SCMS 2015

I’m one to write about running events, but haven’t yet done so since I moved to Singapore! What’s wrong with me! You can read some of my other writings about running at jibberyjab.wordpress.com.

I’ve done a few organized running events here in the past few months:

• Justice League Run, Sentosa Island – August
• GK 1 World Run for Humanity, Bedok Reservoir – October
• Santa Run, Sentosa Island – November

The most recent running event I participated in was at the beginning of December. It was Singapore’s premiere running event – the Standard Charter Marathon. No, I didn’t run the full, but I did run my first half marathon in a tropical climate.

Until that weekend, my farthest distance had been 10kms in this climate. I cross trained by doing boot camp twice a week and yoga once a week, more cross training than I did when training for the NYC full marathon! I was prepared to merely complete the run, knowing it would be tough in the climate and that I would definitely not come close to a PR.

So how did it go? Well, I finished. My worst time, worse than my first half marathon that I didn’t train for at all. The climate got me, as did a little IT band trouble.

While overall I enjoyed the experience of this event, I was disappointed with a few of organizational bits.

1. For starters, with the amount of sweating that takes place in a tropical climate, there were too few water and 100Plus stations. Way too few. Many people were really struggling and sidelined because of what appeared to be dehydration. I always carry my own water and gels, and thank goodness I did this time.
2. Secondly, the second half of the course was on an open freeway. No coverage, in the open sun for 11 km, with few water stations and fewer toilets.
3. Also, I’m not sure if it was because of the half marathon route, or this was a general thing, but there were no spectators to cheer us on! None! Well except near the finish line area, but that’s not when you need people cheering you on! You need those silly running signs along the way to help you forget that you are in pain or don’t feel like finishing!
4. I think the biggest surprise for me, especially after a long run – was that there was no food! Yes there was water and 100Plus, but there were no fruits, pretzels, bagels or anything to recharge! For a major event, this was very disappointing. Every race I’ve participated in – from 5k’s to halves have all had something for runners to nosh on afterwards.

Granted when you cross the finish line, you kind of forget the trouble you had and you are just glad to have accomplished this feat! You receive the medal (which I have to say was a little underwhelming for this major event) and you walk through the tents to check out the cool things that are set up.

So enough with the Negative Nelly! I’m glad I participated, but I won’t do this one again. And in the midst of my complaints, I did find this article on RunSociety about SCMS 2015 – and they are right, there were many reasons to smile during the event as well.

runsociety.com

Hazy Daze

It’s been hazy for much of September I’d say, but not really horrible until the third week or so. We had school canceled for a day because the air quality was hazardous. This past week was full of indoor recesses. It was tough. Students had major cabin fever and teachers were having a hard time with the constant noise of the day. No outdoor play was tough on everyone.

So my friends and I decided that there is such a diagnosis as “haze depression”, and it’s basically equivalent to Seasonal Affective Disorder. You are inside much of the time eating and complaining about the haze instead of about the cold and darkness of winter.

Thankfully there was some solace in the haze depression this morning. The PSI bettered itself and it has been an outdoor day!

Night Safari

We’d heard from a number of people that Singapore Zoo’s Night Safari was well worth a visit so Brett and I purchased tickets for the two of us and Bray while he was here, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we couldn’t make it. Although the tickets were non-refundable and non-transferrable, we were able to get tickets reissued for a later day that week.

Like many events and attractions in Singapore, Night Safari is highly organized and the getting crowds in is an easy and efficient process.

Night Safari offers an exhibit featuring nocturnal animals, a tram ride, lion and tiger feedings, and access through the walking trails. It’s really an opportunity to view animals you don’t usually get to observe during the hot hours of the day.

Was I amazed by it? No, but I thought it was an enjoyable experience. And yes that little river otter is recycling.

P #3: Pattaya

Singaporeans had an additional public holiday added to the calendar. September 11th became voting day. So since Brett and I can’t vote, we went away! Destination? Pattaya, Thailand. P #3.

Brett and I flew into Bangkok and then took an hour and twenty minute cab ride to Pattaya. We stayed at the Hilton Pattaya, a lovely modern establishment. Normally we don’t stay at chain hotels but the reviews, price, location, and such were highly rated.

We enjoyed the hotel overall: the Thai restaurant, the breakfast buffet, the roof deck for happy hour, the pool, the gym, the location, the views.

We spent some time at the beach under umbrellas, being slightly but not annoyingly pestered by beach vendors selling everything from tattoos to shrimp. We did indulge in a couple of cold beers, a beach pedicure, a henna tattoo and a couple of bracelets. Why not support the locals!

Another part of the weekend was spent walking up and down the small streets around Pattaya that were lined with bars and restaurants decorated as if in the ’60s. It reminded us of a place war vets would visit as a getaway. The people were friendly, the food was good and cheap, and free Wifi was everywhere – since it was not at the hotel..

I was surprised at the size of Pattaya but not at the amount of open-faced beach establishments, the tastiness of the food or the friendliness of the people. It was nice to experience the low season as well.

It was a lovely weekend, and it’s a place we will likely visit again.

 

 

A Wee Bit Jelly

It’s been four weeks I’ve been here, nearly five. What?

I’ve had an away weekend but the last two weekends I’ve spent getting settled, both at home and at work. I’m doing regular life stuff – working, going for dinners, joining happy hours, going out for a friend’s birthday, hanging out at the pool, shopping, visiting friends. You know normal stuff.

I was a little apprehensive to have a visitor come in my first month of living here, but because I’m settled, it’s all good. So Brayden arrived late Thursday night, was here for a day then he and Brett left Friday for a little resort town in Thailand. Yep, I’m a wee bit jelly. Going away this weekend would have been great, but I already had plans to run the Justice League 5k and Brett thought a boys weekend would be fun. So they’re in Thailand and I’m in Singapore, which is cool. It’s my first weekend alone in Singapore and quite honestly it’s been super busy anyway! Those of you who know me, know I’m always doing something so the boys being gone hasn’t hindered any plans.

Got some things to do today, like plan a trip for our unexpected long weekend coming up!

Long Weekend – Plan B, C, D or E?

With the trip to Vietnam a no-go, we did some intense research on Friday morning for long weekend plan b, c, d or e. We still had a lot of long weekend time to do something with so after tons of schedule checking, we opted for two bus tickets to Kuala Lumpur. I swore off bus travel due to trips that just take hours longer than they should because of the traffic entering and exiting New York City. But, why not try the bus adventure out here?

We found the bus departure location easily, and we were glad to see that the buses were quite spacious. Only 25 passengers, reclining seats, lots of leg room, and no stinky bathroom. We departed at 5pm with an expected arrival in KL around 11pm. The driver brought us around the west part of the island, exited through Singapore customs, and made our way across the bridge to enter Malaysia. As we crossed the bridge, traffic was becoming slower and slower. What were we thinking traveling by bus across a border on a Friday night of a long weekend? But all part of the experience right?

So for about 45 minute we crept along the highway. Upon arrival at the border we exited the bus with our things to go through customs. We weren’t sure what to do when we saw the blob of hundreds of people waiting to go through customs and one customs officer stamping passports… for Malaysian citizens. It seemed that the one officer would send through the locals then tends to us foreigners for a few minutes once the locals were through. And back and forth. While the process for getting through was highly inefficient, the officers themselves were very nice! After waiting for almost two hours, the one sort-of organized line started moving more quickly. Once we were at the counter the officer asked for our Singapore work permits. Hm? Why do they need those? You don’t even need them to re-enter Singapore. Fortunately a couple of officers let us through without without much hold-up.

Once we all bordered the bus again and were on our way, it was past 9pm and we still had about another 4 hours to drive… This was familiar… A bus trip that takes hours longer than it should! We traveled along the highway for a while and when we got closer to KL we still had a rest stop to make and a couple of additional drop-offs before arriving to our stop… So by the time we got to our stop on KL it was 2:30am. Three and a half hours late and we still had to get to the hotel – what should have been a 10 minute experience to get cash, a cab and get to the hotel ended up being 45 minutes. But that’s a whole other story!

And needless to say, we didn’t take the bus back to Singapore. We opted for a really early morning flight to save our sanity.

transport.asiaone.com

No Visa

The first week of work is complete and the plan was to head to Ho Chi Minh for the four-day weekend. Brett was off early so he picked me up at school in a cab to head to Changi. The drive was great, checking in started out okay, but then we were asked if we obtained a visa to enter Vietnam…

Note to selves: Even if someone tells you they got their visa upon arrival in another country, double check the requirements before traveling!

At the Singapore Airlines check-in, the lovely gentleman asked if we had obtained visas for travel. When we said we thought we could get them upon arrival, he checked in with his supervisor to be sure… And of course, he advised that we needed approval letters to obtain the visa upon arrival. That would have been good to know! He was so nice and apologetic, even though it wasn’t his fault that we didn’t have what we needed. Had we checked into this a couple of days ago, we probably would’ve had the approval letter in time.

But you know, this is also what happens when you plan this in haste and don’t double and triple check very important information. Very unlike me! Lesson learned!

Thankfully our airline tickets were refunded and we were able to change the hotel reservation… to October. So at least our trip for fall break is already partly planned!

A Good Mix

The last three days I’ve been at the school participating in staff development and getting to know my new colleagues. Tomorrow concludes our teacher week, although we should also be working Friday, but SG50 (Singapore’s 50th birthday bash) has taken the country by storm. So that means a four day weekend, instead of the usual three days for the National Holiday.

These three days have been a good mix of professional development and learning options, as well as classroom preparation and team planning time. While there is never enough time to set up our classrooms exactly as we want, read all the information and resources we need to, or meet with our teams to plan, we were given substantial chunks of time to do just these things.

Our time has been well spent. At least I think so. I’ve met many of my colleagues from all three school sites, set up my classroom, learned some ins-and-outs of the school, accessed supplies, participated in some useful professional learning, planned with my team…so I actually feel ready to greet my new group of students on Tuesday. Looking forward to it!

theteachingnut.blogspot.com

 

The Job

Of course going to work a couple of days after arriving in a country half way around the world, twelve hours ahead of your usual time zone is a great idea for jumping right into a new life! I may not have been suffering from a traditional form of jet lag, but I was definitely suffering from a healthy dose of excitement/anxiety/nervousness!

Thursday morning I had to be at my new school for teacher induction at 9am, and I think I was most nervous about getting to the school on time and meeting some new colleagues than actually starting a new position. Would I be good enough to fit with the mix of well-traveled teachers, with much international experience? This is my first experience teaching in an international school community, which is actually quite different from moving from Edmonton’s public system to New York’s public system. Although technically Edm-NY was an international move, the move from public schools to international is marginally different. And it’s a difference I’m excited about! *Not getting into differences now, that will come!

I arrived a few days later than some of the other new teacher transplants, but felt quite at home when I met with them on Thursday. Meeting teachers who’ve journeyed from Germany, Switzerland, Bali, China, and the like has been a treat. So much character, experience, and story come along with each of them, and I really am grateful to be able to share in this journey with my new team.

Tomorrow is my first official day, meaning that today is my last official day of summer! I haven’t worked in August since 1998, when I started in education! We’ve got a full day from 8am-6pm planned for us, including a variety of meaty topics, and some fun built in for all staff. Looking forward to it!

http://www.quickteambuildingactivities.com

What To Do?

What does one do the first day in a new home? Where do you start?

Luckily, I arrived at Changi at 9pm last night and was able to go to bed at a decent time. The result? Awake at 6am to see Brett off to work followed by some pacing around the apartment, unsure of what to do first.

My head was swimming and not from jet lag or too much in-flight wine. Trying not to get even more distracted by the boxes surrounding me, and the piles of clothes and books, I made a list of the must-dos for the morning.

Being the optimist I usually am, I hoped this list would be complete by noon… Why would I even think such a thing because it’s not going to happen when a little wrench is thrown in the to-do list. Nothing major, but an unanticipated other thing to do in busy days doesn’t make my head less swimmy.

Once I got myself out the door and my first check off the list, I started feeling better. I worked through the list, and by the time I got home… it was 3pm. This is what happens when you end up with a couple of extra to-dos and then end up walking way past where you were supposed to end up. But it’s all good. The boxes will be there later, and will get organized when they get organized.