Lingo

The other day my husband said to me, "Here you stand holding a pram, waiting for the lift while the lorries drive past."  So I decided this was a good time to post a little "Singapore lingo" so that you all know what to expect when you come visit us someday! ;-)  This is all meant for fun--we love the way Singaporeans talk!

"Follow"--to ride with someone.  I was so confused the first time someone said, "I will follow so-and-so," then climbed into his car.  I was expecting them to go in a car behind that person!

"Queue"--a line, or a verb meaning to line up.  I knew the meaning of this word before we moved here, but heard it more in the first two weeks here than in my whole life up until that point.  People "queue" for everything here, even doctors.  If you go to the clinic, you take a number and "queue."

"Dust bin"--trash can

"Make a move"--get going.  People say this when they are ready to leave your home.  "Well, we'll make a move now."  We all shared a laugh when we told some of them what "make a move" means in the U.S.!

"Stay"--live.  When we say, "We live in Bishan," we might hear, "Oh, we stay very near you!"

Toilet--the whole bathroom.  It can mean the actual toilet also.  Some girls were over one night and played hide-and-seek with my kids.  After Emily couldn't find one of them, the girl appeared and said, "Did you check the toilet?  I was in the toilet!"  We laughed so hard together over that one when she realized we would have said that differently!

"Petrol" and "petrol kiosk"--gas and gas station

"Horn"--a verb, meaning to honk your horn.

"Dinner"--what we normally call supper.
"Supper"--a snack later in the evening.  I guess the mealtime terminology varies from place to place in the States too.  But I keep calling the evening meal "supper" out of habit.  One week shortly after we moved here, Jessica and Eric spent a few days and nights at the church's annual Vacation Bible School.  I was worried about them being gone from home in a new place, and worried that they wouldn't get enough to eat since they aren't really fond of the food here.  One evening we got a phone call about 9:00, and the young person at VBS told my husband, "We're eating supper."  When he reported that to me, I freaked out.  "They're just eating supper now?!  Oh, those poor kids must have been STARVING!!"  Found out the next day they'd had DINNER at a decent time...supper was their snack before bed. :-)

"Carpark" and "parking lot"--The "carpark" is a parking garage or parking lot.  The "parking lot" is a parking space.

"Slippers"--flip-flops

"Nine plus" or "Six plus"--anytime after 9:00, or anytime after 6:00.  For example, "People will be coming at six plus" means they will show up at 6:00 or later.

"Pass it"--give it.  "I have something for you.  I will pass it to you on Sunday."

"Swimming costume"--swimsuit

"Plaster"--bandaid

"Flyover"--overpass.  The first few times I saw signs for "Bishan Flyover" or "Braddell Flyover," I was wondering where the airplanes were! :-)

"Hall"--living room

"Boot"--trunk of your car

"Pax"--persons.  Before I knew this, we were given a survey in the Sunday bulletin one week, with three choices of where to hold this year's June Camp.  The survey included prices, number of beds, etc. for three different places.  Throughout the whole survey were the words "per pax."  I was like, "I'll let everyone else fill this out.  I don't have a clue what this is talking about."

"Uncle & Auntie"--This is what people use instead of "Mr. & Mrs."  So our kids are learning to call people in church "Uncle Felix & Auntie Angela," "Uncle Seow Thong and Auntie Jean," etc.

And finally, to translate what my husband said to me:  "Here you stand holding a stroller, waiting for the elevator while the trucks drive past." :-)