Journeys seldom go as expected and ours began with some twists. For Sennen and Ailyn, they were surprised Friday night when I came home from the airport with our cousin Arielle instead of a llama from our cousins Barbara and Jerry’s ranch named Darielle. I’m not sure why they thought Darielle was flying in from Denver or what would happen when she came to our house, but kids don’t always figure these things out.
Of course, they were happy to see Arielle whom they like very much. Twenty-four year-old Arielle is coming along instead of our au pair Jesper, who traveled with us to Bali last year. While we were exceptionally fortunate that Jesper decided to extend with us for a second year we were unfortunate in that the extension stamp on his I-94 doesn’t allow him to exit and re-enter the country without returning to his native Sweden for a new visa stamp.
So, in light of that, we asked Arielle the person – not Darielle the llama – if she would like to come along and be our “au pair” for the trip. Arielle not only has extensive experience as a nanny and babysitter, but also as a summer camp counselor and director. And fun for me is to see the roles in live reverse. I used to take care of Arielle and her brother from the time they were babies to their early teens. Life comes full circle.
Then there was the second surprise – at about 10:30 am Sunday morning, about an hour before we left for the airport. Ailyn began throwing up – repeatedly. We suspected she was a victim of her own gluttony at her grandparents’ Hanukkah Party the night before. This isn’t a new problem for Ailyn who threw-up massive amounts of noodle kugel only 30 minutes after leaving Thanksgiving and Hanukkah weekend at the aforementioned Barbara and Jerry’s ranch. Come to think of it, maybe Darielle has something to do with it….
So, after cleaning her up, calming her down and changing her clothes – we left for the airport with quiet fears that we had a sick child. Luckily for us, she had only one last hurl in the car right after leaving and then fell asleep and woke up feeling better. By the time we had lunch at the airport, Ailyn was smiles, laughs and talkative again. Bullet dodged along with a lesson not to allow her free access to chocolate Hanukkah gelt and chocolate covered almonds.
Aside from these two minor bumps, the rest has been smooth sailing. Easy check-in, lots of time to get through the airport, good flights and the kids even slept about the time we wanted them to. I attribute some of our good fortunate to luck, some to having taken Singapore Airlines where everything is comfortable and works perfectly, and some to experience.
This is our fourth international trip with children (Sennen’s first was to Patmos, Greece at 15-months) and third to Asia (the last two years we have taken both kids to Bali). We’ve learned a few things about what works and what doesn’t (do let them watch as much as they want on the plane even though they normally don’t get more than 30 minutes of screen time a day, don’t take your kids to Asia for three weeks without help)– and I feel like it’s paying off.
Things may also be getting easier as the kids get older. Our formerly 13 pieces of luggage (carry-on and umbrella stroller included) are down to a measly 9 of which only 4 were checked-in. One kid is no longer in diapers and the other is getting ready to potty-train. Both kids waited until the brief stop in Seoul to poop – which is a major step-up from dealing with airplane lavatories with them. They talk and can express their needs. Both are comfortable with long flights and have at least some understanding that places like Thailand and Bali are very, very far away. All this helps to create a smoother experience.
After 19 hours of flight and a two-hour layover in Seoul, we arrived in Singapore at 5:45am. After brief restroom and pull-up changing breaks at Singapore’s always fantastic Changi Airport, we proceeded into town. Because of the early hour, there was absolutely no line at passport control and we walked right up to a waiting taxi in the queue.
Emily settled herself into a familiar Starbucks location near Raffles Place to do close out some final grades or her online schools while Arielle and I walked the kids around town for a little more than two hours. Of course there were humorous antics of our all too tired and slow group as we passed through Chinatown, up to Boat Quay, along South and North Bridge Roads, into Raffles Place Mall and then up to Bras Basah to see the Jewish synagogue hidden on a small backstreet. Kids danced on Singapore streets while eating steamed bao and had some locals laughing at bum shaking American kids. Eventually, Emily joined us for a 45 minute cruise of the Singapore River after which Sennen proclaimed, “I love it. I love Singapore. It’s just great.”
But to me, besides the joy of a balmy, breezy morning in Singapore was more than the family or getting out of the airport. Singapore continues to be a marker in my life – a place I lived and return to – a place where I measure the steps and changes in my life, as well as the life of a society I enjoy and admire. In a way, Lee Kuan Yew’s incredible creation – his life’s work and one of the world’s great experiments – in some way intertwines with how I have chosen to create my own life. My times in Singapore were critical and instrumental to the path and trajectory that led me to where I am today. It was a defining both as a place and period in a city-state that also defines itself. In a way, I relate to Singapore. It too has been trying to create its own fate – and now on its own, without its creator.
And as I walked the streets I knew so well, with sights, smells and sounds so familiar to me, internally reflective – I answered why they were doing road work in that spot, why the river was a greenish color, why do people go running by the river, where is the Jewish star on the synagogue, how do I know it’s a synagogue and why do we have to wait for the green man to light up before crossing at the crosswalk – among hundreds of other things being rapid fired by way.
It was life old and new in one morning’s adventure.
We are now back at Changi, ready for the final three-hour flight to Chiang Mai. That to Singapore, we’ve moved our bodies, had some laughs, made some memories and filled our bellies.
Onward to Chiang Mai – and a very different world.
