1. You have got to hand it to Singapore to have figured out a superb taxi network system. At first I pooh-poohed the thought of living in a country, where one needs to call a cab in advance. Not that I hailed cabs everyday in NY or in Mumbai (rickshaws yes, cabs no), but there's some comfort in knowing that your next ride is just a hail-of-the-hand away. The easiest mode of transport here, (since all MRT stations are not stroller-accessible) is a taxi that takes one from door to door. Yes I am going against my grain of being an avid public transportation user and being a taxi snob here in Singapore. There I said it! It's easier than being at the receiving end of an unhappy surprise that an additional flight of stairs offers even after you took the escalator down with your baby in a stroller. (Escalators are built on high plinths to avoid flooding due to the rains). Yes, we have mastered the art of riding escalators up and down everyday, with our toddler in her stroller, because Singapore does not have a completely accessible public transportation system. It's not strange then that I miss our ADA (American with Disabilities Act) accessible transport system from the States, which ensures that those physically disabled/ wheelchair or stroller driven can also use the public transport, like everyone else.
2. If you order a cappucino at a Starbucks here "to stay" versus "to go", you are served in a ceramic mug. A bagel and cream cheese "to stay" is served similarly with stainless steel cutlery. Of course it goes without saying that once done with your meal/ coffee, you may leave your dirty dishes as is on the table for someone else to clean up after you. I know I am repeating myself here, but it's still not sunk in somehow.
3. To employ a Foreign Domestic Worker (referred to as FDW ) one needs to take an online test, as per the Ministry of ManPower's (referred to as MOM) laws. This test completion certificate is the most important factor pre-hiring a maid/ housekeeper/ au pair. That test has now been taken and passed by us. In the New Year, once we are back from all our travels, our newest family member, whom we've picked from among a bunch of applicants, will be joining us. Looking forward!
4. Mustafa Shopping Centre is one of Singapore's largest malls, located in Little India, that sells virtually everything. Tourists come to Singapore only to shop here, I am told. One trip to the place and I knew what that meant. Premium international & world-class products made available at dirt-cheap prices pull throngs of people everyday to this magnanimous never-ending shopping mall. It is open 24x7 and still crowded at all times. Signs saying "Shoplifting leads to imprisonment" and "Shoplifters will be handed over the police" adorn all the walls. In general in Singapore, theft is a very harshly punishable offence involving caning, fines & imprisonment. The daughter not making it any easier with her 'picking up and casually dropping' habit that reveals a treasure in her stroller sometimes, after we've come home.
5. We did a first time ever drop-off play session, Zoe and I. I dropped her off to a music/ play school for 4 hours on a Friday morning, with a teacher and other kids, we've never met before. Happy Kids Club is a child enrichment centre located a stone's throw away, in our next-door mall. My pre-school research led me to their website and I decided to give it a shot. Really good call!
It was as weird as it was relieving. The feeling of dropping her off, that is. Zoe being Zoe wiggled out as soon as she was released from her stroller strap, to walk straight into the class area without once turning around. Four hours later, when I went to pick her up, the teacher and daughter both came out to greet me, all smiles. My very first PTA Meeting happened right after, when the teacher showed me Zoe's first painting and asked me if I'd been doing any lessons with her at home. "She's so advanced already and very social". I think Zoe understood, cos she smiled with what seemed like a halo around her head that blinked nice and bright.
6. We celebrated our first (and dare I say our only) Diwali in this house, this week. It was a unique one, considering this being a new home, in a new country and us not being surrounded by our usual gang of friends and/ or family. Hubster and I, the name-sake Hindu's that we are, shamelessly add our own touches every year, to customise our 'Lakshmi Pooja' as per our convenience and mood. Having seen this 'pooja' occur at my parents home, every Diwali, it's stuck with me ever since I started making my own 'Lakshmi' (i.e wealth). Hence the tradition continues. Different Diwali this one; our Lakshmi photo sat in the in-laws home in Mumbai, our lights and lantern lay with us in a suitcase in Singapore and our hearts lay with our otherwise attended but this time 'declined' Diwali party invites from friends in NYC. Yet, it's been a good one and Goddess Lakshmi seemed thrilled at the end of it, so must be a job well done!
7. Our kitchen has a Miele Cooktop hub. It looks like this. Fancy, sleek, aesthetic and minimal. However, takes sometime getting used to, once you've been cooking on a flame for most of your life. My inaugral stint at using the cooktop resulted in a reasonable 'payasam' that was to double up as the daughter's birthday dessert and 'Diwali pooja prasad'. But I know it could've been better had it been cooked on a flame. Seems like that big housewarming party is going to have to wait, until I have mastered the art of cooking in this hi-tech kitchen.
8. Diwali dinner was with Hubster's American boss & his Filipino date at Mustard in Little India. Mustard is an Indian restaurant specialising in Punjabi and Bengali cuisine (strange combination that one). The food was spectacular, the service efficient and the ambience simple, in the non-cheesy-Indian-restaurant kinda way. Dinner ended with the boss volunteering to babysit the daughter sometime. While I almost bowed before him in obeisance at the mention of this offer, Hubster smilingly put it off. He probably loves his job too much to accept. Le Sigh!
Hoping all of you had a splendid & festive Diwali too! I ll be back with more next week, but for now it's time to sign the toddler up for a fun series of Holiday classes coming up in early December. Asia being Asia (Read: competitive), I am already too late, I am told!
Love,
Shweyta
2. If you order a cappucino at a Starbucks here "to stay" versus "to go", you are served in a ceramic mug. A bagel and cream cheese "to stay" is served similarly with stainless steel cutlery. Of course it goes without saying that once done with your meal/ coffee, you may leave your dirty dishes as is on the table for someone else to clean up after you. I know I am repeating myself here, but it's still not sunk in somehow.
3. To employ a Foreign Domestic Worker (referred to as FDW ) one needs to take an online test, as per the Ministry of ManPower's (referred to as MOM) laws. This test completion certificate is the most important factor pre-hiring a maid/ housekeeper/ au pair. That test has now been taken and passed by us. In the New Year, once we are back from all our travels, our newest family member, whom we've picked from among a bunch of applicants, will be joining us. Looking forward!
4. Mustafa Shopping Centre is one of Singapore's largest malls, located in Little India, that sells virtually everything. Tourists come to Singapore only to shop here, I am told. One trip to the place and I knew what that meant. Premium international & world-class products made available at dirt-cheap prices pull throngs of people everyday to this magnanimous never-ending shopping mall. It is open 24x7 and still crowded at all times. Signs saying "Shoplifting leads to imprisonment" and "Shoplifters will be handed over the police" adorn all the walls. In general in Singapore, theft is a very harshly punishable offence involving caning, fines & imprisonment. The daughter not making it any easier with her 'picking up and casually dropping' habit that reveals a treasure in her stroller sometimes, after we've come home.
5. We did a first time ever drop-off play session, Zoe and I. I dropped her off to a music/ play school for 4 hours on a Friday morning, with a teacher and other kids, we've never met before. Happy Kids Club is a child enrichment centre located a stone's throw away, in our next-door mall. My pre-school research led me to their website and I decided to give it a shot. Really good call!
It was as weird as it was relieving. The feeling of dropping her off, that is. Zoe being Zoe wiggled out as soon as she was released from her stroller strap, to walk straight into the class area without once turning around. Four hours later, when I went to pick her up, the teacher and daughter both came out to greet me, all smiles. My very first PTA Meeting happened right after, when the teacher showed me Zoe's first painting and asked me if I'd been doing any lessons with her at home. "She's so advanced already and very social". I think Zoe understood, cos she smiled with what seemed like a halo around her head that blinked nice and bright.
6. We celebrated our first (and dare I say our only) Diwali in this house, this week. It was a unique one, considering this being a new home, in a new country and us not being surrounded by our usual gang of friends and/ or family. Hubster and I, the name-sake Hindu's that we are, shamelessly add our own touches every year, to customise our 'Lakshmi Pooja' as per our convenience and mood. Having seen this 'pooja' occur at my parents home, every Diwali, it's stuck with me ever since I started making my own 'Lakshmi' (i.e wealth). Hence the tradition continues. Different Diwali this one; our Lakshmi photo sat in the in-laws home in Mumbai, our lights and lantern lay with us in a suitcase in Singapore and our hearts lay with our otherwise attended but this time 'declined' Diwali party invites from friends in NYC. Yet, it's been a good one and Goddess Lakshmi seemed thrilled at the end of it, so must be a job well done!
7. Our kitchen has a Miele Cooktop hub. It looks like this. Fancy, sleek, aesthetic and minimal. However, takes sometime getting used to, once you've been cooking on a flame for most of your life. My inaugral stint at using the cooktop resulted in a reasonable 'payasam' that was to double up as the daughter's birthday dessert and 'Diwali pooja prasad'. But I know it could've been better had it been cooked on a flame. Seems like that big housewarming party is going to have to wait, until I have mastered the art of cooking in this hi-tech kitchen.
8. Diwali dinner was with Hubster's American boss & his Filipino date at Mustard in Little India. Mustard is an Indian restaurant specialising in Punjabi and Bengali cuisine (strange combination that one). The food was spectacular, the service efficient and the ambience simple, in the non-cheesy-Indian-restaurant kinda way. Dinner ended with the boss volunteering to babysit the daughter sometime. While I almost bowed before him in obeisance at the mention of this offer, Hubster smilingly put it off. He probably loves his job too much to accept. Le Sigh!
Hoping all of you had a splendid & festive Diwali too! I ll be back with more next week, but for now it's time to sign the toddler up for a fun series of Holiday classes coming up in early December. Asia being Asia (Read: competitive), I am already too late, I am told!
Love,
Shweyta
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