I have been utterly useless at keeping up with my "blog", I realised that daily/weekly updates were very dull, so I have left some significant time to build up some good stories and hope to entertain and dazzle you with my latest adventures.
Singapore can sometimes feel like a lonely, isolated place, if you don't leave at least once a month you have a tendency to feel like you're in a huge bubble time warp! Feeling particularly brave one day I decided to do the shameful task of looking for friends "online"-Initially I signed up for expat dating - shortly after I was bombarded with "winks" and "daily matches"..... promptly realisng I was in the wrong place!
Even being skeptical of making friends in cyber-space and the negative connotations it can have, I was lucky enough to come across a post from a Brit (my natural homing instincts drew me in) and a thread of people all just like me, lonely in Singapore, looking for friends. So, I got together for a drink with 4 ladies from the forum - Well actually, I showed up late after heading to wrong bar across town (this is relative to how small Singapore is, suddenly 5 minutes down the road feels like hours, in London i wouldn't think twice about a half hour tube journey). I asked a young local man who worked there for directions of where to go....so he offered to take me on his scooter to the right bar. Anywhere else this could have been a very bad idea......but Singapore Nat had other ideas. He hands me a helmet and off I go on the back of his scooter. I did show up alive thankfully (sorry mum/dad) and was delighted to discover, these ladies were not scary hunchback, hair covered monsters who pray on girls on forums, but were perfectly lovely...and normal!
I have not looked back since, many lunches/ drinks/ art gallery hobnobbing later I find myself established with a great group of wonderful people who fully occupy my time. They are a mix of Brits/ Americans/ Aussie and New Zealanders but the majority being American. We have had a couple of Thanksgivings and I have never laughed so hard since I arrived. I can't even describe what a huge difference it can make to have people to call up on when you're bored/ lonely/ whatever. It's encouraging to know, you are not alone here, and people will quickly form a tight nit support group
In other news, believe it or not, I have been working! I started work for Spectrum who run sports events around Singapore, my main project being Cycle Singapore. Having work has thrown me into normality; a fellow Brit expat in my office told me that she didn't feel like she belonged, or was truly herself until she started working. I have routine, and people to talk to and a purpose.
This Christmas should have been my homecoming, but instead I headed to Sydney for Christmas and New Year with Hayley and Brian. Loved Sydney, was a beautiful place and it was real nice to be back in western culture again - I do love Singapore very much, but it was nice to blend back into the crowd. Also went to visit my Aunty in North of Sydney who I hadn't seen in about 15 years!!! It's amazing what these last 6 months have brought already and I can't wait to see what the next 6 bring, off to Hong Kong for Chinese NY in Feb, and most importantly LONDON in april :)!!! Happy New Year Everybody!
Singapore can sometimes feel like a lonely, isolated place, if you don't leave at least once a month you have a tendency to feel like you're in a huge bubble time warp! Feeling particularly brave one day I decided to do the shameful task of looking for friends "online"-Initially I signed up for expat dating - shortly after I was bombarded with "winks" and "daily matches"..... promptly realisng I was in the wrong place!Even being skeptical of making friends in cyber-space and the negative connotations it can have, I was lucky enough to come across a post from a Brit (my natural homing instincts drew me in) and a thread of people all just like me, lonely in Singapore, looking for friends. So, I got together for a drink with 4 ladies from the forum - Well actually, I showed up late after heading to wrong bar across town (this is relative to how small Singapore is, suddenly 5 minutes down the road feels like hours, in London i wouldn't think twice about a half hour tube journey). I asked a young local man who worked there for directions of where to go....so he offered to take me on his scooter to the right bar. Anywhere else this could have been a very bad idea......but Singapore Nat had other ideas. He hands me a helmet and off I go on the back of his scooter. I did show up alive thankfully (sorry mum/dad) and was delighted to discover, these ladies were not scary hunchback, hair covered monsters who pray on girls on forums, but were perfectly lovely...and normal!
I have not looked back since, many lunches/ drinks/ art gallery hobnobbing later I find myself established with a great group of wonderful people who fully occupy my time. They are a mix of Brits/ Americans/ Aussie and New Zealanders but the majority being American. We have had a couple of Thanksgivings and I have never laughed so hard since I arrived. I can't even describe what a huge difference it can make to have people to call up on when you're bored/ lonely/ whatever. It's encouraging to know, you are not alone here, and people will quickly form a tight nit support group
In other news, believe it or not, I have been working! I started work for Spectrum who run sports events around Singapore, my main project being Cycle Singapore. Having work has thrown me into normality; a fellow Brit expat in my office told me that she didn't feel like she belonged, or was truly herself until she started working. I have routine, and people to talk to and a purpose.
This Christmas should have been my homecoming, but instead I headed to Sydney for Christmas and New Year with Hayley and Brian. Loved Sydney, was a beautiful place and it was real nice to be back in western culture again - I do love Singapore very much, but it was nice to blend back into the crowd. Also went to visit my Aunty in North of Sydney who I hadn't seen in about 15 years!!! It's amazing what these last 6 months have brought already and I can't wait to see what the next 6 bring, off to Hong Kong for Chinese NY in Feb, and most importantly LONDON in april :)!!! Happy New Year Everybody!
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