Hazy Daze

On our way home from Malaysia last week, the skies were hazy and the air smelled of fire/smoke.  Forest burning to create farmland and plant crops is apparently a common occurance in Sumatra, Indonesia - almost 900 km away from Singapore.

This smoke has made its way to Singapore.  The skies are grey and the air is smokey.  I received a warning from my daughter's school today that they will be monitoring the air pollution index (PSI - Polluntants Standards Index) and will let us know if it rises to unhealthy measures.  The main concerns are for older folks and those with respiratory health issues.

Combine the haze with rain, thunder and lightning ('tis the season), and our weekend plans for rollerblading and wandering around nature parks on bikes and foot were scratched.  While Terry took the weekend to dive in the gorgeous waters off a tropical island, my daughter and I made our hazy days lazy days.

Although Sunday we visited the Science Centre and Omni Theatre, Saturday was couch potato day as we watched movies and TV shows and ate our missed 'western' foods we picked up at 'our' grocery store... and we ordered pizza for delivery!  It was a sloth kind of day.  And I wondered was it wasteful?

We needed to chill.  We needed to feel in our own space.  We needed to escape for bit.  We've been living in a new world for about 2 1/2 months.  That's a long time for a teen to be without her friends.  It's not easy to make friends in high school.  The typical high school student in an international school is an expat.  Sometimes they've traveled many places in the world throughout their short lives.  One girl told my daughter she wishes she had close friends but she never stayed in a place long enough to make any.

One would think it would be easy to make friends in this situation.  Kids are used to starting new.  And maybe it is for the average expat teenager.  But my daughter feels worlds apart from these kids and cannot find common ground.  Any parent knows how gut wrenching it is to see your child sad.  We want what is best for our children.  My gut is telling me this move is best for my child.  But, wow, has it ever been challenging to get to that place where I trust my gut.

Saturday was a bit of a daze for us, but maybe you need to go there in order for the haze to lift.  October break is over, my daughter is back to school, and I'm researching dance studios so she can find her passion again.