going native...

it finally happened, i started attaching "la" to my words and phrases. i vowed to never let this happen but after one year of drinking the local water, it finally happened, ok-la? that's not all, i find myself wearing sweaters in singapore! i used to stare at people in utter "shock and awe" whenever i saw one wearing anything that resembled a sweater. in a country that is constantly hot and humid, it seemed like insanity to wear anything more than a bikini top, but here i was... in a hoodie. local foods and drinks are a given but durian?!? i use to run for the hills if i even smelled a durian from a mile away but recently, i enjoyed a durian pastry. i also found myself a local hair dresser and a dentist. so now with a crumpler bag slung around my shoulders, wearing flip flops, skinny jeans and bangs that sometimes drape over my eyes, pushing my way into a packed MRT, you'd never know that i was a valley girl from north hollywood...

oh the difference a year makes...

my old camp counselor from high school once said, "time flies like the wind and fruit flies like bananas." to this day i have no idea what that means but the reality is that time does fly, more than fly. with each passing year, it travels in warp speed. i feel like blog has become my father confession. "forgive me father for it's been 3 months since i blogged." on the one hand, it means i'm actually living instead of writing about living so that's good. on the other hand, it is nice to keep a consistent journal of some sorts, blasting my thoughts into the cosmos and letting it fall where it may.

i am closely approaching the end of my first year in spore. WHAT??? yes, you heard me, one... whole... year...! so much has happened yet so little dates! seriously, so much so that spore has become my home. when i travel for work now, i can honestly say, "yea, going HOME soon" rather than "going back to singapore." so what made all the difference? community of believers that's become my friends and my family away from home. people to share my joys and disappointments, dreams and fears. people to call up last minute for a movie and a pint and people i can rally just to hang and play guitar hero. people i can pray with and celebrate the life of Christ with. people i call friends...

there are still moments when i miss my other home... going to my aunt's for yummy korean food, spoiling my niece and teaching her to bike, degreasing my own bike for another good run up the santa monica mountains, fondu gatherings and marathon karaoking, smelling mom's freshly baked muffins from the oven even when she knows i'm fasting! going to trader joe's, hollywood bowl and senior fish. and friends from christian assemly... mission buds and skidrow ministry. i am learning to let go to gain, one experience for another, one life for another. "the old has gone, the new has come." guess that's why they call it a journey and not a spin cycle.

stay tuned... working on my top 10 most memorable moments in s'pore!