Water Water Everywhere

A few of you have asked about the flooding in Bangkok.  Thailand’s method of dealing with water is simply to push it off on someone else.  The rain water in the city is pumped out to the rural areas.  And the farmers are not happy about this because too much water is not good for their crops.  (It is possible for rice to have too much water; who knew!)  Farmers are so upset they tried to tear down a dyke so the city would flood and save their land.  And now the idea of lets just push our water problems on to someone else is affecting our “neighborhood”.  Water is being pumped onto our soi (pronounicated ‘soy’ meaning side street) and I guess the guy who owns the street (yes individuals own streets) has not figured out who to pump our water too.  So on Friday the water was standing in the street.  School was let out early and sand bags were placed around the school.

Saturday we visited Michelle and her peeps and saw the river near their place.  You can just make out the houses across the river that is nearly flooded.  When we came home that night it took us 30 minutes to travel 10 minute distance due to water in the road.  Not just on our soi, but on the main road.  The taxi driver could/ would not go down our soi, so we got to wade thru the water to get to the house.  Sunday was more of the same; school was cancelled for Monday and on Monday the water has dried up.  Not completely, but not nearly what it once was.  So we’ll have to see how the rest of the month goes.  November 1^st marks the end of the rainy season.  So if we can make it thru the month we will be fine.  Well we will have survived the flood and now get to survive the heat!!

First Thoughts of Thailand

So we have now been in Bangkok for almost 4 weeks.  Some things are very similar to Singapore; but most are different.  In Thailand we have been blessed with on campus housing.  As you enter campus there is a commercial building with a coffee shop/ book store, a music studio and laundry facilities on the first floor.  Then the second thru fourth floors are studio and two bedroom apartments.  We managed to get a two bedroom on the second floor.  Noah has a bunk bed which he has enjoyed and has taken advantage of two beds by sleeping in both!

Like Singapore we have hawker eating!  They do not call them hawkers but food stalls.  We tend to order our food by pointing at pictures or getting a menu with English and Thai and pointing at the item we want.  Like Singapore eating like this is very cheap.  We can all eat for 100 Baht which is just over $3US.  However eating Thai food is not something we want to do everyday.  And buying American can cost quite a bit more at the grocery store.  So we try to eat out the cheap Thai way but realize to get the comfort food we enjoy and crave we have to dish out some money.

Getting around – This is our next big obstacle.  We have not been brave enough to get on a bus.  The bus transportation is nothing like Singapore!  So our mode of transport has been the taxi.  And the taxi drivers do not speak English.  So I can tell them where I want to go but if they ask me anything else I stare and shake my head and say I have no idea what you are saying.  So far we have gotten where we wanted with no major problems.  We have heard many horror stories including our own adventure the first time I visited my sister in Thailand when we were in the car accident.  Our only taxi adventure so far has been a driver that I think was mad because we put 7 people in the car (3 were children) and proceed to take the long way home and drove 130kmph (80mph) on the highway.  The other family in the car with us was more worried than we were.  The taxi driver kept shouting something at us and of course none of us have any idea what he is shouting.  Normally Thai’s whisper when they talk so we had clearly upset his guy in some fashion, just no idea how??!

We have got to do some tourist kind of things.  We visited the Rattanakosin museum.  Ratt. is the fourth Thai Kingdom and when the capital was moved to Bangkok.  I think this statue is a demon (or represents one), so Noah has his mean face on.  This black roofed building is "special" cause its the only metal roofed building remaining in the world.  Is tin not a metal?  There are still tin roofs in the world are there not??  And we got to visit the old floating market.  Back when people lived on the water and travelled by water this market was huge.  Now it is open only on the weekends and is a bit more touristy; but neat to see people cooking from their boats and selling to people walking the market. 

 

More to come…

The Game is On!

So since we have been back from Sri Lanka we have had a few roaches come to visit.  And the thing is they are not in their usual hang outs.  They have decided to venture out!  Into Noah’s bedroom and our bedroom and our bathroom.  As a side note this is the creature I believe I hate most in the world and I am having to not freak out when I see one so I do not teach my son to freak out over a roach.  So this is what my day has boiled down to, waiting.  Riding it out.  The first roach I found in the bathroom yesterday was squeezed into the far most corner of the shower.  Steve had gotten out of the shower maybe 30 minutes earlier and when I asked him to come kill it, he words were, “He didn’t bother me.”  So he showered with the roach.  Lovely!  There are some details of my husband’s life I am ok not knowing about.  This would be one.  So I was a burden to ask him to kill the roach before I get in the shower.  Today I wake to find yet another in our bathroom.  This time however he is on his back.  But you cannot come in and out of the bathroom and not notice him.  And yet he has sat in the same spot all day.  He doesn’t bother Steve!  So why should it bother me?  So the game has begun.  Who will be bothered first?  Who can out last the other?  At what point will it bother Steve?  When he crawls into his shoe?  When he finds one on his pillow?  There must be a breaking point and I am going to find it!  Unless of course I break first.

Girl’s Home and Vocational Training Center - Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was amazing! I will split up our travels into the different places we visited throughout the week. Vavuniya was not our first stop, but definitely set the tone for the remainder of the trip and I think these girls had the biggest impact on our students. So a very brief history on Sri Lanka; the country is made up of mostly Sinhalese Buddhist (~80%) and Tamil Hindus (~20%). The two groups have struggled for position and recognition for most of their history. Since Sri Lanka gained its independence around 1950, the Sinhalese have controlled the country. ~30 years ago the Tamils decided they wanted control and civil war broke out. The war finally ended in 2009.

In Vavuniya, we first visited an orphanage for Tamil girls age 14-18. All of the girls at the orphanage were impacted by the war as their fathers, and often their mothers and other family members were casualties, some even fought or were training to fight when the war came to an end. Communication was very difficult for all of us as we do not speak Tamil and they do not speak English. We tried to learn names and ended up playing a game together. The girls challenged our boys to arm wrestling and one girl could very easily have you on your knees all from a pinch in your hand.

After lunch and playing at the orphanage, we headed down the street to a vocational training center for about 40 girls (18-23 yrs old) who were former Tamil Tiger (considered by many to be the most successful terrorist organization ever) soldiers in the war. Most of these girls volunteered to fight or felt obligated because they watched their father or brothers killed by the Sinhalese army. Whether it was training new recruits, making and placing land mines, security guard for high ranking officers, suicide bombers (clearly not fulfilled), or simply out to kill the “enemy”, these girls (18 to 22 years old, recruited at 11 or 12) were soldiers in every sense of the word. Now that the war is over the country does not have a need for terrorist bomb makers or assassins, so they need a skill. At the training center they learn to support themselves and contribute to society by sewing/making purses, clothes and shoes.

At the training center the girls sang and danced for us. We tried to reciprocate but quickly realized these (singing and dancing) were NOT our group’s strong suits! The 2 hours we spent there could best be summarized as “Girls just want to have fun!” And 20 year old girls have the most fun when boys are present! As they danced they simply went up to our boys and pulled them into the circle to dance with them. Our boys were incredible uncomfortable, but opened up quickly and let lose! As we left the girls followed us down the road to our bus and waved and screamed and even jumped on the bus to give one last goodbye hug. For only being with these two sets of girls for such a short period of time our time with them will long be remembered. Here was a group of young ladies that have never played with dolls, never played dress up, never even gone to school. When they were little kids, they learned to kill and as 18-23 year olds they are learning how to live with only one leg, or with the pain of shrapnel lodged in their bodies, or the horrible memories of what they did or what was done to them in the war. Yet, in the time we were there, we saw smiling faces and heard laughter. It is truly amazing what having someone show them the love of God (the ladies that run the training centers were pastors before their churches were taken from them when they were sent to refugee camps) has done for them. These girls, most of whom have killed numerous people in their short lives, are being changed by God and we feel privileged that God would allow us a glimpse into His mighty life-changing power.

More to come on the rest of our trip…

13 Years

Monday was Steve and I’s 13th wedding anniversary. Hip Hip Hooray! So, how do you spend #13? At a five start hotel of course!! This ain’t no Holiday Inn baby! The Marina Bay Sands is unreal. It has been featured on the Discovery channel’s ‘Build It Bigger’. It’s not only a hotel but also the island’s first casino, luxury shopping mall, theater and Sky Park. Now a casino, mall and theater are pretty self explanatory however how many of us can say we’ve been to a park in the sky? Being 57 stories off the ground does lend to a different kind if “park”, however when it’s Singapore they do not disappoint!



Steve and I went back and forth a bit as to how to spend #13. I gave in to the hotel since the anniversary is not all about me! Who knew? So how exactly does one get to a five star hotel, by public bus transportation of course!! I felt really weird getting off a city bus in front the Marina Bay Sands and walking in with my book bag packed with the incidentals for the night. Which of these things doesn’t belong?

The lobby was immense. I first realize you pay so much for all the employees who are standing around and greeting you. Our room was on the 47th floor so we get to take an elevator that skips the first 22 floors and goes just to the top half of the hotel. I had no idea elevators could go so fast! When the doors close the elevator takes off unbeknownst to me and I realize that we are close to flying because my ears start to pop and the elevator dings to say we arrived in flash!
It is true that it is in the details. There is still a bathroom and a bed and a TV, but the details in everything are wonderful. Looking out our window or standing on the balcony we got to overlook the soon to be water treatment plant (in case you were wondering, not romantic at all!). However we had a planter off the balcony filled with lovely flowering plants. The bathroom is huge and amazing! Separate tub and shower which are marvelous and a double vanity and many other niceties. I believe all the hotels over here have a little room key holder at the door. Now this is really not so you don’t lose your key in the room but because they conserve energy when you leave the room by shutting everything off when you pull your key and leave the room. (Imagine not knowing this and entering your room with no power and calling the front desk for help! I can only imagine the stupid white people comments from the staff!) But I say all that because as we reenter the room and insert the key, the lights come on and the drapes are controlled electronically and they open when we enter! It was like a helper was there making the room presentable as we arrive.

The mall was a mall with all the stores I could not afford to buy anything in, but it did have a few cool details. Many water elements and the main was the ‘channel’ with gondola-like boats giving people rides. They would do a u-turn in a large fountain looking area, however of course in Singapore it’s no ordinary fountain. Above the water feature is the bottom of a giant bowl with the inside of the bowl on the outside of the building and you can see in to the mall from outside the building. So the inside of the bowl fills with water and then the bowl empties through a hole in the very bottom which “floods” the fountain in the mall. It really creates more of a water fall in the mall. The amount of water falling actually creates a good breeze.


I do have to admit that I really wanted to go inside the casino. I had no intention of spending any money. I’d rather throw my money away on a greater enjoyment! But I have never been to a casino and just wanted to walk through and see a slot machine up close or watch a table of blackjack or roulette. However due to my carelessness leaving Indonesia at Thanksgiving I lost my green card and I did not think to take my passport with me, so I did not have ID to get in. (As a side note just to see how Singaporeans live, they must pay $100 a day to enter the casino. That’s just the fee to get in not a minimum chip cash in!) But as we wandered the mall we came upon an upper level where you can look down upon the casino. It was humongous!! I wander if Vegas comes this close? This is just the main floor. We could see the levels immediately under us where the machines were and the roulette tables.


So all of this was lovely, but still simply a room and mall. The real thing that added the 5th star was the Sky Park. From across the city the park looks like a boat sitting on top of the hotel. Any and every one can come to the observation deck. (Non-hotel guests can pay $20 to access the observation deck). They have different areas labeled to help you with the sites you can see. The view is remarkable. At night you can see the lights from Batam, Indonesia.


Then there’s the section of the park that only hotel guests can use; the bar, restaurant and pool. The pool ends at what appears to be the buildings edge. You can swim to the “edge” and see more amazing views. It is simply the coolest thing I have ever seen.




As you can see I have added pictures, all thanks to the internet because our camera died the day we left. We knew it was on its last leg and talked about getting a new one for Christmas, but of course didn’t and are now picture-less.  I may be spending $20 to go back just to get pictures I wanted!

Language

After living in Singapore for over a year I have heard plenty of Singlish. Singlish is a Singaporean’s way of speaking English. At first you would think they were speaking mandarin and then you just might pick out an English word and be a little puzzled. Singlish also includes a mixture of Malaysian language, since Singapore was once part of Malaysia. And the icing on the cake is that English in Singapore is British English, not American. There are random words such as lift, flat, Q (queue) that are everyday English speech here.

So I (Holly) can do by own little Sing impersonation, “Hey, you cut Q, go back!” (of course in a Chinese accent). When standing in line (Q) you don’t leave room for someone else to get in front or it’s sort of an invitation for someone to get in front of you. Normally I have this problem when ordering food at a hawker (from an American point of view, cheap hole in the wall kind of places). You order and they make your food and they only take as many orders as they can handle at once, so you may have to wait (no problem) until someone just says forget the line and walks up and tells the hawker owner what he wants to eat and walks away. “Ah, excuse me?! Can’t you see me standing here patiently waiting to make my order and you’re just gonna cut and place your order?” Of course I think this thought, but not do not say it.  I would get a really weird look and chances are they would have no idea what I said; however if I said “Hey, you cut Q, go back!” (of course in a Chinese accent) I would be listened to. Chances are they would respect me.

However my dilemma is I do not have the guts say this. I have realized it’s partially a courage issue, but also in the states if we mimic someone it is disrespectful. If I were to throw out my Jersey accent and say “Hey, let’s meet up at the shore and listen to some Springsteen,” someone would be offended! It’s the American way. However over here because I speak proper English, I am looked at like a snob. If I were to say “Please” when I order is a dead give away to my “snobiness” They are thinking “Why you so polite?” If I throw MY English out the window and speak singlish it is in no way disrespectful but just the opposite.

I had this epiphany when it comes to talking in Singapore just recently. My realization came when I was talking to our Admissions Director at school who is a Singaporean, however has spent many years in the states. They were in Singapore when her daughter was about high school age and though she knows mandarin, refused to speak singlish. And after many years of fighting and not wanting to speak in an uneducated manner she gave in and was able to enjoy her time in Singapore. So the question is now, can I give in and play the singlish game?