I finally found a post office nearby so I'll be better about sending birthday cards now that I know where to go. The post office doesn't just handle the mail. You can pay your electric bill there, pay your government fees for your housekeeper, take care of parking fines, etc. As it turns out, I guess it's a pretty important spot to know about! Emily the social butterfly made her presence known in the Sing Post office. "Hi!" at the top of her lungs, followed by smiles, giggles, and lots of "Bye Bye!" when we were done. Of course, the ladies behind the counter chatted with her and before we left, they gave her a teddy bear. I reminded Emily how being friendly (and adorable) pays off.
Teddy joined us at the grocery store where I was thrilled to find a couple new items on the shelf this week. I bought a box of PopTarts (for Megan and Brian) and some graham crackers. Oh, how I miss the graham crackers. I have been eating butter crackers as a substitute but there's nothing like the taste of grahams. They were on sale too so I bought two boxes -- one I gladly shared with the girls and the second is stashed away for a rainy day. From what I can tell, the imported food selection varies by store and timing. I was forewarned that if I see something good, I should buy plenty because it may not appear again for awhile. So, that was our fun Monday surprise.
Elizabeth seems to be doing well at her preschool. She tells me that she doesn't cry anymore and since she's happy about going, I'll take that as a positive sign. I had a humbling moment when she brought books home in her backpack. We sat down to have a snack and she asked if I could read her books. Unfortunately I had to say, "Sorry, Elizabeth, I can't read them." They were written in Chinese. I really thought that my children would be in high school before I couldn't keep up with homework but I guess I was wrong! A couple days ago she was selecting a book from home to read at bedtime and asked, "Can you read this one, Mommy?" How nice that my 3 year old questions my literacy.
Tuesday I attended a Pilates class for the first time in several months. After religiously going to my Saturday morning class back in Southlake, I had to give it up when Brian started traveling over here in the fall. While at the school coffee last week, I met a woman who has been teaching small groups in her apartment. I went to her class with my friend Rachel and it was a good workout so I hope to make it there twice a week. In a place where swimsuit season never ends, one must stay in shape!
After my class, I took the E girls down to the pool and met a fellow Texan in the process. Her name is Karen and she has a 21-month son. They're from the Houston area and we seem to have much in common. I was thrilled to find another American mom like myself with a toddler at our complex because most of the women I come across are either Asian and send the helper down to the pool with the children or they are Australian and they mingle within their own group. It made my day to meet someone else who could so well relate to the adjustment of living so far from Texas. She has a Southern accent that was lovely to hear again.
Wednesday night was Emily's turn to dine out with Brian and me, so we took our little rice eater to a nearby hawker stand. Hawkers offer simple Asian dishes and they're cheap. It typically costs $20 for our entire family to eat at the hawker and the food is nothing fancy but it's decent. This time around we ordered fried rice, barbecued pork and noodles and Emily had a nice little feast. This morning I went to Megan's school to help out in the classroom. It was great to meet Megan's classmates and while I enjoyed volunteering, I left school thinking that I would probably drink alcohol more often if I taught kindergarten. 
Megan was excited that I went up there and I promised her I'd return soon to eat lunch with her. The drive took about 30 minutes with no traffic so it's a haul. SAS is one of the only places I get teary-eyed in Singapore. I have no logical explanation for it as I know it's a great school and Megan is happy there -- I guess I just miss our neighborhood school.
Megan was excited that I went up there and I promised her I'd return soon to eat lunch with her. The drive took about 30 minutes with no traffic so it's a haul. SAS is one of the only places I get teary-eyed in Singapore. I have no logical explanation for it as I know it's a great school and Megan is happy there -- I guess I just miss our neighborhood school. I read today that Singapore was once again chosen as the best city for expatriates in Asia. Based on my experiences here so far, I'm certainly not surprised by the ranking. I'm beginning to feel comfortable enough with the city to appreciate why expats choose to stay here. I have a really easy life these days and given the choice, it must be tempting to hold onto that lifestyle.
I'll close with a little tidbit from the Singapore Straits Times that Brian asked me to share. He found it amusing that we've now lived in 3 of the world's top 10 most expensive cities...
SINGAPORE has become a more expensive city to live in, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit . It moved up five notches - from 15th spot six months ago - to become the 10th costliest city to live in the world, said the EIU in a survey on the worldwide cost of living released on Monday.
EIU Survey's 10 most expensive cities
1.Tokyo 2.Osaka 3.Paris 4.Copenhagen 5.Oslo 6. Zurich 7. Frankfurt 7.Helsinki 9.Geneva 10.Singapore
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_348236.html
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