Return to Normalcy

Matt and I were not excited to come back to Singapore. We had such a nice, relaxing time in the states. We have never been in Michigan for so long, since we moved from there, and (not that we're itching to move there, ever...) it was just really nice to be around friends and family so much. I have written about this before, but there are only two people in this entire country who have known me before we moved here (Christian and Rusty), and that's just hard sometimes. Luckily we have been here for so long at this point (three years! Can you believe it!?) that it's getting less relevant, but still...

Luckily, we both had good weeks. Matt's work is a lot slower than it has been in the past, which is nice for him to catch his breath, and I just love my job. I was not excited to come back to work on Monday, but once I remembered what I was working on (bank-wide paternity policy, work-life balance, focusing our banking products and services on women, etc.), I got really excited and was so happy to get going. That's good news.

I was also really excited to get back to yoga. I only did it twice while we were in the states, and that really just felt weird on my body. When you're used to stretching and moving for an hour each day (or at least five days a week), it really feels bizarre to stop for even a few days.

Thank goodness we also have a trip to look forward to. Matt's friend Ryan and his girlfriend are coming out to SE Asia at the end of this month, and we're going with them to Bali. I need things like that to keep me going.

I did learn something interesting this week. I learned that there are seven or so anonymous HIV/AIDS testing clinics in Singapore. Thank goodness for them. If you DON'T go to them, apparently if you test positive, then the clinic automatically sends all of your details to the government (and to lots of other interested/uninterested parties). Because I'm on an employment pass, I actually am not allowed to be HIV positive, so if I did test positive for it, essentially the government would find out immediately and would immediately kick me out of the country. Also, while lots of other medical care services and products are subsidised by the government, HIV/AIDS is not, so drugs can run you about $1,000 per month. It's amazing to me how stigmatised this disease is, and all of those are left over from stereotypes and lack of information in the 80s. It blows my mind, and I think it all is from homophobia, which is just totally crazy in 2010 (or anytime...but still).

Here are some photos from our trip. More photos are here. Pictures include a visit from Jo, Mike and Charlie from Columbus, Aunt Phyllis and her grandson, Jackson, a visit from Shana, a Birnholtz seder, a religious squirrel, some Hildebrandt boys, and a surprise dad.