Giving up our life and all our belongings to start a fresh new adventure, only to find out we are starting fresh in many more ways than expected was well, unexpected.
I have decided to share some of my pregnancy thoughts with you today. Pregnancy is a miraculous and wonderful time but can also be tough and confusing...
Once officially pregnant, some people really want to share stories that they have either heard or experienced that are really more fear instilling than empowering in any way. (no thanks!)
Sleeping is a bit tougher than when there wasn't a big belly in the way.
Some people feel that now is the perfect time to give me direction in my eating, sleeping and exercise habits.
Swelling of the fingers and toes have started to kick in (but hey, at least they are looking young, right?)
Some people like to comment on the size of my belly 'THAT still has months to go? There is only one in there, right?' (thank you so much for bringing that to my attention, I didn't feel big and uncomfortable until you said that)
Clothes are a little harder to find in this weather of heat hot warm sizzling sunshine
Some people like to show their support in 'feeling sorry' for me- as in, 'you poor thing you are pregnant' (oh... I thought this was a time to be excited and happy about? no? uhhh... shit. what now?)
NOW. Let's forget all the silly comments and annoying questions and come to the good parts, shall we?
Most people are so excited for me that I feel very supported and loved.
I can still walk around without reaaaally waddling (yes! For real)
Most people treat me so thoughtfully, I might want to be pregnant for ever (where can I buy those fake bellies they use in movies?)
I look at life a little bit differently than I had before, everything is more special.
When I feel this little worm squirming I feel so overwhelmed thinking 'how is it possible to love someone already so much you haven't even met yet!?'
I get to visit every public toilet in Singapore!
Life slowed down a lot and I've become calmer and turned more inwards.
All my old t-shirts are now really sexy belly shirts (SCORE!)
I've had a few mood swings (shocker, right?) with some well deserved pregnancy rage and a week here and there where I thought the world will end because I am so sad over nothing, but over all I just feel really grateful to be able to experience this. This little baby, that we have made will be my baby for the rest of my life. My little squirt that I can tickle, tease, cuddle, kiss and see grow every single day. What. a. blessing.
We have found an apartment! Right by the botanical gardens, a really cute character-filled 'older' building with a much loved tropical feel to it. Our view out the window is greenery filled with the most amazing palm trees! We are very happy here to say the least.
Looking back about six months ago, we gave up almost everything we had in our Berlin apartment and promised to live minimalistic, so far? Success! We have a two bedroom, two bathroom. In one bedroom we have a shelf, thats it. In the other bedroom we have a bed, a side table, a laundry basket and a shelf. Not bad, right? In the living room we have a couch, a coffee table, a chair, a shelf, a dining table and a smaller cupboard. That is all the furniture we own and it feels great. The shelves are empty, the cupboards are empty and the walls are empty. The last one we need to change ASAP. Also a few plants will do this place some good but all in all this minimalistic living feels more freeing than I thought it would. I sit here on the couch, not having to look at clutter or stress about cleaning up! What a treat :D
A few strange things about our apartment compared to living in Europe and North America?
-No ovens in older buildings! Our landlord was kind enough to buy us a brand new counter top oven, very nice of him! But having no oven? A little strange to my cake loving tasty buds...
-There is a back door in the kitchen that is just an open gate that you can lock, no windows or closed door, that leads to the laundry area that is kind of like a balcony, so basically the kitchen is in the 'open'.
-We have a Drink machine in the lobby, in case you run out of cold drinks.
-I don't think there is a time limit here as to when you can make noise, I noticed our neighbour the other day vacuuming at 11.30pm (in Germany, if you are considerate and don't want complaints within a short while, you leave that till the next day)
-Most buildings have guards. Even though Singapore is considered super safe, there is always someone just chilling at the front smiling and waving at you.
-The buildings are well kept, the greenery is always watered and shaped
-Every apartment door has an extra ledge where you leave your shoes before entering (LOVE this)
-Once every two weeks they go around buildings (this is a law) and smoke out any mosquitos, to keep dengue fever at bay
-Most Condos come with pools... that one isn't strange, just freaking awesome :D
Life in Singapore still feels surreal, as if I am on a long vacation waiting to go back home, I've heard that it takes our heart about 6 months to follow our mind...
I hope you are enjoying fall for me! I will now hop in the pool and swim like there is no tomorrow.
Toodles!
I've been walking a fine line between adaptation to a new life, staying true to myself and comparing everything to my last life.
My psyche needs to have some familiarity around and if there isn't any, I will make some. For instance when I visit a new place I always tend to find another place that reminds me of it. Why? I am here now, why would it matter what other places remind me of it?
I have been doing something similar setting up my life here. I find myself comparing almost everything to Berlin. On the one hand I find it extremely useless because everything here is nothing like Berlin at all but on the other hand I find it useful because I feel I am not losing myself and my values that I have gained and embraced in the last five years of Berlin.
I have read that when moving to a new culture, you go through four phases of culture shock.
Step 1. Honeymoon Stage
Step 2. Frustration Stage
Step 3. Adjustment Stage
Step 4. Acceptance Stage
I can't honestly say where I am at the moment, I would say I flipflop between all 4 during each day! haha.
Here is an example of all four stages I went through-
It is very common here to eat out. A LOT. Everybody tells me that its cheaper to eat out than to cook at home.
At first I also ate out a lot more than I have ever in my life, it was exciting, trying out new restaurants and new foods (step 1), but after going out to eat so much, I realised I really miss cooking and knowing what goes into my food and how its made. I got sad and missed my Berlin peeples that I can discuss awesome veggie recipes with (step 2). If you know me, I cook. Every. Single. Day.
It has been the biggest struggle for me to figure out how to adapt to this new cultural aspect... I started cooking again every day but also found going out a lot more fun and embrace it a lot more now (step... 3, you guessed it). I realised that I am an adult, I can do whatever I want. Pret-ty awesome! This is where I decided to stay true to my values (yep, step 4). I will still cook. Every. Single. Day. With the odd (or more) restaurant visit.
Here are some pointers on cooking at home in Singapore: Buy locally. If you want to cook at home all the time, cook Asian foods (most things are imported in Singapore so the cheapest ingredients will be from the surrounding countries). If you want to treat yourself, go ahead and go to the more expensive grocery stores, there you can find ANYTHING from ANYWHERE but expect to pay a good amount of money for something imported from further away (do not compare the prices to what you would pay for it at home, it will hurt).
This has been a fun way to explore new dishes and get creative with the ingredients at hand! Yeay to learning.
There are a lot more differences that I am trying to wrap my head around and find my own way, but those are all posts for another day...
Here is a simple dish I've come to love love love and make at least three times a week, if you feel like a taste of Asia, do make this, its delicious :D
Stir-fried Black Rice
1 Cup Cooked Black Rice
2 Cups assorted Veggies (here I used corn, carrots and pees but feel free to use bok choy, mushrooms, chinese spinach)
3/4 Cup Roasted Cashew Nuts
1-2 Eggs (optional)
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tbsp Coconut oil
3 tbsp Soya-sauce
3 tbsp Fish sauce (optional)
1 tbsp Sesame oil
handful fresh coriander (optional)
1. Cook rice as instructed on package (rice from the day before works great as well)
2. Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a wok, add your veggies let it fry for a minute or two
3. add your cooked rice, garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce
4. make a little well in the middle of the wok and crack the eggs in it, let them cook a little before mixing them in with the rest of the rice
5. fry fry fry and fry some more (the longer you let it fry the tastier it gets) about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly
6. have a taste and see if you need more soya-sauce or fish sauce
7. add cashew nuts, sesame oil and coriander
8. serve and enjoy!
Guten appetit!
