At the Axis of Eeeeeeviiillllll

[FLASHBACK - Saturday, February 28th]

The DMZ

Where do I even begin?  I think this is going to be a really long post so please bear with me, but  the border between North and South Korea was one of the most interesting places I've ever been.

After about an hour-long bus ride north to the border between North and South Korea, we entered what is called The Civillian Zone.  It's not the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone - a 2 kilometer wide buffer zone on both sides of the border that only military personell are allowed to enter), but a protected section around it that tourists can enter.  Soldiers checked our passports, and we weren't allowed to take any pictures until we got to the Unification Park where we would catch the next bus.  Two interesting things along the way - first were these huge overpasses over the main roads to South Korea.  These were not normal overpasses, as they were packed with dynamite.  They were set to blow in case North Korea ever decided to invade again, it would give Seoul a little extra time to evacuate.  The second was a small village - people who are living there just to keep the Civilian Zone semi-populated.  They have a strict curfew they have to follow, and they have to listen to propaganda that the North broadcasts over huge loudspeakers, but I'll bet that their taxes are really low.

Unification Park

I was surprised to find the area where we waited for our official tour bus (that was leaving at 9:40 exactly - we were reminded multiple times) contained an amusement part.  None of the rides were running, but I suppose you have to keep the kiddies entertained doing something while you wait.  In addition, there were several sculptures and memorials, and I was not entirely prepared for their significance.  The highlights:

The Peace Bell - "As we bid farewell to the 20th century in which we witnessed the division of the Korean Peninsula, we welcome the 21st century as a time of reunification and peace for all mankind."  We didn't get to ring it, though, you have to make an appointment.

The Stones of Peace Wall (my personal favorite) - "This sculpture is made from stones collected from battlefields all over the world that have witnessed the suffering and grief of war.  It is my sincere wish that the bringing together of these stones collected from 88 battlefields in 64 different countries will be a stepping stone for the reconcilliation of the Korean People and mark the beginning of a century of peace and harmony for all mankind".  Lim Chang-Yuel, Governer

This sculpture had rocks from the battlefields from the Punic Wars to the Napoleonic Wars to the Rwandan Civil War to the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War  to WWI to WWII... and on and on and on.  This is when I realized that this little trip would be a bit more than spying a glimpse of North Korea and making little Axis of Evil Devil Horns at it.  Quote from the back of the statue:  "Stones from all over the world filled with sadness and grief and stained with blood and tears have been collected here to represent our wish for peace for all mankind.  In their place of origin, they were witness to hate, anger and malice, but here, may the once again find forgiveness, reconciliation and love.  May the world be a place where people of each neighborhood, each race and each country embrace each other as brothers and sisters.  Together we pray that this country divided into North and South be reunified and its people divided into left and right be reunited."

The Freedom Bridge:  "Family members who were separated during the Korean War come to honor their ancestors and families that remain in North Korea.  After the Korean War, 12,773 POWs from both North and South Korea were taken to the railroad bridge and allowed to walk across the short span to be repatriated and reunited with their family and homeland.  Originally, there were two separate bridges over the Imjin River, one for traveling north and the other for traveling south.  These bridges were bombed during the war and were all but destroyed, except for the supporting columns.  At the end of the war, the railway bridge had to be quickly repaired for the historice POW exhanges.  Because the bridge was originally intended to be temporary, the architecture is nothing significant.  However, the historic event of the POWs returning to both the North and South gave the bridge a symbolic meaning, for the soldiers returning to freedom and their homelands."

We had to hurry back to the bus (because it was almost exactly 9:40 and yes, they pretty much left on the minute), along with a few other tourists.  Quiz:  Of the four guys below (the girl was a tour guide), can you tell which are the Germans and which are the Americans?  Hint:  Waistlines.

The Third Tunnel

"The South Korean Military was informed of the third tunnel by a North Korean defector who fled the communist state in 1974.  One hundred-seven PVC pipes were then filled with water and installed every 2m along the expected invasion route to the south.  Three years later, one of the pipes exploded with water shooting up into the air.  Hence, South Korea was finally able to penetrate the tunnel that North Korea had intended for use in a military invasion.  Today, visitors can explore the tunnel up to 265 meters, at the end of which there is a wall.  Beyond the wall, the tunnel leads through the military demarcation line.

"There is evidence that this tunnel was intended for invasion of the south.  First, the tunnel is sloped approximately 3 degree toward the north, which acauses water to drain to the north.  Second, the dynamite loading spheres meant to explode base rock face south.  Third, although caol was never found in this area, traces were left upon the rock wall to disguise the tunnel as an old mining tunnel.

"The 3rd Tunnel was discovered at the point of just 52 km away from Seoul in 1978.  The tunnel is 1,635 km in length, 2m in width and 2m in height.  It is as large in scale as an army of 30,000 fully armed North Korean soldiers to pass through within an hour."  

Note that these tunnels were build during peacetime, not during the war.  We did get to go down there, and it was a loooong walk back up.  No pictures were allowed, of course, but here a little map if you're interested.

Currently four tunnels have been found and they are named in the order they were found.  There are an estimated 20 tunnels each with the purpose of large amounts of troops so they can under go a surprise attack.  All tunnels are strategically positioned to lead to Seoul.

Dorasan Station

"Dorasan Station is the first train station toward the North, not the last station from the South."  At the end of the Korean war and the lines were drawn, South Korean essentially became an island - in order to visit or leave today, you have to fly out, you can't drive or take a train because then you'd have to go through North Korea, and that's just not allowed.  Dorasan train station was built in 2002, ready to take on passengers as soon as the country is re-unified.  It lays in wait:

And last but not least, a glimpse of North Korea!  And I mean glimpse.  We weren't allowed to get very close, even to the point where you had to stand behind a line if you wanted to take pictures:

This is as good as my camera could get:

Just before we left, I did have a chance to make my little Axis of Evil Devil Horns at North Korea.  David captured the moment.

Calves of Steel

[FLASHBACK - Friday, February 25th in Seoul, Korea]

After taking the red-eye into Seoul (my first flight on the awesome Singapore Air - more about that later), we arrived at our hotel around 8am.  Since our room wasn't ready yet, we lucked out and were upgraded to a floor that had free daily breakfasts and free happy hour every day.  This trip was starting out right.

After a long nap, we took a cab down to a little shopping district called Insadong, where we wandered up and down the alleyways.  I had no idea the streets of Seoul were so steep.

That evening we walked up to N' Seoul Tower (huge hills again - my calves were getting a great workout), where you can get great views of the city.

Yes, that is a winter jacket I'm wearing!  Spring in Seoul is similar to Minnesota, it even snowed a little once or twice while we were there.  It was so refreshing.  I could even blow dry my hair without having to stop in the middle to stand in front of the air conditioner to cool down.

There were fences around the tower, and for some reason, they were all covered with padlocks with messages written on them.  There were thousands of them.  We never figured out why...

After finally making it up to the top of the tower, we were rewarded with quite a view:

We had our first Korean BBQ dinner at the tower, and then headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep - we're going to the DMZ tomorrow!

Mamahuhu

I'm so behind!  Here's the last few entries before we left for Korea, so enjoy...

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Sunday, February 22^nd

Here’s another recipe for you foodies out there.  Singapore is famous for chili crab, but instead of having to buy a whole live crab, wrestle it into the pot, and figure out how to crack it open, here’s a slightly modified version using prawns.  Serve it with lots of bread to sop up all the extra yummy sauce.  I apologize for using grams, but it'll be good for your brain to do the conversion...

A.)  Blend to a paste:  4 fresh, regular, red chilies (with the seeds, otherwise what's the point?), 1/2 Tbsp chili paste, 1 small onion, 1/2 tsp salt, 4 cloves (peeled) garlic, 2-inch (peeled) ginger piece and 1/4 cup vegetable oil.

B.)  If you want the true messy experience, get the prawns with the shells still on.  Take off the heads and legs, though.  You'll need 6-700 grams.

C.)  Whisk together:  1 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp ketchup, 2 Tbsp chillie sauce (any sauce from a bottle, it's usually thinner than the paste in A.), and 3/4 cup water.

D.)  Mix together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 1/2 cup water.

E.)  2 eggs, lightly beaten

Heat the wok (or large pan) until hot and add oil.  Fry A to a fragrance, about 1 minute.  Add B and stir fry.  Prawns should turn pink, but not entirely cooked through, about 2 minutes depending on the size of the prawns.  Add C and stir fry some more.  Add D and stir until the sauce thickens.  Add E and stir fry one last time.  Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!  Serves 4 as a main dish.

Monday, February 23^rd

In an attempt to find friends, today I joined the American Women’s Association.  Their office is located in the American Club, (a place we can’t afford to join with membership dues that are about $100K a year).  The administrator who took my application and check (a more reasonable $125/year) surprisingly wasn’t American, though, she was a Brit!  I didn't ask.  On the way out, I ran into a crowd of women coming from some sort of luncheon.  They were dressed to the nines, and I could just feel the competitiveness in the air.  I hope the AWA events aren’t like this, one of the things I like about Singapore is that no one pretty much cares how you dress, even at the fancier restaurants.

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[I also thought I’d mention this advertisement, found outside a place called The Browhaus, which has waxing services.  David notes with glee, every time we pass:  “Striperella!” like a little kid.]

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The Oscars were broadcast today at 8am.  For the first time in a while, I hadn’t seen most of the movies that were up for awards.  There are good and bad things about the movie theaters here in Singapore.  Bad things include the utter lack of “artsy” movies, and documentaries in the theaters are almost non-existent.  Good things include that the big blockbusters are here usually within a couple of weeks of release in the US, and also THEY HAVE RESERVED SEATING.  Yes, you book your tickets either online or at the theater, and you can choose the seat of your choice.  You like the back row?  Just book your ticket in advance, and there’s no need to wait in line.  Going to opening night of a really hyped movie and your running late and you don’t want the front row way over in the corner?  No worries, your tickets are already assigned.  Genius, I tell you… genius!!  I can’t tell you how many times David and I have gotten into arguments because he likes to slide in at the last minute, and I like to get there early to get the row with the railing so I can put my feet up.  Problem solved in Singapore.

Thursday, February 24^th

Word of the day from Mandarin class:  "Mamahuhu".  Literally meaning horse-horse-tiger-tiger, it means "so-so", or "okay, I guess."  I have yet to successfully work it into normal conversation, but I will keep trying!

Millie Plaut, Tropics Dog

[FLASHBACK]

Saturday, February 21^st

Our first beach day with Millie!  We recorded her maiden dash into the saltwater…

The beach was very nice, and not too crowded.  In addition to the scenery, there were some great people watching opportunities.  Photographers taking pictures of a model on the beach:

And an Australian with her helper and Flock of Beagles:

Millie drank a little too much salt water, and if anyone has read Marley & Me, what comes out of a dog that isn’t used to saltwater can be spectacularly… explosive.  She spent the rest of the day outside.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.... ?

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Friday, February 19^th

Our patio set came today, here it is!!

That evening I sat at the table with a glass of wine, making flashcards for the Mandarin words I’m starting to learn.  The hardest one to pronounce is “ball point pen”, or “yuenchubi” (yoo-when-choo-bee).  At least I remember that one, unlike the number 7.  Why can I not recite 1 through 10 without having to check my flashcards at 7?? There’s nothing like learning a new language to make you feel like you have an IQ of 47.  Or 46.  I can’t use the number 7 because I haven’t memorized it yet.

I Learn Something New Every Day

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Wednesday, February 18^th

Kay emailed me the directions on how to season my new wok – it involved 500g of freshly shredded coconut and 3 days.  What?  This I did not expect.  Trusting the expert, I headed over to the local market and asked for 500 grams of freshly shredded coconut.  The old guy at the fruit stand didn’t even blink as he grabbed a coconut, hacked it open, poured out the juice, and threw about ¾ of it into a shredder.  Ten seconds later, I had my fresh coconut.  He didn’t even have to measure!  I was curious, so when I went home of course I checked just to see… 507 grams… he nailed it.  Too bad I hate coconut, otherwise I’d go down there every day to get some.

Seasoning the wok consisted of scrubbing the wok with handfuls of the coconut, and then pouring boiling water over the coconut and letting it sit there covered for three days.  Allrighty then.  I don’t quite understand the chemistry involved and how this seasons the wok to make it non-stick, but it was sort of fun to do.  I’ll let you know how it turns out... three days from now.

Hotsa Laksa

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Tuesday, February 17^th

The official "language of commerce" here in Singapore is English, but the next most widely spoken is Mandarin, due to the large Chinese population.  3M pays for me to learn the local language until I have “social proficiency”, so tody I had my first Mandarin lesson.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but the “class” turned out to be a 90 minute one-on-one session.  My first instructor was a Chinese-born Singaporean named Wendy, and here’s what I learned today:

Learning Mandarin is hard.

After only an hour, I was so mentally exhausted I almost couldn’t see straight.  I am okay at pronunciation, but really lacking in memorization skills.  The basic greeting is “Ni hao ma?” (How are you?) and the answer is “Wo hen hao, xiexie” (I’m very well, thank you).  I could get the first part okay, embarrassingly because one of the America’s Next Top Model seasons was in China and they said it all the time, but failed to remember the response again and again.  Wendy was very sweet, though, and kept reminding me it was my first lesson and was doing just fine.  I will feel better in a month where hopefully I will speak better than a three-year-old.  My lessons are twice a week from now until the fall, and I get tired just thinking about it.  But I want to be able to converse with the Vegetable Lady at the wet market, and not have to rely on finger pointing and hand waving to buy broccoli.

That night we were able to have dinner with Jonathan, who is the cousin of David’s sister’s husband and who was in town for the day on business.  It was a good time, and I was able to forget the stress of the day in Laksa and sugarcane juice, all for $3.  Yum.

Bon Appetit!

[FLASHBACK]

Monday, February 16^th

My first cooking class was this morning!  There is a woman named Kay Karuna, who makes her living exclusively teaching groups of ex-pats how to cook the local food.  The class was hosted in Woodlands, which is the American neighborhood located near 3M.  There was a bit of a problem finding the place – I had forgotten both the address and the phone number of the hostess.  Luckily it’s a pretty close-knit community, and David’s co-worker who lives in the same neighborhood knew exactly who was hosting and where it was.  I was the first one there, of course, which is just how I like it.  I know it’s not polite, but I enjoy the time chatting with whoever is having the get-together because I know they’ll be way too busy later.  And I’m usually a bit shy when I first meet people, so I like to find a job early, like helping put out the food, so I can keep busy and not be so terrified by all the strangers.

The class was fun, and everyone was very nice, of course.  I had kitchen-envy of Wendy, the hostess, as she had more than two square feet of free counter space.  I learned two major skills today:

1.)    How to use a wok properly, and…

2.)    How to take the heads off prawns all by myself.  It turns out it's fairly easy, but there’s quite a bit of unsightly goo if you don’t do it exactly right.

I didn’t instantly bond with any one single person, they all lived in the American neighborhood and had kids that all went to school together, so I’m still a little lacking in the friend department.  But it was a ton of fun and I’ll look forward to the next one.  I was also able to buy a real hand-made wok from Kay, and will finally be able to use the cool wok-burner thingy on the stove at home.  Now when we have guests I can start to cook up the local specialties... and I may not even make you take the heads off your own prawns.

They Just Don't Go With The Decor

[FLASHBACK]

Saturday, February 14^th

Now that we finally have a little money in the bank, we headed to a place called Dempsey (sort of the Singapore version of Linden Hills) to look for a patio set.  We’ve been eating our meals either standing up in the kitchen or sitting on the floor of the living room as we left both our home patio set and dining room set at the house back in MN.  We found a great one, it seats six fairly comfortably, but opens up to seat at least 12 for the work and neighborhood get-togethers we haven’t had yet.

On the way out, we spied this fun pair.  Unfortunately, they weren't for sale.

 

Rollercoaster Day

 [FLASHBACK]

Wednesday, February 11^th

Today was a day of highs and lows. 

High:  I finally found a dog groomer just a few blocks from the house, which is great – Millie hasn’t had a bath since her quarantine stay and even David thinks she’s getting a bit stinky.  The groomer’s sign said “Dogs Any Size Welcome”, which is fantastic, since some places have a weight limit and it’s been hard to find a place in the neighborhood that will take her (she's about 100 pounds).  I called the number to make an appointment and the lady who answered said “Yes yes, we take big dogs, what kind you got!?”  I told her Millie was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and she was impressed.  “Ah, big dog, Chesapeake, only one in Singapore I think!!  You enter her in show and she win no problem!!  You bring her by tomorrow, we clean her up lah!!”  I liked this person immediately.

Low:  I might not be able to keep working from home here – the taxes implications may be getting too complicated.  If I have to find a job in Singapore, this will seriously affect my wardrobe selection.  I most likely cannot go to a new job in t-shirts and flip-flops.

High:  Our cashiers check was deposited!  We finally have money in the bank.  Whew.  I can pay the groomer to clean Miss Stinky.

[Millie in 2004, before she became the tank she is today...]

Cultural Training, Part 2

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Tuesday, February 10th

Continuing our cultural training, tonight we focused on business topics.  Or, "When faced with a conflict in a Singapore office, whatever your gut reaction is, just stop and do the exact opposite."  For example:

1.)  Instead of taking individual initiatives and taking an idea and running with it yourself, use group decision-making and consensus (sometimes even having meetings before the meeting).  Always say, "We feel that..." or "The group has decided...".  Brain-storming is also never done, people would think you were crazy and no one would participate.

2.)  Not everyone equal in the workplace.  Titles are very important, and people are not comfortable expressing opinions to supervisors.  Instead, there are appropriate and inappropriate behaviours for different roles, and status and position are highly respected.  I was warned that David would get "Yes, sir, good idea sir!"  all day long, and it was my job to remind him he's not the greatest, smartest guy in the world.  No problemo.

3.)  Instead of valuing risk and trying new ways of doing things, caution is excercised.  More time is spent on background research, and there are way many more rules and regulations, even in the business place.

4.)  Instead of speaking your mind and openly confronting difficulties, avoid conflict, especially in group settings.  The concept of "face" is important, and great care must me taken on exactly how things are said.  Communication is very indirect.  If someone is saying "Yes, of course", but looking very uncomfortable, it's a "maybe" at best.  And if you are able to get a "maybe", it's probably a "no".

5.)  In the US work setting, trust is built on what you do and your work achievements.  "Ah, he's gotten those reports to me early every time, I can trust him now and give him more responsibility."  Here, you have to get to know your colleagues and develop trust before doing business.  "We've had lunch and talked about family, travel, etc., so now I can trust him and will happily get those reports to him early."  Taking a long lunch with your work colleagues is more important than the work that's not getting done.

My favorite was practicing translating direct (confrontational) sentences into indirect (non-confrontational) communication:

• "Are you kidding!?  That will never work" becomes "We will do our best"
• "That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard" becomes "That's a very interesting viewpoint"
  
• "If you want to do it that way, it's your funeral" becomes "This proposal deserves further consideration"
  
• "No way" becomes "Let's see how it goes"
  
• "Forget it, you're completely missing the point" becomes "Is is all right if we move to the next topic?"

David needs LOTS of practice on this one.

Cultural Training, Part 1

[FLASHBACK]

Monday, February 9^th

Today was our first day of cultural training.  It was a good time to take it, now that we have been here for a month and have some good questions to ask, like "Why do pedestrians not have the right-of-way?" and "What do I do when the older lady falls asleep on me in the subway?".  It was also the last day of Chinese New Year, so our trainer brought over a traditional food, which was a big salad.  It comes on a tray with all the ingredients separated (each one represents something), and then you mix the salad together with your chopsticks, tossing it as high as you can.  He kept encouraging us to “Toss the salad, toss the salad!” and I kept giggling – apparently the euphemism “tossing your salad” doesn’t have the same meaning here.

Some of the more interesting tidbits we picked up today:

1.)  History in a paragraph:  In the 13th century, the prince of Srivijaya names the island Singa-Pura, meaning "Lion City" even though lions have never existed on the island (he probably saw a tiger).  Skip ahead to 1819, Stamford Raffles arrives in Singapore to establish a trading post for the British East India Company.  February 15, 1942:  British Forces in Singapore surrender to the Imperial Japanese Army.  August 15, 1945:  Japan surrenders to the Allies.  May 1959:  Lee Kuan Yew becomes Singapore's first Prime Minister at the age of 36.  1963:  Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak merge and become Malaysia.  August 9th, 1965:  The Malaysian Parliment votes to expel Singapore from the Federation; Singapore becomes independant.

2.)  Singapore's Five Shared Values:  Nation before community and society before self;  Family as the basic unit of society;  Community support and respect for the individual;  Consensus, not conflict;  Racial and religious harmony.

These values exhibit themselves in some interesting ways.  In the support of family, the government hosts singles' cruises in order to help people meet and get married.  You also cannot live in government housing (as 85% of the population does) unless you are married.  Or over the age of 35.  They start to feel sorry for you at that time, I guess.

Racial Harmony:  75% of the population is of Chinese decent, 15% is Malaysian, 7% is Indian, and 3% is "Other".  All the government housing keeps this ratio.  If you're Malaysian and there is already 15% in the building, you'll have to find a different place to live.  This is supposed to prevent communities from completely segregating themselves from each other.  In addition, everyone gets a public holiday.  All Singaporeans get New Year's Day, Labour Day and National Day (August 9th); the Chinese get Chinese New Year; the Christians get Good Friday and Christmas Day; the Indians get Vesak Day and Deepavali; and the Muslims get Hari Raya Puasa and Hari Raya Haji.

Nation before community:  Every male has to spend two years in military service after high school.  Females don't have to go, which results in some interesting test scores in your freshman year of college.  Since the girls havent been away from school for two years, they tend to score much better than the guys who haven't studied in a while.

3.)  The National Flag:

Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of men; white, purity and virtue.  The crescent moon represents a young nation on the rise.  The five stars stand for democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

4.)  Confucianism still has a big influence in society here, including hierarchal system:  Soverign to subject, elder to younger sibling, parent to child, and husband to wife.  People are valued, but everyone is not the same.

5.)  Singapore is New Money, so outward appearance is very important, including wearing big labels (shoes, sunglasses, purses).  In addition, there are the Five C's of Singapore:  Credit Card (what color, ie. Black AmEx), Compensation (how much money you make), Club (which one you belong to), Car (if you own one and what kind it is), and Condominium (which one you live in).

6.)  Small Talk Taboos:  Being critical of Singapore, the "Malay-Subject", freedom of the press, sexuality, praising oneself, and the roles of different ethnic groups.  Acceptable Small Talk:  Compliments about Singapore, sports (as long as it's soccer, preferrably Manchester United or Liverpool), complaining, work, shopping, holiday trips, food/drink, education and money.

7.)  Non-Verbal Communications:  No body contact between members of the opposite sex, generally keep arm's length distance, don't pat children on the head, don't point at somebody with your forefinger, don't hit your right fist on your left palm, and don't wave somebody over with your palm up - use palm-down only.

Tomorrow is Cultural Training and Business Communications, or. "Don't Ever EVER Call Someone Out In A Group Meeting".

Try It, You'll Like It

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Sunday, February 8^th

David woke up with a cold, which isn’t good for anybody.  There’s lots of moaning and groaning, and apparently he was so weak with fatigue, he could barely get out a pathetic “…will you get me some juice…” once he was finally able to crawl downstairs.  This would be a good day for me to leave the house and run errands, I think.  We were supposed to bring Millie to Sentosa Beach for her first beach swim today, but she wasn’t feeling well either – her tummy was loud and grumbly, which is usually a sign of trouble.  Sure enough, I was unfortunate enough to see her stomach contents in the Bonsai Garden of the Singapore Botanical Gardens on our walk.  There was someone jogging by, so it was a little embarrassing.  If your dog throws up in a public garden, are you expected to clean it up, like poo?  I chose "no, just leave it and walk quickly away".  I just hope some little kid didn’t step in it on the way to see the cool little mini-trees.

I made my fourth trip to the grocery store in four days, in order to get the rest of the spices for a new local recipe I wanted to try.  There's a substantial Indian population here in Singapore, and I'm determined to learn how to cook some authentic Indian cuisine.  Plus it was vegetarian with lots of garlic and ginger and I figure I could tell David it's good for his cold.  I'm a terrible nurse, I have no sympathy and no patience with those who refuse to suck it up so I try to make up for it in other ways.  Cooking for him allows me to do something nice without actually having to pretend to feel sorry for him, instead of annoyed that he's forcing his misery on me.

I don't know if there are any foodies out there, but the dish was fantastic.  I thought I'd share.

Spiced Red Lentils

Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a main course

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground tumeric

1/8 t ground cardmom

1/8 t red pepper flakes

1 T vegetable oil

1 medium onion

4 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 t minced fresh ginger

4 cups water (or 3 cups water and 1 cup coconut milk)

1 1/4 cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over

1 pound plum tomatoes, cored, seeded nd chopped medium

1/2 cup minced fresh cliantro leaves

2 T unsalted butter

Salt and ground black pepper

1.)  Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the spices and saute until fragrant, about 10 seconds.  Stir in the onion and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2.)  Stir in the water and lentils and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the lentils are tender and resemble a coarse puree, 20 to 25 minutes.  (At this point, the lentils can be regrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days; reheat over medium-low before continuing.)

3.)  Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, and butter and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

It Separates the Boys from the Girls

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Saturday, February 6^th

Thank goodness for the purchase of the Apple TV last summer.  I actually didn’t think we’d really use it any more than we did at home (not much), because I was assured my favorite entertainment was also available in Singapore.  David had said, “Don’t worry, people there watch the same dumb shows you do”.  But he was mis-informed.  There are NOT the same shows here, only American Idol is “live”, all other shows are at least a season behind.  But with the Apple TV and iTunes, it only costs about $25 a season for any one show, a small price to pay to keep up with America’s Next Top Model and Chuck.  I have stopped watching some shows, finding they are just not worth my hard-earned cash.  Put a price on something, I suppose, and it makes you pick your priorities.  (This season of Desparate Housewives is just not worth it.)  But it has initiated some new money conversations between the two of us:  "You actually bought this show?"  "Well, at least it's better than Fringe."  "Hey, that show is good, you just don't get it since you never saw the first couple of episodes."  "No, I don't watch it because it silly."  "Right, you only watch smart shows like Gossip Girl."  "Touche."

Today David was able to talk me into meeting him after yoga, and we went to Thai Express again for dinner.  He asked for the spiciest dish they had, and was rewarded with Fiery Noodles.  I asked if it was really that hot, and he said, “I guess it’s pretty uncomfortable”.  Looks like we might have a winner!  He also had a Sour Plum drink, having been sold by the tag line:  “It Separates the Boys from the Girls”.  We couldn't agree if this was an actual saying here, or if they just got it a little wrong.  There are so many things that acutally separate the two, how sour did this drink really have to be?  Not very, it turned out.  At least we have our TV shows to separate us.

Lazy, Spoiled, or Lucky?

[FLASHBACK]

Thursday, February 4^th

I started to learn to garden last year, and I love it.  Here, however, I have no idea what any of our plants are, and our hedges are a good 30 feet high and seem to grow at least a foot a week.  So we now have a gardener.  His name is Ho Ping, which I find amusing but I’m not sure quite why.  He swoops in with his troop, and they trim, water, “mow” (there is almost no grass) and spray for ants all in about 30 minutes and are gone.  Basically I hide inside, feeling guilty about not helping.  But whenever I step outside they seem to think something is wrong, so I sit with Millie, trying to get her to stop barking at the strangers in her yard.  Next time, I will at least pick up the dog poo before they arrive, it’s the least I can do to feel like I deserve this luxury.

         

Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Eat 'Em Up Yum!

[FLASHBACK]

Wednesday, February 4^th

It was a pretty uneventful day, except for dinner.   We ate at a place called Samy’s Curry, described as “comfort food” by a local.  Banana leaf placemats, fish head soup, and the best butter nan (indian bread) I’d had since I’d been to India.  The moment was duly captured.

Cleanup in Aisle 7

[FLASHBACK]

Tuesday, February 3^rd

I am officially connected.  I have Ovoo.  I have Windows Live Messenger.  I have Yahoo Voice.  I have Skype.  I have Office Communicator.  If anyone wants to get a hold of me, they can.  Except my parents.  They still have dial-up.

Completely unrelated, grocery shopping has to be one of the most stressful experiences I’ve had here.  I don’t like it even back in the US, but here, it takes the stress to a whole different level.  I had been to the grocery store the day before, and I was almost brought to tears in the store.  (Have you ever been faced with an entire aisle of soy sauce and tried to decide which one to buy, all along knowing your $12 crappy ice cream was melting?  That and the $300 bill for ½ cart of food just about pushed me over the edge.)  Today, I was determined to find the four items I was unable to find yesterday:  Thai basil, limes, vegetable oil, and dishwasher detergent.  Was Thai basil the same as basil here, just like cilantro is called Chinese parsley?  Why can I not find limes for gods’ sakes?  For lack of vegetable oil, do I buy corn oil?  Sunflower oil?  Canola oil?  Am I the only person in Singapore who owns a dishwasher and needs dishwasher detergent?  The answers:  No, basil is just basil here – if I want Thai basil I have to grow my own.  Limes are these tiny marble-sized ones, looks like I’ll need to modify the recipe.  I settled for canola oil.  Yes, I am among the 1% of people here who do not have a Helper to do my dishes, and will have to try somewhere else for dishwasher detergent.

Jeezum crow, I’m exhausted.  Frozen pizza for dinner tonight.  And a dishwasher that will sit idle for another day.

Singapore Superbowl

[FLASHBACK]

Monday, February 2^nd

Superbowl XLIII was broadcast live here in Singapore at 7:30am.  We heard through the American Grapevine that there was a bar called Bojangles (“Where everyone here is the same color”) that was showing the game on their big screen, and was hosting a Western-style breakfast to boot.  [Read:  sausage and eggs, instead of the traditional noodles.]

We jumped at the chance at the normalcy of watching a big game in a bar, and headed out in the early AM.  It turned out to be a pretty good time, and we even won $100 just before halftime playing Squares!  But… there were no commercials broadcast.  Not a single one.  Seriously, we all know that’s the best part.  After getting over the disappointment of this, we settled in to our pancakes and starting watching the crowd.  There was a family of Steelers fans there, but they were vastly outnumbered by the people who wanted to see Arizona finally win something.  

We were rooting for Arizona, and I had prepared a response in case anybody asked me why:

 “I’m a Denny Green fan.” 

I even practiced the dead-pan face.  No one asked, though, darn it, so I never found out if anyone thought it was funny.  Being it was during the day, the bar staff kept having to tape more and more plastic garbage bags to the windows to cut the daytime glare from the screen.

The most entertaining part for me was meeting some of the kids from the nearby American School.  It was a Monday, so they did have school that day, but since the American School follows US holidays, this counted as a valid excuse to skip classes in the morning.  The group dynamic for them was the same as everywhere else – the boys completely engrossed in the game, and all the girls texting the boys the entire time trying to get their attention.  The guys completely Did Not Care.  It was the Superbowl.  Please.

And Boom Goes the Dynamite

[FLASHBACK]

Monday, February 1^st

David loves ESPN.

I take that back.  He more than loves it.  He lives for it.  It nourishes him.  Back in MN, every morning I would wake up to the theme song, “Da ner na, da ner na” and every night, I would go to bed to the same, “Da ner na, da ner na.”  Here in Singapore, they do have ESPN, but of course it’s not the same.  There is no Chris Berman talking about how Dick Trickle did in his last race.  There is no “Winner winner chicken dinner!” following football highlights, or "Boom goes the dynamite!" following college basketball highlights.  Oh, there are highlights, all right, but they are either of soccer, table tennis, rugby, or cricket.  Not that these are not valid sports, it’s just not the same.  I am not a Manchester United fan, I do not care that Ronaldo might be traded.  Or that in cricket South Africa beat Austrailia 177 to 34.  You know what else is on constantly?  Cross country skiing!  And biathalon!  I’m as die-hard XC skier as any, but seeing all that great snow for me is simply just teasing, and almost just as depressing as seeing that seeing that only cricket is on for the next 4 hours.

Our second cable upgrade was to get the HD channels, of which there are a total of five.  No, ESPN is not one of them, but there is a new channel here called All Sports Network (ASN).  And you know what was on when we were finally able to get the channel this afternoon?  Big Ten Network and the Gophers men’s basketball game!  A replay, but still!  And then we watched the Florida vs. Oklahoma football game!  Ah, the sweet sounds of home…

David slept with a smile on his face for the first time in a month…

Wanna Be Snobbery

[FLASHBACK]

Sunday, January 31st

No one has asked me yet where the name “wannabesnobbery” has come from, but I guess I’ll explain anyway…

I had a good friend, Abbie, who I met back in college at the University of MN.  (She’s also the reason that David and I met, but that’s a story for another day.)  She moved away to become a ski instructor in Vail after college graduation, having no idea what else to do.  She was telling me stories about waitressing in Vail in the off-season, and when it was really slow, they wait staff were able to sit at the bar and taste all the wines.  (In order to better be able to recommend them to the customers, I think the excuse was.)  I asked her if she was going to become a wine snob now, and she replied, “I wanna be!” with such unashamed enthusiasm I was inspired.  She was a ski bum, sharing an apartment with four other instructors and making next to nothing, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from trying to learn to appreciate wine.

What’s a Wanna-Be-Snob?  Someone who’s last meal would a Totino’s Party Pizza, Diet Coke and Snickers Ice Cream bar, but who is still trying to learn to cook rack of lamb.  Someone who is beside herself with excitement when Legally Blonde comes on TV, but still tries to see all the Oscar-nominated short films just know what they are.  Someone who deep down prefers People magazine, but has still read all the Pulitzer prize-winning novels from the last ten years.  Just because even though she’s not, she really does want to be that sort of person.

I have another friend, Lola, who has inspired me to try and buy art.  She once said [in the most charming southern drawl], “Even if we have no money, I continue to buy art… I consider it a worthy investment.”  [Also insert her husband’s snort of exasperation here... “Trust me, she does…”.]  I’ve always wanted to be the sort of person who owns artsy stuff.  Unfortunately I was not born with an eye for such things, and still consider stuffed animals from childhood valid decoration. 

In Singapore, there are a lot of ex-pats moving in and out every month.  I’m not sure about other companies’ packages, but with ours you get to bring in one shipping container of stuff, but not a whole lot more back to the US than you came with.  (For example, they’ll pay for one container on the way over, but not two on the way back.)  And since there’s a lot of traveling and shopping to be done in Southeast Asia, I’m sure when it comes time to pack up on the way home you start to realize just how much stuff you’ve collected over the last 2-3 years.  Enter… The Ex-Pat Yard Sale.  Us newbie ex-pats are able to get incredible deals on things that other people either can’t use back in the home country like electronics, or simply don’t have room for in that container.  And boy did I score on a sale today!  The person having the yard sale used to run an art gallery for Dutch artists.  I went, thinking that maybe I could afford maybe one piece.  I bought nine.

You know how much all this cost total?  $150.  But don’t tell.  I want people to think I’m an art snob.

Smog and Hairspray

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I'm in Korea for the week with David and all my pictures are back on my home computer. I'm still writing the back-dated entries, though, so tune back in after March 7th to read a slew of new-old entries. Until then, I'll leave you with a picture of beautiful and crowded Seoul, South Korea...




My biggest surprise it that's it's been as hilly as San Francisco. There are streets almost too steep to even walk up, though I probably could use the workout after eating all this great food. But then there's the smog. I have a great view from my hotel room and there's a thick yellow haze that keeps me from having a view of the mountains. It makes me not want to gulp too much air lest my lungs turn that color.

The next surprise is how dressed up everyone is all the time. Even the taxi drivers wear ties. Good thing I brought more than sweats on this trip, otherwise I wouldn't be able to go out in public for more than to find street food. Koreans look like a million bucks, especially the ladies - skirts, dress coats, heels, and perfect make-up everywhere you look. What time do they get up in the morning to look like that!? It's inspiring and exhausting at the same time.

Well, I must go, I'm going out to dinner in three hours and I need time to get ready...