Humidity, Singlish and the Man's Pysche (aka NO Tofu)My first week in Singapore has gone by so fast. So much going on that writing it all down seems like a huge task. But I'll try my best to recap the past week's events. Pictures will be posted later when I get around to taking out my camera.
- Coordinates: I'm living in the famous El Palacio with
Nacho and
Devrim. Since
Tee is heading back to New Zealand at the end of June, I have moved into her great room with enough closet space to fill with more things. El Palacio as some of you may have seen in other postings on nomadlife is a great apartment complex with its own swimming pool, hot tub and gym. The apartment itself is great and comfortable for 3 people plus the occasional guests. Work is only a 15 minute bus ride which is great. My roommates are quickly making a mark on my personal and professional development. Nacho is busy doing transition with me at work between his actual work (he'll be officially moving into his new position in July- Congrats again!) while Devrim is making some progress in my "re-education" of the man's psyche through watching movies such as "Swingers" and advicing me on eating habits such as the effect of tofu on people.
- Work: Work is in Parkview Square, one of the most expensive office towers in Singapore. Before entering the building you walk through a garden square with flowing waters on either side and complete with statues of Plato, Dali, etc. Pictures will do better justice than this lame attempt of describing the square. So I promise pictures soon. Upon entering the building, the lobby is unbelievable. The lobby is an impressive bar with the biggest wine collection I've ever seen in my life. Note: EXPENSIVE doesn't even begin to describe this bar. Other than that, work in DHL is great so far. Definitely my learning curve is skyrocketing again (which is exicitng) and I'm trying to absorb as much as I can about the organizational culture. And of course there's a huge support network of DHL trainees, past and current and there's more and more of them coming every week!
- Singapore in general: Again, a couple of paragraphs will not do justice to Singapore. As many know this is quite the orderly, clean place. I've been able to explore around my area of town, take the MRT and do what most Singaporeans like to do: eat (fantastic food) and shop (shoes galore!). What has left an impression on me though is how multicultural Singapore is. Getting on the MRT or on the bus is always a treat as you are surrounded by many different languages: Malay, Mandarin, Hindi, English and Singlish. Singapores have a distinct accent when speaking English. They've also developed their own version of English, which mixes English with the local language. I've been having a harder time understanding this than the Mandarin on the street. I always need to ask 3-4 times to repeat what they're saying. People must think I'm hard of hearing or just flighty.
-It's HOT: Coming from a cold city like Calgary, weather in Asia is always an issue. You have to love that sticky hot weather that leaves you sweating all the time. It's like being in sauna EVERY DAY. However, most of Simgapore is equipped with A/C, even the outside eateries will have fans to cool you down. God Bless the person who invented A/C.
Hope this lame update suffice. More later. Must head out for some rotti prattha.
