Hi - Jed here. Catching up on the blog even though we are back home in the US for good.

Evan's graduation was held at the National University of Singapore. They have a very nice performing arts center and it could accommodate everyone. Evan's class was about 270. The ceremony was good and was broadcast over the internet so friends and family in the US could "attend". Evan's grandparents made the effort even though they had to wake up at 3 am!

SEABSYT Champions - Singapore Seniors

The Singapore Senior Boys (and Girls) are the 2010 champions of the annual South East Asian Baseball & Softball Youth Tournment. The tournament was held in Jakarta, Indonesia this year and featured teams from Jakarta, Bangkok, Perth, Manilla and Singapore. Evan had a terrific tournament as the team when 7 and 0.

Lauren and her Dad were able to travel to the tournament. It was great to have Evan's grandfather be able to see the tournament as he really missed out on Evan's high school career. He really enjoyed himself and made many new friends and, as you might expect, became a defacto assistant coach!

Dan Crosswell, who has coached Singapore for many years, was unable to coach the team this year because he was writing a book. However, he did make it to Jakarta for the tournament and the kids were glad to see him. They won the tournament last year under Coach Crosswell and he was thrilled to see the team repeat. He had some real nice things to say about Evan's catching, especially when his good friend Michael Szopiak was pitching. They made a real good pair. Michael is off to Notre Dame next year so maybe he and Evan will be able to cross paths at a ND/Syracuse football game.

Thanks to Walt Szopiak for the great pictures.

SEABSYT Champions - More Pics

More Pictures (see below for writing - sorry wrong order)

Jane and Pepere's Morning Out

Hi Everyone,

Pepere arrived in Singapore on Wednesday after being delayed for 24 hours in Boston. It was a long flight, but he enjoyed his business class seat on Cathay Pacific, and did really well adjusting to the time change. On Friday morning, Pepere and I went to a place called Kenko's to the 'fish spa' where fish from Turkey ate the dead skin off of our feet. It was a bit different from my first experience with the fish, because at this store we spent 10 minutes with the 'small fish', 10 with the 'medium fish', and then 10 scary minutes with the 'big fish' (they were not that big, but when you were about to stick your feet into a tank full of them, they seemed like giants). The small fish really loved my feet, but the medium and big ones just loved Pepere. You could hardly see any flesh in the medium fish tank! Afterwards, we went to a little out of the way cafe and got delicious milkshakes - plain vanilla for Pepere (no surprise there) and chocolate peanut butter for Jane. They were delicious. We then went to another mall to buy Pepere some flip-flops for when he went to the pool. Yes Grammy - he tried them on and was even able to walk in them! I was very impressed. Anyway, here are some pictures from our day. Mom, Pepere and Evan are now in Jakarta. All I know is that Evan's team won their first game, Pepere got a massage, and Mom is going shopping. So I think they are all happy. Leah and I have been taking it easy. In the next few days we will be going out and exploring Singapore. I'll try to post a few pictures from whatever we do.

Miss you all!

xoxo

Jane

"Gong Xi Fa Cai!"

"A Wish for Prosperity!" The Lunar New Year of the tiger will be welcomed with love on Valentine's Day, February 14. It is a highly celebrated occasion here in Singapore. Serious Spring cleaning is done at home. Business', grocery stores, malls and schools will be closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Families will gather for their reunion dinners. Auspicious foods will be served. Fish represents prosperity, noodles for long life, mushrooms with their good wishes, meat and fish balls signify completeness, yam pudding symbolizes the counting of blessings in the year ahead. Alona came back from the wet market today with mandarins from the vendors who told her "give to your m'am." Their shape and color imply good luck.

Just like food must be served in abundance, so are the decorations. Pussy willows, potted kumquats, red lanterns, red paper cut-outs and red clothing. Red, as you may know, representing luck. There will be parades, fireworks, music and lion dances.

My favorite is the yu sheng get together, observed as Everybody's Birthday. It is the tossing and eating yu sheng (raw fish salad) with sweet sauce and condiments while shouting "Loi hei" ("raise up wealth"). Chopsticks are used, and the higher the toss the more abundance is hoped for. It is a bit messy, and it is delicious. Fortunately, I will get to participate in a salad toss with Jed at Wellington when he comes the end of the month. The yu sheng is observed on the seventh day, and can continue until the 15th day. Last year our book group was adventurous enough to toss this salad, maybe we will do it again this year too.

This is our last CNY in Asia. I have a huge container of pussy willows (a childhood favorite of mine), pineapple tarts in my cabinet, mandarins on my table and a red shirt ready to be worn on Sunday. I will, however, avoid the crowds and noise and heat of Chinatown. Been there, done that.

CNY is truly about taking time off from work to visit with relatives and extended family while eating delicious food. I miss you all, and look forward to spending time with my family this summer, and CNY's celebrated in the States.

XO~
Lauren

Cambodia College Student

Hey everyone,
I've been keeping in touch with the college student, Seky, Claire and I got a scholarship for. She has recently gone to a temple in Cambodia called Ta Prom temple for a school trip. She sent me some photos and I thought you guys might want to see them. She is the one in the orange shirt and red bag!
Missing you all,
Leah

Thaipusam

Thaipusam is a religious festival celebrated by Tamil speaking Hindus. During the festival, devotees gather to make an offering of milk to Lord Murukan. They fulfill their vow by carrying a kavadi along a 4 km journey. A kavadi can be a simple milk pot or an intricate metal structure pierced into the body. Skewers often pierce the tongue and cheeks. The devotees have prepared their bodies and minds for the previous 40 days by fasting, abstaining from sex, prayers and meditations. Many appear to be in a trance.
Jane and I, and Alona, woke very early (yes, there was a whole lot of sputtering; no, not from Alona) last Saturday morning to join the Americans Woman's Association for this exciting tour led by a local guide. Fortunately, one drink stall was open at the Newton Hawker Centre so we could enjoy our local ginger tea for me, and a milo for Jane. A van took us to a temple in Little India where the devotees were being pierced. Although there was no blood, we turned our heads away often. We followed along the procession for awhile then boarded our van to the temple where the offering was made and the kavadi removed. It was very loud and crowded. Lots of chanting, music, eating and celebrating.
The first thing we did when we returned home was wash our feet. We could not enter the temples with foot wear on, and we didn't want to miss any of that body piercing. Leah had an early morning softball game and Evan was at ESPN, so they missed out. Jane still wasn't happy to be out of the house so early on a weekend, but she will admit this was a religious and cultural event unlike any other.
Love to all~
Lauren

Thaipusam

If pure water could melt the Witch, then I think she would evaporate in Singapore...

Today, Mom and I decided to go to a Farmer's Market (if you could call it that - wine from New Zealand, root vegetables from Peru, olives from Greece - not exactly local goods...). We were smart enough to go right in the middle of the day - 1:00. Just now, at 6:30, we had to walk to pick something up. Both times we were sweatin' like dogs. So, at 6:30 pm, I googled Singapore's CURRENT weather conditions. It is only 88 degrees F. But with the 89% humidity (not fun!), it makes the "comfort level" (a terrible misnomer - this is the temp. combined with the humidity to give the temperature it FEELS like outside) as 98 degrees F!!! If that is at 6:30, I don't even want to know what the temperature was when we were admiring Italian pasta and gluten-free cupcakes!

Needless to say, I don't think Evan or I are complaining as we leave for below freezing temperatures. And although I know it is wicked cold there, I would be more than happy to trade weather!

Miss you all!

Enjoy your crisp air, wind chill, and icy sidewalks! Be thankful your clothes aren't glued to you with a layer of sweat!

xoxo

Jane

Koala Photo

This is a photo of me with my friend Lauren at the Wildlife Currumbin Sanctuary in Brisbane, Australia. In addition to getting to hold a koala, I got to feed lorikeets (and get pooped on by them), hold a snake, and also a baby croc. Holding the koala was definitely the highlight of my trip!

xoxo

Jane

Christmas in Australia

For our last Christmas in Asia and my last trip before returning home, we decided to head to Australia for Christmas. It was a trip we were all looking forward to and it did not disappoint. It is not a short trip to Sydney - the flight is over 7 hours. Sydney is also 3 hours ahead of Singapore (and therefore currently 17 hours ahead of Newburyport).

We flew overnight and arrived in Sydney in the late morning on the 22nd. We immediately went out to the Blue Mountains, which are about 90 minutes from Sydney. We stayed in a cute little town called Katoomba in a backpacker type boarding house. We spent the first afternoon exploring Katoomba including taking a ride on a the steepest railway in Australia (maybe the world?) and seeing the beautiful mountains and the "Three Sisters". The Three Sisters are a trio of rock formations that Aussie native legend has were once three beautiful maidens. The second day in Katoomba we spent on an all-day "canyoning" adventure. We were driven out to the wilderness and hiked into a canyon where we donned wet suits and traveled down a river running at the bottom of the canyon. There were natural rock slides ending in very cool pools of water. There were also jumps of maybe 6-12 feet into pools of water. It was good fun, but unfortunately Lauren sprained her ankle and had to rest while we completed the second canyon. Otherwise we all survived and headed back to Katoomba and then took the trip into Sydney.

We spent the rest of our trip in Sydney and explored this beautiful city which is highlighted by the huge harbor and the landmarks of the Sydney bridge and opera house. The transport system was easy - trains, buses and my favorite - the public ferries. It was nice to be on the water and also in cooler weather than Singapore. In fact, even though it is Sydney's summer, the weather was unusually cool. Boxing day was their coolest in 120 years. Still, we did not mind, although those who wanted to spend the time sunning at the beach were disappointed.

On Christmas eve, we took the ferry to Watson's Bay and enjoyed some fish and chips for lunch at the famous Doyle's on the Beach. We later returned in time to explore the Rock's area of Sydney and to climb the Sydney bridge. This structure was completed in the early 30's and is amazing. The climb was a bit scary, especially because it was very windy, but we all made it. We went up in the daylight and came down in the night with all the city lights on. It really was quite spectacular.

On Christmas day, the girls and I went to the zoo which is on a hill next to the water and was quite beautiful. Leah took many pictures and hopefully will post some. Lauren and Evan stayed behind to relax. That night we had Christmas dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel where they had a great buffet. We all ate until they had to roll us out of there.

On Boxing day we explored the Sydney Fish Market which is one of the largest in the world. We enjoyed lunch there where the seafood is certainly as fresh as you can get. That night we saw the musical "Wicked" in the restored Capital Theater which is a beautiful old theater. It was my first time seeing this musical, but the others were still excited to see it again - especially Leah.

On Sunday, we met Lauren's friend Brooke, who lives in Singapore, but was in Australia for Christmas as she is married to an Aussie. We met her at the famous Bondi beach and walked along the cliffs and other beaches all the way to Coogee beach where Brooke and her husband were staying. The weather was cool which made for a more comfortable walk. It also did not keep the surfers from enjoying their craft (in wet suits). After the walk we enjoyed lunch with Brooke and her husband at a local "kebab" stand. David and I then went to the pub to watch some cricket while the girls did some shopping.

Monday was the worst day for weather as it was raining pretty consistently. We saw Avatar and made the best of it. Finally on our last day we went to Manley beach and had the best weather day. We enjoyed the water (especially Leah and I) and also had a nice lunch. We returned to our hotel to make our way to the airport and return to Singapore - except Jane! Jane flew up to Brisbane to join her school friend and her family for another week. She is still there and I am sure she is having a great time. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Happy New Year!
Jed, Lauren, Evan, Jane and Leah

More Sydney pictures

More Sydney pictures