Categorie: Leven in Singapore
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🇳🇱 Big Brother, 5 SGD en mijn geweten 🇬🇧 Big Brother, 5 SGD and My Conscience
Found: 5 dollars. Watched: by a camera. Dilemma? Apparently. A small story about integrity, awkward choices, and my personal Big Brother (who never knows where his money went).
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🇳🇱 We komen toch! 🇬🇧 We’re coming after all
When everything feels unpredictable — from the weather to the world — sometimes the only forecast worth trusting is this: good days ahead.
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🇳🇱 Saligia Máxima – geen gewoon sprookje 🇬🇧 Saligia Máxima- not just a fairytale
What begins as a fascination with Queen Máxima’s expressive mouth unfolds into a surreal tale of mimicry, power and performance. Who’s real, who’s fake — and are we all just playing along in a script called SALIGIA?
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🇳🇱 Kwartjesweek 🇬🇧 Coin-Dropping Week
Huh, het is al vrijdag, constateerde ik gisterenochtend. En een paar seconden later: ik heb helemaal geen blog gepost. Niks, noppes, nada blogachtigs op papier gezet deze week, en sterker nog: ik heb er ook geen seconde aan gedacht. De week is voorbijgevlogen, ik ben erdoorheen gedanst. Heerlijk. En zelfs het vertrek van dochterlief, niet…
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🇳🇱 HDB | Van kampong naar high-rise community 🇬🇧 HDB | From Kampong to High-Rise Community
Discover the story behind Singapore’s iconic HDB flats — from kampongs to high-rise communities. Learn how public housing shapes local life, promotes social cohesion, and what expats should know about this unique system.
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🇳🇱🇬🇧 You’re Welcommmmmmm
Yourrrrr Welcommmmmm Service with a smile and a touch of sincerity — invented in Indonesia, quietly cancelled at KLM.
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🇬🇧 Sri Lanka: Lush Greenery and Rich in History and Culture
Travel along with me in this fifteen-day journey through lush, green, and story-rich Sri Lanka.
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🇳🇱 Een vleugje Europa in Singapore – Tiong Bahru 🇬🇧 A Touch of Europe in Singapore – Tiong Bahru
🇬🇧 Finding a European vibe in Tiong Bahru, Singapore, and uncovering the subtle mental tricks of cognitive dissonance that help us call a new place ‘home’ 🇳🇱 De Europese Vibe in Tiong Bahru, Singapore — en de slimme mentale kunstgrepen van cognitieve dissonantie die me verrassen in mijn nieuwe thuisgevoel.
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🇳🇱 Thuis: Een Gevoel, Geen Plek? 🇬🇧 Home: A Feeling, Not a Place?
What makes a house a home? During a workshop with expats, we explored how home is more than just a place—it’s about people, memories, and familiarity. My own move in Singapore challenged my assumptions, proving that home is a feeling that evolves.
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🇳🇱 Van horizontale oase naar verticale speeltuin 🇬🇧 From a Horizontal Oasis to a Vertical Playground
Oh, what a week it has been. Leave it. That became our decision after countless failed attempts to get our landlord (or so we were led to believe—more on that in a future blog) to cooperate. Luckily, our search for a new home was successful. Our horizontal oasis on the West Coast has now been…
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🇳🇱 Een meesterlijke les rijk rekenen 🇬🇧 A Masterclass in Creative Accounting
A Masterclass in Creative Accounting Over the past year, I’ve made thousands of Singapore dollars. The dependant business is booming. I’m earning back my independence in a way that defies all logic. The loss of a paycheck is thus softened.
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🇳🇱 Turbulentie 🇬🇧 Turbulence
Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Hold, one, two. And calmly exhale, pffffff. Focus on my voice. You’re okay, you’re safe. I’m awkwardly leaning over the empty middle seat, my hand resting on the soft, full belly of a woman I don’t know. Meanwhile, we’re bouncing through the sky at considerable speed.
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🇳🇱 Kwetsbaar 🇬🇧 Vulnerable
Is it vulnerability or discomfort that I feel? I’m sitting on a metal stool, a pineapple juice in my hand, while auto-rickshaws, scooters, and cars honk incessantly in front of me. I try not to make eye contact. I’m here alone, everyone is looking at me, and everything is hitting me full force. But when…
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🇳🇱 In de pas – 26 jaar moeder en zoon 🇬🇧 Falling into Step – 26 years of Mother and Son
The tall body and I walk in single file, not quite in step yet. I became a mother at 25, almost 26, to this grown man. It’s still extraordinary. Nearly 26 years and three kids later, I’m used to the idea. But being the mother of a grown man is another kind of discovery. Together,…
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🇳🇱 Hoe is het nu met …. Véronique 🇬🇧 Catch up with … Véronique
Véronique joined me on my balcony in February 2024 to share her Singapore story (Interview ‘24). At the time, she had been living here for just under six months. When I asked if she had ever visited Singapore before deciding to move, she laughed and said, ‘No never, and never anywhere in Asia either.’ Now,…
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🇳🇱 Trump is een hond 🇬🇧 Trump is a Dog – CNY Singapore
🇬🇧 Trump is a dog. And just to be clear, that’s not merely my personal opinion. It’s a fact. On Saturday, January 29, 2025, the new lunar year begins: 2025 is the Year of the Snake. And, serendipity or not, the Snake and the Dog have no natural compatibility. 🇳🇱 Trump is een hond. En…
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🇳🇱🇬🇧Condo Rent in Singapore – Take it or leave it
🇬🇧 With growing disbelief, astonishment, and irritation, I read the response to our proposal to extend the lease of our apartment. Not long ago, I pointed out to a friend his Western perspective on business and his negative judgment of the other’s sense of etiquette. And now, I catch myself falling into the same trap.…
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🇳🇱 Daar zijn we weer 🇬🇧 Here we are again – Leven in Singapore
🇬🇧 Singapore feels so far away, like a different life. Will these two worlds ever merge when I’m back in the Netherlands? Or will it remain a parallel universe that I can only bring to life through photos? 🇳🇱 Singapore voelt ver weg, als een ander leven. Zouden die twee werelden ooit in elkaar kunnen…
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🇳🇱 De impact van verwachtingen 🇬🇧 The impact of expectations
🇬🇧 Expectations, desires… there’s no month in which they play a bigger role than December. Yet, in reality, expectations and desires shape our experiences all year round. Whether they truly influence the outcome one-to-one, I’m increasingly beginning to doubt. 🇳🇱 Verwachtingen, verlangens… er is geen maand waarin ze meer spelen dan in december. Maar eigenlijk…
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🇳🇱 🇬🇧 Singapore’s Afsluitdijk – St Johns and Lazarus Island, Life in Singapore
🇬🇧 Today, Lazarus Island and St. John’s Island are on the agenda, both part of the Southern Islands. We have visitors from Friesland, and the male half is eager to spend a day on the water. In Fries I would say: “Dat regelje wy fansels graach foar him.” (Translation: “We’ll gladly arrange that for him.”)…
SingaporeandMe 