The Wait

I have to admit that when my 17 year old daughter was growing up, I had quite a bit of patience; however, it dwindled over the years.  I'm not proud of this, of course.  That said, I think this past year has helped me regain my patience - good thing since there's another little one on the way!

I've been waiting for my visitor pass to be approved - and today it was!  Yahoo!  I've taken several steps to get here, and I've had help from wonderful people (including Terry and the hospital staff).  During my wait, I learned my daughter's student pass would also expire - the same day I'm scheduled to be in the hospital having a baby!  I drew on my patience again and took the necessary steps to straighten it out... and it looks like her remaining stay will be approved as well.  Surely, this is the universe's way of helping me relearn patience so I'll have in when I need it with a growing child.... not to mention giving me a true expat experience.

Waiting when you get responses to calls and emails quickly is not so bad, though.  I've been in communication with schools, governments, hospitals, etc. and even if I have to wait for things to happen, I get a response to tell me I have to wait.  This is not always the case at home.  As an expat with a child who is changing schools, I have plenty of scanning, copying, emailing, and paperwork to complete in order to depart one school and arrive at another.  People respond in Singapore... even if it is to say I will receive a proper response within 24 hours.  Some people at home need several emails and calls and I'm still not getting responses.  The school closes next week and if things aren't in order, we have to wait until September to straighten everything out.  Oh well, there's my challenge to work on my patience some more.

After living here for nearly a year now, I can say that when an expat arrives in a completely foreign environment, he or she has to wait for several months to feel settled.  As we settled here, we also starting finding things/places much easier.  Now, we're finding all the things we couldn't find last Fall - and we're leaving.  We're also seeing/experiencing new things and not getting overwhelmed by it all - in fact, we're trying to lap it all up before we leave.

Speaking of new things... I've mentioned before that Singapore constructs new buildings fast and frequently.  There's a new condo close to ours that is full of windows.  It's high end.  It's modern.  And you can see right through the windows into the showers and bathrooms!  I've noticed that privacy in the medical system is quite different than home.  It's not uncommon for your ailment to be shouted out into the waiting room in a doctor's office.  But surely there will be something done with these windows??  Stores also close and new ones open within a day - not much waiting.  A fruit drink stand that my daughter likes at the MRT station closed one day and the next day a bakery was there in its place.

One of our lessons taken from our struggle through culture shock is to just wait.  Be patient with ourselves as we adjust to new surroundings.  Know that in time we'll make friends, know how to get around, figure out where we can find the things we need, and feel at home in our new environment.  We do feel at home now.  (When I say 'we', I mean my daughter and I... Terry's lived so many places he doesn't recall culture shock:)  My daughter is even having her friends visit our 'home' for a BBQ and swim tonight.  Our move back to Canada will be a little bittersweet.  But we're getting excited about that now too.

Oh, and yes, we're patiently awaiting our new arrival as well.  Not much longer... I have one more pre-natal yoga class, one more free weekend, and one more week before our wait will be rewarded.

That Makes Three

This morning I was putting dishes away in the cupboard when I saw a little stick looking thing hanging out from the fan/hood over the stove.  After analyzing the situation carefully, I wondered... Crap, it's the leg of a cockroach.  Our maid was in the kitchen with me (telling me to stop putting the dishes away because she'll do it), and I asked her if she thought it was a cockroach.  Yep, it was.  And she would just get rid of it.  We had a good chuckle about how scared I am of the little (big) critters.  She isn't afraid at all.  Well, she's from a tropical climate... I'm from Newfoundland!  What does one expect?

So there it is.  Our third cockroach... in the apartment that is.  I've had several nearly crawl over my feet while walking around.  And such is the life in the tropics.

Three is the magic number today.  I have three weeks before our new arrival enters this world - if all goes as planned!  I think I'm nesting... my energy seems to have doubled lately while I do laundry, pack bags, purchase last minute items, and start to prepare and freeze meals.  What's happened to me?!

Last night, we bought the most groceries we've ever bought here - ingredients for the many frozen meals I'm going make (planning anyway).  You can collect stickers for discounts at the grocery stores I frequent.  Usually, outside the grocery stores, an auntie or two wait in anticipation... hoping the customers will relinquish their stickers.  We always do.  The lady serving us last night told us that they've had so many problems with the aunties arguing over who gets the stickers and other incentives, that they have had to cut out one of their promotions (but the stickers we always get were still in effect).  We have actually had this happen to us... one of the aunties asked us for our stickers, which we gave to her, and the other got mad at us because they were supposed to be her stickers.  Ooops.

By the way, aunties and uncles also sell tissues around MRT stations and tunnels and in coffee shops (Kopi Tiams).  Local restaurants do not give out napkins.  And several bathrooms in these places don't have tissues either.  I always have a stash in my purse.

I'm not only 'nesting'... I'm taking full advantage of my baby-less time.  Singapore offers amazing international theatre, art, and dance - something we'll miss when we leave.  And we've gone to many shows.  Last weekend, we attended a dance show... but in all my years of dance... loving all forms from classical ballet to modern hip hop to creative artistic dance... I've never seen dance like this.  I'd call it dark art on stage.  The music was loud and techno and shrill.  The 'dancing' included incredibly slow movements making bodies look deformed at times.  One 'angel' character creeped slowly around the stage, stared eerily into the audience, and then screamed a high pitched shrill as if being tortured, which echoed throughout the auditorium.  Another guy squirmed on the stage - it kind of looked like he was floating.  Another guy squirmed on a bench... naked.  There were performers doing the Haka - a traditional native New Zealand dance - throughout the show.  They slapped their thighs, stamped their feet, and shuffled around the stage in perfect unison.  There were video images of famous faces, and another piece of art hanging that at some point looked like blood was being poured over it.  Overall, the show left us feeling dark and confused.  We stayed for the post-show talk by the choreographer, which we usually do, and this shed some light on the show's meaning.  It was meant to be deeply political, addressing the issues of global fear post 9-11.  The guy is brilliant for sure... but we didn't get the right meaning from it at all!

Next weekend we're going to another circus - seems to be a spin off from Cirque du Soleil (hoping it's a comparable quality!)... much lighter than last weekend's show.

I have three weeks left to soak in Singapore.  I expect the 4-5 weeks post baby will be more baby focused, although we'll still take in what we can.... maybe some local postpartum activities (of course, all the other newborns will be in confinement!)... and maybe I'll finally have that Singapore Sling the Raffles Hotel is famous for creating (hmmm... baby may not like that in her milk... maybe I'll just have a sip).