LETTERS HOME: A TRIP TO SINGAPORE

11th February, 1992

Dear George and Theda,

How is everything in Odessa?  The kids and I just got back from Singapore Sunday evening, and John comes back tonight (Tuesday).  It's pretty grueling to try and do everything you need to do in one weekend, because you don't get there until 8:00 p.m. Friday, and we had the orthodontist appointment Sunday morning, then left at 1:00.  But we still managed to get a lot of shopping done and eat at all of our favorite restaurants (Hard Rock Cafe, and a Mexican place)!  You can tell what everyone's priorities are by what we each chose to buy in Singapore -- John came back with a fancy new camera, Alexis got clothes and make-up, Austin got Nintendo games, and I got 20 boxes of cereal and paperback books!

Believe it or not, this giant waterfall was actually inside our hotel.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which hotel that was.

We just happened to hit Singapore on the tail end of their Chinese New Year celebration, and it was really something to behold.  I think it even exceeds the Christmas frenzy in the states, and it lasts for 15 days!  They had a big parade Saturday night that went right by our hotel, and the kids really enjoyed the dragon dancers, but it made it almost impossible to go anywhere, since they started closing off the streets two hours early, making it impossible to take a taxi anywhere.  We got really excited when we discovered that the new movie Hook was playing, and ran 30 minutes through the rain and the parade crowds to get there, only to discover that the tickets were sold out.  Talk about a disappointment!  Come to find out, they sell reserved seat tickets in advance for their movies here, just like we do for live theatre performances.

Austin and his new friend Trent.

A new Mobil family was staying at our hotel, and we were able to show them around a bit and assist them on the trip back to Lhok Seumawe.  You could tell they were just in a state of total shock.  I'm glad we're not the new people anymore!  They have a little boy who's five, and will be in Austin's class at school, so they had a great time together.  He arrived just in time, since Austin's only other friend close to his age will be moving back to Alaska in June.  The only bad part of the trip was finding out that the orthodontist doesn't need to see Alexis again for four more months! (I was hoping for frequent trips to Singapore.)

Not much else to tell right now.  I'm busy preparing for a Valentines dinner party that I'm giving for six couples this Friday.  Since John got me a pasta machine for Christmas, I thought it might be fun to have everyone come help cook a big pasta dinner together.  The only problem will be fitting them all into my minuscule kitchen!  Oh, by the way, did I tell you about the Chili Cook-Off/Superbowl party they had a couple of weeks ago?  John's chili placed 3rd out of 16!  He was really thrilled.  His friend Danny Reeh won 1st place.  The kids sure have enjoyed the books you sent, and Alexis just adores the dangle earrings and rings.  The folding table and chairs you gave us are probably the most useful things we brought with us.  The only trouble is, people are always wanting to borrow them!  Guess that's about it.  Take care, and write soon.