Singapore, Another New Beginning!

by Laura Colter

July 1, 2016; after what seemed like a long night of fireworks to celebrate Canada’s 149th birthday; leaving behind 27 years of what we knew as home including more than 40 members of our family; and 24 hours of travel time, we arrived in Singapore, feeling lost, alone and reluctant to start all over again. Although our furniture and belongings filled the condominium which we now call home, there was a sense of emptiness and fear as to what this new beginning will bring upon us. We had one long month to learn and explore all the places and things which now makes us feel at ease. The memory of all the times we experienced navigation issues along East Coast Road, brings a faint smile. Although these memories seem afar, we have just been in this country for 445 days and we’ve had our share of amazing experiences, including all the wonderful food, cultural variations and great stories to carry for the rest of our lives and that of our children. Coming from a vast multicultural community in Toronto, Canada and being amidst people of many different nationalities, I must say life in Singapore is quite an experience on its own. This experience was further enhanced by the enrolment of our children at the CIS (Canadian International School). We must admit that the choice of school and the neighbourhood were promising factors and facilitated greatly in the adjustment process. The school community, including staff, parents and fellow classmates were very welcoming and gave us all a sense of belonging. The open doors policy was inviting and gave us a chance as parents to be at ease with our children’s education system. What further personally engaged me was the opportunity to be a Room Parent which I think is a great way to integrate parents into the school community and engage them in school activities and events. This was a means of connecting with the students, teachers and parents further making way for a great social platform. Although, I am not yet too familiar with Singapore, I know it well enough to call it our second home. We now have friends from many different nationalities and countries and I feel that this friendship will continue for years to come. As much as we miss having the four seasons, making snow angels, snow days, raking all the fall leaves looking forward to a new beginning every spring, and enjoy hot summers on the beach, we love Singapore and all that it has to offer. We love biking down East Coast Park on a hot sunny day and are suddenly hit with a downpour, the outdoor pools that lack heavy chlorine odour, not having to bundle up to go out and all the outdoors that we have to enjoy though out the year. This has truly turned out to be an adventure and experience that is unforgettable.