Travel | Personal Essay
I Traveled Home to Singapore for the First Time Since the Pandemic
Many things have changed, and I feel strangely out of place.
I’ve spent the entire pandemic outside in Japan and outside of the country where I was born — Singapore.
And if you’ve ever moved abroad, some of these things might resonate with you. Or maybe they might not.
This August, I had an opportunity to work from my home in Singapore for two weeks — thanks to my understanding bosses and the forward-looking mindset of my company.
I’ve not left Japan in the last 2.5 years — not necessarily a bad thing since I think I was relatively lucky to have been in Japan during the pandemic. Perhaps that has either distorted my perception, or things have really changed. After all, all things considered, I’ve lived in Japan for six years.
Singapore isn’t the same.
Or perhaps I am not the same person as I was when I left Singapore for Japan six years ago.
New technologies
My card for riding the metro had expired. To my surprise, I learned that you didn’t need a metro card anymore. Apple Pay would work. Or I could simply use my local credit card that has…
