The Tan Tans' Life Begins

Improvements had been made today as Mrs Tan Tan gradually learned how to control her excitement and keeping her pose straight while cycling instead of wriggling like a worm - trying to prevent a fall. Well, what are the improvements you might ask. Basically, she had for twice, managed to cycle 7 full oscillations before stopping. (this might not be a feat for those who knows how to cycle, but for someone who is doing it for the third time, I strongly feels that it is great!) So, hopefully by lessons 103, Mrs Tan Tan will be able to do alot better as well as control the bike and her turns better.

And these are the media clippings so far. Nankai Hibi, 27 Aug 2008, Page 1, "Female Singaporean ALT pays official visit to Mayor" Kisei Shimbun, 26 Aug 2008, Page 2, "New ALT is a Japan connoisseur" Chunichi Shinbun, 26 Aug 2008, Page 18, "Imparting interest in English - new ALT Ms Serina pays Mayor official visit" Btw, you may have noticed that the first two articles made it to the prime pages (pg 1 and 2) of the respective papers... But before you jump to any conclusions... that's because the newspapers have only 2 pages! Never been that easy to make it to the front page. keke.

An interesting twist took place on 25 Aug as I was interviewed by a bunch of reporters in Owase. As a PR consultant, I've had my fair share of dealings with the press, but only as a mediator, on behalf of my clients, the newsmakers. So, the opportunity to play the newsmaker's role today was really refreshing. I kind of enjoyed the process while sticking to all the golden rules of media training. The news peg - me, the new ALT in Owase. Probably the easiest interview a newsmaker can ever get. A key misconception about Singapore that I noticed during the interview, as well as through my numerous interactions with the JET community and the Japanese here, is that many people are unaware that English is Singapore's primary language. Of course, I've been doing my best to clear up the misconception - what do you think? - I'm all armed with my key messages as an ambassador for Singapore. Never been so patriotic before. After the interview, I was brought to meet the mayor of...

You know. Over here we're really at peace with nature and these are some of the sights that I get to see every morning. The birds chirpping on the cables ... hmm . . maybe not so full of nature as it is quite wired up here. Just a short 2 mins walk away from our place and you can see this nice padi field as well as other plots of greens which are just so beautiful. And of cos, views like this too ! However, there is just one unsightly part which the Tan Tans see everyday.. and that is our backyard full of weeds. So, Mr Tan Tan got his hands dirty with the complimentary tool he got from the very nice Board of Education and this is the end result after half an hour's work. You see that little botak plot on the top right corner? (by all means, I am not suaning anyone that I know of) But you might ask ... why only after half an hour of work?? well.... find the answer below. . . Due to the very very stony and hard surface of this plot of land... the tool had failed on me.. .so sad...

Finally, our shipment of 4 oversized boxes from Singapore arrived yesterday! What's inside other than our piles of clothings and shoes are... foodstuffs and things about Singapore! And that is because one of our duties here is to spread the Singapore culture to them. Well, minus the la, leh and the lor.. hee Thus, yesterday, Mrs Tan Tan took 2 hrs to set up a Singapore's corner to showcase the Singapore culture. (you might have spotted our Mr Lee below but no prizes for spotting that. Oh, I have yet to put up the flag yet. Not now.) Of cos, what is Singapore without our typical type of language and style, hence, we also have with us 881 for cinematic viewing on our 20" TV in our room (hahaha) And finally, Singapore is a place about food and more food and thus, will be making some bak kut teh and other stuff for our guests once we planned it all out. However, the Tan Tans were surprised to find out that the Japanese actually read about Singapore in their textbook during sch...

Ha ha. .. if you are thinking that I am going to show you all the good restaurant and/or local food... too bad, I'm not! Instead, I am going to share with all of you some of the wonderful dishes that the Tan Tans whipped up at home. Why? Because it kept raining for the past 4 days i.e. from Sunday till this afternoon that the Tan Tans just didn't want to step out. And well, also because the Tan Tans had bought so much groceries during the Sunday and Tuesday grocery sales that we might as well cooked for ourselves. Finally, its because both the Tan Tans love cooking for each other. You know. Something like an "expression of love". hee hee So, do keep your drooling tap closed to prevent any damages to your comp while viewing. The first pix below was taken on 24th, the first day after we got all our groceries. Invented and pending patent by Mrs Tan Tan - Tomato Rice and corn soup! Fresh ingredients for both dishes and trust us, so far in japan, we have yet to come across...

From the past 3 weeks here, the Tan Tans have discovered how the locals actually save on grocery shopping. Ok, for introduction. There are a few places that one can get groceries from. 1. Old neighbourhood shop - similar to those mama shop 2. Supermarkets - like NTUC, Coldstorage. (those that can be found here - Shufu no mise x 3, Pricecut and Jusco) 3. Pluck from your own backyard. (Something that I am going to try soon, after I get rid of all the weeds) How the system works here. 1. Weekly Sales a) Every Sunday - Shufu will have a vegetables sale starting from 0900hrs. Items are cheaper by as much as 40% over retail. (Interesting discovery is that the sales of these items are conducted outside the shop and after you step in, you can see the same item selling at non-sale price) b) Every Tue - Jusco will have a sale. Details can be found on http://www.aeon.jp/jusco/owase/ . To counter this, usually on this day, Pricecut and Shunfu will also have some ongoing sales. 2. Other than that...

The trip to Nagoya was definitely more liberating and we also found one that Tokyu Hands is now listed as one of our favourite stores. And as the name "creative life store" suggests, other than the nice photo frame we got for our caricature, we also bought some stuff to make a nice little "door hanger. We now hang this on our main door to tell others that this is the official residence of the Tan Tans. (I will definitely bring this back to Singapore and hang it at the door! So nice right!)

Okay, I have to admit (and I am sure Mr Tan Tan will too) that there are certain perks about living in a city that we miss. The convenience, ease of transportation, and amazing array of food and entertainment choices - to say the least. Although we enjoy living in Owase, its close proximity to mother nature and walking through the quaint little streets everyday for the past 2 and a half weeks, our weekend in Nagoya (just a little 2 hours away from Owase) proved to be liberating. My first thoughts when we arrived in downtown Nagoya: - We're back to civilisation! - I love Takashimaya and Tokyu Hands (and never as much before) - I'm underdressed and should have put on some make-up (you see, unless your fashion sense really stands out for all the right and wrong reasons, hardly anyone cares how good you look in an inaka) Needless to say, we made the most out of our short two-day stay there, soaking in the buzz of the city, shopping, window shopping and more shopping. The best buy? ...