Shiny, Happy People

I have noticed in Sing, that some of the time, the people don't smile much, and just seem to be going through the motions of their day.  Get up, work, go home, work, go to bed, do it all over again the next day.  Couple that with the heat, crowds, and general hustle and bustle of living on a small island with 4.5 million people, it can wear a person down.  But not today...I just got home from my favorite wet market, and after a lively conversation and slightly scary cab ride over, I made my usual rounds.  I first went up to the hawker stand on the second floor, and got some yummy (and I do mean YUMMY) dumplings to bring home for lunch.  The woman who cooked them was super sweet, very talkative, and really seemed to put her heart into her stand.  It was spotless, efficient, and the food is delish.  Cheap too!

Then I tucked my dumplings into my giant carrier bag from ikea, and went down to find my favorite veggie guy.  He is truly a shiny, happy person.  He is always delighted to see me, and today said " aahhh, where you been, gone too long!  Big list?"  and when I showed him the giant list, he quickly got to work, and passed me a basket to start loading stuff in.  Potatoes, carrots, lettuce, beans, the whole shebang.  He always gives me a fair price, and I don't haggle with him. I always find something extra in my bag when I get home, like a bunch of fresh green onions, or some herbs.  Once, he forgot to put my lettuce in my bag, and the next time I went he gave me 3 for free.    He's just a peach.  I can get frustrated sometimes, by the different way people are, sometimes rude, pushy, and blatantly obvious about staring.  And I know I still have culture shock, but he always makes my day, and I leave the wet market feeling good about being in Singapore.  This particular wet market is super nice, clean, bright, and by now, after seeing me for 5 months, I don't get many looks.  

After the veggies I ran over, leaving my giant bag with my veggie guy, and got enough fruit for Larry and I for a week.  The usual, apples, bananas, pears, mangoes, ect.  The guy I get my mango from asks me every time where I am from, and when I say, I'm from Singapore, he laughs and goes, "no, really, you Aussie?" and I always say," no, U.S."  and he says "oh, right, right, you tell me that already!"  Ha!  Every single time.....

Next, I go get some orchids from the flower guy, and he too is alwasy fair and throws in something extra.  One of the perks of living here is the orchids....I always have a pretty vase full of them on the dining table, and a little vase in our room and bathrooms.  Love them!  And they last forever, a good two weeks usually.

I save the best for last and go to my little tiny egg lady.  She can't speak english, but we communicate beautifully.  She is always super happy to see me, and greets me like a long lost friend.  She likes that I bring my own egg carton, and helps me pick the cleanest, prettiest eggs. All the eggs are brown here, and they don't refrigerate them.  They sometimes have feathers stuck to them too....that took me some getting used to.  But I bring them home, dunk them in a little bleach water, rinse and dry them,  put them in the fridge and I'm good to go.  She also gives me a deal, and throws in 2 extra eggs. 

And today, as a special bonus, I had another lively cab driver on the way home.   He Kept up a running commentary about how the US government and the Sing government are brothers and good family.  He was a hoot, and then went on to say how safe and good Sing is for women.  He hooted and howled when he saw my street is LadyHill, and said " See!  I tell you, we love the ladies here in Sing!  that sign doesn't say ManHill road!" it was pretty funny... he drove me down ito the carpark, because he was "providing taxi service" , and wanted me to know he took that part of his job very seriously.  

Aaahh...it was a good day at the wet market, and a shiny, happy day in Sing.

miss you, love you too!

xoxoxo

p.s. My hubby comes home tomorrow!  can I get a whoop whoop?!?!