Going to Singapore!

Finally getting really excited about the trip to Singapore. Haven't thought about it much until now, since wasn't sure if we'd be really going - pending the visas approvals. But now that they are (what a relief!) we are going to Singapore!

So now a geography lesson:

Singapore is one of the only few city/states in the world. It's located in Southeast Asia, on the Malaysian peninsula and literally on the equator. See map here. So the weather is sunny, hot and really humid! Sounds fab to me, although I'll probably pass out from heat stroke since it's been awhile since we've been in weather like that. Singapore is a former British crown colony but has been independent since the mid 1950s. Therefor there is a lot of British influence and why English is spoken there.

It's a very westernized society in Asia, so we've been told it's a great place to go for a first experience in Asia. The locals are made up of people from China, Malaysia and India. But lots of expats have also moved there for good job opportunities. So English is spoken quite easily there, as well as Mandarin Chinese and Malay.

We've also heard the food is fantastic - Chinese, Thai and India abounds - which we love all of it.

To explain why we are going there:

Brian's funding from the Royal Society has ended as it was a two-year contract only. As the research Brian has been doing at Oxford is going well and he'd like to continue with it (so he can write more papers to publish) he's taken up funding provided by the National University of Singapore. There is a reciprocal agreement between the NUS and Oxford to have a researcher do the work at Oxford, but also so Singapore can have their name on the publications. Brian will need to visit Singapore probably 2-3 times in the year for collaboration work, but we will continue to be based in Oxford. Next week I'm going along for a number of reasons: both of our plane tickets will be paid for, we receive more money initially if Brian's dependent (his wife) travels with and, hey, it's Singapore!! How cool!

We are leaving together next Saturday 21st, and I'm returning on March 31st. Brian is staying on until about April 4th. The University is putting us up, so we're not quite sure what our level of accommodations will be, so I'm not expecting much. But it will be extremely clean I know, as that is a huge thing in Singapore also. We've all heard the stories, you can be jailed or caned for spitting gum on the ground! They have extremely harsh laws for cleanliness so we just have to be careful to follow the rules. (We read that it's illegal if you don't flush the toilet! Yikes!)

I'll definitely blog and post photos post trip and possibly during if I have access. Cheers!

Birthday weekend

Hi all,

It's my birthday today and I'm celebrating by not doing a whole lot except enjoying a chill weekend like usual. We did pop to the pub (as you'd expect) and my hubby's in charge in the kitchen, so all is well! The sun has been shining for the day which is great to see, and all the daffodils are popping up everywhere. The main focus is our trip to Singapore next week - so packing is top of mind (although I hate packing and always leave til last minute.) But have been doing laundry and ironing to prep and realizing that my summer clothes are pretty limited and borderline out of fashion! Guess will have to do some shopping when in Singapore!

Thanks for the Bday messages and I'm going to blog more about Singapore next!

Visas are renewed!

Good news - we don't have to leave the UK in 10 days -our visas were renewed! This allows us to stay in the UK for another 3 years if we want. Our visas now are also not dependent on one particular employer, so Brian can change up jobs if he needs to as well (although we don't really foresee him needing to do that). So it is a bit of a relief to know that we can stay put until we get our next big move sorted. Ideally we are looking for permanent positions for Brian in academia back in the US. It's interesting to learn however, that the economy is even affecting academic jobs in that a number of high-level universities are putting faculty searches on hold, due to their own economic constraints. But all is currently well for us in the Oxford bubble, and we're just plugging along like usual.

The other good news to our visa renewals, is that now Brian will be funded by the University of Singapore, and we're going there to visit in two weeks! Brian will mainly be working, and I am taking holiday. But it's beneficial that we both go, as both our plane tickets will be paid for, and we also both receive "moving" expenses (even though we will live in Oxford officially). Never did us two midwesterners think we'd be hanging out in Singapore! So we'll have lots to report back on the blog.