TRUTH OR FICTION?

Truth or fiction – Asian teenagers do not know their age. Strange question, right? People generally know how old they are. I know that my birthday is October 12. I know that I am currently 29 years old and that on October 12 this year I will be 30. Simple, yes? Not in Singapore…

For the last five months, I have been volunteering for a wonderful organization called Riding for the Disabled Association, a non-profit group providing free therapeutic horse riding lessons to children with disabilities. My responsibilities include leading the horse around the arena or outdoor jungle paths; walking beside the horse advising the riders how to sit properly, hold the reins properly, control the horse and ensure the students know the parts of the horse and all of the tack (saddle, halter, stirrups, etc.) and working as an assistant instructor.

As an AI, I assist the riders onto and off of the horses via block (think steps) or ramp (for those unable to walk up and down stairs). During each session, the instructor, any other AIs and I observe each rider and assist with riding techniques specific to each child and his or her disability.

Almost all of the kids really enjoy themselves and, I have to say, they really make my day. I may not always be excited to go to the arena, for whatever reason, but when I get there, my attitude always changes. By the end of the session, after watching the children improve even in the course of half an hour, my whole body is filled with excitement for each of them.

Yesterday the organization held a fundraiser known here in Singapore as Flag Day. I am not sure why the fundraiser is called Flag Day because there are no flags anywhere (maybe at some point in the past?), but there are a number of them held on behalf of varying non-profit groups throughout the year.

More than 2,700 students from Singaporean schools received community service hours as they each received a large can with a slot in the top. The cans were covered with the RDA logo and solicitation certificate. The students also received sheets with RDA stickers, which were to be handed out to any person who provided donations throughout the day.

The students scattered all over the island, presenting the tins to passersby. I did not think that collecting money this way would bring in much money but, to my surprise, I was advised that this fundraiser brought in $100,000 last year. Amazing. I suppose when you send 2,700 kids out for four hours at a time in the most populated neighborhoods, they can accomplish great goals.

So what does this have to do with age?

Each tin had a unique number and a form on the back to be filled out by each student so that the tins could be tracked. If, for some reason, a tin was stolen or went missing, the tin number would be tracked against a single student and the information we collected would be provided to the police. Age was a category on the form.

Now, when I am asked how old I am or am asked to fill in a blank or check a box regarding my age or age range, sometimes, I admit, I have to think for a few seconds. I do. But the answer always comes to me.

I am not exaggerating at all when I saw that approximately half of the students I encountered yesterday were unsure of their age. Two students looked me in the eyes and asked me how old they were. “I don’t know!” I kindly responded, surprised by the question.

They looked and asked their friends. Why? Why do you not know how old you are?

One kid, after asking me his age, mumbled something about the New Year and a birth month but I really did not understand what he was saying on more levels than one.

I asked a local volunteer and, the way she explained it, you are one age until your date of birth and then on your date of birth you become a year older. Well that’s what I thought so the mystery is still out there.

From what I can find, it seems that some Eastern Asian cultures do have a more traditional way of celebrating birthdays. Like the Greeks (my husband’s family is Greek), babies are 1 year old at birth as they begin their first year of life. On a baby’s first birthday, he or she turns 2.

Birthdays are not celebrated on the date of birth, however, they are celebrated following Chinese New Year. I can see why some people were confused, but there is still one lingering question. If a child is either 15 or 16, where does 15+ come in? Yes, a large portion of students wrote “15+” in the Age box. I suppose if you are more than 15 but not yet 16, or maybe you are 15 according to the actual birth date but 16 according to the lunar calendar…I give up. 

TRULY ENJOYING MYSELF

Spending a month in the States really gave me a new appreciation for Singapore. I am in love with this country, it’s quirky people, the scenery and the amazing experiences that I am afforded just by being here.

Helping me explore new areas of the city are some of my American Women’s Association ladies. My first full week back in Singapore, I joined a few friends at Mount Faber Park for a refreshing three-hour hike. They inspired me to begin a new workout regimen, which I have kept since our inaugural outing.

Today, at my somewhat selfish and totally prideful request, the group travelled from far and away places like Orchard Road to have a fun morning at the East Coast Park. I was happy to show off my neighborhood to eight constant and new friends.

We broke into two groups – one walking and one biking – and spent two hours working out, chatting and enjoying the scenery. I felt so blessed to be out on a beautiful day, without pain and with the ability to keep a great pace.

After the two-hour bike ride, I hosted seven of the eight ladies at my house. I have had my share of lunches and dinner parties and typically end up spending hours in the kitchen, stressing myself out and missing out on social time because I have too much to accomplish before food time.

This week I decided to play the Prep Ahead game, which worked out beautifully. I baked a banana bread and cut all of my needed vegetables the day before. Then I washed the dishes. This morning, I sliced a baguette, arranged some fruit around a cheese platter, made a pasta salad and a quiche dough. Then I washed the dishes.

I was not rushed; the only thing I had to do when we arrived back at my condo was to slice some of the fruit and put together the quiche. My use of plastic plates and my genius decision to wash dishes before I left for the park meant that cleanup was a cinch.

Everyone had a great time hanging out and we decided to include lunch into our workout days moving forward.

After lunch, two of the ladies invited me to join them for a foot massage. What could be better than that after a morning workout? “Sure,” I said. I grabbed my essentials and met them for our quick journey to a local shopping center.

Along the way, I was advised that this was not any Asian pedi spa, this was one of Singapore’s famous reflexology locations. I first heard of foot reflexology while watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” hosted from Singapore.

Let me just say that I do not have any kids. I have not gone through childbirth so I am not sure how painful that process is. I can say that this was the most physically painful experience I have ever had in my entire life and I swear that the woman working on me was wholeheartedly gaining pleasure from inflicting pain.

This is my unedited expression:

While I was suffering, squirming, breathing ever so deeply and praying to God who in all things gives me strength, I was amazed that my new Singaporean friend to my right just sat there and took it with ease. We met after I sat in the chair next to her. She asked where my friends and I were from, like everyone in Asia does, and I kindly explained that we were Singaporean residents.

I was amazed that while the man was punching her legs with his fists (yes, I was punched several times in both feet and both legs), she just sat there reading a paper and singing along to the streaming music while my eyes were popping out of my head. Speaking of popping out, I was waiting for one of my toes to break in my lady’s hands.

You may be reading this and laughing at my usually-normal overemphasis of what really occurred. I like to exaggerate. Allow me to show you my bruises:

Though painful, I did feel surprisingly light and refreshed after my treatment. I was amazed by some of the things that I learned while my feet felt as if they were being destroyed. I was told that I did not drink enough water because an area running up and down one of my feet was rough and tight.

She told me that I was not sleeping well enough and that I had a hard time getting comfortable at night. True, at least the last couple of days. At one point, the woman casually advised me that I had tension in my neck and shoulders. “Yes!” I exclaimed. “I woke up with a strained neck and a knot in my shoulder this morning.” Crazy.

I wanted to know how often people put themselves through this much trauma and was advised that it depended on one’s profession. “Those working on feet all day, once a week. Housewife, once a month.” Ha. My friends and I laughed because one comment regarding housewives was their lack of having something to do. “Um, we have plenty to do!” We all continued to joke about our demanding days consisting of errand running, tending to the kids they have and I don’t, tending to the house, our workout schedules and, of course, our coffee dates.

After the foot torture, we were convinced to try a traditional massage. A woman who was somewhere around 60 and likely weighed as many pounds as her age put so much pressure on my body, I mistook her for a sumo wrestler. When she pressed down on my lower back, I uncontrollably let out a soft moan resembling the sound I make when my husband jabs me in the diaphragm for kicks.

I had no idea I had tension in my butt until she kneaded me like dough. I had no idea there was a knot in the middle of my back on the right side until she dug her elbow into me. The pain was not completely unbearable; my mind told me that I needed the pain in order to make the pain go away…truth or fiction?

CHINESE NEW YEAR

Happy 100^th post! How fitting that this post is regarding a great celebration.

Paul and I celebrated the Gregorian New Year in the U.S., casually welcoming 2012 at Paul’s aunt’s house as we watched Carson Daly or Ryan Seacrest or someone on television and enjoyed some fireworks coming from the Golf Club in the back yard.

We typically go on a trip for New Year’s Eve but this year flying halfway around the world served as our trip. I originally wanted to be in Singapore for our first New Year’s celebration, but I have to admit that I really did not mind being home with family, especially New Year’s Day.

Even though we arrived in Singapore post-January 1, we did make it back to the island before another major Singaporean celebration – Chinese New Year. Surprisingly, I have not seen Orchard Road since my arrival so I missed the decorations that morphed from Christmas themes to dragon themes within days. I did, however, get to see plenty of decorations in other neighborhoods.

Chinese New Year typically falls on the second new moon following the winter solstice. This year, Chinese New Year occurred on Monday, January 23. Celebrations began days before the New Year; Singapore’s grand festivities kicked off Saturday, January 21 with a carnival, holiday ceremony featuring the celebrity-like Prime Minister, lantern lighting, street shows, dancers and fireworks.

The festivities continued Sunday but after waking up super early on only a few hours of sleep, attending the early church service and then spending the next 10 hours with a few families at a fantastic poolside barbeque, I was simply ready to go home and flop into bed. I am not sure if the planned shows and fireworks were on display that evening – a downpour erupted on my way home.

The day before the New Year is a time for family members to come together around a table and enjoy a reunion dinner. Restaurants all over the island were offering set meals for hundreds of dollars – up to more than S$1,000 at some locations.

Monday I decided to head into Chinatown. I was not sure if Chinatown would be closed or hopping due to the holiday. Some food shops were open but a good number were closed. Shops were closed but that did not stop people from invading the neighborhood.

According to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, the year of the dragon is the luckiest year in the 12-animal cycle, representing good fortune and intense power. I find this particularly interesting since Asia is slowly coming to power over Western societies like the U.S. and Europe.

I have to wait until 2018 for my Year of the Dog but that did not stop me from truly enjoying myself in this year’s dragon celebration.

MORE PHOTOS OF MORE FAVORITES

Since I returned to Singapore, I have been back on the workout schedule. I had some surgery in November that prevented me from any kind of workout and my time schedule in the States prevented me from working out more than two days. Now I am back on track, finding new, fun ways to exercise.

Last week I met some friends at Mount Faber Park at the southern part of Singapore’s main island. We hiked up what seemed like an endless hill of stairs – every time I thought we were done climbing, another set of stairs appeared around a corner – hiked up hills and walked most of the park’s paved trails for three hours. It was a fantastic walk on a beautiful day and I was so grateful to have some new scenery.

Sunday I took a walk with no real idea of where I was going. Once I turned the corner and approached my first overpass, I decided to head to the beach. I enjoyed a great walk and run around a portion of my neighborhood East Coast Park. Again, the weather was perfect, the sun was shining, people filled the park and kayaks were plentiful in the water. When I arrived home, I told Paul that we truly live in a beautiful place and I am so happy to be here.

Today, Paul and I turned exercising into Date Day. Where better to exercise than hiking around the Singapore Zoo? We were blessed with great weather, the park was not too crowded and we had a great day together.

You know that I would not go to the zoo without taking tons of pictures, so please enjoy a portion of the approximately 100 photos that came home with me today.

First, let me explain that even the Zoo's walking paths resemble the jungle. This is not your typical zoo.

There are no cages or walls so zoo visitors can view the animals in the open. Some of the animals (not the tigers shown here) are able to move about the zoo as they please. Others, like monkeys, are able to roam within restricted areas.

Sorry, Mom, no Bengal tigers but I think you will like these white ones.  

Pygmy hippos, a fraction of the size of standard hippos.

I was in awe of the kangaroos that were within 10 feet of Paul and me. It took me a few minutes to realized that there was an extra set of legs coming out of this one.

Hello, joey! I have never seen a little 'roo in the pouch before.

I could have reached out and touched Papa, here - and, believe me, I wanted to.

Elephants - I am a fan.

The lizard and the turtle.

The next three photos are for my mom. 

She likes the Komodo dragon, I like the giant tortoises.

I wish I could have sat on the ground next to them in order to show their true size.

At first I thought the cheetah was getting ready to pounce on Paul for hitting me a few times as we approached. We then realized that his eyes were past Paul, focused on his potential dinner across the street:

Yep, zebras. Who puts predator and prey in viewing distance?

Paul wanted to reach through the glass and reset this crocodile's jaw.

And, bring on the monkeys!

This guy was hanging out about 100 feet above our heads.

This next group of monkeys was hilarious. Only the baby was up and moving, the rest were sleeping in the craziest positions.

The thought that people came from monkeys is stupid. You know what else is stupid? Grabbing onto a wild animal even if the animal is in a zoo. This guy decided to and the animal was no amused.

Does this guy look like he wants to be touched?

This is a lemur. He came over to play with Paul.

This is Paul almost posing with the lemur and his friends.

And this is Paul stepping away from the lemurs because they decided to get into a fight. Tell me these things don't look like the devil.

I definitely enjoyed my Date Day at the zoo and I look forward to the weekend – I cannot wait to see what the days leading up to Chinese New Year will bring.