Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Weekend Update: Opera and Birds

Things are looking up: my medications are working, my ankle is healed (if a little stiff: I will start doing exercises tomorrow), and so things here are returning more to normal: which means spending a lot of time out of the house.

This weekend B was in Beijing for work, which meant that R and I had to amuse ourselves. On Saturday we went to an opera concert in the Botanic Garden (of arias and other highlights, rather than a complete opera). I was not sure what R would make of it (since among adults at least opera tends to be an acquired taste) but she loved it. I think her favorite was Libiamo from La Traviata, pleasing to me as her grandfather's favorite composer of operas is Verdi.
Concert stage: a pretty good crowd

R is trying to sing along
She is staring at the stage
Wow, opera is amazing!
Laying down to enjoy the experience better (R is copying some other people, who had brought wine)
We also toured the gardens a bit and paid a visit to the National Orchid Garden, which houses the world's largest collection of tropical orchids. It was the first time I had visited, because while the rest of the gardens are free, this section has a small entrance fee. While I enjoyed seeing the orchids, my first impulse (that the admission fee was not worth it given the excellence of the free gardens) was correct. At least now I can say I've been there!
R pointing out the orchids to me
R reading the orchid garden brochure: very focused!
On Sunday we visited the Bird Park again (for which I have no pictures as my camera ran out of batteries). R is very funny when visiting attractions because she loves brochures and especially maps. She will pore over them for long periods; then she selects an attraction and insists on going there. Usually I let her have her way because I think it's hilarious to see what her preferences are. This time she passionately longed to see the "baby birds" (at the Breeding and Research Centre: and honestly not very exciting) but had no interest in parrots or the 100-foot waterfall exhibit. Toddler tastes are sometimes confusing.

6 comments:

  1. Hi! Just discovered your blog. I'm from NYC, have been living in Singapore for nearly 3 years, and have a child around your daughter's age.

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    1. Welcome! Hope you like the blog. Feel free to chime in with any cool suggestions/comments about Singapore: I'm always interested to hear what other expats think.

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  2. Glad you are feeling better. Being a new follower, rather than going back through all your posts, how long have you and your family been in Singapore, and do you plan to stay there a long time?

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    1. We've been here nearly two years, and will be here at least one more. After that I don't know: it's all still very up in the air.

      We lived in Asia before, without children though (2 years in Taiwan, one in China), so I've spent a good amount of time as an expat now!

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  3. Have you learned the language? (what IS the language of Singapore?)

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    1. The language is English (convenient, right?) which makes Singapore very easy for an American!

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