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 

Going, Going, Galle

We’ve shared with you the traditions and excitement around the Chinese New Year celebrations in Singapore and the region. What you may not know is the Chinese New Year Holiday is the longest break on the Singapore public holiday schedule. I think we all can agree when you get four consecutive days off of work you take it and go on vacation (or ‘holiday’ as they say around here. So British! ;))  

We had heard from a well-traveled fellow expat that Sri Lanka had some of the prettiest beaches around so we rounded up our friends Christopher Blaine* and Anne Antioch* for a trip of a lifetime. 

You might ask yourself where is Sri Lanka? It’s off of the southeast tip of India. - Google Maps

Seeing that it was the Chinese New Year holiday and we didn’t book until after Christmas, it was a challenge finding a place to stay. (Note to the Singapore Expats out there…book all holidays early!) Anne and I finally nailed down a great villa though Olanda Villas (who were great!) inside the Fort. We of course had no idea what to expect minus the fact that we had a place to stay, it came with a chef and that Sri Lankan food is yummy. 

After a 3.5 hour flight and almost an equally long drive, we still weren’t sure what to expect as we drove through the Fort’s gates at 3 am onto deserted streets. It wasn’t until a morning stroll the next day I realised that yes we were actually staying inside Fort Galle, just a few minute walk from the water. 

The next few days were spent enjoying breakfast on the patio and wondering around the Fort and enjoying leisurely, amazing dinners at the house. We all particularly enjoyed watching the sunset from the walls of the Fort and another night from the Lighthouse Restaurant. 

We spent a day at Wijaya Beach Restaurant in Unawatuna Beach which is a 20 minute tuk tuk ride from the Fort. Driving in Galle is chaotic but somehow everyone manages and the time on a gorgeous beach makes it all worth it. 

The people of Sri Lanka were so friendly, the food was great and everything was affordable which was a nice break from the prices in Singapore. If you ever make it to Galle, I would highly recommend you shop at Paradise Road in Columbo, have a drink on the patio of the Jetwing Lighthouse, visit Fort Galle, Wijaya Beach Restaurant and Unawatuna Beach and go for a crazy ride in a tuk tuk. On top of that, make sure you bring two of your favourite expat friends to enjoy the experience with.

Happy Trails, 

Amy & Raegen 

*Yes it's true- while their names sound like movie star names....they're not real. Protecting the innocent. That's how we roll.