St Michel de BoulogneYou know you are living in the countryside when
1. Getting rid of the rubbish means starting a bonfire
Other than in the summer when there are regulations against starting a fire outdoors, everybody pretty much dump their rubbish in a pile at the back of their garden & burn them. I've lost count the number of times we've done this
2. Your car is never very clean
Aside from the fact that we have a toddler, no matter how often we clean the car, it will NEVER look clean. Dirt & dust from the countryside or worse still, mud splatters esp after the rain - urgh. This is in contrast to Singapore where all the cars look like they just rolled out of the showroom. My brother lives across a service station & even at midnight, there were cars waiting to get a car wash.
3. You order your pregnancy kit online if you don't want everyone to know about it
No, I'm not pregnant. That was when I was pregnant with The Girl. I couldn't go to the local pharmacy because the sister of a friend of the family works there & also not to local pharmacy #2 in case I run into my MIL. It's difficult trying to keep a low profile here cos everybody knows everybody. Which brings me to the next point.
4. Complete strangers come up to you asking about your private life
The countryside grapevine is very powerful. No sooner have you bought a new house, diagnosed with a disease, filed for divorce or changed new curtains, somebody is bound to ask you about it & it may not necessarily even be somebody you know.
5. Instead of paying attention to pedestrians, you have to watch out for animals
It's not uncommon to see herds of sheep & goats but it's driving at night that you need to be careful. I've seen families of wild boars by the side of the road & just last week, I came across a deer - first sighting in the 5 years I've been here. I would be mortified if I ran over one, not to say what damage it's going to do to the car.
6. You're terrified of driving in the city
I don't blink an eye driving on narrow windy country roads but ask me to drive in the city & I'm terrified. The number of cars frighten me. I can drive for miles here without crossing a handful of cars.
7. The people living in your commune fills up less than 1 page of the yellow pages
& the number of households in our village, 15 (that includes those that are only here for the summer)
Other than in the summer when there are regulations against starting a fire outdoors, everybody pretty much dump their rubbish in a pile at the back of their garden & burn them. I've lost count the number of times we've done this
2. Your car is never very clean
Aside from the fact that we have a toddler, no matter how often we clean the car, it will NEVER look clean. Dirt & dust from the countryside or worse still, mud splatters esp after the rain - urgh. This is in contrast to Singapore where all the cars look like they just rolled out of the showroom. My brother lives across a service station & even at midnight, there were cars waiting to get a car wash.
3. You order your pregnancy kit online if you don't want everyone to know about it
No, I'm not pregnant. That was when I was pregnant with The Girl. I couldn't go to the local pharmacy because the sister of a friend of the family works there & also not to local pharmacy #2 in case I run into my MIL. It's difficult trying to keep a low profile here cos everybody knows everybody. Which brings me to the next point.
4. Complete strangers come up to you asking about your private life
The countryside grapevine is very powerful. No sooner have you bought a new house, diagnosed with a disease, filed for divorce or changed new curtains, somebody is bound to ask you about it & it may not necessarily even be somebody you know.
5. Instead of paying attention to pedestrians, you have to watch out for animals
It's not uncommon to see herds of sheep & goats but it's driving at night that you need to be careful. I've seen families of wild boars by the side of the road & just last week, I came across a deer - first sighting in the 5 years I've been here. I would be mortified if I ran over one, not to say what damage it's going to do to the car.
6. You're terrified of driving in the city
I don't blink an eye driving on narrow windy country roads but ask me to drive in the city & I'm terrified. The number of cars frighten me. I can drive for miles here without crossing a handful of cars.
7. The people living in your commune fills up less than 1 page of the yellow pages
& the number of households in our village, 15 (that includes those that are only here for the summer)
3 comments:
Well, you'll be back to the noise and crowd very very soon! Call me when you're back. The terrace is waiting! =)
The bit about everyone knowing your biz is a bit like the HDB thing in Sin. When we go visit mil, have people whom I don't know ask 'you are back from BKK?'
Jim
I'm looking forward to your terrace
Eunice
Haha Don't you know, Singapore is a little village too ?
Post a Comment