Travelogue & Monologue

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

 Hello world!

Thanks for visiting – we are so excited to share our adventures in Singapore with our family and friends.

To catch you up the highlights of last few years…we fell in love as business students in rainy Seattle, braved the shark tank of Wall Street and the concrete jungle of NYC, built our careers with a Silicon Valley start-up and later the World’s Best Employer, got engaged in Washington D.C, were married at a historic hotel in our seaside hometown, traveled to 19 U.S. states, joined an incredible church and community group, adopted the world’s sweetest yellow Labrador, and met some amazing, lifelong friends along the way.

So when George discovered an opportunity to transfer to Singapore late last year, we jumped at the chance to continue our adventures! Within a few weeks, we tearfully shipped Monty off for long-term petsitting at my mom’s farm (thank you Mom!), said our "see-you-soon's" to our wonderful family and friends, packed all our belongings into 3 checked bags and a storage container in a friend’s garage, and bought a one-way ticket to our new home.

And so far, it’s been a wild ride. Our first month in Singapore has been filled with firsts:

• 1^st time exploring hawker center chicken rice, chili crab, kangaroo, escargot, suckling pig, braised ox hind, formal afternoon tea, frog leg and snail congee, and an 8-course Chinese seafood fine dining experience

• 1^st  dinner with 18 people from 12 countries on 5 continents
• 1^st  time hiding from a tropical rainstorm in a 19^th-century convent converted to trendy restaurants
• 1^st  time enjoying a Singapore sling at its birthplace, the Raffles Hotel Courtyard

• 1^st  fish spa pedicure, $18 90-minute outdoor Balinese massage, and jempiring herb/volcanic ash body scrub

• 1^st time viewing a $6.9M Harry Winston engagement ring (Singapore is home to the world’s highest number of millionaires per capita - nearly 17%)
• 1^st time wandering through what appears to be the Avatar movie set at Singapore Gardens by the Bay

• 1^st time trekking through 2 dozen luxury brand stores on Orchard Road, one of the world’s most expensive retail streets
• 1^st  time enjoying a mojito at the tallest rooftop infinity pool in the world

• 1^st time attempting to karaoke at a K-pop establishment  
• 1^st pool party on the 32^nd story of an apartment building
• 1^st time cheering for hundreds of ballerinas-in-training at the Chingay Parade, Asia's largest streetfair 

• 1^st time riding a double-decker tour bus, a river taxi, a scooter, and the Singapore Flyer, the world’s tallest ferris wheel
• 1^st time spotting another American on the street and forming an instant friendship 

And of course, there have also been first-timer culture shocks, including:

• 1^st time observing a “Crime Reported” signboard sharing news of a stolen bicycle in the neighborhood and requesting tips

• 1^st time struggling to operate the A/C, resulting in 95* heat, 90% humidity sweat-fest during a job interview  
• 1^st time seeing an entire city decked out in horse paraphernalia, including a giant pile of paper mache horse heads on sticks

• 1^st time a cabbie approached a traffic jam, shouted “I have no choice!” and attempted to pass a long line of cars by swerving into the oncoming lane and confronting traffic head-on (unfortunately, this is not as uncommon as you would hope) 

All in all, the last month has been one of the most exciting adventures of our lives. Exploring a new culture has both tested and strengthened our marriage, challenged us to expand our comfort zones, made us much more conscious of the political, social, economic, and environmental dynamics in Asia and the world at large, and forced us to rely on the Lord. We have become fast friends with some wonderful people and learn something completely new about business and life in general every day. We feel so blessed to be able to share in this journey together and can't wait to catch up with all of you back at home! 

Until next time,

George & Emily