The Wave

Moving to a new country is tough.

Tough in ways that you can not even imagine in the days when you are preparing to leave.  In those days the excitement, the adrenalin and the logistical arrangements carry you forward and onwards.

A wave that gathers momentum and speed.

The wave peaks when you hand over your one way ticket to your new home, board the plane and smiling tell the person at passport control in your new country that you’ve just moved here.

You surf along for those first few weeks propelled by the power of the wave on adrenalin.  It’s a little like being on holidays – there are places to go, food to eat, sites to see!

Inevitably, a wave turns into whitewash and your shipment arrives and you start piecing back together the life you only recently dismantled.  House utilities, insurance, cars, kids activities, hairdressers.  The seemingly endless list of stuff that gives shape and meaning to our lives.

The wave is gone then.

You may find yourself surfacing in the shallows with sand embedded in the crotch of your swimsuit and salt water in your mouth, dizzy, wondering which way is up.

This, for me, was the hardest part.  The “now what?” stage.

Take a minute (or a week or a month).  Do what you need to do.

Then slick your sandy hair back from your face and head away from the wave.

(When I grow up I want to write like my friend, Kirsty.  She writes with a beauty that takes my breath away and her most recent post, She Seemed Fine, is exceptionally moving.  Please, go and read it. It inspired this post.)

Unusual Singapore Things

We have been here for the best part of a year.  Three quarters of a year, to be exact.

As such Singapore has become more familiar to us and things which we found unusual 9 months ago are now common place, so my series of “Unusual Singapore Things” hasn’t had an update for a while.

Here are some things that once seemed unusual but now seem normal:

• using blinkers/indicators appears to be optional;
• as does sticking to the one lane on the road.  Feel like straddling both lanes? No problem!;
• men riding unrestrained in the open back of trucks.  This is how labourers are generally transported to their work site;
• beef mince at the supermarket costing $35 a kilo;
• the smell of durian.  I still don’t like the smell but it’s now a normal part of the fabric of Singapore;
• fast internet speeds with no download/upload limit!  You pay for line speed not data allowance;
• monsoon rain arriving seemingly out of nowhere;
• sweating;
• the wonderful (and seemingly harmonious) mix of cultures;
• being able to “pop overseas” for the day;
• travelling to pretty much any part of the country by public transport;
• not finding clothes to fit my Western butt;
• when grocery shopping filling my shopping trolley with food from pretty much every continent on earth;
• on forms I am asked my race. For the record I tick “other”;
• there is rarely a queue of more than a couple of minutes at the airport’s passport control counter;
• to have air-con running the majority of the time;
• writing addresses the “wrong way” around. Here it’s name, street address, complex name, unit number.

There are also some things that will never, ever seem “normal”:

• child car restraints fitted to the front passenger seat;
• children not wearing any restraints in cars at all;
• government owned media.  Print, radio and television are all government owned and I will leave you to join the dots on that;
• Cheezels produced in Malaysia;
• bread enriched with sugar;
• and then there’s this:

I bet you can't wait to slather that all over your face, can you?

This Week

This week has been a big one.

And it’s only Thursday.

Monday was a big day, a bit of a watershed, but that’s not going to be blogged about.

Tuesday was Thaipusam.  I still have adrenalin running through my body from it.  It filled me with joy, wonder and respect.

On Wednesday I passed my Singapore “basic driving test”, which means I can convert my Aussie one to a Singaporean one.  It’s been a long, long, long time since I sat a test and sitting it at the same time as my over-achieving husband put even more pressure on.  But we both passed with the exact same score.  I am very glad that is over.

Then last night we went to see Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly.  We are both long-time fans and a PK concert is one of the few things we can be bothered organising a babysitter for.  It was a great night, even though I’d rather see any artist in a noisy pub where I can dance and sing along than in a seated performance.  The best bit was attending something where I understood all the cultural references.  I didn’t have to mentally translate accents or slang.  I could just enjoy myself.

Thursday (which is today) sees me flying off to Perth tonight for a solo weekend of Cheezels and “me time”.

So excited.

Thaipusam in Singapore

I have an endless curiosity about religions, sparked  by learning a little about different religions in my high-school history class.  To me, all religions are equally fascinating and worthy.

So, when I first heard about Thaipusam I knew that I would have to see it for myself.

Thaispusam is (according to the font of all wisdom, Wikipedia) a Hindu celebration which is celebrated mainly by Tamil’s.  Devotees walk a pilgrimage carrying a burden (kavadi).  A kavadi can be as simple as a pot of milk (often held on the head) to the other extreme of self mortification where the devotee is pierced with spears.  Devotees undergo an intense preparation that includes fasting and celibacy for weeks leading up the the festival.

Which sounds gruesome and macabre.

But it’s not.

It was an absolute honour to witness this spectacle.

It was joyous and dignified and amazing.

I had assumed that it would be a “men’s only” event but the whole family are involved in preparing themselves or a relative to carry their kavadi.  Along the 4.5km path the family and friends sing, dance and play music to encourage the kavadi wearer to continue their pilgrimage. There are also food stalls along the way to gain some much needed sustenance.

I expected to see suffering, but I saw only pride and joy.

I expected to feel like an outsider, but I didn’t.

Inside the temple I felt welcome and respected.  I was never made to feel like I was encroaching on a sacred ritual.  The participants were happy to have onlookers present and didn’t seem at all bothered by Westerners taking their photos.

As strange as this may seem (and I’m not really sure that photographs can capture it) it was beautiful.

Yes, beautiful.

The joy that filled the air, the magnificent colours of the sari’s, the smell of the incense, the happy people,  the chanting and singing all combined to create a truly magical atmosphere.

I’ve seen and experienced a lot since we moved last May but this has to rank as one of the most impressive things I have seen. Ever.

Next year I hope to walk the whole path.

Fresh Horses

There’s a blog I love.  A blog that is so real it hurts.  A blog completely and utterly different from mine.

It’s called Edenland.  This weekend Eden is having a linky thingy where she is asking bloggers to show off their handwriting.

So, here’s my hand writing.

Not sure why I scribbled this down in pencil as I habitually favour blue Kilometricos.  Although it may be the that Singapore doesn’t appear to stock Kilometrico’s, which is why they have been added to my “To Buy” list for Perth next weekend.

Australians All…..

On Saturday we threw our inaugral (no idea if we will do it again but inaugral is a cool word so I’m using it) Australia Day barbie.

It was lovely.

And I got to teach my American friends the joy of drinking warm milo through a Tim Tam!

I believe they have been converted.

Here’s Natalie Inbruglia sharing the Tim Tam love on UK TV.