A Headache

I should be writing about Hong Kong.

We had a lovely weekend, which I've been trying to compose for days.

But every afternoon I've been exhausted, and every evening I've had a headache.

My body handles stress very physically. This has always been true. My mother tells me that at 8 years old when our family moved to Kansas City I got sicker than she had ever seen me.

I just don't know how to do this.

I feel like I should know how to do this.

I've been through it now. We've accepted an expat contract and arranged a move abroad. I know what to expect; I know what to arrange. I know what's important and I know the timeframe.

Plus, Singapore is easy. Its a city full of expatriates, where the official language is English. If we could move to China, we can move to Singapore without a problem.

I want it to be easy, but its not.

Schools in Singapore carry waiting lists of often 2 years. This includes preschools.

Singapore is a country the size of San Diego County. Space is at a premium and rents are sky-high. As near as I can tell, an apartment that would aproximate our home in Shanghai comes at an $8,000 Singapore Dollars price tag. On average - which means that homes near our chosen school (whatever that may be) could run much higher. That's already nearly $6,000 US. And a whole lot more than our rent in Shanghai.

I tried to contact people in Singapore this afternoon, and I got nowhere. I've found a few schools that I like, but I quickly reach dead-ends when I try to contact them. And I can't even find an email address or phone number for a reputable real estate agent to help us negotiate our contract.

The contract which hasn't even shown up yet.

Which means that we're continuing to pursue moving across the river, continuing to put our apartment on the market, continuing to hold L--'s spot at the school here in Shanghai because we don't have any idea what's going to happen.

So last week Disneyland was great. But life is a bit less magical this week.