365 Days of Singapore

The last week of October was our one year mark here in Singapore! It feels like a pretty big milestone to be living here for a year. Cosette still does talk about going back to New York, and my heart hurts when I see my friend's pics on Instagram. But then it hurts thinking we only have a year left here.

The things I miss from the US other than family and friends are: the New York Public Library, fall, Greek yoghurt, and that's about it. I really like the summer weather year round. I am not missing those New York winters, or winter in general at all. It's so easy with the kids to just throw on shorts, t-shirts, sandals and we are good. No extra half hour to get everyone's winter gear on before leaving the house. And after writing this I will admit that the heat is getting to me a little bit. It is hot and we are constantly sweaty, but at least we got aircon.

Favorite things about Singapore: the beach, the zoo, our pool, the food, the people. There is a lot to love here. I don't wake up everyday and think "I love Singapore", but there are some days when I definitely feel like that. There are other days when I just don't want to get sweaty when I got outside. It comes and goes, but those frustrations are only fleeting.

And talking about frustrations, I am going to be honest, being an expat is challenging. Usually husbands work a lot more than they would back home, there are language barriers, lots of cultural differences, and just a lot to get used to living somewhere different. I go to the grocery store and I think what the heck is that? And then I have to stop Henry from squishing all the fish eyes on the fish heads in the cold section. And then I got off the bus the other day and there was a monkey a tree and I was worried it was going to jump on my bag, ah! Singapore life, lah.

I talk a lot about the good things that are going on, and it is all mostly good. We have a lot to be grateful for. And I do probably give the impression that everything is hunky dory, but it's not always. Life here is just like living anywhere else. The big difference is that everything here is a new experience. Some good, some bad. Durian was such a bad experience, haha. Never again.

Everyone in our little family has had to go out of their comfort zone. Cosette and Henry both with school. They are the only white kids in their entire school. They have Mandarin everyday where they can only speak Mandarin in class. That's not easy when you are three and five years old. People speak English here, but it's not the English we speak. A lot of people look at us and think we are made of money because we are white. It was like that in the Philippines too. People stare at us, and take pictures of us every where we go. I always have tried to not notice because it makes anyone feel awkward when a stranger is staring at you, but that is how it is here. And all of this is not a big deal. Life continues on. We have a lot of amazing experience and opportunities here that we are taking full advantage of. I think all of us can say that we love living here, or at least enjoy living here.

Never in a million years would I have thought that our lives we would be like this. We have been so many places it is incredible. I have this fear of missing out on things and I just want to see everything and travel every where, especially because we have this rare opportunity. And I really have to channel all that in. This year has taught me my limits and that I do not have to do everything. Even though I am still trying, haha.

This current situation we are in is very hard. Lyndon works around the clock, I am pretty much by myself with the kids. We hired a live in helper, which has taken a lot of stress off both Lyndon and me. We can enjoy our weekends more, and not have to stress about the house. It has been really beneficial for me to be able to relax and my focus on the kids. But there are challenges with having someone not part of your family in your home. We made the decision to hire a helper because of my health. It was pretty necessary, like kind of scary necessary. I have been on the brink of a break down or just in the middle of a break down. There was one Sunday I was so tired that I could not get out of bed. I slept the entire day with a briefly waking up when everyone got home from church and then back into a deep sleep till 6:15pm that night. I think I was a little tired. And then there is Lyndon who works from dawn till dawn the next day and the next. There is hardly a moment when he is not on call. And that is just how the job is right now. Gotta pay off those student loans. We have come to accept that this is our life right now, but it has been a very emotionally challenging year. Being in Singapore has not been the problem, just our life situation. It would pretty much be that way whether we stayed in the States or went somewhere else.

These 365 days in Singapore have really taught me to just accept people as they are. Singapore is a melting pot more diverse than any place I have ever been. People here respect one another and don't criticize people for their beliefs or how they live, aside from Henry trying to pull the emergency brake on the train. I went New York on that lady for that. This has been my experience here. I have not had people say much to me, except for a couple times, and I try to be as polite as possible, or just ignore them and play the dumb foreigner. But that is the rare exception. Mostly people are kind and smile at me and my kids. They tell us how capable we are for having three children, which still makes me laugh. Some random man gave Henry two dollars just because one day. People here are really great. They might look at me and think I am crazy, but whatever. Living in a place where you are so different from everyone else, you just have to hold your head up high and keep walking (a lesson I learned in the Philippines).

And some photos from a year ago when we first got here. 




And a couple from recently. Henry and Raphael have changed so much this past year. Henry's little chubby face and little belly are disappearing and it makes me want to cry a little bit, but then it's a good thing because he is growing up and his crazy phase is slowly dissipating.



We are here, still smiling, taking things day by day just like we would anywhere else, we just happen to be in Singapore. And I am grateful for what living here has taught me and opened my eyes to. Here is to another 365 days on our island in the sun.

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