The Durian

Last night, Steven called me right before his flight took off. He flew business class on Singapore Airlines to London. He said that his seat was big enough for both of us to sit in, almost like a love seat. His plane was on time for the 12 hour and 45 minute flight to London. Such a strange feeling to know that Steven would be closer to Chicago than to us while in London.

And, wow! What a night! Brandon was sleeping at 8 pm. He didn't wake me up until 6:30 am, and then he went back to sleep until 8 am. What a treat! Especially for my first night here all on my own. Something good did come out of Brandon not taking much of a nap yesterday. (Oh, and by the way, Steven asked me what kind of a mood Brandon was in yesterday after no nap. I told Steven that Brandon was in a fine mood, and that he should rather be asking me what kind of a mood I was in. :) )

Brandon and I skyped with the grandparents this morning. So nice to have some conversation in the morning.


At 10 am, Jo stopped by to get us. We took a cab to Plaza Singapura again today. Below is a picture of the travelator they have in the mall. It's basically an escalator with no stairs. (They have these in airports. They just aren't inclined there.)

At the mall, we visited the Japanese $2 store. I also went clothes shopping at Cotton On. I wanted to get a few more clothes that are good for the heat here. Jo was an amazing help! She took Brandon around the mall while I shopped. She found some aquariums at the mall and showed him the fish. Jo is really good with Brandon. You can tell that she really likes him, and he really likes her too. I was able to peacefully try some clothes on, and I found a few things I liked.

Last, we went to Carrefour. Jo and I had some grocery shopping to do. We put Brandon in the grocery cart on the first floor of the store, and then took the travelator up to the second floor (groceries). It was so neat taking the cart (trolley) up the travelator. There was a magnetic force between the cart and the travelator so that the cart wouldn't roll going up or down the incline. Very clever.

So, this is a sign that Steven and I saw on the train on one of our first MRT rides here.

I saw this sign right after I took a big drink from my bottle of water. Trust me. I put the water away as fast as I could.

Anyway, neither of us knew what a "durian" was. Honestly, I thought that it was a grenade or weapon of some sort. I wasn't sure why they would need to tell people that grenades weren't allowed on the trains. Duh! Right? (See picture of actual grenade below. It looks similar to a durian, doesn't it? :) )

Well, I have learned in the last few weeks that a durian is not a grenade. In fact, it is a fruit. It is even known as the "king of fruits" in Southeast Asia. But, why in the world is this particular fruit not allowed on the train? It is because this particular fruit has a horrid smell that is off-putting to people. It smells a bit like really, really dirty and stinky feet. This fruit is also not allowed in some cabs, and not all of the grocery stores here sell durians.

Carrefour, however, does sell durians. When I pulled my camera out in the store, I was told that I couldn't take pictures. When I told them that I was intrigued by the durian, they then allowed me to take photos.

I haven't tried a durian yet. I've heard that it is an acquired taste. Jo tempted me to buy and try some today. I passed. I didn't think it would be fair to Steven to try this fruit without him. I'm sure he'd want me to wait for a time when he can also try it. :)

Yes, I thought that the fruit smelled bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. Maybe that's because we were in a large store. I doubt that I would want someone with durians sitting next to me on the train though. Ughhh!!!

It was so wonderful to have someone help me at the grocery. Jo joked that she was my helper/maid today. :)

Jo stopped in the store Bread Talk and bought me a couple of pieces of bread for lunch. She has such a giving heart!

We grabbed a cab home. One small accident - One of our bottles of wine had rolled in the trunk while driving. When I pulled the stroller out of the trunk of the cab, the bottle came out and busted on the ground. Bummer! Wine is too expensive to waste here. :( At least Jo and I bought four total bottles of wine, so we still have three more to enjoy!

Dino helped us get the groceries up to our apartment, and Jo helped me get all of the groceries unloaded and put away. She even helped me put some dishes away to tidy the kitchen. I am so blessed to have that family!

I checked Steven's flight status and found that he arrived in London safely. A nice relief. One hard thing about Steven being gone is that I can't pick up the phone during the day and call him. It's always nice to talk to him during the day, even if it's only a one minute phone call.

Brandon took a two hour nap from 2 - 4 pm today. Not sure what that means for tonight's sleeping...???

This evening, Brandon and I went down to Jo's for dinner. She picked up some pork and chicken fried rice earlier while she was out, and we had a picnic on a blanket on the floor of her living room. It was so much fun! I also enjoyed another nice glass of wine. What a fantastic dinner!

Brandon absolutely loves Jessie and Jake, and I think they feel the same way about Brandon. They all chase each other, and Brandon laughs so hard.

While we are at the grocery earlier, I forgot to buy dishwashing soap. When I went to Jo's tonight, she had bought me a bottle on her afternoon trip out. She remembered that I forgot earlier. Wow.

As they often do, Jo, Jess, and Jake walked us back up to our unit tonight. Jo watched the kids while I took a shower. And, when I got out of the shower, she was in the kitchen washing our dishes. I told her that she treats me way to good. I felt like a queen tonight. I keep offering to watch the three kids one night while she and her husband go to dinner. I hope she takes me up on the offer soon!

Wow! What a day!

I've noticed that Brandon is starting to get some more hair on his arms and on the bottoms of his legs. Just another sign that my baby is turning into a little boy...

Videos -

Brandon, Jake, and Jessie playing

View of our pool, Grange Road, and buildings on Orchard Road from Jo's apartment. Jessie and Jake go to school at the Overseas Family School across the street

Brandon saying "night night"