Tuesday, June 5, 2012

We're Leaving

Bryan and I are moving to St. Louis, Missouri at the end of July. I'll be starting a PhD program in Anthropology (focusing on monkey studies!) at Washington University. Bryan is still looking for work in the area, but we're hopeful about some of the leads he has.

Leaving Singapore will be bittersweet for us. By the time we leave, we will have been here for almost exactly three years. We are unbelievably excited to move back to the US, and to experience all of the things that we've missed so much. We especially can't wait to be closer to our families and friends, to be able to call them whenever we want, to get back home without flying for 30 hours through 13 time zones, to eat all the Mexican food we can get our hands on, to drive cars, to snuggle with our cats, and to wear sweaters, build snowmen, and drink hot chocolate.

But after three years in Singapore, there are things that we'll miss about living here as well. We've made some excellent friends here, and we will miss them so much. It's been a joy working, laughing at monkeys, playing board games, eating delicious food, watching movies, and drinking Tiger with all of them. We hope that our Singapore friends will feel welcome in St. Louis, if they ever happen to be on the other side of the planet.

It'll be hard to say goodbye to our non-human friends too. As silly as it may seem, I've gotten attached to the monkeys here and it will be sad to leave them. We'll miss seeing all the amazing wildlife of Singapore, but we'll miss the monkeys most of all.

And of course, after three years of jet-setting around Southeast Asia, chilling on the beach in Phuket, admiring the ruins at Angkor Wat, trekking through the jungles of Sumatra, snorkeling under the waves in Bali, watching the wallabies in Australia, and getting engaged in New Zealand, we'll certainly miss this crazy lifestyle.

Singapore will always have a special place in our hearts. It's the first place Bryan and I moved as a couple. It's where Bryan had his first job after earning his PhD. It's where we were living when we decided to spend forever together. It's where I finally figured out what to do with the rest of my life. We've made memories and friendships here that will last a lifetime.

While we'll always look back on our time in Singapore with happiness, we look forward to continuing our adventures in the newest chapter of our lives - as a married couple in St. Louis!

Ready for the next phase of our lives - in the good old USA!

7 comments:

  1. Good luck to you guys in St. Louis! It's where my husband's family is from so who knows, we might cross paths again.

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    1. That would be great! You have my email address - drop us a line next time you're in St. Louis. It would be fun to get together and reminisce about Singapore!

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  2. I've been here six years, and I reckon you've seen more of Singapore than I have. Before you go, maybe you can say what your absolute favourite place in Singapore is, and your favourite of the national dishes?

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    1. I plan to do a blog post detailing some of the things we'll really miss. But for now -

      Favorite place in S'pore: Ooohhh, that's tough. For me and Bryan, it's probably Bukit Timah, mostly because I studied the monkeys there for so long and really got to know them. Bryan's photographed those monkeys a lot and gotten to know them too. Every time we go there, it's just full of memories for us. Sungei Buloh is probably a close second. Both nature spots...we're nature nerds.

      Favorite national dish: That's a tough call too! B/c I'm vegetarian I haven't tried some of the more traditional stuff (fish head curry, chili crab), but I've really developed a taste for curry puffs, popiah, pandan chiffon cake, and veg kway teow. Bryan eats a lot of laksa, and he loves satay so those are probably near the top of his list!

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  3. Can't wait to have you back in the States!

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  5. Though we only met once at the Waterfront eating event, you guys are easy to talk to. Take care and all the best! =)

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