Chatting in the living room this evening with my roommate Katie, we were interrupted by a slight shaking of the furniture. Nick came out of his room, and the three of us looked around in confusion. We looked outside, only to see all of the neighbours doing the same - that's when we decided to get out of our 12th floor apartment (Yes, we took the elevator down. Then realised that was probably not very wise). By the time we got outside, it had stopped. Yet, when we texted/called our friends, they all thought we were crazy....
It turns out that what we felt were tremors from the major earthquake that hit Indonesia. Oddly, the tremors were only felt in certain parts of Singapore, which explains the discrepancy between us and our friends.
Anyway, to those who emailed, thanks, and not to worry - I am fine! Just a little apartment shake to add excitement to your day!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Home (is where the heart is... and also the pool)
Late afternoon yesterday, my friends and I lounged by the pool at my apartment building, reading our books, napping, and generally living the life of leisure. As I lay there, looking up at the palm trees and blue skies, I realized for a moment just how lucky I am to be here, to have met such lovely people, and to have found such a nice home.(picture to the left: my building/pool)
Lounging (me, Nick, Lauren, Katie)
These lanterns are up by the pool because it's the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, which is a Chinese holiday. People often eat mooncakes on this occasion, which are a very sweet dessert.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Quick Hit
Oddest moment of the day: Standing on the second floor balcony, being applauded by a thousand students sitting in the courtyard in neat rows and perfect uniforms, welcoming me to the school. Felt a little like being a rock start, a little like being a dictator.
Cutest moment of the day: "Ooooh Miss you are from Canada? Nagria Falls, yes?"
Most surreal moment of the day: Inspection of the students' haircuts at morning assembly to ensure they comply to regulations (ie all pinned up for girls, and not too long for boys - including specific hair to ear ratios...)
Sweatiest moment of the day: All of it.
Cutest moment of the day: "Ooooh Miss you are from Canada? Nagria Falls, yes?"
Most surreal moment of the day: Inspection of the students' haircuts at morning assembly to ensure they comply to regulations (ie all pinned up for girls, and not too long for boys - including specific hair to ear ratios...)
Sweatiest moment of the day: All of it.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Come on Teacher, Teach Me Something
Today was my first day of school. In a throwback to my elementary school days, I picked out my outfit the night before, and lay in bed wondering nervously if the other kids would like me... As usual my stress levels were disproportionally high.
Education is a huge priority in Singapore, and it's clear that the goverment invests a ton of money and resources into its schools - most schools are in relatively new buildings (built in the last 10 years), and have great technology in the classrooms (including a laptop provided for every teacher). As I was repeatedly told during my orientation days, Singapore has no natural resources - it's only resources are its people, and therefore their education is naturally considered fairly important. Unfortunately, it turns out that these resources do not extend so far as providing air conditioning in the classrooms. Remember how hot I said it was? Well picture that kind of humid, heavy heat, broiled in a classroom with 45 teenagers, topped with 6 or 7 loud ceiling fans to ensure minimal ability to hear one another (45 students is, by the way, the standard class size here... heavens).
Last week, I was invited to attend Teacher's Day at my school before officially starting work. A national holiday, it involves discounts in stores, a day off from school, and a celebratory dinner or lunch. I attended my school's lunch at a beautiful venue, was served delicious food, showered with gifts, and told what an inspiration I was to the next generation. Entertainement provided at this event for teachers was, I kid you not, a snake charmer. On this very special day, students from previous years come back to say hello to old teachers, and bring gifts and cards. It was truly lovely. At some point, I was asked when teacher's day is in Canada... I laughed.
Despite all my nerves, my first day went really well. My biggest problem turned out to be my name, which it seems no one can pronounce. "Miriam" was everything but, including variations on Marianne, Mariam, Maria, Marin, Mira.... "Miss Greenblatt," though, was a whole other ballpark. Not even the teachers could say it, despite my spelling it out. I was introduced in class after class with names I did not recognize as my own. The students respond as they are taught by standing up to welcome me, bowing down, and chanting in chorus:
"Good Moooorning Miss Greeeenbrrrrraaahhhhllll".
Apparently it is recommended I consider shortening my name to "Miss Green." Does anyone but me mind that this is not my actual name?
Still, the highlight of my day was without question the moment when a teacher, upon finding out I am Canadian, gushed to me about his love of Celine Dion, and proceeded to tell me all about how he and his mother attended her recent concert, and how both of them cried because her songs are so emotional. Obviously I gave him my phone number.
Off to bed, since I have to be up so early - I report to school at 7:15 am sharp for the singing of the anthem and raising of the flag. Coming soon - pictures of my new home!
Education is a huge priority in Singapore, and it's clear that the goverment invests a ton of money and resources into its schools - most schools are in relatively new buildings (built in the last 10 years), and have great technology in the classrooms (including a laptop provided for every teacher). As I was repeatedly told during my orientation days, Singapore has no natural resources - it's only resources are its people, and therefore their education is naturally considered fairly important. Unfortunately, it turns out that these resources do not extend so far as providing air conditioning in the classrooms. Remember how hot I said it was? Well picture that kind of humid, heavy heat, broiled in a classroom with 45 teenagers, topped with 6 or 7 loud ceiling fans to ensure minimal ability to hear one another (45 students is, by the way, the standard class size here... heavens).
Last week, I was invited to attend Teacher's Day at my school before officially starting work. A national holiday, it involves discounts in stores, a day off from school, and a celebratory dinner or lunch. I attended my school's lunch at a beautiful venue, was served delicious food, showered with gifts, and told what an inspiration I was to the next generation. Entertainement provided at this event for teachers was, I kid you not, a snake charmer. On this very special day, students from previous years come back to say hello to old teachers, and bring gifts and cards. It was truly lovely. At some point, I was asked when teacher's day is in Canada... I laughed.
Despite all my nerves, my first day went really well. My biggest problem turned out to be my name, which it seems no one can pronounce. "Miriam" was everything but, including variations on Marianne, Mariam, Maria, Marin, Mira.... "Miss Greenblatt," though, was a whole other ballpark. Not even the teachers could say it, despite my spelling it out. I was introduced in class after class with names I did not recognize as my own. The students respond as they are taught by standing up to welcome me, bowing down, and chanting in chorus:
"Good Moooorning Miss Greeeenbrrrrraaahhhhllll".
Apparently it is recommended I consider shortening my name to "Miss Green." Does anyone but me mind that this is not my actual name?
Still, the highlight of my day was without question the moment when a teacher, upon finding out I am Canadian, gushed to me about his love of Celine Dion, and proceeded to tell me all about how he and his mother attended her recent concert, and how both of them cried because her songs are so emotional. Obviously I gave him my phone number.
Off to bed, since I have to be up so early - I report to school at 7:15 am sharp for the singing of the anthem and raising of the flag. Coming soon - pictures of my new home!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Mortal Fear Faced
Came home tonight to find a cockroach scurrying across the floor when I turned on the lights. Not just a cockroach. A giant, supersized, extra strength, totally freaky one with disproportionately enormous antennae. Now some of you may not know this, but I have a deep-seated, long held fear of these horrible creatures. Needless to say, a lot of screaming and running and jumping onto furniture ensued... Luckily brave Nick came home minutes later and killed it. Have covered all drains with random heavy objects, and put a towel up against the bottom of my door. Will try not to have nightmares tonight.
On the agenda for tomorrow: buy poison, traps, drain covers, and containers for all cereal and food.
Am seriously doubting my decision to move here.
On the agenda for tomorrow: buy poison, traps, drain covers, and containers for all cereal and food.
Am seriously doubting my decision to move here.
Friday, September 4, 2009
First Impressions
Where to begin in my description of Singapore? It's been really difficult to formulate a coherent impression of this city/state, as I've run around trying to find a place to live, and furniture to live on throughout this first week. Though a tiny country (the island of Singapore is about a fifth the size of the island of Montreal, with about a million more squeezed into S'pore than Mtl), each neighbourhood is very different. Singapore is incredibly multicultural, filled largely with people from Malaysia, China, and India, but also from every other country in South East Asia, as well as a sizable international ex-pat community. Cultural tolerance is a huge value here, and Buddhist temples sit comfortably next to Muslim mosques.
One of the great benefits of this diversity is the incredible variety of food that is available around every corner. Singapore is definitely a foodie's paradise, and food is a national obsession. Hawker Centres are a staple - like a food court, they consist of about 6 to 12 food stalls surrounding clusters of tables. Each hawker centre has stalls with every kind of food imaginable (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian...), and as a new-comer the choices are a bit overwhelming. However, I am starting to decipher the types and styles, and I can certainly appreciate the price - hawker centre food tends to cost between 3 and 5 Singaporean dollars (Sing Dollars, as they call them) for a generous portion. I have not yet worked up the courage to try Fish Head Curry, a local favourite, but I'm determined to at some point - I think the key is not to look directly into the fish's eyeball...
Along with the variety of food comes eclectic architecture. Remnants of colonial buildings sprinkle the island, while in the city centre bizarre modern buildings spring up all around. Throw a variety of Asian influences into the mix, and you've got quite the mixed landscape. Unfortunately, finding a place to live has been a stressful and time consuming occupation, so I haven't seen a single tourist-y attraction, but there's plenty of time for that. Still, it's hard not to be impressed by this country. The city is incredibly clean, safe, very beautiful, and very intelligently planned. There are gorgeous green spaces all around, palm trees line the streets, and the subway system (called the MRT) is spotless and uber-efficient. When I say spotless I'm not exaggerating - all completely modern, not a speck of dust to be seen, energy-efficient escalators that speed up when you step on them, never more than a 5 minute wait for the train... I think the Montreal/Toronto subways will seem simply inadequate in comparison upon my I return!
On some levels, Singapore seems a bit paradisaical. The country is beautiful, clean, tropical (I will get to weather in a second), has an excellent education system (which I will discuss another time - this post is getting long!), a world-class health care system, and is incredibly efficient. To illustrate - the day we moved into the apartment (by "we" I mean my new roommates and I: Katie from Chicago and Nick from the UK - both teachers as well, they are just lovely), my housing agent had a guy in to service the air conditioning, found us beds and had them delivered, and called an internet provider who came within the hour and set up our connection in 5 minutes, all within the space of a few hours - all things that would take a couple days each to deal with at home. Yet all of these wonders come at the cost of social control - the government here is a democracy in theory, and a dictatorship in essence. They control all the media, and keep a tight grip on the population - for instance, 85% of Singaporeans live in government housing, called HDB flats (Housing Development Board). On the one hand, this means that housing is affordable for almost all citizens (basically, there is a large middle class, and small upper/lower classes). Simultaneously, this gives the government incredible control - for example, you can only buy an apartment (rather than rent) if you are married (and fyi homosexuality is illegal here - although there is a bit of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude). Even renting includes an application process, which allows the government all access to you and your cohabitants information. Still, the people here can't complain, because their standard of living is so much higher than those in most surrounding countries.
There are also 2 Singapores - the one of the Singaporeans, and the one lived in by the ex-pat community. The ex-pats largely live in privately owned condo buildings, and often live near/in the city centre, never venturing into the rest of the country, known as "the heartlands." They even seem to function in a different economy, spending entirely different (aka higher) amounts on food and amenities. Still, I'm lucky - I get to live in the heartlands, work with and teach Singaporeans, but escape into the Western ex-pat community when I want to. There are places on the island when you would swear you were at home - I think this is in part why Singapore is sometimes called "Asia light."
Consumerism also permeates, and I have never seen so many malls in my life. Orchard Road is a famous shopping mecca, though I found it incredibly overwhelming - mall after mall after store after store, and throngs of people... I couldn't deal with it. Another large adjustment has been the weather - I have heard Singapore described as a "wet oven," and I will vouch for the accuracy of the image. Basically, it's hot. Really, really hot. I literally have never sweated this much in my life. What's worse, the locals tell me the last week has been quite cool by Singaporean standards (I was sure they were kidding. They weren't). Though I am already a bit more used to it than the first days, I can already tell I'm going to miss waking up to a crisp fall morning... I've given up on looking like anything but a sweaty frizz-ball.
I've been here over a week now, but already it feels like ages. I will write again soon about my school and the people I've met, and I'll post picture of my apartment (though I mentioned the stress of finding a place, by the way, I'm glad to say I've found a great place, in an awesome location, with wonderful roommates - so no need to worry!). I miss you all already and I can't wait to hear back from you - Please write soon with news!
love love love,
Miriam xoxox
One of the great benefits of this diversity is the incredible variety of food that is available around every corner. Singapore is definitely a foodie's paradise, and food is a national obsession. Hawker Centres are a staple - like a food court, they consist of about 6 to 12 food stalls surrounding clusters of tables. Each hawker centre has stalls with every kind of food imaginable (Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian...), and as a new-comer the choices are a bit overwhelming. However, I am starting to decipher the types and styles, and I can certainly appreciate the price - hawker centre food tends to cost between 3 and 5 Singaporean dollars (Sing Dollars, as they call them) for a generous portion. I have not yet worked up the courage to try Fish Head Curry, a local favourite, but I'm determined to at some point - I think the key is not to look directly into the fish's eyeball...
Along with the variety of food comes eclectic architecture. Remnants of colonial buildings sprinkle the island, while in the city centre bizarre modern buildings spring up all around. Throw a variety of Asian influences into the mix, and you've got quite the mixed landscape. Unfortunately, finding a place to live has been a stressful and time consuming occupation, so I haven't seen a single tourist-y attraction, but there's plenty of time for that. Still, it's hard not to be impressed by this country. The city is incredibly clean, safe, very beautiful, and very intelligently planned. There are gorgeous green spaces all around, palm trees line the streets, and the subway system (called the MRT) is spotless and uber-efficient. When I say spotless I'm not exaggerating - all completely modern, not a speck of dust to be seen, energy-efficient escalators that speed up when you step on them, never more than a 5 minute wait for the train... I think the Montreal/Toronto subways will seem simply inadequate in comparison upon my I return!
On some levels, Singapore seems a bit paradisaical. The country is beautiful, clean, tropical (I will get to weather in a second), has an excellent education system (which I will discuss another time - this post is getting long!), a world-class health care system, and is incredibly efficient. To illustrate - the day we moved into the apartment (by "we" I mean my new roommates and I: Katie from Chicago and Nick from the UK - both teachers as well, they are just lovely), my housing agent had a guy in to service the air conditioning, found us beds and had them delivered, and called an internet provider who came within the hour and set up our connection in 5 minutes, all within the space of a few hours - all things that would take a couple days each to deal with at home. Yet all of these wonders come at the cost of social control - the government here is a democracy in theory, and a dictatorship in essence. They control all the media, and keep a tight grip on the population - for instance, 85% of Singaporeans live in government housing, called HDB flats (Housing Development Board). On the one hand, this means that housing is affordable for almost all citizens (basically, there is a large middle class, and small upper/lower classes). Simultaneously, this gives the government incredible control - for example, you can only buy an apartment (rather than rent) if you are married (and fyi homosexuality is illegal here - although there is a bit of a "don't ask, don't tell" attitude). Even renting includes an application process, which allows the government all access to you and your cohabitants information. Still, the people here can't complain, because their standard of living is so much higher than those in most surrounding countries.
There are also 2 Singapores - the one of the Singaporeans, and the one lived in by the ex-pat community. The ex-pats largely live in privately owned condo buildings, and often live near/in the city centre, never venturing into the rest of the country, known as "the heartlands." They even seem to function in a different economy, spending entirely different (aka higher) amounts on food and amenities. Still, I'm lucky - I get to live in the heartlands, work with and teach Singaporeans, but escape into the Western ex-pat community when I want to. There are places on the island when you would swear you were at home - I think this is in part why Singapore is sometimes called "Asia light."
Consumerism also permeates, and I have never seen so many malls in my life. Orchard Road is a famous shopping mecca, though I found it incredibly overwhelming - mall after mall after store after store, and throngs of people... I couldn't deal with it. Another large adjustment has been the weather - I have heard Singapore described as a "wet oven," and I will vouch for the accuracy of the image. Basically, it's hot. Really, really hot. I literally have never sweated this much in my life. What's worse, the locals tell me the last week has been quite cool by Singaporean standards (I was sure they were kidding. They weren't). Though I am already a bit more used to it than the first days, I can already tell I'm going to miss waking up to a crisp fall morning... I've given up on looking like anything but a sweaty frizz-ball.
I've been here over a week now, but already it feels like ages. I will write again soon about my school and the people I've met, and I'll post picture of my apartment (though I mentioned the stress of finding a place, by the way, I'm glad to say I've found a great place, in an awesome location, with wonderful roommates - so no need to worry!). I miss you all already and I can't wait to hear back from you - Please write soon with news!
love love love,
Miriam xoxox
Blogging
Dear family and friends,
As most of you know, I have just moved to Singapore to teach on a 15 month contract (ending in December 2010). I've decided a blog is the best way to offer a window into my life, so here goes... Hope you enjoy it and please leave comments/write to me to share your life as well!
Amour et bisous,
Miriam xoxo
As most of you know, I have just moved to Singapore to teach on a 15 month contract (ending in December 2010). I've decided a blog is the best way to offer a window into my life, so here goes... Hope you enjoy it and please leave comments/write to me to share your life as well!
Amour et bisous,
Miriam xoxo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)