“I got a job as a waitress in a hotel, and picked up the language in two months.”
“In Shanghai it was horrendously hard. I took Chinese lessons and it took me more than a year before I could get by. I remember ordering noodles in a café. The cashier asked for 10 Yuan, but I didn’t understand what he was saying. Two guys at a table nearby tried to help out by crossing their index fingers (an approximation for “shi” which is 10 in Chinese). I was wondering why they were showing me the sign of the cross!”
Sandra Lee seeking her calling
"I always wanted to do art, so I thought advertising was the next closest thing. But I couldn’t get a job. So, I interviewed for a sales position at the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, where I met a lot of agency people, and was offered a job."
Tips on living overseas by Sandra Lee
“It’s important to have some friends in any country you move to, so that it’s easier to understand the place better.”
"I live very frugally, and my only indulgence was yoga. The group met often and we got on well. We still meet up. There was also another group of Malaysian girls in Shanghai who I got on with."
"Then, I had three suggestions from different people to try Spain. I had a good friend from England who had moved there and the advice was to head to Malaga. It had nice weather and the rentals were cheap; a two-bedroom, two-storey house was going for E500 (S$750) a month, while my 2-bedroom HDB flat was costing me S$1,800."
"When I had an exhibition in Lille, France, in 2015, I saw how artists were working in Europe. They had spaces to work in with proper studios. I have to work in Europe, I said to myself."
"I learnt Spanish from watching television and reading the subtitles. I learnt how to play the ukulele in Spain and performed with a group."
"But the house is old, there are gaps in the floorboard and the roof leaks."
"In Spain it’s very bureaucratic. You must have the right forms and follow a proper sequence. Buying property in Spain can also be quite dodgy. When house-hunting, I came upon a nice house. But there were two title deeds associated with it. One for the house itself, and another for the land. So, it’s important to have a good lawyer."
"I’m still old school. I want to paint. I don’t have a website. But I do have a good gallerist in Jazz Ong of Ode To Art in Singapore which provides me with regular commissions that help pay the bills."
