Just Two Weeks

Today marks the end of our second week here in Singapore. Ben and I were discussing how it didn't feel like 2 weeks at all. To him, it feels like we just got here.  To me, it seems as if we've been here for months.  We've settled into our home, despite its borrowed beds and flimsy sauce pans. We're thankful that we were able to just move right in and not have to spend weeks in limbo waiting in a hotel room for our stuff to arrive.  After just one week of Kindergarten, our routine is working. We haven't missed the bus yet!

It's been a smooth two weeks, but there have been bumps in the road.  Each of us have had a moment (or three) of dissapointment. Maybe even a little thought of "Oh what HAVE we done?"  For Ben, his moment came in his first visit to his new office.  It's a small office, and he already knew that the few real offices had been claimed. Cubicle life is nothing new, but he did expect to have a few more than the sixteen square feet of floor space allotted to him. But, he's close to the coffee machine and there's McDonald's in his office basement (and Burger King, too!), so all is well.

My first moment (yeah, I've had more than one.  Two, to be exact).  came the day we moved in.  We had no hot water.  None.  It was tepid,  and dishwashing water should be scalding hot.  We don't have a dishwasher, so I spent what felt like hours running water, just waiting on it to get hot.  It didn't. All I could think about was our second choice apartment - the one with the dishwasher, the brand new one.  The one with the shiny new everything.  The one we didn't choose to call home. I tried not to think about how to clean dishes with warm water.  Meanwhile, Ben was annoyed by the faucet aerator that sprayed the entire kitchen everytime he turned it on. So, he modified the faucet. No more spraying.  And guess what?  HOT WATER!  Problem solved. 

AK is generally happy wherever she is, so she's adjusted beautifully.  Her saddest face came in our first week as she, B3, and I went on a little lunch and grocery shopping adventure. I commented to myself that I saw a McDonald's, mostly as a frame of reference for where to catch the bus.  "Nah," she said.  "Do they have a Chick Fil A here?" she said, obviously hopeful that there were nuggets, waffle fries, and an ice dream in her future.  She spent most of the next  two hours lamenting the fact that the closest Polynesian Sauce was a 24 hour flight away.  It doesn't help that Nachos aren't the favorite food of Singapore, but she's learning that Chinese food can be good.

And B3?  Well, let's just say there are train carfulls of people scattered all over this island who are glad he doesn't live at their houses.  The novelty of the train has worn off, and he does not appreciate the "no snacks' rule.  On Friday, we had to go to AK's school, and I let him take a toy with him.  Big mistake.  I'm fairly certain that his neighbor did not enjoy having a matchbox car driven allover his newspaper. Disaster. He's doing fine, but he reminds me daily that he's two.

There are sure to be more bumps in the road, but for now, the sailing is smooth.  We'll see how the next two weeks go!