The first thirty days

Hard to believe I've already been here for 30 days.  On the one hand, it feels like I just got here, but on the other hand, it feels like my going away party in Nashville was SO long ago.

I stayed fairly busy in Penang this past week, and I guess I forgot to take any pictures of anything - sorry!  So instead, I thought I'd share 30 random things I've learned in 30 days living in Singapore.  In no particular order or structure.  Enjoy!

1.  Groceries are expensive, and the American brands are the most expensive of all.  I think I will need to adjust some of my eating / grocery buying habits!

2.  I love bubble tea.  In fact, there are tons of delicious drinks in Asia that I love.  In the US, I basically only drank coffee and water, with the occasional vegetable juice or Diet Coke.  In Singapore, I love bubble tea, fresh squeezed fruit juices, teh tarik (Google it!), lime juice, etc.  One thing I still don't love is hot soy milk, but hey - its not as scary to me as it once was :)

3.  I am so excited to travel everywhere, but it has really opened my eyes as to how little I know about geography and world history.  I actually Wikipedia-ed the history of Malaysia the other day because it was something that I never learned about in school.

4.  Everyone loves pizza, hamburgers, and ice cream.

5.  Living in a city with a reliable and efficient public transportation option is awesome.  I love being able to walk everywhere!

6.  Apparently, I moved here during the "holiday season".  My first week in Singapore had two public holidays for National Day.  My first week of work in Malaysia had two public holidays for Hari Raya.  This past week of work in Malaysia had a public holiday for Malaysia day.

7.  I have a lot to learn about other cultures.  Singapore is much more of a melting pot than Tampa or Nashville in terms of international diversity.  (You can tell American men versus European/Australian men by their shoes and how tight their pants are!)

8.  Women's fashion in Singapore, particularly women's business fashion, is very different from what's on my Pinterest board.

9.  Staying in a really nice hotel in a foreign country will instantly put me at ease.

10.  It is important to know whether the treadmill is set to kilometers or miles.

11.  Cash is king here.  Everyone uses cash for absolutely everything.  In the US, I could make a 20 dollar bill last me a month.  Here in Singapore, I can't make 200 dollars last a month!

12.  Apartment hunting sucks.  Especially when you have no clue where anything is.

13.  I did a terrible job of packing my things from the US.  Even though my shipment won't get here for a few more weeks, I am already shaking my head.  I know that I packed several lamps (with US plugs duh!) and not nearly enough shampoo.  Oops.

14.  Even though the general climate here reminds me a lot of Tampa - hot and humid - it feels so much hotter here because I am walking around in it all. the. time.  Sweating is just becoming the new normal.

15.  So called "budget airlines" can vary in their degree of "no frills".  Silk Air (which is the budget carrier of Singapore Airlines) feeds you a meal on the one hour flight between Singapore and Penang.  Air Asia asks that you pre-order your soda when you book your ticket for the 3.5 hour flight between Penang and Hong Kong.

16.  Singapore is really, really safe.  There are people walking around all the time, streets are all really well lit, and the MRT is incredibly clean and not sketchy at all.

17.  Keeping up with your friends takes effort when you live on the other side of the world.

18.  I love reading.  I love reading on airplanes.  Everyone who travels should get a Kindle.  The base version is like 80 bucks and worth every penny.

19.  The Singapore airport is the best airport ever.  One great thing for residents is the efficiency of the immigration process.  All you do is scan your passport and then scan your thumbprint.  It probably took me less than 10 minutes to get off the plane, get through immigration, pick up my checked baggage, and get into a car to take me home.  I feel like at O'Hare that would've taken me 45 minutes at a minimum.

20.  I still love a good Friday happy hour.

21.  I am loving all the different Asian foods I've been having!  I think Chinese food is still my favorite out of all the Asian cuisines - but maybe just because that is the most familiar to me? (But I do still crave the salt and pepper tofu from the Yummy House!)

22.  It is actually a small world after all.

23.  In some ways, work is very similar to what it was like in the US, and in some ways it is completely different.  If you haven't seen the YouTube video that shows off my new office, you need to go look for it immediately.

24.  I miss the Amex buffer really badly.  Hell, I miss the corporate Amex altogether!

25.  Not being able to watch football is going to seriously suck.  Big time.

26.  Social media - primarily Twitter, Facebook, and blogs have helped me feel like I actually know what's going on.  I feel like it would be extra hard to keep up with it.  (Also - I love Huffington Post's "Seven and a Half Things" delivered to my inbox!)

27.  Not having cable tv for my last year in Nashville was really good prep for moving here.  I've had cable in the hotels I've been in, but cable in Asia just doesn't offer the same level of awesomeness as BravoTV.  So I'm glad I'm not dealing with Housewives withdrawal while in a foreign country.

28.  I don't like mooncakes.

29.  I am very grateful for my iPhone and all the apps.  I recently finished reading the Steve Jobs biography, and it is really hard to imagine what life would be like without all the conveniences that my iPhone provides.  My most useful apps in Singapore are definitely the Maps (not really an app but whatever), Convert (currencies, weight, distance, anything really), Book a Taxi (text for a cab!), Kayak, and Viber (does nobody use What'sApp?).

30.  I feel incredibly lucky.  To have this opportunity, to have a good support network here in Singapore to share the experience with, and to have people back home in the US who care about me and encourage me.

Plans Derailed

My plan today was to blog about a half marathon that I signed up for and announce my training plan as a way to make sure that I stuck to it.  Earlier this year, when I did the 10K Run Streak, one of the things that actually kept me going was the fact that so many people would ask me "did you get your gold star today?"  So, I thought that if I announced on this blog that I was going to run a half marathon at the Melbourne Marathon in October, that it would help me stay on track with my training!  But then.. I went to the website to sign up today.. and the half is sold out.  Wah wah.  

Obviously, this half marathon and I weren't meant to be, but I still signed up for the 10K, just so that I can run a race in Australia.  And I'm still going to document the training plan I had created in my head, and hopefully I will still stick to it anyway.  I only planned out my long runs for each week, with the assumption that I would run a few times during the week as well.  So here it is:

September 1 - run 7 miles
September 9 - run SAFRA 10K
September 15 - run 8 miles
September 22 - run 9 miles
September 29 - run 10 miles
October 5 - run 5 miles
October 14 - run Melbourne Marathon 10K

I tweeted last week that I did 6 miles on the treadmill on Thursday night, and you may recall that I ran 5 miles a couple of weeks ago.  So hopefully this non-scientific training plan of mine works.  But if anyone has feedback or suggestions.. please let me know!

So aside from my racing plans being derailed, I dealt with another small snafu over the weekend.  I was supposed to be meeting Kelly and Dave in Hong Kong on Friday night, but there was a slight hiccup in some travel plans which meant that Kelly wouldn't get to Hong Kong until Sunday night, which was when I was flying back to Penang.  

I was SO sad not to be able to see her this weekend, but I actually had an awesome time in Hong Kong!  Dave met two guys from the Baltimore office in the hotel gym, so I spent Saturday exploring the city with them.  It was nice because they had been in HK all week and were already familiar with some of the basic geography and public transport options.

Wandered the streets, including Nathan Road

Popped into a tailor to browse

Jade Market

Jade Market

Riding the giant escalators to Soho

Going to see Hong Kong from 100 stories up

It was a little cloudy.. but still incredible

Sunday, I headed out some exploring on my own before having a late lunch and packing up.  All in all, a really great weekend. 

Back on the streets.. typical

Does this need to be refrigerated??

Took the Peak Tram up to the top

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak

First week in Penang

Previously, I wrote about feeling like I had almost officially settled into Singapore, complete with lots of exclamation points of excitement!  Welp - I think the honeymoon is over.  Don't get me wrong - I still absolutely love Singapore!  But this week I've experienced some logistical/administrative challenges that have made me realize that I'm not actually on vacation.  This is real life.   

That sounds pretty dramatic haha!  Things are still going well.. I just am dealing with some typical blah tasks, like figuring out which home internet plan is not as bad of a rip-off as the rest, and I'm dealing with some atypical relocation tasks, like still trying to figure out my options for dealing with the fact that my shipment is going to be 3 weeks late.  Oh, and on top of that, work :) 

Speaking of work, I've spent the week in Penang, and I've enjoyed it so far!  In some ways, Penang is very similar to Singapore, but in some ways its very different.  We are also on the island part of Penang (there is also a part of the mainland that is still Penang.. I'm not really sure how that works), so there is beautiful blue water all around us, but from the looks of it, Penang is much less modern and "big-city" esque than Singapore.

View from the hotel

Just like Singapore, everyone speaks English, but I've noticed here that because there are more Malays here, Mandarin is spoken less frequently, and when it is, someone will usually translate to English right away.  Penang and Singapore share a lot of similar foods, but the grocery prices seem to be a lot cheaper in Penang!  I got two boxes of granola bars (a Quaker Chewy and a Nature Valley) for about $7 USD here the other night.  In Singapore, that would've cost me about $17 USD haha.  In fact, almost everything is much, much cheaper here in Malaysia.  The hotel I'm staying in is right next to a mall and a grocery store, so it looks like I will be stocking up on things during my trips over here :) 

A combo pack of buckwheat and millet for about 3 USD!

Clearly I am ready for the beach with my "Capri-Sonne"

I'm heading to Hong Kong for the weekend, and I'm so excited about it!  My Kindle is stocked for the plane ride! 

August 21st

Today is my mom's birthday!  Happy birthday mom!  While I'm sad that we can't go to dinner together to celebrate, I hope you know that I am thinking of you and wishing you a wonderful day :)

Morning run

Saturday morning, I woke up early to go for my first outdoor run in Singapore!  I took my iPhone with me to make sure that I didn't get lost and to keep track of my mileage.  I did a little over five miles and got to take in so much of the city!

Started near downtown..

Ran along the water..

Ran over the double-helix bridge.. this picture kind of doesn't do it justice.. 

At the end of the bridge.. 

And ran through the city back to Orchard Road, where my hotel is, and to Tanglin Mall.  I specifically chose Tanglin Mall as my end destination.  Melissa has told me over and over how delicious the chocolate croissants at the bakery in the basement are, but every time I have gone, they are already sold out!  So I figured that since I was up early, it was the perfect way to reward myself for a morning run.

Too bad the bakery wasn't even open yet when I got there.  I bought a bottle of water from the 7-11 and went back to my hotel.  Even though I didn't get my chocolate croissant, it was still a great run!  The temperature and humidity are still pretty bearable early in the morning.  I took it pretty slowly, but I felt great after five miles.. a good sign for my upcoming 10K!

Other weekend highlights included:

- picking up the keys to my apartment;

- a night out in Holland Village, a fun neighborhood that is popular with ex-pats; and 

- a giant lunch in Chinatown on Sunday - my friends were the only non-Asians in our restaurant :)

I'm packing up to head off to Penang and Hong Kong!!

First Friday

Finished with my first full week of work!  This was my first Friday in the office since last week we had a long weekend.

I was running a little late getting ready, so I didn't have a chance to eat breakfast before I got on the hotel shuttle.  The shuttle drops me off at a corner near some small restaurants, and there is one on the corner that always seems to have a line.  I've been meaning to try it, and running late was the perfect excuse.

The only problem is the menu is pretty local and not very familiar to me.  As I got closer towards the front of the line, I got nervous that I wouldn't have any idea what to order!  So I took a gamble.. when I got to the front of the line, I just said "I'll have the same thing as her," and pointed to the girl who had been in line in front of me and just walked away.

I paid the woman S$3, and walked away with a drink (with a handle - love it!) and a little baggie.

When I got to the office, I had breakfast.  Inside the baggie were two small steamed buns.  This is a pretty common type of Chinese food, so that was comforting to me, but each bun, called a bau or bao, can basically have anything inside of it.  

The first bun I tried was filled with red bean paste.  Red bean paste is fairly common in Chinese food, particularly desserts, but obviously, it isn't something that you see a lot of in the US.  I actually do not love red bean paste, so I was kind of disappointed at the first part of my breakfast.  I ate two bites and then put it back in the baggie. 

Bun number two was filled with char siew, which is basically Chinese barbecue pork.  Yummy!  This is actually one of my favorite kind of bao, so I was happy :)

You'll notice in the first picture of my breakfast that the drink I got is clearly not coffee.  It is actually a warm soy milk.  Haha - I know that sounds awful.  Funny story - when I was little, my mom used to make me drink a giant bowl of soy milk every Saturday morning.  This was back before soy milk was commercialized in the US, and the soy milk that you bought in the Chinese grocery store obviously was not flavored with vanilla or anything like that.  So I hated it, of course.  And I didn't drink soy milk for a lot of years because I had it in my head that I hated soy milk from those Saturday mornings of my youth.  Within the last year or two, I've started to be okay with using soy milk in my coffee and smoothies, but I still couldn't bring myself to use it in a bowl of cereal, much less drink a glass of it.

But, one of the things I am really trying to do here is to really have an open mind, to be open to trying everything, and to do my best to really experience Singaporean life.  So if warm soy milk is what they are drinking, I am willing to try it.  (Side note - the girl that was two places in front of me in line literally ordered 10 of these warm soy milk drinks to go.  I guess she is at the bottom of the office totem pole, but obviously people love this warm soy milk.)

Shockingly, I actually quite enjoyed my warm soy milk!  (What an odd sentence.)  I drank probably about 80% of it, and although I don't know that I would order it again (I'm not much of a milk drinker in general), I was glad I tried it!

Woohoo for Friday mornings.

In the Singapore office, they don't really observe the "5 o'clock Friday" rule, so some co-workers and I headed out of the office around 6pm on Friday.  We were among the first to leave that day, but I felt like I was at work so late!

We stopped and had some snacks and drinks..

Then moved along and had dinner before stopping at the rooftop of the Fullerton Bay hotel to take in some great views of the city at night.. a wonderful way to end the work week!

Almost official

Well it seems like I have made a lot of strides this week in terms of "officially" settling in.

Earlier in the week, I got my Singapore Employment Pass, which is basically my ID card.  The thing I am most excited about with this is what it means for me as a traveler.  Basically, if you have a Singapore ID card, the government has your fingerprints on file, and when you fly back into the country, all you have to do is show them your card and scan your thumbprint!  No more waiting at Immigration!  As if the Changi Airport could possibly be anymore efficient.... I am traveling for the next few weeks, so I am excited to try this out!

After getting my Employment Pass, I was finally able to get a local cell phone!  I am currently carrying two iPhones, but pretty soon my US phone will get shut off and I will only have my Singapore number.  I've had my US number (813!) for what feels like forever, so I am really sad to let that go.  If you need/would like my new phone number, please just shoot me a quick email!  (I don't think publishing it on the internet is a good idea haha.)  Also, I downloaded the Viber and What'sApp apps, so friends, please go get one of these apps so that we can text/call for free!

Quick gripe about work - I care about calls/texts being free now because I have to pay my own cell phone bill.  In Singapore, they don't pay for their employees to have phones!  Also, getting my work email connected to my cell phone has been a logistical pain.  I was thinking about not getting it hooked up at all, since that seems to be the norm here (and they aren't paying for my phone!), but since I am working for primarily Americans, I figure that its probably a smart idea to have my email on my phone :)  Ok, I'm done.

I also signed my lease today!  I take over my apartment on Saturday, but my shipment from the US is STILL IN AMERICA.  Obviously, that is less than ideal.  But at least I will have an address here now!

A few other random thoughts...

Some of you may remember from my trip over here in the spring that the office gives out fresh fruit every Wednesday.  This week was a tart apple!  I heard that a few weeks ago it was a kiwi!

I just purchased my ticket to go to Melbourne, Australia this October!  Stephanie is going down there to run a marathon (her goal is to run a marathon on every continent!), so I figured that was a great excuse for me to go as well!  The race actually offers several distance options, so I was thinking of doing the 10K, but then just today I started thinking about doing the half marathon?  I am definitely not in any shape to be running a half marathon in two months, but I figure that even if I have to walk a lot of it, it will be a great experience and a cool story?  What do you guys think?

Lastly, here is a nice little snapshot of what some people do during their lunch break..