Stay-at-Home Dad Week 1 – Top 10 Things I’ve Learned

Now it may sound like I’m complaining but, to clarify, I’m just sharing some lessons learned. I love spending time with Avery. These past few weeks have been great and I’m going to be very sad when I have to go back to work.

10. Hydrate continuously! While we normally bring around a cup for Avery (see…we’re actually pretty good parents), it’s even more crucial here. If we’re going to be gone for an extended period, we need to plan to bring a refill or buy some because her cup won’t be enough. Also, we’re going to need to use insulated cups to keep her water from boiling (so hot here). Scout will need one, too.  

9. Hand sanitizer is key. While Singapore is probably cleaner than any other city we’ve lived in, it’s still a city and Avery’s a curious child. From the subway to the new bugs she meets, she’s bound to pick up some germs. I guess we’re doing well so far because we’ve gone 3 weeks without Avery being sick (if you know her, you know that’s an accomplishment).

8. When leaving the house, assume that I’m going to end up carrying everything at some point. While several of the places here are kid-friendly, I am relying on the subway and underground walkways to get around.  So on my trip to the kids’ mall (of all places), I should have assumed that I would be scaling several staircases carrying Avery’s bag and stroller in one hand and holding her hand with the other. Quite a workout since, relative to other Singapore strollers, we have an SUV.

7. Have the camera ready. Avery’s been so sweet. I walked in on her a few times while she was either reading a book to her stuffed animals (usually Cookie Monster and Taio her dog) or singing Hushabye to them. It’s amazing that just 2 years ago, she was just getting ready to turn 4 weeks old.

6. Snacks go everywhere. Just like all humans, Avery’s an emotional eater. Slipping her some raisins during a temper tantrum is like firing a tranquilizer into a ferocious lion. Thank you, California, for your delicious and calming gift.

5. When she naps, I rest. I give stay-at-home moms/dads, full-time nannies, hired live-in helpers, etc. credit. It’s draining. I’m sure the heat and humidity don’t help, either.

4. I’m still a man. Today was Avery’s first day at school. I found myself hanging out in the parents’ lounge sipping coffee with several moms, cross-legged (it’s offensive to show the bottom of your shoes here), reading my book, and wearing a pink shirt (when in Rome…). Sorry…this may be normal for some people, but it’s new for me.



1st day of school...before the chaos

3. Schedule a taxi AHEAD OF TIME during rush hour. Up until today, we’ve had no trouble getting taxis. Perhaps it’s because we weren’t calling them during rush hour. Perhaps. So of course on Avery’s first day of school, we added some excitement by speed walking to town after no taxis were responding and roamed the streets trying to hail a cab (not literally – Avery was safe). Then, I saw an almost-fight break out between 2 girls over a taxi - the one basically pulled the other out because she jumped the taxi line. We ended up getting in a little late, but it could have been worse – I was already walking back home to give up on day 1 when I got a call that my taxi arrived. Meanwhile, Avery seemed to enjoy it since daddy was running and laughing (hysterically) and looking the other way when he was swearing under his breath.  

2. Sunscreen, then reapply, then reapply, then reapply… We lost track of time the other day and we all got a little singed. Poor Avery. It’s not as bad as we originally thought, but it was too close of a call for her precious skin.

1. When in doubt, Wiggles. Avery loves the Wiggles and can’t get enough of them. She actually watched the same episode of the Australian kid-band 8 times on the 19-hour flight to Singapore. We sing and dance to them daily. Now if I could just get those catchy songs out of my head! Seriously, it's driving me insane.

Work Week One- Top 10 Things I've Learned

10)  Commuting footwear is a critical determining factor for how the entire day will go- even my "comfortable" flats are not comfortable when you have about 20 minutes of walking + 2 trains... flipflops are the way to go!  Strangely very few people wear commuting footwear, so maybe I need to buy some shoes here- they must be more comfortable than mine!
9)  The last toilet in the restrooms at work are the "squatty" toilets... not gonna happen.  I will wait.
8)  Paper in Singapore is oddly a different size than in the US??  I thought 8.5 x 11 was standard... nope- it appears that it's about a 1/4 inch skinnier and 3/4 inch longer here.  Pretty random.
7)  The right way to request an introduction meeting is NOT to ask the person to send you reading material ahead of time so you can "make the best use of their time"... ooops... apparently you are supposed to just chat.  Stupid, stupid mistake.  But no worries, people just won't respond to your request to meet until you say you just want to chat... then suddenly everyone is quite nice and forgiving of the stupid American :)
6)  The cafeteria at work is about taking risks... you just have to go for it and hope that what you've pointed to will taste good... the good news is that everything seems to cost $3.20 SGD (so about $2.50 USD) so I guess I could always just try again if I strike out the first time!
5)  Japanese women have some of the same issues as American women... not enough time in their busy lives, the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, and they need more self confidence.
4) My coworkers seem to expect that Americans are usually overweight (no surprise and a fair point- we had a very long discussion about Cheesecake Factory) and politically correct (this was very surprising to me... wait till they know me a little better!)
3) Japanese women are very aware of the harmful effects of UV (mostly from a beauty standpoint- tan lines or sun tanned skin are viewed as embarrassing) and wear products with sunscreen pretty much every single day.
2) There is free Coke Lite in the work refrigerators .. score.
1) The body care market in Asia is huge and growing!  $4.3B USD... Japan and China are the biggest markets.... I have so much to learn but I'm really excited about it!

New Apartment: Virtual Tour

We just finished week 2 of our life in Singapore – another great week. We moved into our permanent apartment where we signed a 2-year lease – Parvis in Holland Village. This place is amazing. It’s basically a resort. Thank you, J&J!! We also pretty much have it to ourselves. There are about 250 units here and I was told we were the 7^th family to move in. So while Carly and I are enjoying having the pools to ourselves to go for our morning swims, I’m sure Avery is anxious to get some friends to play with. The sliding doors in our living room open up practically all the way so we’ve been taking advantage of the open air living – and we’re trying not to spoil ourselves with AC. We do go through a ton of water to stay hydrated, though. The humidity is unbelievable.

Here is a virtual tour:



View from the deck



Private elevator ("lift")



Avery chillin in the living room





Modern kitchen



Master with entrance to balcony



Avery's room





Taking full advantage of the 3 pools





Getting help from Avery's animal friends



We spent most of this week receiving furniture, buying more furniture and assembling furniture.  We did find time to get out to Holland Village. It has restaurants with every type of cuisine. We continued our experimenting with Singapore western food J.  We met up for some Mexican food with my friend from high school Pat, who moved out here a couple of months ago.

   



PSU on local TV...and they win!



Steelers, too!!



We finally got our cable and internet hook-up this week. The cable takes some getting used to, but it’s pretty intuitive once you learn what channels we did and did not sign up for. We also get free previews of certain HD channels every weekend. It’s HUGE because one of the channels called All Sports Network showed the Penn State and Steelers games this weekend. Somebody is looking out for me.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we went to Star Mall. I found the picture I took and wanted to post it. The architecture out here is amazing - very modern.



Welcome to Singapore, Scout!



Family Reunion



Scout (our dog) got in on Thursday!! We are so relieved. She flew out from the US on Tuesday. We paid a service to handle pretty much all aspects of the shipping. There are so many rules that have to be followed to get a dog into Singapore. They really don’t want rabies to get to the island...but come on! It seems like they just want to discourage you to bring your dog with you rather than expecting these measures to actually turn away rabies-infected animals. The service was VERY expensive, but we didn’t want to risk anything. We couldn’t imagine Scout getting over here and not being allowed into the country because we forgot some minute detail. After 2 rabies shots, 2 rabies tests, treatment for internal and external parasites, a lot of paperwork (with a signoff by the USDA) and more than a full day of traveling, she’s here!



The 2 seconds that Avery allowed me to
show affection to Scout instead of her



Scout’s in a quarantine facility for 10 days. We were able to visit her on Friday and Saturday and plan to visit her this week, as well. We were pleasantly surprised by the quarantine facility. Like the Ministry of Manpower we mentioned in an earlier blog, this government-run facility seems to be high quality. They were very courteous and asked for any suggestions we had to make Scout’s stay pleasant. She was so happy to see us. It was sad when we had to leave - she just wanted to go home with us. We brought in her bed from home so hopefully that helps. The worst part is that she hates thunder and there have been thunderstorms pretty much every day so far (I don't think that will change). Hopefully, the peanut butter Kix snacks that Carly brought in for her relieved some of that anxiety.



Girl's best friend



We can’t wait for the 10 days to pass. Avery had been asking for her and got really excited when we told her that we were going to visit Scout. Avery loved throwing the ball to her, too, and I think Scout needed that workout.

FDW Certified

I mentioned a few posts ago that we are hiring a helper, known officially as a Foreign Domestic Worker.  In order to secure a work permit for Jennifer, our FDW, I had to take a 90 minute (not 3.5 hours as I previously thought) online course to learn how to be an appropriate employer and what all the employment laws are for FDWs.  I envisioned something super boring... but wow, it was anything but.



First of all, my overall impression of the training was that they provided some helpful information (for example, we need to pay for Jennifer's journey home after her contract is over with us.)  But throughout the training, I felt like the the nature in which they spoke of the Foreign Domestic Worker made me very uncomfortable.... like this person is a pet, not a human.  That's a blunt as I can be about it.  It actually made me a little sick.  

In addition, there were several elements of the training that focused on how not to treat your FDW. The graphics are a bit ridiculous, which is why I had to show them here, but the fact that they need to include this is in the training reveals a very real issue in Singapore- mistreatment of helpers.  Throughout the training, the government (Ministry of Manpower) really drives this home.  They cover abuse, they cover not docking pay for mistakes, they cover what constitutes a balanced diet (they show a food pyramid), they cover what adequate rest should be for a woman who is working as an FDW.  And they they even show newspaper clips of stories of employers who were caught abusing their FDWs and the ramifications.  That said, I think the ramifications for mistreating a helper (see visual) are pretty minor (2 weeks in jail) considering you can apparently be sentenced to death for trafficking pain killers here.

I'm trying to be open minded- I appreciate that the MOM requires this training.  They did have sections about how to reduce miscommunications due to language barrier and how to create a good relationship through positive reinforcement.   They also have a section on other options instead of hiring an FDW.  They are obviously making an attempt to improve conditions, but I can only imagine what is going on behind closed doors for some of these women.  I keep envisioning the movie "The Help" and wonder if we are doing the right thing by contributing to this industry... but at the same time, for everyone reading this, obviously you know that Rob and I will treat Jennifer as we would a nanny in the United States, and we will make her part of our family.  

From Car to Cart

We don’t have a car.  Cars are wildly expensive here (easily $1500 USD+ per month to lease plus gas which is about $6 USD per gallon here), but we could have leased one and made it work if we wanted to- we simply decided we’d rather try to take advantage of the famed public transportation in Singapore (and there was no way in hell I was planning to take up driving on the left side of the road on the crazy streets of Singapore). 

The public transportation has lived up to my expectations so far- the MRT is easy, clean and reliable, (admittedly I can’t speak for the bus system yet but I hear it’s great) and the taxis are abundant and efficient.  There is even an app that you download (see screen shot) to book a cab that blows my mind in its efficiency.  It automatically detects your location (a really nice feature when you are new to a city and usually have no idea where you are!) and tells you how long it will take for a cab to come to your door- you can even track the taxi’s progress en route to your location via GPS!  If you change your mind and want to cancel, you can do it with a tap of a button- amazing.   

But beyond taking advantage of public transportation for the sake of it, truth be told, we are also enjoying the idea of proving to ourselves that we can shed our suburban American lifestyle and become true urbanites by not relying on a car.  It has only been two weeks, but thus far, I have two challenges with this.  #1, I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable having my 2 year old ride around in a taxi without a carseat.  We are investigating portable carseats- not ideal, but better than nothing. Today it was pouring rain and I was nervous the entire ride, trying to plan my reaction if god forbid we got into an accident.  

And #2 issue with the no car situation is grocery shopping.  The good thing is that there is a Cold Storage grocery store about a third of a mile from our home… but there are a few catches to what otherwise sounds like a really convenient situation. 

1.       First the obvious- it is 90+ degrees here and humid (and/or raining).  So any journey is a bit of cardiovascular workout.    But that’s fine- I can simply tell myself this is my workout, and obviously we knew it would be hot when we decided to move to Singapore! 
2.      Second, to walk there, you have to go down a path with a bunch of brick steps… and then of course to come back, you have to go UP a path with a bunch of brick steps.  Hmmm… with no car, Singaporeans transport groceries in these cute little wheeled carts (ours is from Ikea of course).  Wheels + stairs is not really a great mix (nevermind if you have a baby stroller too!)  Avery is getting really good at the stairs.
3.       But most importantly…This cute little cart is actually really not big enough (and ours is on the larger side!) for my primal hunter/gatherer instincts of needing to have a many day stockpile of food and supplies!  I am used to buying whatever I want at the grocery store with pretty much no constraints.  We have 70lb bag of dog food for our 25lb dog.  I love Costco!  I love the value size! Now, I find myself prioritizing feverishly with a whole different purchase decision hierarchy (for those brand marketers reading this).  It used to be brand then price… suddenly the size and weight of what I’m buying is a critically important element- and smaller is always better.    

SO, what ends up happening is that we pretty much can only buy enough food for the next 2-3 days.  It’s definitely a great way to be healthy because we can easily keep buying fresh foods, but I am coming face to face with my own weird anxiety about not having enough food (and toilet paper, paper towels, etc.) in the house!  Luckily, this is where having our helper, Jennifer, do the marketing will be an amazing… well, help.  She starts November 1^st though… so until then… it’s the cart on the brick steps… very frequently.  

Week 1 Score: Barons 14, Singapore 13

It was a close battle this week, but the Barons ended on top. With focus and strategery, we were able to overcame our first food court experience with Avery (for newbies like us, sort of felt like soup nazi from Seinfeld), hailing a cab illegally from the street, scaling 30+ stairs carrying Avery in her stroller, IKEA, jogging in 85% humidity, Avery's 12-hour jet lag, a broken washer and dryer, getting locked out of our apartment in 90-degree heat with frozen groceries, and other things that I have since blocked from my memory.



Tough day



Familiar friends

With all that said, we still came out on top. It really was a great week. Between Tuesday and Thursday, we bought most of the furniture and appliances we'll need. We shopped at IKEA (it's exactly the same here as in the US - a stressful maze) and a furniture mall (they have malls for everything here). We got our appliances at a local place called Best Denki. It was a mediocre Denki, at best. I tried my hand at negotiating prices and I give myself a C+. We also bought a TV on craigslist, which seems to be used mostly by expats.



Dolphins!



Carly went to work on Friday, so Avery and I went swimming. We actually did a good amount of swimming this week. Avery calls it "kicking" because that's what we tell her when we're trying to teach her to swim. She also calls it being a dolphin because Carly's dad had told her one time that there were dolphins in the pool - now she wants to be one. I think we were at the playground at 7 pm, 8 pm and as late as 1 am this week with Avery's jet lag. She didn't seem to mind. It seems like all apartments here have more than 1 pool on site. Our temporary place has a big pool and 2 small kiddy pools.

We've done a lot of grocery shopping this week. Carly mentioned that we go to Cold Storage. We actually found a much better location that has so much more variety of our favorite brands. We found lite Ranch!! Of course it's about double the cost as the US, but it's good to know we can find stuff we know we like.



Future gymnast



We've done a lot of riding the MRT (train) system, too. It's really easy. It can be crowded, but it's manageable. It's weird that almost everybody has a smartphone or tablet and they watch tv for the entire ride. Maybe that's the norm for people who regularly use trains, but we're from the burbs. Avery loves the "choo choo" and we can see it from our temporary apartment. She waves to "the people" throughout the day. She also likes to warn people of the "gap" when exiting the train.

We learned this week that the respectful name to call people is "auntie" and "uncle". For instance, Avery will have a ton of aunties - her bus driver, her helper, etc. I would liken it to calling somebody sir or ma'am in the US, but even more frequently used here. I heard our consultant call the taxi driver "uncle". That's going to take some getting used to.





Chijmes Courtyard



OK...to warn you, we haven't done a ton of experimenting with food. There's plenty of time for that. We're hoping our helper will gradually introduce the food to Avery so we're not stuck in a food court with Avery saying no to everything...which is what already happened once. This weekend, we went to Chijmes, which is an area in the city near the Raffles Hotel (famous hotel here) that has a bunch of restaurants. We ended up getting pizza at a nice outdoor italian restaurant called Pizza Giardino.



ICE CREAM!! :)



On Saturday we went to Star Mall (we forgot to take pictures, but the building is amazing and it's brand new). We went to Senor Taco there...which is, of course, Mexican. Not the best service, but another good outdoor eating location. One thing we noticed is that napkins are difficult to find here. In the US, you can grab as many as you want. Here, some places don't give you any or they charge you for them. We've also had our share of ice cream and chocolate. I must say that I was concerned about it being difficult to find sweets here...for Avery, of course.

 



Carly and Avery sitting down for a picnic



We went to the Botanic Gardens today. That place is amazingly beautiful. They have a kid's park that Avery loved...especially the water fountains she ran through. We saw lots of dogs in the park, so it was nice to know our little Scouty is not going to be alone in this city. It's a great place for a run, too.



Posing at the turtle pond (some on the rocks behind Carly).





Giant lilly pads with a waterfall backdrop







We're going to do our best taking pictures of "interesting" things we see that we're just not used to in the US. I've posted a couple of pictures below with some mixed messages. If I do something wrong, I really hope I only have to deal with the first guy...

 

 Thanks for checking in!



Helper/Maid/Nanny... here we come! Carly's Point of View

Day 3- Big day with consultant Roseanne.  We got our Singpasses... which is basically registering ourselves with the Singapore government so we can access certain websites.  In the US, this would be a painful endeavor... anything that is a government process is painful (trust me, Rob just looked into absentee ballots for the election... it's basically impossible to vote, and of course the DMV is another example) but in Singapore, it's the opposite.  Whether it's getting a Singpass or going to the equivalent of Immigration, Singapore has their act together!  Everything is efficient, orderly, high tech... but also shepherded by polite, well-skilled technicians. Fairly amazing for Americans used to utter chaos, delays and rude people everywhere you turn when you have to work with any government process.  Now that we have our Singpasses, we can register for our Foreign Domestic Worker online orientation class (3.5 hours of online training so we can learn how to employ a helper/nanny/maid from outside Singapore).  Much more to come on that topic.

From there, we took a big step- we visited a "maid agency".  Many folks reading this will already know that this is element of our Singapore adventure that has given me the most angst- but for those who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me share some of the basics.  With two working parents and pre-school for Avery only 3 mornings a week, a helper/maid/nanny is the only way to go in Singapore.  In the States, a live-in nanny and maid is a huge luxury, but here in Singapore, it’s the norm for even families who don’t make very high salaries.  In fact, the affordable domestic worker industry has enabled a very high % of women to enter the workforce (much higher than other parts of Asia).  These women usually come from the Philippines, Indonesia or China and make about ~$400-$450 US dollars PER MONTH with one day per week off (usually, but not always).  As an employer, you also agree cover insurance, housing and food for the helper.  Almost every newer condo in Singapore is required to have a bomb shelter (usually off of the the outdoor area where the washer and dryer are), and these rooms double as “maid quarters” for most families.  There is also a small bathroom near the bomb shelters.  The Singapore government makes a huge profit on the Foreign Domestic Helper business- you have to pay $265 Singapore dollars per month to the government.    

When we came for our Look See, we visited a maid agency as well, and honestly, we both got a pretty sick feeling from it.  The room had been piled up with suitcases of women who were clearly between families, probably desperate to be hired before being deported, and the women in charge talked about the "girls" as nothing more than a commodity (and I think we were still at one of the better agencies).  This time, Roseanne took us to a different place where we met with Miss Connie.  Miss Connie listened to all of our needs and then let us look through the hand written bios of a few women that she thought might work.  Unlike the first agency we had visited, Miss Connie doesn't post her maids' biodata on the internet.  If you are ever curious, google Singapore Maid and you can view hundreds of women who are eager to come work in Singapore- it will blow your mind.  In our situation, Miss Connie said that we could actually come interview the following day... whoa... that is fast!

So while we toured Singapore for the next few hours learning where to buy electronics, furniture, toys, etc., Roseanne kept up a nonstop commentary on what she knows about hiring a maid.  We totally lucked out with Roseanne!  She had hired many, many helpers/maids in the past for fancy clients "high commissioner” this and that and she had a lot of great pointers on what to ask, what to look for, you name it.

You would be amazed at what types of questions you are not only permitted to ask, but should ask to make sure you end up with a helper who will be the right fit for your family.

That night, I did some additional research on the internet of questions to ask, compiled that with what Roseanne had said, and then added in my own touch… all the great stuff J&J has taught me about behavioral interviewing, establishing rapport in the interview, etc.  Rob made fun of me, rightfully so!  

We actually only interviewed three people, and Jennifer was the middle person.  She is 30 years old, non-married/no kids, from the Phillippines, likely under 4’10, and working in Singapore to support her siblings in school.  She has a degree in computer science from the Phillippines and takes classes in graphic design sometimes on her day off.  Without getting into the answers to every question… she simply fit everything we were looking for and she had a great rapport with Avery and a really nice energy.  But what really sealed it is the reference from her current employer.  I spoke to the reference right after the interview and she said that she and her family were “devastated” to be losing Jennifer and that they had not had a single problem or issue with her in the 4 years she had been working with them… .that’s pretty amazing as I’m fairly certain none of my bosses can say that about me!  So we hired her immediately with a $100 raise vs. her previous employer before the Scottish lady in the interview room next to us could snatch her up… fingers crossed that she is as wonderful as we hope!    

So in order of priorities… we are making some amazing progress in making the most important decisions in our life in Singapore!  Lots more to come on this topic in future posts.

The first few days... Carly's viewpoint

The linear thing to do would be to start at the beginning... how did we end up in Singapore?  How was our first visit to Singapore... but I'm not the linear one.  I need to jump right in and tell you what's been happening  once we arrived in Singapore on Saturday October 8th... or as the date is captured in Singapore (all of Asia?) 8/10/12.  I promise we won't bore you guys with a day by day account of the next 730 days, but I know some of you (okay, mainly our Moms) want to know everything... so here goes :)

The days before we got on our Singapore Airlines flight were so insanely chaotic (packing house into air, sea and storage, selling house, living in hotel with child and dog, visiting with family and friends, 2 year old birthday party, saying goodbye to Splenda) that I honestly don't think I truly registered that we were really gone (and all that meant!) until we got our luggage in the Singapore airport.  Suddenly it hit me.  It was exciting, but nerve-racking.  It was one thing for Rob and I to visit Singapore for a week on our "Look-See" but quite another for us to suddenly have our 2 year old in a foreign country that we know very little about... that's when primal instincts kick in... find shelter, food, and in 2012... a cell phone number.  

Day 1... After loading all of our stuff (5 giant checked bags, 6 carry-ons, 1 stroller and 2 adults and 1 toddler) into a giant van, we whisked away to our temporary apartment.  This was the first (of many, already) where Avery was riding in a vehicle with no car seat   As a suburban mom, this is a very new concept!  Obviously Avery thought this was the best thing in the world.  With no car seat, she could get an excellent view of her favorite type of vehicle- the numerous motorcycles zooming through Singapore... if the ride is any indication, Avery will love it here.  

massive infinity pool at Parvis

huge kiddie pool (one of 2-3)

The temporary apartment (Queens- 12 Stirling Road) is fine- the outside is awesome, great pools, playground, close to MRT (that's the train/subway here), but the inside is a little odd.  100% Ikea (hey I love Ikea, but it's truly bizarre, apparently Ikea really does sell everything), somewhat outdated, and a few odd odors.  We were so tired we barely cared, and the lackluster temporary apartment heightened the drama of our permanent apartment grand reveal.  At 10:30 our relocation rep (Roseanne from Australia) picked us up to go see our new apartment.  The apartment building is called Parvis (18 Holland Hill) and it is brand new.  To say it's beautiful doesn't do it justice.  We'll have more pics once we move in, but all I can say is that the back-and-forth of finding an apartment was worth it because we ended up in this fantastic place.  

After the apartment viewing, Roseanne (our consultant) took us to a local grocery store so we could procure the necessities.  I have to say, both Rob and I were nearly delirious and Avery was starting to lose it, so it's a wonder we got anything of use... but luckily the grocery store "Cold Storage" is the name of the chain, had a bunch of American brands (you can indeed buy Skippy Reduced Fat peanut butter AND Smuckers sugar-free grape jelly with Splenda... so we'll survive).   While pricey, a few comforts from home was worth it for our our foggy brains. Sadly, we later lost our coveted $8 box of Honey Bunches of Oats to a fierce invasion of ants, leading us to later start storing literally everything in the fridge. 

After another long nap, we checked out the pool at our temporary residence.  Avery had a blast- she's now dunking herself under water on her own and enjoys saying "kick-kick-kick" as she tries to swim.  We were super impressed and also made a note that she needs swim lessons asap or we'll be having heart attacks every time we go to the pool. And, to end our very first day in Singapore on a great note, we had a surprise visit from a fellow colleague who just move to Singapore.  Russ brought us some amazing treats- home made chocolate chip cookies, a cell phone to borrow and home made cards from his kids (including babysitting coupons- yes please!).  It was such a nice welcome!

Day 2-  The big accomplishment on Sunday was finally securing a local number.  I say "finally" because we had to visit multiple establishments, 2 malls and take multiple MRT rides to get a sim card.  Interestingly, 7-11 is the main place to go to buy a sim card or a pay-as-you-go "top-up card" for mobile phones and they are EVERYWHERE... so this should have been easy, but systems were down on Sunday.   We finally conquered our challenge by visiting one of the local cell phone service providers "Star Hub" and buying a sim directly from them.  I have to say, not having a cell phone is a very unnerving thing, even when your 2 miles from your home... so being nearly 10,000 miles away, securing cell service was a huge step for us!  Local number is +65 8117 4344 (fyi).

To summarize... in two days we secured the basics:  Shelter, food and cell phone number.  Congratulations to us!  

Welcome to the Baron Family Blog!

Welcome to the Baron Family blog!  We hope you enjoy experiencing the wonders of Asia right along with us over the next two years!  We can assure you that in addition to learning a few things, you will definitely also get a laugh from our oh-so-American bumbles and observations.

This blog will be a family effort... you'll see posts from both Carly and Rob, and probably an overload of Avery pictures- we apologize in advance... she's just a super cute prop for every photo!

Enjoy!