SG50 - Singapore's Golden Birthday

Sunday, 9 August marks a place in history for Singapore as it celebrates its 50^th Birthday. Singapore became a sovereign nation in 1965 under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. In its very short history Singapore has grown into a modern and dynamic first world country.

As we celebrate National Day of our adopted country we would be remiss if we didn’t highlight what it’s like to celebrate our home country’s birthday, 4th of July, in Singapore as told by our guest writer, Loren Freckles.* 

I awake to music vibrating the bed beneath me. Before I can place the song, the mental picture of a F-14 preparing for take off with engines burning as the plane prepares to launch from an aircraft carrier's deck comes into my mind. Top Gun’s "Highway to the Danger Zone" blares throughout the apartment.  It's the 4th of July, America's Independence Day.

As I walk toward the music, I see the bright light of day through the room’s floor to ceiling high rise windows. This could be a high rise in any major city. I could easily be waking up in Chicago, San Francisco, or New York. Although this view is different, it's the silhouette of the Marina Bay Sands Casino. I realize this is going to be an Independence Day celebration different from anyone other. 

The morning progresses in stereotypical 4th of July form with preparation of an assortment of BBQ favorites - sausages, chicken, and ribs.  Alas several seemingly insignificant challenges arise that I’ve never faced at home. Potato salad for example, the creamy cool accompaniment to its grilled surroundings, is on the menu but we need more potatoes and French dressing for Great Grandma's potato salad. In the States the solution is easy, hit the local grocery store and with one small basket the list is checked - crisis averted.  Not today my friends. Potato purchases must be well planned and the half day adventure to the hawker market must be executed early, before the masses grab the last available spud.  Now onto the French dressing. One might think, hit the store and buy a bottle, but instead this requires another trip to the market along with a Google search as this common place dressing is not so common here. Instead it must be made from scratch with ketchup, mayo, spices which all must be individually collected. The balance of BBQ prep goes off without a hitch and the guests begin to arrive. 

At first glance, no disparaging difference is evident from any other 4th of July celebration. Dressed in red, white, and blue they smile and exchange pleasantries over Budweiser, margaritas and an American flag berry cake.

The entertainment of the evening was not meant to celebrate American Independence but yet practicing for a much younger nation’s birthday – Singapore’s 50th. From the patio we lived our own version on Top Gun with F-16 flyovers by the Black Nights and we finished off the night with a fireworks show that would make Francis Scott Key proud.

Thank you to our guest writer Loren Freckles and Happy 50th Birthday Singapore! 

Until then,

Amy & Raegen

*Still not their real name.

A Priestly Pioneer

Every once in awhile you meet someone who leaves a positive and lasting impression. One of those people for us is Father Michael Arro. We met Fr Arro on our journey to marital bliss as Amy progressed through her RCIA (becoming Catholic) classes at the Church of St Theresa in Singapore. Fr Arro’s self-deprecating sense of humour, faith and French wit made him a man we’ll never forget.

Confirmation at St. Theresa with Fr Arro

Amy, Loren Freckles* and I recently had the opportunity to take part in a very special occasion - celebrating Fr Arro’s 60th year as a Priest. Fr Arro is not only a remarkable man but so is his story. 

Michael Arro was born in Bordeaux, France in 1931. He was ordained as a priest at the age of 24. In June 1957 he set sail with a one way ticket from Marseille, France to Singapore aboard the Laos. Due to a war between Israel and Egypt, his boat journey was forced to bypass the Suez Canal and take the long way around Africa.  His trip took 28 days and two years to the day of when he was ordained, he was dropped off at Clifford Pier (which is now the Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore) with two wooden trunks and anticipation to start his new life in Asia. Keep in mind that Singapore was not actually a country when he arrived as Singapore as the country is ringing in its 50^th birthday next month.

Now and then- two photos of Fr Michael Arro and Sister Daniel. One is of them reuniting decades later during his recent jubilee celebration.

Over his 58 years as a priest in South-East Asia, Father Arro spent years in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia but the bulk of his time was in Singapore.  His vocation granted him pretty much every job a priest could have from a Chaplin to a Seminary Professor.  His final posting was as the Parish Priest at the Church of St Teresa. 

As luck would have it, Amy and I were one of the last couples who were able to go through our premarital paperwork with Fr Arro. Two days after our meeting he was granted Priest in Residence status and no longer had to attend to the Parish Priest duties which included all that paperwork.

On 3 July 2015, exactly 60 years from when he was ordained and 58 years from when he landed in Singapore, we were able to honor this amazing man with a mass.  The mass included the current Singapore Archbishop, most Reverend William Goh, as well as Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, who is the Ambassador for the Holy See (the Vatican) in the region, as well as 19 other area priests.  Archbishop Goh provided a wonderful tribute and a bit of roast at the end of the service.

The celebration mass at St. Theresa's. Photo credit: Dinesh Gerard

Following the mass Loren enjoyed his first traditional Chinese banquet alongside 900 of our closest friends to commemorate Fr Arro's impact on a community.  Adhering to customs we enjoyed traditional dishes family style, played games and participated in a lucky draw.  The memories of this night will last a lifetime and we are so fortunate that we were able to be a part of it. 

Until then,

 rhs & AB

Photo credit: Dinesh Gerard, Luke Woo & Raegen 

PS - A special thanks to the Organising Committee and Little Inn, A volunteer group, for their time in making the Fr Arro 60 booklet which provided us with inspiration and photographs. 

*Yes, yes this person’s name has been changed.

Bright Lights, Big City

It’s hard to believe that the last time I was in Hong Kong was in 2002 during an internship in college.  I was only there for a week but I remember that it was very dynamic and fast moving - much quicker paced then Oklahoma or South Bend.  I needed to be in Hong Kong for customer meetings so I was happy to see this vibrant city after 13 years as well have Amy join me for the weekend as she had never been there. 

What I love about Hong Kong is that there is so much history and culture.  Hong Kong was a British Colony for years (as was Singapore) but control was eventually given back to China in 1997.  

This makes it a very interesting city since there are Confucian and Chinese values. It is a financial hub much like London or New York, but with much less communist influence then mainland China.  And unlike China, Americans do not need a visa to travel to Hong Kong. (On the other hand a one-time Chinese tourist visa is approximately $250 and takes a week to process from Singapore, but we believe this has recently changed.)

Besides exploring an amazing city, the motivation for the trip was to be fitted for my tuxedo for the upcoming wedding.  We visited the Samtani’s in Kowloon. Ash (founder) and his son Luke have made suits for four generations of my family. Luke’s son, Amar is now working in the business as well. As a matter of tradition, and since we live in the ‘neighborhood,’ I couldn’t think of a better place to have my wedding tuxedo made.

Between fittings at Ash Samanti Clothing we had time to explore Hong Kong. You can’t talk about Hong Kong without talking about food. We had a list about a mile long of dining recommendations from our friends and colleagues. (If you do visit Hong Kong, Yelp! Is very active there and is a great tool. Our fellow Yelpers didn’t steer us wrong!)

We had some of the best poké we’ve had outside of da Poké Shack in Kailua, Hawaii at a new place called Pololi, dinner atop Victoria Peak at the Peak Lookout, and an amazing burger at the Butcher’s Club.

One of our favorite spots was the lounge at our hotel. It’s not your average hotel bar. I can certify that between the view, the comfy couches, the french fries and one of the best lounge singers I’ve ever seen – this is in fact the truth.

I forgot just how awesome of a city Hong Kong is and I hope to see you there sometime soon.

Happy Trails,

Raegen & Amy 

PS- Click here to see a really cool timelapse I did of the city coming alive. (And follow us on instagram while you're at it!)

Left is Right. Right is Wrong.

Left is right. Right is wrong. Those are two statements that frequently run through my mind in regard to what side of the road I should be on when driving in Singapore.

Singapore is a former British colony therefore they have a considerable British influence including which side of the road they drive on. (That would be the ‘wrong side’ to Americans and a significant portion of the world.) Mastering the skill of the other side of the road, along with how to honk your horn frequently and drive in two lanes are realistic requirements for driving in Singapore.

If you want to drive in Singapore you can convert your foreign drivers license by taking a theory exam within a year of moving to the country. As Raegen and I approached the anniversary of one year in Singapore we realised that we needed to go full speed ahead and take the theory test. We heard studying was required it was quite challenging as its worded much like an SAT test with double negatives, etc. Awesome!

Most things in Singapore have a process which is usually complex and undefined. One can only be told “no-can-la” (that is not a spelling error) so many times before you get a little frustrated. Raegen and I have an all new respect for the DMV/MVD and its efficiencies!

After we finally registered for the test, which has a 2-3 month waiting list, we downloaded one of the many apps to take practice tests. Thank goodness we did because minus a few ‘gimmies’ like the ones below it was not an intuitive test even for those of us who have been driving for awhile.

Below are a few of the test questions. Let’s see how you do!

 

                                            

Lastly one that we still can’t figure out is that drivers are not required to move out of the way for emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles are required to follow all traffic laws including the speed limit, traffic lights and everything in between. Hopefully the people inside are not in a hurry!

  

We went to take the 50 question test after cramming like it was our senior year in college. You can only miss five questions if you want to pass. As I entered the room I realised I was the only woman in the room full of 40 or so men.  (Women in cars….gasp!) I knew I had to pass, not to defend my gender, but because I really didn’t want to have to take the driver’s ed classes with a driving instructor in order to obtain my drivers license.

Luckily Raegen and I both passed our tests- 48/50 for him and a 47/50 for me. The process to actually receive our physical drivers licenses was yet again long and complicated but we are now officially legal drivers in Singapore!

See you on the road!

Happy Trails,

Amy & Raegen