It has been a loooong while since we've dedicated a whole day for the kids. Saturday was indeed a well earned day of family time.
We all had a slow start to the morning, then set of to the reknown Singapore Science Centre (been around since I was a kid). This place has been revamped and seems HUGE and impressive. We decided on this venue for 2 main reasons: 1, It's air conditioned and 2, there's a lot of touch and feel exhibits. All in all, Letitia of course had a ball and learn quite a few concepts. The great thing is there were many demonstrations that we would have otherwise not explained ourselves eg. electricity, laser, water pressure etc. The parents were happy and even Mathena managed to bash a few buttons with pretty good responses. The highlight is when we saw and heard with our own eyes the making of thunder and lighting.
Mac-cers(McDonalds) was our treat and we had a "Singapore" experience with that too! There's beef teriyaki burgers made with rice cakes (rice all squashed and shaped into a burger bun!), fish dippers, chicken wings and excellent easy to disposed off paper boxes for all food. Drinks included iced Milo, Iced-teas, Sugar cane. The only thing we saw "standard" was Big Mac and the Fish Fillet. The ice creams even came choc-dipped!
You can tell I am relaxing a bit,...as I am now talking about food!
We later had a suprise visit from Alex ex-housemate and his young family. A very relaxed afternoon of catching up and watching kids play. We later ventured out to "tech-chie" shopping centre that featured "the world's largest fountain". Had a Swiss experience of a village-style self serve food paradise "Marche" where we had food we've missed. eg Pizza, mushroom soup, crepes, pancakes, deep fried sea food and sorbet/ice cream! The girls loved the musical fountain show which displayed laser lights and impressive music etc.
Came home tired but contented! Mathena slept in till 8.30am (Sunday). She did A LOT of walking, quite happily and was mesmerised by the crowd and shop displays. We have our apartment inspection and handover this afternoon at 2.15pm. The girls will have their first "viewing" later.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Rid of them Critters!
As far as my naked eyes can see, the girls are in the clear.
To answer most questions in your minds, I REALLY do not have any idea where the lice came from. Alex did the monkey search thing in my bunch of folicles and found nothing. He's head seems pretty safe though I did not have a proper look. I have honestly had enough of going through hair looking for bugs, so i figured Alex is big enough to discern the situation!
Alex return late from work a few nights this week and the girls have stayed up waiting. We plan to take it easy this weekend and spend some quality time at home or out with him. We might take in some air conditioned museums/educational centres or just hang out at the pool.
We'll have the official "handover" of the rental property where we'll be given a check list to check and re-check for obligations and responsibilities. Singapore is known for ruthless landlords who are very picky with the wear and tear of the properties, who expect the place to be in the same condition as day 1 of handover. So we have to really be careful to go through all the details and take photoes to document the entire place so as not to be wrongly charged.
By Sunday afternoon, after we get the keys, we hope to bring the girls over to have a look at their home for the next 12 months.
Thanks for thinking of us and holding us in your prayers....this apartment is an answer prayer and a miracle in itself to us!
To answer most questions in your minds, I REALLY do not have any idea where the lice came from. Alex did the monkey search thing in my bunch of folicles and found nothing. He's head seems pretty safe though I did not have a proper look. I have honestly had enough of going through hair looking for bugs, so i figured Alex is big enough to discern the situation!
Alex return late from work a few nights this week and the girls have stayed up waiting. We plan to take it easy this weekend and spend some quality time at home or out with him. We might take in some air conditioned museums/educational centres or just hang out at the pool.
We'll have the official "handover" of the rental property where we'll be given a check list to check and re-check for obligations and responsibilities. Singapore is known for ruthless landlords who are very picky with the wear and tear of the properties, who expect the place to be in the same condition as day 1 of handover. So we have to really be careful to go through all the details and take photoes to document the entire place so as not to be wrongly charged.
By Sunday afternoon, after we get the keys, we hope to bring the girls over to have a look at their home for the next 12 months.
Thanks for thinking of us and holding us in your prayers....this apartment is an answer prayer and a miracle in itself to us!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Our Address from the 5th August (NEW)
We have finally found a place and is waiting for "handover" on Sunday. Alex also has a new mobile number that has FREE incoming calls
(take note, when calling us, call Alex's phone as it does not charge us!).
For the safety and security of our little home:
Please COMMENT if you want the details, and I will email you.
(this is per reminder of our kind friend, KT!)
This should be all set up when we move in around the 4-5th AUGUST next week!
(take note, when calling us, call Alex's phone as it does not charge us!).
For the safety and security of our little home:
Please COMMENT if you want the details, and I will email you.
(this is per reminder of our kind friend, KT!)
This should be all set up when we move in around the 4-5th AUGUST next week!
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Of Head Lice & Homeschooling
I can just see the smiles and semi-giggles in your faces...
Okay, what do the above two issues have in common? Well,....for one thing, it's non preferential and it's not limiting. A lousy louse will hop/jump into anyone's head and hair without being picky of choosy of the type or colour. Well, you guessed it. After about 6 months of being well educated and trained on the "housekeeping" of head lice through Cedars, we officially found those crawly, brown, disgusting creeps in the scalp of Letitia. This only happened this morning and immediately this household(okay, me!!) went on panic mode to "undo" the situation.
Sheets were cleaned/changed, their rooms were aired and vacumned inside out, all their toys were stripped of their clothes and soaked with tea tree oil (I heard this is good?), both girls were given hair dressing threatment with TT Oil, other stuff bought from the chemist and lots of fine-tooth combing. I am feeling itchy as we speak!!! Sheesh! Soaked, combed, brushed and later, another rinse and another round. Just when I thought that we'll have things back to normal today for a relaxing routine....
Word of warning, when your child complains that her head feels itchy, have it checked out. I gave a general announcement to the hotel BUT they are not taking any precautions for fear of an "outbreak" sort of hysteria! The hotel staff look at me quite disgustingly!! Letitia's neck and ear area is spotted with bites and stings from the beastly creatures, poor chook! She's been very calm (with a little bit of tears) while we go through all this...so, our school work today is put on hold.
Homeschooling is great! With head lice happening, the kids DO NOT have to miss school. It's so adapting and easy to work around. The only thing is to get my head around the fact that IT IS FLEXIBLE!! I am NOT a flexible person!! So I have a lot to learn. Letitia loves it and is enjoying all the workbooks. We keep the 2 hours pretty simple and we start the day with bible reading (kids bible stories) and praying. Then, we work on the work books a little at a time, have morning tea, do a bit more and then lunch. Letitia is now reading her own way across the books (Except the chinese ones) and finding them fun! Mathena is now sitting with us and used to the idea that there's "activities" to do. Her level is of a "baby", her work is playing and creating things with her little hands. I read to her, let her scribble/colour-in on the work books to appear like she is doing school (like Letitia!). It's a FULL-on 2 hours. Very concentrating and discipline on my part. Have survived at least a week of it!!
So there, when you don't hear from us, it's great news! When I blog, there's sure to be something "interesting". Since when are our lives ever NOT interesting???!!???
Okay, what do the above two issues have in common? Well,....for one thing, it's non preferential and it's not limiting. A lousy louse will hop/jump into anyone's head and hair without being picky of choosy of the type or colour. Well, you guessed it. After about 6 months of being well educated and trained on the "housekeeping" of head lice through Cedars, we officially found those crawly, brown, disgusting creeps in the scalp of Letitia. This only happened this morning and immediately this household(okay, me!!) went on panic mode to "undo" the situation.
Sheets were cleaned/changed, their rooms were aired and vacumned inside out, all their toys were stripped of their clothes and soaked with tea tree oil (I heard this is good?), both girls were given hair dressing threatment with TT Oil, other stuff bought from the chemist and lots of fine-tooth combing. I am feeling itchy as we speak!!! Sheesh! Soaked, combed, brushed and later, another rinse and another round. Just when I thought that we'll have things back to normal today for a relaxing routine....
Word of warning, when your child complains that her head feels itchy, have it checked out. I gave a general announcement to the hotel BUT they are not taking any precautions for fear of an "outbreak" sort of hysteria! The hotel staff look at me quite disgustingly!! Letitia's neck and ear area is spotted with bites and stings from the beastly creatures, poor chook! She's been very calm (with a little bit of tears) while we go through all this...so, our school work today is put on hold.
Homeschooling is great! With head lice happening, the kids DO NOT have to miss school. It's so adapting and easy to work around. The only thing is to get my head around the fact that IT IS FLEXIBLE!! I am NOT a flexible person!! So I have a lot to learn. Letitia loves it and is enjoying all the workbooks. We keep the 2 hours pretty simple and we start the day with bible reading (kids bible stories) and praying. Then, we work on the work books a little at a time, have morning tea, do a bit more and then lunch. Letitia is now reading her own way across the books (Except the chinese ones) and finding them fun! Mathena is now sitting with us and used to the idea that there's "activities" to do. Her level is of a "baby", her work is playing and creating things with her little hands. I read to her, let her scribble/colour-in on the work books to appear like she is doing school (like Letitia!). It's a FULL-on 2 hours. Very concentrating and discipline on my part. Have survived at least a week of it!!
So there, when you don't hear from us, it's great news! When I blog, there's sure to be something "interesting". Since when are our lives ever NOT interesting???!!???
Thursday, July 20, 2006
While we are in Singapore...
Things back in Wollongong have been running on their own set of
wheels while we struggle to pull our life together here.
The Kluger was offered for by 3 people and at the highest offer they can
part with, we sold it to a gentlemen to cover the leasing company as well
as all our advertisement costs. If we had gone to the
car dealers, we would end up having to give them money to take our car!!!
Our townhouse (I recently had a look at the pictures I took before we
went and had a good cry over it!!) is now officially rented by the
company who runs/manage the Wollongong basketball team (Wollongong
Hawks). They are importing Americans to play for their team and the
house is for one of the players and his family.
Two of our biggest worries are now off our hands and we'll just have to
maintain the expenses properly and continue to be diligent with our
finances.
The house search here is nearing the end...all in all, we saw a total of
12 homes, condos and apartments. We have decided to get full condo
facilities seeing that the kids will be home quite a bit and swimming is
something we'd like for them to upkeep. We can also do a lot fo stuff "off
peak" and not be tied by the opening and closing hours of sports
facilities. The tough bit is to find somewhere not too far from the city as
well as not too far from public transport. In Singapore, it is easy to say
that the place is small and crowded but the condos are all design very
specifically to fit all sorts of lifestyles. One street further/closer from the
MRT can mean $200 less/more in rent money. The further away, of course
the rents dropped considerably. We have short listed 4 and by Sat, we'll
have to decide.
Letitia still has her boughts of tears and homesickness. Poor thing,
she misses home and her school the most. We even tried to call her
teacher to have a little talk to her but failed. Her school friends are
emailing to say "we can't wait to return to school" but she internalises
it to say that she's not going... we still have our moments and I am
trying to make her life here as happy and as comfortable as possible.
She is such a sweet treasure at heart and we truly see the beautiful
side of her.... in contrast to the 'Gozilla-Mathena' (sorry Meryl, it fits
Mathena to a "T" as well!)
During play at home, they both love role-playing in "fairy story" or
made up ones, Letitia will usually be the princess while Mathena will
"volunteer" to the the wicked character and she'll even have a growly
voice to act it out. Often, just observing, we cannot decide whether to
cry or to laugh!!
Mathena's now in a single bed and she's happy to climb in
and out anytime...so the going-to-bed process now involves a lot of
"false starts"..."go to wee-wee, go to toilet,.." but when we say a big
"NO!", she'll quickly go in to tell Letitia "mommy says No, cheh-cheh!"
She makes it sound like it's Letitia's idea while in fact she's the culprit.
Mathena now freely visits to our room in the middle of the night asking to go
toilet or asking to sleep with us. When denied, last night, she chucked
a full-on 100% tantrum and woke up the entire household. Yikes! At 3am
in the morning, I left her to scream and asked Letitia to close her
ears and go to bed. I have REALLY half a mind to split them up in their
own rooms so that my sleepy-head Letitia gets enough sleep. On BAD
nights, Letitia wakes up with rings around her eyes and is sooo tired in
the morning.
So, this is our update...so far. Letitia will have her first ever
playdate with a 7yo American girl and her 5yo brother. She's been left
out a lot as all the "caucasions" avoid her and we had to make the "move"
to create some social life for her. She's excited for tomorrow...
We might have a church-free Sunday this weekend. We have houses to see.
We have friends who wants to catch up, all the way from KL etc
People here have no family life...they work late, very late. We pray that GOD
will make Alex stand out and be accounted for in his field. I want him to
do well, I want him also to be recognise for his good work...as any wife would, I
guess! So, pray for Alex, pray for GOD's mercy and favour on him.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Decisions, decisions, decisions!
Sorry for the long silence... we've just been in and out house hunting etc.
Great to have my dad here to entertain the girls while we go out to sort the above. Mathena officially calls her "Ah Kong" her best friend! He comes with satay sticks and roti.
As food is cheap, my clothes are getting tighter (off goes my dreams of being a supermodel, Ha!) and it takes the pressure off cooking..though the kids prefer eating at home.
If you are holding us in your thoughts, we need your prayer support!!!
Please pray that GOD will bring a property, large enough to contain us as an Aussie family, family-friendly environment, close to trains (quickest, cheap and most reliable means of transport), and low rent (anything near or less than S$2500 eg A$600 per week!!!) on top of all the above would be great. There are great prices for around S$1800 per month or less, but they are 1hour plus travelling and VERY isolated, in the newer areas).
Great to have my dad here to entertain the girls while we go out to sort the above. Mathena officially calls her "Ah Kong" her best friend! He comes with satay sticks and roti.
As food is cheap, my clothes are getting tighter (off goes my dreams of being a supermodel, Ha!) and it takes the pressure off cooking..though the kids prefer eating at home.
If you are holding us in your thoughts, we need your prayer support!!!
Please pray that GOD will bring a property, large enough to contain us as an Aussie family, family-friendly environment, close to trains (quickest, cheap and most reliable means of transport), and low rent (anything near or less than S$2500 eg A$600 per week!!!) on top of all the above would be great. There are great prices for around S$1800 per month or less, but they are 1hour plus travelling and VERY isolated, in the newer areas).
Sunday, July 16, 2006
House/Apartment/Flat hunting!
Okay, we can't afford a house, we are pushing our budget to get an apartment (with facilities) and really, no agent is keen to take us to have a look at the public housing (it's half the price minus the privacy, security and facilities).
We had two days of going out on the suburbs of Singapore. We spent a total of 4 hours yesterday afternoon and 3 hours today, while my dad juggle the afternoon with the girls. We saw only a total of 6 apartments and all "condominiums" with pools and gym facilities. We are happy with the quality of only 3 but totally unhappy with all the sizes and price. Somehow, these agents are bent on pushing the limits of our budget. They even took us to a brand spanking new yuppie, modern IKEA-rish apartment building so exclusive that there's only 15 tenants on it and 15 levels (one apartment per level). Most Condos have up to 300-400 homes in it. It was so "you-beaut" that it had all the state of the art stuff, deco and even a bomb shelter as part of the design. The built-ins were the "BRAND" of the season and it even had a built in tv in front of the spa bath (master ensuite) to help achieve that extra wrinkle on our skins. Did you know that the "trend" here is to have slam-proof drawers which slows right down before closing?? The apartments that had the extra space lack "lighting" and airflow. The many that were bright and good condition, were very TIGHT in space. Think 3 bedrooms and a dining/living the size of a 2-bedroom flat (in Australia) plus the mini kitchen...and you pretty much know what we are talking about (1200 sq ft)
There's more next week as the days heat up towards the end of our stay here.
My main aim this coming week, is to slip out without the girls to fight the chocker-block full city shops in search for more books to use at home. One of the things that was shown to us was the "prestigious" government/mission schools here that mean business! These HUGE mama schools are bigger than that of Wollongong Uni (very glorious and majestice in design including all the works of clock towers, fields and City Hall-like auditoriums) and is homebase to up to 1300 kids per school. These schools are located at the poshiest suburbs (where hardly any trains/ public transport goes to) and where the housing situations are mostly landed properties (Millions $$$ worth of houses and duplexes). Schools like these are offered to families within 1-2km of the area. So who can afford to live in these places? Rich people. What type of houses do rich people live in? Expensive ones which causes high rent for poor people like us!! Wow! Schools here are rated every year and they have competition from Best Maths, Best English, Best Sports etc (cleanest toilets?) Singapore prides itself to produce students of top international quality ensuring kids to enter to Universities like Harvard etc. Pppptttoooi! Spat, spew, pttthh! Okay, I've thrown up, now I can continue writing...
Thoughts to share with you all. We miss you guys heaps! Our Church family, Sunday BS bunch, Letitia's Cedars Community, Mathena's playgroup family, our neighbours, all our friends in Wollongong, our family (and Ah Mah) in Brisbane.... our girls have been thanking GOD for you guys and missing you too!
We had two days of going out on the suburbs of Singapore. We spent a total of 4 hours yesterday afternoon and 3 hours today, while my dad juggle the afternoon with the girls. We saw only a total of 6 apartments and all "condominiums" with pools and gym facilities. We are happy with the quality of only 3 but totally unhappy with all the sizes and price. Somehow, these agents are bent on pushing the limits of our budget. They even took us to a brand spanking new yuppie, modern IKEA-rish apartment building so exclusive that there's only 15 tenants on it and 15 levels (one apartment per level). Most Condos have up to 300-400 homes in it. It was so "you-beaut" that it had all the state of the art stuff, deco and even a bomb shelter as part of the design. The built-ins were the "BRAND" of the season and it even had a built in tv in front of the spa bath (master ensuite) to help achieve that extra wrinkle on our skins. Did you know that the "trend" here is to have slam-proof drawers which slows right down before closing?? The apartments that had the extra space lack "lighting" and airflow. The many that were bright and good condition, were very TIGHT in space. Think 3 bedrooms and a dining/living the size of a 2-bedroom flat (in Australia) plus the mini kitchen...and you pretty much know what we are talking about (1200 sq ft)
There's more next week as the days heat up towards the end of our stay here.
My main aim this coming week, is to slip out without the girls to fight the chocker-block full city shops in search for more books to use at home. One of the things that was shown to us was the "prestigious" government/mission schools here that mean business! These HUGE mama schools are bigger than that of Wollongong Uni (very glorious and majestice in design including all the works of clock towers, fields and City Hall-like auditoriums) and is homebase to up to 1300 kids per school. These schools are located at the poshiest suburbs (where hardly any trains/ public transport goes to) and where the housing situations are mostly landed properties (Millions $$$ worth of houses and duplexes). Schools like these are offered to families within 1-2km of the area. So who can afford to live in these places? Rich people. What type of houses do rich people live in? Expensive ones which causes high rent for poor people like us!! Wow! Schools here are rated every year and they have competition from Best Maths, Best English, Best Sports etc (cleanest toilets?) Singapore prides itself to produce students of top international quality ensuring kids to enter to Universities like Harvard etc. Pppptttoooi! Spat, spew, pttthh! Okay, I've thrown up, now I can continue writing...
Thoughts to share with you all. We miss you guys heaps! Our Church family, Sunday BS bunch, Letitia's Cedars Community, Mathena's playgroup family, our neighbours, all our friends in Wollongong, our family (and Ah Mah) in Brisbane.... our girls have been thanking GOD for you guys and missing you too!
Friday, July 14, 2006
Change in Mobile NUMBER
Whoever thought of owninga PREPAID simcard needing to be registered. Just to get that done, we discovered that we have a faulty simcard.
We now have a new number (at least until something else happens!)
We now have a new number (at least until something else happens!)
Comment to get a response!
(and what a terrible number too!)
Please update your details! We are still on the ***** till it changes over in 3 days time. If you are confused, you may call the apartment number. We hardly go out!
(and what a terrible number too!)
Please update your details! We are still on the ***** till it changes over in 3 days time. If you are confused, you may call the apartment number. We hardly go out!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Singapore Chapter 2: School Search
Things has calmed down considerably. The nightmares are gone but little Mathena enjoys hopping out of her "big-girl" bed in the middle of the night... to visit us.
The search for a school for my girls has proven to be more of a challenge than I have imagine. I have since lowered my standards with the local schools. Yes, I HAVE been told that there's nothing as good as CEDARs and it's true. All the public/mission schools are located by the suburbs. One is allocated a seat in school according to where one lives. There's a school within 1-2 kms of all public housing developments. Unless we go private (S$4K per term) there's a "ranking order" in registering kids to school...have a look at this page:
If you look a little closer, we are right down the bottom of the phases. I was assured that it's no problem to get into public schools but there's one more issue:
Letitia has to wait till she turns 7 before she's allowed into Primary 1 education. This will mean that when we return to Australia, she will in fact be one year behind everyone else. At this rate, I am very confident that Letitia can be ready for Primary 1 next year, not the year after. I am inclined to homeschool her to keep her up to speed for the duration of us being here.
Now the trick is to find the resources and choose the right ones to use. I have been in touch with a lady who homeschool her kids and found that there is in fact a community of home-schoolers here. Challenges upon challenges! I am keen to continue building and instilling Godly virtues in my girls. Homeschooling does not protect them from evil, it limits the evil from setting roots in their hearts. It also give us less "issues" to deal with and "undo" when they pick up the nasties. I am also keen to be "in touch" with the level of education in my girls. I have found that the last 1.5years, I have struggled to really KNOW where Letitia stands in her education progress. Unless I badger the teacher, I will have to patiently wait till the end of term to find out her progress. Coming home from a BIG day at school, Letitia is not really very informative in telling me the ups and downs of her day. So, if homeschooling, I am 100% aware of her character, her level, her ability and her nasty bits.
For those who are freaking out at the thought of me taking this ROAD, do be assured that we ase prepared to fall back on mainstream system if it gets too hard. Homeschoolers meet up with other children to socialise and share activities. Homeschooling is NOT a new thing. It's been done for generations! Those who's done it and is still, please comment and share your thoughts and advice! This is how big homeschooling is in Singapore:
We'll be out Sat and Sun afternoon with agents to start looking for places to stay etc. The accomodation prices here ARE not cheap. They will try to find you expensive ones. If we get places with rent higher than S$2500 per month, the landlord will pay for the realtor's commision. If we get a place cheaper than that, we'll have to pay up to one month's commision to the realtor. Sheeeesh! Welcome back to living in other people's home!!!
My dad will be here on Friday. It will be good to have another person in the house. I have been seeing to many 'tai-tais" and their maids around here that I am feeling like I should stay at home. The REAL expats have their living, housing and schooling allowances paid for. So they are here to live a life of luxury and glamour. I walk out and I feel like I look like a MAID, olive in skin colour, running after my kids, cooking, cleaning for them etc. Sigh! The challenge in being "normal" in a city of affluents.
Continue to pray for me!
The search for a school for my girls has proven to be more of a challenge than I have imagine. I have since lowered my standards with the local schools. Yes, I HAVE been told that there's nothing as good as CEDARs and it's true. All the public/mission schools are located by the suburbs. One is allocated a seat in school according to where one lives. There's a school within 1-2 kms of all public housing developments. Unless we go private (S$4K per term) there's a "ranking order" in registering kids to school...have a look at this page:
If you look a little closer, we are right down the bottom of the phases. I was assured that it's no problem to get into public schools but there's one more issue:
Letitia has to wait till she turns 7 before she's allowed into Primary 1 education. This will mean that when we return to Australia, she will in fact be one year behind everyone else. At this rate, I am very confident that Letitia can be ready for Primary 1 next year, not the year after. I am inclined to homeschool her to keep her up to speed for the duration of us being here.
Now the trick is to find the resources and choose the right ones to use. I have been in touch with a lady who homeschool her kids and found that there is in fact a community of home-schoolers here. Challenges upon challenges! I am keen to continue building and instilling Godly virtues in my girls. Homeschooling does not protect them from evil, it limits the evil from setting roots in their hearts. It also give us less "issues" to deal with and "undo" when they pick up the nasties. I am also keen to be "in touch" with the level of education in my girls. I have found that the last 1.5years, I have struggled to really KNOW where Letitia stands in her education progress. Unless I badger the teacher, I will have to patiently wait till the end of term to find out her progress. Coming home from a BIG day at school, Letitia is not really very informative in telling me the ups and downs of her day. So, if homeschooling, I am 100% aware of her character, her level, her ability and her nasty bits.
For those who are freaking out at the thought of me taking this ROAD, do be assured that we ase prepared to fall back on mainstream system if it gets too hard. Homeschoolers meet up with other children to socialise and share activities. Homeschooling is NOT a new thing. It's been done for generations! Those who's done it and is still, please comment and share your thoughts and advice! This is how big homeschooling is in Singapore:
We'll be out Sat and Sun afternoon with agents to start looking for places to stay etc. The accomodation prices here ARE not cheap. They will try to find you expensive ones. If we get places with rent higher than S$2500 per month, the landlord will pay for the realtor's commision. If we get a place cheaper than that, we'll have to pay up to one month's commision to the realtor. Sheeeesh! Welcome back to living in other people's home!!!
My dad will be here on Friday. It will be good to have another person in the house. I have been seeing to many 'tai-tais" and their maids around here that I am feeling like I should stay at home. The REAL expats have their living, housing and schooling allowances paid for. So they are here to live a life of luxury and glamour. I walk out and I feel like I look like a MAID, olive in skin colour, running after my kids, cooking, cleaning for them etc. Sigh! The challenge in being "normal" in a city of affluents.
Continue to pray for me!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Chapter 2: Monday
We've had a relatively pleasant day today. The girls had a BAD night full of screaming yells from nightmares and unsettling moments. I was up half the night checking on them...and Letitia's coughing did not help. We did however start her on some "dissolved" granules which tasted like orange for her and hope that it will make some improvement. She now goes to bed with a bowl (for her spits and spews), great!
We sent Alex off to work peacefully, found "Hi 5" on cable tv (by the way, you guys in Aust must count your blessings for ABC, the kids programmes are real CRAP here!) to occupy the kids while I wash up etc. They later jumped straight into some "fun" work at home. Letitia has been craving to get some homework done and little M wants her 2-minutes worth as well. We inserted lots of reading, lots of cuddles, lots of music and dancing/music time before we had friends over (the Tambyahs from Bible Study in Wollongong) over to play and swim with us. It was very nice to have familiar people and Mathena was thrilled and happy to drag poor Benjamin (9yo). We had a late lunch and M went to bed very happily after saying "goodnight" to everyone...Letitia went down for a nap too and ended up sleeping longer than M as she has been exhausted (still).
I rang up just one school and found that "mission" schools are quite a pain to get in... they are the same in funding/sort as all gov. schools but they are popular as people think it's a bit better. We have 3 levels of ranks to move through before we can be considered in enrolments. As we "failed" in all of the level tests, there's fat chance that we can get in. Priority is given to: level 1 (it was given some complicated name which I cannot remember) we either have a sibling there or a parent teach/work there Level 2, have close relations to schools. volunteer or is known in church community, level 3, what's left of placement, fight with everyone else! Sigh! Will try again with another school tomorrow! I tried to ask them if there were anything "Christian" put into the day of the child's day but never got a direct answer. In fact, she kept using the "level etc...process, etc" which I later kept asking for translation. I was sure we conversed in English but most of the terms used were foreign to me!!!!
The good news is as we are not Singapore citizens, we are not legally bound to go through their system with regards to education. The private schooling is 4 times that of cost in Australia (even the poshy Grammar's prices) so that's not OUR option. The idea of home schooling seems more and more feasible and rewarding. I also found that the homeschooling community is fairly large in Singapore (same as Aust) and is mostly Christian families wanting to see better values instilled in the next generation. They meet once a week for social interaction as well as outdoor/interactive activity! Will see...
We've met up with an old childhood friend of my family, I have touched based, emailed/rang to chat to friends, homeschooling family, cousins, etc. Great to see/talk to these people again.
Hope to have another quiet day tomorrow, might spend some time taking them for a slow walk around the block .... to see things! The high rises are very good for cooping people up in the house. The two of them are now fighting to press the lift buttons, sheeesh!! The pools and playgrounds are well used by us and they girls loved them. I can just see myself in and out of water everyday this month (it's summer whole year long with shady and protected pool area) As life settles down, I am hoping that I can curb Mathena's behavior a bit better. She (and Letitia) seems to flare up so much easily nowadays and many little things seem amplified to life threatening situations (Eg. 'she took my pen!'). It's all in the perspective, I was told!
Thanks for your notes/prayers and emails. I DO get strengthen by them and it makes me feel pretty valued. I need to recharge my focus and heart back to GOD. I know I need it!
We sent Alex off to work peacefully, found "Hi 5" on cable tv (by the way, you guys in Aust must count your blessings for ABC, the kids programmes are real CRAP here!) to occupy the kids while I wash up etc. They later jumped straight into some "fun" work at home. Letitia has been craving to get some homework done and little M wants her 2-minutes worth as well. We inserted lots of reading, lots of cuddles, lots of music and dancing/music time before we had friends over (the Tambyahs from Bible Study in Wollongong) over to play and swim with us. It was very nice to have familiar people and Mathena was thrilled and happy to drag poor Benjamin (9yo). We had a late lunch and M went to bed very happily after saying "goodnight" to everyone...Letitia went down for a nap too and ended up sleeping longer than M as she has been exhausted (still).
I rang up just one school and found that "mission" schools are quite a pain to get in... they are the same in funding/sort as all gov. schools but they are popular as people think it's a bit better. We have 3 levels of ranks to move through before we can be considered in enrolments. As we "failed" in all of the level tests, there's fat chance that we can get in. Priority is given to: level 1 (it was given some complicated name which I cannot remember) we either have a sibling there or a parent teach/work there Level 2, have close relations to schools. volunteer or is known in church community, level 3, what's left of placement, fight with everyone else! Sigh! Will try again with another school tomorrow! I tried to ask them if there were anything "Christian" put into the day of the child's day but never got a direct answer. In fact, she kept using the "level etc...process, etc" which I later kept asking for translation. I was sure we conversed in English but most of the terms used were foreign to me!!!!
The good news is as we are not Singapore citizens, we are not legally bound to go through their system with regards to education. The private schooling is 4 times that of cost in Australia (even the poshy Grammar's prices) so that's not OUR option. The idea of home schooling seems more and more feasible and rewarding. I also found that the homeschooling community is fairly large in Singapore (same as Aust) and is mostly Christian families wanting to see better values instilled in the next generation. They meet once a week for social interaction as well as outdoor/interactive activity! Will see...
We've met up with an old childhood friend of my family, I have touched based, emailed/rang to chat to friends, homeschooling family, cousins, etc. Great to see/talk to these people again.
Hope to have another quiet day tomorrow, might spend some time taking them for a slow walk around the block .... to see things! The high rises are very good for cooping people up in the house. The two of them are now fighting to press the lift buttons, sheeesh!! The pools and playgrounds are well used by us and they girls loved them. I can just see myself in and out of water everyday this month (it's summer whole year long with shady and protected pool area) As life settles down, I am hoping that I can curb Mathena's behavior a bit better. She (and Letitia) seems to flare up so much easily nowadays and many little things seem amplified to life threatening situations (Eg. 'she took my pen!'). It's all in the perspective, I was told!
Thanks for your notes/prayers and emails. I DO get strengthen by them and it makes me feel pretty valued. I need to recharge my focus and heart back to GOD. I know I need it!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Singapore Chapter 2
It's now Day3 (Arrive Thurs, 1Fri, 2Sat). I am needing a release and have decided to let it all out here. Be prepared for some "roller coaster" material.
Okay, is it tough? Yes and No! Yes, we are up and down the lifts at least twice a day because we have to do a bit of running around. The girls have been unsettled at night and Letitia's cough is taking a lot out of her (it's exhausting to even see her cough). No, because the place we are now for the next month is pretty swish and comfy. It is VERY comfortable to say the least. We have 3 bedrooms (1Main with 2sink-1bath-1shower-marbled ensuite), a kids room with 2 singles and another room with a single bed and a shower/toilet attached, yes marbled! It has all the makings of a 5 star apartment. The pics on the walls are nice, their's antiques on the occasionals and the kitchen is FULLY equipted. The weirdest thing is: they only supply toilet paper! No tea or coffee, no tissues! We still get the towels changed and house cleaned during the week so, this is a great relief. In spite of that, this place is looking like a "gourmet" mess. The girls have their things everywhere....
See Great World City Apartments
Alex will be off to work tomorrow. My aim is to phone schools to find a school for Letitia. This in itself is a terrifying task and I really do not know where to start.
Letitia has been our trooper throughout this entire ordeal! She deserves a medal for all the self control she applies on the hour-to-hour basis. She's feeling a lot of emotions but we have not been able to deal with them. Her coughing does not help at all and she's been wanting to get back into some sort of routine in our day. She thrives with routine and structure and at the moment, there's none of that. Her attitude to Singapore is not too positive at the moment and she is not enjoying tha miles of walking, bus-ing, taxi-ing and the heat! Her hair seems extra frizzy nowadays and I can't seem to keep it straight! Letitia also has to put up with Mathena letting her stress out on her.
Mathena is our biggest stress at the moment. (Simone, how I need you on my speed dial at the moment!) We've noticed over the past 2 months (with all the drama and stress of moving), we 've seriously neglected her in the discipline bit. She's been in the constant companion of my mom (Ah Mah Geck Hiang) and we've let her got away with near-disaster things/events! If anything, she is a Goliath-size terrific preschooler in our face! We officially have a "publicly-being-frowned-at-tantrumming-preschooler"!!!!! I am stress as to how to deal with her. I know that I have to rebuild their lives here as well as their routine at home. I want to, my blood pressure is escalating, my stress level is pretty up there. I REALLY do not know what to do when in public when she kicks, screams, yells, cries, spits and even scratches!
To give you an indication of our morning, we left church(a very sophisticated, middle class Anglican church in the heart of Singapore city), with Mathena in her stroller, spitting, face covered in tears, yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs, while we try to orientate ourselves to find transport back to our apartment. To our pleasant surprise, our free shuttle bus (a GOD thing!) came just in front of us and we 'carried' Mathena (still screaming) onto the bus (by now it was spitting rain) just in time before a heavy downpour. The other passengers of the bus stared at us in horror and many even shifted to seats further away from us! We had a kind girlie/trendy gentleman frowning and shaking his head at us the whole time. With some distraction (Dorothy Dinasour might be in the trees!), she calmed down, sobbing and talking as if "nothing had happened"!! ....and that's just by 11-11.30am.
The girls are still waking at 5.30am and by 11am, they are dead tired and VERY grumpy! Can someone please wave the magic wand to wind the clock back for them? It will help things a little bit! So there.....isn't it fun and games moving overseas? There are plenty of issues for you guys to hold us in your thoughts and prayers. AND yes, I have been asked if I needed HELP (the servant kind)??? Ha!!! The answer is yes, but only from the LORD!
Next week's programme:
Spend more opportunity with the Tambyahs (using hotel facilities), squeeze phone enquiries in between while giving girls set routine at home, ring more schools and line up interviews, see how Alex goes with regards to work, call real estate people re:renting, may have to visit schools, my dad arrives Friday,...
I miss all the Wollongong friends and family (church), sob! I have to be strong! Sob! You guys know who you are! Letitia misses you too!
Okay, is it tough? Yes and No! Yes, we are up and down the lifts at least twice a day because we have to do a bit of running around. The girls have been unsettled at night and Letitia's cough is taking a lot out of her (it's exhausting to even see her cough). No, because the place we are now for the next month is pretty swish and comfy. It is VERY comfortable to say the least. We have 3 bedrooms (1Main with 2sink-1bath-1shower-marbled ensuite), a kids room with 2 singles and another room with a single bed and a shower/toilet attached, yes marbled! It has all the makings of a 5 star apartment. The pics on the walls are nice, their's antiques on the occasionals and the kitchen is FULLY equipted. The weirdest thing is: they only supply toilet paper! No tea or coffee, no tissues! We still get the towels changed and house cleaned during the week so, this is a great relief. In spite of that, this place is looking like a "gourmet" mess. The girls have their things everywhere....
See Great World City Apartments
Alex will be off to work tomorrow. My aim is to phone schools to find a school for Letitia. This in itself is a terrifying task and I really do not know where to start.
Letitia has been our trooper throughout this entire ordeal! She deserves a medal for all the self control she applies on the hour-to-hour basis. She's feeling a lot of emotions but we have not been able to deal with them. Her coughing does not help at all and she's been wanting to get back into some sort of routine in our day. She thrives with routine and structure and at the moment, there's none of that. Her attitude to Singapore is not too positive at the moment and she is not enjoying tha miles of walking, bus-ing, taxi-ing and the heat! Her hair seems extra frizzy nowadays and I can't seem to keep it straight! Letitia also has to put up with Mathena letting her stress out on her.
Mathena is our biggest stress at the moment. (Simone, how I need you on my speed dial at the moment!) We've noticed over the past 2 months (with all the drama and stress of moving), we 've seriously neglected her in the discipline bit. She's been in the constant companion of my mom (Ah Mah Geck Hiang) and we've let her got away with near-disaster things/events! If anything, she is a Goliath-size terrific preschooler in our face! We officially have a "publicly-being-frowned-at-tantrumming-preschooler"!!!!! I am stress as to how to deal with her. I know that I have to rebuild their lives here as well as their routine at home. I want to, my blood pressure is escalating, my stress level is pretty up there. I REALLY do not know what to do when in public when she kicks, screams, yells, cries, spits and even scratches!
To give you an indication of our morning, we left church(a very sophisticated, middle class Anglican church in the heart of Singapore city), with Mathena in her stroller, spitting, face covered in tears, yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs, while we try to orientate ourselves to find transport back to our apartment. To our pleasant surprise, our free shuttle bus (a GOD thing!) came just in front of us and we 'carried' Mathena (still screaming) onto the bus (by now it was spitting rain) just in time before a heavy downpour. The other passengers of the bus stared at us in horror and many even shifted to seats further away from us! We had a kind girlie/trendy gentleman frowning and shaking his head at us the whole time. With some distraction (Dorothy Dinasour might be in the trees!), she calmed down, sobbing and talking as if "nothing had happened"!! ....and that's just by 11-11.30am.
The girls are still waking at 5.30am and by 11am, they are dead tired and VERY grumpy! Can someone please wave the magic wand to wind the clock back for them? It will help things a little bit! So there.....isn't it fun and games moving overseas? There are plenty of issues for you guys to hold us in your thoughts and prayers. AND yes, I have been asked if I needed HELP (the servant kind)??? Ha!!! The answer is yes, but only from the LORD!
Next week's programme:
Spend more opportunity with the Tambyahs (using hotel facilities), squeeze phone enquiries in between while giving girls set routine at home, ring more schools and line up interviews, see how Alex goes with regards to work, call real estate people re:renting, may have to visit schools, my dad arrives Friday,...
I miss all the Wollongong friends and family (church), sob! I have to be strong! Sob! You guys know who you are! Letitia misses you too!
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Our Address till the 5th August
If all goes to plan and our air and sea shipment of stuff arrives on time, this is the "slowmail/land" address we'll be in:
Apt 06-14,
Great World Serviced Apartments,
2 Kim Seng Walk,
Singapore 239404
We are given a private mailbox for all our correspondences.
We also have a direct line: +65 6722 7351 and
my(Sarah) Singtel Mobile is: +65 9085 9178 (NEW)
As Singapore is a consumer driven society (we noticed!!), all my incoming calls will charged by the duration (unlike Aust!). In another words, I get charged for talking to you when you call. They do give an option of free incoming calls but we have to pay 59c a day for that service regardless. Great fun! Either way, WE PAY. Just a word of caution, call only when you REALLY miss me/ need to!
Great news, I found cheap (Singapore sale STILL on) size 8 Bata dress slippers for myself at only S$19.95!! Am happy with the fitting and comfort (similar to Kumfs of Australia but waaaay cheaper). A rare thing to find anything my size in South East Asia.
Girls are well...REALLY have to crack down on their behaviour!!! Mathena is a HUGE 2.5yo with tantrums ready to burst every which way we turn. her two little crown on the top of her head is showing!! We are 50% recovered from the heat and flight trip etc. Still living the Sydney time line and waking up at the crack of dawn. We might venture out to the pools with the girls this afternoon for a bit of R & R. Letitia has been writing a lot of her feelings on paper and she's expressing that she does not like Singapore. She writes that she misses her home in Wollongong.
We've had a couple of hours with the Tambyahs (Shivani, Rachel and Ben) and they girls were sooo happy to see people they know. Rachel wrote Letitia a letter to tell her that she will miss her VERY much and they both were given fridge magnets of Wollongong. It's such a blessing to have them here at the same time as our first week here. We truly believe that it is GOD's sovereign hand to help the girls settle in.
No pics yet..still can't find our camera cables, might be packed up with air shipment!! Yikes! Keep in touch!
Apt 06-14,
Great World Serviced Apartments,
2 Kim Seng Walk,
Singapore 239404
We are given a private mailbox for all our correspondences.
We also have a direct line: +65 6722 7351 and
my(Sarah) Singtel Mobile is: +65 9085 9178 (NEW)
As Singapore is a consumer driven society (we noticed!!), all my incoming calls will charged by the duration (unlike Aust!). In another words, I get charged for talking to you when you call. They do give an option of free incoming calls but we have to pay 59c a day for that service regardless. Great fun! Either way, WE PAY. Just a word of caution, call only when you REALLY miss me/ need to!
Great news, I found cheap (Singapore sale STILL on) size 8 Bata dress slippers for myself at only S$19.95!! Am happy with the fitting and comfort (similar to Kumfs of Australia but waaaay cheaper). A rare thing to find anything my size in South East Asia.
Girls are well...REALLY have to crack down on their behaviour!!! Mathena is a HUGE 2.5yo with tantrums ready to burst every which way we turn. her two little crown on the top of her head is showing!! We are 50% recovered from the heat and flight trip etc. Still living the Sydney time line and waking up at the crack of dawn. We might venture out to the pools with the girls this afternoon for a bit of R & R. Letitia has been writing a lot of her feelings on paper and she's expressing that she does not like Singapore. She writes that she misses her home in Wollongong.
We've had a couple of hours with the Tambyahs (Shivani, Rachel and Ben) and they girls were sooo happy to see people they know. Rachel wrote Letitia a letter to tell her that she will miss her VERY much and they both were given fridge magnets of Wollongong. It's such a blessing to have them here at the same time as our first week here. We truly believe that it is GOD's sovereign hand to help the girls settle in.
No pics yet..still can't find our camera cables, might be packed up with air shipment!! Yikes! Keep in touch!
Singapore Chapter 1
Just a note to say that we've landed safe and sound. Not too settled yet as Letitia's cough is still irritating and making her throw up every once in a while. Mathena however is the tough cookie going around our "gourmet" apartment and pulling everything she can get her hands on, off the shelf. This apartment has "antiques" on display, can you imagine? They are now 2 metres above the ground.
We are slowly aclimatising to the heat. We still feel exhausted and the girls are tired early. They are still functioning on Aussie hours so they are up before the sun's up, eg 4.30am!!
We now have access to VERY premium internet access. So, write and keep in touch.
The CHANs
p/s Not doing much this week to try to resettle the girls. I hope to gert them back to some sort of routine and start using the great sporting and children facilities here. Will past pics the moment we find the cables.
We are slowly aclimatising to the heat. We still feel exhausted and the girls are tired early. They are still functioning on Aussie hours so they are up before the sun's up, eg 4.30am!!
We now have access to VERY premium internet access. So, write and keep in touch.
The CHANs
p/s Not doing much this week to try to resettle the girls. I hope to gert them back to some sort of routine and start using the great sporting and children facilities here. Will past pics the moment we find the cables.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)