Everyone knows that you can't have chewing gum in Singapore. It's really the only thing that most people knew about this place when I said we were moving here - "ha - don't bring any chewing gum!"
Well, it's true. You don't see it on the floor. You don't have to worry about it on the bottom of tables and desks (just boogers), people don't chew it annoyingly in your face. It's nowhere. There are signs when you enter Singapore warning that you are not allowed to bring it into Singapore (unless you have a prescription or it's for quitting smoking or something like that).
I did see a piece of gum stuck on a part of an escalator, but it hasn't been a part of my life.
...Until my taxi ride home tonight. I found out that a friend of ours here is addicted to gum. She said it's the one thing in her life (and cigarettes...) that should could not give up. She smuggles it in. She asks her friends to (risk their life?) bring it into Singapore in large quantities. She is stocked up. She even offered us a piece!!! I just didn't know that these people existed in Singapore. I just didn't.
Update on my back: It's feeling much better, but it hurts still. I'm almost fully functional.
Update on China: It's WAY worse than they thought. The pictures are horrifying. So sad.
Update on Myanmar: seems like they're getting something, but I don't really get what's happening.
Update on our lives...We had a pretty regular week (other than me not working for two days...). Matt went to a region in southern peninsular Malaysia - a region that they're trying to develop. He got a tour. He enjoyed the day, and he ended up having a few beers with my colleague. Tonight we went to the last UHC Shabbat service and dinner of the year. They take a break for the summer, since most of the ex-pats go home for the summer. It was actually a really fun and funny night. Rachel announced to the community that she's going to Rabbinical school and getting married, there was a violinist who played through most of the service, there were some pretty amusing characters there...The vegetarian meal was two pieces of roasted pepper, two mushrooms, two pieces of asparagus and a couple of pieces of zucchini. I actually can't believe I paid $30 for that. Whoa - it was terrible. We were really hungry. Some meat eaters donated a few potatoes to our cause. We got in a fight about what a ground cherry and what a gooseberry looks like (the gum addict won). Also, Matt had sworn that this one guy who's part of our community had been part of a Jewish community he remembered when he was in college in Indonesia. He said that this man that he remembered had a Malaysian wife, and he remembered going to the son's bar mitzva. Well, he has an Indonesian wife now, and he has four kids (aged 13 or so to 2 or so), and I said there was no way it was the same guy. Well it is. Matt confirmed. Apparently he has a new wife now, but the kid is still his - he's 24 now. Pretty funny. I guess Jewish Asia isn't so big. We went out for a few drinks. All in all - I guess tonight had way more exciting things than the rest of the week!
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