained ALL DAY on Monday - indoor for 2 recesses!

21 of my 23 students were present on the first day of school. All the students have shown up this week but there was never a day which all of them were present at school. Of those 23 students, they come from at least 12 different nations and of those 23 students at least 15 of them are fluent in at least 2 languages!

I think the kids have adjusted to a new teacher, a new routine and being in second grade. Me? Well I am still adjusting working, and working in a new school and a new grade!

Every day I write a message on the board for the kids to read, sign in , answer a question and then go do something I have told them to do….

So on Friday I wrote this:

Finally it is Friday! Fabulous week my Friends!
Please sign in and write one word which begins with F.

(Can you see where this story is going? But come on they are SECOND graders – 6-8 year olds!!!)

So everyone writes their name and a word which begins with F. We had fun, funny, Friday, fish, fat, etc. And then someone (yes a boy) writes F..K that is what he wrote – with the dots! Some little girl comes and tells me “Johnny” wrote the F word on the board! So I ask Johnny to join me in the hall and I ask him what he wrote on the board. He blatantly said F—K (I am not going write it but he said it!) I sternly tell him that word is inappropriate to use as an adult and especially as a child. And then he continues to say “But Dad let me watch Fast and Furious – and they say it all the time.” My response… Fast and Furious – THOSE are F words!!!!

Good grief! Happy Friday!!!!

What A Week! - New and Returning Faculty Unite

2011-08-12T03:42:00.000+03:00

Glenn (L) and all Senior Admins

Wow! What a week it has been! It started on Monday morning at the Salvation Army. Yep at the Salvation Army – I think this was the only place that could accommodate the 300+ faculty and staff from all three campuses! We were given breakfast and coffee and some time to mingle. Then we sat in the auditorium for Glenn’s welcome speech. Glenn is the head of the school and a super nice, warm, and caring individual. He and his wife met every single new person at the airport – that was 57 new faculty members and about 40 different trips to the airport.

What an empowering speech he made. It consisted of metaphors, video clips, humor, guest speakers and a wardrobe change! His platform presentation was about 3 hours long but it really didn’t seem that long. (Although I was freezing – that A/C (Air-Con) really gets cold!) Glenn’s speech was articulated with fluency, confidence and relative substance. He never referred to notes.

His genuine appreciation of all our hard work as teachers and his knowledge of part of the reason for moving to Singapore is for the travel opportunities it provides, he embraced this. What a complete 360 from the head of school speech I listened to 3 years ago.

After his uplifting anecdotes and humorous ways presented to us, I felt I had made a wonderful decision in moving to not only Singapore but to the Canadian International School.

We were then bussed back to our campuses and were put to work!

Tuesday was Singapore’s 46^th Birthday (see blog).

And then came Wednesday!

Wednesday, it was the meet and greet with the parents and students and teachers! Of my 22 students, I had the opportunity to meet 18 of them. Now this is an international class! I have 11 girls and 11 boys! Yeah! Most students in these international schools are considered TCK – third Culture Kids – ““A third culture kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture. .” http://www.tckworld.com/

My students come from… well that is also hard to actually determine… let’s just say my students hold the following passports from …. USA, UK, Korea, Denmark, Australia, Singapore, Philippines, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, Thailand and Japan!

With this stated, 5 of my students attend ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages). While these children are learning English, my other students learn French and Mandarin, both.

my buddy - Zoe and me

For the rest of the week, we had a lot of meetings and some time to continue in preparing for the next week. I still need some more time in classroom, so I will be hopping over to school later today (Saturday). I am ok with that, I would rather be overly-prepared than not prepared!

Thursday, my new cleaning lady came and cleaned my house – how nice is that! She even irons… I will wait for the next time she comes! I had my lead teacher, whom is also new and is married to my parents’ friends’ son… come over for wine and cheese. That was super fun!

Friday, after school we had our last school sponsored dinner! It was at a restaurant near my neighborhood. It was for all faculty and staff and their families! How generous, eh? (However, this time alcoholic beverages were not included!)

So what a week, eh?

my good friend Dorthe and me

2011-08-09T16:23:00.001+03:00

August 9 Singapore celebrated its 46th birthday. People had their red and white on in the spirit. Like all days in Singapore, it was hot and humid! And like all days in Singapore, the sun rises about 7 am and sets at 7 pm; and therefore the fireworks started at 8pm.

Before the fireworks began, there was a parade at 6 and at 7, the Singaporean Army showed off their helicopters and parachuting skills!

The firework show was beautiful (4.5 mins) some fireworks were going off the nearby buildings.
Although we were surrounded by many people, it didn't really dawn on me how many until we were all squashed together, walking baby steps towards the MRT (metro/subway).

This outing was an impromptu and successful.

everyone waiting for the fireworks

had a refreshing spray of water from this helicopter

New Faculty Orientation Week

2011-08-05T03:52:00.001+03:00

Our official work week began on August 1. The school did a great job with balancing time in

my classroom

our classroom with meetings. We are slowly trying to wrap our heads around PYP and all the little details of information needed when beginning at a new school.

PYP training among new faculty

On Wednesday, I got my home internet hooked up as well as my TV channels. I have found that the service people don’t arrive late here or even on time, they all seem to come early! Yes early!

Charla - our new faculty orientation leader

I went out with another new colleague Jamine (who will be teaching art) and the drama teacher. She should us where to get a large bottle of beer for only $6. Then I went out with my mentor/buddy Zoe to a bar called Bar Bar. The next day when I shared my evening with my orientation person, she exclaimed, “Wow you have already hit/found the top places! Impressive!”

Friday afternoon all three campuses of new faculty met at my school. Significant others and children were also invited as we rode one of those double decker buses for a city tour. So with 57 new staff members, plus their spouses and children, there were about 70 of us.

At the end of our tour the bus ended at the bottom of The Flyer. The Flyer is similar to The Eye in London, yet larger. Here we were met by all the senior administration and lead teachers. We sat down and were served nice cold beers and dinner. Some of the returning staff who were already had returned helped served us.

Everyone chatted and socialized with everyone. It was a wonderful evening. All the leads, principals, VPs, teachers, even the head of the school Glenn and his wife walked from table to table chit-chatting. It is truly a welcoming and friendly group of people!

the whole gang enjoying dinner

Some thoughts after 48 hours in new apt!

2011-07-31T16:19:00.000+03:00

Some thoughts….

I have made a pretty big dent in finding places for all my things. I still need to work on the clothes and my bathroom. Though I just bought a curtain rod for my bathroom and hung up my curtains. I had the liner and curtain and curtain hooks, just lacked the rod. My guest bathroom is finished – the color theme is blue with rocks! The kitchen is finished and groceries have been purchased and my Kate Libby calendar is now hung up on the wall.

Coincidentally the floors of my place are the exact same as Greece. Living/dining room – marble, kitchen and bathrooms – tiles and bedrooms - wood! I thought that was kind of odd. I have arranged the minimal furniture in the living room and dining room to where I prefer it. I still need to figure out where my photos are going to go.

Dorthe, Bruce and I ventured on the bus to the grocery store today; which obviously took less time. We went to Fair Price rather than Cold Storage which I went to yesterday and I have decided Fair Price is the better grocery store; better by merchandise, prices and variety.

Ok – so Fair Price is attached to a small mall and as I was walking around things looked familiar. I then realized this was the mall that Dorthe, Bruce and I ended up in after we opened our bank accounts the first day! Wow – that seemed so far away. In this mall called Bukit Batok Plaza there is a store I would say reminds me of a Bruce’s Variety Store in Bethesda. Though it doesn’t have everything… it seems to have everything I need that has to do with domestic chores…and this is where I bought my curtain rod!

There is someone on my floor who plays the piano and thankfully well because they practice daily for a good hour! There are many kids in my apartment complex – actually there are many kids in Singapore, period.

Whenever someone calls the elevator from whichever floor it ding-dongs – even if it is not coming to this floor. This is somewhat annoying.

Though I enjoy my air conditioning, I miss not having a ceiling fan. My throat hurts in the morning from the dry air. And again even though I like the cool air I miss the breeze. Maybe I will attempt not to sleep with the A/C on tonight and sees what happens.

It is the first day of work tomorrow – August 1! Luckily work (right now) is only a 10 minute walk down the street!

And JT if you are reading this, this font is for you!!!!

Friday Social and Bumboat Ride

2011-07-29T12:22:00.004+03:00

Today (July 29) there was a happy hour for the entire new faculty, their families and the administrators at a bar called Red Dot on the Singapore River in the Boat Quay area. It was a lovely venue with beer, wine and appetizers. There are 57 new faculty members this year. That is correct 57!

The largest portion of us “newbies” are hired for the TK campus which is located on the Southeast side of the city/island/country. Apparently there has been a positive growth to this campus. I have met so many wonderful people so far. I find that most people who are in my age range are working at this TK campus and are married, and many of them with small children. It is said that unfortunately since those who work at TK live near TK and we who work/live on the other side of the city/island/country hardly ever see these folks!

The next largest population of “newbies” will be working at my campus TT (Toh Tuck). And the smallest amount of new hires will be working at JE (Jarong East); though the TT and JE campuses will be coming together at the end of October as we move onto our brand new campus called Lakeside (LS). Are you following with all my acronyms?

I basically had met all the new teachers ai will be working with at TT while we were at the hotel together, so this evening I met the principal Rob Kiddell (who is also new) and the new vice-principal Mario G (who is ALSO new!). Everyone was so down-to-earth and nice with great senses of humor. Neither of these two men were pretentious nor displayed superiority. It was quite pleasant! (Aside note: Rob’s wife Melissa graduated from LPCI!!!!)

Merlion

bumboat

After some great mingling we all boarded a bumboat for a river cruise. It was a beautiful way to see the city. We passed under many bridges, saw the Lotus and other famous buildings, the Merlion – the famous symbol of Singapore spraying water out of its mouth, the Sands Marina Hotel, many other high rises, and other well-populated areas.

I will always look glossy as it is so humid here!

After the bumboat ride, Bruce, Dorthe and I headed to the Carrefour so I could pick up some breakfast groceries for my new apartment and took the ever-so-crowded bus back to the suburbs!

Raffles Hotel

2011-07-27T12:05:00.002+03:00

Marina Bay Sands Hotel in background

On Wednesday, a whole bunch of us were picked up from the hotel and driven to MOM (Ministry of Manpower) – the government office for work/resident permits. We had our photos taken and our thumb prints scanned. By Monday our cards will be ready and all the necessary paperwork/permit work will be completed. What took Greece 2.5 months to accomplish was accomplished in 10 days here! And though I am quite pleased by this efficiency and I wouldn’t want it like Greece again I have learned …

Everyone went their separate ways, now in a new area to explore. Jasmine (the new art teacher at my school), Dorthe (pronounced Dorothy) and her partner Bruce and I all ventured out together. Now I do see a smile growing on some of your faces as you read this… I was in charge of following the map and getting us to our destination…. I told them my friends would laugh and I am somewhat map reading deficient. But we did make it to our destination of the famous Raffles Hotel.

famous hotel doormen

What a huge obstacle it is getting from point A to point B. There are so many places where you can’t cross the street and you have to use an underpass. Once in the underpass it’s like a maze. You would think you would just walk to the opposite side to where you were but honestly it’s not that easy. Or most of them time you are brought into a mall and there you are most definitely lost. It is truly unbelievable about how many malls there are here which have at least 6 floors and it is so difficult of finding your way back out again. (More about the shopping in another blog entry).

a building in the back

When we did finally make it to the Raffles Hotel, again it took us awhile to figure out that we entered the back of the hotel not the front. The Raffles hotel opened in 1887 by the Armenian Sarkies Brothers as a modest hostelry. The hotel continued to expand until 1915 where all the historical buildings were in place. It was in 1899 that the Main Building opened which was the signal of Raffles transformation into a Grand Hotel. In 1991 after 2.5 years of restoration the Raffles Hotel reopened as it was historically in 1915.

This is the place where the famous cocktail the Singapore Sling was created and it is what one should have while there. We however decided not to have the drink. I have also heard there is a great High-tea here, so this will be my new “Grande Bretagne” hotel for my annual birthday tea! We were not allowed to go inside the main hotel lobby as it was for “residents” only.

Jill, Jasmine, Dorthe, Bruce

Breakfast with the Orangutans and the Browne’s!

2011-07-25T09:00:00.042+03:00

What another great day it was today! I met the Browne’s (D – mom, A-one twin, M – other twin) at their beautiful house not far from my hotel. They are

American but I met them in Athens, Greece as the girls attended K-2 there. The girls will be attending CIS too!

python

A and M

We took a taxi out to the Singapore Zoo to have breakfast with the orangutans and then spent the day at the zoo. The zoo has a lot of different plants and vegetation that is welcoming to both the visitors and the animals! Their habitats are well-laid out and spacious.

As we ate breakfast so did the orangutans, which are SO cute! We were able to have our pictures taken with them (in the background). The zoo took the photos and also you could use get your photo taken with your own camera – but those one didn’t turn out as well as the “zoo photographer” photos… which cost $35 for an 8x10 with a free key chain. But I just went with what I had! I also held a python and got some great photos of the orangutans!

We went to the sea lion Splash Safari show – where M volunteered and got a big wet kiss from the sea lion. Then we continued on to the elephant show, the Fragile Forest (which contained parrots, flying foxes (large bats), butterflies, ducks, lemurs and other free-flying creatures!), and saw just about every other animal. We ended our 8 hour tour of the zoo with an elephant

2-toed sloth

ride!

$5 to feed the rhino - he had quite
a square mouth!

I am looking forward to going to the Night Safari sometime this month (as purchased a double ticket price for both zoo and safari!). We then retreated back to the Browne’s for a swim and some dinner. I also did a load of laundry and Skyped with the Confers and Blaufuss!!!!!

sleeping flying fox - it was about 1 m from me!

Another fabulous day here in Singapore!

Day 2 - Evening

2011-07-23T16:52:00.000+03:00

Sugar cane juice

Though I had stayed awake all day and had gone to bed at 10pm, I had awoken bright eyed and bushy tailed at 3 am and never went back to sleep. So after the whirlwind of apartment shopping I tried to rest in the hotel room… they are unfortunately doing construction on the 6^th floor and I am staying on the 7^th floor so now peace and quiet. So I headed to the pool, but the clouds started to form, the wind began to blow and then there was something else blowing through the air… we were asked to leave the pool area because they were fumigating the area to get rid of mosquitoes. AAGH!

Just as I was leaving.. Dorothy and her partner Bruce came by and wanted to know all about my shopping adventure so met at the pool and chit-chatted over some cocktails.

They make a lot of different juices; sugar cane, watermelon, starfruit, avocado, basically any fruit. I look forward to trying some new ones every day.

In the meantime, we met more CIS folks and collected some more people at our table and decided to head to Chinatown for dinner. We ended up at the hawker stands in Chinatown for dinner---I don’t think I will frequent there too often but Smith St. a main street in Chinatown which is closed to cars in the evening looked more inviting, and I will definitely go back to that area. We watched some fireworks as they were practicing for August 9^th National Day celebration (similar to Independence Day). And then head home. What a great day!

Day 2 - Apartment Shopping

2011-07-23T11:35:00.000+03:00

Day 2

What a day! This morning I met Jean Thoo (the recommended realtor) to go apartment shopping. After listening to my new friend’s Dorothy and Mylene’s experiences and their descriptions of their found apartments, I was concerned there weren’t going to be any good apartments left, as both of them were also looking for 2 bedroom apartments in the same area.

As the sun was shining today and the humidity was increasing with each passing hour, Jean and I toured around neighborhoods near the school. Now let me note this, no one told me that in the Chinese culture you are to take your shoes off prior to entering an apartment. With this said of all the shoes I could have worn today, which pair did I choose? My Cleopatra sandals from the Greek sandal man – the ones with 2 buckles per shoe! OMG!

living/dining room

I had noted to Jean the importance of my apartment to be close to shops, preferably other teachers, 2 bedrooms, good closet space, fully furnished (with appliances) and a balcony; and between $2200-3000 Singaporean Dollars. The school gives us $2200 SD a month for rent though no one can find an apartment for $2200.

Jean was very thorough of what I was going to see today, where the shops and main transportation was located and provided me with my requested maps. Every community (apartment complex) has a guard shack (though Singapore is very safe). Most communities have more than one tower of apartments and all the ones I saw had a beautiful pool area, tennis courts, a gym and a BBQ pit; some even had squash courts.

master bedroom and bathroom

good closet space

2nd bedroom - built in desk

Each apartment showing, I took tons of pictures, as they all tended to blend together and made notes on the sheet Jean had provided for me with the basic facts as what the community was called, the square footage, number of bedrooms, anemeties, availability and price.

As we approached the 4^th apartment area, as we stopped at the light to turn right, Jean pointed out the post office, shops and eateries close to this apartment. I turned to Jean and said I had a good feeling about this apartment (even though I hadn’t even seen it yet). And I was right! Not only is it close to shops, it is close to many teachers, including Dorothy and my second grade buddy Zoe. And it is in walking distance to the Toh Tuck Campus. The TT campus is the campus I will begin working at in August; however at the end of October the TT campus and the Jarong East campus will be moving to the Lakeside Campus which is further away. But my friends and I can taxi-pool or take the bus/metro together.

kitchen - note no oven!

So long story a little shorter, I continued to view the last 2 apartments but #4 was my favorite, so Jean put an offer into it. We asked for $300 less of what they were asking and ended up getting $200 less than they were asking and a 23 month lease. So my apartment has 2 bedrooms, tons of closet/cupboard space, a balcony looking out into green trees (see photo below), 2 full baths (one with tub other with shower only); living room with flat screen TV, dining room, washing machine and kitchen. Now the kitchen… it has a fridge and a gas stove. No oven. Only some had ovens as the Chinese hardly ever use an oven. We will see how that alters my life! The kitchen was relatively spacious but no oven, can you believe it?

wash machine

So I have already signed the papers and we think I can move in July 27^th. There was another teacher from CIS who was living in this apartment last year, so the landlord was used to CIS’ forms and therefore he agreed with the CIS contract – which is a little different than a standard one. Therefore I have 30 days from the day I move into the apartment to make sure everything is working properly – if it isn’t the landlord needs to fix it. Another difference is when I leave I have to take down and fill any holes I have put in the walls but I don’t have to repaint. There are some other clauses which benefit’s me which the landlord has agreed upon.

CIS graciously puts all the money upfront for the deposit (2 months worth) plus first month’s rent, plus ¼ of the month’s rent as commission for the realtor, plus the stamp fee of $200. And it will be taken out my pay check over the next 3 months. Thank goodness!

view from living room/balcony - peaceful!

So it was truly a successful day! And that was just the morning…..

Singapore - First Day

2011-07-22T16:14:00.000+03:00

July 22, 2011 – First day in Singapore

After 2 relatively smooth uneventful airplane rides I successfully landed and passed customs in Singapore. My 2 pieces of checked luggage surfaced quickly and when I exited the baggage area, there was the head of the school holding a sign welcoming me to Singapore. The head of the entire school and his wife came to get me at the airport. I think that is pretty incredible! And he is doing it for all 42 new faculty members. I was impressed.

We got to the hotel (The Elizabeth Hotel) about 12:45am. My roommate had already arrived, so I quietly came into the room and went straight to bed.

Husky bus - Jill and the luggage!

This morning, Mylene (my roommate) and I went to breakfast and at 9:30am she was whisked away for apartment shopping and I loaded the Husky bus with new colleagues to the Toh Tuck Campus. The husky paw is the symbol of CIS (Canadian International School). I briefly glanced around the Toh Tuck campus, which is the campus I will be working at, as I was led to the computer lab for setting up our emails and getting an orientation session.

Dorothy, her partner Bruce and I were then bused to the bank to set up our bank accounts. So within 12 hours I had completed all this! Dorothy, Bruce and I wandered around the mall the bank was in and had lunch, then took a taxi back to the hotel.

This evening my roommate and I ventured out to the famous road Orchard Road and went to a food court / hawker’s court. I didn’t stray too far from food I knew and had Pad Thai.

Singapore is a bustling city. Many high rises but also so many trees, bushes and greenery, its amazing! There are so many people here. I need to remember to walk on the left and look both ways as they drive on the other side of the road!

Well it is 9pm and I am hoping the No-Jet Lag pills I took will work. I will be heading to dream land soon but was up most of the day today. I am anxious about apartment shopping tomorrow as everyone seems to be choosing an apartment the day they tour. As each new person comes into town, they are basically shown the apartments available – many of us want the same thing a 2 bedroom apartment in a certain area. If I don’t choose an apartment tomorrow, the next person to go with the realtor could pick the one I was really thinking about. STRESS

So I will keep you updated about what tomorrow brings!

Summer Plans

2011-05-29T08:58:00.000+03:00

Happy Memorial Day everyone! It is finally beginning to feel like summer here in Greece.

These are my plans.... after 3 years of living in Athens, Greece I will be departing on June 19. I fly into Dulles (Washington, DC) where I stay overnight at my friend's house and then catch an early plane down to Savannah, GA as my parents live near that airport (though they live in SC).

My grandmother now lives close by so I am looking forward to seeing her... and my niece and nephew are coming down for the last week in June - I am very excited to spend time with them!

July 6th I fly back to the Washington, DC area. I will be staying with my good college friend JT in Alexandria for 4-5 days, then I will be staying with my good friend Courtney in Kensington, MD for 4-5 days, and then I will be staying with my good friends Kirsten and Geoff in N. Potomac until I leave on July 20.

JULY 20TH I leave to move to Singapore and I arrive in Singapore at midnight of July 21. The school puts me up in a hotel for up to 10 days while I find a place to live.

Orientation for new faculty begins on August 1 and school starts on August 15!

So hopefully I will be able to see many of you in my quick month on State side!!!!!!

Birthday

2011-05-05T09:52:00.013+03:00

I had a wonderful birthday this year. My good friends' parents were in town Tom and Mollie and another couple John and Paula - Athens was their last stop from their cruise from Istanbul.

Wednesday we climbed the Acropolis, walked around the Plaka and had dinner near the Agora. It was nice to visit the sites ONE more time with tourists!

Although Thursday (my birthday) was an unusual cool and rainy day we were all troopers! We saw the changing guards at Parliament, walked through the National Gardens, went inside the Zappion, went to the Temple of Zeus and I left them at the Agora while I went to work.

We all reunited that evening at the Grande Bretagne Hotel where we were having dinner at the Roof Restaurant with a beautiful view of the Acropolis.


Tom, John, Jill, Mollie, Paula	Then on Saturday I went to a restaurant called Costa Nostra - an Italian restaurant in the Monastiraki area with 8 of my friends. Great dinner!

Susan, Christy, Jill, Miah, Cat, Kim, Lacey, Dave, George

Greek Easter

2011-04-24T00:29:00.003+03:00

Dimitra lighting our candles at midnight Easter Eve

Agia Paraskevi

Saturday, April 23 I met Dwain at the plateia at 11.30pm to participate in the beginning of the most important holiday in the Greek culture - Easter. As I walked down the hill, I was among many others walking down with their spouses and families, each person holding their own Easter candle. Some candles were plain white, others had ribbons wrapped around them while others had ribbons and things dangling from them.

Everyone gathered in front of the church on the square listening to the service which was being broadcasted from within the Greek Orthodox Church. Then the doors open, people parted to let the priest and religious folk out and they continued and then ended the service from a raised platform in the plateia. Those in the church lit someone else's candle who was standing outside and soon everyone around had their candles lit (though it was windy and the candles kept distinguishing) and from the roof of the church exploded with fireworks.

Then everyone parted ways trying to keep their candle lit all the way home and they were all off to the big midnight feast.

Kokoretsi being wrapped in intestines

Lamb and Kokoretsi being roasted for 4 hours

Sunday (Easter) I went over to the Confers about 11am - the lamb and kokoretsi had been on the grill since 9:30am. Kokoretsi (Kokoretsi or kokoreç is a dish of the Balkans and Anatolia consisting mainly of lamb or goat intestines, often wrapping seasoned offal, including sweetbreads, hearts, lungs and/or kidneys. The intestines of suckling lambs are preferred.- Wikiipedia)

The lamb was really good. However that is basically all we ate - lamb. There were no side dishes, no sauce (except French's mustard) to dip the lamb into. I had made my friend Jennifer's potato salad. But no other veggies or sides or color to the meal. There was some hard bread and some cheese. It was the most random celebration meal.

Not to say I need materialist things, but there were no decorations, no color, no one dressed up for this special occasion. I am glad I participated in it since I have lived in Greece for 3 years but I was kind of disappointed.