Getting around, and pictures

We are figuring out how to get around Singapore.  The nearest mall is Junction 8, also known as J8.  That is where we get our groceries, and the public library is right there too.  We all still go as a family every time, but I do know now how to get there by myself. :-)  First we walk a little ways among the high-rises and shops, and then we cross a street and walk just a little farther to the bus station.  Within ten minutes, a bus will come to pick us up, and only two stops farther is the bus interchange at J8.  That's the last stop on the route, so everyone gets off there.  At J8 there is also an MRT station.  That stands for Mass Rapid Transit, and is Singapore's train system.  We tried that for the first time today.  We rode it downtown and did some computer shopping at a mall that had been recommended to us (for good reason--one entire floor was computer stores!).  Then we took the train back to J8.  However, we made the mistake of getting on the train right at 6:00 p.m.  Rush hour in Singapore is not when you want to be taking a family with small children on the MRT. :-)  The trains are very long, and you can get on at any of a number of doors.  There wasn't going to be room for all of us at one set of doors, so I took a couple kids with me and ran to the next set of doors.  We got on the train, and as I heard the automated voice saying, "The doors are now closing," I looked out and saw Eric.  I grabbed him to pull him in--and behind him yet was my husband with Jason and Megan.  Oh no!!  But they shoved their way on just in time.  Whew.  The train was absolutely packed, and we will try to be more careful in the future of what time we take the MRT. :-)

We only picked out a computer today, did not actually buy one--but thanks to the Tan family from church, I have a borrowed laptop and can post pictures!  I will post more in the coming days, Lord willing, but for now here are some pictures of where we live.

The view from our balcony (outside our front door)

The view from our living room

The view from our kitchen--Do you sense a theme here? :-)  Yes, we are surrounded by high rises!

This is what you see standing in the doorway of our flat.  It is a very nice, big flat.  The tables on the left will probably be for homeschooling, but once the textbooks get here we will have to see if that works out.

Our living area--The slide and many other toys were left behind by the previous owner of the flat.

Our kitchen--You can see the clothes hanging to dry on the rack by the window, but also on poles near the ceiling.  No, I do not hang out my 6th-floor window to put poles outside. :-)  I'm hearing from more and more people that they do not do that either.  One of the reasons is the rain.  It's easier just to keep the clothes inside than to be putting them in and out depending on the weather.  I do have a dryer now too.

Our dining room

 Emily and Megan's bedroom, with a trundle bed.  Megan stayed in bed for the picture. :-)  You can see the large dresser/closet area behind Megan.  All our bedrooms have these, although the boys' room doesn't have doors, only open shelves.  There is plenty of room in these for all our clothes, plus some storage.

Where we get our mail--The elevator is right by our flat, and when we take it down we 

come out very close to the mailboxes.  It's very convenient for us.

Looking down from our balcony--a nice playground off to the side

The first floor of the high rises is left open like this so people have a place to "hang out" and kids have a place to run around.  As you can see, it's a great place for Eric to use his new skateboard, given to him by a young man from church.  I think that is a ping-pong table to the left.  The playground in the picture above is just to the right here.

Finally, two pictures going back to what I began this post with.  It makes us laugh that our three-year-old is becoming a pro at public transportation. :-)  We all have cards that have a certain amount of money on them.  We scan those cards when we get on the bus or train, and again when we get off, and money is deducted based on how far we traveled, whether we traveled at peak hours, etc.  Here are Megan and Emily scanning their cards.