Today is a Jewish religious holiday so I am off from school.  I used the day to visit Little India, an area where most Indians live and market.  The market has mostly fresh fruits and vegetables along the street and in a section of the covered market.  There were two other sections of the covered market.  On the upper floor are many Indian clothing sellers.  The largest group was women’s clothing vendors.  The dresses are rich in color with a lot of embroidery.  Indian woman are generally small so I am not able to find clothing for myself.  I enjoy looking.  I chose to take pictures of some of the most elaborate clothing.

Wedding Clothing

On the lower floor of the main building is what is called the wet market.  It is called this because the whole area is hosed down every day.  The largest section is the seafood and meat section.  I made the choice to take a picture of that section from the upper floor because I have trouble with the smells.  

The vegetable sections is connected and along the streets.  Many of the vegetables were unknown to me.  I thought you might like to see pictures of some of them.

Sugar cane

Buying flower garlands

 I stopped for lunch at a traditional Indian restaurant.  I got the vegetarian combination from the Southern Indian menu.  My tray came with three tomato based curry type dishes.  There were two vegetables, a squash and a yogurt-cucumber dish.  Tofu and a type of cheese made up the protein.  The tray is lined with a banana leaf that doubles as the plate.  The man came by with a bowl of rice and dumped some rice in the middle of the banana leaf.  There was no silverware.  The food is eaten with the fingers.  Until I specifically requested it, no napkin was given to me.  I watched with great interest as others ate with their fingers without making a mess.  I was not as good with it.

I have decided that I want to learn how to cook Indian food especially vegetarian dishes.  I got a couple of cookbooks and went to the main Indian grocery store last weekend.  The herb section was the largest section in the store.  It is huge.  I bought cardamom (green and black), cinnamon sticks, curry leaves, coriander seeds, cloves, cumin seeds and a few others.   I went home and began making a few of the recipes from the book.   The combining and cooking of the vegetables and beans are typical and easy.  Preparing the herbs is what is different.  The herbs are used whole, sautéed until they are fragrant, and then ground.   The directions ask me to sauté herbs until it is fragrant.  You should have seen me standing over the pan sniffing and sniffing to decide when the herbs were ready.   The dishes  were okay, but I still have a lot to learn.  I didn't grind the herbs enough so I spent a lot of time picking the herb pieces out of my mouth after each mouth full.  I found that the dishes tasted better the second day. 

All the best of all of you.   I am very good and enjoying my time here.  Sara

I have reached a stage in life when I can no longer see my brows to pluck them.  I went into a salon to get my brows either plucked or waxed so I would look okay for a school event.  They do not pluck or wax, they thread.  The person holds one end of a twisted thread in her mouth.  In the middle where the threads are twisted,  the threads are moved across the face plucking hairs as they move.  Ouch!

I looked it up, it is an ancient way of removing hair from the body that reportedly comes from India.

One thing about it, it last much longer than either plucking or waxing.  How about that!

Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple

Right in the midst of Chinatown is a Buddhist temple that contains (supposedly) one of Buddha’s teeth.  It is a very beautiful and I thought you would enjoy the pictures.

Buddhist Temple feeds the Hungry Ghost

The day I visited was the last day of the month of the Hungry Ghost.  Under the edge of the roof all the way around were tables set for the ghosts.  As I walked back to my house, I walked past multiple sites where people were burning money and other gifts for the ghost. 

Hope all is well with all of you.  I think of you all often and send you my love.  Sara 

Preparations for a festival

I visited Chinatown yesterday.  The streets were crowded and there were many open air markets as well as regular stores.

Chinese immigrants were one of the first major groups to enter Singapore.  They came from all parts of China via Hong Kong.  Like so many poor people, they left home in search of a better life.  Because they came from many sections of China, they tended to turn to people with the same customs in Singapore.  Over time they set up secret societies that operated a lot like gangs identified by numbers tattooed on their arms.  As conditions improved for the Chinese immigrants, the gangs continued into the 20^th century.  When Singapore became a nation in 65, they were still active.  The new head of government passed a law that allowed him to pick them up and hold them without charges or a trial.  The gangs have disappeared from Singapore society.

The cultural center provides a glimpse of Chinese life in Singapore.  The Cultural center building was the business and house of a tailor.  There are 3 stories to the house.  The tailor lived on the first floor.  The shop was in the front and the family lived in the rear.  In the upper floors, whole families would live in one small room.  One family with 10 children lived in a smaller room than my small bedroom in the states.   The house was packed with people.  When I was walking down the steps, I could see the worn tread of many generations of people.  I am attaching a couple of pictures of the house to show you.Chinese immigrants were one of the first major groups to enter Singapore.  

Room for a Carpenter's family.  Sling in the foreground is for the baby.

Kitchen for a number of room renters

Sink for the same kitchen

Bathroom and washroom for the taylor's family.  It is at the bottom of an air vent for the whole building.  It must have smelled wonderful throughout the building.

August 1, 2014

Several people have asked about Manassah Meyers, the school where I will be working.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words.  I am including them.

The school is a Jewish Day School for elementary through 7^th grade.  It is in temporary housing because their new school is currently being built.  Currently the population is around 130, but when the new school is built, it will grow to 500. 

The school will go through a number of shifts over the next 2 years as they prepare for the physical change of space and numbers.  The curriculum will also sharpen.  As is true with many schools that start out small, like Stratford Friends, changes are necessary for the school to grow.  I am part of this school's changes, mainly in the area of literacy.   I am excited to be a part of such a positive change. 

Below are pictures of the school.  The art room is actually a porch (You will like that, Thelma). 

The bathrooms seem fairly primitive by US standards, but remember this is a temporary home.  The play areas need to be covered because when it rains, it pours.

Art Room

I will send you pictures of my office when my stuff and the furniture is in place.   I have tutored students and developed programs in closets and partitioned spaces behind Xerox machines.  Several times I have had windows, but rarely ones that I could look out.  My last job was the exception.  Now I am back to a space without windows.  It is always amazing what one can get use to.

As is true in most apartment complexes and public buildings, schools require special security.  The school complex is gated, and there are security guards anytime someone is in the building.  When I asked about the need for security, I was reminded that this is a Jewish school in a city surrounded by Muslim countries.  There is no sense of danger in the school, and the gentle spirited guards make everyone feel safe.  

Guarded Gate

The school backs up to a canal with walking paths, pools of water, and exercise equipment where I often see senior citizens exercising.   This is the last part of my walk to school from the bus.

School from the Canal Path

Glimpse of the school from the path

The new school is under construction and should be finished during the next school year.  A model of the new school is in the front foyer under plexiglass.  As you can see on the roof, it will have a large pool on one side and a full tennis court on the other.  There is a lot of space to grow into.