I got in to Singapore last evening, and was greeted by my boss and my co-worker. The three of us make up the office, and it was a nice gesture to see them at the airport! My sponsor (a Foreign Service Officer in Public Affairs) was also there, and he took me to my new apartment. I was told I may have to spend a few days in a hotel upon arrival, but the Embassy was able to have my condo ready for my arrival so I got to go straight home.
The weather was quite warm, probably low ’80s at midnight, with the humidity around 80%. I spent about a 1/2 hour chatting with my sponsor, and he showed me around the apartment. I have a lot to read, with a large packet of material on both the condo, appliances, Embassy guidelines for Singapore, and lots of brochures from the Singapore tourism office. My sponsor is picking me up at 10 AM to take me to the Embassy so I can start in-processing, so I crawled off into bed and left everything in the suitcases. The next morning I awoke to the sounds of unique bird calls, as my apartment is right next to the Singapore National Botanical Gardens. I had a look around the condo grounds, and then got ready for my first day at the office.
U.S. Embassy, Singapore
The Embassy looks brand new, but that’s just because it was very well built, and well taken care of. I have never been in a building with so much marble, except in DC. It’s quite a beautiful place to work.
My office is (as it was in Pakistan) the Regional Security Office (RSO) and seems like a nice work environment. We have a computer dedicated to playing music and a good sound system – something that is quite rare in the more secure areas of an Embassy – and I think the only such system in the whole building. My boss told me to bring in as much music as I wanted and we’ll blast the place with tunes! I like this place already!
I had shipped a bunch of boxes ahead of me, and they are all stacked up in a corner here. Some have office junk from Pakistan, and then there’s a few boxes of dry goods from the USA that I shipped while in New England. I also packed 2 large boxes of clothes so my suitcases would be lighter – but clothes that I wanted to be here before my normal airfreight from Pakistan arrives. In theory, airfreight should get to our next destination long before e do, but the reality is that they often hold on to it until we actually show up at post, and then arrange to send it out. It can take a few weeks to arrive, so I mail a bunch of items too, which always seems to work well.
Korean Chicken Noodle Soup
At lunch, I was taken to the nearest mall (3 minute walk) and introduced to the #1 method that Singaporeans eat out – the Hawker center. These are an assortment of food stands inside “food courts” where a single family cooks specialty dishes, all from scratch. Unlike the USA where mall food is pretty much the same from mall to mall all across the country, in Singapore there are thousands of hawker stands and each one if different. The individual shop owners cook family recipes handed down from generation to generation, all cooked to order. Prices are quite inexpensive and my first taste of Singapore was Korean chicken noodle soup, which also had crab, beef, tofu, and an egg in it. The cost, with rice and some kimchi was $4.50. I’ll try more adventurous dishes later.
To drink, I enjoyed a fresh juice made from fresh mango’s, bananas, and pineapple. The Singaporeans love fresh fruit, and fruit stands seem to be everywhere. While they certainly serve cut up fruit (with many varieties I have never seen), they also all will be happy to turn them into juices or even smoothies. I think for every person I saw drinking a soft drink, there was probably 30 to 40 who where drinking fresh juices.
I stayed at work all day, and only left when my boss left. First impressions are important, and jet-lag was not too bad – I think a new office, new co-workers, and a new building were exciting enough to keep me awake. Tomorrow may a bit tougher!
I decided to walk home, as it was a straight shot from home to the Embassy, and didn’t seem too far, plus, I had not yet bought a bus pass, nor do I have any idea yet how to use them. In the Foreign Service, when we first arrive at a new post and have no clue where we are, what to eat, how to get around, etc… these first days are the most exciting for me! Within a few days I will settle in to the rhythm here, and quickly get used to my surroundings. The mystery will be gone. I can’t peak for all Foreign Service members, but I LIVE for this feeling! I feel so alive, and full of wonder, like a child on his first day to a zoo or amusement park.
My walk home
The walk home was an easy 20 minutes. It took me past the Botanical gardens, and along a straight road to my apartment. One nice thing here is that you don’t see any trash on the streets and sidewalks, not a cigarette butt, bottle cap, or anything except a few leaves. The air is clean, and the amount of green has certainly surprised me! I will admit though, the humidity here is nasty! I walked just 20 minutes and was covered in sweat. I hope I can acclimatize to this!
The next morning (Saturday), one of the first things I did was dig out my bathing suit from my suitcase and jump in the pool. The outside temperature was about 88F an so this felt so good! In the afternoon I’ll head downtown to learn how to use the bus and metro system and start to explore my new city.
The pool
The first ever Youth Olympic Games are being held here in Singapore, and they end tomorrow (26 Aug, 2010). There were 3,530 young athletes representing 204 countries that came to the first ever Olympic Event in Singapore.
