Welcoming the Year of the Ox

Last night Singaporeans rang in the New Year! Were they just that late? Nah - in fact, they were just on time! Last night was Lunar New Year's Eve, and one of the most colorful festivals of the year. So I headed the 10 minute walk to Chinatown with my French flat-mate, Augustin, to check out all of the festivities.

I've decided to document the evening with a photo-journal, counting backwards from 12:30am, first day of the year of the Ox.

12:30am- An altar with incense and mandarins is left for the Prosperity God by the owner of a Korean Restaurant on Tanjong Pagar Road, the road between my apartment and Chinatown. As I was walking back from Chinatown, there were piles of burning paper along the sidewalk, and some metal garbage-can things with papers burning.

As I stopped to look at the burning pile in front of Korea Restaurant, the owner, a short man wearing an enormous buddha medallion said "Is for prosperity!" He pointed out that the papers all over the street were the same shape, and told me that they symbolize money - burning them is an offering to the Prosperity God so that he will bless them for the new year. For weeks and weeks mandarins and mandarin trees were for sale everywhere, and starting a few days ago, the altars went up. There was a burning can and altar in front of my apartment building. The Korea Restaurant owner explained that Chinese New Year was like their Christmas and told me that they believe in Buddha like we believe in Jesus. I told him 'Gong xi fa cai' and he got very excited and wished me the same. Then I walked home wishing people prosperity as they crumpled up papers to burn for the God of Prosperity.

Korea Restaurant's offering of "money" to bring in prosperity for the new year. The owner also explained that people are particularly serious this year because the economy is so bad. He said that every year the street is full of people and traffic jams, as you can see, foot and car traffic were quiet this year.

12:15am - Augustin and I toast the new year with Tiger beer. Stopping to see what the stage set up was for, we got sold into "an ice cold tiger with your name on it!" Augustin: "Really! It 'as my name on it!" The prosperity good was already smiling on us as we got free Tiger beer new year playing cards for our $2.50 beers (already on the post-midnight discount - the cheapest beer I've seen in Singapore, including in the government-run grocery store).

Midnight- At the Buddha-tooth temple, floods of people (including a guy with a tiny newborn infant next to me), do a wide range of rituals for good luck for the coming year. We are watering this Buddha (or possibly Buddha's friend? wasn't clear on who I was watering...) for good luck.

11:45pm - The buddhist monks don't request money, but in the new year, buddhists celebrate generosity. Parents, teachers, and bosses give people money, and people give money to the temple so that the monks don't need to work. DBS - my Singaporean bank- sponsored the red envelopes for this temple. I joined the queue to give to the monks, and as their token of generosity, they blessed us by sprinkling holy water and giving everyone a small red envelope with 20 cents as a token for prosperity in the new year.

11:40pm - in line for the monk's blessing. The guy in front of me turned around and looked at me, then looked at me again and said:
"Do you know what that envelope is for?"
"It's for generosity for the new year." (Having just had a talk with a girl who worked in the temple about what the red envelope is for...).
"Oh! I didn't even really know that," he admitted.
"I'm surprised to see you here. I told my friends we wouldn't see any foreigners in Chinatown tonight! We never used to see any foreigners in Chinatown. Things change so much. So are you here working?"
"yep. I train people in the Asia Pacific region."
"Oh! I work in China too. I live there but I'm Singaporean."
"Oh, are you home for the new year?"
"Yes! We all go home for new year."
Time for the blessing.

Offerings for the new year.

A woman drops coins in the golden offering bowls- another ritual for prosperity.

People pray in the front chamber of the temple as midnight approaches. The praying ritual seems interestingly similar to Christian prayer.

A monk watches people pray to the altar. They were very nice about photography, everyone was taking pictures. They put a shawl around my shoulders instead of telling me I needed to cover up, but the one rule was to never touch the monks.

A woman sells offerings at the front of the temple.

People light incense at the front of the temple. Tradition says that the person who lights the incense first at midnight gets blessed for the following year.

11:15pm - killing time until midnight at the night market- decorations already 50% off.

Tons of plants are for sale at the market as a common gift for the new year. Yellow flowers and fruits seemed to be particularly popular.

Mmm. Ping pong fishball...

Festive ice cream cart in front of the temple feeds people watching the Chinese comedy show.

A performer waits in the wings. Later he would dance around with a lit candle on his head, singing - now that's talent. Perhaps he should try out for Singapore Idol.

World's biggest paint brushes!

10:30pm - Time for a 7-11 stop. So many choices! Super gulp, big gulp, gulp, gulp, and mashed potato.

9:00 - checking out the market.

8:30 - Stands selling new year treats compete for last-minute business. Singaporeans are out shopping for early deals - easy to find this year with the bad economy.

Pomelos on sale

Enjoying a coconut (and a woman enjoying my pose...)

Are they eggs? Nope, Thai coconuts!

Mmm, water chestnut juice - brown and appealing...

7:45pm - starting the evening with Buddha

7:30pm Buddha tooth temple welcomes us to Chinatown

Gong xi fa ca!

Today marks the beginning of the year of the Ox on the lunar calendar. Many people of Asian cultures around the world are celebrating the new year with festivals and feasts and offerings to each other and the god of prosperity. Here in Singapore, we like to call it the "Lunar New Year" instead of "Chinese New Year" because people from other parts of Southeast Asia celebrate it too, particularly in Vietnam and Thailand.

There are over 40 million people of Chinese descent outside of greater china, and they make up the majority of Singapore's population, at about 80%. To see how the new year celebrations compare on opposite sides of the world and to explore how Chinese culture compares in two places with vibrant Chinatowns, I have devised a game called...Singapore or San Francisco (with the help of my spies across the Pacific). Can you tell where each pic was taken? Sometimes they're quite tricky ;). The key is at the bottom...

Another photo journal to come with my new year odyssey through busy Chinatown streets, crazy Chinese comedy productions, burning alters, and Buddhist prayers and offerings in the Buddha tooth temple.

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a - SF
b - SF
c - SF
d -SG
e - SG
f -SF
g - SF
h - SF
i - SG
j - SF
k - SF
l - SG
m - SG
n - SG
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p - SF
q - SF
r - SG
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t - SF
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v - SF

Flat Stanley goes to the tailor

I've started walking to work with my new ipod. I've never been one of those people who walks around with an ipod, I've always generally thought those people were zoning out, but I must admit, it becomes quite addictive. It's like I have my own soundtrack following me around!

On my way to work I walk down the streets of downtown listening to whatever my ipod happens to pop up, from the Cranberries (yay 90's nostalgia!) to the Brindisi from La Traviata (talk about music that pumps you up! ;).

I've also found myself doing particularly American activities, such as eating Burger King and McDonalds. Haven't had Burger King in at least 10 years, and my favorite ethnic item on the menu was taro pie. The last time I had McDonalds was 5 years ago in Ireland, when my friend Nkechi insisted on eating at the McCafe because it was the only thing under $10 (she had a valid point). My favorite ethnic item - the Prosperity Burger - apparently a seasonal Chinese New Year item. I lost my new Coach silk scarf as it blew off my head and immediately into someone's pocket moments after finishing my Prosperity Burger, so I don't think it helped.

I've also been watching whatever is on Star World, the channel that imports lots of stuff from the US (including lots of crap and new shows like Heroes), because the remote control is already out of batteries. That means I've watched lots of Friends and for the first time ever - American Idol. They show the same episode 3 times in a row - by the third time I'm pretty sure I know who's going to make it....

Wrote another letter with Flat Stanley...


Dear Mrs. Harris' 2nd Grade Class,

Today Braden's Flat Stanley went to the tailor. He is so small and flat that he has trouble finding clothes that fit! Luckily for him, Singapore is full of tailors who can make special clothes. Sometimes the tailors have little shops, and sometimes they do their work on the streets, like the one Flat Stanley took a picture with.

In Little India it is common to see the tailors on the street, because that is how a lot of the businesses are in India. In India, many people have small businesses, like making clothes, fixing cars, or making bread, and they sell their goods and services wherever they can. Sometimes they only have a little space on a street to sell them. Many people in India are very poor, and have to do whatever jobs they can to support themselves and their families. So, they make the most of what they have and set up their shops, like this tailor, right on the street.

After going to the tailor, Flat Stanley bought be a jasmine garland as a gift. Thanks Flat Stanley!

-Ashley

Flat Stanley Eats a Pomelo

Yesterday I went to Chinatown again, for the 3rd day in a row. It's really vibrant right now with preparations for Chinese New Year. It's a good way to combat post-Christmas blues, by having another major holiday less than a month later! I think I have just learned the tip of the ice burg about Chinese New Year- I think I will have plenty to report over the next 2 weeks.

Now I'm eating some ice cream from the Fair Price called "Bud's of San Francisco" - made in Thailand. I had to buy it. It has a picture of the golden gate bridge on it. It was only $5 instead of $14 like Ben & Jerry's.

I took a pic with Flat Stanley last night in Chinatown - there were the biggest pomelos I've ever seen, for quite a hefty price, especially for Chinatown - but they could feed a village.


Dear Mrs. Harris' 2nd grade class,

Today Braden's Flat Stanley ate a Pomelo. A pomelo is an enormous citrus fruit that usually weighs between 2 and 4 pounds - it's the size of a basketball!

People peel the pomelo and eat the inside, like you eat an orange. Sometimes, after people eat the fruit they make the peel into candy and dip it in chocolate - yum! They are popular to eat for Chinese New Year.

The pomelos in Singapore are some of the biggest pomelos in the world. Have you ever seen a fruit the size of a basketball?

-Ashley

Flat Stanley Takes Singapore

My cousin's son, Braden, a second-grader in rural Ohio, sent my mom a little paper figure named "Flat Stanley." Flat Stanley is supposed to travel the world and send letters and notes back to Ohio for Mrs. Harris' second grade class.

I don't think Stanley realized what we was signing up for, because he had to travel over 8,000 to Singapore.

So far, here are Stanley's letters:

January 9, 2009:

Dear Mrs. Harris' 2nd grade class,

Flat Stanley, or as Braden calls him, Flat Josh, has made his way to the other side of the world! He was spotted just today watching the sunset in Singapore. Flat Stanley took a long 8447-mile airplane trip from San Francisco to Singapore yesterday - it was so far away that the airplane had to stop for gas in Korea!

Singapore is a small island in Southeast Asia where it is hot and humid all the time. There are lots of different kinds of people here, but almost everyone can speak English. In Singapore there are 4 national languages - can you imagine going to school in English and Chinese at the same time? People here speak Chinese, Tamil (a language from India), or Malay (the language of the native Singaporeans, who like Native Americans, spoke a different language than the people who moved to Singapore later).

There are thunder storms every day, but here they call them monsoons. It is always 85 degrees, even in December and January, because Singapore is right on the equator (does anyone know what the equator is?).

Flat Stanley is going to work with me, Braden's cousin, at Google on the 38th floor of a tall building in Singapore.

More to come from Flat Stanley later!

January 10, 2009

Dear Mrs. Harris' 2nd grade class,

Today Braden's Flat Stanley stayed at my apartment in Singapore, on the 26th floor in downtown. There are 40 floors in this building and 8,000 people live within 1 square mile!

Outside the window, way in the distance, you can see Indonesia. Indonesia is a country with more than 13,000 islands! One of the most famous islands is called Java - the same as the word for coffee - lots of coffee is grown there.

You can get to Indonesia on a 45 minute ferry across the water - can you imagine going to another country in 45 minutes? That's less time than sitting down with some candy and watching Wall-e!

-Ashley

January 12, 2009

Dear Mrs. Harris' class,

This weekend Braden's Flat Stanley went to Chinatown in Singapore. He had a great time because it is very busy with preparations for Chinese New Year, which is a Spring festival. This year the festival starts on January 26th.

Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year for most Chinese people, and they celebrate it by decorating orange trees, hanging lanterns and decorations, eating lots of candy and sweets, and spending time with their families. Many of these Chinese New Year traditions are similar to Christmas traditions, and red is even a lucky color!

This year will be the year of the Ox in Chinese culture. There are twelve animals in the Chinese calendar, so this year will be the year of the Ox, and then it won't be the year of the Ox again until 2021! How old will you be then? Next year will be the year of the Tiger.

Flat Stanley will have more adventures as Chinese New Year approaches!

-Ashley

Flat Stanley watches a tailor on the street in Little India

Flat Stanley buys jasmine garlands in Little India

Flat Stanley buys fruit with Emma

Flat Stanley goes for a walk in the jungle next to my apartment

Flat Stanley watches the big balloon decorations for Chinese New Year

Flat Stanley buys Chinese New Year decorations

Flat Stanley watches the sunset from the office

Around the world in 30 days

The "other" side of the Pacific, California

Loving the cold in California with my little sis

I'll be home for Christmas...with Mom and Mel

California winter sky - I missed you.

My newly decorated bed (bedding and curtains from Chinatown in Singapore, candle holders from Thailand, silk wall painting from Vietnam, paper cutting above the bed from Sydney, live orchids from the Fair Price grocery store)

Chinese New Year orange trees to decorate

Clever marketing in Singapore - flyers by a bikini waxing parlour.

Singaporean breakfast - Kopi (coffee with oil in it, Malay style), poached eggs with soy sauce, and toast with sugar and tropical fruit paste

Clarke Quay, the day before I left for California - right between monsoons

Skye, and her beau, Adrian (a Romanian flight steward for Qatar Airways), teach me how to play Mahjong during one of Adrian's short layovers in Singapore

View of the quicksand jungle of doom from my window on the 26th floor.

After posting my last entry, I enjoyed a bad case of the flu until I headed back to California for the month of December.

Now it's January and I'm back on the other side of the world. The weather is better than it was when I left (as little as Singapore's weather changes...it's about 5 degrees cooler with more breeze and fewer monsoons). I was longing for a cold Christmas, and I had a wonderful month of snow flurries in SF, foggy and rainy and crisp, clear, cold days in Northern California. I needed my eskimo coat most of the time because I got used to always being hot - and I loved every minute of retreating into my powder puff, fur-lined coat. Alas, (I realize a Swede or Alaskan, or resident of Boston would kill for this) now I'm back in the land of perpetual summer.

I've fully moved into my new apartment- a master bedroom (with private, attached bath) in a 3-bedroom new public housing building in downtown (in a neighborhood called Tanjong Pagar, next to Chinatown in the middle of the city). I am living with a French guy named Augustin, from the town in the South of France where fois gras originated. I plan to practice my French, think about Descartes and Sartre, and develop a true taste for fine wines :). I might even start rocking out to Satie and Debussy if I'm not careful (I'm already rocking out to Poulenc).

My other roommate has started moving in today, her name is Shabnam and she's half German and half Iranian. She's already lived in Singapore for a while and is moving closer to work, so I'm hoping that she will give me some tips on the best places to go. Sounds like she has already explored a lot of Singapore's unique areas, since she has a skate board and a surf board (Maybe she is an honorary Californian ;).

We will be a mini-UN here in Singapore. Plus, I am now getting the experience in foreign policy I need to run for vice president, as I can see Indonesia from my window.

We're right above the docks where they are loading and unloading crates 24-7. I can walk to work in 10 minutes, and to Chinatown in 7. Can't beat the location! I didn't move to Singapore to live in the suburbs, so I'm glad that I'll have this unique experience living in the downtown of a major city. I'm on the 26th floor! It makes it more exotic that unidentifyable fruit and chinese new year orange trees are for sale downstairs.

There is a little park next to the building with huge tropical trees and roaring sacedas. I went for a walk there today to explore and started sinking into the ground! Quicksand in the middle of a major city - only in Singapore.

I'm slowly getting a totally different feel for the city living in downtown and walking everywhere - suddenly the geography makes a lot more sense than when I was taking the MRT (subway) everywhere. There is also a bus stop right outside my apartment, which means I'll be doing a lot more above ground public transport.

The city is bustling with Chinese New Year preparations. I've been to Chinatown twice this weekend - it's like I'm in Asia! There are sweets and lanterns and mandarin trees for sale everywhere, and decorations just like christmas but with difference symbols and Ox's all over them (its the year of the Ox).

I think I'm going to get really physically fit walking everywhere, I've already ended up carrying lots of heavy bags half a mile home from the grocery store - no need to join a gym! Now if only I could figure out how to keepthe suffocating humidity from drenching me in sweat every time I go outside, maybe I'll be in business.