Thanksgiving

Let me start by saying how much we truly miss all our friends and family and around the holidays it becomes even more apparent. This was our first major holiday since moving to Singapore and since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here, we weren't planning on anything big this year. In fact, Scott and I were both working. Craig and Christina are away from their family as well and have become our extended family, so we decided to celebrate together and invited one of Scott's co-workers on assignment here from Texas, too. Even though I love cooking, I wasn't going to attempt cooking a turkey. It would have cost a fortune since everything has to be imported and as much as I love leftovers I wasn't looking forward to turkey at every meal for weeks. Not to mention, the small detail that I've never cooked a whole turkey before. Thankfully (pun intended) we found a hotel, The Fullerton, offering a Thanksgiving buffet. Admittedly, I didn't have high hopes that it would come anywhere close to my idea of a traditional Thanksgiving feast, but I was pleasantly surprised. They had a huge spread complete with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and lots of veggies. I would have been content with that alone, but they had everything from steak and lobster to pizza and lasagna. I'm still cautious with eating meats here, but these were cooked the ways I familiar with. However, my favorite was the entire section devoted to desserts (I've gained a sweet tooth) and the free pour beer and wine was a nice touch, as well. All and all it was much better than I expected and we are truly thankful for the friends we have met and all the new experiences while we still miss everyone back home dearly. I can't believe Christmas is less than a month away but not surprisingly we still haven't done our shopping yet. We are planning to get full swing into Christmas mode by getting a tree and decorations this weekend.

Little things...

Scott and I have been kinda lazy bums the last few weekends so I didn't have anything exciting to write about. I figured it was about time I wrote another blog though since even the smallest things here are often very new for me.

One of the new experiences for me is using pubic transportation. This is the first time since I could drive that I haven't had a car readily available and I am known for randomly hopping in the car for a road trip. While I don't miss not having a car as much as I thought, it does cause me to plan ahead a little more. The MRT closes at 12pm so if we are out late (especially on Friday nights) I have to make sure to have some cash handy for a taxi. Most of the cabs take credit cards or nets (their equivalent to debit cards), but I have learned the hard way not all take plastic. Such as the time I had to run around to several ATMs before finally getting the cash to pay the cab driver!

While cabs are usually pretty easy to catch no matter where you are, the one time you really need a cab its almost impossible! Whenever it rains, the cabs vanish. I don't know where they go, but no matter how many numbers you call there never seems to be a cab available. Granted I am sure its because everybody in the country is trying to do the same thing, but its frustrating none the less. Though I did finally figure out what the various signs on the top of the cabs mean. Hired - means don't bother someone else is already in the cab, On-call - someone else beat you to this cab and he is on the way to pick them up, Taxi - my favorite green sign means wave frantically or jump out into the road so you can get a ride.

I want to go back to the rain for a minute. We have been forewarned that it rains regularly here, but it has seriously rained every single Sunday since we got here. Scott and I can not think of a Sunday it hasn't rained. Its normally a quick shower, but there have been all day rain outs, as well. My favorite are the thunderstorms and they are unlike any I have heard before. Its the one time I consistently open my curtains to watch the storm as our city view turns into a white haze.

Finally, my new obsession is Starbucks! I never thought it would happen and especially not here, but it has. They have a curry puff that I am addicted to. Its just a puff pastry stuffed with chicken, potatoes, and curry but I am hooked. I am sure other places on the island have better curry puffs since it seems to be a local favorite, but with my fear of meats I am too chicken to try any other places (no pun intended).