It's Electrifying!

It's recommended that you bring a few familiar items with you when you move to a new place, especially a new country.  We brought some photos, movies, and a few odds and ends, but not much.  My daughter found the movie Grease while on one of our outings a while back and absolutely had to have it.  Surely, it was because she had it at home and it was familiar because she hadn't watched it in quite a while!

So now we have the movie Grease to add to our few items that remind us of home.  And I have discovered culture shock.  I think you have some level of culture shock no matter where you move.  I experienced it when I moved to a small community of 200 people in NL with a one month old.  Then again, the culture difference between that place and my home town was about the same as between home and here.

Last week was one of those weeks when everything you do turns to crap or you're faced with yet another dead end.  Now that Terry is settled into work, my daughter is settled into school, and the apartment is feeling more like home, it's time for me to figure out what my life is going to be here.  Yahoo!  I have space and time and I can do and be whatever I want!!  Uh-oh.

I started applying for jobs.  No feedback on those yet.  I was turned down for about a hundred jobs in the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand before I decided where to relocate, so I'm getting used to rejection.  I have a few options... I could work in HR, learning and development, project management, team management, business improvement, export/trade, research, etc.  Many job openings I've found that are suitable for me require an ability to speak Mandarin; however, some simply state that it would be an asset to have that ability... so I apply for those.  Interestingly, you don't always get a response when you submit an application here.  It's also widely accepted, and I think THE way to get a job, to call the HR Director to discuss the opening.  They must be bombarded with calls, don't you think?  I've been reading up on employment laws and practices here... and from what I've read, it seems HR is behind other areas of the world such as Canada.  This could be an advantage for me if a company is more progressive in their HR practices... and those companies do exist.  It's also common practice, apparently, to hire people you know around here.  So it's off to more researching conferences and workshops I go.... only to find that the one conference that is affordable is the same time as my daughter's October break and we are thinking of taking a trip.  Another one was exclusively for CEOs, VPs and Directors.  Exclusive is a common word in Singapore.

After a few days of frustration with job and career activities, I decided to turn my focus to social and lifestyle activities.  I have been searching for a dance studio for my daughter since before we left Canada.  Her training is in a style called Cecchetti Ballet, which we can not find around here.  She stumbled upon a website one day that said they offered Cecchetti Ballet classes, so I called.... nope, the website was entirely incorrect - not only do they not offer that style of dance, but they don't offer any ballet exams in any style.  I started another hour or two long search on the internet for the right studio.... and I ended the search after finding nothing that seemed 'right'.  On the bright side, my daugher takes a dance class in school and is going to ask her instructor for advice.... and the dan:s festival is here in Singapore next month and we are going to see some of the most amazing dancers in the world!  Yay!

So onto Tina's life again.... I went in search of Mandarin classes.  My introduction to Bahasa Indonesian has really inspired me to learn another language, and since Mandarin is the number one language of the world, and it would be beneficial in the world of business, that's what I've chosen.  We have a book that is like our bible - it's called 'Singapore - The Complete Residents' Guide'.  It lists about a half dozen websites for places that offer Mandarin courses.  I checked them all and they either don't offer the classes or only offer them to exclusive groups.  I emailed one place that looked promising, but they responded with a negative.  I decided face-to-face might be the way to figure this one out... so I visited our neighborhood community club.  When I asked the man at the front desk if they offered a Mandarin course, he chuckled and said, 'No, we offer English.'  This living in the boonies is starting to get to me!  My uncle came to my rescue after seeing my desperation on facebook (my status) and contacted a friend he knows here... I now have the name of someone to call.  Maybe this week will see the fruits of my efforts.

I decided to take stock.  Job - nope.  Conference - nope.  Dance studio - nope.  Mandarin course - nope.  Let's try yoga.... There are yoga classes many places.  After we found a dance studio that we thought offered the right classes, I realized there was a yoga studio next door.... and it offered yoga for the eyes!  I kid you not!  I really must try this... I wonder does it improve your eyesight?  I'm totally excited about it.  Anyway... that is not the kind of yoga I'm seeking right now.  I'm looking for a daytime class in my neighborhood.  Most of the studios I've found are about an hour away (and incredibly expensive)... and to me it's just not ideal to have to travel an hour to my yoga class, and then have to return in that messy crowd after rejuvenation.  However, on my little laughable trip to the Community Club, I did strike on a schedule of yoga classes, a few of which are offered one morning a week.  SUCCESS!  Of course, you have to have a pass in order to register... so I just have to have a little more patience.... I will have my long-term-visit pass really, really soon.

I also checked out tai chi.... it's offered more widely than yoga it seems... but that class is taught in Mandarin, and I figured I had enough frustrations right now to have to try to follow a Mandarin instructor.  To add to all this, I have yet to find where to buy a postage stamp and send a package in the mail (I think I've checked 10 places to date)!

Amongst all the dead ends I started to feel like I was floundering, I was wasting precious time, I was desperately fighting irritability, and I had a cold (yes, one of those things with a stuffy nose, sore throat, floaty head, and exhaustion... I never get sick?!).  Being me, I had to figure out what was going on with me... so I went to one of my favorite ex-pat websites and it popped out clear as mud... I was experiencing culture shock (the cosmic energy is also all out of whack so that explains some of it too).

The first stage of culture shock is called the Honeymoon stage and it lasted for 3-4 weeks for me - it varies for everyone.  It's a period when everything is wonderful and new and exciting.... just like it was with your partner.  (Of course, I'm still in the honeymoon stage with my partner! haha!)  Next is the Negotiation phase where you start to notice the differences between your old culture and this new one.  Sometimes people glorify their homeland, and usually you get a bit negative, irritable, and tired during this time.  Eventually, you reach the Adjustment phase, where you'll either accept or reject the culture.

I have been oscillating between all three phases... not too severly, but they are certainly coming up.  THANK-YOU to whomever named culture shock!  I am not insane!!  I am clearly a very normal, well adjusted, stable woman who, if didn't go through this completely normal phenomenon, would not be normal, and then where would I be?!?!

Once I realized my normalcy, I did a bit of chakra balancing - gotta love Deepak... and Grease.