Happy Birthday Singapore!

Thursday 9 August was Singapore's 47th National Day. I meant to write this on Thursday itself and make it a Thankful Thursday post but, predictably, I didn't get a chance to sit down at the computer all day!

National Day is Singapore's 'birthday'. On 9 August 1965, this little island, with at the time only 1.9 million inhabitants, gained independence from Malaysia and became a republic in its own right. Since then, the population has grown to 5.1 million (2011) residents and non-residents. It's become a true melting pot of cultures - Chinese, Malays, Indonesians, Indians, Filipinos, Europeans (of all nationalities), Americans, Australians, New Zealanders....every nation and every culture must be represented here. Most 'locals' are of Chinese, Indian, Malay or Indonesian extraction and the local languages are Bahasa and Mandarin. English is the country's official language, though, and most Singaporeans (although not all) speak English reasonably well - the older generation and the less well-educated still speak mostly Mandarin. All these cultures have their own festivals and all the major ones are celebrated every year - Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Haji, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa, Vesak Day, Easter, the mid-autumn festival (also known as the 'mooncake festival') and Christmas. That means we get a lot of public holidays :)

National Day is celebrated in style every year with a big parade that includes a mega fireworks display and everyone (well, all the locals) gets involved. It's one of the biggest public holidays of the year and Singaporeans love it! Flags start appearing on buildings and cars several days before the day itself, and everyone starts planning their local celebrations as well as taking part or going to watch the main parade at Marina Bay. Most of the local community centres hold a street party and there is always a celebration at each of the local schools the day before (on the day itself, they are on holiday, of course). Singaporeans are very patriotic and extremely proud of their little country.

And quite rightly so. This is a great place to live. There is a thriving economy which has continued to post excellent growth figures compared to the rest of the world despite the ongoing recession and financial crisis. There is little crime. Education is excellent (even if the methods are a little questionable in Western eyes). It's clean, safe and very well-looked after. The government is keen to preserve as much local history and heritage as possible so, even though sometimes it feels like Singapore is one big construction site with multiple shopping malls thrown in, you can find many historical gems and a great deal of natural beauty here. Medical care, for all walks of life, is superb. For locals with low incomes, there is a very effective healthcare system which requires everyone to contribute towards their own care, but at rates which allow Singaporeans to afford medical care in local hospitals that is more than adequate. The system works far better than the UK's NHS, in my view. The armed forces are the best-equipped in Asia and every young man is required to do National Service on leaving school - 2 years of NS in the military, the police force or the civil defence force, plus a reservist obligation that lasts until the age of 40 (50 for officers). Taxation is low and yet public services are excellent.

I'm not going to go into the politics of the Singapore government and the way it is run - I don't know enough about it. Some say that Singapore is bordering on being a dictatorship but I would disagree - the government certainly runs a very tight ship but it is, officially, a democracy and the local population is very proud of that. There are many disadvantages and frustrations involved in living here - high levels of bureaucracy being one of them, as well as a general disregard for (or total lack of) customer service and an inability among Singaporeans (not all, but most) to 'think out of the box' and deviate from the 'script'. Remember that sketch on "Little Britain" - 'compu'er sez noooooo.....' Well, you get quite a lot of that kind of thing here. It's a result of the education system which focuses on rote-learning to get grades, in many schools. But if you're willing to go with the flow and put up with those minor inconveniences, and recognise the reasons behind them (which are cultural - it's nothing personal), Singapore is a wonderful place to live and bring up a family. In general, Singaporeans of all nationalities are friendly, welcoming, polite and thoughtful (OK - not behind the wheel of a car but that's a different blog post altogether - I'll save that for another day). It's far from perfect. But nowhere is perfect! On the whole, though, the country is doing well and we love living here. Indeed, we are proud to live here and be part of Singapore's growth and history.

So on Thursday of last week, on National Day, I wanted to write this post and recognise how very lucky we are to live here. We have good jobs. The kids go to a great school. Bob and Isabel get very good diabetes care and generally our medical care is excellent. The weather is fabulous - too hot for some, but we love it! We have a lovely house right next to a nature reserve - gorgeous. The kids are great swimmers and we have access to fantastic facilities - and a lovely beach - so that they will never lose that skill. We have access to all sorts of different countries very close by so that the kids can experience different cultures, cuisines and languages at the drop of a hat. I could go on, and on, and on about the wonderful benefits we get, living in Asia and specifically Singapore but I'll be here all day! There you have it, in a (big) nutshell.

I'll finish by saying a big thank you, Singapore, for welcoming us - we feel very privileged to have the opportunity to live here. I hope we can stay for many years to come!

Thankful Thursday - Jenny

Today I'm feeling all wobbly. I was feeling a little shaky after swimming at the local pool on Tuesday but put it down to lack of sleep, being carb-free for a week already and exercising. Yesterday, however, I felt really terrible during the day with on/off aches and waves of nausea, and woke up today with a pounding head, aching all over and feeling like the bed was on the deck of a small boat in a big storm at sea. Today's plan was to take the kids to Pasir Ris water park - well, no chance. I couldn't even drive Bob to work - he had to get a cab and was late. So Jenny stepped in with the kids and off they went in a taxi. I am now in bed, with my laptop, trying to get some work done that is due in this evening (if I do it now, I can get to bed early!)

Today's "Thankful Thursday" post is therefore about Jenny. Jenny is our helper/au pair and a real angel. She has been with us over 4 years and the kids love her to bits, like a big sister/young aunty. She has been through Isabel's diagnosis and the whole kiddy-diabetes learning curve with us, and is now confident and capable when it comes to looking after Isabel while I'm not there. Jenny cooks, cleans and does the shopping while the kids are at school, Bob is at work and I'm working or working out, and during school holidays she takes over with the kids if I have to meet a deadline or have a big project on. During school holiday time she and I share the shopping and cooking jobs depending on who's got the kids (and on my deadlines) and everything always gets done - she will do whatever needs doing, and is very adaptable to sudden changes of plan (like today).

In terms of personality - she is quiet, discreet and gentle. She hates to intrude on our space but loves feeling part of the family (she had a great time when we took her on holiday to Australia with us last year!) We make every effort to give her Sundays off but if we do need to ask her to work, she is always willing to help out and does so with a smile.

Jenny came to us from a Chinese family who had her working 18-20 hours a day looking after a family of 4 plus elderly grandparents. She was not allowed to use the washing machine or dryer (even though the family had one) - even the bedding had to be hand-washed. She did not have a single day off in 10 months and ended up going to an employment agency in desperation, who removed her from the family and took her on to their books to find her another job. When we interviewed her she seemed quite cowed and very nervous. I love the fact that she has blossomed in the last 4 years and is now a confident, happy young woman who seems to really enjoy being with us. I know she won't be with us forever - she has a long-term 'boyfriend' back in the Philippines and I expect one day she will want to go home and get married, and have her own kids. For the moment, though, she seems happy. We have taught the kids to treat her with respect and love. Many kids (and adults, in fact) here treat their helpers like slaves and are continually rude and demanding - I won't have that. It took Jenny months to get used to the fact that I am not only OK with her being firm with the kids, I expect it, when they are being naughty! She is still not quite as firm with them as I would be, but her gentle approach actually seems to get results sometimes (although there are times when I have to step in and read the riot act!)

In a nutshell, she is a blessing and I couldn't manage without her! Thank you Jenny!