LIFE IN SINGAPORE

I know that this email (blog) is quite long, but I have not emailed you for a long time. Reading/writing this helps us feel as though we still have a connection. Enjoy the good read. :-)

How are things going at work and home, Glenn?

How's church and the family, Brian?

How is the house coming along, Mom and Jim?

Neil, how goes it in Ottawa?

Dad, how is volunteering going?

Sharon, what's new with Stowe and Montreal friends?

Erin, any plans for Xmas? How are the girls? Maybe you can read this to Norah or Leah.

Carol and I are basically trying to start off here by making a good impression at work and making our apartment look nice and comfortable.

We are homebodies (yes, we are 35 and 38, it's not 2001 anymore), so that's why we got the iPhone-4 landline, Internet cable TV package. We also went to a second hand thrift shop to buy a PC desk/chair, bed (design issue, not used), lamp, dresser, make-up burrow with mirror, lamp table, and shelves. We also went to a Malay market to buy curtains, a table cloth, pillows, blankets, chair, sheets, candles, art, plants, and paintings. the place did come fully furnished, but the pillows and the two single beds were too small. We did get plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, washing machine, sofa, TV, DVD player, coffee table, stove, fridge, two closets, and A/C.

We got the HDB apt with the help of a real-estate agent. We had to give her half a month's rent for commission (1100SING.$). Teresa, from Penang, Malaysia, our agent, has been helpful, as she assisted us in getting the utility and cable phone accounts set up, picked us up at the airport, got the land lord to fix/replace things in he bathroom, and even drove us to the thrift shop. She is a little absent minded though.

An HDB means an apt. that only a Singaporean can own. There are also houses and condos that foreigners can buy. They are normally better than HDBs, but also double the rent.

On the work front, professionally, our schools are great. I have good bosses, good students, coworkers are nice (Matt, Richard, Joanna, and others) and all, but I am here to make $$ and not friends. The school uses an (IB) school (International Baccheloriate) curriculum, which uses the Primary Years Program (PYP). from an international student/parent/teacher perspective, these are the two best curriculum to have, so they are great resume builders and are also good for our professional development.

I've got mostly Japanese students, between the ages of 6-9, so lots of Norahs and Jacobs, LOL. My favorite student is Nadia from Russia. She has such a strong personality, is very creative, and went from only being able to say hi to full on lengthy stories, rhyming and even humor. She follows me around when I am on duty In the playground, sometimes to show me her homework and other times to hit me with her rabbit doll. Ha ha ha, so cute.

I still get high fives and hugs from the grade two (called year three) class I taught at the start for two weeks. Their real teacher is very strict, so I think they miss me, LOL.

I also teach native English students who have learning disabilities. INTENSIVE ESL & learning support are one of the same, so I am taking on brothers from England, as well as a student who is half English and half Dutch. She can read books well beyond the reach of her seven year old classmates, but needs help with writing.

I also appointed two class mums to organize social events for parents in my class, such as Starbuck's mornings and BBQ Sunday. I will go to the 1st one on Dec. 4th. Hope it will be fun and not a bombardment of talking shop.

Carol is not using PYP, rather Reggio Emilio, which is a new approach for Carol, so again, good for PD and resume. Her school's name is EtonHouse International Research Preschool, so she has to submit a lot of "research". She has to write a lot and is required to attend at least two three hour meetings a week. She is coping with it, though, as every school you work at can give you a new learning experience and approach. The former local Singaporean school teachers told us that they had meetings until 6PM everyday and got paid less, so we are okay there.

Her students are all two year olds. She's got a few who just turned 3 in the past few weeks. Imagine 18 Matts and Leahs for seven hours a day, five days a week. No wonder Carol doesn't need to go to the gym.

Our school also provides free coffee, tea, coco, crackers & bread in the staffroom, and fruit from morning break and gourmet lunches. Sometimes the lunches are international and other times, local.

Actually, there are some really nice people at work. We have been making friends with kindergarten teacher Swiss Matt and his wife Korean banker Jin. They have two kids and we eat supper together once a week.

I will join a gym with Terry, the Mainland Chinese culture teacher, called California Fitness, a chain across Asia. He is nice and can give me some good tips, as he is a bodybuilder. I also ride up to three hours a day, and the seat is not hurting my derrière anymore, LOL, which means I can go further & burn more calories at the East Coast Park bike path.

There is also a foodies group of nice teachers that often goes out, which I gave indoctrinated into. There are two Filippina teachers who are also very nice. Carol and I went out for sushi with her local coworker and sometimes goes out for supper with get Indian and Chinese teachers. Richard from England would also like to go swimming and biking.

Singapore has a lot of exhibitions, plays, theatre, shows, and concerts. There is a great site called sistic.com (I have their APP), from which you can buy all the tickets.

We are going to Jakarta next weekend, finally, to see our cat, Minnie, and our friends from AIS. Minnie is being cared for by domestic servants. We'll stay at Rob and Sue's and probably meet Sung-Sook for Korean food and Deb for brunch. Dave invited me to his stag, which is half a day of golf and then a bus trip around the city. I opted for the golf only. We'll also do some shopping and carol will get a mani/pedi.

I submitted Kenny's (Carol's nephew) documents to study at the school starting in Aug. 2012. His father is okay with it as is Kenny (Lee Koon). He will enter year five and then go onto year six, just a two year stint, so he can experience something international, learn English and give Kenny, Carol and I a chance to see everything in Singapore. We are holding off on a lot of tourist attractions until he comes. And it'll give us some parenting skills. We are really looking forward to it.

We are also going to study again, via online courses.

Carol

1) Masters of Education in Special Needs. USQ 8 months to 2 years.

Mike

1) Masters of Education in Teaching Second Languages from USQ. 8 months.

2) BA double major religion and classical studies from Ottawa U. 2 years.

3) Post Graduate Diploma in Education from Nan-Yang University in Singapore. One year.

If I cam get into Nan-Yang without the BA from Ottawa U, I will start in Sept. 2012. Education in Singapore is ranked amongst the best in the world. I am investigating right now if I can use this in Canada to register as a teacher. Emails have already been sent.

Carol wants me to go eat. Gotta shower now.

FAT MIKE, RICHARD & KATE