From Sea to Shining Singapore

It has been five months and counting since I last updated this blog. For those of you keeping up, I was in the PRC for eight months studying the old mandarin (not the tiny oranges kind, but the squawky one with all the pictures). Since then, I have immigrated, south, to a land where fried-noodles are still trendy, but the Chili Crab takes the cake.

I personally have an aversion to all things crustacion. [Basically, except for pork...and the occasional snack of roasted pithon chips, I live by the saying: If it ain't good enough for the jews, it ain't good enough for me.] So, that being said, I feel that I have not taken advantage of all Singapore has to offer in the way of the cullinary arts.

However, as for its other perks--cleanliness, public transportation, air con, beautiful foliage, and peanut butter--I am thriving. Well, now, at least. I have hesitated to update my blog during these past 3 1/2 months of transition to the Pac Rim because the fact of the matter is: since January, I have been in a constant state of sweaty agitation (it is sticky humid here, people, and in the upper 80's/90's daily. That alone is enough to put any Western newcomer in a near-menopausal state.) Anything I could have written up to this point would have been whiney. Or bitter. Or cynnical, or all of the above, and there are enough Rush Limbaughs and Papa Bear Bill O' Reillys out there without me adding any more hot air to the international pool of noise [<--Whoa, can I break any more laws of physics with that mixed methaphor?]

Without further ado, this is my official pledge to consitent, non-bitter but instead, semi-sweet blogging about my Eastern travails. As I am working for a church (IBC Singapore, whoop, whoop! shameless plug!) and the subject matter is a little too sensitive, my topics of discussion will turn to my other loves: Food and Words. And hopefully these topics will be brought to you with a reasonable level of frequency. Feel free to keep me accountable. But until then, enjoy some fun facts about Singapore:

Cool facts, Cool facts!
1.) Singapore is a South East Asian Island about 252 sq miles large if you include its other baby islands. However, the mainland is only about 22 miles long. Its neighbors are Indonesia and Malaysia.

2.) Singapore is a major port city and hub for international commerce. Oil is big here, as is the population of Texans.

3.) The average humidity is appx. 84%, and it rains almost everyday.

4.) Official languages: Bahasa Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English (though you'll hear a smattering of many other local dialects including: Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, and of course...Singlish.)

5.) Ethnically, the Singaporean population is appx. 77% Chinese, 14% Malay, 7% India, and 1% Other (aka, this scrawny white girl)

6.) We have geckos, monkeys, and lizards oh my! with the most common insect being the...butterfly...awww!

7.) Ranks 3rd highest in per capita income on the world list--The liscense just to be able to purchase a car is 90,000 SGD--and the streets sure aren't empty.

8.) Young Singaporean men are required to fulfil two years of national service in the military in order to maintain their citizenship. The common abbreviation is NS, though some chaps may prefer SOL (which consequently, is what any country that ever attacks them likely will be.)

9.) Hawker Centers are the name for local eating canteens, and not in fact, as I orinally assumed, the place to buy organs off the black market.

10.) Due to it once being part of the British Crown's constituency, there are a lot of British throw-backs here, such as driving on the left side of the road, school uniforms, superfluous 'u's in words, long fancy dinners, yuppies, and the tragic death of the letter 'R'.