Christmas in Singapore

Merry Christmas from Singapore!

It was a very different Christmas for us, being so far away from family, but we managed to make the best of it and had an enjoyable Holiday.

On Christmas Eve, it decided to be an overcast and rainy, rainy day.  John had his pals over and I spent a good part of the day preparing for Christmas dinner.  I decided to do Beef Wellington.  What the heck?  We're on our own...we may as well try it on our own!  Jim helped me and kept me company.  We were doing great up until the wrapping of the beef tenderloin.  At that point, the wrapping came apart a bit in one area.  So, not picture perfect, but great for our first attempt!  We feel that I rolled out the dough too thin and the mushroom duxelles was a little too warm and wet.  We should have waited for the mushrooms to chill longer. 

We had dinner at the American Club that night and went to church from there. It was still sprinkling at 8 pm as we were going in to Church.

After services, we came home and opened family gifts.  The boys were happy with Wii Mario Kart and Wii Nerf.  I was happy with my spa gift certificate and Jim was happy with his new Bass guitar.  We played a few rounds of Mariokart with the boys and herded them off to bed. 

Sometime during the night, Santa came!

The boys woke us up early at 6:45 and we headed downstairs to see what he brought.  I put on the coffee and put the egg casserole in the oven.  We opened gifts and spent the day playing and hanging out as a family.  Beef Wellington dinner was delicious.  It held up fine in the oven despite the small tear in the wrapping. 

How does Singapore do Christmas???

Not too bad, actually.

It is a public Holiday so the governmental offices are closed and most workers are off, just like back home.  Singapore goes all out with the Christmas decorations along the main shopping venue, Orchard Rd.   This is Singapore's version of the Magnificent Mile.  Here are a  few shots of the decorations along Orchard:

First, the "heil Hitler" people:

When Jim and I first saw these we both immediately thought the doll people looked as if they were giving all the Holiday shoppers a festive "heil, Hitler."

Random tree along Orchard Rd. sidewalk:

Next to the tree was a festive Christmas ring that would spin on an axis, decorated much like this tree.  It really looked like a Christmas "donut".  Our picture of the donut didn't turn out.

Finally, a pretty tree made of giant ornaments:

Orchard looks quite nice at night when it is lit up all along the road.   Singapore does make it look nice for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Up Next:  Bali

The Airport Terminal that is Singapore

I can't believe we've nearly made it to our one year mark in Singapore.  Our time is flying quickly!  This past year has brought so much change and needed perspective in our lives.  We feel incredibly lucky to be here and so glad that we made the decision to come.  I remember way back when to the times when moving overseas seemed scary, and then the prospect of moving to Asia was so foreign!  Almost too foreign!  It's sad that I didn't have a much clearer view of the world.  Of course, I wish everyone could do this.  But I digress....

In my pre-Singapore days,  I did research to learn a bit about the new country we would be calling home.  I remember reading a particular piece that compared Singapore to an airport terminal.  How true it is!

Singapore is very clean, very manicured, very landscaped.  It is a planned community to a fault.  So much orderliness gives it a sterile feeling as well, just like an airport terminal.  Modern, simple, sleek, but lacking charm.  

Expat living in this Southeast Asian country is also like being in a terminal.    You're new for a bit, meet people who are here, figure out the place, and then you get settled.

More people show up.  You are all together for a while, but deep inside you realize this is all just a temporary stop.  For some, their time to leave comes and you say goodbye.   These people leave and you may or may not ever see them again.  Sooner or later you know your flight will be called up too.

So in my own rambling way you can probably figure out that living in a terminal isn't always fun when it's your friend's turn to go.  

We are having to say good bye to a few people very soon and I think it's going to be hard. :(