On the 19th Jan 2009, Yolande took a midnight flight to Seoul, Korea, for business. She was not looking forward to it as temperatures in Seoul had fallen to -8 degrees celsius! Travelling during winter is not exactly one of Yolande's favourite activities since it involves heavier lugguage and having to put on many layers under that thick winter coat. Having grown up in a tropical country, the extra weight of clothing on the shoulders is not what Yolande is used to.
Yolande has never really thought of visiting Korea. Neither does she speak the language nor know much about the culture. What she knows about Korea (which she believes are distorted facts) are from Korean dramas. The lead actress usually dies from a terminal disease (leukaemia or brain tumour), the lead actor is usually a SNAG (sensitive new age guy) who runs for miles after a bus (and Yolande thinks "He might as well represent Korea in the Olympics"). Last but not least, Korea always seems really cold in the dramas.
Anyway, the weather was not much of a problem since Yolande had all the necessary layers on when she got to Seoul. One major problem however was the FOOD. Yolande is not exactly a picky eater, but one thing that is really not to her liking is kim-chi. It is one of Korea's national dishes and it is served every meal - kim-chi soup, kim-chi chicken, kim-chi whatever... It does not taste bad, but Yolande does not like the aftertaste of kim-chi. Also, why is the soup served cold in a metal bowl during winter? BBQ chicken itself sounds great to Yolande. Kim-chi flavoured BBQ chicken was a bit too much for Yolande to take. But out of politeness, Yolande ate a few mouthfuls of it and called it a day.
On the 21st Jan 2009, Yolande flew to Tokyo from Seoul to visit the HQ of Mitsui. Japan was not as cold as Seoul, and it was definitely a more familiar place to be in. With the crazily tight schedule, Yolande really could not be bothered with the business trip. She was looking forward to being back home, celebrating Daniel's first Chinese New Year.
Daniel shall keep everyone updated on what happens on Chinese New Year in Singapore - where it is warmer...
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
First Week Or So...For Yolande
While Daniel gets to sleep in whenever he feels like it, Yolande has resigned to her fate of having to wake up at an unearthly hour (6am) to prepare for work. However interesting Security Trade Control (FYI this is what Yolande does at work - ensuring that businesses are carried out legitimately and telling people that they might end up in jail or have their faces printed on the front page of the newspaper) may be, Yolande dragged herself out of bed on the 6th of Jan 2009 at 5am feeling as though it was 9pm (i.e. time for bed). The first week was definitely quite a chore and challenge to get to work. However, Yolande was overwhelmed and is still overwhelmed with joy and excitement about life in Singapore together with Daniel. It was a shame that Daniel was not feeling peachy during the first week because he now no longer remembers the way to the coffeeshop 5 minutes away (he is contesting this statement at the very moment Yolande is typing this blog entry).
On the 10th Jan 2009, Daniel and Yolande had an important mission to accomplish - submitting the 1 year Social Visit Pass Application form to ICA. It was no surprise for Yolande that they had to wait for hours (4 hours!!!) before it was their turn to submit the forms. However, what was appalling and unforgivable was that the Officer who served them was outrageously rude, unprofessional and badly spoken. Yolande ended up writing an A4-size complaint letter on a tiny feedback column, signing off with "Yours Sincerely". Daniel has nothing but praise for FINE Singapore (pun intended), but Yolande feels that Singapore can do much better. Service, regardless of whether the person wears a government uniform or not, should be of a high standard and carried out professionally. So much for the notices pasted on the white walls of ICA about "Mutual Respect"-Yolande feels that such policy statements are nothing but empty talk with no substance, especially so when their employees fall short on being professional. Anyway, Daniel and Yolande were glad that they got that sorted out in the end.
Evenings have been packed with activities with Daniel around. Tennis, dinner, movies, studying Chinese, shopping...Yolande swears her "doing overtime till 10.30pm" life is over! She has finally got a life!! (Yolande singing this tune in her head - "It's my life~~ It's now or never, I ain't gonna live forever~~~~"). OK, composure... It was not too long ago that Yolande would call her office her 2nd home. These days, she simply cannot wait to knock off to meet Daniel and spend some quality time together.
Yolande will try to keep everyone updated next week from Seoul and Tokyo (she hopes Daniel will survive not only on burgers!!!).
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The First Week Or So
I seem to have fully recovered from my cold now, although a mysterious backache has cropped up in its place. I wonder what I'll suffer from next.
I've had a lot of spare time since I reached Singapore. A typical day will consist of me waking up at about 6:30 and either getting a lift with Yolande to her workplace for breakfast, or going back to bed for a while. I would then study Chinese either at home or in Coffee Bean.
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is a chain of coffee shops, much like Starbucks, which has an outlet in Raffle's Place, where Mitsui, the company Yolande works for, is based. I have a regular spot (in the corner on the comfy chair - nice enough to sleep on if I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed by the morning's hectic pace) and a regular order (small/regular iced tea). Today was a milestone, since it was the first day where my order was repeated back to me before I had the chance to make it. I'm a creature of habit, so this type of situation is not uncommon to me. It's usually a sign that I need to start exercising some more creativity in my daily life.
I will then typically meet Yolande for lunch from 12pm - 1pm. The variety of places at which to eat in the area surrounding her workplace is astounding. We haven't eaten at the same place twice since I arrived, and I'm sure it's possible to go an entire year without the need to do so. Anyone who's ever worked at Nintendo in Frankfurt will verify that to go a whole week without revisiting one or two of the same places for lunch takes some imagination and willpower.
After lunch it's back to studying Chinese, although on one occasion I did venture as far as Orchard Road's Ngee Ann City (a shopping centre more commonly referred to as Takashimaya after the department store which accounts for much of its volume) to get my hair cut, wander around, snack at Mosburger (a Japanese burger chain), peruse the Languages section of Kinokuniya (a Japanese bookshop) and, ultimately, study Chinese.
It's probably obvious by now that I spend an unhealthy portion of my day studying Chinese. Happily, I am already feeling the benefit, as I seem to have progressed by leaps and bounds since I arrived. The textbook that I have moved onto (which also includes CDs which I have imported to an SD card so I can listen to Chinese wherever I go on my Creative Zen X-Fi) covers lots of interesting topics, including China's geography, its language, etc. I'm forcing new vocabulary into my head at dangerous volumes, in the hope that the day when I can comfortably watch a Chinese drama without subtitles, or read a Chinese newspaper, is not far off. That's not to say I haven't been tempted by other languages. Much of my time in Kinokuniya was spent researching my next foreign language. The current favourites are Korean and Cantonese. However, it would be suicidal for me to attempt another foreign language just yet. I need to take into account that my Japanese needs some serious brushing up for any upcoming interviews I may have that are conducted in Japanese. My brain copes best when it can focus all its energy on one thing at a time. Even two is pushing things a bit.
The evenings have been far more varied. Yolande and I have often met up with her friends, Rene and Kenny, whom she has known for a number of years and who are due to get married later this year. So far we've played tennis twice, at a tennis court situated on the roof of Kenny's Queenstown apartment. It's been many years since I've played. I started off very badly, but by the end of the second session I had recovered most of my old skills (although it's arguable whether I had any skills to speak of to begin with). Last Saturday we went for Karaoke, where I tried my voice at some songs in Chinese (see my other blog, http://www.maomaomeow.blogspot.com/ for examples). Yesterday we went to the cinema to watch Red Cliff II, a film directed by John Woo, based on a famous ancient Chinese battle. I would thoroughly recommend this film to anyone else who is thinking of going to see it.
Sunday was spent at Yolande's Ma's place (her aunt, in fact) where we were treated to dinner and I got the opportunity to meet more of her family members. We watched Mama Mia, chatted and, as you might have guessed, I studied some Chinese. That evening Yolande and I attempted to play badminton at one of the nearby outdoor courts, but windy conditions forced us to retire early and go for a walk instead. We walked as far as Frontier Community Centre, where a couple of evening courses caught our eye - ballroom dancing and basic Korean. We're still thinking about it.
However, I did come to Singapore with a purpose - to secure a long term visit pass (1 year) and to embark on job hunting. This meant a trip to the ICA (Immigration Control Authority) building in Lavender last Saturday morning, and a waiting time of about 4 hours to eventually have my application processed. For anyone thinking of coming to Singapore to work, my advice is this: apply for your EPEC online as soon as possible, but leave the visit pass application until you arrive in Singapore and do it online. The system is remarkably straightforward, fast and efficient, as long as you never have to deal with people. By applying too early online (last October), I missed the deadline to settle the formalities, and thus had to reapply in person. Everyone we spoke to gave us conflicting information concerning the application. At one point we almost went home after queueing for a couple of hours when we were told I could apply online again after all. Fortunately we didn't go home, and instead located a computer in the building where we could test out this new theory. The computer verified this was an impossibility and thus we waited out the remaining hours. I am to expect a 4-6 week wait before the outcome is revealed (when applying online, it takes a few days), during which time I must go for a medical. It's a great relief to have finally submitted the application, since it was a cause of worry to me last year when my first application didn't go according to plan, and I wasn't sure whether or not I could reapply. It was also a great relief to learn that I can in fact stay 3 months in Singapore without a visit pass, instead of 1 month as it has always been until very recently.
One thing I've noticed since I've been here is how Singapore's numerous rules and regulations, often criticised by outsiders as being too strict, actually do result in a positive outcome. For example, it is not permitted to eat or drink in trains or stations in Singapore (punishable by a fine). However, when compared with stations and trains I have encountered elsewhere in Europe, the difference is remarkable. There isn't a drop of litter or crumb of food to be found anywhere. Neither will you come across mindless graffiti or scratched out train windows. The clean, safe atmosphere that results from these strict regulations ultimately make a huge difference to how you feel when taking public transport. No more do I have to share a morning train with a drunkard, beer in hand, accompanied by a dog who smells a great deal better than its owner and apparently deserves two seats to itself...for example.
I've had a lot of spare time since I reached Singapore. A typical day will consist of me waking up at about 6:30 and either getting a lift with Yolande to her workplace for breakfast, or going back to bed for a while. I would then study Chinese either at home or in Coffee Bean.
The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is a chain of coffee shops, much like Starbucks, which has an outlet in Raffle's Place, where Mitsui, the company Yolande works for, is based. I have a regular spot (in the corner on the comfy chair - nice enough to sleep on if I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed by the morning's hectic pace) and a regular order (small/regular iced tea). Today was a milestone, since it was the first day where my order was repeated back to me before I had the chance to make it. I'm a creature of habit, so this type of situation is not uncommon to me. It's usually a sign that I need to start exercising some more creativity in my daily life.
I will then typically meet Yolande for lunch from 12pm - 1pm. The variety of places at which to eat in the area surrounding her workplace is astounding. We haven't eaten at the same place twice since I arrived, and I'm sure it's possible to go an entire year without the need to do so. Anyone who's ever worked at Nintendo in Frankfurt will verify that to go a whole week without revisiting one or two of the same places for lunch takes some imagination and willpower.
After lunch it's back to studying Chinese, although on one occasion I did venture as far as Orchard Road's Ngee Ann City (a shopping centre more commonly referred to as Takashimaya after the department store which accounts for much of its volume) to get my hair cut, wander around, snack at Mosburger (a Japanese burger chain), peruse the Languages section of Kinokuniya (a Japanese bookshop) and, ultimately, study Chinese.
It's probably obvious by now that I spend an unhealthy portion of my day studying Chinese. Happily, I am already feeling the benefit, as I seem to have progressed by leaps and bounds since I arrived. The textbook that I have moved onto (which also includes CDs which I have imported to an SD card so I can listen to Chinese wherever I go on my Creative Zen X-Fi) covers lots of interesting topics, including China's geography, its language, etc. I'm forcing new vocabulary into my head at dangerous volumes, in the hope that the day when I can comfortably watch a Chinese drama without subtitles, or read a Chinese newspaper, is not far off. That's not to say I haven't been tempted by other languages. Much of my time in Kinokuniya was spent researching my next foreign language. The current favourites are Korean and Cantonese. However, it would be suicidal for me to attempt another foreign language just yet. I need to take into account that my Japanese needs some serious brushing up for any upcoming interviews I may have that are conducted in Japanese. My brain copes best when it can focus all its energy on one thing at a time. Even two is pushing things a bit.
The evenings have been far more varied. Yolande and I have often met up with her friends, Rene and Kenny, whom she has known for a number of years and who are due to get married later this year. So far we've played tennis twice, at a tennis court situated on the roof of Kenny's Queenstown apartment. It's been many years since I've played. I started off very badly, but by the end of the second session I had recovered most of my old skills (although it's arguable whether I had any skills to speak of to begin with). Last Saturday we went for Karaoke, where I tried my voice at some songs in Chinese (see my other blog, http://www.maomaomeow.blogspot.com/ for examples). Yesterday we went to the cinema to watch Red Cliff II, a film directed by John Woo, based on a famous ancient Chinese battle. I would thoroughly recommend this film to anyone else who is thinking of going to see it.
Sunday was spent at Yolande's Ma's place (her aunt, in fact) where we were treated to dinner and I got the opportunity to meet more of her family members. We watched Mama Mia, chatted and, as you might have guessed, I studied some Chinese. That evening Yolande and I attempted to play badminton at one of the nearby outdoor courts, but windy conditions forced us to retire early and go for a walk instead. We walked as far as Frontier Community Centre, where a couple of evening courses caught our eye - ballroom dancing and basic Korean. We're still thinking about it.
However, I did come to Singapore with a purpose - to secure a long term visit pass (1 year) and to embark on job hunting. This meant a trip to the ICA (Immigration Control Authority) building in Lavender last Saturday morning, and a waiting time of about 4 hours to eventually have my application processed. For anyone thinking of coming to Singapore to work, my advice is this: apply for your EPEC online as soon as possible, but leave the visit pass application until you arrive in Singapore and do it online. The system is remarkably straightforward, fast and efficient, as long as you never have to deal with people. By applying too early online (last October), I missed the deadline to settle the formalities, and thus had to reapply in person. Everyone we spoke to gave us conflicting information concerning the application. At one point we almost went home after queueing for a couple of hours when we were told I could apply online again after all. Fortunately we didn't go home, and instead located a computer in the building where we could test out this new theory. The computer verified this was an impossibility and thus we waited out the remaining hours. I am to expect a 4-6 week wait before the outcome is revealed (when applying online, it takes a few days), during which time I must go for a medical. It's a great relief to have finally submitted the application, since it was a cause of worry to me last year when my first application didn't go according to plan, and I wasn't sure whether or not I could reapply. It was also a great relief to learn that I can in fact stay 3 months in Singapore without a visit pass, instead of 1 month as it has always been until very recently.
One thing I've noticed since I've been here is how Singapore's numerous rules and regulations, often criticised by outsiders as being too strict, actually do result in a positive outcome. For example, it is not permitted to eat or drink in trains or stations in Singapore (punishable by a fine). However, when compared with stations and trains I have encountered elsewhere in Europe, the difference is remarkable. There isn't a drop of litter or crumb of food to be found anywhere. Neither will you come across mindless graffiti or scratched out train windows. The clean, safe atmosphere that results from these strict regulations ultimately make a huge difference to how you feel when taking public transport. No more do I have to share a morning train with a drunkard, beer in hand, accompanied by a dog who smells a great deal better than its owner and apparently deserves two seats to itself...for example.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
The Adventure Begins
It's taken the best part of a week to recover from an unfortunate cocktail of a bad winter cold mixed with a heavy dose of jetlag (Singapore is 8 hours ahead of England), but I am finally feeling fit enough to write my first blog entry.
We flew into Changi Airport at 6:30pm, 5th January, feeling weary from the 12 hour flight but feeling positive about life together in Singapore. Fortunately Yolande's cousins, Sue and George, were kind enough to drive to the airport to collect us and help us with our multitude of luggage, as well as a couple of items of duty free Yolande was instructed to pick up on her way. After arriving back at her apartment and being welcomed by her parents, I managed a short trip out to sample some popiah (a type of spring roll filled with vegetables, beansprouts, egg, chilli, nuts, etc.) before coming home to collapse straight onto my bed, still fully clothed.
The weather here has been perfect all week, and a lot cooler than I imagined. Although that might be partly attributed to fever, even now I'm feeling better, the humidity seems quite low and there has usually been a strong cooling breeze to make things nice and comfortable. I've only seen it rain once since I arrived - I was on the bus at the time and it had finished by the time I reached my destination and alighted. Singapore tends to get tropical showers, which are heavy but don't last long.
We flew into Changi Airport at 6:30pm, 5th January, feeling weary from the 12 hour flight but feeling positive about life together in Singapore. Fortunately Yolande's cousins, Sue and George, were kind enough to drive to the airport to collect us and help us with our multitude of luggage, as well as a couple of items of duty free Yolande was instructed to pick up on her way. After arriving back at her apartment and being welcomed by her parents, I managed a short trip out to sample some popiah (a type of spring roll filled with vegetables, beansprouts, egg, chilli, nuts, etc.) before coming home to collapse straight onto my bed, still fully clothed.
The weather here has been perfect all week, and a lot cooler than I imagined. Although that might be partly attributed to fever, even now I'm feeling better, the humidity seems quite low and there has usually been a strong cooling breeze to make things nice and comfortable. I've only seen it rain once since I arrived - I was on the bus at the time and it had finished by the time I reached my destination and alighted. Singapore tends to get tropical showers, which are heavy but don't last long.
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