After months of living in temporary quarters and under temporary circumstances, one more event brought us a little closer to normalcy: the arrival of our dog, Ruby. Like many rabies-free countries, Singapore has strict rules for the import of pets, and the requirements change depending on the country of origin. I'll spare you details, but …
Freedom!* [*sort of]
Lining up for the absolutely worst poolside activity a five-star hotel could offer: brain-scratching covid testing In late September our hotel quarantine drew to a close, and we faced one final hurdle: one last covid-19 PCR test. So we assembled on the hotel's pool deck at our appointed time and had our brains probed via …
Passing the Time in Hotel Jail
So here we are, serving our two-week Stay Home Notice (SHN) upon arriving in Singapore in mid-September. As I wrote in my last post, we really scored and landed a five-star hotel, The InterContinental. So what's it like to pass the time in an admittedly posh setting when you can't even leave the room? The …
International Arrivals in the Time of Covid, and the SHN Hotel Lottery
Singapore locked down hard during covid, pausing all arrivals for a while in 2020. Then very slowly they resumed new arrivals from certain countries, imposing strict conditions and elaborate entry procedures. Fun fact! Since Singapore is a city-state of only 280 square miles (724 square kilometers), there's only one airport and all flights are international. …
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Greetings from Singapore!
Departing National Airport with five overflowing luggage carts, plus carry-ons. And two guitars. Around autumn 2020 the chance to go overseas to Singapore with Mark's work came up. We thought about it for roughly 0.4 seconds, then decided--sure, why not? With the kids then in eighth and ninth grades, it was the last chance to …
Marching for Peace and Equality
As the past week wore on, the violent confrontations between police and protesters lessened. Starting midweek the crowds at the daily protests remained peaceful, and I looked ahead to the weekend and considered taking the kids to a peaceful march ourselves. I didn't make this decision lightly, keeping their safety in mind first. But I …
This Week in Washington Has Been the Longest Year of My Life
Hey there! It's been a while. I wrote my last post almost one year ago, the last night before leaving Japan and returning to the US. Over the past year I weighed letting the blog just sit versus periodically updating some big milestones of re-entry to US life. Not updating won out until this past …
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We Fly Tomorrow: The Final Post From Japan
I sit here in our room at the Navy Lodge on the Yokosuka Naval Base. It's Tuesday around 5PM, and the rest of the family is out. Tessa is spending a last day with her Japanese friends from school who came down from Yokohama. Mark and Cy went off to the pool for a swim. …
Stone Lantern Shopping in Hayama
Stone lanterns appear throughout Japan at shrines, beside temples, in private gardens--and in the household goods shipments of expats returning to their home countries. Today Mark and I set out to buy lanterns of our own, hopping in the car and heading about 30 minutes south to a stone lantern shop in nearby Hayama. We …
A Visit to Naoshima, Japan’s Art Island
Last weekend Mark and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. We farmed out the younger mammals to stay with friends, then headed out for a quick overnight trip with just the two of us. We had originally planned to drive Mark's convertible to Hakone, a popular resort area only 90 minutes away. But alas, an …
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