Happy 40th to Julie

Thanks for all the emails, e-cards, cards and well wishes.  You all made the 4-oh a great experience. 

This is Ross now writing on Julie's Post.  We did have a great time and all your emails were extra special.  Julia sill knows how to have fun as you can see from the following pictures.  We went to a wild 80's party at the American Club and had a wonderful night of dancing.  Some Australian couples heard it was Julie's birthday and starting buying shots - Lemon Drops!  Great bands too.

Pasir Town Park/Julie's 1st time driving

We ventured out to Pasir Ris Town Park to find a quiet area for Julie to try her hand at driving on the other side of the road.  The park turned out to be a great find.  It was the most spacious and least populated place we have been so far!  Right up our alley. We rented a bike for the kids to share and did some seacombing.  Sarah spotted some mud skippers which were fun to watch skip across the water.  The driving wasn't too bad.  Unfortunately the wipers and the turn signal are also flipped, so I kept turning on the wipers when I meant to signal.  Glad the gas and brake aren't reversed!!

Nate had been missing his bike, so this was a great opportunity.

We got a "dog fix" too.  Julie goes up to people like a three year old and asks if she can pet their dogs!

This was our seacombing treaure!

 

This is a fish farm.  Bunch of houseboats and random bits tied together where the fisherman live and make their living.

No big deal -- just driving on the wrong side of the road -- completely normal!

Harry Potter/Eating by the Quay

Sorry it's been so long since our last blog.  It's been a busy time with school starting and not having kiddos to lug groceries home.  The kids are adjusting very well to their new school, making friends fast and getting adjusted to the expectations their teachers require.

Last weekend we took the kids to the Harry Potter exhibit at the lotus inspired looking ArtScience museum.  We were able to see the costumes and props used in the actual movie (sorry no pictures -- we weren't allowed)  But favs were the sorting hat ceremony, seeing the wands, the snitch, Hagrids Hut, sweets like chocoloate frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans,  throwing some quaffles through the hoops, the wizarding books, pulling the mandrakes up and hearing them scream, the golden egg, etc)
Afterwards we had some Indian food down by the Quay. 

Sarah took a picture of these lotus flowers in a huge decorative pool surrounding the ArtScience museum.
 

Eating right by the Quay with Marina Sands on the background



Sarah First Day in MIDDLE SCHOOL

Sarah is beginning her middle school career a little early.  If she was back in New Hartford, this would be her last year in elementary.  Always wanting to be ahead of the game, she starts middle school in sixth grade here in Singapore.  She deftly has the locker combination all down pat. 


I'm ready!!

On our way down the elevator.  Nate gets to wear his PE uniform today (lucky)



I'm out of here, I need to get away from Dad -- he stinks after running here in Singapore!

Nate's First Day of School

Nate is sporting his new uniform on his first day at  the International Community School (ICS). 


Walking to the school bus.  As you can see the sun isn't up yet.  Remember from Ross' post it always rises at 7:05 AM

 So it's 6:50 AM! Yawn.  Nate is buckled in and the bus(a large van) will miss rush hour to get him there on time for an 8 AM start!

This is Mrs. Swan, Nate's new teacher.  We took this photo at last Saturdays Open House,  in the canteen, an open air cafeteria where he'll eat lunch everyday.  He only has 13 kids in his classroom!!

National Day

National Day was last Thursday, August 9th, here in Singapore.  It is the day they celebrate their independence from Malyasia (not Great Britian)  They just celebrated their 47th year. It is wild to be in such a young country.  Ross had the day off so we spent it at the Jurong Bird Park and then watched the National Day festivities on TV.
The Jurong Bird Park was a sight to behold.  We have never seen so many varieties of such colorful birds in our whole life.  A definite place to take any of our visitors.

Sarah & Nate's wing span doesn't measure up to the largest pelicans!

This is a cassowary.  Found in the prehistoric section.  It doesn't even look real.  It has a horn that it uses to push through the think vegetation of the rainforest

Nate was selected as a volunteer to have "Butter" a sulfur crested cockatoo land on him and out a stuffed animal into a cup.
Like the pose?  Superman ...

Mama bird and her chicks!

MAcRitchie Reservior - Water Tank

This post is for my brother Tod.  He is an engineer with the Monroe Water Authority in Rochester, NY.  Since he works closely with designing and keeping tanks running we thought he'd like to see the one that was near our recent hike.

A Walk through the Rainforest

TREETOP WALK

We had a great, but long walk on our adventure to the Tree Top Walk in the National Park near MacRitchie Reservoir. Ross knew there was a bridge that took you over the rainforest tree canopy and the possibility of seeing monkeys!  We did both, but what he didn't know is the walk took us 4 hours.  Starting at 10 AM and walking in a rainforest until 2 PM -- caused us to be stinky and hungry.  So once we flagged down a cab, he said, "Take us to the nearest McDonalds"  We haven't had much "homefood" with just moving in and really needed something familiar.  It tasted great.

Can you see what we believe is a blackbird of paradise.

Look at the size of the leaves behind us!

Nate using his new binoculars!

These long tailed macaques were just walking within feet (or should I say meters) from us!!







Orchid Garden - Pick No Evil

We had a phenomenal visit to the Orchid Garden at Singapore Botanical Gardens.  A feast for the eyes and nose!  We will be sure to go back many times as there is no way to take in the textures, colors, planting styles and of course flowers.  I am sure Julie will post more about her observations.

You can tell we all had a great time and look forward to returning!

Ross

Rain is Big Rain in Singapore!

Wow can it rain here.  An umbrella is nice, but the splash back from the ground still gets your legs soaked.  However, it is also fun to have a 'warm' rain - especially is you are in a position to get wet.  No cold rains here.

Hope you are staying warm and dry.  

Ross

LEGOs HAVE ARRIVED! Nate is Happy!

We have never seen Nate so HAPPY!  I think a tear came to his eye from the Joy.

LEGOS!!!

He has been busy making many creations!!

Ross

10 Boxes and Home Arrives

When our boxes arrived we had a real celebration!  Great to have those little bits of home here.  We thought we were bringing a lot, but actually it does not seem so much now that we are here.

We will post some updated images of the kitchen and living spaces with our stuff arranged.

Thank you FEDEX and the Indium Shipping Dept.

Ross

p.s.  The bucket arrived safely.  :)

Sarah's Gone Crazy

Sarah has gone a little crazy . . .  at least we know what she will look like in a celebrity mug shot.

Actually, she and Nate have been great entertaining each other.  I think the pool and humidity are having their way with her hair.

More to come . . .

Ross

Sunrise-Sunset - The Light Switch is Flipped

I have been running a short route the past few mornings just before Sunrise - I take a quick loop just over to Orchard and back - it is fun to see this part of the city waking up. 

While I am running, at almost exactly 7am, the lights turn on.  In fact, the sun jumps up so fast that the temperature seems to climb almost immediately.  There is no twilight.  There is no real dawn or dusk.  Just light and dark.  Very different than home.

I am off tonight to meet with the Cornell Johnson School alumni group.  Should be fun.

Till next time.

Ross

Ember - a Fishy Answer to Missing our Dog

We have a "Koi Pond" at OSR(Orchard Scotts Residence).  This is very common in Singapore and they are an ornamental carp that represent prosperity and determination.  We have mostly orange, white and black, but there is one bright yellow koi.  We've nicknamed it "Emmie" after our dog, whom is residing with Grandma and Grandpa Berntson in Michigan.  We miss her terribly and so say hi to "our Emmie" here everytime we go by the pond. 




Ember the Dog . . .

Ember the Fish . . .

Ember & Friends

We miss you Ember!



Mos Burger - not so much

Hello again . . . Sunday night's dinner fell well below expectation.  "Honey, lets take the kids for hot dogs and burgers" -- "OK!"  We needed a little "homefood" but still wanted to try something new -- so we headed to Mos Burger at Bishan. 

We are not sure what the burgers consisted of, but they were a far cry from American beef (since, we have learned that the burgers are a mix of beef and rice and that Mos Burger does have good stuff - just need to know what to order - maybe we will try again in a few months).  The hot dogs were sausages.  This was a failed attempt at "Home Food".

We've been told by other expats it'll take several months for our taste buds to adapt, even the Ritz crackers we received as a gift didn't taste quite right.  Julie's hoping to figure out the local wet markets and cold storage(groceries), but our microwave oven also serves as the oven you bake in (she's read the directions and is a little skeptical that it'll work). She also read the washer/dryer directions and found she could fit 2-3 towels at a time (she'll be doing laundry every day, multiple times a day)

Mos Burger at Bishan MRT Exchange

Shudder ... Ughhhhghhhh!  Not good.

Sarah's perspective on Mos Burger

New Diswasher Brand: SARAHNATE

No Dishwasher . . . No Problem.  We have Sarah and Nate. 

Although we don't have a dishwasher, we do have maid service that helps to clean-up and they will do some dishes.  For the most part, we will get used to a different post meal pick-up.  The kitchen is nice and it has an integrated Microwave/Oven - new to us for sure.

"The Pool's Awesome"

From Sarah and Nate . . .

The pool at Orchard Scotts Residence is really cool.  Waterfalls, big 'leaf' shaped chairs and many different depths.