You are almost a Singaporean when

1. New words have entrenched themselves in your everyday vocabulary: queue, car park, lift, capsicum, petrol, carrier, lah!
2. You find escalators in other countries are too slow
3. You are no longer annoyed by the slow, meandering pace of Singaporeans on Orchard Road
4. Can actually understand Singaporean English over the phone
5. Construction noise is the usual background noise
6. You don’t expect a Singaporean to let you merge into traffic
7. You don’t expect a Singaporean taxi driver to stay in his lane
8. You take it for granted that your luggage beats you to baggage claim
9. You feel safe walking through the streets of Singapore at midnight
10. You think a $5000 per month one-bedroom flat is a bargain
11. You learn how to cool down your red wine by briefly swirling an ice cube
12. You aren’t surprised by footprints on the toilet seat
13. You no longer wonder how teenagers can afford to shop on Orchard Road
14. You believe everything that is printed in the Straits Times
15. You find the autocratic government runs the country better than most democratic governments
16. You can detect a difference between 31 and 29 degrees C
17. You expect to get your medical test results back within 24 hours
18. You realize the United States is not the center of the world
    
19. You make friends that are non-Western
20. You aren’t insulted by buying XL size clothing

David is getting married!!

David and his girlfriend, Krista, visited Asia for four weeks in April. They spent a day with us in Singapore before heading off to Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. One particularly romantic evening in Koh Samui, David popped the question and Krista said yes – so now we have a wedding to look forward to.

But even more importantly, we are looking forward to having Krista as our daughter-in-law. She is beautiful, smart and funny. They make a good couple and we hope they have a lifetime of happiness.

The wedding is August 30^th and will take place in Grand Rapids, MI.

Please come inside my shop, I have many colors…

Gerhard and I spent six days in Hoi An, Vietnam, located about 18 miles south of Danang. Miraculously, the town escaped damage during the Vietnam War and its French-influenced architecture is charming. We stayed at the Ha An Hotel, which ended up being perfect. You never know what you will get when you book over the internet!

Every day, we took our bicycles and rode out to Cua Dai, where the unspoiled beach stretches over 30 km. The water was very clean and gentle waves made swimming delightful.

The rest of the day we spent at various tailor shops for our fittings! We totally got sucked into it. It started very innocuously; Gerhard had a tuxedo made and I had a dress, some slacks and a blouse. Then a dress. Then another dress and blouse. Then a jacket, another jacket, pants, - oh, and make me a skirt to match the jacket!! The next day, since the skirt fit so well, I had another skirt to match the other jacket. Gerhard didn’t hold back, either. He ended up with three jackets, one pair of shorts and some trousers. It was so much fun!

The weather was hotter than in Singapore. We were drenched in sweat most of the time. The tailoring shops didn’t have air conditioning, just fans, so the fittings were torture. One place always gave us cold wipes before we got started. There was no wind, so the heat was almost unbearable.