24

FEB

Smell the Satay

posted on Tuesday, 2009

We had a bit of cultural shock and adjustments when we were back in Singapore.

1stly, the sheer number of people!!! My eyes went all bleary just beholding the multitudes of people scurrying to my left, scuttling to my right, stomping hot on my heels, criss-crossing in front of me. We’d to run along or be run down! Was in a crowded MRT train one day and wondered why people had to stand so close to me… give me some personal SPACE!

2ndly, the predominantly Asian faces presented a nice landscape change. Good to be able to blend in with the crowd and not be in the stand-out minority.

3rdly, the constant perspiration drenched and drained us. I was the only one perspiring profusely in the MRT carriage on a cool rainy morning, even as the rest stood cool and sweat-free in their full office gear.

4thly, the size of the Singapore coins! Just look at the difference in size from the Australian ones, especially the goliathly-sized 50c coin!

5thly, the unexpected language barrier… It took a couple of days for us to loosen our tongues and lapse back into Singlish and a less uptight standard English. We re-acquainted with the lahs and lors to connect more in the heartlands. But there was a funny little incident one morning. We were trying to enter a foodcourt via the only available entrance. A cleaner was at the doorway mopping the floor, and as we passed him, Allan politely said, “Excuse me…”

In Perth, people often say that as an apologetic gesture… rather than as a right of way.

We were shocked when the cleaner shouted after us, “Cleeen cleeen… wat excuuue!”

It took a while for us to realise what could have happened. He probably interpreted the “excuse me” as an impatient “SIAM!” (Hokkien word or was it Malay?). Like as if Allan was telling him to stop blocking us and to get out of our way!

Anyway, we had to bear in mind not to “excuse” ourselves. Just simply say, “Sorlee sorlee hor…”

6thly… how come there were subtitles in television programs?!

Finally, the busy schedules and work life of Singaporeans shocked us, despite being just a year and half away from the workforce. Sunday night and a bank branch was still operating inside one shopping centre. Past 8pm after our dinner at Lau Pa Sat and office crowds were still spilling out from every office building and making their way home at Raffles Place. We had to keep the same tempo and march in tandem or risk being steamrolled by the advancing office troops… their brows deeply furrowed and faces fatigued… We definitely renewed our respect for our compatriots…

But at the same time, we really wish that Singaporeans could one day be able to slow down their pace and smell (not the roses) satay sticks penkaning; watch their children playing; hear the birds chirping to a brand new day; and for the Christians to be able to enjoy the presence of God amidst the hustle and bustle of life.

Overwork makes for restless sleep.
Overtalk shows you up as a fool.

Ecclesiastes 5:3 (The Message Bible)

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—

watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy

or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28 to 29 (The Message Bible)

05

FEB

Our whirlwind trip back home

posted on Thursday, 2009

Let me capture our time in Singapore in numbers:

Duration: 3:20am 26 December 2008 to 9:30am 13 January 2009 (18 or so days)

Temperature in Perth when we left: 28 degrees
Temperature in Singapore when we were there: Around 30-31 degrees?
Temperature in Perth when we got back: Day 1 (26 degrees); Day 2 (30 degrees); Day 3 (39.7);

Day 4 (41.8 degrees! Yes Celsius, not Fahrenheit! )

Number of meals taken each day: Why, 3 normal meals of course!

1 typical meal…

Number of meals taken each day (THE TRUTH): Eh… well, there were other things on top of the 3 “normal” meals… these are just bite-sized snacks… How many again? ∞ (as Buzz Lightyear would say, to infinity and beyond!)

2008: time required to queue for donut: 0 sec	2007: time required to queue for donuts: 10800 secs

Well, it’s not just feasting all the time, we had healthy fruits as well!

I didn’t dare to eat durians at all… I just took many loving glances at the packets in Carrefour…

I just love Mandarin oranges! We have some varieties here as well but they taste different from “pom kam”. Again, I held back at eating Mandarin oranges to avoid getting sick. In the end, I could only take 1 small piece of this fruit on my last night in Singapore… do read on for what happened… 

Number of optical appointments: 2 (1 new pair of glasses and 1 painful hole in the wallet!)

Number of dental appointments: 2 (1 bigger and more painful hole in the wallet!)

Number of medical appointments: 2… Sorry to have to blank off my Chinese name… I would dearly love to change this along with my Christian name.

Now that I’ve captured our trip in numbers, these are the unquantifiable aspects about our trip… simply put… PRICELESS!

Family: This is the essence of our family…

Friends: Thank you dear Evangelites… it was so nice to be back among brothers and sisters whom we know and cherish. And a big sorry to those whom we had not had the chance to say hi…

Thank you Ushers Committee… the fellowship and food was great!

Sorry Yarris… I’d to interpose you from another picture as the photo was taken much later on.

Thank you Thomson 1 Home Fellowship… we felt so at home amongst you…

Thanks Siew Tiew… it must be inspired by God that you bought chwee kuay! YUM!

Sorry Rick and Mandy, I forgot to take a photo at your house… and had to insert your pictures here…

Thank you to the pastoral staff, it felt like we were lost children who had returned to a loving home in Evangel. How can we express our gratitude and appreciation? I only know that this can’t be done in words or numbers… Thank you very, very, very, very, very much for your open arms and open hearts! We were so glad to be in town at the right time for the installation of Pas Dale and Pas Chui…

I thought it would be hard adjusting back to Singapore and it did take about 1 week for us to acclimatise physically, mentally and emotionally. I could still remember many of the bus services and routes, and generally was able to navigate the MRT network effortlessly. I suppose you can take a Singaporean out of Singapore, but you can never take Singapore out of a Singaporean. Thanks for the memories Singapore!

	Somebody please open a Daiso in Perth!!!
	Aha… I finally get a chance to have a go at this swing… hope it’s not broken!
This was the only touristy thing I’d wanted to do… but it was not to be… But imagine if we’d returned earlier and were one of those stuck in there!	So glad that my stomach kindly obliged with a last good meal in Singapore…