What Singapore is Like

Singapore is better than what we expected. We are all loving it here. We have been here just over three weeks now and I cannot remember what our life was like before this. We have acclimated very well so far. New York is very different from Singapore and I do not want to compare the two, but life here has been a lot easier so far. We are living in a very central area close to a lot of things so it might be a little different once we move to our apartment. For right now Singapore is home and it really feels like home. 

We take our swim suits everywhere. There is a pool at every apartment complex, home, or splash pad. We have started not leaving home with out them. 

Cosette and Henry have been working on their photography skills. And don't let this innocent face fool you. He has pulled out the ice cube trays, spilled some yoghurt, and torn up an entire roll of paper towels all within sixty seconds. 

Eastern culture meets Western culture here. I was surprised that there was such a large European influence here. To use my term it is very "Eurofied". We were told that everyone speaks English. That is not the case. Most people can understand English, but may not necessarily speak it. That has not been an issue though. There are four main languages spoken here: Mandarin, English, Tamil, and Malay. Talk about a melting pot. 

The subway here is called the MRT. I am in love with it. The cars are huge! It can be packed and I can still push my Uppa Baby Vista with both seats and piggy back board on with no problem. There are also glass barriers between the platform and tracks. I love that. It is safe and I do not fear for my children's lives every time we are on the platform. It is air conditioned, so you are not dying of heat. The best part is that there is an elevator at every single stop!!!!!! I could put a million exclamation points and I still think that my excitement and gratitude for this would not be expressed. It makes getting around so stinking easy. No more bumping my stroller up and down the stairs. It's a dream. The buses are great too. Although you do have to fold your stroller up on the bush, which is a downer, but we are used to that. Once we get our McClaren it won't be such a big deal. We have taken the bus a few times. Some are double deckers, which are the best to climb up to the top and look out over the city. Taxi's are cheap. We use them a lot more here because there are some places that you simply cannot get to with out taking one, or you have to take a train and then two buses to get there. With three kids and a giant stroller we have to fold up those trips are not feasible alone. We are all really enjoying the transportation here. Getting around is so much easier and makes my life so much easier not having to worry about how many flights of stairs I am going to have to bump my stroller up or down. And all my New York friends will appreciate this. The elevators do not smell like pee. Every subway elevator smells like pee in New York. So grateful for them, and so grateful to get off them.

The weather is hot and humid, no surprises there. I like it though. Every place is air conditioned, so if we get to hot we just go inside for a little bit to cool off then we are off again. The rain storms here are awesome. It will just pour for a while then stop. I like it. There is not a constant rain fall all day. It just pours for a little while then stops. We have experienced some really big thunder and lightning storms here so far. Hearing it makes me think how awesome mother nature is.

The food is your typical Asian food. I'm so happy to have the Asian French style bakeries every where. Asia has the best bread! And our favorite place in the Philippines is everywhere in Singapore! We have been eating rice or noodles with every meal. We have had a lot of exposure to Asian food, so it is not a huge shock. We are still getting used to some new tastes. I am telling the kids a lot we have to get used to eating different food. And we are learning to love all the different new flavors. We are lucky that the kids do like Asian food a lot. Rice and noodles are some of their favorites.

We are really lucky to have a sister missionary who served in our ward in NYC who is from Singapore show us around. She has taken us to several food places. One of the places she took us to had restaurant with the meat hanging up and Cosette said that we needed to tell them it was not okay to kill animals. She has shared some traditional kid snacks with us, introduced us to some traditional Chinese desserts, and to Awfully Chocolate. Which for that we are eternally grateful. The ice cream is to die for. Her parents had us over for dinner one night and prepared traditional foods. It was delicious.

We have met the nicest people here. The Singaporeans are such kind people. At least people have shown me a lot of kindness. A woman was so nice to me on the MRT when Henry and Raphael were both freaking out. Instead of people rolling their eyes at me they help. One woman saw me waiting for some friends with the kids and started talking to me about how wonderful it is that I can stay home with my children and I will see the results later in my life. The kids were being kind of rowdy while she was talking with me. After our brief conversation she came back with a snack for the children. It was the sweetest, kindest thing a stranger has ever done for me. I am so grateful for her kindness. It was so sweet, words cannot justly express my gratitude for her. Another story for how nice people are is that I was checking out at the grocery store. It had been kind of stressful grocery trip. Henry, Henry, Henry. Love that boy, but wow! I understand the terrible twos. He is not terrible, he is just into everything. Nothing, I mean nothing is safe. So grocery shopping with him a little crazy. He opened the eggs and got a couple out, he opened the milk, the oranges.  So once we got to the check out line I was ready to book it home. And then as I am bending down to pick something up my diaper bag hits a row of gum and knocks the whole shelf off. The lady behind me in line started helping me unload my groceries and one of the employees told me not to worry about it and she picked it all up. Maybe these people think I'm crazy, but at least they are helpful. I do not know what it is, but I am so grateful for the kind actions instead of the negative comments. I have had a lot of people come up to me and tell me how capable I must be to handle three children. It makes me laugh because I am thinking I'm glad you think I am handling it. Its a whole mess of crazy of at home, but thank you. I guess a lot of people have helpers here or family close by that help out. And they only have one or two children. 

The people from church have been amazing. We have all felt so welcomed. I had friends who put me in touch with friends over here and we had some contact with people and got the low down on what to bring and what Singapore was like before we got here. So grateful for all of that information. We were able to find out about a ward Halloween party and attended. I am so grateful for the church. I would be struggling with out it. The ladies have been so wonderful. I really feel that if I need anything I can reach out to them and get help. Like I was sick and Lyndon has been super busy (he did not get home till 5am one night). I needed help with the kids and I knew I could not do it by myself feeling this way. I reached out to several people and some kind sister in my ward took the older two for the whole afternoon and brought us dinner. I am so grateful. I am excited to get to know them all better. 

The hotel we are staying at right now has a lot of families in our situation. I have met several ladies with kids similar ages and gotten to know them. One friend is even from the South. I have a testimony that our Heavenly Father knows our circumstances and puts us where we need to be. We had only been here a couple of days and I saw a girl wearing a BYU shirt and found out there are three other LDS families staying in our hotel and have kids the same age. Things like this are not coincidence. 

I am really grateful we are here. I am grateful for Lyndon being the hard worker he is. I am grateful that the children have been doing so well. I am grateful for the sunshine and the heat. I am grateful we can go swimming everyday. I am grateful for the public transportation and elevators here. I am grateful for the people. I cannot complain about anything and I have nothing to complain about. Life here is wonderful. I am so happy.