Local Tours

Out and About in Singapore

U.S. Embassy Tour and our NEWEST Facebook Group “AWA SG Heritage Insider"

by Jen Cormier

With Covid restrictions starting to ease, the AWA Local Tours Group was given a wonderful opportunity to tour the U.S. Embassy in Singapore!

There are not many places we had security clearance to visit. However, the Embassy’s Client Liaison Officers Missy and Megan were wonderful hosts in pointing out some of the unique features and operational logistics of the Embassy. A few that were particularly interesting:

• Did you know that almost everything in The Embassy including the building materials comes from the US? Take a guess which state the exterior granite comes from? That must have been an extremely heavy load traveling by sea!

• Also, the Embassy is guarded by a dedicated group of US Marines who actually LIVE there, at The Embassy.

In addition to guiding us through a few of the public areas, they also led us to the staff board room where they lined up a wonderful panel of speakers. We heard from Embassy Management Counselor Brian Himmelsteib, Senior Defense Attaché Captain Raymond Owens, Vice-Consul American Citizen Services Jakob Lengacher and Public Affairs Cultural Affairs Officer Alison Bassi. Conversations focused on what it takes to run an embassy beyond passport and visa services, defense relationships with Singapore and Southeast Asia, services available to U.S. Citizens abroad (passport, visa, voting ballot collection, notary) and the many programs available for non-U.S. Citizens wishing to come to the U.S. for cultural, professional or educational exchanges. The AWA Women especially enjoyed their opportunities for questions and answers after each speaker.

Embassy Gift Shop Items

No tour of The U.S. Embassy is complete without a stop at the gift shop. U.S. Embassy in Singapore swag is showcased where you can find anything from t-shirts, barware (and cocktail napkins), water bottles, tree ornaments and unique tokens of a united Singapore and The United States. We also found a display of notecards with photography done by one of our own AWA Members, Christi Elflein!

We’re really excited that going forward, The U.S. Embassy Tour will become a more regular tour offered through the AWA Local Tours Group. Keep an eye out for upcoming tour registrations starting in Late August/ Early September.

Copy of Heritage Insider

In the meantime, we have some EXCITING NEWS!!! While Local Tours takes a “summer holiday”, please check out our newest Facebook Group exclusive to AWA Members, “AWA SG Heritage Insider.” Special Thanks to Elena Boyce, Local Tours leader and one of Singapore’s favorite heritage insiders for this one! Elena has been passionately capturing Singapore’s unique heritage crafts and trades with her camera. As she visits craftspeople she hears their stories and learns about the importance of their culture, heritage events, and their desire to share with all. To get the word out on heritage crafts, Elena met with Local Tour Co-Chairs Terry Young and Jen Cormier, and the page was born!

This page will post on current events, festivals and happenings that you may want to attend with your friends or family on your own time. We think it will be a great resource all year long, but especially during the July/August months for those who won’t be traveling out of Singapore. It will also provide the opportunity for you to share photos and post events/happenings that you think other AWA members would enjoy attending that pertain to Singapore Heritage, Culture and Crafts/ Trades.