Askaway Friday With Ana Lynn Amelio

Never mind about meeting a friend in person. I have explored and notice Ana and her blog. It is very easy to spot her because she looks friendly and unassuming, always ready to comment positively on other mum bloggers. Don't forget to stop by Our Blended Marriage and see how Ana copes with her blended marriage, European (Croatia) and American. 

It’s #AskAwayFriday… so be sure to join the best link up around...#AskAwayFriday!

What is #AskAwayFriday? Well...

#AskAwayFriday was created by the amazing Penny from Real Housewife of Caroline County who will again be joining us from time to time, as a way to connect with other bloggers with a great Q & A session of 10 questions and 10 answers, between two bloggers! This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know others while allowing others to get to know you and of course there is also the added bonus of making great friends along the way which is one of the best parts of this online world! Now to welcome our wonderful #AskAwayFriday hosts...

 

Tamara from Tamara Like Camera, Tiffany from Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter, Christy from Uplifting Families, Stacey from This Momma's Ramblings and Amber from Bold Fit Mom

Grab our button, follow our amazing hosts and co-host, hop through the great link ups and make some amazing new friends!

 

Come and be a Co-host for this amazing party! Click on the image below to fill out the form to take part!

These are Ana's questions for me and they were so fun to answer!  

1. What is your favorite thing about Singapore?

My best thing about Singapore is that it is so safe for my children. I could not think about trading anywhere else for that. I love the freedom that I have with my children everywhere I go, from groceries shopping to playing in the playground or just walking on the streets. I simply treasure this. 

2. One of your posts is written in a foreign language. Can you tell us which language it is and how hard is it to write in it?

Thanks Ana for asking me this incredibly valid question. The language is Chinese and it is my mother tongue. Typing it in Chinese is definitely harder than in English. The unique characters mean different things which make it difficult for people (such as my children) to learn. My biggest challenge is that I seldom use it for business even though I speak it everyday.

3. What is a typical dish from Singapore?

Such relevant question! A typical dish from Singapore at home is rice, soup, meat (fish/meat) and vegetables and chicken rice at a food court. Singapore food is "blended". I cook spaghetti and like to explore Japanese, Italian, Indian among others. The process of creating new dishes at home is a big headache but I have to remember, it is also the most creative part of being a mother.

4. Surprise surprise, I came to visit you. Where would you take me and how 
would we spend the day?

Adventure Cove in Sentosa! This place is new and you will love the water rides and its "lazy river" and snorkelling pool. The snorkelling pool has plenty of marine fishes in it while the "lazy river" is a term invented by us as the pool is like a river. You could float on it with the big swim rings. In my opinion, this pool river is the longest I have seen among the water parks in Australia and Malaysia. You could also stop on the way to watch the stingrays swim by in the middle. Playing sand sculpture at Adventure Cove would be really awesome!

5. What are your dreams for the future that you hope to achieve?

Hmm, It is always good to have a goal. Ideally, it would be to have a successful part-time career and well brought up children, with my husband as my partner. I also like to continue to serve and reach out to community at the church. I am currently teaching at cradle roll (a Sunday school arm for toddlers between 12 to 30 months).           

     
6. I see you mentioned that you aren't really a strict parent. Neither am I. Have you ever been criticized for it?

No. But I can see the difference between my eldest and my youngest. I am aware of this tendency of me being kind to the children. Sometimes it is good as they feel the love but other times, I am desperate wanting to change - they need to know the limits. Thank God for the strength !

7. What are the must see places on your bucket list?

There are so many places I want to recommend. Japan, Australia, particularly Perth and Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah. The past are memories. Thank God for the blog! 

8. I've lived in Croatia and USA and although there are many differences between the two, I find a lot of similarities as well. Can you tell us about some of the things that are specific to Singapore only?

Hawker food! Singapore is a small country with a diverse population. The early immigrants, mostly from China came with food such as Hainanese chicken rice, Cantonese stir fried noodles and many others. But if you compare Singapore's food with that in China now, we are so different. I don't think there are any other places except Malaysia with food such as crab noodles soup, Bak Kut Teh, chicken rice, roti prata, steamboat, and those listed here. Language had also become pretty unique as we created Singlish, a mixture of Malay and dialects with English. It probably will disappear after a few decades of improving ourselves. But while it stays, we will accept it as something unique to Singapore.

9. As a mom of three boys I am pretty sure they have been involved in some type of mischief. Share the one time they got into trouble that makes you laugh when you think about it now.

This is so cute! Once, my eldest bought a toy box with a hidden snake from Little India, a popular tourist destination with many Indian businesses in the area. It is so cute but very mischievous because everyone who does not know what is inside gets a nasty surprise when they open the drawer! It is easy to  carry around for a child. Now, my number three boy wants to play this prank too and I think it is funny. Before long, my youngest will carry it around with him to play pranks on adults. :)

10. Speaking about sports, when I say USA baseball comes to mind immediately, when I say Croatia, soccer is the equivalent.  What is Singapore's national sport?

Wow, Ana you have got me on this one! Frankly, I don't know but it is probably soccer! We love table tennis and badminton but soccer is so popular for people to watch and play. I was curious to do a quick survey in my household and I found out from my eldest son that it was table tennis. Oops.. I was wrong. I then asked why. Reason was "daddy told me so". I then replied, "I thought it was soccer." My helper from Phillippines chipped in, "Yes, I thought it was soccer because I saw so many people playing in the field and pictures around." My son's response was "That's Brazil."

Ana, thanks so much for the awesome questions!

Be sure to check out our Facebook page "AskAwayFriday" for a great place to meet up and send out a #BuddyRequest if you need a partner to swap with!

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