Gotta love IKEA!

Before moving here, I did research on their shopping, because of course, it seems to be what locals enjoy most when they have a day off!!! I was very excited to discover that Singapore had many of the same stores that we did back in New England. Toys 'R Us was very important and of course, we should have stock in the company by now. And then there's IKEA...


Back in the States, I only had one IKEA experience. I wasn't all that impressed or amazed, but they have some nice stuff and reasonable prices. Well, I moved halfway around the globe and now I think it's the most amazing store ever created!!!! Everything is so expensive out here and I could go on and on with examples, but I'll leave you with just one for now. OK, so I walked into one of their department stores out here to check out some wine glasses...those who know us understand how very important this simple item is!!! Back home, to purchase some nice wine glasses would cost about $50 for a set of four. Out here, a similar glass goes for about S$29.00 a piece! That rounds out to about $80 in U.S. currency, which is absolutely absurd! So this is what has led to my excitement about IKEA...


You don't have to be rich to be clever - IKEA's slogan

This statement is so true! I've been in Singapore for two weeks and have made two trips to IKEA with plans for many more. Jacob and I plan on filling our new apartment with IKEA plates, cups, bowls, mugs, sheets, pillows, and so on and so forth. I even gave in and purchased their S$25.00 high chair that seems to be in every restaurant and mall on this island. Juliana also seems to enjoy the small pink plastic stool I purchased as well. So simply, so cheap and yet it could keep her busy for hours!


This post is so silly, but these are the things that go through my head while I'm up in the middle of the night, pondering our next moves :-)

A day of good food!

Yesterday, it was a typical start to the day...didn't leave the apartment until after Juliana's long morning nap. We were both hungry, so we went across the street to a place called Simply Bread. It's not just a bakery, but also a cafe that offers sandwiches and salads for lunch. Juliana and I had a roasted chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mushrooms on ciabatta bread...delicious!! I would have eaten two of them is they weren't so big!

After another day of shopping...seems that it's all I do since I got here...we decided to go out for a late dinner after Jacob got home from work. The cuisine of choice was German at a place called Stammtisch just around the corner from the apartment. It was nice to see things like sirloin and beef tenderloin on the menu. This was also the first time that bread was offered without having to order or pay for it! For us Americans, not having bread offered at a restaurant is simply ridiculous. Anyway, the food was amazing and in my opinion, worth the high price we paid for it. Juliana got to munch away on french fries and I thoroughly enjoyed my perfectly cooked beef tenderloin. In fact, I think Jacob was a bit jealous of my dish :-) Dinner ended with chocolate fondue for me and strawberries and ice cream for Jacob. We will definitely be returning to Stammtisch in the near future!!

Some success in Chinatown!

So, we ventured out to Chinatown by MRT this time and the experience was much better than the last time in regards to shopping and the atmosphere. Our biggest issue with visiting that area though is the food...for some reason, neither one of us can stand the smell of all that Chinese food in one place (such as the food courts in the malls). During our last visit to Chinatown, we were turned off by the food we had ordered.

After some shopping, we began the search for a place to eat lunch. What a project that was! We walked up and down the street and nothing looked appealing, then we walked in and quickly out of the food court in the mall. We decided to head back to where the MRT station was, since we knew there was a Subway and McDonald's there. Now these may not be things I would normally eat at home, but here it's a different story. We ended up settling on a place called Swensen's since the menu had some normal looking food. This picture is of Juliana getting excited at the idea of normal food while looking at the menu!! She had a ham & cheese omelet with fries and corn. Jacob's pasta dish looked a lot more tasty in the picture, but with a soup and salad, I couldn't go wrong.

Dessert was another story....lots of ice cream and chocolate fondue. Jacob and Juliana enjoyed a vanilla cone coated with chocolate and crushed nuts.

We do plan on venturing back to Chinatown to do some more shopping in the future. There were tons of antique stores and plenty of ivory decorations as well, but. We're looking forward to finding some unique decorations for our apartment out here! And yes, Jacob is already searching for chess sets...in fact, he found a gorgeous ivory one, but the price was a bit beyond out budget. It was S$6,000.00, which is about $4,500.00 in U.S. currency. Yeah, maybe once he hits the big bucks at work!!!

New friends, new beginnings?

So, yesterday afternoon we were invited to the home of one of Jacob's coworkers. Richard even picked us up at our apartment, so we wouldn't have to figure out how to get there by bus. Their apartment was gorgeous! All together, 3500 square feet and since they have been living in Singapore for a while, they have decorated it with furniture, rugs and souvenirs from their travels around the city.

Shortly after we arrived, another one of Jacob's coworkers arrived with his wife and eight month old daughter. It was nice to be around some adults, since I've been spending all of my time with Juliana!

Richard's wife, Cathy and I had a good conversation about adjusting to our new life here in Singapore. She gave me some ideas on what to do with Juliana and tips on saving money, where to shop for clothes, groceries, etc. Come to find out, Cathy teaches English on a part time basis and may have some connections for me to get a job while I'm here!! Maybe I will finally be able to put my degree to good use. We shall see :-)

It was a nice evening and we seem to have made some new friends. Juliana also enjoyed being around Isabella!

This morning, we made the mistake of letting Juliana feed herself. What a mess!! She still chooses to use her hands instead of the spoon, hehe!

Since today is a holiday here, Jacob has the day off, so we'll be heading out to do a little exploring. We are going to try and take on Chinatown again, since we were told that we had not gone to the right area. Wish us luck!

Little India

The day started off with a trip to Harborside to open up a local bank account. We now hold bank accounts in both the US and Singapore...really, it sounds a whole lot more exciting than it is! After leaving the bank, we went to Starhub to get a cell phone or "hand phone" as they call it here. Fortunately, it allows me to make international calls as well as local, yay!!!

Our original plan was to head over to Sentosa Island and take Juliana to the underground aquarium, but that idea went out the window since she was very tired and cranky. We didn't feel like spending all that money if all three of us wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the experience, so it's been put off for another week or two. Instead, we decided to take the MRT to Little India.

Little India is just like it sounds...a much smaller version of what the streets and markets are like in India. As soon as we left the MRT station, we were hit with all kinds of different scents, some good, some bad(I don't think I need to go into detail here). Our first destination was Serangoon Road, which is a street lined with markets and stores and crowded with people of all different races and cultures. Pushing a stroller is like trying to get through a maze, because the sidewalks are covered in bikes, food stands, carts, etc.

This time of the year is Deepavali, otherwise known as the Festival of Lights. I did some research to find out what the festival was about and discovered that this is how the Hindus rejoice in "the triumph of light over darkness and of good over evil." For Hindus, they treat this holiday with as much importance and celebration as Christians treat Christmas. The streets in Little India are decorated with streamers, lights and garlands with tons of arches over the whole road. At night time, everything is lit up including the buildings. I pulled the picture below off the internet just to get an idea of what it looks like. We are planning to head back before the festival is over!

The whole experience of Little India was short lived, because we were all exhausted and it was very hot. We didn't get a chance to explore the hot spots or participate in some of the experiences that the area has to offer. Plans for our next visit include a trip to a parrot fortune teller, the Little Indian arcade and a visit to the temples, specifically Sri Veeramakaliamman,which was closed to the public at the time. The picture I took doesn't do the temple justice.

One of the most fascinating things about Singapore is the variety of religions. The diverse population here is very accepting of different practices, holidays and celebrations. Religious tolerance is essential and all of the different races can openly talk about their beliefs and express their faith without worrying about being segregated or judged. The most common religion is Buddhism, but Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are also commonly practiced. Something I am hoping to do while living here is explore Buddhism more, especially in regards to their practices of mindfulness, meditation, and mantras. At the core of the religion are the concepts of harmony and serenity, two things that any of us could benefit from learning more about and practicing in our everyday lives!!!

After returning to the apartment, I walked across the street to get some thai food for dinner and stopped in at a wine shop nearby. Lucky me!! I got to taste some red wines while I was there and their "tastings" were more like a full glass of wine! Of course, I couldn't leave without purchasing a couple bottles :-) So far, all of the wines we have tried have been incredible and we look forward to trying more since we're so close to Australia and New Zealand!

More shopping!

Juliana is still having a hard time adjusting to our new life. She was a bit more rested this morning though. When we go out, she enjoys looking around at the new places and people, but still seems confused and somewhat distraught. Once we get settled into our new apartment, I'm going to look into some playgroups and other activities for toddlers to keep her busy with other children.

For breakfast, she seemed to be in good spirits.....

While I'm still getting used to the city, it seems that the only activity to do when it's raining is shopping. Yesterday, I decided to head to Jurong Point, since this will be the closest shopping center to our new apartment. Still not completely sure how the bus system works, I ended up taking another cab to get there.

Not much to say about the experience....more shopping. There's a grocery store and toys 'r us, which will be the essentials once we're living in the area.

Once Jacob got home from work, we decided to head out for dinner and try something new. We decided on a Chinese restaurant called Yanqing Secret. I guess we were feeling adventurous, because nothing looked remotely familiar on the menu. They had lots of dishes with eel, venison, prawn, and fish head. It took us a bit to decide on some "safe" dishes to try. Our order: beef stir fried with vegetables, fried noodles with venison (Jacob's choice, not mine!), sesame pancakes with pork floss, vegetable salad and an asparagus and onion stir fry. Overall, the meal was good except that neither one of us are fans of the floss. After some research, here's how "floss" is described:

Rousong, also called meat floss, pork floss, pork sung, chicken floss, is a dried Chinese meat item that has a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton. Rousong is used as a topping for many foods or as filling for various buns and pastries. It can also be eaten as a snack food on its own. Rousong is a very popular food item in Chinese culture, considered a delicacy.

In our opinion, this delicacy is not all that good. A few days ago, we had a thai dish that was rice topped with chicken floss and ended up just eating the rice.

There are so many different cuisines that we will be trying in the upcoming weeks, so we'll be sure to keep you updated on our dining experiences!

Apartment search & Clark Quay

Hello all!! I'm writing this on Thursday evening (my time), so it's been a couple days....unfortunately, my laptop stopped working on Tuesday night, ugh!!! Not sure what happened, but it is working now! Getting through the last two days without a computer was awful! I never imagined that I would need the internet as much as I do now. It helps me figure out where to go and how to get there as well as allowing me to keep in contact with everyone from home.

So, to update you all on what's been going on...Tuesday morning was the apartment search. Shirley, the real estate agent that works with Bovis Lend Lease and her sister picked me up in the morning. Her sister came along to hold Juliana while I looked at the apartments...very nice! She had set up seven appointments for me at four different apartment complexes in the Jurong Point area, which is where Jacob will be taking the shuttle to work. I fell in love with the third apartment we visited!! It is what they considered a pent house out here, because it's at the top of the building and includes a huge terrace. It comes furnished with the basic necessities, such as sofa, beds, major appliances, etc. and I ended up making some additional requirements when we inquired about renting the place. Yesterday, Jacob and I signed the letter of intent and made the initial security deposit to hold the apartment. So, it looks like we may have our home!! I'm excited at the idea of finally "settling in," because right now it just feels like I'm staying at a hotel.

When we got back and after Juliana napped, we used the pool here at our temporary housing for the first time. She was very excited!!!


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Wednesday, Jacob, Juliana and I headed to the main office for Bovis Lend Lease here in Singapore to finish up some paperwork...we finally received our green cards! We are officially residents of Singapore until 2010!

After leaving the office, we headed to Clark Quay for some lunch. The area is described as, "A haven for world-class entertainment and glorious food, this former trading hub is now a den for modern pop culture in an old-age architectural setting."
Juliana particularly enjoyed the fountains!!!! It was a nice break from the humidity too!

I'm beginning to think that Juliana is going to turn into a little fish while we're here. Just before the picture below, she was starting to get cranky, but water fixed that!

After a delicious lunch, we returned to the apartment just in time to meet the courier who brought our green cards and passports from the main office. It's nice to finally feel like we're "here," ya know? Instead of just visiting, we're actually residents of the city!!! For me, it makes the whole experience a little easier.

First day on my own!

Before going to bed last night, I was very anxious about what today would bring. I knew that Jacob would be starting his first day of work and I'd be on my own with Juliana. Back home, being on my own was no big deal, but I hated the idea of being in a foreign place with only two days of experience and having to venture out into the city. Initially, I planned on staying in the apartment, but decided against it. After it finished pouring this morning, I packed Juliana up in her stroller and headed out to explore!

I took a taxi rather than taking on the bus and MRT. I figured, one thing at a time, right? So, we headed to Orchard Road. During all of our research about Singapore, we kept coming across information about Orchard Road and how it is the most visited attraction in Singapore. It's loaded with so many shops and restaurants that it's impossible to visit them all in a day. I ended up walking up and down the street just to get an idea of what was around, but this turned out to be quite a task! I'm still getting used to getting around on foot and with a stroller, it can make things very difficult. I have to look for the elevators, which they call "lifts" or carry the stroller up or down stairs. At least I'm building up my arm muscles!!!



I think what I enjoyed most about today's outing was seeing all of the buildings and how unique they are in comparison to home. There is such a wide range of styles in their buildings and some of them look like pieces of art. I didn't remember to take too many pictures, but below is a picture of The Marriott.

After about two hours of walking around, I settled on visiting Borders to get some books on the area and then heading back to the apartment. I guess it was a successful day since I didn't break down crying or screaming and Juliana and I made it back to the apartment safe and sound! Now to figure out what to do about dinner....

Temporary apartment

For those of you interested, we took some pictures of the apartment that we're staying in until we find one of our own. It's pretty nice with plenty of space. Some of the things I hate: no dryer, no rugs and too many switches!!! Here's what the washer looks like.......

Very different from what we're used to and much smaller! It takes forever to do a load of laundry and I still haven't figured out how to set it properly to drain all of the water out.

There are a zillion switches for the lights and they are all in the wrong place. For example, the switches next to the bathroom control the bedroom lights. It's like a game every time I need to turn on a light. Since we're up on the third floor, we've also become residents of the elevator that seems to hate our presence. The door closes while you're getting on or off and doesn't sense that someone is there until it has already hit you. On another note, the beds aren't as bad as I was expecting, although they are smaller than what we're used to. I was expecting to be sleeping on a very uncomfortable mattress, but it's all right.

There is a lot of closet space and plenty of cabinets in the kitchen, but it really doesn't mean too much since we are trying not to unpack a whole lot. Fortunately, this apartment is pretty well furnished, so there are some plates, cups, bowls, silverware, pots, pans and appliances. We're still trying to figure out how the stove works, but the microwave and toaster oven will do for now. The oven is much smaller than those at home as well, but I like how it is set into the wall rather than below the cabinets. One of my purchases was a coffee press since I will need the caffeine while adjusting to the time difference!

Closets are not the same as they are at home either. Each room has at least one wardrobe, but none of them are built into the room like the majority of homes back in the U.S. Instead, they are like another piece of furniture. Each bedroom in this apartment has two wardrobes, with bars to hang clothes, shelves and drawers.

The apartment building also has a pool, wading pool and gym for use by residents. It seems that these amenities will be available at any of the apartment complexes we move to. The pool will certainly be used a lot considering the level of heat and humidity here. Luckily, we have already brought Juliana swimming and know that she really enjoys the water. We bought a float for her to sit in with a shade, so she can enjoy the water without being directly in the sun.

One things I already miss about living in a house is the privacy and lack of noise. I'm so used to be surrounded with woods instead of having people living above, below and next door to me. But I guess that's something else we'll get used to in time.

Our lizard experience!

So, I almost forgot all about our lizard experience yesterday! In the morning, Jacob had been watching tv and noticed a lizard walk up the wall and then back down behind the entertainment center. I did not particularly like the idea of sharing the apartment with a lizard, so kept an eye out for it. While searching for the remote in the afternoon, I came across the little bugger under the couch. Man, he was fast!!!! We had to lift the couch, move the coffee table and other furniture in an effort to catch him and shoo him out the door. We got the broom out and played the hide & seek game for about ten minutes before finally getting him out the door. As Jacob would put it, his "hockey move" swept him out the sliding door. Exciting, I know!!!

Bus experience & Vivo City

Yesterday was day three...another adventurous experience!!! After another tough night of sleep (we were all up at 2am), we were exhausted, but ready to do a little more exploring. Today was our first experience with the bus system as a way to reach the Vivo City mall by the harbor front. The buses are very clean and air conditioned, which is a nice break from the humidity.

Shortly after getting off the MRT, we arrived at Harborside, which is where Vivo City mall is located as well as access to Sentosa Island. I found this area of Singapore gorgeous, warm and exciting. There was a nice breeze in the air as well as beautiful buildings and a chair lift that carries visitors over to Sentosa Island. The experience made it less stressful to be in Singapore, halfway around the globe from our home and comfort zone.

Vivo City Mall was enormous!! Tons of stores and restaurants of every kind. We even stepped outside and got a good view of the harbor and Sentosa Island. This will definitely be one of our destinations in the upcoming weeks. Juliana seemed to enjoy the fresh air and views of the water. There was also a fresh breeze that helped take our minds off the high temperature and humidity. Picture of me below outside the mall with a view of Sentosa Island in the background.

One of the days errands was to purchase a couple appliances for the apartment. Of all things, we needed an iron. One of the conveniences that I'm missing from home is a washer and dryer. I tried to run a wash yesterday for some of our clothes, towels and linens and it was quite the project! Washers are completely different than at home and in our temporary housing, there is no dryer. I had to hang all of our clothes and wait a few days for them to dry. After unpacking Jacob's clothes for the week, I knew we would be needing an iron to make his clothes look presentable for his new job. Surprisingly, shopping for an iron was also quite an experience! We had a store clerk hovering right by our side, making it very uncomfortable to decide on our purchase and giving us information that we didn't even ask for. We are beginning to notice how different retail is here in Singapore. It' s so much more convenient and simple at home, but we'll get used to it in time I guess or end up freaking out in the middle of a store. We'll see!

Finally, today ended with the task of figuring our what to do for dinner. Since we don't have a whole lot of kitchen appliances, we ended up doing some take out from a sandwich place across the street. I know that both Jacob and I are looking forward to having some meals at home in the near future, rather than having to go out each night. Part of the problem is that we're not really settled in, because this apartment is only temporary. We're hesitant about making too many purchases since we'll have to move everything again once we find a place. So in the meantime, meals are going to be a pain.

The experience so far has been stressful and overwhelming, which is to be expected. We feel like a spectacle, because we haven't come across too many other Americans so far. I'm hoping to meet some other moms as soon as possible so I don't go insane from lack of adult conversation while Jacob is at work. The upcoming week will be tough, since I'm on my own with Juliana every day now and kind of scared to explore the area. By nature, I don't handle change too well and I'm not the most social person. I guess all of that is going to have to change now!!!

Chinatown & IKEA

Phew! Saturday was day two and it was a bit overwhelming!! We started off the day exhausted of course from the time change and odd sleeping hours. Had some bagels here in the apartment from a store across the street, which was a nice litle reminder of home. Then we got into a cab to head to Clark Quay and Chinatown. Now that we've done it, we're thinking it probably wasn't the best idea for our second day here in Singapore...

Arriving to Clark Quay wasn't so bad, but none of the stores or restaurants were open. As Americans, we're used to early hours, but that doesn't seem to be the case over here. So we walked around a bit before heading over to Chinatown.

OK, so let me tell you that this was a big mistake!! Chinatown was way too much to take in so early in our new lifestyle. It was much more dingy than any others areas we have seen so far, chaotic and loud. We attempted to walk around and then ended up deciding to have lunch in one of the food courts. Boy, what a mistake!! Now, I was prepared for the fact that Chinese food here would be nothing like at home, but it was an even bigger change than I expected. Jacob didn't enjoy his dish at all and I would say that my was okay, but nothing special. Although it is definitely much cheaper than what we're used to! A whole lunch costs around $4 to $5 at the most. By the end of lunch, we had enough with Chinatown and decided to head to IKEA.

Getting to IKEA involved our first experience with the MRT, much like the transportation system in Boston. The MRT is much cleaner than Boston, which makes a big difference to a neat freak like me. I was freaking out a bit at the idea of taking on all of this on my own once Jacob starts work. I can barely get around in Boston, never mind in a whole new city that I know absolutely nothing about. It ended up being pretty easy, but I'm still a little hesitant about taking on too much by myself during the first couple of weeks. I guess we'll see how it goes.

IKEA was just like back in the U.S....very good prices and plenty of choices. Our main goal was to get some linens and towels, but we ended up leaving with a few additional purchases. One of my greatest challenges was finding sheets!!! Fitted sheets are very easy to find, but regular sheets? I spent so much time searching for one and then ended up buying something that is far too small for our bed. UGH! So, I'm going to keep on searching for something else.

All together, it was another busy and exhausting day. I don't think I could go back to Chinatown anytime soon. I need some more time getting used to the area before taking on that experience again!

We made it!

Well, we made it to Singapore safe and sound!! I wasn't too sure it was ever going to happen after that long and exhausting flight. It's bad enough traveling half way around the globe, but bringing along an eleven and a half month old with you...? Not easy! But Juliana did well considering it was her first time traveling.

When we boarded the plane in New York for Frankfurt, I must admit that I was quite impressed. Now, I may not be a seasoned traveler, but I've had my share of flights with different airlines and Singapore Air was pretty nice! The flight attendants wear fancy little outfits and escort you to your seats! It also helps to have a cute little girl with you of course and the extra attention doesn't hurt when it comes to thirst and hunger later on.

So, after over 26 hours of travel time, we arrived in Singapore this morning (Thursday night for all our friends and family). I was anxious to get to our temporary housing, settle in and take a shower. The taxi ride was a bit scary, because I completely forgot that they drive on the other side of the road. Culture Shock doesn't even begin to explain the experience either. I was already feeling out of place at the airport in Germany, but that got a lot worse once we started to explore our new surroundings. Of course, we knew we were in for many changes, but no amount of reading about the culture can truly prepare you for it. I'm not used to living without the convenience of a car and that alone is hard to get used to. Taxis, buses and the MRT will be our sources of transportation while we're living here, making errands and going out a lot more difficult.

One of our first things to take care of was buying a bed, stroller and high chair for Juliana and it was an enormous chore! Right away, I missed the stores back home, because the staff is so much more helpful and knowledgeable about their products. Then we had to carry all of our purchases down three flights of stairs and hail a taxi to get back to the apartment. It's going to take a lot of getting used to!!! I'm sure there will be a lot of tough days ahead with some excitement mixed in and for those of you who know me well, a lot of anxiety! But it's all about the new experiences and how much this will change our lives for the better.