Well, we are on day 6 here in Singapore and we have learned a lot! I wanted to let everyone know what things are like here and after just a few more weeks I will probably forget my first impressions. So, here are some things that have been interesting!
Carseats - they don't use them here like they do in the US. I'm not sure what the law is, but some people don't even use them in their own cars! We have been cabbing it pretty much everywhere we can't walk and we put in E there without the carseat. Not sure how you would do it when you have to shop and cab it everywhere. Lugging a carseat with you everywhere would be next to impossible in some cases. Several families that we met got a car just so that they could put their kids in carseats. Not sure if I will get used to this!
Power - Not sure that every place is like ours, but in order to use an outlet you need to power on the outlet. Every outlet has a power switch. Strange when you are used to just plugging things in. I'll need to do some sort of research on why this is. The power outlets take a different kind of plug here as well. They also have a different voltage, so even with an adapter any motorized things don't work. We can charge out computers with an adapter, but can't run a hairdryer. There are converters, but not sure how they work or how well. We don't have any, but could use one!
Drains - This may be a strange one to post, but to me it is fascinating. So, all of the sinks etc. drain to another drain pipe in the floor of each room. So for example there is a drain in the floor of the bathroom and the drain from the sink drains to that drain. When you run water from the sink you can hear it in the drain on the floor. (not sure I am explaining that well). The other cool thing is that if you get water on the floor it all drains to the floor drain. Last night I gave E a bath and she sprayed water all over the floor. Since the floors are angled just a bit, all of the water drained down the drain. I just had to clean up a few drops. Kind of smart if you ask me!
Ovens - From what we are told ovens don't work very well here. Has something to do with the humidity and the heating element. Ours was fixed in the first few days and is working great. They don't have big ovens here either. Honestly, I'm not sure that some of my baking sheets will even fit in the oven here. As long as we can make cookies I think we will be fine! Although right now I am completely envious of my old neighbor Linda's new large double ovens!
Grocery Shopping - This is an interesting experience and I have only really done it once. First, everything is very expensive!! For example a box of Newman's Own popcorn is S$8.20 or $6.82 US. Best to not buy the imported brands for sure! The other strange thing is the name of the grocery stores. The main one is called "Cold Storage". That seems like such an odd name to me although I am sure if someone from here came to the south Harris Teeter and Piggy Wiggly would seem even stranger! The good thing is that if you buy at least $100 - $150 worth of groceries they will deliver it! Thank goodness since getting all that in a cab and up 14 stories would be a pain!
Clothing - I am sure that I will have a ton more to talk about here, but the one thing that amazes me is the fact that a lot of people wear jeans here. In a climate that is constantly hot and humid it seems odd. Not kidding, we were waiting in the queue (line) for the cab Friday in the middle of the day and at least half of the people were in jeans! Maybe after our bodies get used to the climate we will be in jeans too. Although, coming from a girl who typically doesn't sweat; I am sweating here!
No A/C - I am constantly amazing that there are many restaurants and stores that don't have A/C. Much of the city is open air, meaning that everything is integrated with the outdoors. In the US south everything is pretty closed off and air conditioned. Everyone even opens their doors and windows in the cooler parts of the day here. We tried that one morning, but within an hour I felt like I couldn't breathe and it was hot and stickly. If you know me I am pretty cold natured, but this wasn't like what I know. Put yourself at the beach in late August on the southeast coast with all of the doors and windows open. That is pretty much the same.
Scents - Ok, I like nice smelling things as much as the next guy, but really! Asians love scents! I first noticed it on the plane. I love those Singapore Air girls, not only are they beautiful, but they pay attention to every detail! Although, they might need to lay off on the perfume. Several had a lot on and different kinds. Then as you walk around the city you notice that everyone wears some sort of scent. I quit wearing perfume several years ago and now any scent about knocks me out. The thought is that it is so hot here and deodorants don't work. (That's my hubby's philosophy) Although, I really doubt that the hubby will start wearing cologne. Oh yeah, it's not just the perfume/cologne side of things. There must be a thing about disinfectant here as well. All of the soaps (hand soap etc) all have this disinfectant smell. The halls smell like it and all public places do. Ok, a year ago I switched to all organic unscented cleaners and I know that clean doesn't have to smell that way. Guess that philosophy didn't catch on here. I guess I'll eventually get used to it.
Disclaimer: These are just my perspective and are not meant to offend anyone. Please take my comments with a grain of salt if you must. (I felt that I needed to put this in here for some reason.)
That's pretty much what I see now. I'll try to remember to post other interesting tidbits if anyone is interested.
Till later!
2 comments:
LOVE hearing all about it. So interesting! What does E think?
I think E likes it! She is making friends and really likes school. The heat and all the walking are taking its toll though. Hey, I guess that's not too bad considering.
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