Singapore Expats

Missing home

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thompsonhewitt
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Missing home

Post by thompsonhewitt » Wed, 25 Jan 2006 10:27 pm

Anyone else in the same boat and missing home???




www.britain.2ya.com

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Bubbles
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Post by Bubbles » Wed, 25 Jan 2006 10:43 pm

Hang in there Thompson, everyone feels the same at first. But it truly is a great place, you will grow to love it like home, really. Go to the WNDC (wed night drink club) and meet the folks. They'll cheer you up.

And don't forget, holidays will come, and home is never more than a day away. But don't rush back too soon. Get to know Singapore. Meet the locals, don't only stick with us expats. They are great.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas.

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Saint
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Post by Saint » Wed, 25 Jan 2006 11:04 pm

Thompson, I'm not missing home as I'm back living in UK at the moment, but I'm missing Singapore :(

Agree with Bubbs, everyone feels homesick one way our another. Singapore can be a bit daunting at first especially if you've arrived with no contacts.

Well mate, you've made the right move by posting on here cos before long you'll be drinking until the early hours of thursday morning (WNDC) playing volleyball on Sentosa on a Sunday (Eric where are you?) Sampling strange and weird deserts (Kimi) to name but a few gatherings

Stick in there and Mrs S and I look forward to meeting you at one of the does during are April visit!

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Bubbles
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Post by Bubbles » Wed, 25 Jan 2006 11:34 pm

You know Thompson, I've been thinking about what you said. Please don't think you're the only one who suffers this. I remember vividly walking down Chinatown one morning and thinking to myself, 'Why am I here?' 'I want to go home.'

It's worse the first few weeks, of course, but it does come around and bite you on the bum at other, unsuspecting, times too.

But.....don't worry. My advice is to get to know as many people as possible. Do as many classes or join as many things as you can. Yes, some you'll chuck early on as they'll be boring, but don't forget, you are not alone.

Seriously, why not go to next week's WNDC? Or ask on the board if anyone's going out this weekend. It's New Year though, so lots of folks will be at home, kind of like our Christmas hols. Not sure where you're from, you too may celebrate CN year.

Go for a swim if you're down, or a run. Don't sit alone with a drink and think, 'Last month I was in such and such a place, with so and so back home'........it's a killer that.

And believe me, and Saint and others will back me up I'm sure, when you do eventually get back home (UK in my case) you'll be wishing you were back there.

Honestly, nothing much will change in your home country when you're away, and you'll slip right back in, and that's what's miserable....you'll get home and think...........'What am I doing here?..........I want to go back to Singapore, where I can sit out at night, where the clubs and bars are great, where the food is fab, where the people are fun....etc.etc....'
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas.

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Baron Greenback
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Post by Baron Greenback » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 10:17 am

Very true Bubbs - the grass is always greener...
"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools."
Hemingway

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sapphire
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Post by sapphire » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 10:35 am

Very good advice from everybody.

You should join us for one of the WNDCs, Thompson. Good opportunity to meet some nice people. There'll always be moments when you'll feel homesick but its easier to deal with those when you have friends around you.

PS. Bubbs, Eric is away, should be back soon.
It's not getting any smarter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity, and make it work for you.

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Mary Hatch Bailey
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Post by Mary Hatch Bailey » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:02 am

Damn, I posted last night. WTF??

I always miss home, sometimes more and sometimes less. But I always miss home.

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Cheekybeek
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Post by Cheekybeek » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:54 am

I'm missing those long hot summer afternoons, daylight till 8:30pm and the smell of fresh cut grass and sprinklers watering the lawns. BBQs, fruit punch, peaches fresh from the tree.

My cure: a big juicy Aussie mango or a slice of watermelon, let the juice run down your chin and forget for a minute all your stress, worries and homesickness.

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 6:01 pm

Bubbles wrote:You know Thompson, I've been thinking about what you said. Please don't think you're the only one who suffers this. I remember vividly walking down Chinatown one morning and thinking to myself, 'Why am I here?' 'I want to go home.'

It's worse the first few weeks, of course, but it does come around and bite you on the bum at other, unsuspecting, times too.
Actually, I think it's worse the longer you have been here. I find myself looking forward to retirement when I can chuck all the roots I've established here and go back to the farm. The call of nature has been stronger the past 2 or 3 years than it's been the whole 23+ years I've been in Asia.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Bubbles
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Post by Bubbles » Thu, 26 Jan 2006 6:36 pm

Ah, the times I walked down from my condo, along Holland Road, crossed over to the British Council, sat there reading yesterday's British Times, walked back along the back road by Sami's, all alone, totally fed up and wishing I was back home. I can actually look down now and see the yesterday me trudging sadly along.

I remember thinking about the frost glittering in the morning sun, the cold winds, the sea with real waves....magazines, newspapers, television serials, British bread, milk, old friends (what were they doing now, this minute?) my sisters, old school days. And yes, I did have a little cry sometimes.

And now, this morning.............I'm going out in the cold wind, for a walk across the moorland to look at that same crashing sea I remembered, and............

I will be thinking of you there tonight, at the Hawkers, in your pools, down in town, eating seafood on the East Coast, playing tennis at night, me out with local mates on a Friday at Emerald Hill, or Front Page, or Elvis's (do they still exist?) ....Komala Villas coconut leaf curry, KK market, the guy in welly boots in chinatown market who sells the frogs...Isetan, Holland Village Delifrance, sitting outside, WalaWala's, The Colbar, monkeys who sit on your garden wall, .................arrrgh!!!!!


Human beings, are we EVER satisfied?

lolol.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas.

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