Singapore day 2

We woke up at 6am, which did not feel early at all as we are still adjusting to the change in time. (After all it was 2pm at home. Felt like we slept in way too long!) (: we got everyone ready to go – each person had a camelbak topped off in preparation for the extreme hydration need, cleats packed for a game later, tissues prepared for restrooms that are unequipped, an MRT card to use public transit, and a sheet of paper with instructions for where to go if lost.

 

adding some money to our MRT cards

our home station - Kembangan

riding the rails - NOT at rush hour = plenty of space

We walked about 15 minutes to catch the MRT (train), then rode for about 30minutes to our stop. We made good time, so we had the opportunity to stop at a shopping mall to exchange money and get a sim card for scott’s phone, BUT the shops were not open until 10. We were too early.

We checked out some of the different produce available here - so many varieties of onions on this aisle.

We looked around a bit at our first mall of many then began a 25minute walk to the International Community School. Some friends of mom & dad’s from Georgia now live here and are working at the school. They gave us a tour and chatted about employment opportunities available at the school. The admissions counselor met all the kids and asked when we’d be moving over. They are ready for us. (:

waiting in the lobby while scott was chatting

Flags on the wall from all the countries represented by the students here - how many can you name? Jonas totally impressed the admissions gal because he knew the location of Latvia. Thank you Challenge A! Can you pick out their flag?

After the school tour, we walked to the bus stop (next to mall #2). On the way, Terry (the friend from GA) pointed out one of the traditional houses on the block. Most have been replaced with more than one house that makes better use of the land space – a precious commodity on this tiny island. This one still stands on its raised stilt foundation and metal roof.

Our bus took us to the MRT station where we had a familiar lunch at Wendy’s.

We had rushed to get there, eat, and be ready to meet some others. But as missionaries so often need to be flexible, so did we. The meeting was postponed. And we were meeting at 4 instead of 1, so now we had time to kill which we spent at the mall (#3) cross the street.

This mall was 8 stories tall. There were 3 basements and 5 floors above ground – 2 levels of parking, a food court, a “fashion” level, an IT level, an ice rink, a cinema, and a theatre. In the food court, we tried red dragon fruit.

It was lightly flavored, sweet, and the texture of a kiwi. Another OM-er we met up with pondered that the dragon fruit and kiwi may be related as they both originated in China. Hmm…

We made our way back across the street to the MRT and rode a couple stops North. We caught a bus, then walked 10minutes to the futsal fields.  Here we would play soccer alongside Malay kids who were part of a soccer camp being put on by some of the ship’s crew (staying here while the ship is in drydock for repairs). Not surprisingly, it began to rain while they were playing. Then it began to pour. You could not see from one end of the field to the other! Then, there was thunder and lightning right on top of us. There was an announcement, “Please exit the pitch!” Sy and a couple other little guys were plugging their ears because the thunder was sooo loud!

The rain lasted for almost an hour. We decided to catch a cab home, but at this point it was just after 5pm, the work day was ending, and we spent over 30 minutes on hold trying to call for a cab. We were able to get one, but needed 2 to accommodate the 8 of us. So Mom took the younger 3 in the cab and the rest of us took a bus for 25 minutes to the MRT. After a 50 minute train ride, we had successfully crossed the entire island, west to east, and arrived at our stop. We walked 5 minutes to pick up dinner and another 5 minutes home. We ate and retired after a great, but exhausting day.

Sadly, I was super sick at night. But after much pain and finally my body rejecting the food I had just enjoyed, I was able to rest. I woke up refreshed and ready to go! Hopefully, this is the only sickness we must endure on the trip. (: