PR No More

I confess to feeling a little glum this this morning.

'Glum' is a very descriptive word and the sound of it conveys a numbness of spirit.

Yesterday our packing boxes arrived and so we commenced wrapping up the more precious items for their return journey to New Zealand next month.

Today I visited the ICA building and handed back my PR.

Some of my Singaporean colleagues find it a little strange that I should do so, but I believe that it is a matter of principle to relinquish permanent residency status if one is leaving the country for good. That way someone else will have a chance to enjoy Singapore, hopefully as much as I have during my time here.

Being granted PR status when I first arrived in 2006 meant a lot to me and it still does.

I came not to lead an expatriate lifestyle but to learn from the country and to contribute. I would like to think that I have done both.

So I now a "visitor" to Singapore with a month's visa. My blue plastic IC that was my passport (literally)to so many benefits has been handed back.

One month from today we will have arrived back in Auckland.