White Christmas

After finishing our last days of work and experiencing 10 grueling days of packing, shipping, cleaning, painting, purging, and prepping- we have left our home in DC. It was a lot of work, but we managed to take some breaks here and there to attend happy hours at Ping Pong Dim Sum and Beacon Bar and Grill, drinks with good friends, a get together with neighbors, and much-needed hulu time at the end of the evenings. Derek and Josh Lee even managed to hack up a sleeper sofa and love seat into pieces, which warranted a lovely trip for Derek to the DC dump, an experience that both he and Tracy Davis described as a unique DC experience that all should partake in. Leaving DC, our home for the past 6ish years was bittersweet, though the excitement of our new adventures is outweighing our sadness of leaving DC.

Now we are happily and cozily lounging at Derek's sister's home in Neenah, WI. I'm happy to report that after 2 straight days of sitting around in our PJs, eating, and snacking, Derek and I finally ventured out to run some errands in preparation for Christmas festivities. Pretty sure that Singapore won't have a Wal-Mart or Pick and Save/Roundy's. Nor will there be bountiful bagged cheese curds or summer sausage, though I'm looking forward to embracing char kway teow and Hainanese chicken rice.

I'm happy to report that Dasher survived his first flight experience and is loving his time with the other Vollmer dogs, Charlie & Niles. All the space in this house and in the backyard is quite exhilirating for him, especially given that Gina's and Aaron's backyard is much bigger than the Logan Circle dog park that Dasher frequents. A few more days here, and we are off to California to see my parents. Finally, on New Year's Day, we board our flight to Singapore and our new adventure begins.

Packing up and/or selling our life

It's incredible how much stuff one young couple can acquire and store in a little townhouse, and how easily they can part with it when they learn how expensive it is to ship cargo halfway around the world. It's also incredible that I've managed to hold on to a report card from kindergarten, but can't seem to locate my 2009 tax return. I credit my mother for the report card-- pretty sure I didn't acquire that until she decided to clean out her own house a few years back!

I've moved around a fair amount in my lifetime, as has Karina, but this move is a different experience for us. We are literally examining every item in our house, and then performing complex calculations based on its Craigslist market price, its weight and volume, and level of personal attachment. In my kitchen, the Cuisinart SmartStick hand blender makes the cut and moves on-- the mandoline did not fare as well. Fortunately, we're finding good (or at least willing) homes for a lot of our items.

It remains to be seen whether or not we stay permanently downsized and also seize this opportunity to become far more organized with our stuff. Dewi is sort of the wild card, since families with kids seem to acquire new stuff at an exponential rate. We've been pretty restrained with regard to buying her toys here. Can I help it that her favorite toy is a plastic takeout container? I'm going to have to read up to see if one can build a tricycle out of household items.

Actually, I think living in a small space in Singapore will just force us to prioritize things that will get a lot of use. I can't tell you how many things I've pulled out of cupboards or boxes here that were barely touched. I have coats that I've worn maybe once a year. I have a silk robe with dragons on it. Okay, some things will be with me the rest of my life. But silk doesn't take up much space in a suitcase anway...

ND Bar in Singapore?

About to watch our last Notre Dame game of the season. I wonder if there is an ND bar in Singapore. I wonder if we can even watch the games next season. Maybe online? Or do I need to start following college badminton?

I think it's time to craigslist our TV. I don't know when I'll be ready to say goodbye....a little dramatic I know...but this is coming from someone who watched 3 channels of TV in Jakarta for much of her childhood, then moved to the US where TV channels were plentiful and one can watch TV 24 hours a day. Maybe Singapore will be something in-between. And I'm sure all TV content will be very age-appropriate and filled with morals. Time to retreat. Go Irish!

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is Dewi's first Thanksgiving and our last Thanksgiving in the U.S. for some time. Derek is happily stuffing fennel into the smallest turkey that I could find at Safeway, Dasher is hiding by me so he doesn't have to go into his new airline pet carrier, Dewi is napping, and my parents are getting up from their slumber in our basement.

Our time in D.C. is slowly coming to an end, as the end of November draws near. Our last days of work are almost here (whoopeee!!!) and at that point the uber-packing & donating & shipping will begin. Our house is almost rented, and we finally got ourselves to plan our goodbye party. I had the bright idea of having it at Singapore Bistro, one of my favorite restaurants in D.C., but unfortunately learned that it just closed. No more cumi-cumi bakar for me on 19th and N. Good thing I can have all the cumi-cumi bakar that I want very soon. I can't wait for all that yummy food. In the meantime, we've been trying to eat the foods that we'll likely have trouble finding at our soon-to-be home. That means lots of Etete for me! I will miss those Derek tibs and Yemisir Wat that make my mouth water just even envisioning it in my head. I heard that there is Ethiopian food available on Arab Street. I hope it's not just a rumor. Guess I'll soon find out!  

"So you're moving to Singapore..."

If you hear someone utter this phrase, it will be followed by either "I have a colleague/relative/friend living there right now" or "remember not to chew gum." I continue to be amazed at the responses I get, because 1) so many people have a personal connection to this little southeast Asian city-state, and 2) its most noteworthy attribute, at least within the U.S., is its ban on chewing gum.

I think entire essays have been written on the ban, its symbolism as a form of strict state control, and the resulting impacts on citizens' creativity, quality of life, etc. Coming from a country where the word "Freedom" is a perfectly acceptable campaign platform, it will take a little adjusting to a society that is much more tightly regulated. But adjust we will, as have the 1.3 million expats who call Singapore home. If we're really in need of chewing gum, we can apparently cross over into Malaysia to get a fix!

There will be plenty of things we'll have to adjust to, but that's part of the fun of moving abroad. Having spent a year living in a small town in northeast China, I'm not concerned with the general adjustment to being in a foreign land, or getting accustomed to an Asian culture. Singapore, as many have said, is "Asia Lite." We'll be able to seek out most of the comforts of home if we really need to... at a cost. Peanut butter--that standard U.S. commodity that is more valuable (and more rare) abroad than gold--will be one of those things we have to either pay a premium to obtain, or start an import/export business. I just don't think Dasher will accept any substitutes when it comes to his Kong.

Downsizing might be one of the biggest adjustments for us. I can't imagine the three of us squeezing into a one-bedroom apartment in DC, but I'm looking forward to doing just that in Singapore, at least initially. We've been duly warned about the small apartments, high cost of living, and other things we should know about life in Singapore. And we're not exactly leaving behind a sprawling cattle ranch in Wyoming. We live in a 12 foot wide rowhouse in one of the more expensive cities in the U.S.

I think the toughest thing for me will be not having an oven. I'd read that American ovens are way bigger than international standards because they're designed to accommodate turkeys and other big roasts that we like to do on special occasions. I know they exist in Singapore (again, for a price) but I have yet to see an apartment advertising an "American-style oven" or any proper oven for that matter. It has to do with the type of cooking most Singaporeans do (stove-top), the price of electricity and/0r gas, and the fact that those behemoths really heat a place up-- a not insignificant consideration when it barely dips below 80 degrees outside. Our temporary grad student apartment will have a toaster oven, and I'm bracing myself to have nothing beyond that for the next four years. I baked a pretty good pumpkin pie in a toaster oven before, so they're not useless.

As with everything else, we'll be doing our best to adapt to the local lifestyle. I mean, we won't raise Dewi to speak Singlish, but we also won't shy away from food hawkers and wet markets. If we weren't ready for a little bit of adventure, we wouldn't be making this move in the first place.

One Month To Go

It's now November 16th, which means that it is close to one month until we leave D.C. And close to 1.5 months until we leave the U.S. of A. for Singapore. The month of November has been busy with packing, sorting, craigslisting, organizing, preparing, and chasing after Dewi and Dasher.

Oh Dasher...our first child...we will miss him so much. For the first semester that we'll be in Singapore, Dasher will be staying with Gina (Derek's sister), Aaron (Gina's fiance), and Niles (their lovable dog) in good old Neenah, Wisconsin. The plan is that we (me, Derek, and Dewi) will start of our time in Singapore at on-campus student housing specifically for graduate students and their families. Derek is applying for a spot as we speak. In that first semester, we will slowly look for an affordable apartment that will accept Dasher for the toy dog that he is not. We'll hopefully move to that new apartment early summer, after we get Dasher from Neenah.

Many things to look forward to and be excited about come January. But for now, back to the craigslisting.