June 11th, 2022

atotaltaitaitale:

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I usually multiply myself but couldn’t resist doing it again with Henriette in front of the Bayfront Pavillion in Gardens by the Bay with the iconic Marina Bay Sands in the background.

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11-Jun-2022: D-8 before departure

I’ve posted a lot about landmarks, buildings and activities around Singapore. This post is about friendship.

The friends you found through your kids’ school, the club/organization you’ve joined, the workshops you decide to take or just the ones you finally got the courage to make the first move and step out of your comfort zone.

This is for the friends I met when I arrived, the ones I, unfortunately, met as I was leaving and all the ones in between. To all the people I met along the way being for 1 hour, 1 day, 1 month or 1 year you will always be part of me and I’ve cherished those moments spent together. I have been greatly enriched by our friendships.

I would be the first one to tell you that when you start to move around like we do (Expat’) you need to connect to people as fast as you can because you won’t survive without them. They are not your family but they almost become. Friendship abroad develops way faster than anywhere else because you share so much with each other, not only time but the ups and downs of your new life abroad. You might think that you have all you need back home but it’s not the same. It’s not the same talking on the phone and sharing your joy and sorrow around a cup of coffee in your new surroundings. Your friends back home will be there but they cannot understand what you are going through, how could they (unless they lived where you are living right now). Expat are a breed apart. Unless you’ve done it yourself you’ll never know what it feels like. You might read about the cultural shock, but unless you experienced it yourself you’ll never fully understand.

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” ~Anais Nin (1903-1977)

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~~~Just a little FYI So for my last 200 days in Singapore I have decided to reblog, in no special order, a post from the 6 years I will have spent on the Little Red Dot. PS: you will then get 2 posts a day!!~~~