Arrival in Singapore - January 2007

Well, greetings from Singapore! The weather has been great, no more than 75
degrees every day due to the heavy rains. Very bearable and
thankfully the kids have adjusted well to the climate. The AC in the
master bedroom is not working (bloody landlord is ignoring us) so it's
a little sweaty for me and the hoseband, but the kids are OK.

The flight over was far far better than we could have imagined. The
worst parts were getting through security in LAX. That really
sucked even with two adults (me and my mother in law)
wrangling the three kids. We had a car seat, two strollers, carryons,
a baby in a sling, and had to declare all our liquids and gels, take off our shoes, shed our
jackets, take baby out of sling, etc etc. So quite a pain.

I am in love with Singapore Airlines. It rocks.
The executive economy is the way business class used to be and it is
fannnnntastic. Heaps of leg room, comfy and wide seats, a SNACK BAR
in the back of the plane, super clean toilets, and very attentive and
cheerful flight crew.

There's a video panel in the back of each seat so you have movies on
demand, games, etc etc. And the 17 hours is spaced out really well --
once you take off, they feed you dinner, turn out the lights and you
can sleep for about 8 to 10 hours. Then they wake you up, feed you a
snack, you watch a movie, eat breakfast, and then you've arrived.

S. had arrived 5 days earlier in order to get keys to our house and
buy beds, furniture, appliances, stock the fridge, etc. and was waiting
at the airport at 6am Singapore time (10p your time) on Wednesday for us.
It was great beyond words to see him again. The kids were over him like white on rice.

The house is big by Singaporean standards, a two story duplex with a
nice yard and tall ceilings. It doesn't feel cramped and we've
settled in nicely. Only drawback is that the green space behind the
house has been taken over by construction. There is a junior college
behind us and we had thought a quiet park. But now new dorms are
being built. Pile drivers, bulldozers, shouting construction workers,
etc. One drawback of shopping for a house via the internet is that
you can't see the environs. But the noise is intermittent and we are
trying to live with it.

That said, I think we will be happy here. We are in a pleasant area with
great restaurants. A pizzeria, a gelateria, an English pub, a
Japanese restaurant, a seafood restaurant, an Asian fusion restaurant,
a drycleaners, pet shop, fish market, an Indian restaurant, a wine shop, a
Swiss butchery (gourmet meat and sausage) and more, and more.

So far we have eaten at the pizzeria (mediocre) and the gelateria (quite good).
We've had spectacular meals in other places -- just incredibly fresh fruit and
vegetables, great Chinese and Malay food, Italian artisan bread,
Buddist vegetarian food. Sadly there is a Starbucks on almost every
block in the city, so the local cafes have suffered. But thankfully in
our 'hood there is a local joint like the one I was a regular at when
I lived here before. Gap toothed and taciturn Chinese waiters. Good
noodles made to a family secret. Patrons slurping coffe out of chipped
saucers. Taxi drivers with their sandals off and feet up on the chairs
as they shovel food into their mouths. And local coffee so strong you
have to arm wrestle it out of the cup.

It's hard to get to know your neighbors here. In such a crowded city people
are jealous of their privacy. But I figure with kids, it's only a
matter of time before we are sucked pell mell into the vortex of play dates and birthday
parties, so I'm not worried about making new friends.

My mother and brother have visited several times and 'Uncle Mike' is
a huge hit with the girls. He is a colonel in the air force and has gone
from a burger eating, chain smoking, stressed out heart attack
candidate, to a hard bodied, organic food eating, workout crazy health nut.
Does turning 40 do that to you?

My mother is frail but well. Her memory is starting to go. This is
the first time in her life she will experience her grandkids growing
up in her lap. All the others have lived in the UK or Oz, so I am
happy about that. I will see my beloved cousin this weekend and his
wife and kids. Good friends live down the street from us. It feels
good to be back!

The kids started school on Tuesday, and they absolutely love it. It's a
local Montessori with wonderful teachers in a green setting. They have
really missed the company of children these past three weeks and have already
made friends with the kids in their classes.

Singapore is a huge culture shock for the kids. For me
it's coming home, for them it's all strange andnew.
Sprog 1 had a hard time getting used to the songs during line
time, the kids sing in Mandarin too, and she cried as she was not
able to understand the words. But she is intrigued by it now,
and we are all going to learn Mandarin together. Sprog 2 has struggled
with the jetlag and is still gettin very tired through the day. Sprog 3
was waking up quite a bit at night, but fingers crossed everyone has
settled into a routine, and things can only get better.

I can't say I miss the 20 degree weather you are all experiencing. We watch CNN
and Fox News and the snow and ice are hard to comprehend when it's so warm here.
But without a doubt, we all miss our friends and family in KC.