To Have And To Hold

Tell us a bit about where you’re from. Why did you decide to move to Singapore?
I’m originally from Barbados, a really small country in the Caribbean. I lost my job some time back so I decided to move to England since I have a British citizenship too. I lived there for about five years, got married to my husband, and followed him to Singapore a few months back for his job.

How are you enjoying the city so far?
Oh, it’s too hot! Thank goodness most places are air-conditioned, otherwise I would die! (laughs)

But I really like Singapore because of the safety and cleanliness. It would be nice to start a family here as safety isn’t a big concern like it is now in Barbados, with gun violence and everything.

Walk us through a typical day in your life.
My days are kept busy doing stuff around the house, taking care of my two-year-old Maltese poodle, meeting people, and shopping.

I’ve even been attending Chinese classes as I like learning new languages. It’s really different from the other languages I’ve picked up like French and Spanish, but I’ve been enjoying it. This morning I told my husband, “wo yao da ni de pi gu” (I want to smack your butt). I just know that will become my favourite phrase (laughs).

In my free time, I like to stay home to watch Housewives, cook, and relax. Rent is so expensive, so why not spend most of my time in my biggest bill?

What’s the most exotic food you’ve tried here?
Probably durian. It actually smells amazing to me, but I was so disappointed because it just tastes like a mix of creamy garlic and onion!

We also have some food in Barbados that may seem weird from the outside looking in. For example, our national dish is the Bajan Cou Cou, a savoury porridge made of okra and cornmeal. We also have a really bitter drink made from tree bark called Mauby.

Share with us a goal you hope to achieve one day.
I used to write a lot but I haven’t done so in a long time. I hope to start writing again, maybe a fictional book or a short story. I did dabble in a story about aliens, but my laptop got wet and I lost the files, so I guess I’ll have to start over again.

Where do you think you will move to next?
I’ve just arrived here so I don’t want think about that yet, but probably back to Barbados or England.

But it’s been strange since I left because Barbados no longer feels like home. The French call it ‘dépaysement’—that lost feeling of not having your own country anymore.

For me now, it doesn’t matter where I am in the world, home is wherever my husband and my dog are.