(jane on parajump)
I love reading the Shenzhen Daily, our local newspaper that comes in English. Today's edition told of the brands of bottled water that are unsafe because of bacteria and metal content. Helpful. There was also a rush on c-sections hoping to give birth before the first day of the academic year. In China children are only admitted to first grade if they turn 6 before Sept. 1. "the rule, combined with limited educational resources and increasingly fierce competition for places at schools, has spawned a mad dash of mothers getting c-sections in late August each year since it was implemented." Then there are the bizarre stories…A veteran airborne high risk thief who was stealing from other passenger's luggage mid-flight (keep an eye on your carry-ons in the overhead) and "Is noise driving expats away?" (we don't realize how bad it is until we visit somewhere else and it feels eerily quiet.)
(our faces when we read that...^)
In other news, the Mesa School Online program updates the system over night once in a while so the kids had a bonus day off since it's daytime for us. (Fri- I just got an email today that said the site was down until further notice, yikes!)
Tuesday: I tried to get to the ferry building to buy tickets to the airport all day. It got to be after 7 PM so I just walked down there in the dark. I found an older couple walking that way so I got real close and pretended I was with them. Todd's driver picked me up on the way home from work. Kids are buzzing with excitement, packing and getting ready to go to Singapore tomorrow morning. ( When we got back, in the paper it said there was a handicapped man who would hire motor cab drivers and kill them with an ax...three of them, one was right at the ferry building, less than a mile from where we live, and at the exact place where I walked alone in the dark, one day later.)
Wednesday: Almost missed the ferry for the second time in a week. It's hard to get a taxi lately. Todd took Brooke, Brynn and Sophie, Brig and I finally got a taxi, ferried to the airport, checked in and sat down to Popeye's chicken...tradition. We liked the changes on the plane...cup holder so you don't have to have your whole tray down, outlet behind tray so you don't leave it behind, wired head rests that fold out. Didn't like the way the chair slides when you recline. It slides up and your knees knock the chair in front now. We got to watch Million Dollar Arm, a show we tried to find in the states but missed somehow. It was raining when we landed in Singapore. The airport signs and flight information monitors were all sorts of colors...blue, yellow, red, purple. We passed through immigration, bought SIM cards, got cash, and found a taxi to take all 5 of us. He was a great taxi driver...spoke three languages and gave us a list of things to do while we are here. We dropped our things at the hotel and headed out to a glorious food court (the variety!) and night market. The market was at Bugis Street. Busy, busy and lights flashing everywhere. Loud. Crowded. Stopped at McDonald's for hot chocolate only they don't sell it...they sell Milo, iced or hot. Kids weren't fans. Called Todd, swam in the pool, wrote letters to Ally and Chase, watched Man of Steel and went to bed, tired and happy. (Hotel Beds in Asia are mini!)
Thursday: Up and off to universal studios. Had a great day. Brooke was picked to come up and dance with a group and then they said surprise, you will now have a dance off against each other. Two of them went and then Brooke and she pulled out a standing back tuck. The crowd was cheering and the Rockafellas were surprised. Sophie didn't like the roller coasters at first but then was really liking them at the end. The shows were good, food just ok but it made for a fun day. My friend Erika...Todd and I met her almost 20 years ago at BYU, then again in AZ, now lives here and gave us a great list of things to do. (Thanks Erika!) We went to Mustafas, a variety, department store for the most random mix of items...watches, a whole, huge section of rolling suitcases, fabric, kitchen items, groceries, hair things, movies, cds, water bottles, dishes, nike athletic clothes, paper goods, stacks of jeans, and these were just the things near the escalator. It went on and on. We found Brooke a new lens for her camera and then went home. The kids needed a snack so we walked down to the food court. Since it was after 10Pm, the baked goods counters were all discounting. We ordered 3 jumbo cinnamon rolls-blueberry topped, pb&J topped and regular, and 6 cream puffs. Just what you need just before 11PM! We also had some "minced meat mushroom noodles with black sauce" from the street.
Friday: Happy Birthday Ally! My friend is a bishop's wife in Sweden and has Ally's cell number so we were able to get her a message on her birthday. She also sent one back to us! Best thing ever. I sat by the pool while sophie swam. Got some sandwiches and delicious Taiwanese beef noodles (love the toppings...pickled cabbage, chili peppers, cilantro, green onions and a dipping sauce atop noodles, chunks of tender beef and topped with beef broth). We looked around at some of the shops...Cath Kidston and Typo and then caught a taxi to the Singapore Botanical Gardens. Beautiful. We also toured the Orchid Garden, smashed some pennies for souvenirs, walked behind waterfalls, climbed rocks, had drinks under a gazebo overlooking turtles in a lake and took lots of photos. Next we went to Orchard Street where there is mall after mall after mall. We found a whole level of sporting goods stores, so Brigham was happy. We had some treats and Marks and Spencer and then taxied back to the hotel. Perfect timing. A couple taxis after ours, Todd popped out. Welcome to Singapore. The Sears, our neighbors, have talked about the chili crab since we moved in last year. Finally, We had dinner reservations at 9PM at Jumbo Seafood for the much talked about chili crab. After one of our cabs dropping us in the wrong spot (an ally full of bars), and across a busy street, we found the other half of our family. They outfitted us with bibs and plastic gloves, crab crackers and lemon water. The crab was delivered in a sauce in a cast iron pan with steamed buns for dipping. Delicious...and a sauce flavor I can neither describe or remember, it was something I've never tasted before. I just know it was good. The kids had fun trying something new. Sophie just had a taste, Brigham doesn't like seafood but keeps trying to like it. Brooke played around with the claw and kept repeating with plastic gloved jazz hands "it's crab night, it's crab night", Brynn dug right in. We walked down the riverwalk and watched a giant bungee ball shoot up in the air a few times and then called it a night.
Saturday: Kids all still asleep. Today we are going to Sentosa Island to do the zipline and rope climbing course. Taxied then took the monorail to Beach Station, walked about 15 min. (through the strongest man contest) to the entrance to the megazip, ropes climbing course, rock climbing wall, bungee trampoline and parajump-a parachute landing simulator. We passed by sand volleyball courts, tug of war contests, flow rider, indoor skydiving, and beach to get there. We rode a golf cart to the top to begin the adventures. I thought the ropes course would be easy and not scary but I started to get worried after the first section. Yikes! I'm getting too old for things like this. Luckily Todd was right ahead of me and talked me through the course. The kids did great and we all had a fun time.
from Sophie: so this week we went to mega zip and we did ropes corse and it was hard and fun but not so hard at the end and then the parajump and it felt like you fell of a cliff but it had a safe landing and then the mega zip it was a huge zip line and brooke got stuck at the end and the rock wall and bunjijumping so rock wall was brigham brookie and dad and brookie went to the top dad was almost there and brigham's fingers were dead so he didn't get that far and bunji jumping was brynn and me so brynn did 2 back flips and almost 3 i did 1 almost 2 . the end
from Brynn: universal studios was really fun. i was seriously so excited. i jumped, yelled and skipped the whole way to transformers. we went on that like 5 times!! next was the mummy ride. i loved it but sophie cried. (we went on it 3 times after that and then it became her favorite ride:) next we went to far far away for shrek and slushies. they were really good. the shrek ride was like 2 seconds. the water show was cool. really loud though. after that we went to a market and ended up at a camera house arguing with the guy trying to tell him that we dont need a camera lense. (my favorite line: it's like a gift from heaven). hahhaha. mega zip was pretty awesome too. the ropes course was cool but hard. i liked watching sophie do it because she looked really little and cute doing it. the para jump thingy was also really fun. it felt like i was floating kinda. the zip line was one of my favorites. i was hooked on with sophie and that made us go really fast. at the end brooke got stuck so the worker had to go get her. then sophie and i did the trampoline thing. i did double backflips and i also fell on my neck. hope you all have a good week! (I'm done)
from Brooke: Singapore has been so fun! I love all the travel we've been able to get in even if it means lots of online school :). The markets, gardens, restaurants, and parks rock. This place is so picturesque. AND CLEAN!
Sunday: 11:00 church today. It felt weird to be in a ward in Asia; all other Sundays spent in Asia have been in branches. And in a normal looking church building (except is is tall and skinny) with a chapel, and pews and a cultural hall! The ward members are great. We met some people in Anthropologie in Utah this summer, and then saw them during first hour today! Really nice folks all around. They kept asking, "are you new in the ward?" Fun to see the Garners from AZ and catch up for a minute. Singapore looks good on them. The bishop offered to have Brigham and Brooke attend their youth conference at the end of October...something to think about! The kids all had a great day at church, the teachers and members made them feel welcome.
from Todd: I really like to see the different wards and branches. The Singapore Farth(4th) Ward felt like a normal ward somewhere in the US (outside of Utah /Arizona/ Idaho/So Cal). Like a North Carolina ward. Lots of good people, youth...from a variety of places. Lots of turnover here as well like in Shenzhen.
The expats here live large. No real sacrifices. Lots of good food, clean, good transportation, English speakers.....Expensive however.
photos (most taken by Brooke)
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