7/31/2008

Back in Singapore: Impressions *

After a year in Los Angeles, we’ve been back in Singapore for 2 days. Like waves upon the shore, or maybe Chinese water torture, I’m reminded of all the things we’ve grown to love here or the idiosyncrasies we find annoying. People are amazingly helpful and kind.



• Three friends picked us up with a truck for our luggage, even though we came in at 11:30 PM. They drive us across the island to our place and take us out for Indian bread called roti prata and the yummy gravy we couldn’t find anywhere in multi-cultural Los Angeles.
• The owner of this apartment renovated the bathroom and purchased new mattresses, sheets and towels for us. The beds were made and looking like a guest house when we got here.
• After being gone a year, I couldn’t remember my bank PIN number when buying stamps at the Post Office and the woman across the counter patiently says, “take your time, you’ll remember.” (I did).
• I have a little trouble buying a train ticket at the automated machine and the woman next to me volunteers to show me how.
• In the neighborhood shops I try out my rusty Chinese and instead of scolding or snickering to themselves about my bad pronunciation or my wrong choice of words (which is what I overheard or witnessed people in USA doing to immigrants), the “uncle” or “auntie” will praise me with some comment about how good my Chinese is (when I know undoubtedly it isn’t).

We are living in limbo until we find an apartment, until we decide if we’ll be able to afford a car, hire a helper, or have a dog.

We are grateful for the offer of a free apartment where our furniture has been stored for free this past year. This meant from the first night back I was sleeping on my own bed. It is a huge gift to stay here, with some familiar surroundings, but still, I don’t know the neighborhood yet, can’t figure out how to use the washing machine, and there are strange odds and ends in all the kitchen cupboards. 

There was also a surprise: we’re sharing the place with 2 Filipino single guys. It may be jet lag, but I feel a bit numb. There is expectation without excitement. After having spent 25 hours last week scrubbing down our missionary housing in Pasadena, I am not sure how much energy I have to clean up here, but I am not comfortable enough to cook at home in these conditions? I wonder how long can we eat every meal out. How soon and how much should I attack the ramshackle kitchen that’s in desperate need of cleaning and renovation when it may send me into depression and there are so many other uplifting activities I could make a priority over scrubbing the greasy burners of an old cooking range? Why do I feel this compulsion to clean?

I’ve told the boys to put their things in drawers. It will help us feel more “at home” even if we have to move out in 2 weeks. The bottom falls out of one drawer. Then we find one cabinet in their room is full of wet books and papers. They are all covered in thick mould from a drippy air conditioner.

Exiting the standard steel elevator of this apartment block, I am also very glad that we are staying on the 6th floor since it only stops at the 6th and 11th storey. 

I walk down a hot concrete corridor, looking out over the groves of high rises painted orange, yellow and beige. I smell a familiar scent. The mixture of incence to ancestors wafting from home altars, mixed with the sour stench of mildew from the wet washed clothes. It had gone a little "off" from sitting in the humidity before getting dried in the blazing sun. 

I smell what I think is the stale and dusty cooking grease coating every kitchen. I’m wishing that this aroma give me a warm fuzzy feeling about being back. 

I want to have the old “home sweet home” feeling after investing 8 years of my life here. 

But it doesn’t, and I don't.

However, I am walking beside Tyler (15) and Cameron (11) and I watch them take it in. I know that their reactions to all of this are happily and completely different from mine. To them this constant sticky sweaty feel, and the hum of fans, and escaping to an air conditioned bedroom is familiar. These dark security bars across all of the apartment windows seems normal. Instead of these bars making it feel a bit like a prison, like it does for me, it adds to everything that is making the boys happy to return.

7/19/2008

Qualities of an Excellent Woman *

Summer Reading for 10th Grade Honors English.

As I did last summer with Lord of the Flies, I'm sharing Tyler's burden of wading through the verbose Victorian text of his assigned summer reading. There are so many good books I missed when I was in school, I find it a good way to share in his life, and build my own cultural literacy.


But I'm also being mentored by fictional characters.

I didn't catch this important list and learn from this description of a young Nancy Lammeter when I first read Silas Marner in 10th Grade.

1. High veracity
2. Delicate honor
3. Deference to others
4. Refined Personal habits

A description of this woman in part 2 as she sat to read her Bible jumped out and bit me too:

She was not theologically instructed enough to discern very clearly the relation between the sacred documents of the past which she opened without method, and her own obscure simple life; but the spirit of rectitude, and the sense of responsibility for the effect of her conduct on others, which were strong elements in Nancy's character, had made it a habit with her to scrutinize her past feelings and actions with self-questioning solicitude.


Still, why a teacher would choose this particular book to burden any modern 15 year old with over summer is beyond me! I am enjoying the story as a nice diversion to packing & moving, even though I find the text tedious. When there are so many classic books not requiring such concentrated mental effort to decipher the author's meanings, I'd wish the teacher had assigned something different for these days of summer when there are so many distractions to keep a kid from knuckling down with a Victorian novel!

7/14/2008

Reality Check: Housing Options



We're returning to Singapore later this month and my realtor has sent me photos of the only option she can find in our budget that is walking distance from the kids' school (Oh, my...this is kinda depressing! We're going to keep looking).

I was looking at these photos above of kitchen cabinets whose colors only belong in a 50/50 ice cream bar, while staying in a luxury cabin with my family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia. Above are photos of the housing option in Clementi neighborhood of Singapore, and below is where I was sitting when I was looking at the emailed photos.

But it could be worse! Below that is pictures from a visit to where our friend Loonni lives (a village in rural Thailand).



















7/10/2008

11 YEARS a Photo History of July Highlights



For the last 11 years,
what we were doing in the month of July


July 1997 
We were briefly living among Chinese immigrants in Monterey Park,
preparing for our move to China.



July 1998
We'd lived 10 months in Kunming, China studying language & culture
having loads of opportunities for sharing good new
while preparing for long term in Singapore.



July 2000
We'd finished our first half year living in Singapore.
Kimberly participated in a 24 hour playwright competition,
wrote an award winning play & sang for Children's Day.



July 2001
Jim was coordinating one of the conferences for building ministry partnerships for China




July 2002
Our friends from a Marriage Mentoring small group prepare for long term move to China.
CRM First Pastor's Network goes on their first retreat.
CRM Singapore's first Executive Committee



July 2003
Outreach to Thai workers living in Singapore.
We all were finally feeling settled and thriving.



July 2004
First CRMS Pastor's Mentoring Network - Facilitator Training
"Five Stars" Actors Mentoring Group celebrate a birthday.



July 2005
Jim stays behind in China for the summer, Kim and kids spend time on both coasts for reunions and time with grandparents & friends.



July 2006
After a full year of expanding ministry, we found ourselves back in California again, namely Santa Barbara for the CRM worldwide conference.
Tyler went to DC with grandparents. Cameron met his birth family. We all scouted out Pasadena praying for wisdom for 2007-08.


July 2007
We started our year back in USA by driving across 12 states in 10 days. Here is Sgt. Light Brown on his US tour.


July 2008
Tyler's last football practice, the Maranatha High School Football JV team prays for him and gives a cheer for Singapore.

We Praise You God for guiding, providing, and protecting in these many Julys (and the other 11 months each year too).
We humbly ask for your wisdom & will to be done in our lives as we continue to live for & follow you.
AMEN.